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The Little Girl’s Sewing Book




    THE
    LITTLE GIRL’S
    SEWING BOOK

    EDITED BY FLORA KLICKMANN

    [Illustration]

    New York:
    Frederick A. Stokes Company, Publishers.




[Illustration]



A Word to the Grown-ups.


This book contains lessons in practically all the stitches used in
plain needlework, as well as the more useful of the fancy stitches.
Each article described and illustrated will be found to contain
instructions for some definite branch of sewing; and though all the
stitches required in making the article will not necessarily be
illustrated in that chapter, they will appear in other chapters, and
can easily be referred to, by aid of the comprehensive index.




[Illustration]




Things you can make for Yourself.




A Handy Work Apron.


If you are going to set to work to make some of the pretty articles
described in this little book, the little work apron shown in the
picture on this page is just the very thing you will need to put on
while you are sewing.

It has two deep pockets and two small ones, and you will be able to put
the silks and cottons necessary, for whatever it is you are making,
into these, so that they will be ready as you want to use them.

[Illustration: THIS HAS FOUR POCKETS]

You will find it is so handy, too, to have a pocket to slip your
scissors into after cutting your thread. You know what a nasty way they
have of slipping off your lap on to the floor. And then, when you pick
them up, it is quite likely that you get a little dust on your hands,
and this gets on to your pretty work and makes it look soiled.

Then, when your sewing time is ended for the day, how convenient it is
to be able to fold your work away in your little work apron, so that it
is kept well protected from any stray specks of dust, and will be quite
ready for you when next you want it.

So you see how this little apron is going to help you to keep your work
nice and clean, and I am sure you will want to make yourself one as
quickly as ever you can, so let us see how it is done.

You will only need 1 yard of material to make the apron, and this can
be white or coloured as you prefer. A soft linen or sateen would make
up well. For the featherstitching use coloured “Star Sylko” thread, as
this will wash without the colour running.

To cut out the apron, first measure off 4 inches of the material, and
cut across from selvedge to selvedge; this will form the band. The
piece used for the apron itself is 32 inches long and 20 inches wide,
and when you have cut this you will have a strip left for making the
small pockets, which should each be 6 inches square. To make the points
at the bottom of the pockets, fold each square right down the centre,
measure 1½ inches up the double cut edges, and cut off the corners on
the cross to the edge of the centre fold.

[Illustration: GATHERING, STROKING, AND PUTTING INTO A BAND.]

Now take the piece you have cut for the apron, and turn a quarter-inch
hem along both the sides and one of the ends of this strip, tack these
along carefully, and hem neatly. We give directions for tacking and
hemming on page 18.

To form the large double pocket, fold the hemmed end of the strip up 11
inches, and oversew the edges of the side hems together. Directions for
oversewing are given on page 28. Now place a tacking line right down
the centre of the pocket The small patch pockets should then be added.
Turn a quarter-inch hem along the top of each of these, and a single
narrow turning round the other edges. Hem one of these on to each side
of the large pocket, placing them about 3½ inches down from the top of
the large pocket, and 3 inches in from the side edges of the apron.

[Illustration: HOW THE FEATHER-STITCHING IS DONE.]

Now take the band strip, tack a single turning round all edges and
fold right along the centre. Gather the top of the apron, draw the
gathers up tightly (winding the thread round a pin so that it will be
ready when you want to let them out again), and carefully stroke down
each gathered stitch with your needle to make them set nicely. Now let
out the gathers until the apron is 13 inches wide, place the gathered
edge between the folded band, taking care that you get the centre of
the band and the centre of the apron together, and hem along each side
of the work. You will see that you have a little picture showing you
exactly how this should be done.

The open edges of the ends of the band should be oversewn together.

When you have finished sewing on your band you will need to put a
button on one end and to make a buttonhole in the other end. If you
are not quite sure how to make a buttonhole nicely you had better look
carefully at the illustrations showing how to do this.

First fold the end of the band, and cut your buttonhole through
the fold and exactly in a line with a thread of the material; the
buttonhole should be cut just large enough for you to put your button
through easily. Before you commence to work the buttonholes make a line
of running or “barring” stitches quite close to the edges, to hold them
evenly together, as shown in the first part of the little diagram;
the second part of the diagram shows another way of holding the edges
together by working overcasting stitches over the hole, but this way is
more often used when working on thicker materials. The third part of
the diagram shows a finished buttonhole, and you will see that one end
is worked round and the other square; the outside should be the round
one, and the inner end the square one.

[Illustration: THE “BARRING” OVERCASTING, AND THE FINISHED BUTTONHOLE.]

Now you are ready to commence to work the buttonhole. Thread a sewing
needle with white cotton (say No. 40), make a knot, and just to fasten
your thread to your work put your needle in on the wrong side just
below the running stitches, at the inner end of the buttonhole, picking
up one thickness of material only, and bring it out on the right side
of your work between the edges of the buttonhole.

[Illustration: MAKING A BUTTONHOLE.]

Buttonholes are always worked on the right side of the work, and are
worked from left to right. To make the first stitch (after fastening
your cotton on as above), place the needle downwards through the
buttonhole, and put it in just where you put it at first, only this
time right through both thicknesses of material.

When you have your needle in this position, place your cotton round it
exactly as the little illustration shows it placed, pull your needle
out, and you will find that you have made a knotted stitch, which
must be pulled up so that the knot comes right at the edge of the
buttonhole; this completes one stitch, and you must work a row of these
stitches right along, making the ends of the stitches even to a thread.

The round end is made in the same way that you do oversewing, and each
stitch must be made the same length as the buttonhole stitches, and
taken round to form a half-circle at the end of the hole; the lower
part of the little illustration shows how the needle is placed for this.

Work the second side in the same way as the first, then for the square
end take a couple of ordinary back stitches right over the entire width
of the worked buttonhole (from the lower edge of the stitches on one
side to the lower edge of the stitches on the other), and work a row
of buttonhole stitches across the end of the buttonhole, bringing the
knots just over the bar of stitches you have just made across. This
completes your buttonhole.

All that now remains to be done is the feather-stitching, and for the
little girl who has not attempted this stitch before, we are giving an
illustration showing exactly how it should be made.

This is worked from right to left. If you look carefully at the
illustration you will see that the thread is always brought round to
the front of the needle before making a stitch, and for the upper part
a small stitch is taken downwards towards you, and for the lower part
a stitch of the same length is taken turning upwards towards you. The
feather-stitching should be worked just over the hemming line, and
this will serve as a guide for keeping it straight; the bottom of the
top stitch should come just above the hemming line, and the top of the
lower stitch just below it. The illustration clearly shows where the
feather-stitching should be added.


    You run and hem from right to left,
      You buttonhole from left to right;
    Your needle should be rather fine,
      And never pull the thread too tight.




For Ribbons and Bows.


Isn’t it just too tiresome when you want a particular bow to wear with
a blouse, or a little lace collar that is just the right shape, and you
look in vain through the drawer where you keep knick-knacks of this
description. Then you know how the drawer gets all tumbled over, and
you have finally to seize a bow that isn’t a bit the one you wanted,
and rush off, to save being late for school. Have you ever been in
a fix like that? If you have, you know all about it, and it is all
the more annoying when you know all the time that the bow is there
somewhere.

Now what is really the trouble here? Why the fact of the matter is the
drawer is too big, and the little bow loses itself among the other
things in the drawer.

[Illustration: This is how the Box looks when it is closed.]

Now what you want is a little compartment where you can keep your bows
or collars (as the case may be) all to themselves. A cardboard box
inside the drawer won’t last any time. No; the better plan is to make
yourself a really pretty box, that can stand on your dressing-table.
You see the sweet one illustrated, don’t you? Well, it will be a very
simple matter for you to make one in the same way. The outside of this
one is covered with a pretty flowered cretonne, of which pink and
green are the principal colours, and it is lined with biscuit-coloured
sateen. But you would, of course, make your box in the colours that
will go best with your little bedroom. A flowered material is probably
nicest for the outside, though plain material could be used. In any
case, a deep cream is the best colour for the inside of the box.

To make a box the same size as the one here shown, you will want four
pieces of thin cardboard 6 inches long by 5½ inches wide for the
lid and bottom, four pieces 6 inches by 3 inches for the sides, and
four pieces 5½ inches by 3 inches for the ends. Then you will want
two pieces of cream sateen 7 inches by 6½ inches, and two pieces of
flowered cretonne the same size, two pieces of cream sateen and two
pieces of cretonne 7 inches by 4 inches, and two pieces each of sateen
and cretonne 6½ inches by 4 inches.

The first step is to cover the cardboard pieces. This must be done
very neatly. You will notice that the pieces of material are an inch
larger each way than the cardboard they are to cover. When you lay a
piece of cardboard on a piece of material there should be ½-inch of
material all round, outside the cardboard, for turning over. Crease it
over the edges of the cardboard all round, turning it in under again
at the corners, as you see in the little picture. Start by taking a
few stitches at the first corner, carry your needle on to the next
corner, and again take a few firm stitches. When you have done all the
corners, take a few long stitches from side to side, as you see in the
illustration, to keep it secure.

[Illustration: COVERING A SECTION OF CARDBOARD WITH MATERIAL.]

You must now sew the covered pieces together. Take a cretonne-covered
piece, place it against a sateen-covered piece of the same size, having
the turned-in sides together, and oversew neatly all round. Do this
with all the pieces. Now you have six neat little sections, each of
which is cream one side and coloured on the other.

Your next task is to oversew five of these sections together to make a
box. First sew the two side and two end pieces together, and then sew
the bottom piece to all four, taking care that all the cream sides are
inside and the coloured sides outside.

Before you sew the lid on, sew cord round all the edges with neat
stitches, as you see in the picture. Green cord was used for this box,
but you could use whatever colour goes best with your cretonne. Sew
cord also round the edge of the lid.

All that now remains to be done is to fasten the lid to the box. This
is done by oversewing on the inside the cord on one side of the box
to that on the lid. You have now got not only a useful receptacle for
your bows, etc., but a very pretty addition to your dressing-table. The
size given is a very useful one, but you are not bound to make it this
size if any other would suit your purpose better. For instance, if it
is to hold handkerchiefs, a box that is square would be a better shape.
But whatever size you decide on, see that each piece is cut and joined
evenly, as this is most essential if the box is to be really a success.


Such an Advantage!

    My scissors used to run away;
        My cotton lost itself;
    My needlebook would never stay
        Upon the mantel-shelf;
    My thimble always would forget
        To be where I could find it;
    My button-box was quite upset
        If no one stayed to mind it.

    But now a work-bag I have made,
        I’m saved no end of worry;
    I find my cotton, tape and braid
        Without the slightest flurry.

    F. K.




The Lambkin Bag.


This pretty bag is made just big enough to take a pair of little girl’s
shoes, and would be just the very thing for you to keep at school to
put your slippers in when you change them to come home; or you might
like to use it to carry your slippers in when you go out to tea.

Do you see the two frisky lambs gambolling on the grass, worked across
the bottom of the bag? Don’t you wish that you were like them, and
didn’t have to wear shoes that are always wearing out? This little bag
was made of dark red sateen, and embroidered with white “Star Sylko”
embroidery thread. The bag should be about 7½ inches wide and 10 inches
deep, when finished, and to allow for seams and a nice wide hem at the
top, you will want to cut a strip of material 8 inches wide and 24
inches long.

[Illustration: Doesn’t this make a pretty Shoe-bag!]

It will be best to do your embroidery before you make up the bag, so
that you can get at the work better. First fold your strip of material
right across the centre, put a tacking line on this fold, and work your
lambs just above this.

If you turn to page 30 you will see how to work the cross-stitch
designs, by placing canvas over your material first, and you have the
lambs all drawn out for you in this article. Also you will find a whole
alphabet of initials for working in cross-stitch on another page.

When you have finished the embroidery, fold the strip of material in
half, with the right side inside, and sew it together at each side with
a run and back stitch, leaving about 4 inches open at each side at the
top of the back. When you have joined the seams, you must oversew them
along the edges on the wrong side as well, so that they will not fray.

[Illustration]

[Illustration: From the outline designs on this page, you will be able
to count the crosses.]

Now turn down a 2-inch hem at the top, on both sides of the bag,
turning in the side edges of the hems; you can tack down the sides of
the hems, so as to keep the edges in, but don’t sew them together just
yet.

When you have hemmed the hems, you must put a row of running stitches
along each hem, about half-an-inch above your hemming line, to make a
runner, so that when you thread your ribbons through they will be held
down at the bottom of the hem and not come right up to the top of the
bag. Now you can oversew the ends of the hems together, leaving the
little space between the running line and the hemming line open, so
that you can thread your ribbon through. This part of the work must be
done with fine sewing cotton the same colour as your material, as you
do not want the stitches to show too much.

[Illustration]

[Illustration: Here you see what the lambs look like worked on Penelope
Canvas. Aren’t they frisky!]

If you like you can embroider an even row of white crosses over the
stitches on the right side of the bag; this makes a pretty finish.

You can either use red cord or a narrow red ribbon for threading
through your bag, and you will want a yard and a half. Cut this into
two even lengths.

Then thread a bodkin with one piece, and starting from the left hand
side of the bag, thread it right round the bag through the runner you
made at the bottom of the hems. When you have got it right through,
sew the two ends of the ribbon together, and pull it round from the
right side so that the join does not show; this will leave you with a
long loop of ribbon hanging from the right side of the bag. Now take
the other piece of ribbon and do exactly the same from the left side of
the bag.

Now when you pull the loops at each side the bag will draw up nice and
evenly at the top.


The Invalid.

    I’m ’fraid I can’t go out to-day,
      My baby’s cough is worse;
    And if she isn’t better soon
      I’ll have to have a nurse,—
    Like mother did when I had fever;—
      It really isn’t safe to leave her!

    This morning when I had my bath,
      She tumbled head-first in,
    And got herself just soaking wet
      Right to her very skin.

    She had her shoes and stockings on,
      Also her cream serge frock;
    And when we found her, nearly drowned,
      She’d fainted with the shock!

    I’ve made her lots of medicine,
      With chocolate cream and water;
    But she’s so tiresome, she won’t try
      To take it as I taught her.

    I’ve put her in the nice new bed
      I’ve been so busy making,
    With mattresses and underlay,
      And feather beds for shaking.

    And hem stitched sheets all trimmed with lace,
      And blankets edged with blue,
    And frills around the pillow case,
      A pink silk bedspread too!

    I’ve put her newest nightie on,
      And made her shut her eyes;
    (She does that when she lies down flat
      And goes to sleepy byes).

    But when I got her medicine
      And said, “Now dear, sit up,
    And take a teeny little drop
      Out of your favourite cup.”

    She was a really naughty child,
      And simply said, she wouldn’t!
    But there—poor thing, she’s just a doll,
      So I suppose she couldn’t!

    And now I’ll have to say good-bye,
      You’ll ’scuse me writing more.
    I think I hear the doctor,
      Rat-tat-tatting at the door.

    F. K.




The Swallow Nightdress Pocket.


