EMBROIDERY, is a mode of working de. vices on woven substances. In some exam ples of this kind a rich effect is produced by inserting slips of parchment cut to suit the devices, between the fabric upon which the embroidery is executed and the threads of silk or other material of which the pattern is formed, so that the embroidery may be raised considerably above the surface. Gold and silver thread are often used in embroidery with good effect, and spangles or tinsel are occasionally mixed with the needlework. The fabric to be embroidered is usually stretched in a kind of frame or loom, and the pattern is drawn either upon its surface, or upon a piece of paper applied underneath it.
Although embroidery has, until within a few years, been a purely handicraft employment, it has latterly assumed the character of a ma nufacture, a most ingenious machine for exe cuting it having been invented by M. Heil , mann of Miihlhausen, and brought into use in France, Germany, Switzerland, and Eng land. Attended by one grown person and two children, each machine does as much work as fifteen embroiderers. The machine is figured and minutely described in ' Dictionary of Arts.' The embroidery of the middle ages is noticed under TAPESTRY.
Embroidery has its periods of success and decline, like other arts. At present there is a disposition towards its revival ; and it is pleas ing to find that Ireland is doing her share to wards bringing about this result. At the Dublin Exhibition of Manufactures in 1850, many exquisite specimens of Irish Embroidery were displayed, mostly contributed by Messrs. McGee of Belfast. They were principally waistcoatings or vestings, of velvet, satin, and other rich materials, embroidered with gold, silver, silk, &c.,in a variety of tasteful designs. Many of the designs or patterns were made by pupils of the Belfast School of Design, and all the embroidery was done by young females at Belfast. Arrangements are being made to teach this beautiful art to poor and industrious females in Dublin.
What is now called Berlin Work, though not exactly embroidery, may be briefly touched on here. Miss Lambert, in her 'Handbook of Needlework,' gives some interesting details concerning the origin of Berlin work. The kind of work itself is, of course, old enough the only novelty consists in the care bestowed on the production of patterns. About the year
1801 a Mr. Phillipson published some pat terns, which, being badly executed and devoid of taste, did not meet with encouragement. In 1810 Madame IVittich, a lady of great taste and an accomplished needlewoman, justly ap preciating the advantages which the art would derive from the production of superior pat terns, prevailed upon her husband, a print seller of note at Berlin, to undertake the pub lication of a series of designs. He did so ; and the designs were got up in so superior a manner, that many of the first patterns which were issued from his establishment have had a continued demand almost to the present time. The designer and engraver of these designs are paid as artists, in proportion to their talents. The cost of the first coloured', design on point paper, (divided into small squares) varies from three to thirty or forty guineas ; but in some instances, such as the large patterns of Bolton Abbey, Boccaccio's Garden, &c., it is considerably more. The colouring affords employment for men, women, and children. A dozen or so of copies are given to each person at a time, with the ori ginal design as a guide. The earnings are from sixpence to three shillings a day, accord ing to the age and skill of the persons em ployed.
Berlin workers have had their work toted by an ingenious frame, registered by Mr. Lisle in 1843. From a flat horizontal stand rise two pillars, which support the frame somewhat in the same way as a toilet looking glass is supported, so that the frame may be placed and secured in any convenient position. The canvass or other woven material is wound on rollers, which turn easily on their axes ; all the canvas is wound on one roller in the first instance, and is unwound to the other roller as fast as the work proceeds : the space be tween the two rollers being occupied by a smooth well-stretched portion of the canvas. The rollers are worked by small handles, and there are crotchet wheels to prevent them from slipping backwards. The side or selvage edges of the canvas are kept stretched by two rods. By this apparatus the Berlin worker or em braidress can work on a piece of canvas of al most any length.
Embroidery and needlework were imported to the following amount in four recent years, viz.-65,3151. in 1816, 82,889/. in 1817, 90,419/. in 1848, and 104,699/. in 1849.