but a broken one towards the
centre of the petal, being alternately long and short. These edging
stitches resemble satin stitch in so far that the same amount of
crewel or silk appears on the under, as on the upper side of the work:
they must slope towards the narrow part of the petal.

The next stitches are somewhat like an irregular "stem," inasmuch as
they are longer on the surface than on the under side, and are worked
in between the uneven lengths of the edging stitches so as to blend
with them. The petal is then filled up by other stitches, which start
from the centre, and are carried between those already worked.

When the petal is finished, the rows of stitches should be so merged
in each other that they cannot be distinguished, and when shading is
used, the colours should appear to melt into each other.

In serrated leaves, such as hawthorn or virginia creeper, the edging
stitches follow the broken outline of the leaf instead of forming an
even outer edge.

It is necessary to master thoroughly this most important stitch, but
practice only can make the worker perfect.

The work should always be started by running the thread a little way
in front of the embroidery. Knots should never be used except in rare
cases, when it is impossible to avoid them. The thread should always
be finished off on the surface of the work, never at the back, where
there should be no needless waste of material. No untidy ends or knots
should ever appear there; in fact, the wrong side should be quite as
neat as the right. It is a mistake to suppose that pasting will ever
do away with the evil effects of careless work, or will steady
embroidery which has been commenced with knots, and finished with
loose ends at the back.

The stitches vary constantly according to their application, and good
embroiderers differ in their manner of using them: some preferring to
carry the thread back towards the centre of the petal, on the surface
of the work, so as to avoid waste of material; others making their
stitches as in satin stitch--the same on both sides, but these details
may be left to the intelligence and taste of the worker, who should
never be afraid of trying experiments, or working out new ideas.

Nor should she ever fear to unpick her work; for only by experiment
can she succeed in finding the best combinations, and, one little
piece ill done, will be sufficient to spoil her whole embroidery, as
no touching-up can afterwards improv