Secrets of Embroidery

1. Good ground material is a must. If the ground material to be embroidered upon is substandard, it will not be able to hold the embroidery stitches correctly. This will inevitably lead to an end product that is not as good as one hoped it would be.

2. Proper tools are required. Without the proper equipment, superior results cannot be achieved. These tools include:
   • Frame or embroidery hoop
   • Needles of proper shape and size
   • Thimbles
   • Sharp scissors
   • Adequate working area, including proper seating and lighting
   • Quality embroidery threads.

Here are some of the secrets of embroidery Mrs. Barton so graciously shared with readers of the Lesson in Embroidery, published by Brainerd and Armstrong, 1889.

First Steps in Needlework.

Part I. Equipment-How to Prepare for Work.

To enable everyone to take advantage of the instructions contained in this article we have had manufactured a first-class embroidery frame, as shown in Fig. 2. It is strong and well made, with bolts and thumb nuts. Adjustable up to 22 x 22 inches. Price, complete, $1.00, express charges to be paid by purchaser.
The first step in mounting a fabric is to cord its edges. Turn the edges straight to a thread about one half inch over a firm cord and sew them down like a "hem" with fairly small stitches. See Fig. 1. Now place the frame flat on the table in position so it will form a hollow square fully an inch larger both ways than the linen to be mounted. Fasten the bars firmly by turning the thumb screws very tight. Thread a sail needle with firm cord four times the length of the side of the linen to be laced. (Sail needles cost 3 cents in stamps.) Each side should be laced with a separate cord. Commence lacing from the middle of each side of the frame and linen in order to avoid the necessity of carrying a very long thread through each stitch. Carry the cord over the frame and through the linen just inside the corded edge. Half the stitches will be carried over and half under the bar in order to have the whole laced the same way. Take the stitches about two inches apart. Fasten each row separately, at the corners. Do not tighten the work until all four sides are laced, then lace up one side quite close to one bar, perfectly straight. This done,stretch it from the opposite side by lacing that. Draw evenly and gradually. Now lace the third and stretch that by drawing up the fourth. In this first lacing, tie the ends temporarily only. Continue to tighten the threads and correct in this way any unevenness which may appear in the direction of the woof and warp. Finally fasten the four corners by slipping the ends of the cords under three or four lacing stitches on top of the bars and knotting the last one. This also tightens the material. The absolute necessity of stretching straight has already been explained. Fig. 2 shows fully the details of the framed linen.

The above directions are very general in respect to stretching fabric on the frame (also called "dressing the frame"). The qualities of fabric to be mounted also had to be taken into consideration get the best results for embroidery. See how different fabrics were stretched and the precautions taken to make the foundation embroidery ready at Dressing the Frame.

Secrets of embroidery #4

Hemp twine is fairly satisfactory for cording and lacing. It wears, however, and therefore it is better to use the stiff, wiry tying cord called "Pink Flax Twine." Do not confound this with the ordinary pink cotton twine. (If you cannot buy this twine where you live we will send one ball postpaid on receipt of 15 cents in stamps.) When the linen is drawn tight the frame will likely wring more or less. It should be placed on the front of the table, forced flat very gradually, and tied or weighted down or secured by clamps. Of course the edge should project over the table the width of the design. One may reach twelve inches into a frame. Beyond this the hands cannot be controlled. Hence the necessity of lacing the design as close as possible to the bars, for every inch counts when one is working. Yet sufficient space must be allowed for firm stretching.

Secrets of embroidery #5

The table with frame upon it should be placed with its left end against the window jamb and its width should occupy about half the width of the window. The lower part of the window should be curtained with a full half curtain to prevent the light from shining through under the framed fabric. Dark green india silk makes a very useful curtain. A reversed Holland shade is also very convenient. A dark apron over the lap is also a great help in preventing reflection under the frame. The light thus falls from above and from the left so that no shadow is cast in front of the right hand.

Other embroidery frames were available, although more costly. There were also a number of ways to make an embroidery frame. To see the differences (and similarities) of frames produced between the 1870's to 1912, see Embroidery Frames.

Secrets of embroidery #6

Of the other instruments necessary the needle is of especial importance. Two thimbles should be used when embroidering in a frame. The scissors should be true and sharp and not too small. A medium size pair will be far more convenient for cutting the silk and certainly for cutting out the scalloped edges than the little ones often called "embroidery scissors." Anything that tends to make the work "puttering" should be avoided. We need freedom and perfect ease in embroidery. An amateur at a frame has a tendency to make very hard work of it, to tighten and cramp the hands, to make every muscle rigid, not infrequently to hold the breath and to struggle as a boy at his first writing lesson. The frame, the low chair, the high table, are insisted upon for no other reason than to make the worker perfectly comfortable and to secure to her every convenience. She has, then, but to accept these easy conditions, relax the fingers and wrists, hold the needle between the forefinger and thumb, secure, yet not tight, and let the thread fly loose and take care of itself.


