September, 1911 
most complicated and expensive being the use of zinc 
sheets, where the design is cut through by means of acids 
and the color impression of the design laid on the fabric 
with the delicate graduation of the air-brush. 
But the householder, looking for economy, need go to no 
such expense, when he can, by means of a few sheets of 
cardboard and a ten-cent blowpipe or an atomizer used for 
spraying charcoal drawings, accomplish the same practical 
result. The result, however, can only be arrived at through 
a certain amount of practice, 
or the design will appear spotty 
and irregular in depth of color. 
If the color be blown too freely 
through the atomizer, it is very 
apt to run down over the sten- 
cil and stain the material where 
it is not wanted. 
The first thing to do is to 
pick out some design from an 
Indian blanket or basket, mak- 
ing elaborations or elimina- 
tions, according to the purpose 
for which the design is meant, 
and apply the theme to what- 
ever use you wish to put it, be 
it frieze, mat-border, portieére, 
pillow-cover, or screen-cover- 
ing. Draw the design roughly 
upon your sketch block and 
color it, studying the effect in 
its relation to the general color 
scheme decided upon for the 
room, fixing definitely the 
proper proportions, as well as 
the relative values of the colors. 
After you are quite satisfied, 
procure some sheets of good, stiff cardboard, about the 
thickness of the ordinary mounting-board used by photog- 
raphers, and lay out your design with mathematical pre- 
cision to scale. Then take a sharp penknife and cut out the 
first color to be used, leaving a bridge or connecting strip 
here and there to keep the narrower portions in place. 
Separate stencils must be used for each color, and in order 
to have them register correctly an easy method is to draw 
two straight lines at right angles to each other from the 
AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
Fig. 2—Stencil work in its simplest form 
327 
exact center of each sheet, and extend the lines to the ex- 
treme outer edge; a small dot upon the fabric at the outer 
points of the intersecting lines on the first stencil will make 
the stencils following register correctly. 
After the stencils have all been cut out, cover both sides 
with a generous coat of white shellac; this will stiffen the 
board and prevent the edges and points from curling or 
warping after the spray is applied. Stencils so made will be 
found as serviceable for ordinary purposes as those cut out 
from sheet zinc. Another very 
good way to prepare a stencil- 
plate is to use cartridge paper 
saturated with boiled linseed 
oil; this should be allowed to 
dry thoroughly, when it will be 
found transparent enough to 
lay over and trace off the de- 
sign, no varnishing being 
needed. 
In certain complicated de- 
signs friskets must be used. 
Friskets are pieces of card- 
board cut in such a manner that 
when pinned to the fabric they 
will block out certain portions 
of the design that are already 
tinted, or such portions that 
are to be left flat—that is to 
say, the original tint of the 
fabric. Once the stencils are 
cut and ready for use, an in- 
finite number of varied color 
schemes may be used with the 
same stencils. 
Next, nail some matched 
boards together, forming a 
long rectangular drawing-board, and suspend it perpendicu- 
larly in such a manner that you can reach every portion of 
the design with the atomizer without stooping too much. 
The atomizer and wide-mouthed bottle containing the tint 
can only be operated from certain positions, which you will 
readily discover after a little experimenting. Pin your 
fabric in as even and straight a manner as possible, smooth- 
ing out all creases and wrinkles with the aid of small thumb- 
tacks; then pin your first stencil in place and apply the first 
Fig. 3—Made with the same stencil used for Fig. 2 
Fig. 4—A design requiring only two stencils 
