humb, put your needle through the stitch now in process of making from
right to left, draw up the thread, and the first two links of your chain
are made.

[Sidenote: TO WORK E.]

A zigzag chain, of a rather fancy description, goes by the name of
Vandyke chain (E on the sampler, Illustration 17). To make it, bring
your needle out at a point which is to be the left edge of your work,
and make a slanting chain-stitch from left to right; then, putting your
needle into that, make another slanting stitch, this time from right to
left--and so to and fro to the end.

[Sidenote: TO WORK F.]

The braid-stitch shown at F on the sampler (Illustration 17) is worked
as follows, horizontally from right to left. Bring your needle out at a
point which is to be the lower edge of your work, throw your thread
round to the left, and, keeping it all the time loosely under your
thumb, put your needle under the thread and twist it once round to the
right. Then, at the upper edge of your work, put in the needle and slide
the thread towards the right, bring the needle out exactly below where
you put it in, carry your thread under the needle towards the left, draw
the thread tight, and your first stitch is done.

[Illustration: THE WORKING OF F ON CHAIN-STITCH SAMPLER.]

[Sidenote: TO WORK G.]

A yet more fanciful variety of braid-stitch (G on the sampler,
Illustration 17) is worked vertically, downwards. Having, as before, put
your needle under the thread and twisted it once round, put it in at a
point which is to be the left edge of your work, and, instead of
bringing it out immediately below that point, slant it to the right,
bringing it out on that edge of the work, and finish your stitch as in
the case of F.

These braid-stitches look best worked in stout thread of close texture.

In covering a surface with chain-stitch (needlework or tambour) the
usual plan is to follow the contour of the design, working chain within
chain until the leaf or whatever it may be is filled in. This stitch is
rarely worked in lines across the forms, but it has been effectively
used in that way, following always the lines of the warp and weft of the
stuff. Even in that case the successive lines of stitching should be all
in one direction--not running backwards and forwards--or it will result
in a sort of pattern of braided lines. The reason for the more usual
practice of following the outline of the design is obvious. The stitch
lends itself to sweepin