The foundation material is surah silk, the silk sold in large
squares as Liberty's handkerchief being correct in colouring and
texture. Upon this foundation the patterns, which all consist of single
petalled flowers resembling single dahlias, sunflowers, or
chrysanthemums, are worked with Oriental silk, which are silks of a
thick make, but very soft and with a gloss on them similar to the gloss
on floss silk. The leaves surrounding the flowers are of the shape of
the jessamine, and to these are added tendrils and queer-looking bunches
of seed-vessels.
There is little variety in the design, as the embroidery is entirely
executed in one stitch (that of a close herringbone), but there is great
variety and great scope for good shading in the colouring. Oriental
silks are all dyed in the shades of blues, yellow pinks, terra-cotta
reds, and brilliant yellows, to be seen in Eastern embroideries worked
before the introduction of aniline dyes, and the consequent lapse into
Imperial purples and magentas and royal blues.
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