ating in the embroidery, and the outer one of the colour
of the ground. Gold cord is very usual; if a coloured silk one is used
it must be a perfect match. The ordinary twisted cord looks best
attached invisibly; to do this, slightly untwist it whilst stitching,
and insert the needle in the opening thus formed. Some kinds of flat
braids look well with the fixing stitches taken deliberately over them
and forming part of the ornamentation (see fig. 91). Bunches of silk are
sometimes couched round with a buttonhole or other stitch, but whatever
the outline may consist of, it should be a firm bold line.

The work must be perfectly flat when completed. Puckering may occur
through want of care in the preliminary straining or in the fixing on of
the applied parts. Some materials are more easy to manage than others.
The difficult ones can if necessary have a preliminary backing applied,
which is useful also if the material is inclined to fray. The backing
may consist of a thin coating of embroidery paste, or of tissue paper or
fine holland pasted over the part to be applied. The more all this kind
of thing can be avoided, the better the work, for pasting of any kind is
apt to give a stiff mechanical look; also, if the work is intended to
hang in folds any stiffness would be most impracticable.

Even more than simpler work applied embroidery needs the finish of some
light work upon the ground. Gold threads and spangles, arranged in
fashion similar to the sprays in fig. 112, are very often used.
Sometimes, instead of this, some small pattern in outline is run all
over the ground in order to enrich it.

INLAID WORK

Inlaid work is in effect similar to the applied, and it is used for the
same purposes. The difference with this is that both background and
pattern are cut out and fitted into each other, instead of only one of
them being cut out and laid on an entire ground. The method of work is
economical, for there need be very little waste of material. What is
left from cutting out the pattern and background for one piece can be
used as ground and pattern for another and possibly companion piece.
There is in Perugia a church which possesses a complete set of draperies
of this description, that were made at a good period for this work,
early XVIth century, and evidently were designed for the position they
occupy. On festivals, the piers, pulpit, and parts of the wall are hung
with these rose and gold-coloured hangings of inlai