Part 6

_Materials._--Linen, cotton, soisette, all or part silk pongee, crêpe de chine, cheese cloth, and unbleached muslin are excellent materials for block printing. Beautiful background tones can be obtained by dyeing the two latter with easy dyes.

In place of the gum wood for the block, basswood, maple, or holly may be used. It is possible to get along without a vise by fastening the block between two cleats nailed to an old table or heavy board. Success is sometimes achieved in cutting blocks while simply held in the hand.

_Laundering._--If the material used for the foundation is washable, block printed articles can be satisfactorily and easily laundered in soapy, lukewarm water. The colours are not injured in the least. A liquid called stencil mordant is sometimes used in place of turpentine, insuring still greater permanency of colour.

_Other Applications of Block Printing._--Other articles suitable for decoration by block printing are curtains, pillow covers, table covers, cushion covers, bureau scarfs, Portieres, table mats, bags of many sorts, etc. Printing may also be used to ornament articles for personal use, such as aprons and scarfs.

STENCILLING

Problem: _Window Draperies_.--Making the design, cutting the stencil, printing, and finishing form the divisions of the problem to be worked out. A list of necessary materials follows:

(1) Making the design Charcoal Pencil Reflector Ordinary drawing paper Tracing paper Carbon paper Stencil paper

(2) Cutting the stencil Sheet of glass Sharp penknife

(3) Printing Large board Blotting paper Turpentine Oil paints Bristle brushes Pins

_The Design._--Suggestions as to the method of procedure in making a design have been already given in the section on block printing. The principles of design to be considered are outlined there also. In working out this problem, however, several new things come up for explanation: (1) The difference between a design to be stenciled and one to be printed by means of a wood block; (2) the method of joining units to form a border; (3) the method of turning a corner in a border design.

_The Stencil Bands._--By studying the illustrations accompanying this section and by experimenting with the charcoal or soft pencil, it will be seen that in a stencil design the dark spots which stand for the color in the finished work are completely separated from one another by bands of varying widths.

These bands, or bridges, as they are called, serve to hold the stencil together and are connected throughout the design. Though they may be as wide as one desires, it is seldom wise to make them much narrower than one eighth of an inch, as they are easily broken; and, unless carefully pinned down when stencilling, the paint is liable to run under them and ruin the work. In a block print design no connection of the light or separation of the dark parts has to be considered. In the illustration of the stencil observe that the dark and light are reversed as compared with the stencilled pattern--_i. e._, the dark represents the stencil paper, the light the openings through which the paint is applied.

_The Complete Unit._--It will be readily understood that a border may be made up by repetition of one unit which is a complete thing in itself. The unit in such a case may be made very long and narrow, so that in repeating it along the vertical edge of a curtain it produces a narrow band, while along the horizontal edge the band is broad. A border worked out in this way, with perfectly straight and practically continuous margins, is very structural in character, emphasizing, as it does, the vertical and horizontal edges of the drapery. The effect is strong and dignified. The corner in this kind of border presents no difficulty.

_The Subordinate Unit._--By studying the illustration in Plate IV it will be seen that the unit of the border in this case is not complete in itself, but that the very conventional flower and stem composing it are joined to the next unit by what might be called a subordinate unit, composed, in this case, of a leaf form. The units are so closely spaced that a structural effect is fairly well obtained--_i. e._, the upper and lower edges of the border are nearly straight, giving a feeling of restfulness to the design that never accompanies one with broken or wavy edges.

_Designing the Corner._--Having planned a design for the straight running border of the curtains, take a reflector and experiment with the corner. The reflector can easily be made by cutting from an old discarded looking-glass a small rectangular piece, 3-1/2 by 6 inches being a convenient size. The edges should be very straight and the corners square. Hold the reflector at various points along the border and always at an angle of 45 degrees. Study these possible corners which will be reflected in the glass, and when one sufficiently strong and interesting is found draw a light line along the edge of the reflector. This line, of course, exactly bisects the corner of the border to be made. Avoid making a border of this kind too deep or, when turned for the vertical edges, it will form a very broad and heavy band.

_The Outline Drawing._--The dark and light design having thus been worked out in charcoal, the next thing to do is to make a very careful pencil-outline drawing of the same. It is well to draw the corner and one unit free-hand and trace the rest. To do the tracing, pin a piece of very thin paper over the finished part, and trace with a well sharpened and fairly soft pencil. Turn the tracing paper upside down, fitting a part of the tracing to the drawing underneath. After tacking it down, trace the remainder, using a firm, even pressure and being careful exactly to follow the line. Strengthen the part of the pattern thus transferred by going over it with a sharp, hard point, and continue as before until you have a border of which both the vertical and horizontal sections are from 9 to 12 inches long.

