Roger Thompson Finlay - "The Wonder Island Boys: Exploring the Island"

Omar Al Raschid Bey - "Das hohe Ziel der Erkenntnis"

Angela Brazil - "For the Sake of the School"

George Borrow - "Lavengro"

Annual Bibliography of Commonwealth Literature 2007
This paper argues that discourses of love in Ghanaian market literature for youth offer a view into complex negotiations of agency and empowerment. Drawing on Deborah Durham's notion of youth as "social `shifters'" and Francis Nyamnjoh's conception of the "interconnectedness" of agency, I take Ghanaian market literature as one specific case of how African literature for youth foregrounds questions of continuity and change as African societies enter into increasingly complex global relations. In this literature for youth, received notions of love, often constructed out of impressions from American pop and hip hop music, carry new notions of agency that compete with existing "domesticated" forms. Authors like Ike Tandoh and Evelyn Tay employ discourses of love to offer youth alternative avenues for empowerment in a context of socio-economic disenfranchizement. In a creative process of "straddling", this writing both reveals and reproduces the contradictions that obtain in youth configurations of agency.

Encyclopedia of Needlework

T >> Therese de Dillmont >> Encyclopedia of Needlework




[Illustration: FIG 38. FIXING WHALE-BONES.]

HERRING-BONING (fig. 39).--This stitch is chiefly used for seams in
flannel, and for overcasting dress-seams, and takes the place of
hemming, for fastening down the raw edges of a seam that has been run or
stitched, without turning them in. Herring-boning is done from left to
right, and forms two rows of stitches. Insert the needle from right to
left, and make a stitch first above, and then below the edge, the
threads crossing each other diagonally, as shewn in fig. 39.

[Illustration: FIG. 39. HERRING-BONING]

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Our readers should be provided with a French metre, with the English
yard marked on the back for purposes of comparison.

[A] See at the end of the concluding chapter, the table of numbers and
sizes and the list of colours of the D.M.C threads and cottons.





[Illustration: SPECIMENS OF PATTERN DARNS.]




Mending.


The mending of wearing-apparel and house-linen, though often an
ungrateful task, is yet a very necessary one, to which every female hand
ought to be carefully trained. How best to disguise and repair the wear
and tear of use or accident is quite as valuable an art, as that of
making new things.

Under the head of mending, we include the strengthening and replacing of
the worn and broken threads of a fabric, and fitting in of new stuff in
the place of that which is torn or damaged. The former is called
darning, the latter, patching.

DARNING.--When only a few of the warp or woof threads are torn or
missing, a darn will repair the mischief, provided the surrounding parts
be sound. When the damage is more extensive, the piece must be cut out.

In some cases the warp of the stuff itself can be used for darning,
otherwise thread as much like the stuff as possible should be chosen.

MATERIALS SUITABLE FOR MENDING.--Coton a repriser D.M.C is used for
most kinds of darning. It can be had in 18 different sizes, from Nos. 8
to 100, white and unbleached, and in all the colours of the D.M.C
colour-card in Nos. 12, 25 and 50.

It is but very slightly twisted and can be split or used double, if
necessary, according to the material. For all the coarser articles of
house-linen, unbleached cotton is the best, and for the finer white
fabrics, Coton surfin D.M.C Nos. 110, 120 and 150[A]. This cotton, which
is not the least twisted, and is to be had both white and unbleached,
can be used, by subdividing it, for darning the finest cambric.

VARIETIES OF DARNING.--These are four, (1) Linen darning, (2) Damask
darning, (3) Satin or Twill darning, and (4) Invisible darning, called
also, Fine-drawing.

(1) LINEN DARNING (figs. 40 and 41).--All darns should be made on the
wrong side of the stuff, excepting fig. 54, which it is sometimes better
to make on the right side. The longitudinal running, to form the warp,
must be made first. The thread must not be drawn tightly in running your
stitches backwards and forwards, and be careful to leave loops at each
turning, to allow for the shrinking of the thread in the washing,
without its pulling the darn together.

[Illustration: FIG. 40. LINEN DARNING. DRAWING IN THE WARP THREADS.]

[Illustration: FIG. 41. LINEN DARNING. DRAWING IN THE WOOF THREADS.]

