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AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



August, 1908 



Well-Designed Applique 



An Effective Means of Decoration 



By Mabel Tuke Priestman 



IMPLICITY in ornament is the highest art, 

 but it is very difficult to make people believe 

 it and appreciate it. The power of restraint 

 must be properly understood if the result of 

 it is to be felt. The knowledge of why a 

 space should be filled, or why left empty, 

 comes from experience and a willingness to 



ing to their environment. Portieres are especially suited to 

 this bold style of decorative work, and may have a dado, 

 frieze or border treatment, according to the taste of the 

 designer. 



The tracing of the design is by no means so complicated as 

 most people imagine, as simpler methods are now used instead 

 of the old-fashioned method of tracing the design over 

 carbon paper. The design is laul over the material and the 



adapt the material to its requirements 



There is a charm and simplicity about applique work that surface of the paper showing the design is rubbed over with 



appeals to the lover of good ornament and color; the latter a square of blue sold for the purpose. A warm iron is 



should be expressed in broad, flat tones, masses of color passed quickly over it, and on lifting the design the pattern 



rather than shading and small lines. Points of construction is found to be beautifully marked out on the material with 



should be emphasized to 

 add interest to the work, 

 but must not be an incum- 

 brance to the object it is in- 

 tended to ornament. There 

 are many excellent ways of 

 treating applique. After 

 first stitching it to the 

 ground very neatly at the 

 edge it is ready for the 

 outline, which can either 

 be embroidered in art 

 stitch or a fine cord. A 

 couching of silk is often 

 used to cover the edges, 

 and in some cases a nar- 

 row ribbon is couched 

 down in place of the cord, 

 or several strands of em- 

 broidery silk or linen. 

 Some workers use button- 

 hole stitch to bind the 

 edges, but this takes longer 

 than couching or working 

 in art stitch. 



The most elaborate ap- 

 plique work is backed, and 

 is done in the following 

 manner: A piece of muslin 

 or linen is tacked on to a 

 drawing-board and pasted 

 all over with a thin layer 



of shoemaker's wax. The fabric which is to form the 

 applique is laid over the pasted muslin wrong side down, 

 and pressed firmly on to the board ; this must be left until 

 perfectly hard. The design is then drawn or traced on 

 the muslin, and the parts that will form the applique are 

 cut out, either with nail scissors or with a stencil knife. 

 The foundation material, having been already placed in 

 a needlework frame, the parts can be marked out where 

 the pieces of applique are to be applied. These can be 

 pinned temporarily in place and afterward pasted on to the 

 foundation and left to dry, or they can be carefully basted on 



Outlining the Disk in Art Stitch. The Apple and Leaf Were First Done 

 on the Disks and Were then Pasted Smoothly on the Background 



sharp, clear lines, very 

 different to the old-fash- 

 ioned tracing. The ad- 

 vantage of this method is 

 particularly desirable on a 

 rough, twill material, as 

 one knows from experi- 

 ence how the point of a 

 tracer will always wobble 

 on twilled material. 



Hardly any other kind 

 of needlework opens such 

 splendid opportunities of 

 expressing one's individ- 

 uality, either in the design 

 itself or in the effective 

 way in which it is worked 

 out. The canvas portiere 

 with the pine-cone motif 

 shows one of the simplest 

 forms of applique. The 

 foundation is a coarse kind 

 of burlap called arras 

 cloth. The band of ma- 

 terial at the bottom is a 

 coarse linen. The slender 

 spikes of the cone are so 

 massed that none of the 

 fineness of design is 

 noticed, which would be 

 apparent if such a design 

 was differently treated. 

 Heavy flax embroidery outlines the spikes of the cone, while 

 the cone itself is interlaced with another shade of coarse flax. 

 This portiere was made in the Craftsman studios at Syra- 

 cuse, N. Y. 



The nasturtium table-cloth shows a good deal of detail, and 

 for a table-center such detail is necessary. The flowers, leaves 

 and edge are outlined with satin stitch, while the flowers 

 themselves are made of yellow linen, and the leaves are of 

 green linen in dark and light shades. It is a beautiful piece 

 of work, extremely rich in coloring. 



A very original curtain was lately exhibited at the Handi- 



The work can be done in the hand if desired, but for elaborate craft Exhibition in Brooklyn by Miss Helen Turk. The cur- 

 work it is better to use a frame. The stems and thin lines tain was made of gray, hand-made Russian crash, usually sold 

 should be embroidered, as thin, narrow pieces of applique for tea towels. The flowers were first cut out and then out- 

 should be avoided. The most suitable designs for this kind lined with a double row of art stitch with Berlin wool, and 

 of work are conventionalized flower-motifs. These may afterward applied to the curtain. They were invisibly sewn 

 follow Persian, Egyptian or Art Nouveau designs, accord- with cotton to the crash, but appeared to be held in place by 



