The Oregon daily journal., October 25, 1908, Page 63, Image 63

PATTERN AND DESIGN TRANSFER SECTION
With Needle and Threa
Any Woman Has the Mean to Make Her Clothes
and Household Doubly Attractive.
The Secret Lie in the Little, But Important, Accetiorie to Dren That
Women Make for Themaelres
Hie attractive woman is the woman who makes use of the little
accessories to the toilette that add charm to dress and appearance.
No matter how simple and inexpensive one's attire may be, a little
attention to small details will give an appearance of elegance that can
be procured in no other way. Fortunately, the means are simple and
at every woman's hand. With an embroidery needle ana' J bit of
f. nir-ran adorn all manner of smajl dress accessories with at
tractive designs. Any woman can add the finishing touches to her
dress and household goods and secure the desired impression of re
finement, costliness and style.
Hand embroidery is always desirable and always possible, for
even children quickly learn to accomplish it. There is a distinction
about it which always makes itself felt. Never has embroidery had
such a vogue as now, and, among all forms of needlework, nothing is
at once so practical, so beautiful and so easily achieved.
THE SIMPLE MEANS AT HAND
Happily for the wbman who cannot afford expensive dress ac
cessories, those things which are most important in the completion of
a gown are most easily and quickly made. The amusement of leisure
hours spent in embroidering supplies the wardrobe with its prettiest
garnitures. One scarcely realizes a collar set begun before it is ready
for wear, and what is so attractive as a collar, belt and tie worked
with a corresponding design and proclaiming its handmade, and, there
fore, elegant origin at a glance ? In some sets cuffs are included, add
ing further to the charm of the dainty articles.
Simple and somewhat small figures are the mode for present day
embroidery designs, and, where scallops are possible upon collars and
the ends of ties, they are not only particularly pretty, but exception
ally smart. The custom of edging belts with scallops serves a double
purpose of beautifying the belt and making it cling more closely
and symmetrically to the lines of the figure. A belt finished with a
strong, straight line is apt to wrinkle lengthwise, something which
never happens in the case of a belt with scalloped edges.
In working belt scallops it is well to use more filling and stronger
outline threads than are necessary or desirable when working scallops
on the edges of collars and ends of tics. Run a strong outline thread
along the edge of the belt scallops to be worked, and add a soft,
strong filling thread of linen or cotton floss. Work the belt with
closely laid even embroidery stitches, taking care to place each stitch
exactly over the edge of the outline thread so that the work may be
per teeny even, borne persons buttonhole belt sea-Hops tor greater
strength, but this is not necessary if outline threads arc run strongly
and smoothly in the design before it is worked.
SELECTING THE MATERIAL
The thickness of the embroidery cotton or linen thread should
depend upon the quality of the material to be worked. Always state
the texture of the article to be worked when purchasing threads.
Linen collars, cuffs and belts require a coarser cotton or linen
thread than do lawns and mulls, which are best worked with number
25 and 35 cotton, in lrench, mercerized qualities. Very sheer mulls
and handkerchief linens take an even finer thread. In any case, it
i.- well to use as fine a needle as will work easily with the thread used,
because the finer the needle the more closely may stitches be laid, and
cloc stitches are the charm of well made embroider'.
It is a pretty fancy to work ones favorite flower into the design
employed upon dress accessory sets. In the butterfly bow or dainty
r
I tie, for example, which finishes an embroidered .collar, it is attractive
I to find a bud or blossom worked in the center of the design. It is
easily drawn in, and gives an air of individuality to the article. It is
so much the fashion to embroider one's favorite flower upon dress
accessories that it is dune upon liosiery, in silk floss', in the natural
colors of the flowers.
Another useful manner in which to use embroidery is the charm
ing method of making a white shirtwaist match a colored costume.
Stamp upon the wait, collar, tie, belt and cuffs or wristband the
design to be worked, and then work it in a color to match that of
. the dress with which the set is to be worn. There is a dressiness and
prcttincss-about such a waist set not to be achieved in a waist made
of the dress material. White gives a cool expression to the costume,
no matter what its hue may be, and the colored embroidery stamps
the waist and its little belongings as a part of the costume, and not a
separate garment donned for the sake of convenience.
HAND WORK HAS VARIOUS USES
Not onlv is it the mode to give, hy means of hand embroidery,
such a touch 01 completeness to the little things worn with a dress,
but it is extremely fashionable to add all the embroidery compatible
with its style to the dress itself. Pretty "jumper"' dresses, where
the belt connects low-cut waist and skirt, have the belt worked in
the same design embroidered upon the band around the low neck
and brief Japanese sleeves of the dress bodice. If a high waist is
worn, this design is repeated upon the collar and cuffs, but it is pret
tiest applied to the white collar and tie worn with some sort of little
white guimpe. Every woman looks her prettiest in a white guimpe,
whether it be cut" round, square or pointed, and when the band which
borders the neck of this guimpe is worked by hand in some simple
and charming embroidery pattern, the woman not only looks pretty,
but elegantly attired, as well.
Now that buttons are so lavishly employed as decorations upon
gowns of all sorts of character if is the mode to embroider these.
This work is rapidly done, for it does not require the care necessary
upon more conspicuous articles, but the charm of an embroidered
button may not be overestimated, particularly when a black or dark
dress depends for its color touches upon the hues worked into the
button designs and upon sleeves and collars. In this connection em
broidery is also employed upon bows and tabs for the neck, which
are worked in the colors shown upon the buttons, and bits of similar
embroidery are frequently effectively disposed in the bodice of the
dress.
WORKING FLOWER DESIGNS
It is the fashion to make such designs in raised but not too
highly raised satinstitch. This is the easiest of all embroidery
stitches and merely requires care to keep the edges even and the
stitches close together. Where a floral design is to be worked, run a fill
ing thread along the stem and outline every edge of flower and leaf with
this thread. Twice around, making the stitches alternate with each
other, forms a strong outline for a pattern to be raised quite distinctly
but once around is enough for the average pattern. Fill in the flower
petals and leaves with lengthwise stitches of soft cotton or linen
floss, not too tightly drawn. If the design is to be raised quite high
put in several thicknesses of the filling stitches. Then work the de
sign with embroidery cotton, linen or silk according to the material
which is being decorated, over and over the filling threads, drawing
smoothly and evenly over each stitch and taking care to put the needle
exactly in the outer line of the design. Where an open- space is to
be worked run a thread around the space for the hole, fill in the edge
and pierce" the center with a stiletto of ivory or metal. Work over
the edge as over the edges of the design. It is customary, where a
hole is rather large, to fill it in with a fancy lace stitch, such as fillet
or herringbone stitch.
Slender stems in a design are best worked with stem stitcli;
thicker stems and spirals should be outlined with a thread run along
each edge and then worked over and over with solid stitch, such as
is in general use at present in all embroidery. Sometimes one finds
it easy to work over the edges of a butterfly's wing or the petals of
a rose in this fashion and then fill in the wing or petal with French
knots. The effect is very pretty and the work rapidly done.