_Transfer to Stencil Paper._--Now, take a piece of stencil paper and square up one corner. Fasten the pencil drawing securely to the stencil paper along one edge, slip a piece of carbon paper between the two, and trace the design.

_Cutting the Stencil._--Before cutting the stencil for the curtain a beginner should do a little practising upon an extra piece of the paper. Trace a portion of the design upon this piece, lay it upon a sheet of glass or very hard wood, and with a sharp penknife cut along the outline of the pattern. The knife should be held at a slight angle and the cut made completely through the paper. The pieces of stencil paper should never be pulled out but will fall out without aid when the cutting is completed. After a little practice it will be found a simple matter to cut the design with perfectly smooth edges.

_Suitable Materials for Stencilling._--For the curtains fine cheese cloth or batiste will be found excellent. Even unbleached muslin will make attractive curtains where expense must be carefully considered. Unless the woodwork of the room is white, the pure white materials will be found less pleasing than those that are quite creamy in tone. Scrim in a charming, grayish tan colour is obtainable, and, if of good, soft quality, makes most satisfactory curtains. It is not advisable to hemstitch this material before stencilling as in case of accident or failure so much work is lost; but the hems should be carefully planned and basted, those along the inner edges of the curtains being narrower than the bottom hems.

_The Colours._--The color scheme of the room should be carefully considered in deciding upon the colour or colours to be used in stencilling. If two colours are chosen, they should be of the same value--_i. e._, the two colours should form equally dark spots in order that the pattern of the border may appear in the same dark and light as the original charcoal sketch.

_Pinning the Stencil._--When ready for the actual process of stencilling, lay a large sheet of blotting paper upon a board and over this place the corner of the curtain. Pin the stencil securely to the curtain so that the edge of the border when printed shall be about half an inch from the hem and the edges of both shall be absolutely parallel. Use as few pins as possible but enough to keep the stencil close to the cloth.

_Testing the Paint._--Having mixed the oil paint with turpentine or stencil mordant, using an old cup or glass for each colour, practise stencilling upon a small piece of cloth. Put blotting-paper under the cloth and pin the stencil down with great care. Use short, stiff bristle brushes for the stencilling, one for each colour. Remove almost all the paint from the brush by pressing it upon blotting-paper. When it leaves scarcely a mark, proceed to stencil the pattern by pounding the brush upon the exposed portions of the cloth, working close to the edge of each spot. If, upon removing the stencil, the edges are blurred, the paint was too thin or the stencil not carefully pinned down. If, on the other hand, the coloured spots look thick and painty, so that upon drying, the cloth is found stiffened in these places, you may be sure that the paint used was too thick or that the brush was too wet. The secret of good stencilling is to use the paint as thin and the brush as dry as possible. Hold the stencilled sample up to the window and see whether, when the light shines through it, the colour appears right.

_The Real Process._--When confident that the process is understood and that the colour is satisfactory, proceed to stencil the corner of the curtain. Always have at hand a bottle of turpentine and a clean piece of cloth to use in case of accident. When removing the pins from the stencil wipe each one carefully. Clean the stencil, too, handling it with care that none of the slender bridges may be broken. Replace the stencil, fitting a section of it to the finished work. Put the pins in the holes already made, otherwise the paint will get into them and disfigure the work. Continue the stencilling, a section at a time, until the border is completed. Do not fold the curtains until the stencilling is thoroughly dry. If the threads of the material can be easily pulled, a hemstitched edge will make the best finish; but careful hand hemming will look well upon material like fine batiste.

_The Valance._--The curtains should hang in vertical folds from the top of the window to a point slightly below the window sill. They should be drawn back at each side of the window and the space between at the top filled by a valance about a foot deep, perhaps deeper if the window is very high. This valance should have the border stencilled upon it and should be tacked just underneath the edge of the curtains. Sometimes, as in the illustration in Plate IV, a valance running across the entire width of the window is used. In this case it is run upon an extra rod in front of the one from which the curtain hangs. Double rods for this purpose can be bought.

_Other Possible Problems._--As stencilling can be employed in practically the same place and upon the same materials as block printing, it is only necessary to refer to the lists given at the end of that section of this chapter for suggestions as to further possibilities in the way of home decoration by stencilling.