Isn’t it just lovely to be able to make things all by yourself, without
having to wait to be shown what to do next all the time. Mother is
sure to be busy just when you want to know how to go on, and not have
the time to stop to arrange your work for you. This pretty nightdress
pocket can be made out of a long straight strip of material, folded up
like an envelope. That sounds quite easy, doesn’t it, and I am sure
you have often folded up paper like an envelope, haven’t you? You just
divide it into three, and let one end lie over the other like a flap.

[Illustration: THE BIRDS ARE FLYING HOME TO BED.]

You will want about half a yard of white canvas, or linen, to make the
pocket, and about 1½ yards of Cash’s Fancy Frilling, to put round the
edge of the flap. Also you will need a ball of blue “Brighteye.”

Now, take a tape measure and measure your material each way. You want
to have a strip 30 inches long and 15 inches wide. When you have
cut this, measure up 18 inches of the length, and cut 1½ inches off
the width of the strip at each side up as far as this, leaving the
remaining 12 inches wider, to allow of the deep hem round the flap.

Now turn a 1½ inch hem across the narrow end of your strip of material,
hem it along on what will be the inside of the pocket, and fold this
end of the strip up to form the pocket, until the lower edge of the
hem reaches where the material comes out wider at each side.

[Illustration: ONE SWALLOW WORKED ON PENELOPE CANVAS.]

[Illustration: AN OUTLINE SWALLOW FOR COUNTING THE CROSSES.]

Sew up the side seams with a run and back-stitch, then oversew the
edges of the seams together, so that you do not have any frayed edges
inside your pocket. The ends of the hem are not joined into the seams
at each side, but these are turned in and oversewn to make them neat.
This loose hem at the top of the pocket makes it easier for the
nightdress to be slipped in and out.

Now you turn in an even hem all round the flap and hemstitch it.
Directions for hemstitching are given on page 30. You will also find
out how to work cross-stitch designs over canvas on page 26, and you
can work your birds in the same way from the diagram given.

You will see that your nightdress pocket would be quite complete
without the frill, but this makes a very pretty finish to it. Cash’s
Frillings are supplied with a thread that draws up already in, so that
you will have no need to gather your frilling but just to draw it up.
If you measure round the flap, and then draw your length of frilling up
to this size and distribute the fulness evenly all the way along, you
can then just oversew the drawn-up edge of the frill to the edge of the
hem all round on the wrong side of the flap.

[Illustration]




An Easy-to-make Pinafore.


Every little girl would rather make something that is pretty and useful
than something that is useful without being pretty. Now here is a very
delightful pinafore that you can make for yourself, that is pretty,
useful, and also easy.

[Illustration: A LITTLE GIRL IN HER PINAFORE.]

The little girl in the picture looks so stylish in her pinafore that
you would hardly believe you could so easily make one like it. But
look at the picture on page 19 and you can see better what an easy
little pattern it is—just a straight piece of muslin, hemmed and tucked
and pleated into a band. This band comes across the chest, the two
ribbons are taken over the shoulders, crossed at the back (just like
a nurse’s apron straps), and brought round the waist to tie in a bow
in front. The pinafore is made of white spotted muslin, trimmed with a
sweet little insertion and tucks, and the ribbon used on it is pink. A
pinafore like this would brighten up your school frock, and I am sure
you are wanting to set to work to make one at once.

You will need a yard of spotted muslin 24 inches wide, a yard of
insertion, and two pieces of 1¼-inch pink ribbon each 1¼ yards long.
Now ask mother to tell you what length you require from the yoke to the
bottom hem, because you want to have your pinafore the right length.
The little girl in the picture is eight years old, and she measures 28
inches from where the pleats are put into the band, to the bottom of
her pinafore. Then another 3 inches is allowed for turning up the hem,
making 31 inches altogether.

Now, having cut off this length, the sides have to be hemmed. For this
the edges must be folded over twice. The first fold is only enough to
turn in the raw edge, the second fold should be ¼-inch wide. Now tack
it, so as to keep the turnings straight, by making a long stitch on top
and a short stitch underneath.

[Illustration: PUTTING PLEATS INTO A BAND.]

If you are not sure how to hem, look at the little picture on this
page. Put the needle in just under the fold, slant it towards you, and
put it through the fold near the edge. Repeat this stitch, taking up
only a few threads of material each time.

Having hemmed the sides, make a deep hem at the bottom, first turning
down a little fold, and then a deep 2½ inch fold. Tack and hem it.

[Illustration: MAKING A TUCK.]

For the lowest tuck, crease the material 3½ inches from the bottom of
the pinafore, and tack it about ½-inch below the crease, to keep the
fold in place. Now, we only want our little tuck to be ¼-inch, so just
at that distance below the crease, start running it along with tiny
stitches as you learned to do for the work apron on page 4. To keep the
tuck the same size all the way, you might keep testing it with a piece
of paper notched in two places—the notches to be ¼-inch apart—the width
of your tuck. When you have finished the tuck, take out the tacking
stitches and turn the tuck down so that the stitches come at the top
and the tuck below them.

[Illustration: HOW HEMMING IS DONE.]

Make a second tuck above the first, the bottom of the second to be
½-inch above the top of the first. Make a third tuck, the bottom of
which must be 2½ inches above the top of the second, and a fourth,
having the bottom ¼-inch above the top of the third. In this way you
have two tucks together, then a space, and two more tucks together. On
to this space between the pairs of tucks you sew the insertion. Cut
off enough to go across the pinafore, allowing a little more at each
end to turn in. Tack it, and then when you are sure that it is quite
straight, run the insertion along both edges on to the muslin, taking
an occasional back-stitch to keep it quite firm.

[Illustration: THE FINISHED PINAFORE.]

The top part of the pinafore is now put into a band, which must be as
long as your width across the chest. You were shown how to put material
into a band on page 5. The little difference here, however, is that
instead of gathering the material, you pleat it. Mark the centre both
of the band and the material to be pleated into it, with a pin. Turn
three little pleats on each side of the centre of the material. On the
little girl in the picture these pleats are each ¼-inch wide, but you
must test carefully and get them the size just to fit the band. The
picture at the top of page 18 shows pleats being put into a band.

Now sew on to the band a little length of insertion, as you did at
the bottom. At each end of the top of the band, however, leave about
¾-inch of insertion not sewn to the band. This makes two tiny pockets
into which you can slip the pink ribbon afterwards, and you can then
sew the ribbon and insertion through to the band. Then, as you won’t
want to have the pink ribbon washed as often as you do the pinafore,
you simply have to take out those few stitches each time the pinafore
goes to be washed. Besides, you may not always want to wear pink. With
some dresses you may prefer to have pale blue ribbon, or heliotrope, or
even red. Whatever colour you choose, sew it into the pockets, and your
pinafore is ready for wear.

[Illustration]




The Pink Sun-bonnet.


A sun-bonnet—what does it make you think of? Doesn’t it remind you of
your last summer holiday—the country, the birds, the flowers? Close
your eyes and try to imagine it. Can’t you almost feel the heat, and
hear the hum of the insects, and hear, too, the rattle of the pails, as
you used to hear it when Maggie, the rosy-cheeked milk maid, wearing
_her_ pretty lilac sun-bonnet, went down to milk Brindle and Beauty and
Cherry. You thought that sun-bonnet looked so pretty, and kept the sun
from Maggie’s head and neck so beautifully, and you wished you had one
too. You will wish it again, when you go to the country for your next
holiday, and I expect you will want one when you are working in the sun
in your own garden at home.

Suppose, therefore, you start to make a sun-bonnet for yourself. This
one, that is shown in the picture, is really very easy to make. It
is of a pretty pink print, with tiny flowers on it. But perhaps your
favourite colour is not pink. Probably, you want a lilac one. Whatever
colour you decide on, get ½-yard of print that shade, and you are
ready to start.

Cut off 18 inches along the full length of the print, and hem along one
edge. About 1 inch from the hem make a ¼-inch tuck, and 1 inch from
this, another tuck. Now fold your print in half, and join up the two
edges for the back of the bonnet with a French seam, which is described
in the chapter on “Dolly’s Underwear.”

Your sun-bonnet is now rather square in shape. To get it rounded at the
back, take hold of the point and draw it down a little way on to the
seam at the back. There catch it with a few stitches.

[Illustration: THE SUN-BONNET READY FOR WEAR.]

No sun-bonnet is complete without a frill, so the next thing is to sew
this on. Cut off 18 inches of print 5 inches wide, hem along one side
and both ends. Gather the other side, and draw it up until it is the
length of the bottom edge of the bonnet beyond the second tuck. Sew it
on the inside to the bonnet edge, leaving a little piece of the edge
above the gathered piece. Turn in the edge, and hem it over the seam.
This makes it quite neat. The edges along where the frill does not come
are also hemmed up.

For the strings, cut off two lengths of 14 inches, each 1½ inches wide.
Hem each side and one edge. Turn the opposite edge in, and sew it
neatly to the inside of the bonnet.

Your sun-bonnet is now finished, and you will be able to ask nurse to
put it into the trunk the next time she is packing to take you to stay
at the farm. Won’t Maggie be surprised when you arrive with a bonnet
like hers, only just a few sizes smaller!




A Red Satin Housewife.


What a tiresome way needles have of getting lost, haven’t they, and
even whole packets of needles have a trick of disappearing nobody
knows where. Every little girl who does any sewing really needs some
safe place in which to keep her needles. This little housewife, which
is shown both open and closed, is just the thing. You can stick odd
needles in the flannel, and slip packets of needles in the pocket at
the end. If you always remember to do this, you cannot very easily get
them mislaid, and the little red housewife will be quite a friend to
you. And what is more, it is not difficult to make.

[Illustration: THE NEEDLE-CASE CLOSED.]

To make one exactly like that in the picture, you want a piece of
crimson satin, 12½ inches long by 3¾ inches wide, a piece of white
flannel, 10 inches long by 2¼ inches wide, some crimson embroidery
silk, salmon pink embroidery silk, some crimson sewing silk, and a
pearl button.

[Illustration: THE DOUBLE FEATHER-STITCHING.]

First lay your flannel on the wrong side of the satin. If you put it on
quite straight, you will find there is ¾-inch of red showing each side
of the flannel, and 1¼ inch at each end. At each side turn down a hem
of satin, so that it comes over the edge of the flannel. Tack and hem
it. Now turn down and hem each end in the same way. You will have wider
hems here.

Having hemmed the satin to the flannel all round (taking care that
the stitches do not go right through to the right side of the satin),
turn down 2 inches at one end, to make the little pocket you see in
the picture, sewing it neatly at each side with oversewing stitches.
Oversew also the open ends of the opposite hem.

[Illustration: The Housewife When Open.]

Now you know how to feather-stitch, don’t you, or if you do not, you
will see on page 5 how it is done. Work single feather-stitch with
salmon pink silk down each side and end of the housewife. The inside
is now divided up into four divisions, by double feather-stitch worked
in crimson. This is worked in the same way as single feather-stitch,
only that you take first two stitches one way and then two the other,
instead of one each way. A little piece of double feather-stitching has
been separately worked for you to see how it is done.

At the end opposite the pocket, make a loop in red silk of two threads,
covered with blanket stitch. This is described in the chapter on
“Dolly’s Bed.”

Now, starting at the pocket end, fold the needle-case over and over,
and just opposite where the loop comes, sew a little pearl button,
and the housewife is finished, and quite ready for you to stick your
needles in.

You can use silk quite as well as satin for your housewife, and if you
like any other shade better than red, make it of your favourite colour.

[Illustration]




Presents you can make for People.




A Feeder in Cross-Stitch.


Here is a pretty little feeder for baby that you will be able to make
all by yourself. I expect mother will be only too pleased to help you
to get the materials. You will want about half-a-yard of some soft
white washing material, a small quantity of Penelope canvas, a ball of
coloured “Brighteye” embroidery thread, and three-quarters of a yard of
a narrow silk ribbon.

Do you see the three happy little dogs running after each other across
the bottom of the feeder? These are worked in cross-stitch, also baby’s
name in the centre.

If you haven’t yet done any cross-stitch, you had better first look at
the little illustration on page 26, and see exactly how it is done,
before commencing to cut out your feeder.

[Illustration: BABY WILL LIKE THE THREE HAPPY DOGS.]

Just for practice, take a small square of canvas, and thread a crewel
needle with the embroidery thread. Bring your needle up through one
of the large holes in the canvas, count over two canvas threads to
the right, and two upwards, put your needle in this hole, and pick up
two threads towards the left. Pull your thread through, and this will
give you the first part of the cross. Now put your needle in the hole
two threads to the right of the hole you started from, and bring it up
through the hole two threads to the left of the first hole, as shown
in the second part of the little illustration.

[Illustration: MAKING THE CROSSES ON THE CANVAS.]

This, as you will see, completes the first cross, and brings the thread
ready to make a second one in the same way.

The lower part of the illustration shows the dog’s tail commenced, and
how you should place your needle when you want to make a cross on the
slant below. One thing you should be very careful about when working
in cross-stitch: see that the threads are always crossed in the same
direction, and not sometimes one way and sometimes another. Your work
will look so much better if this rule is always followed.

When you feel quite sure you can work the crosses evenly, you can cut
out the feeder. Perhaps you may like first to cut it out in paper.
Take your tape measure and measure off a piece of paper 12 inches long
and 11 inches wide. Fold this right down the centre, the longest way.
Measure two inches down the fold and two inches up the cut edges from
one end, and cut round from points A to B, as shown in the little
diagram. This will give you a curve for baby’s neck. Now measure down
an inch on the long outer edges, and cut from point B on the slant to
this point, which we will call C.

[Illustration: DIAGRAM FOR CUTTING OUT THE FEEDER.]

Now that you have a paper pattern, you will be able to place this over
your material and cut it from this. You will want to have two pieces
exactly alike, so that you can use one to line the feeder.

We have now come to the interesting part of working the little dogs.
Tack a strip of canvas along the bottom of the right side of one of the
pieces you have just cut out; the dogs are nine crosses high, so the
strip should be wide enough to take the design and leave a few extra
threads of canvas above and below. It is best to commence with the
centre dog, starting the centre cross of the design in the centre hole
of the canvas, you will then be sure of getting it right in the middle.
When working the other dogs, leave 16 threads of canvas between the
middle one and each of these. You will then have your three little dogs
at equal distances apart, and there will be no chance of their catching
each other up! Canvas must be placed across the centre for the name in
the same way.

[Illustration: ONE OF THE CROSS-STITCH DOGS.]

From the illustrations of the dog and the letters, you will easily be
able to count the crosses, and see how they are placed. If baby’s name
is not May, and you want to work another name, designs for a whole
alphabet appear on another page.

When you have worked all your designs, the canvas threads must be
pulled away. Cut the canvas down fairly close to the embroidery, and
pull out the threads one by one. Baby’s name is shown with all the
threads of the ‘Y’ pulled out, and the ‘A’ as it looks when only the
cross threads have been pulled away.

To make up the feeder, place the plain portion of the feeder over the
embroidered one, with the right sides facing one another, and run round
all the edges about a quarter of an inch in from the edge, leaving
only the curved neck edges open. A running stitch, with a back-stitch
put in now and then, is the best for this, as this will hold it firm.
Turn the feeder out on the right side, then turn in the neck edges
and oversew them together. How the oversewing stitch is made is shown
in the little illustration on this page. Hold the edges to be joined
together firmly in your left hand, and work from right to left, always
putting your needle in slanting just as the little picture shows, and
taking up about a couple of threads of the material from each of the
edges you are joining together.

