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CHAPTER II.

TEXTILE FABRICS USED AS GROUNDS FOR EMBROIDERY.

LINENS.

There are many varieties of unglazed, half-bleached linens, from that thirty-six and forty inches wide, used for chair-back covers, to that ninety inches wide, used for large table-covers, curtains, &c. There are also endless varieties of fancy linens, both of hand and power-loom weaving, for summer dresses, for bed furniture, chair-back covers, table-cloths, &c.

Flax is the unbleached brown linen, often used for chair-back covers.

Twill is a thick linen suitable for coverings for furniture.

Kirriemuir Twill is a fine twilled linen made at Kirriemuir, and is good for tennis aprons, dresses, curtains, &c.

Sailcloth is a stout linen, of yellow colour, and is only suitable for screen panels.

Oatcake Linen, so called from its resemblance to Scotch oatcake, has been popular for screen panels or washstand backs. It is very coarse and rough.

Oatmeal Linen is finer and of a greyer tone. It is also used for screens, and for smaller articles.

Smock Linen is a strong even green cloth. It makes an excellent ground for working screens, and is also used for tennis aprons.

Crash.—Properly speaking, the name “crash” is only applied to the coarse Russian home-spun linen, which has been such a favourite from the beauty of its tone of colour. It is, however, erroneously applied to all linens used for embroidery, whether woven by hand-loom or machinery; and this confusion of names frequently leads to mistakes. Crash is almost always very coarse, is never more than eighteen inches wide, and cannot be mistaken for a machine-made fabric. It is woven by the Russian peasants in their own homes, in lengths varying from five to ten yards, and, therefore, though sent over in large bales, it is very difficult to find two pieces among a hundred that in any way match each other.

Bolton, or Workhouse Sheeting, is a coarse twilled cotton fabric, seventy-two inches wide, of a beautiful soft creamy colour, which improves much in washing. It is inexpensive, and an excellent ground for embroidery, either for curtains, counterpanes, chair coverings, or for ladies’ dresses, or tennis aprons.

It resembles the twilled cotton on which so much of the old crewel embroidery was worked in the seventeenth century, and is one of the most satisfactory materials when of really good quality.

All descriptions of linen, except the “oatcake” and “sailcloth,” can be embroidered in the hand.

TEXTILE FABRICS.

SATINS AND SILKS.

Satins and Silks can only be embroidered in a frame. Furniture satins of stout make, with cotton backs, may be used without backing; but ordinary dress satins require to have a thin cotton or linen backing to bear the strains of the work and framing. Nothing is more beautiful than a rich white satin for a dress embroidered in coloured silks.

For fans, a very fine, closely woven satin is necessary, as it will not fold evenly unless the satin is thin; and yet it must be rich enough to sustain the fine embroidery, without pulling, or looking poor. A special kind of satin is made for the manufacture of fans, and none other is available.

“Silk Sheeting” of good quality, “Satin de Chine” and other silk-faced materials of the same class, may either be embroidered in the hand, or framed; but for large pieces of work a frame is essential. These materials are suitable for curtains, counterpanes, piano coverings, or panels, and indeed for almost any purpose. The finer qualities are very beautiful for dresses, as they take rich and graceful folds, and carry embroidery well.

Tussore and Corah Silks are charming for summer dresses, light chair-back covers, or embroidered window blinds. They will only bear light embroidering in silk or filoselle.

Within the last year successful experiments have been made in dyeing these Indian silks in England. The exact shades which we admire so much in the old Oriental embroideries have been reproduced, with the additional advantage of being perfectly fast in colour.

Nothing can be more charming as lining for table-covers, screens, curtains, &c.; and they are rather less expensive than other lining silks.

The fabrics known as Plain Tapestries are a mixture of silk and cotton, manufactured in imitation of the handworked backgrounds so frequent in ancient embroideries—especially Venetian. Almost all the varieties of Opus Pulvinarium, or cushion stitch, have been reproduced in these woven fabrics.

Brocatine is a silk-faced material, woven to imitate couched embroidery. The silk is thrown to the surface and is tied with cotton threads from the back.

As ground for embroidery it has an excellent effect.