Embroidery Stitches

A lady richly  clad  as she, Beautiful exceedingly.
— Coleridge.

 

Did you say you wanted some trimming? Why, of course you do. If you can get lace narrow-enough, overhand it on to the neck and sleeves, and featherstitch a line around the neck, sleeves, and bottom hem to cover the hemming stitches. This would be very nice done in some color,— pink or blue.

Hand embroidery, however, would make pretty trimming, and I am very sure you could mark out the design on the dress, with a lead-pencil, just as I have planned for you to copy from the picture.

Draw first the little five-leaf forget-me-not in the center of the front, then the stem at each side, ending near the top of the shoulder, and add the other flowers  and the leaves.    You might practice this by drawing several times on your paper pattern, so you will be sure it is right, and then if your goods is thin enough, you can lay it over the drawing on the paper (before sewing the garment up), and trace right through.

FRENCH   WORK
Take a needleful of white embroidery cotton, and fill in the petals of the center flower by taking four or five long stitches from the center to the outer edge, then start back at the middle of the flower and take short stitches directly across the others,—the padding stitches,—setting your needle in on the right side line of the petal and bringing it out on the left side line, putting the point of the needle each time exactly on the pattern.

STEM   OR   OUTLINE   STITCH
For the stem stitch, hold the goods firmly between thumb and fingers of your left hand, start from the end of the stem where it would be broken from the plant, and holding this end toward you, take first a couple of short stitches one on top the other (so you will not need a knot), then a stitch twice as long, made by setting the needle in—away from you—and bringing the point out (toward you) close to the previous stitch. The needle must go in and come out every time on the stem line, with the thread left lying on the right side of the marking, and the needle-point on the left side of the line. A little practice will enable you to get a smooth, rope-like stem.
The leaves can be done like the petals, only as they are long and slender, they require but two or three long stitches first for the padding.
Perhaps you might like to scallop the edge of the neck and sleeves instead of trimming the other ways suggested, and if so simply indicate with a pencil mark the neck opening, but do not cut out -until after the embroidery is all done.

October 18, 2011 | | Comments Closed

Autumn Leaves

A Vintage pastime was to preserve autumn leaves and use them in various decorations around the home.

Preserving Autumn Leaves Autumn leaves are used in various methods the most popular being perhaps to dry them flatly and carefully and take great care to preserve their stalks. When thoroughly dry they are varnished with Canada balsam varnish which gives them a pretty gloss and also acts as a preservative to them from all insects and moths.After this they are carefully laid aside for the decoration of the winter dinner table and may be most safely preserved in a tin box with a well fitting cover.

Grasses added to them are very effective and when dry they may be dyed at home with Judson’s dyes. They may be also frosted when dry by dipping each stalk into a solution of alum and leaving them to dry upright. With the glasses and leaves may be used the dried everlasting flowers and the prepared moss however no little taste is needed in their arrangement to avoid the least heaviness of effect.

Grass vases and stands are the most effective for their arrangement as the transparency of these increases the wished for lightness and grace.

Another way of using the dried leaves is for the ornamentation of tables blotting books or boxes. Old cigar boxes when painted black are very favorite articles for decoration but now we know the value of varnished unpainted wood. Many people will prefer the effect of the cigar boxes unpainted with the unvarnished leaves gummed on and the box and leaves varnished afterward. If however a black ground be especially desired use Brunswick black to stain the wood or Brunswick black and turpentine mixed to make a rich looking brown grounding. Then gum on the leaves in a central group being careful to cut away with a sharp pair of scissors all the under parts of the leaves which will be hidden by others above as too many thicknesses of leaf will make an uneven surface and give an ugly appearance to the work when finished.

~The hearthstone: or, Life at home

September 12, 2011 | | Comments Closed

A Dainty Mending Outift

Put together a vintage style sewing kit to catch and fasion emergency.

Are you supplied, by the way, with a mending outfit? Every seamstress needs a work-bag, well fitted with the things she is likely to use.

Just the other day I saw a tiny sewing kit, which was the cutest thing imaginable! It was made of pink silk belting, held in shape by satin-covered cardboard sides. It was three inches long by two inches wide, just the dimensions of its little embroidery scissors, and less than one inch high, exactly the height, in fact, of its small aluminum thimble. But the finest thing about it was that it contained a complete mending outfit. There was a double fold of fine white flannel, an inch by an inch and a half, on one side of which were assorted needles, and on the other side a dozen small safety-pins. A tiny silk button-bag, an inch and a half square, held a few pearl buttons of different sizes and a dozen assorted hooks and eyes, both black and white.

