Quilting is a method of working by which three materials are fixed together by more or less all-over stitching. It probably developed through the necessity of keeping the three layers in place. For practical purposes only, the sewing machine does the work excellently, but by making the stitching follow out some prearranged design, it is raised to the level of art. Plate III. is an interesting example showing what can be done in the way of design with the stitching over the surface. Embroidery may be added to the quilting, and this is often an improvement. The Eastern nations carry out marvellously intricate designs in quilting, and English XVIIIth century work of this kind shows Eastern influence strongly. A good example of this is a very interesting piece in the Victoria and Albert Museum.[5]

The first aim in quilting was evidently warmth, and the name denotes one of the chief uses to which it is put. It is made use of also for curtains, infants' caps or gloves (see fig. 100), all these things requiring the three layers for warmth. The materials usually consist of a surface one, which can be silk, fine linen or anything else; an interlining of some softer material having a certain amount of spring in it, such as flannel, cotton wadding, or wool; and for the third, an underneath lining of some kind. A cord is sometimes inserted instead of the inner layer of stuff, the lines of stitching running along either side to keep it in place. Occasionally there are only the top and the under layer, with no intervening material. The stitch usually employed is a running, back, or chain stitch, and it can be of the colour of the surface, or a contrast to it. Gold silk is often seen upon a white linen ground. The chief interest in the work lies in the choice of pattern, such things as colour, variety of stitching, interest in material, are not made much of. In planning the pattern, use is made of the knowledge that the closely stitched parts will lie more flatly, so it frequently happens that the ground has a small diaper running over it, and the pattern part, being less worked upon, perhaps only outlined, stands out more and forms an effective contrast.

RAISED WORK

In the XIVth century raised work was commonly done, but few examples are known of date earlier than this. The raised effect is obtained by an interposed layer of padding, which is a good method of getting a certain kind of effect. It is perhaps wise to err on the side of too little rather than too much relief. An example of too much and also of a wrong kind is the English stump work that was popular in the XVIIth century, when figures were stuffed like dolls, the clothes made separately and attached, even to the shoes and stockings. Germain de St. Aubin, writing in 1769, describes with much admiration a kind of broderie en ronde bosse, apparently much the same thing and in equally doubtful taste, though the skill required to carry it out must have been considerable.

The work, usually done in a frame, must be well carried out technically; the padding should be quite perfect in the form required before the final surface layer is worked over it, for this one will not make any deficiency right, but will only serve to show it up the more. Another point to be careful about is to make the padding stop well within the traced line of the pattern, otherwise the finished design will turn out much larger than was originally intended. The outline is sometimes worked round at the commencement, whereby its correctness is ensured.

Many different materials are brought into use for padding purposes. One of the simplest and most durable is a running of thread as illustrated in fig. 101. The thread can be arranged so as to be thicker in the centre than at the edges by laying some extra stitches over that part. If a quite flat padding is required, the shape, cut out in cloth, felt, or parchment, is attached by stitches to the material as shown in fig. 102; the surface stitching would be taken across it. Cardboard, sometimes pasted on to the ground, is used for this purpose, but it is unsatisfactory in several ways; for instance, cardboard letters are procurable for embroidering initials upon linen, but they are not at all practical for anything that goes through the wash; moreover, the letters are sometimes of bad design. Cotton wool is used as a stuffing, its surface being usually covered over with muslin, but this again would not stand much wear of any kind, and so could only be used under certain conditions.

Another good method is to couch down a hank of threads of fine cotton or perhaps wool as illustrated in fig. 103. For raised lines there is a special kind of string procurable that can be couched to the ground material at the required places. The padding, whatever it may be composed of, should be as nearly as possible of the same colour as the surface layer, in view of any after wear and tear misplacing the threads.

The top layer of underlay must lie in direction contrary to the surface embroidery stitching, which is very often some form of satin stitch taken from side to side over the padding. Instead of going through the material it can be fixed on each side with a couching stitch, as in fig. 104. A stronger way than these would be that shown in fig. 129. Buttonhole is a good stitch for working over a padding; it would be worked solidly in the manner described and illustrated on page 117, but taken, as there shown, over a padding instead of over a flat surface.

