THE LADIES ’ FLORAL CABINET. 
220 
lief is necessarily so low that a sense of crowding and 
confusion is very easily produced. The appearance of 
ease must be produced, nor only by the expression of 
freedom in the design and facility in carrying it out. but 
also by the obviousness of the intention. Detail should 
be kept subordinate to the design viewed as a whole, 
and should rather be discovered by degrees than be 
apparent at the first glance ; if this be not attended to, 
the general effect of the design will be lost, and confu¬ 
sion instead of unity will be the result. Be temperate, 
therefore, in detail: a thorn here and there on a Rose- 
stem will be enough to suggest the thorny character of 
Roses, nor is it needful to make more than a few of the 
serrations on the leaves : to do more would be to lose 
the outline, which, of all things, must be preserved dis- 
riuct. 
Ju drawing a leaf, observe carefully its distinguishing 
characteristics, first as to its general shape, then its 
growth, whether upright or drooping: then as to detail 
of form, whether it be serrated or not: if it be. whether 
finely or coarsely. If the notches be very fine, the 
edges may be left quite smooth in working : but if they 
be large and regular, they should be represented, though 
not in their full number, so as merely to suggest the 
fact. 
There is another truth that is often neglected, yet 
which may be expressed without risk of over-multiply¬ 
ing detail—that is, the junction of the leaf and the 
stalk. This should never be overlooked if the design be 
meant for outline work, in which, being without the 
help of color, we should more fully insist upon truth of 
line. It should be clearly shown whether the junction 
be effected by a lobe or without, or if there be no clear 
leaf-stalk at all. Also, pains should be taken to finish 
off the stalks carefully. It is in these little matters that 
truth and life may be preserved without the risk of con¬ 
fusion, and they help to secure a satisfactory result. 
Many instances could be named of glaring inaccura¬ 
cies to be met with in patterns and decorations—such 
as a Strawberry leaf attached to a Carnation flower, a 
Poppy bud opening at the wrong end, or a Convolvulus 
furnished with tendrils. Observation and intelligence 
will always secure us from mistakes such as these, 
which are inadmissible as against Mature. Departures 
from Nature should never be made through ignorance- 
to conventionalize is not to depart from Nature, it is but 
to select and use the forms and detail necessary and 
suitable for our'purpose. If we cannot tell the whole 
truth, let us at least tell no falsehood, 
i A little practice in simple flower forms will soon give 
confidence enough to make more formally arranged 
patterns, and, as a first step in that direction, some 
flower, say the Honeysuckle or the Rose, may be twisted 
and turned artfully so as to fill the required space, still 
preserving its natural characteristics. It must he re¬ 
membered that, however conventionally the flower is 
treated, its general characteristics must always be pre¬ 
served. For instance, it would bo against all truth to 
twist into running scrolls the stiff Sunflower or the up¬ 
right Sword-lily: their stitT and upright character should 
rather be insisted upon than hinted at: if grace be the 
object, a more pliant flower can easily be chosen. 
The Daisy-shaped flowers are all good for embroidery; 
being clear and well-defined, they require but little con¬ 
ventionalizing. In arranging them—the Sunflower, for 
instance—the petals need not be stiffened into a geomet¬ 
rical star, unless the flowers are to be associated with 
some scroll-work that demands rigid treatment. In 
Nature, the Sunflower petals are too long to stand out 
evenly round the black disk: this tendency to droop 
should be just indicated here and there in the design. 
The Daffodil and Narcissus, and the Lily tribes, work 
extremely well: so do the Primrose, Potentilla, and 
wild Rose. There are also many berries that make 
beautiful combinations with their blossoms and leaves, 
as the Bramble, Cherry, etc. There is no need for a full 
list: so soon as the task for designing has become fa¬ 
miliar, it will be known at a glance whether a flower be 
likely to be effective or not, and it will be found that 
the simplest flowers fulfil most completely the require¬ 
ments of the art. 
In designs for filial in embroidery, the vacant spaces 
should be larger than they need be for outline work, 
especially if the work is to be done in crewel-, for the 
substance of the wool fills up the spaces, and contracts 
the material a little: so that a design which looks a lit-’ 
tie bald on paper will prove sufficiently handsome when 
worked. 
MIDSUMMER DRESSES, ETC. 
Many of the white dresses to be worn during the hot 
season are made with single skirts having three or four 
deep embroidered, scantily gathered ruffles, which cover 
the skirt nearly to the waist; the basque cut, with only 
one seam in the back is also made of the ruffling: the 
embroidered edges sewed together in the back seam so 
that most of the work shall be in the centre ; the fronts 
are cut the same way, taking up one dart where it would 
naturally come to fit the figure closely. The sleeves are 
arranged correspondingly by cutting the upper part 
from the heaviest of the embroidery, while the under 
part is made from plain. The bottom of the basque is 
then finished with a strip of the embroidered ruffle fitted 
plainly around it. These made very rich-looking, yet 
easily laundried dresses, and seem a desirable change 
from those so fancifully puffed and draped. 
White Swiss muslins with colored dots embroidered 
on them, and having ruffling in colored scallops as well 
as the dots, make up into very pretty and inexpensive 
dresses. One in blue and white has the skirt trimmed 
with three of these ruffles scantily gathered and a short 
full drapery crossing in front, edged with the embroidery; 
the back breadths are looped to simulate a large sash 
bow with ends. 
The fitted basque has the embroider y on its lower 
edge, a scant frill on the rounded bottom of sleeve, 
also in the neck and extending down to the basque 
bottom. Blue ribbons are to be worn with this dainty 
dress. 
Oriental lace seems to have quite superseded the 
pretty Breton, and laundries quite as satisfactorily. Vex-y 
pretty patterns in widths from seven to eight inches can 