Run your needle in, about one c/m. above the damaged part, take up one
or two threads of the stuff and miss the same number, working straight
to a thread; on reaching the hole, carry your cotton straight across it,
take up alternate threads beyond, and proceed as before. Continue the
rows backwards and forwards, taking up in each row, the threads left in
the preceding one. Turn the work round and do the same for the woof;
alternately taking up and leaving the warp threads, where the cotton
crosses the hole. The threads must lie so alone both ways, that the
darn, when completed, replaces the original web. The threads are only
drawn so far apart in the illustrations, for the sake of clearness.

When the material to be darned does not admit of a fleecy thread, such
as Coton a repriser D.M.C, one that as nearly as possible matches the
material, should be chosen from the D.M.C cottons.[A]

DIAGONAL LINEN DARNING (fig. 42).--Darns are sometimes begun from the
corner, so as to form a diagonal web, but they are then much more
visible than when they are worked straight to a thread, and therefore
not advisable.

[Illustration: FIG. 42. DIAGONAL LINEN DARNING.]

(2) SATIN OR TWILL DARNING (fig. 43).--By twill darning, the damaged
web of any twilled or diagonal material can be restored. It would be
impossible to enumerate all the varieties of twilled stuffs, but the
illustrations and accompanying directions will enable the worker to
imitate them all.

[Illustration: FIG. 43. SATIN OR TWILL DARNING.]

Begin, as in ordinary darning by running in the warp threads, then take
up one thread, and miss three. In every succeeding row, advance one
thread in the same direction. Or, miss one thread of the stuff and take
up two, and as before, advance, one thread in the same direction, every
succeeding row. The order in which threads should be missed and taken
up, must depend on the web which the darn is intended to imitate.

When the original is a coloured stuff, it is advisable to make a
specimen darn first, on a larger scale, so that you may be more sure of
obtaining a correct copy of the original web.

(3) DAMASK DARNING (figs. 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49).--A damask darn is
begun in the same way as all other darns are; the pattern is formed by
the cross-runnings and will vary with the number of warp threads taken
up and missed, in each successive running. The woven design which you
are to copy with your needle must therefore be carefully examined first.

Figs. 44 and 45 show the wrong and right sides of a damask darn, in
process of being made.

[Illustration: FIG. 44. DAMASK DARNING. WRONG SIDE.]

[Illustration: FIG. 45. DAMASK DARNING. RIGHT SIDE.]

Fig. 46 represents a completed one. In the case of coloured webs, a
light shade of cotton is generally used for the warp, one that matches
the stuff, for the shot or woof.

[Illustration: FIG. 46. DAMASK DARNING. COVERED GROUND.]

Figs. 47 and 48, illustrate two specimens of darning, formerly done in
the convents, from which it will be seen, that the warp and the woof
were first drawn in with rather fine thread and the pattern then worked
into this foundation with coarser, or else, coloured thread. When this
kind of darn is in two colours, take, for the darker shade, Coton a
broder D.M.C, or Coton a repriser D.M.C, which are both of them to be
had in all the bright and faded shades, to match alike both old and new
linen.

[Illustration: FIG. 47. DAMASK DARNING ON NEEDLE-MADE GROUND.]

[Illustration: FIG. 48. DAMASK DARNING ON NEEDLE-MADE GROUND.]

Fig. 49, which is executed in two colours, and is likewise copied from
an old work on darning, shows you the manner in which a dice-pattern is
to be reproduced.

[Illustration: FIG. 49. DAMASK DARNING WITH COLOURED THREAD.]

(4) DARNING, LOST IN THE GROUND (fig. 50).--A kind of darn used for
repairing rents, the edges of which fit exactly into one another.
Neither the torn threads of the material nor the rough edges must be cut
off; the torn part is to be tacked upon a piece of oil-cloth, wrong side
uppermost, and the edges, drawn together by a thread, run in backwards,
and forwards, across them. The stitches must be set as closely together
as possible, and regularly inverted, as in every other darn. A much
finer thread relatively than that of which the material is composed
should, in all cases be used for darning. In this instance also, for the
sake of greater distinctness, the size of the thread has been magnified
in the illustration. Coton surfin D.M.C, will be found the best for
darning both calico and linen.

[Illustration: FIG. 50. DARNING LOST IN THE GROUND.]

