A Chair Cover in Oriental Embroidery

The chair cover below is done in Oriental Embroidery which means it was embroidered in the fashion of the embroideries of the East - Japan, China, India, Persia, Bulgaria and Turkey being the most known. Almost any needlework done in this fashion was considered tasteful.

The following was published in The Dictionary of Needlework: An Encyclopedia of Artistic, Plain, and Fancy Needlework by S.F.A. Caulfeild and Blanche C. Saward, 1887. It has been edited for use on this site.

Oriental Embroidery for Chair Cover

The foundation of this Chair Cover is crimson plush, which is cut to size, and finished with silk cords and tassels.

The embroidery shown in Detail A, below, is worked upon coarse Indian muslin, with Oriental silks and gold tinsel. The parts printed dark are worked with navy blue silk, and the centers of the ornaments with crimson silk; the lines of tinsel are printed nearly white. The stitches used for the centers are Runnings.

To work:

Take one line across the work, another perpendicularly, and two diagonally, from right to left, and from left to right.The outline is Hem Stitch, with Crewel and Satin Stitches where shown in the Detail.

The embroidery when completed is Buttonholed to the plush foundation.

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