[Illustration: MAKING OVER-SEWING STITCHES.]

The piece of work in the illustration has been flattened out, in order
that you may see the stitches more clearly; but when you are oversewing
you will hold the two pieces together with the thumb and first finger
of your left hand, oversewing the top of the two edges.

Now cut your length of ribbon in half, and sew one piece to each end of
the neck of the feeder, so that it can be tied round baby’s neck when
she wants to take her food.

[Illustration: This shows how to pull the Canvas away after the
Cross-Stitch is done.]




Cats on a Chair Back.


Here is a very pretty thing that you will be able to make for Mother.
How amused she will be, when she sees these two funny cats sparring at
each other, and how nice the Chair Back will look hanging over the back
of father’s chair, where he puts his head.

The Chair Back is hemstitched at each side and across each end, so
before we commence to make it we will find out how to do this stitch.

Shall we take a small piece of linen and try and copy the little
picture we have of the stitch just for practice? When you have tacked a
hem along, draw out five of the horizontal threads of your linen, just
beneath the edge of the hem.

[Illustration: They don’t look very pleased to meet, do they?]

Now for the stitch itself. Hemstitching is always done on the wrong
side of your piece of work, and the stitch is worked from right to
left. Thread your needle with linen thread or a fairly coarse crochet
cotton, and fasten the end of it to the commencement of the hem.

Now look how the needle is placed in the top part of the picture, and
put yours in in the same way. Place it under four of the open threads,
then pull your needle through, which draws these four threads up
closely together. Then make a small upright stitch up through the hem,
placing your needle as shown in the second part of your illustration.
These two stitches are repeated all the way along. This is the simplest
form of hemstitching, and is what is used on the sides of the Chair
Back.

[Illustration: SHOWING HOW HEM-STITCHING IS DONE. SERPENTINE STITCH IS
ILLUSTRATED AT THE BOTTOM.]

For ladder hemstitching you work along the other side of the open
threads, just as above, taking the same group of threads. When working
on coarse linen, or canvas, two or three threads need only be picked up
each time, all that really matters is that you keep to the same number
all the way along.

The stitch we have across the ends of our Chair Back is called
serpentine stitch, and the small piece of canvas at the bottom of the
picture shows how to work this. The first side is worked as in the
simple hemstitching, taking up four threads each time, but in working
the second side four threads are again taken up, but the needle is here
put between the threads taken up on the opposite side.

[Illustration: A FINISHED CORNER.]

When you want to turn a corner in hemstitching a square cloth, you
first draw your threads out where the edge of your hem is to come each
way; then you fold the material on the wrong side diagonally through
the corner, turn the pointed end in until the point reaches the open
threads, make a crease, turn the point back and backstitch along the
crease. You have a little picture showing just where the backstitching
is done. After this cut off the point beyond the backstitching, turn
the corner inside out, and you have a neat little seam going diagonally
from the corner to the edge of your hem (as in illustration).

[Illustration: DOING THE BACK-STITCHING ALONG THE CREASE.]

You will find that these simple forms of hemstitching will be very
useful to you in making all kinds of things.

To make the chair back you will want a strip of white Hardanger canvas,
a yard long and about 17 inches wide; this will allow for the hems.

First measure up five inches from each end, and draw out four threads
of canvas across each end, then draw out two threads at each side,
about three-quarters of an inch in from the set of open threads at one
end to the other; you will have to cut the threads at each end. Now
tack all the hems along; you can turn in the ends of the wide hems and
oversew them together.

Hemstitch the side hems in simple hemstitching, taking up three threads
of canvas each time, and the wide hems in the serpentine stitch,
taking two threads of canvas each time; you will remember to take the
alternate sets on the second side.

Now you have only to embroider the cats. These are worked in
cross-stitch, using “Peri-lusta” Pearl Knit, size 5. Shade No 249
is a pretty red that would do beautifully. Directions for working
cross-stitch on canvas are given on page 26, and you will be able to
copy the cats from the enlarged designs given below.

[Illustration: THE TOM CAT——]

If you fold the chair back right down the centre, and start the
whiskers of the cats four threads on each side of this line, they will
be about the right distance apart. The bristles on the legs and tails
are made by working half crosses, and those on the back by making long
single strokes, the length of two crosses.

The whiskers of the cat extend the length of three crosses. Three
threads of the Hardanger canvas are allowed for each cross. On the
material used for the chair back in your picture, each cross worked out
at about an eighth of an inch across, but if the canvas you are using
happens to be a coarser one, you may perhaps find your crosses work out
much larger, in which case you must go over two threads each time so as
to get your animals the right size for the chair back.

[Illustration: ——AND HIS ENEMY.]

Perhaps you would rather not make your chair back of Hardanger canvas
at all, but would prefer to use linen, or some material that has not
got wide even threads; this is not easy to count when working your
crosses. In that case you must first tack Penelope canvas over your
work, and embroider the cats over this; the enlarged designs in your
pictures were worked on Penelope canvas, and you can see what nice
large holes it has, and how easy it is to work on. And when you have
finished the designs you just cut away the canvas quite close to the
design, and pull the threads of canvas out of the crosses. You can put
cross-stitch on to any material in this way.




A Hardanger Handkerchief Sachet.


Have you thought yet what you are going to make Mother for her birthday
present? How would you like to work her a handkerchief sachet in
Hardanger Embroidery? You don’t know how? Well, if you follow this
little talk very carefully, I think you will soon learn.

What is Mother’s favourite colour? Rose Pink? Very well; how delighted
she will be with what you are going to make!

[Illustration: THE FINISHED SACHET.]


What to get for the Sachet.

Can’t you take Mother shopping with you one day, because you will want
to buy a few little things for the sachet. You will want a piece of
Congress Canvas—cream or white—a square 12 inches each way, a ball of
Ardern’s “Star Sylko” No. 744, size 5, a square of white silk the same
size as the canvas for lining the sachet, a crewel needle, 3 yards of
pink ribbon half-an-inch wide. (The best kind to get is a silk ribbon
having threads running through, that you pull and draw the ribbon
up into a ruche. This saves you all the trouble of running a thread
through to make a ruche). You also want a little pink sewing silk,
some white sewing silk, a pair of sharp scissors with points, and, of
course, your thimble.


How to Start.

First, make sure your canvas is perfectly even all round, 12 inches on
each side. When cutting it, be careful to cut between the same threads
all the way down. Turn in about a quarter of an inch all round very
carefully, and tack it. Fig. 1 shows the edge being tacked. When you
come to a corner, just turn in again the end of the second side, to
make it quite neat. You will see in Fig. 1 what I mean.

[Illustration: Fig. 1.]


With the Pink Thread.

The tacking done, the pretty work begins. Thread your crewel needle
with the “Sylko.” At one corner count 24 threads in from each side. The
hole just where these threads cross is your starting point. Now leave 3
holes below, and in the 4th bring your needle up from underneath for a
satin stitch. You will see how to do this stitch in making the doll’s
bedspread (page 67), only as you are using a different kind of canvas
here, you leave 3 holes instead of one. Make 4 of these stitches. Leave
3 holes, and into the 4th start another little block of satin stitches.
Do 4 of these little blocks. This brings you to the corner. Fig. 2
shows the little blocks.

[Illustration: Fig. 2.]

To turn the corner, after making your 4th stitch, bring your needle
up into the 4th hole from the _top_ of your satin stitch, not the 4th
from the bottom as before. Make one little block this way. Turn another
corner in exactly the same way, bringing the needle up in the 4th hole
from the _top_ of the satin stitch. Start another block. When you have
put the needle down for the 4th stitch of this block, bring it up 4
holes below the last hole at which you brought it up. Then put it back
into the last hole at which you brought it up. Fig. 3 will make this
clear. Make 4 stitches, now working from right to left. Turn again,
and make 4 stitches, working from left to right. You will notice that
wherever you turn a little corner—or make an angle—2 stitches go into
the same hole, one each way.

[Illustration: Fig. 3.]

When you have made 8 little blocks in this way, turn again, and make
4 blocks of satin stitch as you did on the first side, the last
stitch of the 4th block should take you back into the hole we called
your starting point. If it doesn’t, you have made a little mistake
somewhere—either you have missed a thread, or made two stitches in
one hole, or something like that, and you will have to undo the work
until you find your mistake. This sounds rather hard lines, doesn’t it,
but unless you have got this outside part right, you cannot cut and
draw the threads properly, and we want to have Mother’s sachet quite
perfect, don’t we?

[Illustration: Fig. 4.]


With the Scissors.

How much quicker we seem to get on with scissors than with a needle and
cotton, don’t we? It is such quick work to cut a hole, but quite slow
work to mend one! Well, you are going to do some “scissors work” now,
but you will have to do it carefully, and make sure first just which
threads you are going to cut. I want you to notice one important thing.
Always cut across the ends of your stitches, never along the sides of
them. Isn’t this quite clear? Well, look at the little diagram for
cutting, Fig. 5. You cut the 3 threads between A and B, and between A
and C, and between C and J, and between D and E, and between G and H,
but never those between J and I, or between I and D. You see what I
mean now, don’t you? Then be careful always not to cut too far, that
is to say, never cut beyond the satin stitches, only cut the threads
enclosed by them.

[Illustration: Fig. 7.]

Pull out the threads you have cut, and you will have a little corner,
like that shown in Fig. 4.

[Illustration: Fig. 5.]

[Illustration: Fig. 6.]


Weaving Work.

Now you have to do the weaving, and this is very easy, and nice work
to do. Only remember not to drag the threads too tightly, but you must
not have them loose—just firm and even. Bring your needle up from
underneath, in the middle of one of the groups of 4 threads, take it
over 2 threads on one side up into the middle again, and over 2 threads
on the other side. Look at Fig. 4 again. Repeat this until you have
5 stitches on each side. Bring your needle up between another set of
threads, and repeat. When you have finished all the weaving, fasten
off neatly at the back of the canvas, and your corner is done. Work the
other 3 corners in the same way.

[Illustration: Fig. 9.]

[Illustration: Fig. 8.]


Putting on the Ribbon.

Take your ribbon and cut off two pieces, each 8 inches long. These are
for the bow. Divide the remainder into four equal lengths, and mark
each little division with a small pin. This is so that you will use
just the same length on each of the four sides of your square. With
a needle, draw out three or four threads running through the middle
of the ribbon, and pull these gently to draw the ribbon up. It is not
enough to pull on one thread or two, because, although it is easier to
draw, it may snap before you get very far. Draw up the ribbon until
it is exactly the size to go round your square; then pin the gathered
ribbon round the sides, taking care to get one of the divisions marked
by the pin on each side of the square.

[Illustration: Fig. 13.]

Thread a needle with pink sewing silk, and sew the ribbon on,
through the centre, taking a very tiny stitch on top, and a longer
one underneath. Make a back-stitch every now and then, by putting
the needle back instead of forward. This makes it a little more
secure. Allow a little extra fulness at the corners, so as to turn
these carefully and evenly, and here you will need one or two little
backstitches. When you get round to the corner from which you started,
turn in the end of your ribbon, and join it neatly to your starting
end. Take out the pins.

[Illustration: Fig. 10.]

[Illustration: Fig. 12.]

[Illustration: Fig. 11.]


Lining the Sachet.

Take the square of white silk, and turn in once all round about a
quarter-inch, and tack it. Lay it on your square of canvas, so that the
turned-in sides of canvas and silk come together. Pin these together
all round. With the white sewing silk, hem the silk to the canvas
carefully, so that each stitch catches up a thread of the canvas,
but does not come through the gathered ribbon. At the second corner,
slip in one end of one of your lengths of ribbon between the silk
and canvas, and when you come to that, hem it in with the silk to the
canvas. When the hemming is finished, the tacking stitches can be taken
out of the silk.

[Illustration]


Folding and Finishing.

You have now got a silk-lined canvas square, with a little end of
ribbon attached to one corner. You must now fold your square so that
all the worked corners meet, as you see in the picture on page 34. We
will call your square A, B, C, D, as the corners are marked in the
diagram, Fig. 6. Divide each side in half (just put a tiny pin in to
mark the division), and call these points E, F, G, and H. Now fold
along the lines E to F, F to G, G to H, and H to E. This will bring
your corners A, B, C and D all together in the middle if you have done
your measuring quite carefully. (See Fig. 7). Let us call D the point
that has the ribbon end. Now A, B and C have all to be joined together,
but D is not sewn to them. D’s little ribbon end is only tied to the
centre, so that the sachet can be opened and closed. Catch A F and B
F and A E and C E together with just a few tiny stitches under the
ribbon, sew the points A, B, C neatly together. And here is where you
attach your last little bit of ribbon having turned in one end neatly.
While you are sewing on this centre you had better keep your left
fingers inside the sachet, and your thumb outside. Then you will be
quite sure that you are not sewing right through the sachet, because
it would be serious if when Mother came to put her handkerchiefs in,
she couldn’t get them down because it was sewn through, wouldn’t it?
You have now only to tie your two ends of ribbon in a nice bow, and
Mother’s handkerchief sachet is complete.

Of course, you will want to make some more of these sachets, and you
can work them in other colours, or line them with coloured silk. It
would look pretty, for instance, to have a deep cream canvas, worked
with Ardern’s “Star Sylko” No. 734, Size 5, which is a lovely cream
shade. Then have for the lining, forget-me-not blue, and blue ribbon to
match. Or you could work the satin-stitch in dark green, No. 753, and
the weaving in a paler green, No. 751, and have a white silk lining and
pale green ribbon. And I am sure you will think of lots of other pretty
colours you can use.


Some other Pretty Corners.

Perhaps you would rather work another kind of corner. Six others are
shown, any of which you would be able to manage, I am sure. For four of
them, you do not have to cut any threads. The one with the cross in the
middle, Fig. 8, would be very quickly worked. The outer part of this is
worked almost like the corner on the sachet, only there are no straight
blocks in a row here, and you take 5 stitches over 5 threads for each
block. Then you work 5 stitches over 5 threads each way into one hole
in the middle for the centre cross.

Fig. 9 is another little corner, just like the one on the sachet, only
instead of cutting any threads, you fill up alternate squares with
satin-stitch blocks.

[Illustration]

Then the star pattern, Fig. 10, is pretty and easy. You start by taking
a stitch over 8 threads, then take one over 7, over 6, over 5, over
4, over 3, over 2. Now over 2 again, and so on, up to 8. Then start
another row at right angles to the first, and two more rows in the same
way. The long stitches in the middle are taken into the holes from
which the short stitches were taken.

Another easy little design shows two straight rows of satin-stitch
crossing two in opposite ways (Fig. 11).

Sometimes a few rows of blocks outside a design will improve it, and
make it look bolder. This is the case with the open-work square, Fig.
12. A second row of blocks has been added outside the first, working
the stitches the other way.

In the last open-work corner, Fig. 13, 4 stitches are taken over 4
threads, and 5 over 8 threads, then 4 over 5 threads again, and so on.
All the threads are then cut away, except the 4 in the middle of each
side, and these are woven as usual.

Now set to work and see what you can do. After a little practice, you
will probably be able to make up some corners for yourself, but until
you are quite sure of the work, it is better to practise those I have
shown you.

