EMBROIDERY working of decorative
principles
might be
regarded as extravagant eccentricities. The first stage towards purely conventional floral work is marked by those elements in which natural flowers are arranged in an The reason for this type unnatural way. of ornament is easy to understand a few flowers of pleasant, contrasting colours are often found grafted on to a plant of another ;
Fig.
these,
appropriate
which without them would have rendered the design, of which it forms In a insipid and dull. part, somewhat familiar border scheme we find bunches of totally dissimilar flowers and leaves, which
have absolutely no natural relation to one another, issuing in regular order from a stiffly designed waving line or central stem. This produces a very ornate design, common in embroideries. The waving central stem-line
enough
in
some
cases,
be much too heavy and monotonous. So the designer strips ofF the unnecessary leaves and grafts on little bunches of gay flowers that will suit the requirements of the case. A certain amount of the modification of the forms in naturalistic floral designs is
would
in
others
Fig. 27
26
species,
44
of the border would naturally suggest vine, ivy or some creeping plant as foliage suitable for the scheme, but the effect of any of
due to the difficulty of exactly representing them by means of needle and thread. The various materials and methods used in all kinds of decoration tend to introduce some degree of formalisation or simplification of Modifications of detail into every design. naturalistic drawing due to this cause are
commonly found
weaving, embroidery, carving and inlaying will each produce a characteristic rendering of the in
all
crafts
;