The Ladies Book of Useful Information by Anonymous (interesting novels in english TXT) 📖

temperature. Dipping it in boiling water or leaving it out in the rain will also cause it to shrink and become hard. To preserve their softness, flannels should be washed in tepid suds, rinsed in tepid water, and dried rapidly at a moderate heat.—Buckeye. CHAPTER XVI. HOW TO DO YOUR OWN STAMPING AND MAKE YOUR OWN PATTERNS.

In the following chapter are given full instructions for dry and wet stamping, explaining how to make stamping powder, how to mix white paint for stamping dark goods and black paint for stamping light goods.

The articles necessary are a sheet of writing paper and a piece of transfer paper. The transfer paper can be made by rubbing white paper with a composition consisting of two ounces of tallow, one-half ounce powdered blacklead, one-quarter pint linseed oil, and sufficient lampblack to make it of the consistency of cream. These should be melted together and rubbed on the paper while hot. When dry it will be fit for use.

In order to make a perforated pattern of any engraving, procure a piece of writing paper larger than the design to be traced and put a piece of transfer paper on the writing paper, then place both sheets directly under the engraving and pin the three sheets together at one end, having the transfer paper between and dark side facing the writing paper. You then take a quill with a fine point (a knitting needle will do nicely) and without leaning too hard go over all the outline of the engraving. You must be careful not to press your fingers on the engraving, as this would cause a deposit of powder the same color as the transferring paper on the writing paper. Now remove the transfer paper and you have the design accurately traced and the pattern is ready to be perforated. Lay a couple of folds of velvet or felt on the table, place the pattern on this, and with a needle of medium size or tracing-wheel prick out the pattern, being careful to follow the outline closely and make the perforations quite close.

MECHANICAL ENLARGEMENT OF DESIGNS.

The simplest way is to enlarge by the eye, as the artists do. One method is to divide the whole design into squares and rule off the paper to be enlarged in corresponding squares of larger size. Each portion within the square is then exactly reproduced, copying the portion in the smaller square. For embroidery designs especially we should think this would be very good.

DRY STAMPING.

This is done by a process known as pouncing. The process is as follows: Place the pattern (rough side up) on the material to be stamped, placing heavy weights on the corner to keep it from slipping; then rub the powder over the perforations with the pouncet or distributor described below till the pattern is clearly marked on the material. This can be ascertained by lifting one corner of the pattern slightly. Then remove the pattern carefully, lay a piece of thin paper over the stamping and pass a hot iron over it. This melts the gum in the powder and fastens the pattern to the material. The iron should be as hot as possible without scorching the cloth. Should the heat change the color of the material, iron it all over. Do not do any stamping by this process on a hot or damp day if it can be avoided. Keep the powder in a cool, dry place. In stamping with light-colored powder, the best way to fasten it is to hold the back of the cloth against the stovepipe or the face of the iron. French stamping is better, however, for all dark materials. To take the powder up on the distributor, have a tin plate with a piece of woolen cloth glued on the bottom, sprinkle a little powder on the cloth, and rub the distributor over it, taking care to shake off all the powder you can—enough will remain to stamp the pattern clearly.

TO MAKE A DISTRIBUTOR.

Take a strip of fine felt almost an inch wide (a strip from an old felt hat is as good as anything), roll it up tightly into a roll, leaving the end flat, and rub the end over a piece of sand paper to make it smooth and even.

TO MAKE BLUE POWDER.

Take equal parts of gum damar and white rosin and just enough Persian blue to color it. Mix well together.

Other colors are made the same, using for coloring chrome yellow (for light-colored powder), burnt sienna, lampblack, etc. Black powder is improved by adding a little blue to it.

TO MAKE WHITE POWDER.

Take one ounce white lead; half ounce gum arabic, in the impalpable powder; half ounce white rosin, in the fine powder. All well mixed.

SUPERIOR DARK BLUE POWDER.

One ounce white rosin; one half ounce gum sandarac; one half ounce Prussian blue, in fine powder. Mix all thoroughly.

FRENCH INDELIBLE STAMPING.

This is the best process for all dark materials; in fact, this and the blue powder are all that will ever be needed. By this process a kind of paint is used instead of powder, and a brush instead of a pouncet. Place the pattern on the cloth, smooth side up if you can (though either side will work well), weight the pattern down as in stamping. Rub the paint evenly over the perforations, and it will leave the lines clean, sharp and distinct. After the stamping is done, the pattern must be cleaned immediately. This is done by placing the pattern on the table and turning benzine or naphtha over it to cut the paint and then wiping the pattern dry on both sides with an old cloth, or, better still, with common waste—such as machinists use to clean machinery; this is cheap and absorbs the paint and naphtha quickly. Hold the pattern up to the light to see if the holes are all clear; if they are not, wash it the second time. Do not use the pattern for powder immediately after it has been washed; let it dry a short time, otherwise the moistened gum will clog the perforations.

