AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
Handicraftsman 
stencilling; about the fabrics, the colors 
and the methods to be employed, but the 
stencil itself one is supposed to purchase 
WINING: 
Salen fe ae ready made. 
AY Neg Mt) However, it is not always possible to 
(SNF Sa NE SINS 
find in the shops a stencil that conforms 
exactly to our ideas or that harmonizes with the surround- 
ings in which it is to be used. Besides, there is a certain 
satisfaction in having the work all our own from start to 
finish, and also in being the proud possessor of an original 
design not to be found in the public market or obtainable 
by every chance purchaser who may have the price. __ 
A bilateral stencil is easily made and is often surprisingly 
beautiful, considering how little time and talent are neces- 
sary to its development. . 
A piece of medium weight drawing paper, either oblong 
or square, according to the proportion of the required 
stencil, is folded through the center and placed doubled, 
ready for drawing, with the open edge to the left; the 
drawing is begun on the right or closed edge of the paper, 
which when opened up will form the vertical axis of the 
design. 
Any flower or decorative form may be used; either fol- 
lowed closely as to structure or used simply as a guiding 
motif. The only important rule that we must have in mind 
is the one of growth or “tangential union” as it is called. 
A very simple matter—merely to remember that lines 
spring from about the same center and must have a har- 
monious relation to one another. ‘This is well illustrated 
by the Greek anthemion shown in the headpiece. 
For a simple stencil let us take for instance the flag lily, 
Fig. 1, or “fleur-de-lis.” We begin with one of its three 
upright petals, drawing only half of it against the folded 
edge of the paper (A) 
(on being cut and un- A 
folded it will appear com- 
plete). The right edge 
(B) of the next petal 
is drawn tangential to 
the first petal; the form 
of the left edge (C) of 
the second petal is op- 
tional; again the right 
edge of the third petal 
(D), which is next in 
order to be drawn, must 
be tangential to the left 
edge of the second petal. 
In other words, oppo- 
site edges must be har- 
monious. 
The spaces left among 
the petals or forms 
Conducted by 
A. Russell Bond 
Designing a Bilateral 
* Stencil 
By Catherine A. Jensen 
Fig. |—Drawing and stencil of a “fleur-de-lis” 
should not be larger than required to hold the paper to- 
gether—one-eighth to three-sixteenths inch is about right 
for the usual size of the stencil. 
In the proportionate area of one form to another, i. ¢., 
petals, calyxes, leaves, etc., we must follow as closely as 
possible to the facts as shown in our flower or plant. Na- 
ture is infallible in this law of beauty. 
In making abstract designs (which it is not advisable 
to do at first), avoid repeating forms of exactly the same 
shape and area. Neither should one draw meaningless 
forms, mere uneven shapes having no relation to one an- 
other, and with no claim to beauty in either line or pro- 
portion. One cannot make a beautiful whole by combin- 
ing several ugly or indifferent parts. 
The second motif used in Figs. 2A and 2B, is based on 
the early spring flower sometimes called ‘‘bleeding heart.” 
A little more latitude is allowed in these two designs, par- 
ticularly in Fig. 2B. ‘The lines, instead of running parallel 
or nearly so, aim to form between them a space that is 
graceful in shape and suitable in size. 
Large forms are sometimes divided into several parts, 
the separation occurring at the most slender or delicate 
portion of the shape (Fig. 2A) to prevent the breaking 
of the stencil, and also to add variety to the design. 
The subject for the fourth stencil, Fig. 3, is the peacock 
feather, treated with the necessary freedom that its con- 
struction requires, that is, highly conventionalized. Devel- 
oped in a harmonious mingling of blue, green, brown, and a 
little orange, as suggested by the natural object, it makes 
a beautiful stencil design. 
For a beginner, however, it is wiser to use but one, or 
at most two colors, in any design, and these need not in any 
way depend on the true color of the object used as a motif. 
We are in no way startled by Delft pictures of blue wind- 
mills and trees, or by 
studies of the human 
figure sketched in red 
chalk by the old masters, 
for a combination of 
graceful form and beau- 
tiful color is the require- 
ment in good design— 
something that will con- 
form to the surround- 
ings in which the deco- 
rated object is to be 
used. 
In cutting out the 
stencil the paper must 
be held double, as when 
drawn upon; if a board 
and sharp knife are not 
available, the paper may 
be held in the hand and 
