The things we do!

The three other fingers of the
left hand hold the work; the thumb remains free to give the right
position to each stitch. The work must always, if possible, lie so that
the outline of the pattern is turned towards the person who works. For
the sake of greater clearness one part of the following illustrations is
given in larger size than nature. Preparing the patterns is one of the
most important things in embroidery, for the shape of the patterns is
often spoiled merely because they have not been prepared with sufficient
care.

[Illustration: 66.--Scallop.]
ILLUSTRATION 66 shows how to prepare a scallop. Take thicker cotton than
that with which you work; never commence with a knot, and do not take a
thread longer than sixteen or eighteen inches. The outlines of the
scallops are first traced with short straight stitches. In the corners
particularly the stitches must be short. The space between the outlines
is filled with chain stitches, as can be seen from illustration; they
must not be too long, otherwise the embroidery will look coarse.


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