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has been given to present these patterns in the original form.
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A Postage-Stamp Holder.
A POSTAGE-STAMP HOLDER.
Cut two pieces of perforated board, or of stiff
morocco, two inches long by one and a half wide,
and stitch them together, leaving one end open.
If you choose the board, a little border in cat-stitch
or feather-stitch should be worked before putting
the pieces together, and, if you like, an initial in the
middle of one side. If the morocco is chosen, an
initial in colored silk will be pretty, and the edges
should be bound with narrow ribbon, and over-handed
together.
Cut two other pieces of the material a quarter of
an inch smaller than the first. Bind the morocco
with ribbon. Make a fastening at one end with a ribbon
loop; place the stamps between the two, and slip the
little envelope thus filled into the outer case, the open end
down. It fits so snugly that it will not fall out in the
pocket, and is easily drawn forth by means of the loop
when papa wants to get at his stamps.
A letter-case for papa's other pocket: This can
be made either of morocco, oiled silk, or rubber
cloth. Cut an envelope-shaped piece, about an
inch larger all round than an ordinary letter envelope.
Bind the edges, work an initial on one side,
and for a fastening use a loop of elastic braid.
Sand-Bags for Windows.
These are capital presents for grandmammas
whose windows rattle in winter weather and let cold
air in between the sashes. You must measure the
window, and cut in stout cotton cloth a bag just as
long as the sash is wide, and about four inches
across. Stitch this all round, leaving one end open, and stuff it firmly with fine, dry sand. Sew
up the open end, and slip the bag into an outer
case of bright scarlet flannel, made just a trifle
larger than the inner one, so that it may go in
easily. Lay the sand-bag over the crack between
the two sashes, and on cold nights, when you are
asleep, grandmamma will rejoice in the little giver
of such a comfortable bulwark against the wind.
Rack for Tooth-Brushes, in Rustic-Work.
This is very simple, but it is pretty as well. Cut
two straight spruce twigs, each having two or three
little branches projecting upward at an angle of
forty-five degrees. These twigs must be as much
alike in shape as possible. Place them six inches
apart; lay two cross-twigs across, as you see them
in the picture, and tie the corners with fine wire,
or fasten them with tiny pins. Two diagonal braces
will add to the strength of the rack. Hang it to
the wall above the wash-stand by a wire or ribbon.
The tooth-brushes rest on the parallel branches.
A RACK FOR TOOTH-BRUSHES.
MINIATURE HANGING-SHELVES.
Miniature Hanging-Shelves.
Boys who have learned to use their pocket-knives
skillfully may make a very pretty set of
hanging-shelves by taking
three bits of thin wood (the
sides of a cigar-box, for instance),
well smoothed and
oiled, boring a hole in each
corner, and suspending them
with cords, run in, and knotted
underneath each shelf
as in the picture. The wood
should be about eight inches
long by three wide, and the
shelves, small as they are, will be found convenient
for holding many little articles.
Paper-Cutters.
Another idea for these graduates of the knife is
this falchion-shaped paper-cutter. It can be made
of any sort of hard-wood, neatly cut out, rubbed
smooth with sand-paper, and oiled or varnished.
It has the advantage that the materials cost almost
nothing. Suggestions for more elaborate articles
in wood will be given further on.
A FALCHION-SHAPED PAPER-CUTTER.
A WALL LETTER-HOLDER FOR PAPA.
A Wall Letter-Holder.
This is something which quite a little boy could
make. Cut out three pieces of thin wood, a foot
long by six inches wide; smooth and sand-paper
two of them, bore a hole in each corner and in the
middle of one side, and fasten them together with
fine wire, cord, ribbon, or the small brass pins
which are used for holding manuscripts. The
pieces should be held a little apart. Cut one end
of the third piece into some ornamental shape, glue
it firmly to the back of one of the others, and suspend
it from the wall by a hole bored in the top.
It will be found a useful thing to hold letters or
pamphlets. A clever boy could make this much
handsomer by cutting a pattern over the front, or
an initial, or monogram, or name in the middle.
The wood should be oiled or shellacked.
Shoe-Cases.
A SHOE-CASE FOR TRAVELING.
These cases are meant to take the place of paper
when shoes are to be wrapped up to go in a trunk.
They are made of brown crash, bound with red
worsted braid. One end is pointed so as to turn over and button down, or the top has strings over
the braid to tie the mouth up. There should be
three or four made at a time, as each holds but one
pair of shoes; and you will find that mamma or
your unmarried aunts will like them very much.
Skate-Bags.
A nice present for a skating boy—and what boy
does not skate?—is a bag made much after the
pattern of the shoe-case just described, only larger
and wider, and of stouter material. Water-proof
cloth or cassimere is best. Sew it very strongly,
and attach a string of wide braid, or a strong elastic
strap, that the bag may be swung over the shoulders.