FINE DRAWING (fig. 51).--The art of making invisible darns in cloth,
though such a useful one, is all but unknown. It is a tedious process
and one which, though easy enough to understand, requires great care in
the execution.

[Illustration: FIG. 51. FINE DRAWING.]

Use as fine a needle as possible and thread it with hair, instead of
silk, or any other kind of fibre. Red and white hair is the strongest,
and stronger than the ravellings of the stuff. Of course the hair has
first to be carefully cleansed from grease. Pare the edges of the rent,
on the right sides, quite clean and even, with a razor, so that both
rent and stitches may be lost in the hairy surface of the cloth.
Scissors do not cut so closely, and are liable moreover, to disturb the
nap, and render the darn more visible. When this is done, fit the edges
exactly together, and overcast them. Then thread a needle with a hair by
the root, and slip it in, 2 or 3 m/m. from the one edge and back again
pointed towards you, through the other, so that, neither needle nor
hair, are visible on either side. The stitches should be set slightly
slanting and must be quite lost in the thickness of the cloth. The
needle must always be put in, exactly at the place where it came out,
and the hair not be too tightly drawn.

When the darn is finished, lay the article on a bare table, or
ironing-board, cover it with a damp cloth, and iron it. The sharpest eye
will fail to detect a rent, when carefully darned in this manner.

PATCHING.--As we have already said, when the defective part is past
darning, it must be cut out, and a new piece of stuff inserted in its
place. If the garment be no longer new, it should be patched with a
slighter material than that of which it was originally made. The patch
should be of the same shape, and cut the same way of the stuff, as the
piece it is to replace, it should also be, just so much larger, as to
allow for the turnings in, and can either be top-sewn, or else, run and
felled in.

BACK-STITCHING AND FELLING IN A PATCH (fig. 52).--Tack in the new
piece, so that its edges over-lap the edges of the hole. The
back-stitching must be done on the article itself, as this renders it
easier to do the corners neatly. The hem is turned down on to the patch.
Make a little snip at the corners with your scissors to prevent
puckering. The back-stitching should form a right angle at each corner.

[Illustration: FIG. 52. BACK-STITCHING AND FELLING IN A PATCH.]

TOP-SEWING IN A PATCH (fig. 53).--To do this, the edges of the hole
and of the patch, must first be turned in, and either overcast or
hemmed, to prevent their fraying, after which, sew the two edges
together. The raw edges may also be turned in with herring-boning as in
fig. 39, putting the needle, only through one layer of stuff.

[Illustration: FIG. 53. TOP-SEWING IN A PATCH.]

DRAWING IN A PATCH (fig. 54).--Take a square piece of the original
stuff, 5 or 6 c/m. larger each way, than the hole it is to fill, draw
out threads on all the four sides, till the piece exactly matches the
hole, and tack it into its place. Thread a very fine needle with the two
ends of a thread of silk or Fil d'Alsace D.M.C No. 700, run it in at the
corner of the stuff, and draw it out, leaving a loop behind. Into this
loop, slip the first of the threads, which as it were, form a fringe to
the patch, and tighten the loop round it, and so on with each thread,
alternately taking up and leaving threads in the stuff, as in ordinary
darning.

[Illustration: FIG. 54. DRAWING IN A PATCH.]

To put a patch into a thin material, in this manner, you must darn in
the threads, a good long way, into the material, in order that the
double layer of threads may be less visible.

FOOTNOTES:

[A] See at the end of the concluding chapter, the table of numbers and
sizes and the list of colours of the D.M.C threads and cottons.




[Illustration: STRIPE OF CUT OPEN-WORK ON WHITE LINEN.]




Single and cut Open-work.


The above heading comprises every sort of needle-work, to which the
drawing out of threads is a preliminary. By sewing over the single
threads that remain, and drawing them together in different ways, an
infinite variety of patterns can be produced. Many pretty combinations
also, can be made of open-work, cross-stitch, and other kinds of
embroidery.

MATERIALS SUITABLE FOR OPEN-WORK.--For all the coarser stuffs, such as
Holbein-linen, Java and linen-canvas and the like, now in such favour
for the imitation of old needlework, it will be best to use: Fil a
pointer D.M.C, No. 30[A] and Cordonnet 6 fils D.M.C, Nos. 10 to 20,[A]
and for the finer stuffs, such as antique-linen and linen-gauze;
Cordonnet 6 fils D.M.C Nos. 50 to 150,[A] Fil d'Alsace D.M.C, Nos. 20 to
100, and Fil a dentelle D.M.C, Nos. 25 to 80.

