Chapter III: Part 3

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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