desired allowing the space it is to be used in to determine the size.
A thread is spanned across the space and the braid whipped for a short
distance, say a quarter of an inch. The space is spanned again so that
the threads cross. Pick up all the threads on the needle through the
centre and make a little stitch to bind them. Now begin to weave over
one leg or strand and under another, so on till a good-sized body is
formed to the spider. In weaving be careful not to skip one of these
little legs (Figure 192).
Another way to work a spider, to make it a little stronger is to whip
each leg as it is spanned.
A third and more elaborate spider is one made with the foundation
thread as described for the first spider and then instead of weaving
straight around make a stitch back over one leg and forward under two
until the body is the desired size. This is called the spider in its
web (Figure 193).
[Illustration: Fig. 192. The simple spider]
It is easier to weave on an uneven number of threads, and the number of
these should depend on the space. A large space requires a large spider
with lots of legs.
[Illustration: Fig. 193. The woven spider]
A fan (Figure 194) is made by spanning three or five threads so that
they come to a common centre on one side and on the other they are
arranged in ray effect. The weaving is started from the base under one
thread and over the other on the first row if there are only three.
The second row is like the first, only the threads skipped in the first
row are taken up. Alternate rows agree.
[Illustration: Fig. 194. The fan]
A Maltese cross looks like four fans caught together. The threads are
crossed lengthwise and crosswise and the stitches taken to gather the
threads in the centre. The weaving is the same as the fans. In weaving
the fans or crosses do not work much more than half way up (Figure
195). A twisted bar is nothing more than a thread overcasted (see
illustration, Figure 124).
[Illustration: Fig. 195. A Maltese cross]
A buttonholed bar is made by laying two or three threads and
buttonholing over them (Figure 196).
In this age of machine work there are all sorts of braids that may be
procured for lace work. Little edges that were impossible to buy are
now made by machinery.
A little edging makes a dainty finish to a straight braid and also
enhances the beauty of the fancy braids.
To make a simple edging, work a row of picots on the edge of the braid
which forms the edge of the design.
Dainty yokes, collars, baby caps, and tie ends can be made of a few
yards of braid and two or three different kinds of stitches.
Another decoration I would like to tell you a little about is Limerick
darning. It is often used with fine lace work on a background of fine
net.
The lace thread is used for the darning. The most common of the
stitches is the plain darning taken up over one hole and under the next
of the net. The next row is worked close to the first.
[Illustration: Fig. 196. A buttonholed bar]
Darning on net is a decoration that is often used by itself. Smart
little turn-over collars and cuffs are most attractive darned in heavy
white floss or colour if preferred. Pin cushion covers and other
dainty articles that every girl loves to have in her bedroom may be
darned to good effect.
One of the most simple forms of lace work is Connemara lace. It gets
its name from the Irish county of that name.
The materials required are Brussels net of any size desired, lace braid
of a width to correspond with the net, heavy lace rings, a ball of
Renaissance thread No. 60 or linen spool thread No. 25, as well as a
spool of coloured cotton.
Connemara lace is used extensively for curtains, bed spreads and in
fact, on any large piece, when the effect is desired and yet not much
work. A good design for Connemara lace is shown in Figure 197.
[Illustration: Fig. 197. A good design for Connemara lace]
The net can be white, ecru, or black.
Draw a simple yet bold design on a piece of stiff paper or better still
a piece of pink or blue paper muslin.
The rings can be bought all ready for applying, for a couple of cents
per dozen but they can also be made at home. Take a pencil and wind
around one end of a thread about as many times as you would judge from
the illustration of the button or ring half worked (Figure 198). Slip
the threads from the pencil and carefully and closely go over them with
buttonhole stitches till all the loose threads are completely covered.
[Illustration: Fig. 198 Button half worked]
Baste your net over the design, then baste the braid along the design.
With a fine thread secure the braid on the extreme edge to the net only
with fine running stitches. Sew one side of the braid entirely around
the design then sew the other side down.
The rings are buttonholed to the net.