Coloured patterns can also be executed in open-work, with Coton a broder
D.M.C Nos. 16 to 35, and Coton a repriser D.M.C, Nos. 25 to 50[A].

THE TWO DIFFERENT KINDS OF OPEN-WORK.--The one is called, single
open-work, the Italian Punto tirato, in which the first step is to draw
out one layer of threads; the other, cut open-work, the Italian Punto
tagliato, for which, both the warp, and the woof threads, have to be
drawn out.

SINGLE OPEN-WORK (PUNTO TIRATO).--This, in its simplest form, is the
ornamental latticed hem, in common use where something rather more
decorative than an ordinary hem (fig. 8) is required, and consists in
drawing out one layer of threads, either the warp or the woof.

SINGLE HEM-STITCH (fig. 55).--Draw out, according to the coarseness of
the stuff, two or four threads, below the edge of the turning, and tack
your hem down to the line thus drawn. Fasten your thread in to the left,
and work your hem from right to left, taking up three or four
cross-threads at a time, and inserting your needle, immediately above,
into the folded hem, three or four threads from the edge, and then
drawing it out.

[Illustration: FIG. 55. SINGLE HEM-STITCH.]

The same stitch is used for preventing the fringes, that serve as a
finish to so many articles of house-linen, from ravelling.

SECOND HEM-STITCH (fig. 56).--Prepare your hem as for fig. 55, and
work from left to right; with this difference, that after drawing two or
three cross-threads together, from right to left, you skip the same
number of perpendicular threads you took up below, and insert your
needle downwards from above, bringing it out at the bottom edge of the
hem.

[Illustration: FIG. 56. SECOND HEM-STITCH.]

These stitches, which can be used for the right side also, form a kind
of little tress, along the edge of the hem.

LADDER STITCH HEM (fig. 57). Complete the hem, as already directed in
fig. 55, then draw out three or five threads more, turn the work round,
and repeat the process, taking up the same clusters of threads which
you took up in the first row of stitches, thus forming little
perpendicular bars.

[Illustration: FIG. 57. LADDER STITCH HEM.]

DOUBLE HEM-STITCH (fig. 58). Begin as in fig. 55, forming your
clusters of an even number of threads; and then, in making your second
row of stitches, draw half the threads of one cluster, and half of the
next together, thereby making them slant, first one way and then the
other.

[Illustration: FIG. 58. DOUBLE HEM-STITCH.]

ANTIQUE HEM-STITCH (figs 59, 60, 61 and 62). In the old, elaborate,
linen needlework, we often meet two kinds of hem-stitching seldom found
in modern books on needle-work. Figs. 59 to 62 are magnified
representations of the same. At the necessary depth for forming a narrow
hem, a thread is drawn, in the case of very fine textures where the edge
is rolled, not laid; then fasten in the working thread at the left, and
work the stitches from left to right. Passing your needle, from right to
left, under three or four threads, draw the thread round the cluster and
carry your needle on, through as many threads of the upper layer of
stuff, as you took up below, so that the stitch may always emerge from
the middle of the cluster.

[Illustration: FIG. 59. ANTIQUE HEM-STITCH. WRONG SIDE.]

[Illustration: FIG. 60. ANTIQUE HEM-STITCH. RIGHT SIDE.]

ANTIQUE HEM-STITCH (figs. 61 and 62).--These show, the right and
wrong sides of the hem; here the rolled hem is prepared as above, but
the stitches are worked from right to left, and the thread is carried
round the little roll, so that, as shown in fig. 62, it is visible on
both sides of the hem. The needle does not enter the stuff, but is
carried back at once, from the outside, and put in again between two
clusters of threads.

[Illustration: FIG. 61.--ANTIQUE HEM-STITCH. WRONG SIDE.]

[Illustration: FIG. 62.--ANTIQUE HEM-STITCH. RIGHT SIDE.]

