HOUSE AND GARDEN 
August, 1910 
The simplest kind of summer curtains—fine 
cheesecloth hemmed and stenciled in pink 
and green 
in a separate 
saucer before be¬ 
ginning work, with 
a separate brush 
for each color. The 
brushes are stubby 
little bristle affairs 
and cost from five 
cents up, according 
to size. Dip the 
brush in the color, 
press out as much 
as possible a n d 
wipe on a piece of 
blotting paper, so 
there will be no 
possibility of any 
excess of color, 
and then apply to 
the cloth. Hold the 
brush at right 
angles to the ma¬ 
terial and tap it up 
and down until the 
color is well rubbed 
in. Put the brush down first in the centre of each portion of the 
design, as this lessens the danger of the color running. When 
the stencil is moved it must be carefully wiped before putting 
down again. 
There are many different preparations to use for stenciling. 
Oil colors thinned to the consistency of cream with turpentine, 
or benzine, or one of the thinning fluids that come for the pur¬ 
pose, are very satisfactory, and with them one can get beautiful 
colors. There are also some very good and simple dyes that come 
in tubes and have only to be mixed with hot water to be ready 
for use, and the colors are soft and attractive. There are also 
crayons that have a very interesting effect when used on coarse 
crash or linen; in fact they look more like block printing than 
stenciling. A good many of the color preparations need fixing 
with heat after the work is otherwise completed. One must try 
the color with great care on pieces of the material to be sure the 
consistency and color scheme are right. Do not use very many 
colors in one design, as it makes the work harder and takes away 
the simplicity and often the charm. 
If these directions are carefully followed a little practice is all 
that is needed to bring success and most gratifying results. 
When using stenciling for the decoration of rooms there should 
be dignity and beauty in the design, and the color and treatment 
should harmonize with the style of room. The subject of the 
appropriateness of the design is an important 
one, and it should, of course, always be in 
keeping with the room. The plain, heavy lines 
of a Mission interior, for instance, call for cor¬ 
responding strength in the decorative scheme. 
I have seen a Mission living-room quite spoiled 
by a poor weak little Empire wreath used as 
a border — at least it had a family likeness to 
the Empire, but it certainly was a poor rela¬ 
tion. It was entirely out of scale and style 
with the room. A single motif repeated at 
intervals about the room above the wainscot, 
or a more solid design, or one that gives the 
feeling of paneling, are all good. They should 
be done in soft tones that harmonize with the 
wall and furnishings. 
Bedrooms lend themselves especially well to 
A simple poppy stencil on the same cheese¬ 
cloth in red and green. Two pairs were 
made and stenciled in one day 
stencil decoration, 
and one in a coun¬ 
try house could be 
made very charm¬ 
ing by having the 
walls tinted cream 
color with a rose 
stencil design done 
in a panel effect in 
soft pinks and 
greens, and a rose 
border stenciled on 
scrim or muslin for 
curtains, with the 
some design repeat¬ 
ed on the bed- 
cover, cushions, 
and bureau scarf. 
T h e side curtains 
and rug might be 
either plain soft 
pink or green. 
This same idea 
could be carried 
out in any color, 
and the design used could be varied to suit the taste of the occu¬ 
pant of the room. 
In a bathroom a design of waves and fishes done in cool greens 
and green blues, stenciled just above the tiles, is attractive. The 
design should be adapted for use on the linen or scrim curtains. 
There are many charming designs for nursery walls. Children 
certainly appreciate their walls treated in this way, and there is a 
wide opportunity to have an individual and delightful room for 
them. A Noah's ark or barn-yard procession, or fairy tale or 
Mother Goose rhyme people, give a wide enough choice. The 
frieze should be placed low, about three feet from the floor, or 
the children will not notice it. 
If stenciling is to be used in halls, living-rooms or dining-rooms, 
the designs should have a more conventional feeling than those 
used in the bedrooms. 
Stenciling can be done on rough finished plaster walls, the 
natural color of which makes a beautiful keynote for a scheme of 
decoration. A design of old Dutch tiles done in blue on the plain 
plaster, just above a wainscot of weathered oak, with blue side 
curtains over white muslin, would make a very pleasant and cool 
looking room on the sunny side of a house. Also if one has a 
plain wall paper that is a trifle shabby and care-worn looking, 
a little stenciling applied judiciously but not too freely will freshen 
it enough to give it a new lease of life. 
Stenciled curtains can be made of scrim 
cheesecloth, linen, Russian crash, raw silk, 
pongee, arras cloth, velours—in fact the list 
is too long to mention all the possibilities, as 
nearly all fabrics can be used, as well as 
leather. Velours takes dye extremely well, 
giving a soft and charming effect. Very beau¬ 
tiful sofa pillows, curtains, and portieres, can 
be made of it. Chair and sofa cushions of 
linen, silk, or arras cloth, can all be stenciled 
to match any scheme. Piazza cushions are 
very attractive done in this way. Matting 
rugs for the piazza can also have a bit of 
stenciling done on them in neutral colors with 
good effect. 
A very beautiful screen can be made for 
(Continued on page 123 .) 
From an old Japanese stencil such 
as can be bought in antique shops 