A big initial letter cut out in red flannel and button-holed
on will make a pretty effect.
A SCALLOP-SHELL ALBUM.
A Scallop-Shell Album.
Young folks who are fortunate enough to have a
pair of good-sized scallop-shells (picked up, perhaps,
at the sea-side during the last summer vacation),
can make a very pretty little autograph
album in this way:
Take a pair of well-mated scallop-shells. Clean
them with brush and soap. When dry, paint them
with the white of egg to bring out the colors, and
let them dry again. Now insert between the shells
a dozen or more pages of writing-paper, cut of the
same shape and size as the shells, and very neatly
scalloped around the edges. Then secure the whole
loosely, as shown in the picture, by means of a
narrow ribbon passed through two holes previously
bored in the shells. Of course, holes also must be
pierced in the sheets of paper to correspond with
those in the shells.
A LITTLE NUN.
A Little Nun.
DIAGRAMS FOR MAKING THE LITTLE NUN.
This droll figure is cut out in black and white
paper. Fastened at the end of a wide ribbon, it
would make an odd and pretty book-mark. The
black paper should be dull black, though the glossy will
answer if no other can be procured. Fig. 1 of the diagrams
is cut in white, a rosary and cross being put in with pen
and ink, and is folded in the middle by the dotted lines,
the head and arms being afterward folded over, as indicated.
Figs. 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 are cut in black and pasted
into place, leaving a narrow white border to the bonnet,
a mite of white band at the end of the sleeve, and a suggestion
of snowy stocking above the shoe. Fig. 6, cut
double, forms a book, which can be pasted to look
as if held in the hand.
Are there any of you who do not know the game
of bean-bags? It is capital exercise for rainy days,
besides being very good fun, and we would advise
all of you who are not familiar with it to make a set
at once. Usually, there are four bags to a set, but
any number of persons from two to eight can play
at bean-bags. Each player holds two, flinging to
his opponent the one in his right hand, and rapidly
shifting the one in his left to the right, so as to
leave the left hand free to catch the bag which is
thrown at him. A set of these bags would be a
nice present for some of you little girls to make for
your small brothers; and there are various ways
of ornamenting the bags gayly and prettily. The
real bags must first be made of stout ticking, over-handed
strongly all round, and filled (not too full)
with white baking-beans. Over these are drawn
covers of flannel, blue or scarlet, and you can work
an initial in white letters or braid on each, or make each of the four bags of a different color—yellow,
blue, red, green; anything but black, which is
hard to follow with the eye, or white, which soils
too soon to be desirable.
Baby's Shoes in Cashmere.
Babies who can't walk are particularly hard on
their shoes! We once heard of one who "wore
out" nine pairs in two months! In these circumstances,
it seems very desirable to have a home
shoe-maker, and not have to frequent the shops too
often; so we will tell you of an easy kind, which
almost any little sister can make. You must take
an old morocco shoe which fits, and cut out the
shape in paper, first the sole, and then the upper.
Then cut the same shape in merino or cashmere,
line the little sole with Canton flannel or
silk, and bind it with very narrow ribbon.
Line and bind the upper in the same
way, and feather-stitch round the top and
down both sides of the opening in front;
sew on two ends of ribbon to tie round
the ankle, and the shoe is done. It will
look very pretty on baby's pink foot, and
he will thank you for your gift in his
own way, by kicking his toes joyfully,
and getting the shoes into his mouth as
soon as possible.
A Hemlock Pillow.
It is rather late in the year to make
these pillows, but you can try them for
next Christmas. They must be prepared for
beforehand by gathering and drying a quantity of
the needles of the hemlock, the fine ones from the
ends of the young shrubs being the best. Make
a large square bag of cotton, stuff it full of the
needles, and inclose it in an outer case of soft thick
silk or woolen stuff. The one from which we take
our description had "Rêve du forêt" embroidered
on it in dull yellow floss, and we don't believe any
one could help dreaming of the forest who laid a
cheek on the pillow and smelled the mingled spice
and sweetness of its aromatic contents.
Sachets for Linen-Closets.
If you have any old-fashioned lavender growing
in your garden, you can easily make a delightful
sachet for mamma to lay among her sheets and
pillow-cases in the linen-closet, by cutting a square
bag of tarletane or Swiss muslin, made as tastefully
as you please, and stuffing it full of the flowers.
Another delightful scent is the mellilotte, or sweet
clover, which grows wild in many parts of the
country, and has, when dried, a fragrance like that
of the tonquin-bean, only more delicate.
A TISSUE-PAPER MAT.
Tissue-Paper Mats.
We like to be able to tell you about these mats,
for they cost almost nothing at all, and are so
simple that any little boy or girl can make them.