SLANTING HEM-STITCH (figs. 63 and 64).--Bring out your needle and
thread, two or three threads above the edge of the turning, between the
first and second of the three cross-threads that compose the cluster,
and then slip it under the cluster, from right to left. The loop must
lie in front of the needle. When you have drawn up the stitch, put the
needle in, one thread further on, and take up two threads. Fig. 64 shows
the stitch on the right side.

[Illustration: FIG. 63. SLANTING HEM-STITCH. WRONG SIDE.]

[Illustration: FIG. 64. SLANTING HEM-STITCH. RIGHT SIDE.]

DOUBLE-ROWED ORNAMENTAL SEAM (figs. 65, 66, 67).--Begin with any one
of the hems already described, then counting as many threads downwards,
as are clustered together in the first row, draw out a second thread,
and cluster the perpendicular threads in this second line together, as
shown in figs. 65 and 66. On the right side the stitch is straight (fig.
67). Coloured cottons should be used for all the above patterns of
hem-stitch, when they are to be introduced into coloured embroideries.

[Illustration: FIG. 65. DOUBLE-ROWED ORNAMENTAL SEAM. WRONG SIDE.]

[Illustration: FIG. 66. DOUBLE-ROWED ORNAMENTAL SEAM. WRONG SIDE.]

[Illustration: FIG. 67. DOUBLE-ROWED ORNAMENTAL SEAM. RIGHT SIDE.]

SINGLE THREE-ROWED OPEN-WORK (fig. 68).--This, and the following
patterns, are suitable for the headings of hems, and for connecting
stripes of embroidery, and are also often used instead of lace, and lace
insertion.

Fig. 68 will be found specially useful, in cases where the object is, to
produce a good deal of effect, at the cost of as little labour as
possible. Make six rows of hem-stitching, as in fig. 55; the first and
sixth rows to serve as a finish, above and below.

[Illustration: FIG. 68. SINGLE THREE-ROWED OPEN-WORK.]

The second and third, after drawing out six threads, the third and
fourth after drawing out eight. The clusters must all consist of an even
number of threads. The upper and the lower band of open-work is to be
copied from fig. 58, the centre one, from fig. 57. Divide the threads of
the perpendicular clusters in two; insert the needle, from left to
right, underneath half the second cluster, turn the needle's eye, by a
second movement, from left to right, and take up the second part of the
first cluster, drawing it under, and at the same time, in front of the
first half of the second cluster. Be careful not to draw your thread too
tightly.

OPEN-WORK WITH TWO THREADS DRAWN THROUGH (fig. 69).--One such wide
lane of open-work, between two finishing rows of stitches, may have two
threads drawn through it.

[Illustration: FIG. 69. OPEN-WORK WITH TWO THREADS DRAWN THROUGH.]

OPEN-WORK WITH THREE THREADS DRAWN THROUGH (fig. 70). Overcast both
edges with single stitches; draw the clusters together in the middle, as
in fig. 68; then above and below the middle thread, draw in first one
thread and then a second, straight above it, securing the latter with
back-stitches to enclose the clusters between two threads.

[Illustration: FIG. 70. OPEN-WORK WITH THREE THREADS DRAWN THROUGH.]

CLUSTERED OPEN-WORK (fig. 71).--Draw out from sixteen to eighteen
threads, between two hem-stitched edges. Fasten your thread in, 3 m/m.
above the seam-edge, and wind it three times round every two clusters,
passing the needle, the third time, under the two first rounds, to
fasten the thread. The thread, thus drawn through, must be left rather
slack. A second row of stitches, similar to the first, and at the same
distance from the bottom edge, completes this pattern. To give it
greater strength, you may if you like, work back over the first thread,
with a second, taking care to pass it under the knot, which was formed
by the first.

[Illustration: FIG. 71. CLUSTERED OPEN-WORK.]

DOUBLE-ROWED CLUSTER-OPEN-WORK (fig. 72).--A very good effect can be
obtained by making the above stitch in such a manner, as to form groups
of three clusters each, between hem-stitched bands of the stuff.

[Illustration: FIG. 72. DOUBLE-ROWED CLUSTER-OPEN-WORK.]