Attached to one corner with a few strong stitches was a tiny emery. Loose in the bottom were six tiny cards, half an inch square, each wrapped with a few yards of thread (coarse and fine black and white cotton, black silk and black darning cotton). There was also a bodkin, a darning-needle, a roll of, perhaps, half a yard of narrow tape, and a ball of wax. Several large safety-pins completed the equipment.

This little sewing kit was carried by one of my friends on all her travels, because it could be slipped into even the smallest hand-bag. It provided always for the button suddenly missing from glove or underwear, the rip or rent in a garment, the mysterious hole in a stocking. If you should care to make one for yourself, I will tell you how to do it, but it would make a lovely present for you to give to mother or sister or your dearest friend.

First lay your small embroidery scissors on a piece of paper and mark off their length.   Then cut an oblong from the paper half an inch longer than the scissors and three-quarters of an inch wide, and round off the corners. This is your pattern, and by it you must cut four pieces of cardboard just the same size. Cover each piece smoothly on one side with plain silk, catching the edges down with crisscross stitches. Now place the uncovered sides of two pieces together and overcast them neatly. Do the same with the other two pieces and your two sides are finished.
A piece of silk belting of the same shade is needed for the body of the case. It must, of course, be a trifle wider than the handle of your scissors, for you do not want them to fit too snugly. Take one of the silk-covered sides in your hands, and fit the belting around the edge as shown in the illustration. Overhand from one side around both ends, leaving an opening at the top, along the edge, but allow the belting to lap about an inch to cover the opening. Hem the raw ends. Then whip neatly to the other cardboard side in the same way. The end of belting is left loose to lay over the opening when you are through. Lastly, fasten a piece of baby ribbon twelve inches long to the loose end of the belting, so that you can tie the case up.

Have I made all this clear? For example: if it takes nine inches to go around the side pieces nd lap, and jour scissors are one inch and three-quarters wide through the handles, then the belting, or other heavy ribbon, must be two inches wide and nine inches long.

~ Sewing for little girls by Foster, Olive Hyde

 

August 29, 2011 | | Comments Closed

Teaching the Young’Uns to Sew Buttonholes

My own daughter (age five) is showing an immense interest in sewing. The problem is she has completely dismissed hand sewing and would prefer to jump straight to mommy’s big sewing machine. I take full blame for not completing enough hand sewing in front of her.

One of those things of the past that has now come full circle to be ‘in’ again is teaching small children to sew is a great skill and one they can use as a hobby, or a fabulous career.

In particular here I will showcase the Buttonhole. It has become the extended family habit to pick up a bit of handwork in the evenings after sharing a meal (every Sunday). My handwork has been in the form of finish clothing items for the above mentioned Peanut. I receive constant comments for not knowing how to create a buttonhole by hand as the elder members of my family take joy in telling me this was part of their home education when young. Mind you one of the commenters is my own dear mother.  Alas I do prefer my quick and easy machine buttonholes but just in case you had an itch to know how they are done by hand I present to you below the method for Hand Crafted Buttonholes.

Buttonholes


A buttonhole is a slit cut and worked to admit a button for fastening purposes. It is much easier for beginners to commence on the blind buttonhole. This is made by working around a line instead of cutting the hole. The stitch, the fan, and the finishing can thus be learned without the care of the raw edge. The directions for making the buttonhole are as follows:
buttonhole


A. Preparation of the Hole


a. Cutting—With the buttonhole scissors cut the hole one-fourth of an inch from the folded edge and straight with the threads of the cloth.


b. Stranding—The strand consists of carrying the thread along the edge of the buttonhole near enough to be easily covered by the buttonhole stitch, for the purpose of adding strength to the buttonhole. Thread two needles, one with fine thread or sewing silk and the other with coarser thread or twist, depending upon the kind of buttonhole to be made. Place a knot in the coarse thread or twist, and with the folded edge of the cloth toward the left hand, bring the needle out just below the lower right hand end of the buttonhole, which is the end farthest from the folded edge. At the other end put the needle into the cloth just below the end of the cut and bring it out just above, which will carry the thread along the edge of the buttonhole. Repeat the same on the other side bringing the thread out at the point of starting. Do not cut this thread, as this is ready to begin the buttonhole stitch after the overcasting.


c. Overcasting—With the fine thread or sewing silk begin at the lower right-hand end. The object of the overcasting is to prevent raveling while working the buttonhole and the fewer stitches which will accomplish this purpose the better. As the overcasting must be covered by the buttonhole stitch do not take over two or three threads deep and just as few stitches on each side as is absolutely necessary to prevent the loosening of the threads. Some materials do not require overcasting.