EMBROIDERY

Problem: _Table Mat_.--As in the preceding problems, the first thing to do is to plan the design roughly in charcoal or soft pencil in order to get the dark and light relations and the best proportions possible. If convenient, the mat should be made for use with some special lamp or vase. By measuring the base of this object it is easy to determine the size of the plain central space, which may be either circular or square in shape. The forms in the decorated part may be made of various shapes, but it is well to keep them very simple in outline. Straight lines alone may be employed, as in the mats illustrated in Plate V, or a combination of straight and curved lines, as in the one shown in Plate III. After working out the design very accurately with a hard pencil, the next thing in order is to transfer it to a piece of coarse Russian crash or heavy linen by means of carbon paper, taking great care to get the straight edges of the design even with the threads of the crash.

_Desirable Combinations of Colour and Stitches._--The simple running or darning stitch should be employed in embroidering the pattern. Two or more colours may be used. Darning in dull green and outlining with black in the same stitch makes a very attractive mat. Other good combinations are green and white, blue and white, blue and green, soft dull blue, and pinkish orange. This by no means exhausts the pleasing contrasts that may be found. The brighter colour should always be employed in the smaller quantities. The mat illustrated in Plate V was embroidered in dull green and red mercerized cotton. After the darning was completed it was found that the red used in the small circles alone was too conspicuous, although it was very dull in tone. This defect was completely remedied and a perfect unity given to the design by outlining the forms in a couching stitch, using both colours. This was done by laying a green thread along the edge of each spot and taking a stitch of red over it at equal intervals.

After the embroidered pattern is done one may finish the mat with fine, close hemstitching or by button-holing the edge with ravellings of the crash. The latter method is usually more pleasing. The simple darning stitch can also be used to make very attractive borders for table runners, sofa pillows, decorations for work bags, as illustrated in Plate V, besides being used to enrich a great variety of block printed or stencilled articles.

_The Satin Stitch._--Another effective and easy embroidery stitch to be used in decorating articles for the home is the over-and-over or satin stitch. When planning to use this stitch upon coarse linen in which the threads can be easily counted, transfer the design, after having carefully drawn it in pencil outline, to paper marked off into little squares. This can be bought where kindergarten supplies are sold. Redraw the outline of the design, following exactly the lines on the paper, and at the same time keep as close as possible to the original form. Let a certain number of threads of linen represent a square of the design and copy the pattern in the satin stitch or even the cross stitch if preferred. No transferring of the pattern to the cloth is necessary.

A pattern worked out on cross section paper in this way can also be crocheted, as illustrated in Plate V, and set into linen or some of its many imitations to decorate numberless articles for home or personal adornment. This crocheted work, if evenly done in fine thread, is quite suggestive of the Italian filet lace.

VI

DRESS AND THE PRINCIPLES OF DECORATION

"A foolish little maiden had a foolish little bonnet With a feather and a ribbon and a bit of lace upon it; And that the other maidens of the little town might know it, She thought she'd go to meeting of a Sunday just to show it.

'Hallelujah! hallelujah!' sang the choir above her head. 'Hardly knew you! hardly knew you!' were the words she thought they said."

In considering the dress of the person as related to home decoration one is not so far afield as one may seem to be at first thought. It is true that dress has a variety of functions to perform that have no connection with the subject of decoration; and yet there is much that is common to both. Well-dressed people of whatever age or sex, in the design and general make-up of their costumes, must observe the same laws that govern design wherever it is applied, as an expression of the artistic sense in the affairs of every-day life. Beauty of line and proportion, harmony of colour, adaptation to use and to a great variety of special conditions, simplicity, symmetry, restraint, are all involved in personal attire, as they are in the decoration of a room; and in most cases success or failure in one field has its counterpart in the other. Have we not often remarked of a house or of a room that it looks "just like her" or perhaps "just like him"; and do not attractive costumes give pleasure to others than those who wear them for the same reasons that properly decorated and well-arranged rooms afford similar enjoyment to those who live in them?

_Art and the Fashions._--In discussing the parallel between art in clothing and the more stable art of home decoration it must be admitted, of course, that style in dress introduces some embarrassing questions; for the styles, especially for women, suffer wonderful changes with every season. And yet people of artistic feeling and good taste, succeed in maintaining a fair degree of harmony between the changing demands of fashion and the established principles of art as applied in dress.

_How to Be Well Dressed._--The well-dressed woman knows how to select her clothes and how to wear them. She must study her own figure and know her defects as well as her good points. With this knowledge she can learn to subdue the one and bring out the other. She should have a clear conception of the ideal figure and strive to adapt herself to it. To acquire this training the principles of the art of decoration must be understood and applied. She should never wear a garment of a certain style simply because it is the fashion, but strive to make it conform to her individual type.

