MONOGRAMS ON SHEETS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21763, 31 March 1934, Page 20

MONOGRAMS ON SHEETS

DECORATIVE EFFECT Every woman lovey a well-stocked linen chest, and the ftirl who is filling her glory-box may be justly proud of her collection if she buys good material and embroiders her collection by hand. IVJonogrammed linen is very smart and here are some ideas for sheets. It does not matter how* much of an amateur you are, you can carry them out and have them finished long before you have had time to get tired of the work, and there is nothing to wear out, as in the case of hemstitching. You first fold tbj} hem over on to the right side and then stamp "the design an inch from the raw edge. The pointed and scalloped designs require a wider hem than flat ones; roughly speaking, about 4in. or Sin. should be turned over, lin. of which projects below the design. Mark the design in pencil, using a rider for straight lines and a plate or large compass for circular ones, and be careful to make the design exactly fit the width of the sheet. Monograms are enclosed or not as the fancy dictates. Use a firm, strong but not too thick embroidery thread, and place the stitches on the scalloping close together so that they will stand upright. Of course, the work looks bettor if a little "padding" is employed. This can easily be done by running three or four rows of big running stitches (long stitches on top, with small ones underneath) along the design before actually doing the scalloping. Exercise great care in cutting away the spare inch of hem, and do this right up to the edge of the embroidery. Thiß must be done very close to the stitching, but at the same time if the scissors slip a thread may be cut or a hole made in the sheet itself. The only way to be sure of doing this perfectly is by never allowing yourself to be tempted into withdrawing your scissors. If you pull them in and out and make detached snips you will get an ugly, uneven edge, but if you cut with the hinge part of the scissors—embroidery scissors, of course—keeping the points well cocked up in the air all the time and turning with the hinge, you will find that you sail along quite safely. The monograms need not be enclosed, but generally they look better so. Be careful to make the outline .in keeping with the hem design. The monograms should be carried out in padded satin stitch.