THE CRAFTS 
Under the management of Miss Emily Peacock, 232 East 27 th Street, New York. All inquiries in regard to the various 
Crafts are to be sent to the above address, but will be answered in the magazine under this head. 
All questions m'tsl be received before the lOlh day of month preceding issue, and will be answered under "Answers to Inquiries" only. Please do not send 
stamped envelope for reply. The editors will answer questions only in these columns. 
U» 
Designed and ( 
uted by Maud Robinson 
enough for any background and the darning itself is eon- 
fined to the design. 
Most of our illustrations show exquisite pieces of darn- 
ing which were exhibited at the recent exhibition of the 
National Society of- Craftsmen in New York. The tree 
design with four panels is particularly effective. It is 
made of Russian crash which, being only fifteen inches 
wide, gives opportunity for dividing lines of darning to 
hide the same. The ground work is almost brown, while 
the warm terra eotta tones of the fruit harmonize well 
against the background of rich shades of green introduced 
in the leaves. The darning is very fine in some of the 
leaves, while others show quite a good deal of the ground 
work. In some leaves the darning runs up, while in others 
it runs erossways, giving a most charming variety in texture 
DISTINCTIVE WORK IN DARNING 
Mabel Titke Priest-man. 
TT really seems a matter of congratulation when we com- 
A .. pare the art needle-work of to-day with that of some 
twenty years ago. There is a unity of material and of 
design which is most pleasing, and there is no calling forth 
of pity for the needleworker, when examining the needle- 
work of to-day. Instead a warm admiration is felt for 
the skill of the designer, and worker, who is able to combine 
beauty of design and excellence of needle craft. 
In no way is this more evident than in the develop- 
ment of darning. The old time darning consisted of the 
design in relief and the background patiently worked out 
in darning stitch, or else the design was darned on such 
fine Brussel's net that the making of it must have been a 
source of danger to the eye sight. The present fashion 
consists in the using of lustrous shades which are good 
One of the attractive pieces sent to the exhibition by New-comb College 
Darning in loops is somewhat of a novelty 
as well as in color. There is something very clever in the 
way the trunks are indicated. 
The panel seems to be a favorite form this season. 
Another panel was shown at the same exhibition with a 
design of fruit and leaves. The treatment is so different 
that there is no further similarity between the two. It will 
be noticed that the leaves are only outlined with two rows 
of darning, making them stand out in strong relief to the 
fruit which is in tones of red. The hand made linen on 
which this is worked is very charming in texture. 
The horse-chestnut is the motif chosen for the attrac- 
tive side-board cloth on soft brown linen, and here again 
