SIMPLE HOME MADE TOYS AND GAMES
_A Bean Bag Game_
=Materials Required:= 1/2 yard each of blue, red, yellow and
green gingham,
3 quarts of small white beans,
A length of No. 6 rattan,
A bunch of red raffia,
A tapestry needle,
3 screw eyes,
2 1/2 yards of strong twine,
A spool of No. 40 white cotton,
A needle,
Scissors.
Very many good games can be played with bean bags. The following is a
simple one to prepare.
Cut from blue gingham three pieces, each five inches wide by twelve
long. Other pieces of the same size are cut from red, yellow and green
gingham--three of each colour. These pieces are made up into bags by
doubling them and stitching up the sides with strong thread; leaving
one end of each open. This will give a small girl something to do for
more than one rainy day.
When they have all been stitched, fill each bag half full of small,
white beans, turn in the edges of the open end and sew it up, over and
over, with strong thread. Be very careful to sew the seams securely, for
if you do you will have a good, durable bag instead of one from which
the beans are always dropping.
The other part of the game is a large ring of rattan ten inches across,
which is made as follows:
Soak a piece of No. 6 rattan in water for a few minutes. While you are
waiting for it to get pliable thread a tapestry or darning needle with
red raffia. Whittle an end of the rattan into a long point. Next coil
the rattan into a ring, ten inches across; lay the end of your raffia,
with its tip turned to the right, on the rattan ring and bring the
needle, threaded with raffia, around and over the ring. The raffia is
then brought under the long end of rattan, around it and down under the
ring, binding the second coil of rattan to the first with what is called
a "Figure Eight" stitch (see Fig. 1). Hold the ring firmly in your left
hand while you sew with the right. First under and around the lower
coil, then up, under and around the upper one. It is pretty work,
besides making such a firm, light ring.
[Illustration: Playing the bean-bag game]
[Illustration: FIG. 1]
When you have bound the second coil to the first almost all the way
round the ring, cut the rattan so that it will overlap the beginning of
the ring about an inch, and whittle it to a long, flat point. Continue
the Figure Eight stitch as far as you can, then bind the raffia round
and round the ring, and sew back and forth through the raffia covering
till it is secure. You can then cut it close to the ring.
[Illustration: RATTAN RING]
Fasten a screw eye at the top of the frame of the playroom door and one
on each side of the doorway, on the edge of the frame, four feet and a
half from the floor.
Tie a piece of strong twine, about a yard long, at the top of the ring
and another, three-quarters of a yard, on each side. Fasten the upper
string to the screw eye above the doorway so that the ring will hang
with its lower edge about four feet from the floor. Tie the other
strings through the screw eyes to right and left of the doorway. The
game is now complete. From two to four children can play it. Each has
three bean bags of one colour and takes his turn at throwing them
through the ring, standing on a mark eight feet from the doorway. One
player keeps the score, and whenever a bean bag is sent through the ring
the child who threw it is credited with five points. The one who first
succeeds in making fifty points is the winner.
_A Book House for Paper Dolls_
=Materials Required:= A large blank book with a stiff cover,
and preferably with unruled pages,
A number of old magazines,
Some pieces of wall paper the size
of the book's pages,
Several pieces of lace or other fancy
paper,
A tube of paste,
Scissors.
Any little girl who is looking for a home for a family of paper dolls
will find a book the very best kind of a house for them. And then such
fun as it will be to furnish it! First comes the house hunting. A large
new blank book with unruled pages would be best of all, and that is what
we want if we can get it, but of course all doll families cannot live in
such luxury. An old account book with most of its pages unused will make
an excellent house. I have even known a family of dolls to be cheerful
and happy in an old city directory.
It will be easy to find furniture in the advertising pages of magazines,
rugs can be cut from pictures in the same magazines and bits of wall
paper are used for the walls of the book house. Tissue paper of
different colours and papers with a lace edge make charming window
curtains, while thicker fancy papers may be used for portieres. On the
cover of the book a picture of the house, or just the doorway, may be
pasted. The first two pages are of course the hall. For this you will
need a broad staircase, hall seat, hardwood floor and rugs, with perhaps
an open fireplace or a cushioned window seat to make it look hospitable.
Try to find furniture all about the same size, or if you cannot do this
put the smaller pieces at the back of the room and the larger ones
toward the front.
Next there will be the drawing room to furnish, then the library, the
dining room and pantry, not forgetting the kitchen and laundry. Use two
pages for each room, leaving several between the different rooms, so
that the book shall not be too full at the front and empty at the back.
If it does not close easily remove some of the blank pages. Cut out the
different pieces of furniture as carefully as possible, paste them in as
neatly as you can, and you will have a book house to be proud of.