If a very elaborate piece is wanted, lace stitches may be inserted in
spaces that are bound on all sides with braid. The stitches, however,
should be of the simplest, such as the twisted bar or spider.
Honiton braid which is an egg-shaped braid is much more beautiful than
the plain Renaissance braid employed in Connemara.
The dearest of baby caps, handkerchief tie ends, and other dainty
little articles on which a fine decoration is desired can be made from
fine net and Honiton braid. Each section of braid can be cut and made
to form petals for a flower or to represent a leaf. Honiton is of
course more expensive than Renaissance braid but a yard of Honiton goes
a good way.
There is a thread that can be bought by the yard, called picot or
purling thread. It has a loop at short intervals each side of it. The
needle can be threaded with it and can be used for stems, tendrils, or
other parts of a design where a fine single line is desired.
The centre of a flower in Honiton appliqué may be in worked various
ways. A small ring or button may be used or spiders may be woven in the
centre. Again the single Brussels or mesh stitch is worked in a little
circle in the centre. Use a very small ring, if you decide on rings for
centre, as a large ring spoils the effect of a flower. Any child can
make designs for Honiton appliqué.
The background for Honiton is the fine Brussels net. Sometimes a double
thickness of net is basted over the pattern and the Honiton sewed on or
appliquéd to the net. The double thickness of net gives a moire effect.
Each section of the braid is sewed to the net only. Sometimes two
widths of braid are used, one size for the flowers and another for the
leaves.
The braids at most art shops can be had in black, cream, or white.
If, however, you are not fortunate enough to get cream, the white can
be dyed at home to be as light or deep as you desire. I use cold tea
diluted in water for a light cream, and coffee for the deeper cream.
Put the lace to soak in the tea or coffee for a couple of hours. Rinse
in cold water and let dry. If it is not a deep enough shade put more
tea or coffee in the water and soak the lace again. Another way to dye
lace, chiffon or any delicate fabric is to get a tube of oil paint the
colour you desire and dilute it in gasolene. Of course the gasolene
makes the paint light, so test the solution by dipping a small piece
of cloth in and see if it is the right shade. A quart of gasolene is
sufficient unless the article is very large.
I know a girl who dipped her white hat all trimmed with flowers and
tulle that was quite soiled into a mixture of gray paint and gasolene
and the result was a pretty dove gray that everybody thought was new.
Teneriffe or Brazilian point lace is such a simple form of lace making
that I am going to stop and tell you a few words about it before we
proceed to the next chapter.
Little forms which look like a large spool with pins stuck in them
can be bought in many art shops, but you can easily make a foundation
yourself for Teneriffe lace.
Draw a circle two inches in diameter on a stiff piece of cardboard.
Sometimes the circle is drawn on white muslin and fastened securely
to an embroidery hoop or frame. Divide the circle into halves, then
quarters, then eighths and each eighth divide into six equal parts.
Make a dot at each division. Thread a needle with a piece of coarse
thread. Insert the needle one quarter inch beyond the circle and bring
it up on a dot. Continue in this manner all around the circle. Fasten
securely.
[Illustration: Fig. 199. The first step in Brazilian point lace]
Now thread a needle with a long thread of No. 80 linen thread. Let it
be extra length. Pass the needle under each loop from side to side
until each little stitch has a thread passing through it. (Figure 199).
Knot the threads in the centre and weave four or five rows, over and
under the strands close to the centre. Skip a quarter inch then carry
a thread around and knot each thread as you pass it. Count the threads
and divide the number by six; on this number weave a little pyramid.
Repeat the little pyramid five times, each time letting it be woven on
the same number of threads as the first. Take a thread and catch every
two threads above the centre figure. An eighth of an inch above this
work another row, this time dividing the two threads previously caught
and taking one of them and one of the next row together. An eighth of
an inch above the row make another row, catching the same threads as
were taken in the first row from the central figure (Figure 200).
[Illustration: Fig. 200. A motif in Brazilian lace]
Sometimes a pin cushion is used to make Brazilian lace. The pins are
stuck in and the threads wound over them.
