Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-12-24
Marking Household Linen.

INITIATING is both ornamental and
useful. MonogramS or initials on
household linens should be worked IN me-
dium-weight mercerized cotton. 1t is a
mistake to do the embroidery in too fine
d thread, because this does not necessarily
add to the beauty of the work. When d
very fine fabric is used, such as hand
kerch.ef linen. the cotton mus be me,
but not SO fine as is usually selected Ii
is not a matter of trying 10 hide the
stitches by maklng them tiny; the beauty
of needleWork consis.S rather IN correct
ness than in fneness. Monograns are for
the most part embroidered lnlaId or satin
st tch.
When working, the material should be
stretched, e,tner IN noop or pasted over
stiff paper, so that the stitches can he
placed With perfect uniformity. one VINO
learns to work on d hoop Win poln
nanos, senqIng the neeuie up ana down,
WI DE REPAID py the ease Wn.cn she VIA
acquire. 1t Is .mi>osslDIe to DO soou
work with the covering Stitches uniess
the unuer ming carefully done. IL
Snoulu ue cdIrieu lens IA" .se oi d form
or WITH It's uiIeCtioii. Lay dn equal
quantity OF Colon over the SUl IdNe, and
keep al. Wen within the outline. Inc
overwork, or emofo-dtry proeci, snoulu
be mace to cover the W 4ULil Ol me AelteiS
from side to Slue, enureIy without sidu-
Ing with PEE feet regularity
TableclotnS and napkins should be
maIkeu IN The corn~r, the taDieCiotn Tar
enough IN to have t snow upon the
table Some housewives Ike TINS mark
ing repeated each corner OF the otn.
but a. the real purpose Of letter NJ Is Tor
identifica llon rather than for deco. atioi'
il seems supernuouS to go through th-s
Formally at each point OF tie compass
,l-ir nT1a
per in ais and EN- Drolder over them Ine
most satisfactory and tasting way, now
ever, is to have them stamped ana 10
stuff the lie tiers with cotton before work
ing as there is then no danger OF their
losing shape n the Washing
One of tne most delightful as wen as
simplest methods of marking linen is
with the old-fashioned cross-stitch For
towels this mas a particularly chariniS
and decorative effect. Small books nhed
with quaint figures, such as baskets OF
flowers, roses other formal niue
shapes, come to guide the novice usiils
this stitch Underneath any OF these 1T
tie figures are always worked the initials,
also in the cross-stitch. RABBITS, birds
and other animals are good TO use IN oii-
ferentiating the towels OF each enid IN
a family and are generally source OF
en- ioymi Mt to the children. DARK blue anu
rcd are the ideal colors for durability, as
they are little affected by washing.
If using marking NIX TO put Initials on
linen towels, do your work nrst with an
ordinary lead pencil and then use the
marking ink over this work. The pencil
marks will prevent the ink from spread
inc and giving the linen blotted appear
ance-
A little practice will enable one to do
initialing evenly. and il, together with
hemstilching, will give the everyday
towels that dainty touch which makes a
hit of art and beauty a part of the home
atmosuh.re initiating alone is often SUI
ficient. The proper size for an initial or
crest on a towel is from one TO two
inches.
guest il is a great economy to have very
small towels of huckaback or bird s-eye
of size sufficient for only one using For
these little towels the cross-sttch ietter-
ing is the pretttest.