THE WORK TABLE.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3954, 22 March 1884, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE WORK TABLE.

Somebody wants to know how to applique in the easiest manner, and, being applied to, offer my plan : If you wish to cut out velvet leaves for application work, you tack tho vclvot on a table or board, with a pieco of flannel below it, and with a camel's hair brush paint it lightly over with mucilage ; leave it till thoroughly dry; remove tho tacks and cut out what you choose. The object of making the velvet stiff is to prevent it from raveling, as velvet always does. Whon your leaves and flowers are all cut, place them on the material you wish to embellish and put a drop of mucilage here and there to keep them in place. Only a few should bo put on,at a time, and these must bo button-holed on with silk the same color ; when done, place moss loaves and sow on. The object is not to injure the leaves by having too many pasted at ono time, as they would drop off; and spoil from over-hand-■ling. In working at fancy work the hands should be frequently washed, as nothing spoils the luster of silk and velvet as hands which grow warm over their labor. The same rulo applies to cloth applique work. Tho back of the cloth is not gummed, but a spot of gum, placed lightly hero and there, fixes the pattern and makes it easy to work. Some people run the leaves round on tho material with fine cotton, but in pulling out the cotton afterwards you ruflle the work and give it a look as though it had been drugged out of. tho rag-bag. .Aleo in thus; tacking on, there i 3 always a chance of an inferior worker pulling the pattern—that is, making it puff up while the under material is drawn tight—in that case tho under material should bp snipped with the scissors, which will remedy fchP ovjl. But to work

applique work properly it should bo laid on the table before you, and tho hand passed under, holding tho work flat rather than catching it up in the hand, and grasping it as if it were a pudding bag. Somo people work so beautifully that tho object looks as if it had come out of a machine, while othersHeavens ! they turn out their handiwork as if it was a dish cloth.