[Illustration]




Pale Blue and Heliotrope.


You don’t know what to make for Auntie? Why not make her a pretty bag
to keep her work in? The one on this page is in pale blue, and looks
ever so pretty. Too difficult? Oh no, everything is easy when you know
the way, and you are going to have a little lesson in Hairpin Work
to-day. No, the work isn’t exactly done on a hairpin, but on a staple.
This is similar in shape, only larger.

For this bag you will want your staple—get one about 2 inches in
width—and a No. 1 steel crochet hook. You will also want a ball of
Strutt’s Macramè Thread No. 512, Size 10. Then, if you want to line
your bag, you will need something pretty for this. The bag you see here
is lined with a heliotrope sateen, which peeps very prettily through
the pale blue. One more thing—a few little white bone rings for the
drawing-up strings to go through.

[Illustration: The heliotrope sateen shows through the pale blue
hairpin work.]


All About Loops.

Commence by making a loop in your thread, you will want this loop to be
as long as half the distance between the two prongs of your staple, so
that when you hang it over one side the knot comes just in the middle.
So do not tighten it until you see that it will come just here. Put
this loop over the left side of the staple. Put the thread across the
front, and over the right prong of the staple. Now take your crochet
hook, put it in the loop, and catch the thread that you have put over
the right prong from front to back. This makes the first loop on the
right. Slip the hook over the right prong *, turn the staple over
towards you, wrapping the thread round the left prong, as you do so. By
turning, you now make the left prong the right one, you have now one
loop on your crochet hook. Put the hook under the loop which is now on
the left side of the staple, draw the thread through this. This gives
you two loops on your hook. Put the thread over the crochet hook, and
draw it through the two loops. Slip the hook over the right prong, and
repeat from *. The picture shows the thread being drawn through the
loop.

[Illustration: The work being done on the staple. Notice that the
commencing knot must be quite in the middle.]

You must keep on making these loops until you have 90 on each side of
the staple. Then finish off in this way. When you have made the 90th
loop, don’t turn the staple, but make two or three chain stitches, cut
the thread from the ball about 3 inches from your hook, and draw it
through the loop on your hook. This finishes the strip.

Take the strip off the staple. Don’t be afraid—it won’t come undone.
Make 6 strips the same length. These strips are twice as long as the
bag is deep. In making the strips, don’t pull the loops round the
staple too tightly. After a little practice the work will come quite
easy, and you will get along quickly with it.


Joining the Strips.

Having finished your strips you have to join them. One of the pictures
shows this being done. Take two strips and lay them side by side on the
table, with the commencing ends of each towards you. Take up on your
crochet hook three loops from the strip on the left, then three loops
from the strip on the right. As the six loops lie on the hook—three
from each side—draw the three from the right through the three from the
left, with the help of your left thumb and first finger. (If you look
at the picture you will see that these loops usually lie twisted. They
should be taken on to the hook in this way, and if one is not twisted,
turn it over with your finger and thumb).

You have now three loops on your hook, which were picked up on the
right hand strip. Take up three more from the left, and so on, for the
length of the strip. When you get to the end of the strip (your last
loop will have been taken from the right as you started on the left),
stick the hook with the loops on into the middle of the strip on the
left, and drawing through the length of thread which was left at the
end of the strip, fasten off securely.

Now take the third strip and lay it on the right of the second strip;
start by taking up three loops from the third. In joining, see that you
always commence on the odd strip, that is to say, on 1, 3, 5, 7, etc.,
so that whether you are joining strips 2 to 3, or 3 to 4, you commence
on strip 3, and whether you are joining 4 to 5, or 5 to 6, you commence
on strip 5.

[Illustration: Here are two strips being joined.]


Getting it into Shape.

You must now fold in half your long piece of work, and join up the
sides to make it into a bag. The sides are joined just the same as the
other part, taking first 3 loops from one side and 3 from the other
until you get to the bottom. With a little piece of thread, fasten off
very neatly on the wrong side, sticking the hook in the middle of one
of the strips before finishing off, to make it quite firm.

To finish the top of the bag make a loop in the thread, draw this
through the top of one of the strips, make 5 chain stitches, then 1
double crochet into the joined loops, 5 chain, 1 d c into middle of
next strip. Do this all round the top of the bag, and fasten off.

For the cord, make a chain of 36 inches. Sew 10 little white rings at
even distances round the bag, about 2 inches from the top. Run the cord
through these rings twice, and when you get back the second time to the
ring you started from, join the cord neatly with a needle and cotton.
Now you see it will pull up quite nicely each side, and Auntie can hang
the bag on her arm.

We have not talked about lining the bag. Perhaps you don’t want to line
it, but if you do, make a bag of silk or sateen (like the one described
on page 11), the same size as the macramè bag, and slip it into it,
just catching it at the corners with a few tiny stitches, so that the
lining does not slip out of the bag. This lining should have a nice
deep hem at the top, which could peep over the top of the macramè bag.
Your bag is now finished, and if Auntie is not delighted with it, I
shall be very much surprised.




The Amiable Pussy Cats.


Doesn’t your pussy cat always like to be near at hand when the table
is laid for tea, on the chance of perhaps getting a saucer of milk? Of
course, you never let pussy himself sit on the table, but it would be
rather uncommon, wouldn’t it, to have a cosy on the table with two dear
little pussies worked on it like the one in the picture? I think Mother
would like it, too, don’t you?

The cosy cover in our picture was made of white Hardanger canvas, and
is not fastened to the tea cosy itself, but is made loose, so that
it can be taken off and washed. Red “Bright-eye” thread was used for
working the cats.

[Illustration: HOW THEY LOOK ON THE COSY.]

You will want to make it the right size for Mother’s tea cosy, won’t
you? Well, you will be able to get it exactly the size, if you first
take a piece of paper, lay the cosy on it, and draw round the cosy with
a pencil, then cut the paper out on the pencil line.

This gives you the shape of the side of the cosy, but the material
will need to be cut larger than this to allow for a seam and a hem
across the bottom, so take another piece of paper, and using the piece
you have already cut as a pattern, cut the side out again, this time
allowing an extra quarter of an inch all round the curved edge for the
seam, and an inch along the straight edge for the hem.

Now that you have a pattern, cut out two pieces of canvas exactly this
shape, and you can commence to make up your cosy cover.

The hems at the bottom of the cosy have to be hem-stitched, so you had
better pull the threads out for this first. Measure each side up 1¾
inches from the straight edge and draw out four threads.

Directions for the simple hemstitching used are given on page 30, but
before you do this part you must work your cats and join the two sides
together, so that you can turn up your hem all along both sides evenly,
and not have to join the hem after they are turned up.

Work your cats in cross-stitch. This stitch was described on page 25,
so that if you don’t know how to do it, just turn to this page and see
how it is done.

You will be able to count the crosses from the drawing you have of the
two cats. The lowest cross of the tail of the cat sitting down should
come six threads above the open threads for your hem; this will help
you in starting to work the design. Work two cats on each side of the
cosy.

[Illustration: THE DESIGN FOR COUNTING THE CROSSES.]

When you have finished the pussy cats, place the two sides together,
with the right sides facing one another, and sew round the curved edges
with a run and back-stitch, then oversew along the cut edges to make
them neat.

[Illustration: THE CATS WORKED ON PENELOPE CANVAS.]

Now turn up your hem and hemstitch it, then turn the cosy on the right
side, and sew a piece of red cord over the seam of the cosy, making
three little loops in the centre at the top. You must use red cotton to
sew on the cord, and take tiny hemming stitches that will not show too
much.

If you don’t want to make your cosy cover of canvas, but would like to
use linen or some other material, you can work the cats on Penelope
canvas, tacked over the material, as you learnt to do when making the
Feeder.


What a Contrast!

    Lazy Lizzie uses pins
            When she sees a tear!
    Her buttons lie upon the floor,
    The lace is off her pinafore;
            And don’t the people stare!

    Hilda is industrious,
            Nothing ever tires her;
    She simply gets her sewing-box,
    And quickly mends her pretty frocks;
            And everyone admires her!

    F. K.




The Orchid Flower Bag.


Have you been trying very hard to think of something else that you
can make for Mother? I wonder if she has a Stocking Bag? If not, you
could easily make her one of these, couldn’t you, and I know she would
like to have one, especially if she has several little boys and girls
to mend stockings for. If you make her a lovely big bag like the one
in the picture, she will be able to keep all the stockings that need
mending together, and will know exactly where to find them when mending
day comes round.

[Illustration: This Bag will hold a lot of stockings.]

It will be best to make the bag of a material that will wash nicely. A
good strong Holland or Crash would be very suitable. You will want a
strip of material about a yard long and fifteen inches wide to make a
good-sized bag.

[Illustration: THE ORCHID DESIGN FOR THE BAG.]

The pretty little flowers across the bag are worked in cross-stitch,
and you have an enlarged diagram of the design which you will be able
to count the crosses from.

Use “Bright-eye” embroidery thread for working the flowers. A purple
thread would look pretty, but perhaps you know another colour that
Mother is very fond of, and would like to use that.

You must work the designs before you make up the bag. Fold the strip
of material in half and tack a strip of Penelope Canvas across about
four inches up from the fold. Directions for working cross-stitch over
Penelope Canvas are given on page 27, in case you want to know how this
is done.

[Illustration: A ROW OF ORCHIDS WORKED ON CANVAS.]

How to make up a bag, too, was described on page 11, and you can make
this one in exactly the same way. You will notice that this one has a
cord threaded through rings outside of the bag instead of through a
runner at the top though, and if you like this way better you can sew
twelve white bone rings at equal distances apart round the outside of
the bag just at the bottom of the hem, and put the cord through these.
You will want about two yards of coloured cord, in the same shade as
the thread you used for working the flowers. Thread the cord twice
round the bag through the rings, join it together, and your bag is
complete.




An Alphabet that can be copied in Cross-stitch.


[Illustration]


More Letters for Cross-stitch.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]




Furnishings for Dolly’s Cottage.




For Dolly’s Bed.


One of the most enjoyable times of the day spent with dolly is the time
when you can undress and put her to bed, just as mother does baby.

And how much nicer, too, if you can feel that you have made all the
bedclothes yourself. You may perhaps think that you could never manage
that, but just look at these pretty little pictures of the things and
see how simple they all are. I am sure then that you will want to try
and copy them for your own dear dolly.

Before starting to make the outfit for the doll’s bed, get your
materials together. Perhaps someone gave you a bedstead on your last
birthday? If not, buy one the right size for your favourite doll. The
one in the picture is a metal one with a wire mattress.

For the mattress, try to get a material something like that generally
used for mattresses, but not so thick; a striped print would do quite
nicely. The mattress illustrated and the pillows are made of grey, and
white striped material, bound with red ribbon.

The cover for the wire mattress is made of white calico, the blankets
of cream flannel, the sheets and pillow-cases of white linen; the
bedspread and nightdress case of canvas worked with “Brighteye” thread.

[Illustration: THE BED READY FOR DOLLY.]


The Mattress.

Cut out two pieces of material a little larger than the bedstead, and
another long narrow piece the depth of the mattress. Sew one side of
the narrow piece around the sides of one of the large pieces (running
stitch will do quite well for this part of the work), leaving the edges
of the seam on the outside. Then join the other side of the narrow
strip to three of the sides of the other piece you have cut, leaving
one side open to put the filling in. This mattress is filled with
horse-hair; but cotton wool, small pieces of rag, or paper could be
used instead.

[Illustration: THE COVER FOR THE WIRE MATTRESS.]

When the mattress is filled, sew up the fourth side and bind all
the seams with narrow ribbon. Red ribbon is used on the mattress
illustrated, and a little specimen is illustrated, showing how to put
it on. The ribbon is held over the seam edges with the left hand and
back-stitched along, taking your stitches right through the seam edges
and both edges of the ribbon each time.

Now you will need to stab the mattress in places, as in the picture, to
make it look just like the one on your own bed.

[Illustration: THE MATTRESS.]

Take a long needle threaded with coarse thread the same colour as the
binding, put the needle through the mattress, leaving a long end, make
two more stitches through the mattress in the same place, pulling the
thread tightly, finish at the same side as you began, tie a knot with
the thread used and the long end left at the beginning and cut the
threads, leaving small ends of threads beyond the knot.

Look at the illustration to see the positions in which you must put
these stitches and knots.

[Illustration: THE HEMSTITCHED TOP SHEET.]


The Wire Mattress Cover.

Cut the material a little larger than the wire mattress to allow for a
quarter-inch hem; hem the piece around, and sew two narrow pieces of
tape (or coarse thread will do) at each corner of the cover: the cover
is tied to the wire mattress with these pieces of tape.


The Blankets.

Cut the flannel out large enough to cover the top and sides of mattress
and allow for tucking up.

[Illustration: THE BLANKET EDGED WITH BLUE.]

Turn down about a quarter of an inch single turning at each end of the
blanket on the wrong side, then work in blanket stitch across both
ends. You will see that a little specimen of work is illustrated,
showing how to make this stitch. It is worked from left to right. The
turned-in edge of your blanket must be held along the first finger of
your left hand, and the needle placed in your work downwards towards
you, the thread always being held under your thumb as you make a
stitch, so that when you pull your needle you have a knot right at the
edge of the work.


The Sheets.

These should be cut a little longer than the blankets to allow for
the wide hems, and for turning back at the top. The very narrowest
of hems should be put at each side of the sheets, and one about half
an inch wide along the bottom of each; but the top hems are about
three-quarters of an inch wide, and are worked in ladder hem-stitching.
All about how to do hem-stitching will be found on page 30.

[Illustration: SOME OF THE STITCHES USED:

    No. 1 shows Blanket Stitch.
    No. 2 shows Outline Stitch.
    No. 3 shows Whipping Stitch.
    No. 4 shows the Stitch for
    Binding the Mattress.]

At the corner of the top sheet the initial B is worked. Of course, you
must work the first letter of your doll’s name. If you are not sure you
can write the initial on linen yourself, get someone to do it for you;
then work it over in a fancy outline stitch with embroidery thread. You
have a little specimen of work showing how the outline stitch was made
for the B. In working this you hold your thread down along the design
of your initial with your left hand, and take a small stitch over the
thread, putting your needle in just above the thread and bringing it
out just underneath; this makes a little knotted stitch, and the knots
are repeated along the design at equal distances apart. You can use
this outline stitch for many purposes.


The Pillows.

Make the pillows of the same material as you used for the mattress.
These will need to be each about three inches wide, and a little longer
than half the width of the bed. For each pillow cut two pieces of
material exactly the same size. Run the two pieces together round three
of the edges on the wrong side, then turn on to the right side, stuff
the pillows with wool or small pieces of rag, and oversew the edges of
the fourth side together.

[Illustration: ONE OF THE PILLOWS.]


The Pillow-Cases.

Make the pillow-cases in the same way as the pillows but a little
larger, and hem round one end so that you can slip the pillow in. Sew
two pieces of very narrow tape to each side of the open end, and tie
the pillow into the case.

One of the pillow-cases has a frill round. To make this, cut out a
narrow piece of linen, hem one side of it, and work a simple crochet
edge on to this. Or you can use Cash’s Frillings for this, which are
made to draw up easily into frills.

