Etching on linen is a branch of decorative art which seems peculiarly
adapted for amateurs, as they can finish the work entirely themselves.
The designs are to be found in every illustrated book, and the materials
for the work are so inexpensive that those who feel the divine gift
throbbing in their fingers, and yet are shut out from painting on china,
or glass staining, can prove their talent by quaint or beautiful pictures
drawn on plain household fabrics such as table-cloth, doylies and chair
covers. There is a peculiar charm, too, just in this very matter of
making the daily household linen suggestive, by quaint mottoes and
artistic outlines, of comment and inquiry, among those who gather
around the table, and anyone can find subjects for etching by merely
adopting the illustrations from children's books.
What could be more appropriate, for instance, for tea doylies than the
designs in illustrated "Mother Goose" of Jack Horner, Little Miss
Muffat, or the renowned boy who wouldn't eat his supper, and so grew
beautifully less ? Kate Greenway's designs and Miss Emmett's are
charming, or any of the dainty childish figures scattered through Wide-
Awake and St. Nicholas.
Etching is also admirably adapted for tidies, splash mats and pillow
shams. Linen tidies should have a framing of drawn work around the
etching, and outside of that the linen fringed. Screens, made with
movable linen panels, can be etched with numerous small designs, or
each panel having a large picture.
Two misunderstandings as to this pretty art have misled amateurs.
The first is that the materials used admit of very imperfect results, so
that mere outlines have been attempted ; the other is that the beginner
has attempted a good deal, but finding her ink treacherous, has become
discouraged and given up in despair.
MARKING AND TRANSFERRING.
Wash out any dressing that may be in the fabric, and iron smoothly
before applying the preparation.
Smooth the place, after the preparation is dry, with an iron only warm
or moderately hot.
64 ETCHING.
Shake the ink before beginning, and occasionally while at work.
Use a clean pen, and keep it clean.
Just before beginning or resuming work, always rest a warm iron
on the place, to insure its being perfectly dry when the ink is applied.
Working in the morning is advisable, that the design may be sunned
enough to fix the ink before night. Dampness will not mar the work
after it has six hours' sunning ; but, until then, protect the design from
all dampness in a close, dry or warm place till it can be again exposed
to the sunlight.
The depth of color (if the above directions have been followed)
depends wholly upon the time the work is exposed to the sun before
washing. If a jet black is wanted, several days' sunning will secure it.
A costly etching should have three days' sun-bath in summer and a
week in winter. The result will afford ample compensation for care in
this direction.
Wash out the preparation in two or three changes of clear, cold water,
one design at a time, in an earthern bowl.
Remember, in shading, that the sun will deepen your shadows.
After you have completed your drawing, remove the original pencil
marks, so as to be sure every line is complete in ink.
Page 56
Presented as published in 1886. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Etching on linen is a branch of decorative art which seems peculiarly adapted for amateurs, as they can finish the work entirely themselves. The designs are to be found in every illustrated book, and the materials for the work are so inexpensive that those who feel the divine gift throbbing in their fingers, and yet are shut out from painting on china, or glass staining, can prove their talent by quaint or beautiful pictures drawn on plain household fabrics such as table-cloth, doylies and chair covers. There is a peculiar charm, too, just in this very matter of making the daily household linen suggestive, by quaint mottoes and artistic outlines, of comment and inquiry, among those who gather around the table, and anyone can find subjects for etching by merely adopting the illustrations from children's books.
What could be more appropriate, for instance, for tea doylies than the designs in illustrated "Mother Goose" of Jack Horner, Little Miss Muffet, or the renowned boy who wouldn't eat his supper, and so grew beautifully less ? Kate Greenway's designs and Miss Emmett's are charming, or any of the dainty childish figures scattered through Wide- Awake and St. Nicholas.
Etching is also admirably adapted for tidies, splash mats and pillow shams. Linen tidies should have a framing of drawn work around the etching, and outside of that the linen fringed. Screens, made with movable linen panels, can be etched with numerous small designs, or each panel having a large picture.
Two misunderstandings as to this pretty art have misled amateurs. The first is that the materials used admit of very imperfect results, so that mere outlines have been attempted ; the other is that the beginner has attempted a good deal, but finding her ink treacherous, has become discouraged and given up in despair.
MARKING AND TRANSFERRING.
Wash out any dressing that may be in the fabric, and iron smoothly before applying the preparation.
Smooth the place, after the preparation is dry, with an iron only warm or moderately hot.
64 ETCHING.
Shake the ink before beginning, and occasionally while at work.
Use a clean pen, and keep it clean.
Just before beginning or resuming work, always rest a warm iron on the place, to insure its being perfectly dry when the ink is applied.
Working in the morning is advisable, that the design may be sunned enough to fix the ink before night. Dampness will not mar the work after it has six hours' sunning ; but, until then, protect the design from all dampness in a close, dry or warm place till it can be again exposed to the sunlight.
The depth of color (if the above directions have been followed) depends wholly upon the time the work is exposed to the sun before washing. If a jet black is wanted, several days' sunning will secure it. A costly etching should have three days' sun-bath in summer and a week in winter. The result will afford ample compensation for care in this direction.
Wash out the preparation in two or three changes of clear, cold water, one design at a time, in an earthern bowl.
Remember, in shading, that the sun will deepen your shadows. After you have completed your drawing, remove the original pencil marks, so as to be sure every line is complete in ink.