Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-01-04
STAMPING FOR EMBROIDERY,
A Curious Art Which a Young Woman
Explained to a Star Reporter.

"Perhaps it would interest you to see how
we do our marking for embroidery" said the
young woman in charge of fancy work shop
on 14th street to STAR reporter. ".Stamp-
ing it is called in the trade. Here, you see. is
piece of tough, white, semi-transparent
paper; it is known as bond paper though why
don't know. When it is desired to transfer
the outlines of certain pattern to a piece Of
silk, say for subsequent embroidery, the opera
tor overlays the pattern-it may be in a book
with sheet Of this bond paper and traces the
lines through on the bond paper with an
ordinary pencil Then she takes the sheet of
bond paper with the tracing on it and places
it on this little table. which has a small
arm, as you observe, like that of a sewing
machine, with a needle in the end. When she
sits down and works the treadle with her foot
the needle goes up and down rapidly, making
line OF holes in the paper, just as u sewing
machine would. The operator guides the paper
beneath the needle, SO that the holes made fol-
low the lines OF the pattern tracing, and when
she is through the pattern appears as if drawn
in lines of needle holes on the paper Now the
task is as good as done; for all you have to do
to transfer the lines required to the silk -
other material on which you want the pattern
stamped is to lay the perforated bond paper
over the silk and pass little roll Of felt dipped
powder goes through the needle holes and
when you lift the paper, there is the pattern
printed distinctly on the silk or linen, or what
ever it may be. don't know what the powder
Is made Of; it is a composition manufactured
especially for this purpose"
WHENCE THE PATTERNS COME.
"Where do you get your patterns from?"
asked THE STAR writer.
Chiefly from people who make a business
of executing designs for this very purpose ex-
clusively. There are many such pattern
makers in New York. Boston, Philadelphia,
Chicago, Baltimore and other big cities MANY
OF our patterns. however, We get up ourselves.
Some we find in books, or, if a wall paper
strikes US as pretty, we trace off the design on
the spot and adapt it. There are six of US
women here in the shop, constantly at work
stamping and embroidering, and we send out
great deal OF work besides to be done for us.
Those whom we employ in this way are mostly
gentlewomen in reduced circumstances, who
are glad to get the labor. Our customers are
largely very rich people, who buy the en-
broideries we produce; the poorer ones bring
their materials to be stamped and do their own
embroidering. Nevertheless, there is more
profit in the stamping work than in actual en-
broidery, because, with the patterns at hand,
the stamping can be done almost in a moment.
From our collection of patterns We are ready
to stamp anything that may be ordered Off
or what you will"
EMBROIDERY THE RAGE.
Embroidery seems to be very fashionable
at present."
''More 30 than it has ever been before.
Nowadays it is the thing to have everything in
the household embroidered, from doylies to
bedspreads. Some of the things in this way
that rich people buy are made costly as pos
sible. We made two bedspreads the other day
for the wife of q Washington millionaire the
price of which was $50 apiece. They were
embroidered with the best floss silk upon the
finest silk boiling cloth-the stuff used in -four
mills for sitting. Boiling cloth, you know, is
q sleezy-looking material, but really 80 strong
that 1t can hardly be torn, save one way; it
was backed with silk. The embroidery repre-
sented roses and apple blossoms. Some Of the
most beautiful work we do is called 'embroid-
cry painting 1t is executed il efully shaded
silks, so as to give the blush tints on the peach
or the hues of any other fruit or flower.
Another branch Of our work 10 the doing up Of
embroideries executed by customers. II ID
quite an art and requires great care"
Perhaps the nearest pronunciation OF Mpwap-
va can be obtained BY getting real dude TO
pronounce 'improper."-Tnr Ha1ie Express.
1t il very strange that among those who set
he s<,R