[Illustration: THE PLAIN PILLOW CASE.]

When the frill is ready to sew on, roll the edge of the other side of
frill between your finger and thumb and sew over the roll, as shown
in the little illustration. Use a coarser thread for this, working
from right to left, pulling the thread to gather the frill as you are
working it. This is called whipping, and is really very much the same
as oversewing, only the stitches are taken right over the hem. Cash’s
Frilling needs no whipping.

Oversew the frill around the edge of the pillow-case.

[Illustration: A PILLOW CASE WITH A FRILL.]


The Bedspread.

Cut out a piece of canvas large enough to cover the bed, and hang over
the mattress, allowing extra around for the hem.

Hemstitch around, taking two sets of threads together; for the second
side of the hemstitch sew together two sets of threads, but take up
alternate threads to those taken up on the other side; this serpentine
stitch is shown on page 30.

The pattern of the bedspread is shown on page 61.

Each slanting stitch is worked over two holes—that is, pull the needle
through a hole, leave two holes on the cross, put the needle into the
next hole, leave two holes on the cross in the opposite direction, pull
the needle up through the next hole, put the needle back into the same
hole as the end of first stitch, and up again through the hole at the
beginning of the second stitch.

Continue to work in this way all round the piece of canvas.

Work three more rows like this, arranged so that the stitches form a
diamond pattern as you see illustrated.

Then fill in the corners with the same pattern, and work the pattern in
the centre of dolly’s bedspread.


The Nightdress Case.

The nightdress case is made with the same materials as the bedspread.

[Illustration: THE NIGHTDRESS CASE.]

Cut out a piece of canvas two and a half inches wide and four and a
half inches long; fold this so that it makes a bag with a flap over
it the same size as the bag. Put the two ends of the canvas for bag
together, and work in blanket stitch round through both pieces at once,
also around the edges of the flap to finish off the little case.

[Illustration: THE STITCH FOR THE BEDSPREAD.]

[Illustration: THE BEDSPREAD.]

Work three diamonds on the front of the nightdress case. This completes
the outfit for dolly’s bed, and I am sure she will like it.

[Illustration: This Patchwork Quilt is for the spare bedroom used by
Seraphine’s Doll Friends when they visit her.]




A Patchwork Quilt.


SUPPOSING Miss Seraphine’s doll-friend Clementine were to write and say
she was coming on a visit next week. Wouldn’t you be in a fix with no
nice bedspread for the spare bed, because you were reading that book
instead of attending to the dolls’ spring cleaning? You will have to
see about a new bedspread quickly, and you can make one that will be
very pretty, with just a few little pieces. Here is where those scraps
that Grandma gave you the other day will come in usefully.

We are going to make a patchwork quilt. It won’t be as large as the one
Grandma has, but Clementine doesn’t require a very big one to cover
her. First, let us just see what pieces we have got together. Some
unbleached calico, some pieces with roses and rosebuds on, some dark
ones with leaves and bunches of grapes, one piece with a little pink
flower all by itself, a few flowery bits, and some with different kinds
of spots. There is just enough here to make something really lovely,
and I shouldn’t wonder if when Clementine sees it she doesn’t want to
change bedspreads with Seraphine.


Arranging the Pieces.

But to get to work. We must think out a little scheme of how we are
going to arrange the pieces. Whatever you do, don’t put the dark ones
on one side, or throw them away, because they are just what you will
want to show up the light ones nicely. We will decide to have our
design in squares. A little square of the pink flower could come in
the centre. Then to show it up, a dark square with leaves and a bunch
of grapes could come above, below, and at each side of it. You might
have four little spotty patterns at the corners between two dark bits,
and above the top and below the bottom dark piece might be a little
fancy pattern. At the four corners left, we will put a rose or rosebud.
Look at the picture of a patchwork quilt, and you will see how we have
arranged them all. Then we might have a border of the unbleached calico.

Before we go any further, do you know what makes this so attractive
and pretty? It is the dark pieces—the pieces you wanted to throw
away—and the plain border. These darker pieces throw up the pretty
light designs, and make them look even more pretty, whereas, if you put
all light together, you could not so easily pick them out.

[Illustration: Tacking the material through the paper square. An old
letter has been used here.]


Covering and Joining the Squares.

If you haven’t done any patchwork, you will wonder how to get the
little squares even, and to join them together. This is how it is
managed. You want 15 squares of stiff paper, each measuring 1½ inches
each way. Stiff old letters will do beautifully to cut up for this. Get
a piece of cardboard, 1½ inches each way, and cut your papers by this,
taking great care that they are perfectly even and true. Cut out your
15 pieces of material in squares, which should measure 2 inches each
way. That will allow you ¼ inch on each side for turning the end over
the paper to make it neat. Tack a piece over each square of paper, as
in the picture. When the 15 squares are covered, join them all together
on the wrong side with oversewing stitches, arranging them as we
decided. You will see how to do oversewing on page 28.

[Illustration: This shows the right side of the square. The tacking
threads are afterwards cut away and the paper pulled out.]


How to Manage the Border.

For the border, cut a plain strip of unbleached calico, 2 inches wide
and about 37 inches in length. On each side of this strip tack down ¼
inch. Now, leaving about 2 inches, start sewing on the border at one
corner of the quilt, on the wrong side, with neat oversewing stitches.
When you come to a corner you must mitre it. From the corner measure
along your border twice the width of the border, _i.e._, 3 inches.
Mark with a pin or thread. Now pleat your border strip so that the
pin comes just on the corner. If you have done this quite neatly
and evenly, your corner will be quite square. On the wrong side you
will have a crease across the diagonal of the border. Stitch along
this firmly with run and back-stitch. Then cut away just beyond the
stitches, and oversew the raw edges to keep from fraying. When you come
to the corner from which you started, you must join the two ends of the
border, and this is done just the same as the other corners, by first
creasing and then stitching on the diagonal.

[Illustration: Here is a corner being mitred.]

[Illustration: This picture shows a corner mitred.]


The Fancy Stitch.

On the quilt in the picture a little fancy stitch has been worked in
coloured “Star Sylko,” and this is a great improvement. This is worked
from left to right, with first a little horizontal stitch then a long
slanting stitch, and below the slanting stitch another horizontal
stitch. Bring your needle up from the wrong side. Take a few threads
of material, bringing the needle out on a line with the first place at
which you brought it up, but a little to the right of it. Bring it out
under the stitch just made, and carry it down in a slanting direction
and make another little horizontal stitch in the same way, this time,
however, keeping your needle above the stitch. Then up again, and so
on. The little pictures will make this stitch clear. When you have gone
all round the border, you can take out all your tacking stitches and
pull the paper away from the little squares.

Now all that remains to be done is to line your quilt, and this is done
by taking a piece of white sateen 7¾ inches wide by 10¾ inches long.
Turn in once and then tack ¼ inch all round, and hem it neatly to the
counterpane, as you were shown how to line the sachet on page 39. Be
careful not to let the stitches come through to the right side of the
quilt. If you want to make it extra warm you can put a layer of cotton
wool in between the quilt and the lining. It is now quite ready for the
spare bed.

[Illustration: How to work the fancy stitch round the border.]

But perhaps some little mother says: “I haven’t got any pretty pieces
like those in the picture. I have only got plain pink, blue and white.”
Well, you can arrange these to look pretty, even if they are only plain
colours. Put a square of pink in the middle, have a white square above,
below, and at each side. At the four corners, where the spotty bits
are, have blue. The four outside corners could be pink, and the top and
bottom centre ones white. Then you could have a white border with blue
stitching on it. This is only one suggestion for plain colours. You
will soon think of plenty more. There is ever so much you can do with a
few pieces and a little patience.


Just Think!

    Mary Mabel Melancholy
    Wouldn’t even dress her dolly!
    The only thing that she would do,
    Was sit and sing “Bo-hoo! Bo-hoo!”

    So the cold, uncomfy creature,
    Was confiscated by the teacher,
    And given to Alice Always-Good,
    Who made it such a pretty hood.

                                      F. K.




For the New Perambulator.


There is one thing that dolly absolutely _must_ have before you take
her out to see her friends, and that is a new pram-cover. You had
almost forgotten that, hadn’t you? Just think how you would feel
to have her dressed in her best for visiting, and sitting in that
beautiful perambulator that Uncle gave you, and no nice cover to match!
Wouldn’t you feel dreadful?

Here is a pram-cover that you can make. This has been worked on pale
pink sateen, with shaded green for the leaves and stems, and dark
crimson for the rosebuds. Use a shaded green No. 8 “Star Sylko,”
crimson, No. 8, and plain green thread, No. 5, the same shade as the
darkest part of the shaded thread, for the lines around. Perhaps these
colours won’t go quite nicely with dolly’s pram and outdoor clothes. In
that case you must decide on some other shades.

This pram-cover measures 10 inches long by 7½ inches wide, then another
2 inches has been added to the length, and 2 inches to the width for
the hem. You may find you need your cover larger or smaller than this
one, but whatever size you have, don’t forget to allow extra for a nice
hem. Tack the hem down all round, but do not hem it: the stitches on
the outside line keep it in place.

[Illustration]

Having tacked your hem, you have now to get the design transferred to
your pram-cover. Just look at the outline design. This is just the size
you will want. Now take a piece of tracing paper, and go carefully over
the outline of the leaf wreath. Don’t trouble about the bud at present.
Next turn the paper over and run over the back of the design with a
fairly soft lead pencil—the outlines will show through the transparent
paper. Turn it over again and lay it on your cover, taking care to
get it nicely in the centre. Keep it firm and follow every line with
a slightly harder pencil, marking it firmly and evenly. When you take
your paper up you will find the leaves transferred to your pram-cover.
The buds are transferred to each corner in the same way, putting them
whichever way up you want them.

[Illustration: AN OUTLINE DESIGN. ACTUAL SIZE.]

All you have to do now is to work over the design in the outline stitch
described on page 58. Work the leaves and stems in the shaded green,
the rosebuds in crimson, and the border lines in plain dark green. You
can then take out the tacking threads.

[Illustration]

Dolly will be highly pleased to have such a nice cover to her
perambulator. She does like to be stylish, doesn’t she?

[Illustration: This pretty Bedspread is made of cream canvas
embroidered in white and blue.]




A Bedspread for Victoria.


I wonder whether you have made the bedspread, shown on page 61, with
the doll’s bed outfit. I daresay you have, and perhaps the patchwork
quilt too. But of course you will not want all your doll-children’s
beds to look quite the same, so how about a bedspread with a fringe to
it for Victoria’s bed? You usually dress her in blue, don’t you, to
match her eyes, so you had better work the bedspread in blue. No, I
know she does not go to sleep with her eyes open, but she has lovely
fair hair, and pink roses in her cheeks; and a cream bedspread, worked
in blue, is what she needs to set her off properly.

The bedspread is worked in coarse cream Hardanger Canvas. The little
detail of the stitch shows you the actual size of the canvas. If you
use a finer canvas than this—as of course you can if you like—then you
will have to take your stitches over more threads to get your design
the same size as the one shown here.

The shade of blue that will suit Victoria beautifully is No. 709 in
Ardern’s “Star Sylko,” size 5, and you could use this for the work on
your bedspread; and you will also want some white “Star Sylko,” size 5,
for the satin stitch. For sewing the fringe cream linen thread can be
used.

If you have not yet learnt to work the stitches used in making this
bedspread, the best plan would be to take an odd piece of canvas and
practise on that first.

[Illustration]


Satin Stitch.

We will start with the white outlines of the border. This is worked in
satin stitch—a very simple stitch, but it needs to be worked evenly,
and the thread must not be pulled too tightly. Do not make a knot to
start the work, leave a piece of thread at the back, and put the needle
through this piece before you work the second stitch. Start by putting
the needle up through a hole of the canvas, miss 1 hole, put the
needle into the next hole; put the needle through the next hole on a
line with the first, and go on working stitches like this in a straight
line.

If you do this in the right way, the stitches on the right side will be
straight, and on the wrong side they will slant a little.

[Illustration: This little square shows the stitches clearly.]

The corners of this piece of work are done in an easy way, look
carefully at the illustration, and I think you will see what to do. The
2 stitches on each side and the centre stitch are all worked into the
same hole on the inside of the corner.


Outlines of Border.

Now if you can do satin stitch, the bedspread can be started.

Leave 12 holes around outside the satin stitch line. Work 50 stitches
across both ends, 84 stitches on each side—not counting the 3 extra
stitches at corners. Leave 14 holes on the side and work a line of
stitches across to the other side, on both ends of work. Leave 14
holes, counting towards the centre from side, and work a second line on
each side between the ones worked at each end.

To divide this into squares, leave 14 holes, and work rows of satin
stitch between the 2 lines.


Centre of Squares.

Thread your needle with blue, and put it up through the corner hole,
miss 2 holes, counting towards the centre, put the needle in the next
hole, put the needle up through the third hole in a straight line from
end of first stitch, then into same hole as the end of first stitch;
work another straight stitch on the other side.

Work 3 more stitches like the first 3. Do 3 more corners in the same
way, and join these corners with 4 stitches, these stitches make the
square in the centre.

The fringe looks difficult, but it is easier than it looks.

Count 3 lines of thread from the satin stitch, this will leave 2 holes,
draw out the next two lines of thread from across the canvas; this
leaves a narrow piece of the canvas with threads one way only.

On page 30 you will see how to do the Serpentine Hem-stitching. This is
the stitch that is used for the edge of this bedspread, only that here
you have no hem. You just do the work on both sides of the threads.
Then pull away the threads at the edge, outside the second row of
stitches, and you will get your fringe.


The Two Dollies.

    I always dress the Princess Clare
        In white with pale blue bows;
    She is a most well-mannered doll,
        And careful where she goes.
    She never soils her muslin dress,
    Or makes her slippers in a mess.

    But Lady Maude is always getting
        Some ugly-looking tear;
    Or else her hat has had a wetting
        And isn’t fit to wear!
    And though I give her lovely sashes,
    She gets them spoilt with muddy splashes!

    A doll who acts so carelessly
        Will have to wear a sack!
    With just a piece of string to tie
        A sash behind her back!
    You cannot let her wear pink silk
    When she upsets her bread and milk!

    But Princess Clare goes out to tea,
        And often has a treat;
    You know wherever she may be
        She will be clean and neat.
    A child like this is quite a treasure,
    To take her out is such a pleasure!

                                         F. K.




For Dolly’s Cottage Window.


LITTLE casement curtains are quite the best kind for the doll’s cottage
windows, and on this page is shown a very pretty one that you will
probably like to make. This is of dark green sateen, and the work on
it is done in light green and pink “Brighteye.” It looks very nice in
the picture, but it looks a great deal prettier when you can see the
colours just as they are. And isn’t the way the little circles are
entwined just sweet? Are you thinking that you couldn’t manage it?
Well don’t think it any more, because you can, if you just follow this
little talk carefully.

The stitch on this little curtain is called chain stitch. It is worked
from right to left, or to be really nearer the mark—from top to bottom.
To make it, bring your needle up from underneath, leaving a little end
at the back. Hold the thread down with the left thumb, and, putting
the needle back where you brought it up, take up a few threads of the
material with the needle. Pull the thread through, but not too tightly,
repeat the stitch. One little picture shows you chain stitch being
worked.

