ith a coarse twisted silk. Upon the background, the lines
of stitching usually run straight across or up and down, in the pattern,
they radiate according to the shape of the form to be filled. The entire
material is covered one way or another by the running stitches, and
just one thread of the ground fabric is picked up where necessary at
irregular intervals; a loosely woven linen is often chosen for working
upon, one in which it is easy to pick up the single thread. Gradation of
colour can easily be introduced; the design chosen is most frequently
some kind of conventional flower and leafy scroll. This method of
embroidery is seen to best advantage when used upon large surfaces.

The second kind is called pattern darning; in it the stitches are picked
up in some regular order, so that they form various geometrical patterns
over the surface. It is worked by counting the threads of the fine linen
ground and picking up a single thread or more in some regular sequence.
The threads are run in parallel lines close together, either
horizontally or vertically, so as to take advantage of the web of the
fabric. The work is particularly pretty and not difficult, requiring
only patience and good eyesight. Fig. 105 gives some simple examples of
the work--The first is a chevron pattern, formed by picking up one
thread and leaving about five each time; each succeeding row moves a
step forward or backward as required to carry out the pattern. In the
second example the darning is taken two ways of the material; in the
centre, where it meets and crosses, it entirely covers the ground. A
different colour might be used for each direction, which would look very
well at the crossing in the centre. The four corners are filled up with
a chequer darn; this each time picks up as much material as it leaves.
The third example shows the darning stitch forming a diamond pattern.
Samplers, dated early XIXth century, may be seen entirely filled with
these pattern darns; they are covered with most intricate and beautiful
sample squares showing various patterns in darning, and were possibly
done in order to learn how to repair damask table linen. In a collection
of early Egyptian work in the Victoria and Albert Museum, there is some
pattern darning, dated VIth to IXth century, A.D., which proves it to be
a very early method of embroidering.

[Illustration: Fig. 105.]

[Illustration: Fig. 106.]

This pattern darning, however, is so pretty that it is