Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-07-15
MAKING PILLOW TOPS
PLEASING SUGGESTIONS FOR
PORCH WORK
Written for The Star.

Written for The Star.
Ask the pretty girls and dignihed ma
irons embroidering on porches under
shade trees what they doing. and 80
per cent will answer promptly: "A pillow
top OF the making of pillow and cush-
ion tops, there is literally no end. Design
ers and manufacturers lie awake nights
thinking up dainty contraptons for at
tracing the eye and the cash of fair en-
broiderers.
For washable covers, linen, scrim and
heavy plain linen are the most popular
foundations. The scrim is covered with
designs in either Russian cross-stitch or
the new darnng effects which copy the de-
signs shown in flet lace. These are con-
ventionalized flowers and leaves, built on
angular lines. wonderful dragons, impossi-
bic human figures and even proverbs and
wise sayings done in stiff stitchery. For
finishing these pillows come strips of plain
or figured serim, four and half yards in
length, already hemmed and prepared for a
draw string.
This scrim comes in both pure white and
a yellowish natural linen color. For the
darning, opalescent or old world colorngs
are employed The opalescent colors
the blues, pinks and greens seen in opals
or mother-of-pearl, and are even more deli
cate than the pastel shades. The old world
tintS the faded effects to be seen only
in old tapestries
The old-fashioned coronation braid a six
teenth of an inch in width, now reappears
in black and various colors for outlining
the opalescent or old world stitchery. and
a revival in finishing trimmings is the wide
cotton or linen gimp or braid, finished with
short, stubby fringe.
The new appliqued pillows are beautiful
studies of softly tinted linen and pastel or
opalescent shades A stunning example
was a square cover of natural toned linen,
appliqued with four lotus blooms in opales-
cent pink and blue. stitched down with
heavy hand embroidery in self-tone floss.
The stems are of green embroidery, and the
blooms, instead of standing out stifiy in
each corner follow chase each other
around the pillow. bending gracefullysto
lit into each angle. The cord which fin
ished this pillow showed the natural linen
tone as well as the colors employed in the
flowers.
Yellow and White.
A stunning effect in white and yellow
showed pure white linen in arabesque de-
sign, appIiqued with white mercerized floss
on a pale yellow ground White cord and
four huge tassels Of the white finished this
pillow top. fr
In thinner materials ilet lace effects on
coarse scrim or fine net are combined with
English eyelet work. Sometimes on sheer
handkerchief linen the stitchery Is done in
blocks or squares, and the cover Is built
from alternate blocks, one showing the
delicate English work and its neighbor dis
playing the holder design of the Italian or
French darned work.
Girls who can do the fine satin stitch
commonly called convent embroidery are
making covers for the small individual
pillows on which their fair heads rest
most hygienically at night. These pillows
are sometimes no more than a foot long
and eight inches wide, just enough to
suggest that the head Is raised, and the
IN fr.da ari1 III -. IRA
ogram Is often embroidered, medallion
fashion. in the center with exquisite fes-
toons OF tiny flowers about it, while the |
rufiies are scalloped and finished with |
plain stftchery, or a tiny flower Is en-
broidered In each scallop. For the layette |
tiny pillows are also supplied. in oblong, |
round OF heart shape, with Dresden pat |
terms in allwhite embroidery and the in
evitab1e scalloped ruff1es for finishing |
founce of Valenciennes lace.
The extravaganza of the moment in pill |
low tops is the satin foundation. covered |
with Louis effects. A notable example |
shows square of palest pearl-white |
satin of the richest quality, on which are |
painted five miniatures. quaint eighteenth |
frame of tiny gold spangles. One minia-
ture. trife larger than the others. occu-
pies the center, with the other four mid
way between the center and the corners
Between these are festoons of roses and I
wee blue flowers. done in tape ribbon en-
broidery. The finish is a ruching of tea
green rlDDOn so mick and SOFT and fluffy |
as to suggest moss. 1t is studded with !
roses made from pink satin ribbon.
Stitches and Ribbon.
Another sample of this work shows
cream-white satin embroidered with tape
ribbon and fine stitchery The centerpiece
Is a quaint basket with squat handle
overlooking with roses. all in the ribbon
work. surrounded by festoons of flowers
and finished with the ribbon ruching de-
scribed above.
Wonderful designs are shown in Jap
anese pillow tops. and these require a
rare eye for color combinations, the black,
ish drabs, peculiar to the oriental en-
broidery. It Is very slow. painstaking |
work and Is less suited to piazza and cot
tage sewing than the holder and more
dashy stitchery.
For the summer girl come the inevi-
table stamped patterns designed to re-
call pleasant vacation days. fetching
study in greens and browns shows hem
lock cones and spines. with the legend
Where the hemlocks murmur." This can
be done In simple outline stitch or che |
soft shades of green and white. showing
q canoe carrying two young people down
the tide This carries a line from the song
which scl. Miss Edna ma May has made famous.
linen suits can work them into pillow
tops to appear later In the boudoir. The
pastel shades-pink. blue, green. laven-
der and yellow-combine beautifully with
all-white linen or duck, and only button
hole stitches or simple embroidery eff
fects are needed for applying the color on
the white. Conventional designs can be
cut from paper and then from the linen,
and no stamping Is required. These pill
lows are finished with scallops, bound
with braid to match the applied design,
and instead OF being sewed or buttoned
on they are laced with ribbons to match
the binding of the scalIops. A wee eyslet
Is worked at the point where the scallops
meet In both the under and the upper
cover OF the pillow, and No. ribbon or
wider II run through the eyelets, being
Anished with q bow on each corner.