[Illustration: THE LITTLE GREEN CURTAIN.]

[Illustration: WORKING THE CHAIN-STITCH.]

[Illustration]

For this curtain, a piece of sateen, 5 inches long by 4½ inches wide,
is needed. Turn a narrow hem on all four sides, and tack it. The top
edge must be hemmed with tiny stitches, but the other three sides
need not be hemmed, as the chain stitches will keep the hems down.
This chain stitch can now be worked over the hems, on the right side.
Now measure in 1 inch from the left side of chain stitch, and work
another row in the same way. Between these two straight rows come the
interwoven circles. To get these circles even, cut out a piece of
cardboard the same size as the top of your thimble, and draw little
circles round it on the sateen, allowing each circle to overlap the
last one just a little bit. Now each little round touches the next
one at two points. At one of these points it goes under, and at the
other, over the next round. You will easily see what I mean by looking
carefully at this little curtain. When the circles are all finished,
they look like a chain, with one pink and one green link alternately.
The only other thing to do is to sew the rings to the top of the
curtain, for putting your curtain rod through. You will want one just
like it for the other side of the window, and in making this, be sure
and get your circles on the opposite side of the curtain, so as to make
them a perfect pair.




Carpets and Hearthrugs.


The worst of having a house papered and painted a fresh colour is that
it means getting all the furnishings to match, and carpets, hearthrugs,
curtains, etc., are expensive items, if you have to buy them. But one
must have a change in the doll’s cottage sometimes, so suppose, to-day,
you learn how to make a pretty carpet and hearthrug for it.

You can make your carpet and rug of whatever shades you like, and it
would be best to choose colours that will go nicely with your wall
paper. For instance, if the sitting-room of your doll’s cottage is
going to have a paper with pink roses and green leaves on the wall, you
had better decide to have pink and green for your carpet and rug. If
you have yellow walls, a carpet in a lovely shade of brown, and just
a little yellow in it would be delightful. Of course, if the doll’s
cottage has white or cream walls, you can choose whatever colours you
like for the floor.

[Illustration: THE IN-AND-OUT PATTERN FOR A RUG.]


The In-and-Out Pattern.

Let us make this little rug first, as this is a particularly easy
pattern. Cream Congress Canvas has been used for this, and on page
78 there is a picture of a little bit worked on canvas, that you may
see which way the stitches go. This rug measures 4 inches long by 2½
inches wide when finished, but it does not matter at all what size you
make it. This has been worked in Baldwin & Walker’s Ladyship 3-ply
Fingering, pink and green. This is a lovely soft wool to use.

Commence by turning the canvas in all round and tack it. Run the pink
wool up a little way at the back of the canvas, leave a loop at the
end, then start the first row between 2nd and 3rd threads from the
left side, * pass the pink wool under 1 thread of canvas; then over 6
threads and under 2 threads 6 times, now over 6 threads and under 1 at
end of canvas, leave a loop at end, and start the next row between the
next two threads of canvas. *

Work four more rows from * to *.

[Illustration: THE TWISTED AND DARNED PATTERN.]

_6th Row._—Pass the pink wool under 1 thread, over 2 threads, under 2
threads, over 6 threads 6 times; now under 2 threads, over 2 threads,
under 1 thread. Work 4 more rows like this. Repeat from 1st row to
10th row until the work is the right width.

Turn the canvas round and work the green wool across the canvas left
between the pink wool.

[Illustration: THE IN-AND-OUT PATTERN.]

_1st Row._—Start between the 3rd and 4th threads from the top and the
6th and 7th threads from the side.* Pass the green wool over 6 threads
and under 4 threads twice, then over 6 threads, slip thread on to next
hole at the back of the canvas. Work 2 more rows like this from *.

_4th Row._—Start the 4th row in the same hole as the 1st pink stitch of
group ends. Pass the green wool over 5 threads, then under 4 threads
and over 6 threads three times, now over 6 threads, slip the thread at
back to the next hole for next row.

Work 2 more rows like this. Oversew the 2 threads at the end of the
rows with green wool, and twist the wool over the single thread at the
end of the fringe loops.

If there is any difficulty in counting the threads when working the
green across, look at the back of the work.

Repeat the 6 rows until all the canvas between the pink threads is
covered.


The Twisted and Darned Pattern.

If you want to use the design for a carpet you can make it larger and
square-shaped, or here is another design that is thicker, and will
therefore be softer and nicer for the dolls’ feet.

[Illustration: THE TWISTED AND DARNED CARPET PATTERN.]

This twisted pattern is also shown in the shape for a rug, which
measures 5 inches long by 3 inches wide, but it can be made whatever
size and shape you like. It has also been worked on Congress Canvas,
with Baldwin & Walker’s Ladyship 3-ply Fingering. The colours used are
light green for the twisted pattern, heliotrope for the star in the
middle, and dark green for the darning. With this carpet a paper with
pansies or violets would look very pretty.

Here again little samples of the stitches have been worked on canvas,
that you may see clearly how they are done.

[Illustration: THE DETAIL FOR WORKING THE DIAGONAL PATTERN.]

The twisted pattern is worked in satin stitch over 4 threads of canvas.

You will see this stitch is described on page 71, and if you look at
the pattern carefully, you will get the twist over and under quite
right. To make the corners, work the stitches over 3, then 2, and 1
thread, then over the middle, work the other side of corner over 1, 2,
and 3 threads, finish over 4 threads into the same hole as the last
stitch, over 4 threads on the other side of the corner. Look at the
pattern on the canvas as you work this out, that will also show how
many stitches to do, and the way they are arranged.

[Illustration: A HEARTHRUG IN THE DIAGONAL DESIGN.]

For the star in the centre, work from corner to corner twice, crossing
the thread in the centre, then another stitch from the centre hole
on the top to the centre hole at opposite end, and another across the
centre.

The canvas between the twisted pattern is darned, that is, pass the
thread over 2 threads of canvas and under 2 threads—this also is
plainly shewn on the coarse canvas.

[Illustration: Fading light.]

Work blanket stitch into every hole around the edge.

A square carpet of this design, with a small rug of the In-and-Out
pattern, would look very well, but you would have to use the same
colours for both, of course. The carpet could be fastened to the
cottage floor with small drawing pins.


The Diagonal Pattern.

Here is still another kind of rug that you can make. It is also worked
in Baldwin & Walker’s 3-ply Ladyship Fingering on Congress Canvas, and
the colours that have been used are pale blue, grey, and violet. A row
is worked in each colour until the rug is large enough. This little
hearthrug shown measures 4 inches by 2 inches, but you can make it as
large as you like.

The rug is worked in satin stitch for the 1st row, the stitches are
upright, over 4 threads, but each fresh stitch is started one thread
lower, and of course finishes one thread lower. The next row is worked
across, also over 4 threads, each stitch is started one thread farther
back than the one before, and finished in the same hole as one of the
stitches of the row before.

If you look at the two little specimens that have been worked, I don’t
think you will have any trouble over this. You will notice that when
you come to the edge, and want to finish off straight, you have to take
your stitches over 4 threads, 3 threads, 2 threads, and then 1 thread.

The edge of the rug is worked in blanket stitch.




The Ostrich and the Silkworm.

_This Poem was written over a hundred years ago._


    One morning an ostrich, returning with glee
        From laying her eggs in the sand,
    Trotted under the boughs of a mulberry tree,
        Where a silkworm was weaving her band.

    “Good day,” said the worm, wishing much to be heard,
        “Any news in the papers, my dear?”
    “Who’s there—is it you, my good friend?” said the bird;
        “Why, no, not a line that I hear.

    “Except—yes, I met with one comical thing
        (Design’d, I suppose, for a skit),
    An account of a feather I brush’d from my wing,
        Because it was ruffled and split.

    “And a cone of old silk you had dropt to the ground
        (Choice articles both, I confess),
    That one of those great human creatures had found,
        And made somehow into a dress;

    “And when it was finish’d (you wouldn’t suppose
        Such queer, unaccountable pride),
    The creature imagin’d because of its clothes
        ’Twas better than any beside.

    “It walked to and fro for its fellows to see,
        And turn’d up its nose at the crowd,
    As if it forgot, little cousin, that we
        Had really best right to be proud.”

    “He! he! why, you don’t tell me so,” said the worm;
        “Ha! ha!” said the bird, “but I do;
    But I keep you from dinner; good day to you, ma’am;
        Mind—I don’t tell the story for true.”

                                            JANE TAYLOR.

[Illustration]




About Dolly’s Wardrobe.




Cutting Out your Doll’s Clothes.


Whatever garment it is you are wanting to make for dolly, you should
first get a good pattern to cut it out from.

You will find that your paper pattern only gives half of the garment,
and by cutting each piece on double material you get the whole article.

For instance, if you are cutting out a chemise for dolly, the pattern
will give you half of the back and half of the front, and you will
notice that the straight edge of each portion is marked “place to
fold,” which means that you must fold your material and place these
edges along the fold, so that when you have cut out the two portions
you will have the full front and the full back of the chemise.

This rule of cutting on double material generally applies to all the
portions of the pattern, but it is not always necessary to lay the edge
against a fold, you only do this when your pattern is marked in this
way. For instance, you will have the pattern for the whole sleeve when
cutting out a frock, and by cutting it on double material you get a
sleeve for each arm.

[Illustration]

Before starting to cut out, clear your table of everything else, so
that you have a nice flat surface; and whatever you do don’t try to
cut out with a cloth on the table, or you will find you are constantly
pinning your pattern right through to the cloth, instead of to the
material only.

You will want a sharp pair of scissors to cut out well, and a good
supply of pins. You will notice that one blade of your cutting-out
scissors has a very sharp point, while the other blade has a rounded
blunt end. To cut out successfully, you must always hold your scissors
so that the blunt blade comes underneath your work. This prevents the
sharp point of the scissors from running into the material, and making
a hole where you don’t want one!

Look at each portion of the pattern carefully, and place it on to the
material according to what is marked on the paper pattern, then pin it
down securely and cut round the portion close to the edge of the paper.

Be sure you cut into the little notches that you will find cut in some
of the edges, as these will help you in putting the pieces together.
The edge that has one notch has to be joined to another edge with one
notch, the edge with two notches to another edge with two notches, and
so on.

If the material has a pattern on it, be sure that you have it the right
way up. For instance, if you are making dolly a frock out of a piece
of material with birds on it, see that you arrange the pattern on the
material so that the birds come with heads up. And also see that both
the pieces of material, if you are cutting it double, are the same way
up. Wouldn’t it look queer if it turned out that one half of dolly’s
frock—when you had put it together—had birds standing on their feet,
while the other half showed them standing on their heads!




Making Dolly’s Underwear.


Good mothers always try to have their children dressed neatly and
prettily, not only giving them nice hats and dresses, but having all
the other clothes to match. Of course, you want to be like a good
mother to dolly, but perhaps you do not know how to make some of the
things.

Well, just look at this pretty set of underwear, and read what is
written about them, and see if you can make a set for dolly.

The nightdress, chemise, flounced petticoat and the knickers are made
of nainsook, and the plain petticoat of fine flannel.

You have a little article on page 83 telling you how to cut out the
garments from paper patterns.

[Illustration]


The Nightdress.

We will commence with the little nightdress. The seams of this are
joined with what is called a run-and-fell seam. Lay the two edges to
be joined over one another, placing the edge of the upper portion just
below the edge of the under one, and run them together, about an eighth
of an inch in from the upper edge. When you have finished running the
seam, you turn the edge of the under portion over the upper edge, and
fold the seam down flat and hem it (or fell it) along. This is shown in
your illustration of the seam. The side you have hemmed is the wrong
side of the seam.

[Illustration: DOLLY’S NIGHTDRESS.]

When you have joined both the seams, make a half-inch hem round the
bottom of the nightdress, and make the very tiniest of hems round the
neck and sleeve edges.

To trim your night-gown you will want a little lace edging with a
beading at the top that you can thread a piece of narrow ribbon
through. Hem the edging along the hems you have made at the neck and
sleeve edges, then thread in the ribbons with a bodkin, and draw them
up to the size for dolly’s neck and wrists.

[Illustration: THE KNICKERS.]


The Chemise.

The chemise seams are joined in the same way as those of the
night-gown, and narrow hems are placed round the neck and armhole
edges, a little wider hem being put round the bottom of the chemise.
Trim the neck and armholes with lace edging, as you did the night-gown,
and draw up the neck only with ribbon.

[Illustration: THE CHEMISE.]


The White Petticoat.

In making the little petticoat you have only one seam to join up at
the centre back. You can use a French seam for this, and to make this
you run the edges to be joined together on the right side, then turn
your work over and run the seam down a second time. I think the little
picture will explain this quite clearly to you. The seam is shown being
run the second time, and you will see how this covers up the raw edges
and leaves you with a neat little double seam sticking out on the wrong
side of your work. This seam will be useful when you want to make dolly
frocks, etc., or anything where you don’t want to show any stitches on
the right side of your work, and yet want it very neat on the wrong
side.

[Illustration: THE FLOUNCED PETTICOAT.]

[Illustration: THE FLANNEL PETTICOAT.]

Don’t join the back of the petticoat all the way up, but leave about
two inches open at the top to form a placket. Make a narrow hem down
each of the two edges of the opening on the wrong side, then place one
hem over the other and backstitch them together across the bottom of
the placket; this will make it firm, so that you won’t tear the seam
when dressing dolly. When you want to backstitch, you start as you
would for running, but only taking one stitch at a time, and for each
stitch you put your needle back into the end of the stitch you have
just made, so that you have a row of even stitches without any spaces
between. I think the illustration will explain this to you. If you are
going to trim your petticoat with a little embroidery flounce, you
must turn a hem round it the same width as your flounce, then whip the
top of flounce to the top of the hem. How to do whipping was described
on page 60. The top of the petticoat is gathered and placed into a band
the size for dolly’s waist; putting gathers into a band was described
on page 4.

[Illustration: HOW HERRING-BONING IS DONE.]

[Illustration: A RUN AND FELL SEAM AND A SAMPLE OF BACK-STITCHING.]

[Illustration: HOW A BUTTON IS SEWN ON.]

[Illustration: A FRENCH SEAM BEING MADE.]

The petticoat is fastened with a button and buttonhole. If you do not
yet know how to make a buttonhole, turn to page 6 for this. You have
an illustration on this page showing how the button is put on. Use
a small white linen button, make a little bar of threads across the
centre, just working over and over through the button and the band,
then bring your needle out at the left end of the bar of threads and
work buttonhole stitches closely together along the bar. When you have
worked to the other end, put your needle through the button and bring
your cotton out between the button and the band, wind the cotton round
four or five times, then put your needle down through the band and
fasten off your cotton on the wrong side.


The Knickers.

In joining up the little knickers you must first join each of the leg
seams, then you join the two legs together from the front to the back,
leaving a placket at the back as you did in making the petticoat.
Finish the placket as before, then make a narrow hem round the top of
the knickers, and thread a piece of tape through this to tie round
dolly’s waist.

Gather the knee edges and place them into bands, and trim with a narrow
lace or embroidery edging. Perhaps you will like to feather-stitch the
bands; this stitch was described on page 7.


The Flannel Petticoat.