TO MAKE THE PAINT.

Take zinc white, mix it with boiled oil to about the thickness of cream, add a little drying, such as painters use. Keep in a tin pail (one holding about a pint is a good size); have a piece of board cut round, with a screw in the center for a handle, to fit loosely into the pail; drop this on the paint and it will keep it from drying up. Add a little oil occasionally to keep the paint from growing too thick, and it will always be ready for use.

THE BRUSH.

Take a fine stencil brush (or any brush with a square end), wind it tightly with a string from the handle down to within one half inch of the end; this will make it just stiff enough to distribute the paint well. Keep the brush in water, to keep it from drying up, taking care to wipe off the water before using.

THE CARE OF PATTERNS.

New patterns, before being used, should be rubbed over on the rough side with a smooth piece of pumice stone; this wears off the burr and makes the stamping come out cleaner and finer. When patterns are so large that they have to be folded, iron out the creases before using them. After using the patterns for powder stamping, snap the pattern to shake the powder from the perforations. After using the patterns for paint stamping they should be washed thoroughly with naphtha until the perforations are all perfectly clear. Keep the naphtha away from the fire. After the pattern has been washed, do not use it for powder until it has had time to thoroughly dry, otherwise it will gum up the holes and spoil the pattern.

If these directions are carefully followed the stamping will always be satisfactory.—Popular Art Instructor.

CHAPTER XVII. BRONZE WORK.

Bronzing is the latest improvement in waxwork, and if properly made cannot be detected from the most expensive artistic bronze. It answers for table, mantel, and bracket ornaments, and may be exposed to dust and air without sustaining the slightest injury. It can be dusted with a feather duster like any piece of furniture, and is a very desirable and inexpensive ornament.

The colors required in bronze are: Silver bronze, gold bronze, copper bronze, fire bronze, and green bronze.

THE ART OF MAKING A VASE IN BRONZE.

For instruction, let us take a vase to be finished in copper bronze. First the vase must be molded. The casting material is one part wax, one part spermaceti, two parts mutton tallow. Melt the three articles together and color with burnt umber. Have a coil of fine hair wire, cut into one-half inch lengths, and when the mixture is melted to the consistency of thick cream stir in the cut wire by degrees until there is a sprinkling of it throughout the mixture; then pour into the elastic mold and let stand till perfectly cold and solid; then loosen the sections of the mold and take it out. Should any of the ends of the wire project, they can be cut with a pair of sharp scissors. Trim the seams caused by the sections of the mold; then take a piece of soft flannel cloth, dip it in the refined spirits of turpentine and polish the vase with it, after which it is ready for bronzing.

Take copper bronze No. 4000, and with the tinting brush bronze the vase evenly, and polish it with a soft piece of white silk. Now take another brush and with copper bronze No. 6000 give it the last coat The vase is now ready for draping. The most simple drapery is an ivy vine. Take an embossed ivy leaf (or embossed muslin leaves, as they are named), lay a fine wire along its midrib, leaving two or three inches of wire for stem; cover the leaf with brown sheet wax, press them together well with the finger and thumb to make the wax adhere to the leaf, get the impression, and hold the wire firmly; then lay another piece of wax on the under side, press the edges together and cut away the superfluous wax, leaving the edge plain (the ivy leaf is not serrated), cover the wire stem with wax and the leaf is ready for bronzing. Rub both sides with turpentine, give one coat of bronze No. 4000, then the last coat of bronze No. 6000. When all the leaves are finished, weave them into a spray, grading them from large to small till the end of the vine is reached, then bronze and drape around the vase in an easy, natural way.

The natural fall leaves, pressed, make pretty draperies for these kinds of vases. Sprays of mixed leaves, oak leaves and acorns, small maple leaves, the holly leaf and berry, mixed ivy and fern leaves, and many other kinds of leaves and vines are equally pretty.

THE ART OF MAKING A MOTTO IN BRONZE.

Take a box frame of the ordinary motto-frame size (gilt face) and line it with either crimson or royal purple velvet, and it is ready for any design. The word “Welcome” is the simplest to begin with. Take a thick blotting pad, lay it on a table, rub some arrowroot or rice power over its upper surface, and lay a sheet of either calla or pond lily wax, extra thick, on this powdered surface. Select the style of letter preferred; German text is very appropriate for the motto “Welcome.” Cut the pattern letters out in pasteboard, or any kind of thick paper, if tin letter-cutters are not convenient.

Begin with the letter W. Lay it on the sheet of wax and cut out the waxen letter after the pattern with a penknife previously dipped in water. Next cut the E, and so on till the seven letters are cut out,