DARNING

There is a most practical sound about darning; it can, however, be made good use of in embroidery as well as in plain needlework. There are two rather different kinds in use; in both the stitch is a running one and done in much the same way that a thin place would be darned in mending.

One kind of darning is rather popular at the present moment, and examples of it may be familiar; it is a large, bold kind of work, often carried out with a coarse twisted silk. Upon the background, the lines of stitching usually run straight across or up and down, in the pattern, they radiate according to the shape of the form to be filled. The entire material is covered one way or another by the running stitches, and just one thread of the ground fabric is picked up where necessary at irregular intervals; a loosely woven linen is often chosen for working upon, one in which it is easy to pick up the single thread. Gradation of colour can easily be introduced; the design chosen is most frequently some kind of conventional flower and leafy scroll. This method of embroidery is seen to best advantage when used upon large surfaces.

The second kind is called pattern darning; in it the stitches are picked up in some regular order, so that they form various geometrical patterns over the surface. It is worked by counting the threads of the fine linen ground and picking up a single thread or more in some regular sequence. The threads are run in parallel lines close together, either horizontally or vertically, so as to take advantage of the web of the fabric. The work is particularly pretty and not difficult, requiring only patience and good eyesight. Fig. 105 gives some simple examples of the work—The first is a chevron pattern, formed by picking up one thread and leaving about five each time; each succeeding row moves a step forward or backward as required to carry out the pattern. In the second example the darning is taken two ways of the material; in the centre, where it meets and crosses, it entirely covers the ground. A different colour might be used for each direction, which would look very well at the crossing in the centre. The four corners are filled up with a chequer darn; this each time picks up as much material as it leaves. The third example shows the darning stitch forming a diamond pattern. Samplers, dated early XIXth century, may be seen entirely filled with these pattern darns; they are covered with most intricate and beautiful sample squares showing various patterns in darning, and were possibly done in order to learn how to repair damask table linen. In a collection of early Egyptian work in the Victoria and Albert Museum, there is some pattern darning, dated VIth to IXth century, A.D., which proves it to be a very early method of embroidering.

This pattern darning, however, is so pretty that it is often possible to make use of it in embroidery work for all kinds of purposes. It makes a very good background if there is sufficient space to show the pattern, if there is not, the irregular darning might be used instead, for it would in that case be just as good and much quicker to work. To pattern-darn the ground with the ornament upon it left in the plain material, perhaps not worked upon at all, is a very effective method of carrying out a design, see fig. 106 for example. Again it might very well be used for the conventional carrying out of draperies in the same way as in point couchÉ rentrÉ ou retirÉ.[6] The draperies on the figure in the frontispiece could easily be carried out with silk thread in the darning stitch, in fact this method of decoration more closely resembles the early couching than any other; it is not quite as satisfactory because the single threads of the background that are picked up prevent the ground showing nothing but silk. Bands of this work may be seen ornamenting needle books or work cases; it shows to best advantage when worked finely with floss or filosel silk, the coarse twisted silks are too thick for the purpose.

