DOMESTIC ART 



1837 



DOMESTIC ART 



It is not necessary, nowadays, for little girls 

 to sew long seams by hand, for the sewing 

 machine does that work better and more 

 quickly; but every girl should know how to 

 sew, how to crochet, how to knit, how to make 



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tatting and how to use a number of decora- 

 tive stitches in embroidery. These arts, which 

 are just as truly arts as painting or drawing, 

 are called domestic, because they find their 

 chief uses in our domiciles, or homes. When 

 you hear someone say that a girl is domestic 

 in her tastes, it means that she is fond of her 

 home and of everything that concerns it. 

 Every girl should know a great deal about 

 domestic art. 



In other countries, such as Sweden. Italy, 

 Germany and Russia, the domestic arts are 

 practiced more than they are in America. 

 The needlework that comes to us from each of 

 these countries has a distinct character and 



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Fig. 4 



interest. Swedish weaving, Italian embroid- 

 eries, Spanish laces and Porto Rican drawn- 

 work are all beautiful examples of the do- 

 mestic arts of other countries. They are as 

 different from each other as the people them- 

 selves are different, and so each country con- 



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tributes something to the beautiful work of 

 the world that is distinctly its own. 



In America we have not as yet discovered 

 or developed domestic arts that are original. 

 In our crochet-work, for instance, we depend 

 on designs and patterns that have been in- 



vented by people in France and Germany, or 

 in other countries. Why cannot the girls of 

 America make their own designs? If they 

 were taught to do so, and if the domestic arts 

 were encouraged, we should surely be able to 

 develop styles that are good, and not copied 

 from other nations. 



The girl whose mind and fingers are trained 

 in the various fields of the domestic arts can 

 do much to beautify her home, no matter 

 how humble it may be. By the use of fine 

 needlework, and with her ability to crochet, 

 make tatting, smocking or embroidery, she 

 can add distinction to the most inexpensive 



Fig.6 



gown. Knowledge of this kind is worth actual 

 money, for good prices are paid for various 

 forms of hand-work when applied to clothes, 

 to household linens or to fabrics used for dec- 

 oration about a house. Think of all the dif- 

 ferent uses we have for borders alone. We 

 use borders on curtains and table runners, on 

 napkins and doilies, on dresses and under- 

 clothing, on bags and collars, on towels and 

 pillow cases. All these border designs, whether 

 expressed in lace, embroidery, in crochet or in 

 any other form of needlework, must be in- 

 vented by somebody. Every girl should be 

 her own designer. 



The 'sketches herewith show one of the sim- 

 plest ways of beginning the study of design. 



Fig. 1 shows a piece of black paper, squared 

 off to represent quarter-inch sections, although 

 in the illustration they are smaller, for con- 

 venience. This paper can be bought already 

 prepared, and can be used with white chalk, 

 white crayon, or with a white ink known as 

 letterine. In Fig. 2 we see every other square 

 in a certain row filled in with white, which 

 makes the simplest kind of a border. This 

 border is enriched, in Fig. 3, by the addition of 

 marginal bands. The design is now quite 

 complete, and could be worked out in crochet, 

 cross-stitch, or in a variety of simple stitches. 



Fig. 4, 5 and 6 show other variations of 



