TAPESTRY WORK

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 445, 29 May 1937, Page 2

TAPESTRY WORK

An Actress’s Hobby What do actresses do off-stage? Few of them are idle, but Edna Best, the famous English player, is one of the busiest of them all. You rarely see her, it is said, without a piece of tapestry in her hand! She works between waits at the theatre, in her dressing room, and while she’s having her hair done. Yet she has no work to show the curious. “I give away all my work as presents,” she told a reporter, “for I think a piece of embroidery makes such a charming, personal gift. I’ve made screens, chair sets, cushions and panels for my friends’ homes, but, ccdly enough, I’ve never made anyfor myself.” ■Miss Best is as practical as she is artistic. "If it is the first piece of work you’ve ever done, choose something small, like a handbag or a card case, and choose also a very simple design. “The right tools are as important as the canvas when doing tapestry work. Buy a frame for your work, a packet of tapestry needles, a pair of small, sharp scissors and a thimble, and keep your work in a square of silk or lined so that there will be no fear of it getting grubby“Embroider the entire design before tackling the she went on. “This will produce a more even surface.' Remember that petit point is the simplest of all types of tapestry work, for it calls for only one stitch. This is known as tent stitch, and consists of one-half of a cross stitch.

“This is how you should begin,” she concluled. “Knott your wool or silk and put it through a square of the ride side of the canvas, and when you ve worked over the square cut off the knot.”