Page:Embroidery and Fancy Work.djvu/183



This work, like netting, dates very far back, and many old and beautiful specimens are to be found in different public museums. Extremely fine work, resembling Honiton sprays on a net foundation, has been done in this style, but the work is too intricate and involves too much strain on the eyes, to find favor now-a-days. Very beautiful effects can, however, be produced, without unduly straining eyes or patience. It is always best to begin on coarse material, as the stitches are much more easily mastered, than with fine linen. Crash, Java canvass, and various grades of linen are used for this work. It is ornamental enough alone, but it is often associated with outline, Holbein, or Russian embroidery. Colored or golden silk and crewels are also used instead of thread and often with very good effect. Some very fine work of this description is done in Mexico, and it is sometimes called Mexican work. Another name for it is "Punta Tirata."

Hem-stitching is the simplest form of this branch of fancy work. In olden times most children were taught to hem-stitch as part of the systematic training in needle-work then considered necessary, but for the benefit of those who have not learned, I give the following directions, repeating the advice to begin 179