Page:Embroidery and Fancy Work.djvu/196

192 its écru color. It is also much cheaper. It is bought by the skein, varying in weight according to the size.

Before beginning work, a cushion or desk must be provided. Very convenient patent desks can be bought for two or three dollars. A home-made cushion or desk, however, will do equally well. If a cushion is used, it should be very firmly stuffed, as it is impossible to do work nicely on anything but a hard cushion. It should be about fifteen inches long, four inches high, and five inches wide. Some put a piece of lead or some sand at the bottom of the cushion, but I have never found any difficulty in working with a cushion made in the ordinary way. The cushion can either be covered with some bright color as turkey red, or with ticking, the stripes of which should run lengthwise of the cushion. A second piece of stuff can be sewed to the bottom of the cushion on three sides, thus forming a pocket in which the extra strands of cord can be kept.

Fig. 83.

Some prefer working on a desk or board. Such a board should be of the same size as the top of the cushion just described. Cover it with several layers of wadding and over this stretch tightly a cover of stout muslin. A ticking or colored outside cover may then be put on.

Besides the cushion you will need a number of large pins. They should be about two inches long.

Fig. 83 shows the stitches or knots with which the different patterns are formed. At the extreme left the manner of putting on the working threads is shown