Brazilian or Teneriffe lace can be used for borders on handkerchiefs
or other fine articles, while again they may be used as medallions on
waists or other thin clothes. The material from under them is cut out
so that a lacy effect may be produced.
Other patterns may be readily made. Remember that the stitches are very
similar to those used in the corners of drawn work borders.
XXI
SIMPLE BASKETS
Basketry is so easily done and at such a small cost that almost
any one, even a very little child, can master it without very much
difficulty. With very few tools some beautiful gifts and other useful
articles may be made.
In this chapter it is my intention to tell little children just how
to make some pretty things with materials that they can obtain from
nature's storehouse and otherwise.
In making baskets a great deal of rattan is used. I suppose that some
of my little readers will wonder what rattan is. Well, I will tell
you. It is a kind of grass or leaf which grows in forests of foreign
countries, twining about the tress, hanging from branch to branch
sometimes hundreds of feet in length but hardly ever over an inch
thick. The people over there in those countries send this material to
us so that we can make many pretty things. For little boys and girls
living in the country there are materials which they can get from the
fields and river banks that may be substituted for rattan.
For instance the water willow when peeled proves a very good material.
Reed, which is a sort of grass that grows on the banks of rivers, may
also be used after it is dried and peeled. Raffia is another material
which is commonly used for this work. It is a sort of soft substance
generally pale yellow and can be bought by the pound at any large store.
Dried grass is sometimes substituted for raffia and the results are
often just as pretty as those obtained by the original material.
Grass twine is used. It is something like rope, and rope is often
substituted for it. Raffia is generally used to cover it in making
baskets.
A few tools will be necessary for our work such as a strong pair of
shears, a tape measure or ruler, a vessel for water, and some very
coarse, blunt-edged needles.
Simple baskets of rattan are very interesting to make and I will tell
you how to make a small round basket without a cover.
For this basket you will need four fourteen-inch pieces of rattan or
spokes as we are going to call them, one eight-inch piece and two or
three longer pieces for weavers.
Before starting the work, the rattan should be soaked in water until it
becomes soft enough to bend easily. Then two of the pieces are placed
side by side in a vertical position and the other two in a horizontal
position crossing the vertical pieces at the centre. Between the two
horizontal pieces and to the right of the centre the half spoke is
placed.
[Illustration: Fig. 201. Weaving the bottom]
These are held in position by the left hand, while the right hand does
the work.
One end of the long piece called the weaver is placed at the centre,
back of the horizontal spokes, with the end toward the right. The
first finger of the right hand presses the weaver across the vertical
spokes, under the horizontal on the left, over the vertical, and behind
the horizontal again. Repeat twice so as to fasten well.
Separate the spokes evenly, and it is now ready for the weaving (Figure
201).
If there is any of the winding piece left, it may be used as a weaver.
The weaving is done by pressing the weaver under one spoke and over the
other until the bottom of the basket is about two and one half inches
across.
Soak it in water for a few minutes and then bend the spokes upward to
form the sides of the basket.
In order to make the weaving of the sides of the basket easier, rest
the work on the knee, holding the spokes with the left hand and press
the weaver under and over the spokes with the first finger of the right
hand. If the weaver comes to an end join a new piece by crossing them
behind a spoke about an inch from the end of each.
When the sides of the basket have been woven, leaving about an inch and
a half of the spokes extending, it is ready for the border.
Cut the spokes to an even length with a slanting cut, so that the
points may be easily pushed down between the weaves. Hold the spokes in
water for a few minutes and then push one of the spokes down beside
the next spoke at least three quarters of an inch below the edge. Do
this with every spoke until the border has been completed. Now our
little basket is finished and ready for use.
Sometimes little girls like to have their baskets brightened up. A
pretty lining of silk or other material would do this very nicely.
[Illustration: Fig. 202. The basket]
Perhaps some children would like to know how to make a basket with
a cover. It only requires a little more time but it will prove very
interesting.
The material for this basket consists of six sixteen-inch spokes, one
spoke nine inches long and three or four weavers.
