MAKE A CRETONNE PICTURE

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, Issue 18552, 26 April 1930, Page 10 (Supplement)

MAKE A CRETONNE PICTURE

A SUGGESTION OF A GAY PANEL FOR YOUR HOME. Needlework wallhangings and pictures are distinctly a fashion just now —and aren’t they delightful? The only trouble is that entirely embroidered pictures—and even applique ones, as they are so large—mean a great deal of work. If your hours fly by all too fast for the things you have to squeeze in, try making yourself a cretonne wallhanging like the one shown here. As you’ll see, it gives all the beauty of the most expert embroidery, yet can be made in an hour or two. Gay Garden Scenes. The secret is to choose a colourful cretonne design, outline it here and there to accentuate its charm, and frame it in a harmonising material. Go to a shop stocking a wide range of cretonnes and printed linens, and choose one in which a definite design or picture is printed in a panel. A garden scene, showing a sundial in a gay herbaceous border, would make a very suitable picture. Twelve to fifteen inches square is a useful size. Pick out one of the main colours in your cretonne and match it in an inexpensive linen for the frame. You’ll need a piece six inches larger each way than the cretonne picture. Let Embroidery Help. First bring out the full beauty of the picture with touches of embroidery, using only the simplest stitches and by outlining the petals and working French knot stamens. You must be guided by the needs of your particular design, but it's better to under-do rather than over-do the embroidery. An Eastern design, such as Japanese figures or a willow-pat-tern effect, looks more Oriental if touched up with a couching of fine gold thread. To frame the picture, lay it exactly In the entre of the linen. Fold over the extra width all round half-inch over the raw edges of the cretonne, turning in the edges of the linen narrowly once. Tack the frame down all round, right through to the back, being careful to keep both picture and frame perfectly flat and without wrinkles. An Effective Mount. Machine the frame down to the cretonne. Over the stitching, work a broad line of black feather-stitching. Under the feather-stitching thread a narrow white tape, and you* have a most effective “mount’ for your picture. Fasten it to the wall with drawing pins. These are easily removed whenever the hanging needs laundering—for, thank goodness, it’s eminently washable!