29 JUNE 1912, Page 10

CHURCH EMBROIDERY.

Church Embroidery. By Alice Dryden. (A. R. Mowbray and Co. is. 6d.)—This is one of the volumes of "The Arts of the Church" Series, and is a capital little handbook to the subject. Miss Dryden begins with a short historical survey and goes on to describe the various ways in which needlework was, and still is, used in the service of the Church. Then come some good chapters on the technical side of embroidery, in which she explains methods of working and the use of tools and materials. She expresses herself with decision on the matter of design, and very rightly condemns the unintelligent modern fashion of wasting time and energy on working patterns that are BO insignificant as to be prac- tically invisible at the distance at which they are intended to be looked at. These remarks particularly apply to altar frontals, and we would recommend all Church workers to read whet Miss Dryden says with regard to the contrast between old and new designs. The plates, of which there are twenty-eight, though small, give a very fair idea of the work they represent, and the figures in the text are very clear and good.