Page:Embroidery and Fancy Work.djvu/110

106 obtained by painting with mixing yellow or orange yellow, and after firing, painting the yellow over with capucine red. Another brilliant red is obtained by mixing capucine red with carmine, No. 2 preferably, but No. 3 or dark carmine will answer.

The iron colors are reds, flesh reds, red browns, iron violets, browns, brown yellows, ochres, blacks, and most of the grays. I would advise those who can afford it to test their colors on bits of china, making two of each color, and sending one to be fired. You can then compare the fired color with the unfired, and be more sure of the result.

Having now the materials with which to work, the next thing is how to use them. A tile or plate is the best thing on which to begin, as a flat surface is the easiest thing to manage. It is by no means necessary to buy fine china. Common earthen ware plates are just as good to learn on, and much less expensive.

Have on the table, in addition to your brushes, paints, etc., two saucers or small cups with turpentine in each. Pour a few drops of the turpentine on to your plate, and with a rag rub it perfectly clean. You can now draw the design with a tolerably hard lead pencil, or you can transfer it by means of tracing and transfer paper, as directed for transferring embroidery designs (p. ). To guard against any slipping of the traced design, fasten it where necessary to the plate with mucilage or bits of wax, but leaving the edges sufficiently free to admit of slipping the transfer paper underneath. It is best to make your first attempt in monochrome, that is, in a single color, shaded with itself. A spray of woodbine or Virginia creeper is an excellent design to begin with. Having transferred the design, you can render your pattern quite safe by going over it with a fine tracer in India ink or a little water-color carmine. This is not necessary, but it may save you trouble if you should make mistakes in