Now take the piece of flannel for your other petticoat. The seam of
this has to be joined in a different way to the other garments you
have been making. You first run the two edges to be joined evenly
together, then fold them over and herring-bone the raw edges down flat.
Herring-bone stitch is worked from left to right; you hold the edges of
the seam down, and first take a little stitch below the edges, and then
one just above, putting the stitches fairly close to each other so that
the threads cross evenly. If you don’t feel quite sure of this stitch,
take a small piece of flannel for practice and copy the little picture.
Then, when you can work the stitch evenly, you can do your seam.

Place the top of the petticoat into a band and finish with a button and
buttonhole. You will see that little pleats are made instead of gathers
to bring the petticoat to the size of the band; the pleats set better
in the flannel than gathers.

Finish the bottom of the petticoat with a hem and tuck. How to make a
tuck was described on page 18.

The set of underwear illustrated was made for a doll 18 inches high,
measuring from the top of the head to the sole of the foot. For this
size set, about one yard of nainsook and a quarter of a yard of flannel
will be sufficient. Two yards of lace edging, a yard of embroidery
edging and two yards of bébé ribbon will also be needed.




A Frock and Coat for Dolly.


Making the Frock.

If you haven’t made dolly any dresses before, a simple yoked pattern
like the one she has on in her picture will be an easy pattern to start
with.

You will want about a yard of some pretty soft material. A fancy
delaine or creponne with a pretty floral design on it would look well,
or you may prefer to have a plain material. A yard of lace and two
yards of bébé ribbon will also be required if you are going to trim
your frock exactly like the one in the picture.

Carefully cut out all the pieces you want to make the frock. You will
find out how to do this on page 83. When you have all the pieces cut
out in the material, take the yoke portions of the pattern and cut them
out again from a little piece of nainsook or something that will do to
make a lining.

Join the side seams of the skirt with French seams, then cut a placket
two inches long in the centre of the back part of the skirt, and finish
it as you were told how in the article on making dolly’s underwear.

Now take the dress yoke portions, and join the shoulder seam. Just an
ordinary little run together seam on the wrong side will do for these,
as you will remember we are going to line the yoke.

[Illustration: You can see here how pretty the frock is.]

Gather the top of the front of the skirt, and draw it up to the size of
the lower edge of the front of the yoke. Place the edge of the yoke and
the edge you have gathered together just as if you were going to make
a seam (be sure you put the right sides of the material inside) and
backstitch along firmly.

Turn in a quarter-inch single turning, from the neck down to the lower
edge of each of the backs of the yoke, then gather the backs of the
skirt and join them to the yoke as you did the front.

Join the lining yoke portions together, turn your dress on the wrong
side, and place the lining yoke over the dress yoke, so that the edges
of the seams come inside. Turn the lower edges of the lining yoke in
and hem them along to the back of the gathers, making it all neat
inside, and in the same way turn in the straight edges of the backs
of the lining to meet the single turnings you made on the dress yoke;
oversew these edges together.

[Illustration: MAKING FRENCH KNOTS.]

You will notice that the top edge of your sleeve portion is curved up
much higher one side than the other; the high side has to come on the
shoulder, and the lower side underneath the arm. You will have to be
careful in joining up the sleeves, that in the second sleeve the high
side comes the opposite side of the sleeve to what it does in the first
sleeve, so that you have one sleeve for the left and one for the right
arm.

Join up the sleeves with French seams. Take your little cuff band,
fold it in half and join up one side with a single seam, so that it is
joined in a circle. Gather the bottom of the sleeve, until it is the
same size as the cuff. Place the cuff over the bottom of the sleeve
(with the right side of the material inside), and backstitch the
gathered edge to the edge of the cuff. Fold the cuff piece in half over
the gathers right round, then turn your sleeve on the wrong side, and
hem the other edge of the cuff to the back of the gathers. Make the
other sleeve in the same way.

To put the sleeves into the dress, first gather the tops, until they
are the size of the armhole of the frock.

Place the short part of the sleeve over the skirt seam, so that it will
come under dolly’s arm, and place the sleeve seam to the seam joining
the yoke to the skirt at the front. Make a seam of the armhole and the
gathered edge of the sleeve. To neaten the armhole seams, bind them
with narrow tape or ribbon.

Now you are ready to turn up the bottom of the frock. Measure dolly
from her neck to where you want the bottom of the frock to come. Then
measure the same distance down from the neck of the frock in front, and
turn up a nice wide hem evenly all round.

If dolly’s frock is of plain material, instead of just hemming the hem,
you might like to finish it with French knots along. You must work
these with embroidery thread, and you have a picture showing how the
knots are made.

Bring your needle up through the double hem on the right side, hold the
thread down with the left hand thumb, and pick up a tiny stitch along
the hem, just where the thread comes out; now, with the right hand,
wind the thread round the needle (just as it is in the picture), pull
your needle out, and you will find you have made a little twisted knot.
Put your needle down through the hem again close to the knot, and bring
it up a little further along the hem, ready for the next knot. Make
your knots equal distances apart all round. This is a very good way
of finishing any hem, where you do not want a row of hemming stitches
showing on the right side.

Bind the neck of the frock with a narrow strip of the material.

Divide the lace into two equal lengths, then cut one length in half
again. Pleat the longest piece into the neck of the dress, and one
short piece into each cuff. Loop your ribbon up into a little rosette,
leaving one or two long loops hanging, and place this on the left side
of the yoke. Fasten the frock with buttons and buttonholes at the back.


Making the Coat Dolly wears on page 82.

Serge would be a good material to use. Half a yard would be sufficient
to make it for an 18-inch doll, the size of the one in the picture.
Two yards of a tiny white braid were used to trim the coat.

When you have carefully cut out your coat pattern, join up the
under-arm and shoulder seams. To join coat seams you must just place
the two edges to be joined together evenly, and backstitch them
together on the wrong side. To neaten the seams inside the coat, open
them out flat and bind each of the raw edges separately. To get them
quite flat you will have to press them with a hot iron.

The coat sleeve has two pieces, so you will have two seams to join
for each sleeve; join them just as you did the shoulder and under-arm
seams, and be careful to get one sleeve the reverse way to the other
one.

Now take the front facings, lay them on to the right side of the fronts
of the coat (you will see they are just the same shape as the fronts at
the outer edges). Backstitch these pieces on to the fronts all round
where the edges meet the coat edges, then turn the facings inside the
coat. Bind the straight raw edges of the facings that come inside the
coat. Turn back the top of each front to form a rever.

Turn a single turning half an inch wide round the bottom of the coat,
and backstitch along about a quarter of an inch in from the fold; bind
the raw edge of the turning inside the coat. Finish the wrist edges of
the sleeves in the same way, and put them into the coat as you put in
the dress sleeves; they will need very little gathering.

Cut a second collar out of a piece of soft sateen or lining, place the
two pieces together and backstitch round three of the edges, leaving
the curved neck edge open. Turn the collar inside out, pushing out the
corners carefully. To join the collar to the coat, seam the neck of the
coat to the neck edge of the lining of the collar, then turn the neck
edge of the collar in over this seam and hem it along neatly.

Put the braid round all the edges of the coat as shown. Using white
cotton, hold the braid along the work, and sew it on with small running
stitches along the centre of the braid.

Make three buttonholes on the right front of the coat, and sew buttons
on the left front to correspond.

[Illustration: This is the Peacock Cloth. One Peacock is standing on
the top of a wall, while the other struts about on the grass and shows
off his splendid feathers. Isn’t it pretty?]




A Chapter about Pretty Oddments.




A Peacock Cloth.


THE sight of these pretty peacocks makes you long to sit down and start
working them, I am sure, and when worked on a square of white Hardanger
canvas, they really make a most attractive little cloth or table-centre.

The cloth in the picture was about 12 inches square when hemmed, but
you can make it just what size suits you best; this will, of course,
greatly depend on what you want to use it for.

There is one thing, however, that you must be very careful about, and
that is that your piece of material is perfectly square, and not wider
one way than the other. Also be sure you allow about an extra 1½ inches
all round to the size you want the cloth to be when finished, so that
you can have a nice wide hem.

You must first hemstitch your cloth all round, and you learnt all about
how to do this on page 30.

[Illustration: You can count the squares in this Peacock with tail
outspread.]

The peacocks are worked in cross-stitch with J. & J. Baldwin’s Beehive
Shetland Wool, in a crimson shade. If you are making your cloth out of
Hardanger canvas, you will be able to work the crosses very easily.
When working on the Hardanger canvas, you just make your crosses over
three threads of the canvas each way.

I think you will find it quite easy to count the crosses from the
diagrams given, and the best way to make sure of getting the peacocks
nicely even in the corners, like they are in the picture, is to count
the number of open squares, from the corners of the diagrams to the
commencement of the designs, and allow three threads for each square
on your canvas. For instance, taking the peacock on the left of your
cloth, you will need to start on the sixteenth square up from the lower
hemstitched border, and one square to the right of the side border.

[Illustration: Here is the Peacock with his tail drooping.]

Remember, if you start the first cross right and work your crosses
evenly, the design must come out even; all you have to do is to see
that you don’t go over more than three threads of canvas for each cross.

This design would look very well on a cushion. In that case, the
cushion cover could be made of serge, or of crash, or of linen. Crash
is very easy to work on, and washes well. If the material is so fine
that it tries your eyes to count the threads, then it is easy to tack
Penelope canvas over the material, and work the cross-stitches on this,
drawing the canvas threads out when the work is finished.




Some Pretty Bead-work.


There are very few little girls—or big ones either—who are not fond of
beads. There is something so fascinating, isn’t there, in seeing what
pretty things we can make by threading them. And there are so many
lovely ways in which you can use beads.

[Illustration: GREEN VENETIAN AND SMALL CRYSTAL BEADS.]

You see the picture on page 98, showing four little rows of beads.
Well, each is a section of a pretty chain, either of which any little
girl could make. The top one is made of tiny metal beads and shell
beads. There are 12 tiny beads, then 3 shell beads, all the way along.

The next chain shows beads of four different sizes, some dark and some
light. This is part of a lovely, long muff chain. Just below is another
chain, which is a very simple arrangement, being simply 12 metal beads,
then 1 ordinary coral bead. The bottom chain of the little group is
made of small, dull blue beads—24 are threaded, then 2 little pink
ones, next 1 deep coloured pearl bead, 2 pink, 24 blue, and so on.

[Illustration: OF SMALL PALE BLUE AND PEARL BEADS.]

The picture above shows a pretty necklace made on 2 threads. You thread
the tiny beads on single threads, then when you come to a larger bead,
you put both threads through the same bead. The 5 very big beads are
green Venetian beads, and look so pretty.

Another necklace worked on 2 threads is also shown. The beads here
are pale blue, with a small pearl here and there. Both threads are
put through the same beads, until you come to the front part. There
they are divided, and more put on the lower thread, to make the little
loops, then both are threaded through the same bead again. This is done
7 times, to make 7 loops, then for the remainder all the beads are
threaded on 2 threads.

[Illustration: FOUR SIMPLE BEAD CHAINS.]

The upper picture on page 99 shows sections of 3 chains made of small
beads. These are made on a bead loom. On these looms you can make
lovely things, and the beads to use are Venetian Iridescent, Cut Tosca,
or No. 8 Cut Metal. The work is very easy, and is done as follows:—

Always cut one more warp thread than the number of beads to be used in
width, for instance, if the width of work is to be 6 bead wide cut 7
threads. Also in making necklaces cut the thread several inches longer,
so as to prevent joining and to allow for the fastening on of the snap.

[Illustration: CHAINS MADE ON A LOOM.]

After cutting threads, commence to tie all threads together at one end,
fix this on the nail on the spool and then place each of the threads in
rotation on the notches of bridge, carrying the threads to the opposite
bridge. Then place the threads in same rotation on the second bridge;
now draw the threads tight and with the remains of length tie on round
the end of loom and fix in and around the pegs. This is called the
warp. You now get your thread for threading the beads, and tie the end
at the first or left-hand warp, thread the same number of beads in the
way you want the first row made, and push them up between the warps,
and repeat this again and again until the design is finished.

[Illustration: A BEAD LOOM.]




Pretty Things in Woolwork.


Have you ever burnt your finger? If so, you know just what it is like,
and you don’t want me to tell you how it feels! When you have once had
a burn or a scald, you are very careful not to get another if you can
help it, and you won’t want anyone else to burn themselves, I know.

Has Grandmamma a kettle holder? She certainly ought to have one,
because it is really a nasty thing to pick up a hot kettle without a
holder. You just want to drop it at once! Suppose you start right away
to make a kettle holder. I mean a really pretty one, of course, that
will be delightful to look at, as well as useful.

[Illustration: Here is a pretty Kettle Holder.

It hangs up by the loop at the top.]

Here is a lovely chance for you to do some Berlin Woolwork. This is
done on Penelope Canvas. You have already learnt to work cross-stitch
designs on Penelope Canvas, haven’t you? so you have not so very much
that is fresh to learn here. When you did the work before, however, you
pulled the threads away afterwards, but here you do not pull any away,
but you cover the whole of the canvas square with some pretty pattern.
It may be alternate rows of two colours, or it may be a little square
pattern, or it can be the “upstairs and downstairs” pattern that you
see in the kettle holder on this page.

The easiest kind of kettle holder to start with would be one like the
mat on page 103—in green and purple—working a row of green crosses, and
then a row of purple crosses. When you are working several crosses in a
row, you do not finish each cross before going on to the next. You make
the halves of the crosses all one way, and then go back and cross them
all. You will see what I mean by the top illustration in the picture on
this page, showing the stitches.

You will want some Penelope Canvas, and some purple and some green
Berlin wool—J. and J. Baldwin’s English-made Berlin wool is the kind
to get, as we all like to buy things that are made in England, don’t
we? You also need a piece of thick serge or cloth to line the kettle
holder, and a pretty cord to finish the edge.

To start the kettle holder, take a piece of canvas, about 7 inches each
way. Before you commence the pattern, thread your needle with wool, and
take over-and-over stitches all round the edge to keep the canvas from
fraying out while you are doing the pretty work.

Now, starting half an inch in, work the cross-stitch, first doing a row
of purple and then a row of green, leaving half an inch all round the
edge. This will give you a worked square, 6 inches by 6 inches.

[Illustration: HOW THE STITCHES ARE DONE.]

Having finished the cross-stitch, turn in the edge all round as far as
the work, and tack it. Take your piece of cloth, turn in and tack the
edge of that all round to the same size as the kettle holder. Place
them together with the wrong sides facing, and hem the lining to the
holder, not letting the stitches show through on the right side.

The only thing to be done now is to sew the cord to the edge. This
finishes the kettle holder very prettily, and at one corner it can be
twisted up to make a loop to hang the holder up by, as you see in the
picture on page 100.

Do you see the little piece worked in squares at the bottom of the
picture on page 101. This is a lovely design for a kettle holder.
You see nine crosses are worked in light wool and nine in dark wool
alternately.

[Illustration: BERLIN WOOL WORK ON A BAG.]