All the material needed for them is three sheets of
tissue-paper,—a light shade, a medium shade, and
a dark shade, or, if you like, they can also be made
of one solid color, but are not quite so pretty then.
Cut a piece of each color nine inches square, fold
it across, and then across again, so as to form a
small square, and then fold from point to point.
Lay on it a pattern, like the first diagram on next
page, and cut the tissue paper according to the lines
of the pattern. Opening the paper, you will find
it a circle, with the edge pointed in scallops. Now
take a common hair-pin, bend its points over that
they may not tear the paper, slip it in turn over each
point, as shown in the diagram, and draw it down,
crinkling the paper into a sort of double scallop.
(The second diagram will explain this process.) Treat your three rounds in this way, lay
them over each other like a pile of plates, stick a
small pin in the middle to hold them, set a goblet
upon them, and gently arrange the crinkled edges
about its base, so as to give a full ruffled effect, like
the petals of a dahlia, although less stiff and regular.
These mats are exceedingly pretty.
DIAGRAM SHOWING THE MANNER OF CRIMPING EACH SCALLOP OF THE
PAPER MAT OVER A HAIR-PIN.
DIAGRAM FOR PAPER MAT, SHOWING MODE OF FOLDING AND SHAPING.
A Work Basket in Vanilla Grass.
If any of you live where the sweet-scented vanilla
grass grows plentifully, you can make a delicious
little basket by drying the long wiry blades, braiding
them in strands of three, tying the ends firmly
together to make a long braid, and coiling and sewing
as in straw plaiting. Two circles the size of a
dessert plate should be prepared, one for the bottom
of the basket, and the other for the top of the lid
(the latter a trifle the larger). Then draw the braid
tighter, and form a rim to each about two inches
deep. The lid, which is separate, fits over the
bottom, and the scent of the grass will impart
itself to everything kept in the basket.
Hair-Pin Holders.
On the next page is a picture of the hair-pin holder
when finished; and above it you will find a diagram
of it when cut out and not yet put in shape. It is
cut, as you will observe, in one piece. The material
is perforated card-board, either white or "silver."
The dotted lines show where to fold it.
A, A and B, B are lapped outside the end pieces,
D, D, and held in place by stitches of worsted, long
below and very short above, where the sides join.
A little border is worked in worsted at top and
bottom before the sides are joined. The inside is
stuffed with curled hair, and topped with a little
cover crocheted or knit in worsted—plain ribbing
or the tufted crochet, just as you prefer.
A cord and a small worsted tassel at either
end complete it, and it is a convenient little thing
to hang or stand on mamma's or sister's toilet-table.
It will be an easy matter to enlarge the
pattern, if this hair-pin holder would be too small.
END OF HAIR-PIN HOLDER WHEN FOLDED.
PATTERN OF HAIR-PIN HOLDER.
A HAIR-PIN HOLDER.
A Crib-Blanket for Baby.
The prettiest and simplest crib-blanket
which we have seen of late, was made of thick
white flannel, a yard wide, and a yard and
a quarter long. Across each end were basted
two rows of scarlet worsted braid, four
inches apart, and between the two a row
of bright yellow braid. These were cat-stitched
down on both edges with black worsted, and
between them were rows of feather-stitching
in blue. Above, in each corner, was a small
wheel made of rows of feather-stitch—black, red,
yellow and blue. Nothing could be easier to make,
but the effect was extremely gay and bright, and
we advise some of you who are lucky enough to
"belong to a baby" to try it.
Another Baby's Blanket.
For this you must buy a real blanket—one of the
small ones which come for use in a baby's crib.
Those with blue stripes and a narrow binding of
blue silk are prettiest for the purpose. Baste a
narrow strip of canvas between the stripes and the
binding, and with blue saddler's silk doubled, work
in cross-stitch a motto, so arranged that it can be
read when the top of the blanket is folded back. If
the stripe is red instead of blue, the motto must
be in red silk, and it should, of course, have
reference to the baby. Here are some pretty
ones in various languages: "Nun guten ruh, die
augen zu" (Now go to sleep, and shut your eyes).
"Cap-à-pie" (From head to foot). "Ad ogni
ucello, suo nido è bello" (To every bird its own
nest is beautiful). And here is one in English:
"Shut little eyes, and shut in the blue;
Sleep, little baby, God loves you."
The same idea can be beautifully applied to a pair
of large blankets, but this is rather a considerable
gift for young people to undertake.
Summer Blankets.
A pair of thin summer blankets, of the kind which
are scarcely heavier than flannel, can be made very
pretty by button-holing them all round loosely with
double zephyr wool in large scallops, and working
three large initials in the middle of the top end.