OPEN WORK FILLINGS

Patterns can be carried out in line, they can be worked quite solidly, and there is a method that lies between these two known as open filling. The open and solid fillings are often used together in the same piece of work; examples of this can be seen on the XVIIth century wool-work curtains, the large scrolling leaves are sometimes partly worked openly and a portion, possibly reflexed, filled in with solid stitches in gradating colour; see for an example Plate VIII. This has a very good effect, it prevents the work looking too heavy, shows up the form more clearly, and allows of more variety in the stitching. With open fillings the outline surrounding them must always be some firm decided line, such as is made by a band of satin or long and short stitch, or, in the case of larger forms, by several rows of different line stitches worked closely together, one inside the other, most likely in different shades of colour. A filling of open work can be carried out in a variety of ways; it may be a decorated trellis, a regular dotting of some kind, or some geometrical pattern in outline, or some light stitch such as an open buttonhole (see fig. 107), which would be treated each as a diapering over the form to be filled. It does not much matter what the filling is as long as it is dispersed pretty regularly over the space, giving the effect at a little distance of a light pervading tone, and when examined closely exhibiting an interesting small pattern. The open filling method can be used entirely throughout a design with very pretty effect; an example of this may be seen on an embroidered coverlet and pillow case in the Victoria and Albert Museum.[7] The pattern, composed of vine leaves and grapes, is carried out in dark brown silk on a linen ground, the leaves being all outlined with satin stitch. There is wonderful variety in the patterns, no two alike, which form the open fillings of the leaves; this makes them most interesting to examine, and is evidence of enthusiasm in their designing. Fig. 108, a leaf taken from this specimen, shows one method of filling a form with open work.[8] Fig. 109 shows a collection of patterns taken from the same piece of embroidery. It will be observed that small stitches of the same length compose the pattern, which can be designed upon squared paper and easily copied on to the linen ground by always picking up the same number of threads. To look well these little forms must be accurately worked, and they or similar kinds can be used upon flowers, leaves, beasts, draperies, or anything else quite indiscriminately. Fig. 110, from a cap in the Victoria and Albert Museum, is a drawing showing the same kind of open filling in use upon a bird.[9]

A quicker way of carrying out these geometrical fillings is by using such forms as a lattice and throwing the lines from side to side across the shape to be filled, fixing them down, where they cross each other, with couching stitches; the interstices left between the threads can be filled in with little stars, crosses, or dots (see fig. 111). Buttonhole stitch, if made use of as an open filling, would be taken in lines straight across a form, the stitches being worked possibly two or three closely together and then a space, and so on.

Fig. 112 suggests another method of lightly filling a leaf with a conventional veining and dotting. There is no limit to the variety which can be obtained in this method of working.

Open fillings are effective for use upon any work that is intended to be seen with a light at the back; they make very decorative the various forms they fill, in such things as muslin window blinds, curtains, fire screens, whether hand screens or the larger type. For articles of this kind the patterns should be rather more solid and less lined in character; fig. 113, taken from a window blind exhibited in the Victoria and Albert Museum, exemplifies what is meant; most of the patterns illustrated in fig. 100 could be treated in a more solid manner if necessary, and would look equally well that way. When working upon transparent grounds special care must be taken with the reverse side as well as with the surface, for the work to be practically alike upon both sides; there must be no threads running from one form to another nor any visible fastening off of ends.

Darned netting, or lacis, as it is sometimes called, might almost come under the heading of either lace or embroidery. It is used effectively with other kinds of white linen work, bands or squares of it being let into the linen; the contrast of the solid with the more open work gives a pretty effect. Fig. 114 is an example of this work. The darning is done on a plain netted ground which can be prepared by the worker if acquainted with netting, if not, the squares can be obtained ready for working upon. The pattern must be designed upon squared paper as for cross stitch work, then it is simply a question of following out the pattern upon the square net ground. Every square of the patterned part must be crossed in each direction by two lines of darning, which should about fill it up. The various lines are run in and out as continuously as possible, so as to avoid unnecessary fastening off or passing from one part to another. When a fresh thread is required, join it with a knot to the end of the last one (see figs. 165 and 166), and darn the ends in neatly with the other threads. These knots are often used in embroidery, for they are both strong and small. Detached stitches and parts must be worked by themselves; the thread should not be carried from one to the other. The work must be done in a frame and carried out with a blunt-pointed needle. The same thread is used for the netted ground and for the darned pattern. A method of work that the French call dessein rÉservÉ is, in result, rather similar to this, but it is worked in just the reverse way. The pattern, whatever it may be, is left in the plain linen, and the background has certain threads in each direction withdrawn at regular intervals, whereby the effect of the squared net ground is obtained.