For a desk, a piece of silk or velvet, &c., should be measured wide enough to cover the flat part of the desk (allowing a little extra on each side for ‘turnings’), and the length should be sufficient to hang down about 12 to 16 inches in _front_ only of a pulpit desk, but both _back_ and _front_ of a faldstool or prayer desk: 6 to 8 inches is deep enough for these, which should be embroidered and fringed both front and back. A simple border-pattern either upright or lateral in motive looks as well as anything here, as it is not intended to attract particular attention to itself.
Altar and office-books may be covered with very beautiful embroideries, and if the materials of which they are made are good and substantial they will stand a fair amount of wear and last many years.
ALMSBAGS should not be very elaborately worked, as they soon wear out or yet dirty when in constant use. Three-eighths of a yard of twenty-four inch material is enough to cut two if arranged in the manner shown on the diagram, thus:—
It will be noticed that the back of each bag _A_, is cut in one piece and the front, _B_, _C_, is cut in two pieces. The interlining, which should be of a good quality of tailor’s canvas, is cut in the same way; the silk or linen lining—the ‘business’ part of the bag—is made a _very little_ smaller than the worked part of the front _B_.
To make up the almsbag, after the embroidery is worked on the silk (or whatever the material may be), the linen at the back may be cut away round the work if it makes it too clumsy. Then interlining and embroidered front are tacked together, corners cut and curves nicked before turning the edges over, the upper part of front and the whole back treated in the same way.
Then the stout silk or fine linen lining is joined along the sides and bottom with fine back-stitching, and the upper edge hemmed down to the top of embroidered front and along the dotted line of upper front (see _D_).
[Illustration: Central Ornament at Sides and Ends of Pall, belonging to Saddler’s Company]
The two parts are then first tacked, then sewn together with fine over-sewing, done in silk of the same colour as the material, and the bag is finished. Sometimes a fine cord is sewn all round the bag. The embroidery ought to be fine and close to wear well; it is a nice little piece of work for beginners to try their hand on.
