Page:Embroidery and Fancy Work.djvu/28

24 goods. Instead of beginning the second stitch inside the point of the first, both threads of the first are pushed a little aside, and the needle is inserted about halfway up the first stitch, thus securing a rope-like effect. It should be worked with double crewel or tapestry wool. It is also very effective worked on gold-faced felt, in double silk, and both chain stitch and twisted chain are useful for edging appliquéd patterns. DARNED WORK. In combination with outline stitch, the darned work so popular in Queen Anne's time has been revived, and is remarkably effective. The stitch is, as its name implies, the one used in darning cloth or stockings, only that it is made purposely irregular, being quite long on the right side and very short on the wrong side. It is used not only for backgrounds but also for filling in boldly outlined designs. Says a writer in the Art Interchange: 

"Judiciously used, it is capable of producing almost iridescent effects, and adding greatly to the richness of the embroidered work. Done in heavy filoselles — and linen takes these admirably — in two shades of one color, in two colors, or else in a shade lighter or darker than the fabric, it will produce several color effects. The colors may be introduced irregularly or alternately, by stitches of varying length. A combination of dull green or dull gold filoselles, will produce three, if not four color effects, according to the ground, and the light in which the work is shown; in one light there will be a shading of dull green, in another a touch of old gold, in a third a glimmer of bronze green. When deeper, fuller coloring is employed—for instance, in rich antique blues, and old bronze—the changing sheen of peacock's feathers will be seen. In two shades of gray silk, silvery and steel effects are attainable; in dull pinks and ambers,