The “upstairs and downstairs” pattern is just a little bit more
difficult, but even this only requires careful counting. You start in
the top left-hand corner, and work six crosses in a row. Then take
four downwards, then four more in a row with the last one down, then
four more down, and so on. When you have worked from one corner to the
other in this way, you start filling in the space at each side of
that diagonal line, working two rows in each colour. Light and dark
green would look very pretty for this. The kettle holder worked in this
design is shown hanging cornerwise, but of course it has to be worked
straight, as in third specimen in the picture on page 101.

[Illustration: A MAT FOR A HOT WATER JUG.]

There is another thing that Grandma would find very useful, and that is
a mat to stand on the table for her hot water-jug. You can make this in
the same way as the kettle holder, with just two little differences.
When the work on the front is finished, turn the canvas on the wrong
side over a piece of cardboard before tacking it. Then line it with a
strong piece of sateen. The cardboard keeps it firm, and it will then
be quite a useful mat to stand the jug on. Then you do not make a loop
to hang it up, as you did the kettle holder, but you simply finish the
edge with a straight piece of cord.

If you have a thicker wool, or use the wool doubled, you can work the
design in half crosses only, that is to say, just take a half stitch
and do not cross it. You will see what I mean by the second little
specimen in the picture on page 101.

Does Grandma knit? If she does she will need a strong bag to keep her
work in, as steel knitting needles have an aggravating way of poking
their heads through the corners of a bag that is not very strong. You
will see how to make a bag on page 11, and a way to make it extra
strong is to work a strip of Berlin wool-work and sew it to the bottom
of the bag, so that when you join up the seams of the bag, you sew in
the strip of wool-work at the same time. Isn’t that a sweet bag on page
102. This is made of pretty grey material, and the work at the bottom
is done in several lovely colours, purple, green, black, yellow and
white, and you would hardly believe how lovely they all look blended
together. The ribbons to draw up the bag, and the feather-stitching,
are of a beautiful purple colour.


Preparing for Visitors.

    We’ve been so busy all this week,
        Spring-cleaning Dolly’s rooms.
    We’ve shaken carpets, scrubbed the floors,
    We’ve cleaned the walls, and rubbed the doors,
        With dusters, pails, and brooms.

    We’ve made new curtains and new mats,
        A carpet for her feet,
    A bedspread fit for any queen,
    A hearthrug worked in pink and green—
        It all looks very sweet.

    You see, when Cousin Mabel comes
        And brings her doll, Rose Gerty,
    It would be shocking if she found
    A speck of dust upon the ground,
        Or thought our doll’s house dirty!

                                            F. K.




A Butterfly Pincushion.


This cushion case can be made of white Hardanger Canvas and embroidered
with J. & J. Baldwin’s Beehive Shetland Wool in a blue shade, but you
must first make a little calico case and stuff it with bran, then the
embroidered case can be taken off and cleaned when it gets dirty.

[Illustration: THE BUTTERFLY DESIGN FOR COUNTING THE CROSSES.]

Cut two squares of calico 4½ inches wide each way, run them together
along three of the sides then turn the little square bag you have made
inside out, and stuff it with bran. When you have put in as much bran
as you can possibly manage to squeeze into the bag, turn the edges of
the open side in and oversew them together.

Now cut two squares of canvas the same size as you cut the two calico
squares, for the case. The butterfly and the border are worked in
cross-stitch. This stitch was described on page 26.

[Illustration: The Cord gives the Pincushion a pretty finish.]

Make your first row of crosses 8 threads in from the edge of the
square, going over three threads of canvas for each cross and leaving
three threads between each. Then put the second row of crosses above
the open spaces of the first row. A cross is then added at each corner
three threads in from the border.

To get the butterfly right in the centre of the square, count the
crosses on the design and place the centre cross of the butterfly even
with the centre cross of the border each way. Now sew your two squares
of canvas together along three of the edges on the wrong side, taking
a seam of four threads of canvas. Turn on to the right side, pull the
case over the stuffed cushion, and oversew the edges of the fourth side
together.

[Illustration]

Finish the cushion with blue cord, making a loop at each corner; the
cord should be hemmed on along the seam all round. The oversewn seam
can be opened a little way and the ends of the cord tucked in and sewn
securely to make a neat finish. Three-quarters of a yard of cord will
be sufficient to go round the cushion.

This little butterfly would also look very pretty on a cushion for
Dolly’s chair or couch, and you could make the cushion in exactly the
same way as the pincushion, only you would not need to stuff it so
full, but leave it loose and soft for Dolly’s head.

Or, if you can knit, you could knit her a woollen bedspread, using J. &
J. Baldwin’s 4-ply Beehive Fingering. Knit it in plain garter stitch,
the length and width you require. Then work a cross-stitch border all
round, and the butterfly in the centre. It is easy to work cross-stitch
on plain knitting.




The Farmyard Curtain.


Isn’t this a pretty curtain? It has quite a farmyard of animals on it.
First, there is the stately cock; then two rabbits, one running along
and one sitting down; and then quite a group of ducks and ducklings.
Perhaps if you were to ask mother, she would let you make some like it
for your own bedroom.

Cream Congress canvas was used to make the curtain, and it was lined
with sateen of the same shade. The animals and border are worked in
green “Star Sylko” thread, No. 5, Shade 754. The curtain in the picture
is about 18 inches wide and 21 inches deep, but you would, of course,
make it the right size for your own window.

First cut your canvas to the size required, allowing about 6 threads
of canvas extra all round for turnings. Turn in a single turning of 6
threads all round and tack securely.

[Illustration: The curtain looks like this when it hangs at the window.]


Working the Border.

Now look carefully at the border and see how this is done. You have an
illustration showing how to make the various stitches used. You first
work slanting up-and-down stitches all along the side edges and across
the bottom of the curtain, going over 4 threads of canvas.

Commencing from the top of the right side edge of the curtain, count
4 threads from the top edge, and put your needle up through the hole
right on the edge; go over 4 threads to the right and 4 threads up, put
your needle in and pick up 8 threads; make a slanting stitch back again
down to the edge of the canvas, and put your needle into the hole you
first brought it out of, pick up 8 threads along the edge, and repeat
this up and down all the way round three sides of the curtain.

I think the little picture will best show you how this is done; you
will see that two slanting stitches meet at the corner. In picking up
the lower threads only take up the single canvas, so that no stitches
will be shown at the edge on the other side.

[Illustration: A CORNER SHOWING THE BORDER.]

Now to complete the edge, buttonhole stitches are worked around.
Directions for making buttonhole stitch are given on page 6. One stitch
is placed at each point of the slanting stitches, putting your needle
down through the fold of the edge of the curtain. How this should look
can be seen in the second specimen in the illustration of the stitches.
You will notice that three stitches are made into the one hole at the
corner.

You have now to work the rows of stars around to finish the border.
These are worked as shown in the third specimen in your illustration of
stitches. All the stitches of the star start from the centre hole, the
four long stitches being worked over four threads of the canvas, and
the four short stitches over 2; one thread of canvas is left between
each star. There should also be four threads left between the points of
the first row of stars and the stitches round the edge of the curtain.
One row of stars is worked all round, a second row and a row of half
stars being added across the bottom.

[Illustration: SHOWING SOME OF THE STITCHES USED ON THE CURTAIN.]


The Animals.

The animals are worked in cross-stitch, going over 2 threads of canvas
for each cross. If you are not quite sure how to work cross-stitch,
you can find out by looking at page 26. You will be able to count the
crosses from the diagrams given. Of course, if your curtain is to be
much larger than this one, you will have to leave more space between
each animal.

Also, you might like to make your curtain of some other material
instead of the canvas, and if you are using a plain material, without
even threads to count, you can first tack Penelope canvas where you
want your animals, and work over this, pulling the threads of canvas
away after, as you see explained on page 27. For instance, the curtain
would look quite nice made of unbleached calico in this way. You have a
set of pictures on page 111, showing the animals worked over Penelope
canvas, and these will help you, if you are using calico, or casement
cloth for your curtain.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

[Illustration: From these diagrams you can easily count the crosses for
the animals.]

The pictures on this page show the animals worked over Penelope Canvas.
You would do them this way if you make your curtain of sateen or
unbleached calico.

[Illustration]

[Illustration: You can see that this is the Swimming Duck. On the left
is the Cock.]

[Illustration]

[Illustration: This is the Running Rabbit. The one on the left prefers
to sit still.]

[Illustration]

[Illustration: Here are the Duck and Duckling. On the left is the
Duckling flapping his wings.]


Lining the Curtain.

You now cut out a piece of sateen exactly the same size as you cut the
canvas, turn in a narrow single turning, and tack the sateen to the
wrong side of the curtain. The stitch used for sewing the lining to the
curtain is shown at the bottom of your illustration of stitches. In
working this, you hold a strand of your embroidery thread along just
in from the edge of your work, and sew over this, with small slanting
stitches, putting your needle in just above the line of thread, and
bringing it out just underneath. The coloured thread is used for this;
a white thread is used in the specimen, just to show you how the
stitches should look.

[Illustration]

When you are doing this part of the work, be careful that you do not
take your stitches through to the right side of the curtain, but only
pick up the turned-in edge of the canvas with the sateen.

Sew 7 bone curtain rings to the top of curtain at even distances apart,
and the curtain is complete.

[Illustration]

You will need two curtains, or even three, if your window is a very
wide one. But each curtain is made in exactly the same way. And when
they are finished, you will be very proud of your needle-work I am
sure. And all your friends will be able to see it, without any showing,
every time they come into your room.




Index.




                                                                   PAGE
  Alphabet, A Cross-stitch                                       52, 53
  Amiable Pussy Cats, The                                            47
  Apron, A Handy Work                                                 3

  Backstitching                                                      88
  Bag, The Orchid Flower Stocking                                    50
  Bag, A Knitting                                                   102
  Bag, The Lambkin                                                   11
  Bag, Making a Macramè                                              43
  Band, Putting Gathers into a                                        4
  Bead Work                                                          97
  Bed, For Dolly’s                                                   55
  Bedspread for Victoria, A                                          71
  Berlin Wool Work                                                  100
  Binding Seams                                                      58
  Blanket Stitch                                                     58
  Butterfly Pincushion, A                                           105
  Buttonhole, Making a                                                6
  Button, How to Sew on a                                            88

  Carpets and Hearthrugs                                             76
  Cats on a Chair Back                                               29
  Cats, The Amiable Pussy                                            47
  Cloth, A Peacock                                                   95
  Chain Stitch                                                       75
  Chair Back, Cats on a                                              29
  Cosy Cover, Making a                                               47
  Cottage Window, For Dolly’s                                        74
  Covering Squares for Patchwork                                     64
  Cross-stitch Alphabet, A                                       52, 53
  Cross-stitch over Penelope Canvas, How to Work                     26
  Cross-stitch on Hardanger Canvas, How to Work                      95
  Cross-stitch, A Feeder in                                          25
  Cross-stitch Designs             12, 16, 27, 32, 48, 51, 95, 105, 110
  Curtain, The Farmyard                                             107
  Cutting Out your Doll’s Clothes                                    83

  Doll’s Clothes, Cutting Out your                                   83
  Dolly, A Frock and Coat for                                        90
  Dolly’s Underwear, Making                                          85
  Double Featherstitching                                            23
  Draw-strings in a Bag, Threading                                   13
  Dressmaking                                                        46

  Easy-to-Make Pinafore, An                                          17

  Farmyard Curtain, The                                             107
  Featherstitching                                                    5
  Featherstitching, Double                                           23
  Feeder in Cross-stitch, A                                          25
  For Dolly’s Bed                                                    55
  For Dolly’s Cottage Window                                         74
  For the New Perambulator                                           67
  For Ribbons and Bows                                                8
  French Knots                                                       91
  French Seam, A                                                     88
  Frock and Coat for Dolly, A                                        90

  Gathering                                                           4
  Gathers into a Band, Putting                                        4

  Handkerchief Sachet, A Hardanger                                   34
  Handy Work Apron, A                                                 3
  Hardanger Handkerchief Sachet, A                                   34
  Hardanger Corners                                                  41
  Hairpin Work                                                       44
  Hearthrugs, Carpets and                                            76
  Hemming                                                            18
  Hemstitching                                                       30
  Herring-boning                                                     88
  Housewife, A Red Satin                                             22

  Invalid, The                                                       14

  Just Think                                                         66

  Kettle Holder, A                                                  100
  Knitting Bag, A                                                   102

  Ladder Hemstitching                                                30
  Lambkin Bag, The                                                   11

  Macramè Bag, Making a                                              43
  Mattress, Making a Doll’s                                          55
  Mat for a Hot-water Jug, A                                        103
  Mitre a Corner, How to                                             65
  Mitring a Corner for Hemstitching                                  31

  Night-dress Pocket, The Swallow                                    15
  Night-dress Case, Making a Doll’s                                  61

  Orchid Flower Bag, The                                             50
  Ostrich and the Silkworm, The                                      81
  Outline Stitch, An                                                 58
  Oversewing                                                         28

  Pale Blue and Heliotrope                                           43
  Patchwork Quilt, A                                                 63
  Peacock Cloth, A                                                   95
  Perambulator, For the New                                          67
  Pillow, Making a Doll’s                                            59
  Pinafore, An Easy-to-make                                          17
  Pincushion, A Butterfly                                           105
  Pink Sunbonnet, The                                                20
  Pleats, Making                                                     18
  Poems                                     10, 14, 46, 49, 73, 81, 104
  Preparing for Visitors                                            104
  Pretty Things in Woolwork                                         100
  Putting Gathers into a Band                                         5
  Putting Pleats into a Band                                         18

  Quilt, A Patchwork                                                 63

  Red Satin Housewife, A                                             22
  Ribbons and Bows, For                                               8
  Run and Fell Seam, A                                               88
  Running                                                            88
  Rug-making                                                         76

  Satin Stitch                                                       71
  Serpentine Hemstitching                                            30
  Staple Work                                                        44
  Stocking Bag, A                                                    50
  Stroking                                                            4
  Such an Advantage                                                  10
  Sunbonnet, The Pink                                                20
  Swallow Nightdress Pocket, The                                     15

  Things in Woolwork                                                100
  Threading Draw-strings in a Bag                                    13
  Tucks                                                              18
  Two Dollies, The                                                   73

  Underwear, Making Dolly’s                                          85

  What a Contrast                                                    49
  Whipping                                                           58
  Woolwork, Pretty Things in                                        100
  Work Apron, A Handy                                                 3


  Printed for the Proprietors of “THE GIRL’S OWN PAPER & WOMAN’S
    MAGAZINE,” by CURTIS & BEAMISH, LTD., COVENTRY, ENGLAND.

       *       *       *       *       *

Transcriber’s Notes:

Obvious punctuation errors repaired. Text uses both “Brighteye” and
“Bright-eye.” This and other varied hyphenation was retained.

Page 21, “her’s” changed to “hers” (like hers, only just)

Page 92, “embrodiery” changed to “embroidery” (with embroidery thread)

Page 98, “Iridiscent” changed to “Iridescent” (Venetian Iridescent, Cut
Tosca, or)

Page 109, “O” changed to “Of” (Of course, if your curtain)

Page 113, “Macramé” changed to “Macramè” to match usage in text (Bag,
Making a Macramè)

Page 114, “Macramé” changed to “Macramè” to match usage in text
(Macramè Bag, Making a)





End of Project Gutenberg's The Little Girl's Sewing Book, by Various