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GUIPURE D'ART

INSTRUCTIONS AND PATTERNS IN GUIPURE D'ART

Ancient Guipure was a lace made of thin vellum, covered with gold, silver, or silk thread, and the word Guipure derives its name from the silk when thus twisted round vellum being called by that name. In process of time the use of vellum was discontinued, and a cotton material replaced it. Guipure lace was called intelle à cartisane in England in the sixteenth century. Various modern laces are called Guipure, but the word is misapplied, since Guipure lace is that kind only where one thread is twisted round another thread or another substance, as in the ancient Guipure d'Art.

In every design where lace can be introduced, Guipure d'Art will be found useful. It looks particularly well when mounted upon quilted silk or satin. The squares, when worked finely, look well as toilet-cushions, or, if worked in coarser thread, make admirable couvrettes, and as covers for eider-down silk quilts are very elegant. Guipure squares should be connected by guipure lace, crochet, or tatting, or they may be [p 504] edged with narrow guipure lace and joined at the corners only when placed over coloured silk or satin; thus arranged, a sofa-cushion appears in alternate squares of plain and lace-covered silk; a ruche of ribbon and fall of lace to correspond completes this pretty mounting.

Not one of the least important attractions of Guipure d'Art is the speed with which it is worked, and the ease with which fresh patterns are designed by skilful workers.

GUIPURE D'ART is an imitation of the celebrated ancient Guipure Lace, and is worked in raised and intersected patterns upon a square network of linen thread, Mecklenburg thread of various sizes being used for this purpose. The needles employed are blunt, and have large eyes, to admit the linen thread.

Materials required: One frame of wire covered with silk ribbon; one square of Mecklenburg thread net (fillet), either coarse or fine; Mecklenburg thread; netting-needles and meshes of various sizes.

The netted foundation, or "fillet," upon which this elegant work is embroidered, can be made by ladies very easily, and at much less cost than when bought ready made.

The square is worked by netting with coarse No. 2 or fine No.10 thread over a mesh measuring three-quarters of an inch or more, in rows backwards and forwards. Begin with 2 stitches, and increase 1 at the end of every row till you have one more stitch than is required for the number of holes. Thus, if a square of 26 holes is required, continue to increase up to 27 stitches, then decrease 1 at the end of every row till 2 stitches only remain. The last 2 stitches are knotted together without forming a fresh stitch.

The completed foundation is laced upon the frame, taking the lacing cotton through the double edge formed by the increased and decreased [p 505] stitches. If the four corners of the netting are tied at each corner of the frame before beginning the lacing, that operation is greatly facilitated. The netting should be laced as tightly as possible, it being far easier to darn on than when loose.

Ladies who wish to excel in working guipure d'art should practise each of the stitches until they attain perfect regularity and quickness in their execution. Two or three hours devoted to this in the first instance will not be time wasted, as the most elaborate pattern will be worked with ease as soon as the stitches are mastered.

The Mecklenburg thread of Messrs. Walter Evans and Co., of Derby, will be found a better colour than any other, as it closely resembles the shade of the ancient guipure lace.

It is sold only in spools of 200 yards each, and the numbers run as follow; No. 2, 4, 6, 8, lo, 12, 16, 20; No. 2 being the coarsest, and No. 20 the finest.

The principal stitches used in guipure d'art are POINT D'ESPRIT, POINT DE TOILE, POINT DE FESTON, POINT DE REPRISE, POINT DE BRUXELLES, and WHEELS and STARS. POINT D'ESPRIT is worked with finer cotton than the foundation, say No. 10 on a foundation of No. 6. It consists of a succession of small loops, as will be seen clearly in the illustration. The learner should begin from the mark * No. 503, and working a row of loops the length required, turn the frame and work loops on the opposite half of each square intersecting the first worked loops in the centre of each intervening bar of netting. A careful examination of Nos. 503 and 506 will explain this more clearly than is possible in words.

POINT DE TOILE, or LINEN STITCH, is plain darning under and over each thread; this forms a fine close groundwork, and is much used in guipure [p 507] d'art. Care should be taken to keep the same number of stitches in each square, both along and across; the number of threads shown in illustration No. 504 is 4 only, but 6 and even 8 are used in many netted foundations in fine patterns.

POINT DE FESTON is worked by a series of overcast stitches, as seen by illustration 506, which clearly shows the manner of working. The frame is turned at each stitch, the stitches are taken across the squares, and increase in length at the top of the square.

POINT DE REPRISE, or DARNING, is worked by stretching 2 or 3 threads over 1, or 2, or more squares. The thread is darned over and under, and the needle used to arrange the last stitch while passing through to form the next. This stitch is very easily acquired. It is always worked with coarser thread than the foundation; No. 2 thread should be employed for a coarse groundwork. No. 510 shows this stitch used to form stars, figures, &c.

POINT DE BRUXELLES, as shown on pages 506 and 507, is a kind of loose button-hole stitch, and is used for forming various patterns and for filling up squares. It also forms "leaves," when the number of stitches is decreased each row until the leaf finishes off in a point. Nos. 509 and 510 clearly show this stitch.

WHEELS are easy to work, and are begun in the centre. Four threads are taken across, as shown in design No. 511; the thread is twisted in bringing it back to the centre, and the wheel formed by passing the thread under and over the netting and the crossing threads. It is fastened off on the back of the several wheels.

Wheel No. 513 is a square wheel, and is worked in the same manner, with the addition of point d'esprit loops, through which, and under and over the cross-twisted threads, 4 or 5 rows of thread are passed.

STARS are of various form, as shown in Nos. 516, 517, 518, 519, and 520.

No. 516 is worked in point de feston (see page 507) round a single square hole, which is filled in by a small wheel or rosette.

No. 517 is worked in point de feston and point de Bruxelles, [512] alternately round a centre simply crossed by point d'esprit threads.

No. 518 is more elaborate, and is worked thus:--Begin at the place marked a; twist the linen thread 3 times round the nearest thread, draw it on to the knot b; repeat this 3 times, following the order of the letters; twist the linen thread also between the threads, as can be [p 513] seen from the illustration, and fasten it underneath the knot a; for the wheel fasten on the cotton afresh and work the remaining pattern in darning stitch (point de reprise).

No. 520 consists of a double cross formed by twisted loops of linen thread. Copy these loops exactly from illustration 520.

One part of the straight cross lies underneath, then comes the slanting cross, and lastly, the other part of the straight cross.

In the centre the loops of linen thread are fastened with two rounds of stitches. (See illustration 520).

OVERCAST STITCH is worked like embroidery overcast, and forms the stems of the flowers and leaves of guipure d'art; it is worked over one or two coarse threads. It is employed in No. 530, and forms the triangles in the centre of the middle squares.