ART NEEDLEWORK.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10157, 29 November 1910, Page 3

ART NEEDLEWORK.

A remarkable revival of Hi'-' decorative domestic arts has taken place in Scotland, and no doubt in time will bo followed in .New Zealand. Miss Ann Macbeth, Professor of Embroidery at the Glasgow School of Art, seems to be the inspirer of this good work. She is now working with a magnetic enthusiasm quite irresistible, laying the foundations of a sememe of needlework that may ultimately develop :.iio a national art. Thevc sit about a hundred young women, drawn from the teaching staffs of the Board Schools in the West of Scotland, sacrificing well-earnou leisure weekly in the interests of the advancement of a scientific system of art education. The class is instituted by the provincial committee, and works Tinder a system which, starting from the first simple stitches made by a child of six, taking note of the developments of plain needlework and the simple elements, of decorative design, and making use of such construction lines as seams and hems, to - ornament with dots and stitches and other patterns, proceeds later, as the child develops to womanhood, to teach her to correlate drawing with the stitching, and finally to_prodi.ee her own designs for beautifying her own garments, and for embellishing the household linen, the hangings, and other adornments belonging to modern decorative art. The hundred young women students are entering into the whole scheme with fervour, beginning with a type of pattern fairly simple, which in turn they pass on to their pnpdsjm der their regular care, inculcating at tile same time strict economy of method, by making use of simp e, inexpensive materials, such as linen cloth, crash, and the many beautiful fabrics of a cheap kind modern scientific manufacturing furnishes. The scheme is carefully tabulated. Each move is as thoughtfully considered as in a game of chess. From the'years six to seven, the child is taught tacking, but in such an interesting way that she may even claim to be an embroiderer . lhe whole system of instruction in sewing in the infant department of schools has been wrong. It has proceeded in total ignorance or utter disregard of optical science, and only when the mischief has become serious is there some show of concern. Myopia is prevalent among younger girls at school; it is largely caused by setting them the task of making white stitches on a white garment before the eye has reached its proper focusing power, at the age of eleven to twelve, in the system inaugurated by Miss Macbeth the garment is white, but the stitches are coloured, and each row is in a different harmonising colour, the youthful eyesight being thus carefully preserved while the colour sense is at the same time being cultivated. It would take too long'here to enter into the minutiae of the scheme, to follow the child through the curriculum at various stages and ages, top sewing and hemming, from seven to eight; felling, running, and false-hemming, from eight to nine; working in two textures, herringboning, pinking, pleating, darning, and taping from nine to ten; but-ton-stitching, binding, and cuttingout, from ten to eleven; and gathering, tucking, stroking, etc., from eleven to twelve. It must suffice to say that in all this useful" occupation the constructive and decorative is \ steadily kep*'in view, while the physical and moral well-being of the girl is always a matter of the most careful consideration. .