For this, you must buy a straw basket, flat in
shape, and without a handle. It can be round,
square, oval, or eight-sided, just as you prefer.
You must also buy a yard of silk or cashmere
in some pretty color. Line the
whole basket, first of all cutting
the shape of the bottom exactly, and fastening
the lining down with deft stitches, which shall show neither inside nor out. Make four little
pockets of the stuff (six if the basket is large), draw
their tops up with elastic cord, and fasten them
round the sides at equal distances. These are to
hold spools of silk, tapes, hooks-and-eyes, and such
small wares, which are always getting into disorder
in a pocketless basket. Between two of the pockets
on one side, suspend a small square pincushion, and
on the other a flat needle-book hung by a loop of
ribbon. At the opposite ends, between the pockets,
fasten an emery bag and a sheath of morocco bound
with ribbon to hold a pair of scissors. Finish the
top last of all with a quilling of ribbon, and you
have as dainty and complete a gift as any younger
sister can wish to make, or any older one receive.
It will cost time and pains, but is pretty and useful
enough to repay both.
This cannot be made easily by any boy or girl
who is not already acquainted with fancy wood-sawing,
and to such the illustration gives all the
hint that will be needed. We would simply suggest
that the body of this barrow is about six inches
long, that it is lined with crimson silk, and that
standing upon a dressing-bureau, writing-table, or
mantel-shelf, it makes a very pretty receiver of
cards or knick-knacks. Many beautiful Christmas
gifts can be made by boys or girls owning one of the
little bracket-saws, which, with books of directions,
can now be bought in almost any hardware shop.
A FANCY WHEELBARROW.
There hardly could be a nicer gift for a girl to
make for her mother or married sister than a set
of tea-napkins, with a large initial letter in white,
or white and red, embroidered on each. The
doily should be folded in four, and the letter out-lined
in lead pencil in the corner of one of the
quarters. If inked very black on paper, and held
dry to the window behind the linen, the initial
is easily traced. The pattern is then run and
"stuffed" with heavy working-cotton, and the letter
embroidered in finer cotton. Another nice gift
is a long fringed towel, with three very large letters
in white, or blue, or crimson, worked half-way
between the middle and the side edge. Folded
over lengthwise, it is a convenient thing to lay on
a bureau-top or the front of a sideboard, and the
large colored letters make it ornamental as well.
Patterns of initials can be bought in any fancy shop.
If desired, they can be bought already worked, requiring
only to be transferred to the napkin.
Any of you who have mastered cross-stitch, and
learned to follow a pattern, will find these bands
easy enough to make. Their use is to fasten a
napkin round a child's neck at dinner, and take the
place of that disobliging "pin," which is never at
hand when wanted. You must cut a strip of Java
canvas, two inches wide by a foot long; overcast
the edges, and work on it some easy little vine in
worsted, or a Grecian pattern, or, if you like, a
short motto, such as "More haste, worse speed."
Line the strip with silk, turn in the edges, overhand
them, and finish the ends with two of those
gilt clasps which are used to loop
up ladies' dresses.
It is very easy to get the material
out of which this vase is made.
You need only go to your wood-pile,
or, if you have none, to the
wood-pile of a neighbor. Choose
a round stick four inches in diameter
and eight or ten inches long,
with a smooth bark. If you find
the stick, and it is too long, you can
easily saw off an end. Now comes
the difficult part of the work: The inside of the
stick must be scooped out to within four inches of
the bottom. The easiest way of accomplishing this
will be to send it to a turning-mill if there is one at
hand; if not, patience and a jack-knife will in the
end prevail. Next, with a little oil-color, paint a
pretty design on the bark, if you can,—trailing-arbutus,
partridge berry, sprays of linnea,—any
wood thing which can be supposed to cluster naturally
round a stump. Set the stump in a flower-pot
saucer, filled with earth, and planted with
mosses and tiny ferns; fit a footless wine or champagne
glass, or a plain cup, into the hollow end,
and, with a bunch of grasses and wild flowers, or
autumn leaves, you have a really exquisite vase,
prettier than any formal article bought in a shop,
and costing little more than time and patience, with a touch of that rare thing—taste! which, after all,
is not so very rare as some people imagine. Any friend will prize such a vase of your own making.
A really charming cover for a small table can be made in this way: Cut a square—or oblong,
as the case may be—of that loosely woven linen which is used for glass-towels, making it
about four inches larger all round than the table it is meant to fit. Pale yellow or brown
is the best color to select. Ravel the edges into a fringe two inches deep; then, beginning
two inches within the edge, draw the linen threads all round in a band an inch
and three-quarters wide. Lace the plain space thus left with dark-red ribbon
of the same width, woven in and out in regular spaces, and at each corner
tie the ribbon in a graceful knot with drooping ends.
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