The bottom of this basket is made in the same way as the one previously
described. After this much has been done, wet the spokes and proceed
to turn them up and weave the sides of the basket. The weaving is
done rather loosely until you have used three of the weavers. The last
weaver is drawn more tightly so that the basket will assume the shape
of an apple with the top cut off. The edge is finished off with a flat
border which may be made by soaking the spokes in water until they
become quite soft. Each spoke is brought behind the next one to the
right of it, and out over the front of the basket. Then the end of each
spoke which is lying over the front of the basket is brought up over
the next spoke to the right and is pressed down inside of the basket.
When it is dry the ends of the spokes may be cut off.
[Illustration: Fig. 203. A mat]
The cover is made like the bottom of the basket, only the spokes are
bent gradually upward from the centre. The material for this cover
consists of six fourteen-inch spokes, one spoke seven or eight inches
long and two long pieces for weavers.
When the cover is nearly as large around as the top of the basket it
is finished off with a border like the one described for the top of
this basket. The cover has to be fastened to the basket and the easiest
way of doing this is by making rings of rattan.
A piece of rattan about twelve inches long is tied into a ring, the
ends being twisted in and out of the ring. Three rings are necessary,
none of them measuring more than a half or three quarters of an inch
across. One ring is attached to the cover on the front between the
border and the last row of weaving, the ends being sewed under a spoke.
Another ring is attached in the same way at the back of the cover and
the third is fastened across a spoke in the front of the basket between
the fourth and fifth rows of weaving. The cover is placed on the basket
so that the ring at the back will be just over a spoke of the basket. A
small piece of weaver is then placed between the third and fourth rows
of weaving, below the border and to the left of the spoke mentioned. It
is brought through the ring on the cover and drawn just tightly enough
to allow the cover to close easily. The ends are crossed and brought
through to the inside and sewed down, as the rings were. When this is
done the basket is complete.
There are many other pretty articles that can be made easily, such as
a mat for a teapot or lamp and trays for other purposes (Figure No.
203).
A very simple way to make a mat would be to cut four fourteen-inch
spokes of rattan, one eight-inch spoke, and two weavers. The mat is
started in the same way as the first basket in this chapter. When the
end of the first weaver is reached, a second is joined to it. By the
time the second weaver has been used, the mat is large enough for a
border. The mat has to be bound. The binding may be done by passing the
weaver under the last row of weaving just before it reached the next
spoke. It then goes behind that spoke, in front of the next and under
the last row of weaving. The spokes should then be soaked in water,
and when soft take spoke No. 1 and cross No. 2 and push it down beside
No. 3 and so on around the mat. A number of these mats may be made and
joined together for various purposes. Two mats joined by ribbon make a
very pretty whisk-broom holder.
In nearly all this work weaving is the principal thing. By changing the
weave we can obtain very interesting and pretty results. The simple
over and under weave may be changed by using two weavers and twisting
once, twice or three times between the spokes according to the size of
the article.
XXII
RAFFIA BASKETS AND NAPKIN RINGS
Raffia is so soft and strong that it is very well fitted for the work
of children's fingers.
So many different things can be made with raffia that it is just as
precious to the little ones as the same amount of gold.
Little baskets made of raffia are dainty and easily made. For example
a work basket, a candy basket, or a basket for handkerchiefs, collar
buttons, and many things are interesting.
For one of these baskets we need one long piece of rattan, a bunch of
raffia and a blunt-pointed needle. Soak the piece of rattan in water
until it is soft enough to work with. Wind the end into the smallest
possible ring and with the needle full of raffia start in the middle
of the ring and sew over and over from left to right until the end is
firmly fastened. The next row is brought around at a little distance
from the first and the raffia is brought down through the centre, up
and once around the coil, thus holding the first coil to the second.
[Illustration: Photograph by Mary G. Huntsman. It is Jolly to Make a
Raffia Work Bag]
Wind the raffia around the rattan until the coil has been brought half
way around the second time, when it is again sewed through the centre.