_Good Lines._--Decorative design in dress must follow the construction lines of the figure and not destroy them. These are the much discussed good lines of which we hear and read so much. Horizontal lines break the figure and increase the breadth, while vertical lines give the appearance of height. It is the simple lines, conforming to and following the lines of the ideal figure, which are the best. The taste of most women leads them to desire simple clothes; but through ignorance or inexperience many of these women fail to achieve that aim. A stout woman with a round back is sometimes seen wearing a dress with lapels or ruffles over the shoulders. This only serves to accentuate her defect.

_Unity and Harmony._--In all forms of decoration harmony is essential--_i. e._, all the parts that are to be combined must agree with one another and with their surroundings. To secure this in dress is to give unity to the entire costume. A dress hat with plumes should not be worn with a tailored suit in the morning; and yet we often see such a combination. Here the lack of harmony is between the parts of the costume; but the entire costume must be suited to the peculiarities of figure. There are women who never look well in the straight lines of a tailored suit: the severity is not becoming to them. They must tone down the effects of the lines by ruchings, ruffles, a soft stock, or some such softening elements of dress. Others do not look well in fluffy things. Each must know what is becoming and dress accordingly.

_Importance of Colours._--Every season we hear that certain colours are to be worn. Many women will choose a colour because they like it without considering whether it is suitable for them to wear. A little attention to a few well-known facts will help them to avoid failures of this kind. It is generally recognized that light colours seem to increase the size. Striped materials should not be worn by the stout women unless the stripes are very indistinct. Dots are also very dangerous for her; but she may choose a pattern with pin-point dots scattered over the surface at some distance from each other. She is always safe in a plain, dark colour.

_Colour and Complexion._--In deciding on a becoming colour one must take into account the colour of the hair and eyes and the tone of the complexion. It has been thought that young girls can wear clear, light shades and that older women should keep to dark, quiet colours; yet there are older women who wear pale gray, mauve, and lavender charmingly and many young girls who cannot wear blue or pink. It is quite impossible to make accurate colour rules, because it would be hard to find two complexions that require exactly the same colour setting. It is well, however, to study combinations of different colours with the idea of finding the right colour, to use in any costume, the amount of each, and the best arrangement to give a proper balance.

_Proportion._--The importance of the principle of proportion is often overlooked, but beauty of dress is never possible if it be neglected. A well-dressed woman, in selecting her hat, must have given consideration to the relation of the size and shape of the head to the lines of the entire figure. Strictly speaking, a hat is a covering for the head, and it should seem to belong to the head, to protect it, and, through harmony of colour and proportion of line and mass, to improve the appearance of the whole costume. The artist, when drawing a figure, uses the head as the unit of measure. Therefore in choosing a hat one should select a style that is in good proportion to the size of the head and to the height of the figure. If the mass of the head is increased disproportionately by too large a hat, the entire figure is apparently shortened and the natural proportions destroyed. One often wonders why photographs of people with hats on look so old-fashioned and sometimes so ridiculous. It is because the hat is not in good proportion. The Gainsborough and Reynolds ladies with hats never look queer. Their hats bear the right relation to the head and the figure.

_Appropriateness._--The general proportions of a hat or a gown may be good, but the addition of the decoration may destroy all the good effect obtained by securing the right relation of line and mass. The aim of all decoration should be to harmonize and strengthen the whole. Beauty of dress, therefore, depends upon simplicity and appropriateness of the material used as well as upon the form and arrangement of the material. Wherever ornament is used it must fulfil the condition of fitness to place; otherwise it is not really decorative. In trimming a hat, the one who is to wear it should take her seat before a mirror, and place the hat comfortably upon her head; then with the aid of a hand glass she should try the trimming in different positions until the best effect is obtained.

The designs in trimming should be appropriate to the garment. The size of the design and the kind of form used should be considered. Simple forms are the best for all decorative art work. In fact, there is great advantage in plain materials. They always work to greater economy than stripes or plaids.

_Influence of Occupation._--The well-dressed woman should realize how great is the influence of occasion and occupation. Some gowns were intended only for afternoon wear in the house; but we often see them worn on the street cars or for shopping. I have always approved of the rule in many shops which requires the clerks to wear plain black gowns. Formerly it was the old finery which was used for every-day wear. Now the business woman to be successful has to exercise more thought upon her clothes than the woman at home. Her clothes have harder wear and must be appropriate for her work.