TURKISH CLUSTER OPEN-WORK (fig. 73).--After portioning off, and sewing
up the clusters on one side, draw out twelve or fourteen threads, and
make your connecting-stitch and hem, all in one, as follows: bring out
the thread before the cluster, and pass it round it, then from right to
left, over three horizontal and under four perpendicular threads, again
from left to right, over the four threads just passed over, and out at
the second cluster; laying it over this, you bring it out behind the
first cluster, wind it round the middle of them both, and pass it
through, between the over-casting stitches back to the hem; encircle the
second cluster with a loop-stitch, and carry your thread again over
three horizontal and four perpendicular threads, and upwards, slanting
underneath the stuff, out in front of the next cluster.

[Illustration: FIG. 73. TURKISH CLUSTER OPEN-WORK.]

OPEN-WORK WITH DARNING STITCH (fig. 74).--Draw out from eight to
twelve threads, according to the quality of the stuff. Insert your
needle and thread between two clusters, and pass it, as if you were
darning, backwards and forwards over them, until they are encased half
way down with stitches. In so doing, work with the eye of the needle
forward, and the point towards your thimble. To pass to the next
cluster, take one stitch back, under the one just darned, and bring your
thread underneath the threads of the stuff, to the second cluster.

[Illustration: FIG. 74. OPEN-WORK WITH DARNING STITCH.]

OPEN-WORK IN THREE COLOURS (fig. 75).--This pattern which is to be
done in the same way as fig. 74, requires the drawing out of, at least,
eighteen threads. Every cross-line of three clusters is to be worked in
one colour. The colours may all be different, or you may if you prefer,
take shades of the same colour.

[Illustration: FIG. 75. OPEN-WORK IN THREE COLOURS. COLOURS: Bleu-Indigo
311, 322, 334, Brun-Caroubier 354, 303, 357, or Rouge-Geranium 349, 351,
352.[A]]

OPEN-WORK INSERTION (figs. 76 and 77).--For both these, the edges are
to be overcast, and the darning stitches packed sufficiently closely
together, for the threads of the stuff to be entirely covered.

Fig. 76 requires the drawing out of eighteen threads, fig. 77, of
thirty. Both admit of several colours being used.

[Illustration: FIG. 76. OPEN-WORK INSERTION.]

[Illustration: FIG. 77. OPEN-WORK INSERTION.]

OPEN-WORK INSERTION (fig. 78).--After drawing out sixteen or eighteen
threads, bind both sides with stitches made over four horizontal and
four perpendicular threads, as follows; make one back-stitch over four
disengaged threads, then bring up your thread from right to left, over
four horizontal and under four perpendicular threads, back over the four
last threads, and draw it out beside the next cluster. The clusters, as
they now stand, are bound together in the middle, three by three, with
darning-stitches. The thread must be fastened in and cut off, after each
group is finished.

[Illustration: FIG. 78. OPEN-WORK INSERTION.]

OPEN-WORK INSERTION (fig. 79).--First bind the two edges with
stitches, in the ordinary way. At the last stitch introduce the thread
slanting, according to the dotted line, pass it under four horizontal
and three perpendicular threads of the stuff and draw it out; then over
three threads from right to left, and back under the same, from left to
right, and out again; over four horizontal threads, and, under and again
over, three perpendicular ones; for the next stitch, you again follow
the dotted slanting line.

[Illustration: FIG. 79. OPEN-WORK INSERTION.]

Then make the darning stitch over nine threads, or three clusters. At
half their length, you leave out three threads, first on the right, then
on the left, whilst in the other half, you, in a similar manner, take in
three; so that you have two darned and two undarned clusters, standing
opposite each other. Finally, you overcast the single clusters, and
connect every two with a lock-stitch, as shown in the accompanying
illustration.

OPEN-WORK INSERTION (fig. 80).--Draw out twenty threads, overcast both
edges with stitches, made over three threads. Then, make slanting
stitches, proceeding out from these, over three, six and nine threads
respectively, all three terminating in a perpendicular line, one below
the other.

[Illustration: FIG. 80. OPEN-WORK INSERTION.]

For the open-work, twist the thread five times, quite tightly round and
round one cluster, bring it to the edge, between the second and third
clusters, and connect these by means of six darning-stitches to and fro:
join the first and second clusters in the same way by twelve stitches,
and finish, by twisting the thread five times round the remaining length
of the first cluster. The second half of the open-work figure is
carried out in a similar manner over the third and fourth clusters.

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