Secrets of embroidery #7

Let the beginner of frame embroidery set up a piece of plain linen and practice sending the needle up and down without regard to design. Sit straight, without toughing the frame with either hand. Hold one hand above the surface, thumb and forefinger in position to receive the needle when sent up, the other remaining in position after sending it up, to receive it when sent down. Fig. 4 shows the thread drawn out to its full length, giving the correct position of the hands at the end of the stitch just as the needle is about to be sent up through the linen again. Fig. 3 shows the same action culminated above the frame.

When the hands are trained by this practice to the movement, mark out, on the linen, large squares or curved figures and seek to send the needle up and down on the lines at will, thus training the eye to keep pace with the power acquired by the hands. The beginner will place her stitches very slowly, and the effect may be more or less disconnected. Only by constant practice of the right way, slowly and steadily, will speed come. One will soon come to embroider more rapidly, and almost unconsciously will be- come able to lay stitches evenly and quickly. Rapid working is to be commended after the correct way has been acquired, because it insures smoothness and evenness. Again, the process and the result are not different from those in music. First the notes are struck separately until their succession is familiar, then quickly so that there is no apparent interval between them, and the result is harmony. In embroidery, it is beauty.
The worker should learn at the outset to use both hands, one above and the other below the frame or hoop.

Secrets of embroidery #8

If one prefers a less elaborate or we may say less professional way of embroidering lines, the ordinary wooden hoops can be used with quite as good a result if especial care is taken in overcoming their particular disadvantages. Don't, however, try to hold the hoop in one hand and take the stitches with the other. The hoop must be horizontal and held securely by clamps or other device, so that both hands are left free to place the stitches-one hand above the hoop and one hand below. See Figs. 3 and 4.
The simple double hoop tightly wrapped with narrow strips of flannel is satisfactory for linens, because we are likely to embroider these in sections and the hoop marks can be easily removed. The upper or larger hoop is the one to be wrapped. It should fit over the smaller one very tight.

Secrets of embroidery #9

To mount linens in hoops, place the smaller hoop on the table and lay the linen over it, as smooth as possible. Place the edge of the larger hoop over that of the smaller on the side toward you and press down the farther side over that of the under hoop with the hands near the wrists turned backward. Now stretch the fabric tight in the hoops by drawing it in the direction of the woof and warp. Keep the hoop on the edge of the table, holding it with the left hand as you urge the fabric tighter with the right. When you have drawn it through until it is very firm push the upper hoop down as far as possible; this will tighten it still more. The finest lawn may be in this way stretched drum tight if the drawing is done on the straight of the goods; even a slight drawing on the bias may tear a fabric which would bear a great deal of straining on the straight. This is a most important point for another reason. If embroidery is done on a ground the woof and warp of which is drawn on the bias, when the tension is relaxed the fabric regains its straight lines and the embroidery is drawn out of place. No matter how well the stitches are laid this drawing cannot be corrected by drawing cannot be corrected by pressing, or any other means.

Secrets of embroidery #10

It is well to avoid as far as possible cutting through portions of work already finished when framing the various sections of the designs in the hoops. For this reason a 10 or 12 inch hoop is best for centerpieces. A 7 inch hoop is very nice for linens decorated with small designs, and especially for doilies. The under hoop should be wrapped at least once in order to hold the linen drum tight. A 10 or 12 inch wooden hoop, or a 7 inch hoop, will be sent postpaid for 15 cents in stamps. In ordering mention size and kind wanted. By a little forethought we can manage to take in such portions as will make it unnecessary to have large surfaces of the embroidery pressed between the hoops. A centerpiece which is to be finished by a buttonhole scallop usually has margin enough beyond the scallop to admit of stretching in hoops, even if the design is very near the edge. The edge of linens, whether hemmed or buttonholed, should be finished before the embroidery is attempted. Any hand work, such as outlining the stems, etc., is likely to rough the embroidery, so all such work should be done FIRST.

Secrets of embroidery #11

The action of the hands is the same as when using a frame. Fig. 4 shows the thread drawn down full length, and Fig. 3 drawn up full length. These illustrations are a story of action in themselves, and the entire movement may be followed in them more clearly than words can describe it.

Secrets of embroidery #12

The question of the knot often arises when one insists upon a very careful wrong side to embroidery. It is not necessary to do without the knot in order to avoid its appearing on the back. Make the knot by turning the thread once over the forefinger, draw tight and cut off the end close up to the knot. Place it on the "wrong side" of the work by bringing the needle out the full length above the frame within the design and sending it back, thus taking a tiny stitch on the space which will be covered by the subsequent work. After the knot is thus fastened the needle should take the stitches from the outline in. The knots should never be placed on the outline. The tiny knot so placed where it will be covered is not objectionable.

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