Select a thin quality of tracing-paper, and, when about to use it, wipe both sides with a soft rag, slightly moistened with oil of lavender. This will make it still more transparent, and enable the amateur to see the copy better, and to follow the outlines more closely and clearly in every detail and feature of the subject. Place the tracing paper over the design, and go over every outline with a sharp pointed lead-pencil, a soft one is preferred, because a light stroke is all that is then sufficient. There is no necessity to use pressure, and with a hard pencil this is involuntarily done. This process demands considerable nicety and precision, and only experience will tech the value of extreme accuracy. Perhaps a slight deviation in the outlines of a floral design may not be observed, indeed, may not be incorrect ; but to vary the lines of the human face would be fatal. A hair's breadth would destroy a likeness, whether it be added or taken from, either eyes, nose, or mouth.
Having obtained a clean, clear, and correct reproduction of the copy, brush the back of the tracing lightly with powdered graphite. This is the same substance from which lead-pencils are made, and is reduced to an almost impalpable powder.
