El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-12-28
MEXICAN DRAWN WORK.
It's Possibilities and the Difficulty of
Obtaining It.-Trials of a Woman
Who Has to Deal Directly With the
Capricious. Pleasure-Loving Work
ers.

People have not yet learned the pos
sibilities of Mexican drawn work. TheJ
do not know either of the increasing
difficulties in getting it and in get
ting it at so-calIed reasonable prices
For the actual value of the work.
double the prices which have been OBJ
tanned would be reasonable A little
southern woman up town, who may
be called a movable exchange for wo-
mans work, and who makes a special
ty of this drawn work in its hnest
lines, told some interesting things
about it the other day
Much of the work that comes to
this part of the country comes through
a middIeman-whO is a
makes a business of getting the work
from the Mexican women. lives IN
Mexico to look after it, and incident
ally. ii may be said, has her hands
full. The work from the time 1t hrst
became popular has been marvelouslT
cheap in price. The Mexicans Hve
simply, they do the work with ease,
and have been taking what they could
get for it. Now all this is changing.
The fine workers are beginning to I'M
derstand the full value of their Ell
Iorts. They say to the purchaser:
You get good prices for u work
tina you sell. and we expect more
money for it ourselves"
As in other lines of work. the best
workers are not numerous. and to keep
the market supplied with the finest
work it is necessary to pay for it, And
with their growing independence the
Mexican women are becoming o
variable and uncertain to deal with. In
some cases they demand, with the ma
terials given them. half of the money
they are to receive for the completed
work. This is unfair. but h poor
middlewoman is obliged to a the
money demanded of her or the work
will not be undertaken, n she has
the orders of her customers to fill.
Even with the money paid there
is no certainty that the work Will lie
done as promised. The middlewoman,
after waiting a proper length of time
and hearing nothing from the work
ers, makes a trip out of the city to
their homes to see what is the matter.
Sometimes she will find hat not II
stitch has been taken or a single
thread drawn. The MexicanS are a
pleasure-loving. care-free people, and
the money paid for the work has gone
for merrymaking, and not only is the
work not completed. but the worker
may refuse to do it at all. If she does
there is nothing to do but count the
money paid up to profit and loss and
hope for better luc another time. The
good workers must not be offended.
That would be killing the hen which
lays the golden egg.
Materials are usually sent from the
north. n on one occasion a hand
some tablecloth and napkins to match
had been ordered. 1t was to be a val
liable set worked upon heavy damask,
with a special design which was Civ
en- the worker. 1t was a good order,
and when it was delivered to the
worker the supervisor drew a sign OF
relief. But she sighed too soon. WheI.
she went to make her first visit to see
how the work was progressing she
could not find the worker. n never
saw her afterward. She nae vanish
ed with the damask for the work. the
thread, the original design, and all.
and was never seen afterward.
Another year an attempt is to be
made to ~coloniZe the workers, to bring
them all together, build little houses
for them, and there the middlewoman
will live among them and she hopes
to be able to get her work done with
more certainty than at present.
AS for the possibilities of the WORT
the southern woman now in New York
has some variations in materials used
for drawn work which are new, and
they are put to uses. Some of the
pretty things she has in drawn work
are on colored linens. These are the
best linens the market affords. and
which come in the most beautiful art
shades of rose in different tints; |
green's. blues. and drabs, which, when
drawn and the stitches set with
white. are most effective. Luncheon
sets are made of these. and for a rose !
1r- - &c .@ -~l
dolly for each plate, done with this
rose linen as a foundation. Fol d
green luncheon they are green. and
with a pretty pale shade, and the del |
icate tracery of the stitches in white,
they are charming. A table cloth of a
ray or drab with b white is most
effective as a foundation.
Another way in which drawn work
is used is with colored linens for dress
es. These are extremely effective, and
the beautiful shades of the linens
make charming gowns. These cost $13
a gown, with front and backs to the
bodice, collars and cuffs of the drawn
work. and they sell like hot cakes.
Pique is another material which it
has been found has threads that will
draw, and charming or little. go.
draw, and charming little carriage COW
ers for children or little couch covers |
are made of the pique, in pinks, blues,
and delicate shades, with a handsome !
center piece and broad edge of the |
drawn work.
In white, many beautiful things are
to be found. Some of the work is like
a delicate ace on a fine batiste, and
eve finer and more delicate is the
drawn work on pineapple cloth. Thin
white gowns are also made with drawn
work. These cost $55. but are reason
able. considering the material and
work on them. There is a broad