At quarter distance all the way through the basket these joinings are
made and they must be made to the right of the one below and joined to
the previous row. The joinings form a pattern.
As the basket grows larger the number of joinings increase. New
needlefuls of raffia are always started at a joining, the old strand
being brought from left to right through the upper part of the joining.
The new strands being brought from right to left through two twists of
raffia and drawn through so as to leave the short end lying next to the
rattan.
Begin to wind again and soon both ends are covered. When you have
made about ten rows, which will form the bottom of the basket, bring
the rattan above the last row and proceed as before. Each new row is
brought above the previous one so as to form the sides of the basket.
When the basket is about eight rows high, the ninth row is brought just
a little inside of the eighth so as to have something for the cover
to rest upon. When about three inches from the point where the rattan
was brought up to make the sides of the basket, it should be cut long
enough to finish the row and then shaved off to a flat point which is
sewed closely to the last row. For this basket we will have to make a
cover.
The cover is made in the same manner as the bottom of the basket. When
you have nine rows complete, a border is made to finish off the cover.
The tenth row is sewed to the ninth by a fancy stitch which is made
by winding once around the ninth from left to right and once around
the tenth from right to left and so on alternately until the row is
completed.
The end of the rattan is shaved off and sewed to the last row. A pretty
lining would beautify this article very much.
One of the very simple things which a very small child could easily
make is a napkin ring (Figure 204).
Cut a piece of cardboard or stiff paper about an inch and a half wide
and eight or nine inches long. Paste the ends together forming the
ring. Take two strands of raffia and knot them. Place the knot inside
the ring holding it with the first two fingers of the left hand. The
strand on the right is brought up and across the ring on the top, the
end hanging over the left side. The strand on the left is brought
around the right strand under again through the ring and out on the
right through the loop made by the right strand in turning and
crossing the ring. Pull both ends. The strand on the left is brought
across the ring, the right strand placed over it through the ring and
out through the loop on the opposite side. Pull both ends. The little
knot formed on the edge is called "Solomon's Knot" and it makes a very
desirable edge.
[Illustration: Fig. 204. The napkin ring]
Different colours may be used in raffia which brighten the ring very
much and make the work more interesting.
When the strands of raffia come to an end, a new one is joined by
placing the end over the old one about an inch or an inch and a half,
and working with them as one. The ends may be cut off after the ring
is finished. Sometimes a small bunch of raffia about an inch long is
tied to the outside of the ring. The ends are frayed out to add to the
effect.
There is one article which proves to be most delightful and interesting
to make (that is, to the girls) a doll's hat (Figure 205).
I think that nearly every little girl knows how to braid raffia and
after you have learned how to sew this braid together you can make any
size or shape in hats.
Braid some raffia, say about two or three yards. Have several loose
strands and a needle and scissors.
[Illustration: Fig. 205. A doll's braided hat]
Just as in making large hats we begin with the centre of the crown. A
needle is threaded with a fine strand of raffia and the work is begun
by winding the end several times with the end of the strand threading
the needle.
A coil is then started with the edge of the braid up, not the face,
and it is sewed through at least two braids at a time, in stitches
which run in the direction of the braid. The needle is put in slanting
down from right to left and up in the opposite direction. The crown
is coiled round and round until it is about two or two and a half
inches large. The coil is then brought round with the upper edge just
below the centre of the last row. The following rows are sewed in the
same way until the crown is completed or high enough to suit you. Have
care in sewing the braid so as to show as little of the stitches as
possible. The brim is made by flattening out the braid and sewing it so
that it overlaps the centre of the braid of each preceding row.
When the brim is wide enough one or two rows are sewed more tightly
than the others and the end of the braid is sewed under the brim very
flatly. Now the hat is ready to be trimmed.
I would like to tell a little about the handles of baskets in this
chapter. In most of the baskets already described a cover has been
made. Some people would rather have a handle to the basket, so let us
see if we cannot learn how to make some handles. The twisted handle of
rattan is made by using one spoke of rattan of suitable length, and a
weaver. A knitting needle or something similar will be necessary for
the work.