B. Working the Buttonhole


a. The Stitch—Determine how deep a stitch is necessary so that the threads will not pull out, always keeping in mind that the shorter the stitch the better the buttonhole will look. This depends upon the kind of material in use. The first stitch begins one thread beyond the end of the slit. Holding the buttonhole along the cushion of the left forefinger with the folded edge of the cloth toward the left, place the needle into the slit under the lower edge of the buttonhole and draw the needle half way through. With the needle still[66] pointing toward the chest take up the double thread at the eye of the needle and place it under the point, passing from right to left. Draw the needle and thread out, and from you, so that the purl or twist comes to the edge of the slit. (This makes a firmer edge than when the thread is carried around the needle from left to right.) Each stitch is a repetition of the above. Place the stitches about the width of a thread apart, as this will avoid a crowded appearance and makes a firm, hard edge. Do not jerk the thread, but draw steadily and tight; otherwise the edge will be rough. Avoid stretching the buttonhole; the edges should touch when finished.


b. The Fan—At the end near the folded edge—the round end—spread the stitches like the sticks of a fan, drawing them closer at the top and spreading at the bottom. Five stitches will work nicely around the end, the third stitch being straight with the buttonhole.


C. Method of Finishing the Buttonhole.


a. The simplest manner of finishing is as follows: The buttonhole stitches at this end are at right angles to the slit, and not rounding as at the other end. After finishing the last buttonhole stitch, pass the needle down between the first and second stitch, and bring it out between the last and next to the last stitch. Draw the thread tight so as to bring the edges of the buttonhole together. Put in several stitches in the same place. Pass the needle to the under side and fasten the thread.


b. The Bar—The thread being at the top of the last stitch, pass the needle down between the first and second stitch and out at the bottom of the last stitch. Put in three threads across the width of the buttonhole, bringing the thread out at the bottom of the last buttonhole stitch. Turn the cloth so that the thumb covers the thread and the buttonhole, and work the bar by bringing the needle out each time over the thread, as in the blanket stitch. Draw the purl edge toward the buttonhole. Do not put in too many stitches, as it makes the loop stand away from the buttonhole. Near the middle of the bar take one stitch through the cloth to hold it down.

c. Caution—Be sure that the thread is long enough to work the buttonhole, but not over-long, as the thread wears and is more liable to break. Use care and not break the thread, but in case this happens, take out the last few stitches, thread the needle on this short end, pass through the last purl, and fasten the thread on the under side. With the new thread fasten without a knot on the wrong side, bring through the last purl at the edge of the buttonhole and continue.

On cloth that ravels badly put in two parallel rows of running stitches and then cut the buttonhole between the rows.

~Handicraft for Girls

March 22, 2011 | | Comments Closed

Cold Cream Recipe Godey’s Lady’s Book (for the hands)

This is a cold cream recipe from Godey’s Lady’s Book 1867. I believe the March edition.

I’m guessing you could substitute beeswax for the white wax. Rose watermay be purchased online and instead of setting by the fire how about placing in a double boiler?

“This is a simple and cooling ointment exceedingly serviceable for rough or chapped hands, or for keeping the skin soft.  It is very easily made.  Take half an ounce of white wax and put it into a small basin, with two ounces of almond oil. Place the basin by the side of the fire till the wax is dissolved in the oil.  When quite melted, add two ounces of rose-water. This must be done very slowly, little by little: and as you pour it in, beat the mixture smartly with a fork to make the water incorporate.  When all is incorporated, the cold cream is complete, and you may pour it into jars for future use.  This cold cream is better than that which is usually sold in shops, and which is too frequently made of inferior ingredients.”

December 5, 2008 | | Tags: , , , | No Comments »
« Older Entries