Home Arts and Crafts

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21763, 31 March 1934, Page 6 (Supplement)

Home Arts and Crafts

Cross-sitch is more popular than ever this year, and may be utilised to make a variety of charming tilings. Beautiful tapestry pictures for wall-panels fire-scheens, footstools and chair-seats are now very much in vogue,a nd some lovely examples of this ancient form of needlecraft have been shown at recent exhibitions. But even for those who are less ambitious or less skilled in the art there are now many opportunities for making attractive and effective articles.

A useful work-bag may be made by covering a circle of cardboard for the bottom, and then covering a long strip of cardboard or stiff canvas about 4in. wide with a cross-stitch design worked in gay wools on the canvas. Sew the covered' cardboard strip to tbe bottom piece, first joining the ends together, and then right at the top edge of the strip sew a piece of strong silk to harmonise with the colour scheme and

THE CHARM OF CROSS-STITCH

draw up with a draw-string like a hatlining. A smart belt can be made in a bold chequered design—a belt is always welcome. Incidentally, if you choose to do a fashionable Roman striped belt you can use up all your odd scraps of wool.

Children would adore the bedroom slippers. So, too, would any grown-up who appreciates a dainty gift. The net or canvas used is a fine one, and works out at eleven stitches to the inch. It costs one shilling and sixpence a yard and a yard goes a long way.

Pour-ply wools, either in ounces or in penny skeins, are used—and blunttipped needles. It is well to buy the ground colour by the ounce, being so much cheaper this way. In the diagram is a very simple little design which is worked, as, indeed, the whole thing is worked, in half crossstitch. Work this first. Then fill up with the ground colour until you are within six rows of both edges. A diamond edging may be worked as follows: —Row 1: 8 sitches in A colour, * 1 stitch in B and 8 in A. Repeat from * to end of row. Row 2: 6 stitches in A, * stitches in 13, and 6 in A. Repeat from * to end. Row 3: Repeat Row 1. Fill up to edge with ground colour.