RICHELIEU OR CUTWORK EMBROIDERY

Ladies' Mirror, Volume I, Issue 5, 1 November 1922, Page 23

RICHELIEU OR CUTWORK EMBROIDERY

Selected by M.L.T.

WHATEVER attraction one may feel towards coloured embroideries, when it is a mat-

rer 01 decorating a dinner table, nothing equals the distinction and char m of pure white work. Nothing will harmonise so well with cut-glass, silver and flowers, and nothing else, is in such good taste. There are many kinds of white work, but Richelieu embroidery is perhaps the most distinctive of any, lending itself, as it does, to such beauty of design. This is thrown into bold relief when the background is cut away, and reveals a perfect setting when used on a polished wood surface. Though it appears to be very elaborate in working, it is really quite simple, as it resolves itself into practically plain buttonhole stitch. Materials The material used should be a firmly woven linen, of not too fine a texture, and the thread should be a smooth finished even quality—such as Clark's embroidery cotton or pearl thread. Directions It is not necessary to use a frame, though some work- .. ers find one helpful, and many like to tack their work on to American oilcloth. Do not use too long a needleful of thread, or you will lose the satin surface and finish. The outline of the work is first followed in running stitch, making the connecting bars where necessary, as the work proceeds, by carrying the thread across to the opposite side, bringing it back to the starting point, and across again, making three threads to buttonhole back on, " when the running stitch is continued, till another bar is met. When making these bars, button- - hole firmly, as a loose stitch will make an ugly, lumpy bar. Wherever the lines of ; work appear on the surface of the material, they are either done by buttonhole stitch, or by a close satin whipping stitch, as in Fig. 1, worked over a padding thread. It is essential that the work should be

evenly done, and have no weak corners in it, otherwise, when the linen is cut away from the

back, you will find that your whole work will wear an untidy and unfinished look.

Pack your stitches close together, and never knot your thread to commence with; always run finely along and work over it, and use the same method when finishing off. Cutting Use sharp and finely pointed embroidery scissors. Never attempt to cut with a blunt tool, it will only pull and drag the work. Also see that the points grip tight to the tip. S 'T'HERE is a great fascinaA tion in following out this work step by step, however monotonous the actual stitch may be, and it is difficult to gauge the soothing extent of its effect on tired nerves, a fact that men-folk always find difficult to understand. The accompanying beautiful specimens of embroidery were executed by an Auckland lady, following a severe illness, and helped to pass many a weary hour, which would otherwise have been almost unbearable. If one is gifted with the power of designing one's own work, many beautiful articles may be made, whose originality cannot but greatly enhance them in the eyes of their owner, and if intended as a gift nothing could be more appropriate than exquisite work of this kind. Broadly speaking, the design combines the conventional with the natural. It consists of a series of conventional shapes or motifs, and among these are forms of foliage, blossoms, butterflies, and shells— very beautiful, and particularly suitable for table use. It is a matter for regret that good needleworkers are so content to copy and re-copy designs, and that so few try to combine originality with skill. :' : „ If the two lower specimens of work are examined, it will ,be seen that the arrangement" is an almost natural one, and could be applied to many ; of the beautiful sprays of blossom that one brings in from the garden and that fade so soon.