ts way to being worked into the material. The use of this or some
similar appliance enables the worker to avoid much touching of the metal
threads.

A small tool called a piercer is represented by fig. 8; it is used in
gold work; the flat end assists in placing the gold in position, and
also in making the floss silk lie quite flat; the pointed end is used
for piercing holes in the material for passing coarse thread to the
back, and for other purposes. This little tool, made of steel, is about
5 inches in length.

[Illustration: Fig. 7.]

[Illustration: Fig. 8.]

MATERIALS

The surface is a matter of special interest in embroidery work. This
makes the choice of materials of great importance. Besides the question
of appearance, these must be suitable to the purpose, durable, and, if
possible, pleasant to work with and upon. The materials chosen should
be the best of their kind, for time and labour are too valuable to be
spent upon poor stuffs; occasionally a piece of old work is seen with
the ground material in shreds and the embroidery upon it in a good state
of preservation, which is a pity, for a newly applied ground of any kind
is never as satisfactory as the original one. Still another plea for the
use of good materials is the moral effect they may have upon the worker,
inciting her to put forth her best efforts in using them.

[Illustration: Fig. 9.]

The purpose to which the work is to be put usually decides the ground
material, besides governing pattern, stitches, and everything else. A
background is chosen, as a rule, to show to advantage and preserve what
is to be placed upon it, though sometimes it is the other way about, and
the pattern is planned to suit an already existing ground.

A background must take its right place, and not be too much in evidence,
although if of the right kind it may be full of interest. There are,
roughly speaking, three ways of treating the ground, leaving the
material just as it is, covering part of it with stitching, or working
entirely over it.

If there is no work upon the ground the choice of material becomes more
important. Texture, colour, tone, and possibly pattern, have all to be
considered, though the problem is often best solved by the selection of
a plain white linen. The question of texture is sometimes one of its
suitability for stitching upon; colour and tone may be of all kinds and
degrees from white to black; these two, as a rule, being particularly
hap