Flowered papers will be the best for the bedrooms, or plain wall papers
in light colours; and with brass bedsteads, pretty little dressing
tables and curtains made of thin white tissue paper (which looks so like
white muslin), they will be as dainty as can be. Now and then through
the book it is interesting to have a page with just a bay window and a
broad window seat with cushions and pillows--as if it were a part of a
long hall. Hang curtains of coloured or figured paper in front of it so
that they will have to be lifted if anyone wants to peep in. When you
have finished the bathroom, playroom, maids' rooms and attic there will
still be the piazza, the garden, the stables and the golf course
(covering several pages), to arrange. If you have a paint box and can
colour tastefully you will be able to make your book house even more
attractive than it is already.
[Illustration: Planning a book house]
_United States Mail_
=Materials Required:= A pasteboard box, about 3 by 6
inches,
Some old white pasteboard boxes
with a glossy finish,
A box of paints,
3 unused postal cards,
A tube of paste,
Pen and ink,
Scissors.
This is a fine game for rainy days. Any boy can make it and if he likes
to use pencil and paint brush he will find it as interesting to make as
to play with. Get a small pasteboard box about six inches long by three
wide and an inch deep--such as spools of cotton come in. Cover it with
white paper, pasting it neatly and securely. Then draw and colour on the
lid a mail bag, which should almost cover it--either a brown leather
sack or a white canvas one with "United States Mail" on it in large blue
letters. Do not forget to draw the holes at the top of the bag and the
rope which passes through them to close it. You have now something to
hold the counters for the game. These are made to look like letters and
postal cards. To make the letters, rule a set of lines three-quarters of
an inch apart, across a box or cover of shiny white cardboard. Then
another set, crossing the others at right angles. These should be an
inch and a quarter apart. The postal cards are ruled in the same way (on
real, unused postal cards), so as to make oblong spaces. Cut these out
with a sharp pair of scissors. There should be thirty cardboard pieces
and at least twenty-five of the postal cards. Now draw on the cards,
with a fine pen and black ink, marks like those on a postal card--the
stamp in the corner, the lettering and the address. Make pen lines on
all of the pasteboard letters like Fig. 2 and paint a tiny red dot on
each to look like sealing-wax. On the reverse side of one write
something to look like an address, and paint in large letters "D.L.O.,"
(to stand for Dead Letter Office) in the corner. Six other letters are
also addressed in the same way, but have instead of "D.L.O." a red stamp
and a blue one, the latter wider than it is high, to represent a Special
Delivery stamp. Nine pieces should also be cut from brown cardboard in
the shape shown in Fig. 3 to represent packages. Paint three red stamps
in the corner of each of these.
[Illustration: FIG. 2]
_Rules for Playing United States Mail_
[Illustration: FIG. 3]
Two or more persons can play this game. When the pieces are equally
divided among the players, the one on the right of the dealer throws a
piece on the table, saying as he does so, "I send a letter to B----,"
for example, and then counts five, not running the numbers in together,
but as deliberately as a clock ticks. Before he has stopped counting,
the player on his right must name a city or town beginning with B. If
he succeeds in doing this he wins the piece, otherwise it goes to the
player who threw it. When all the pieces have been played each player
counts his score.
The value of the pieces is as follows: Each postal card counts one, each
letter two, each package six. The Special Delivery letters are worth ten
points each, and the person who is so unfortunate as to have the letter
with "D.L.O." upon it loses ten points from his score.
_Flying Rings_
=Materials Required:= A flour-barrel top,
3/4 yard of yellow cheesecloth,
5 large wire nails,
3 lengths of No. 4 rattan,
A bunch of red raffia,
A bunch of green raffia,
A bunch of yellow raffia,
A tapestry needle,
Some small tacks,
A hammer,
A tube of glue,
A sheet of note paper.
Boys and girls will enjoy this game, and both can help in making it. The
materials are simple and easily obtained, which is also an advantage.
First of all we shall need a flour-barrel top. This should be covered
with yellow cheesecloth drawn smooth and tight and tacked in place along
the outer edge. Measure with a rule to find the exact centre and make a
pencil mark on the cheesecloth at that point. Another mark is made above
this one, half way between it and the edge. A third mark is placed at
the right of the middle one and half way between it and the edge, as
well as one to the left and one below it at the same distance from the
centre. A large nail is driven into the barrel top at each of the five
marks (see Fig. 4). Two screw eyes are then put in at the top, about a
foot apart, so that it can be easily hung. Next draw on note paper that
is not too stiff the figures 5, 10, 15, 25 and 50. Make them about an
inch high and quite thick and go over them with ink. With a small pair
of scissors cut out these numbers and paste each under a nail, as shown
in Fig. 4.
[Illustration: FIG. 4]
Next there are the rings to be made. Follow the directions given on
pages 6 and 7, using No. 4 rattan instead of No. 6, and these rings
should only be two and a half inches across. Make three rings of each
colour, green, red and yellow, and the game is complete.
_To Play It_:
Hang the barrel top on the wall or against a screen and see who can
throw the most rings on the nails standing six feet away. Each player
has three rings of a different colour, and each in turn throws his rings
at the mark. When he succeeds in tossing a ring on one of the nails he
scores as many points as the number under the nail indicates.
_How to Make a Cork Castle_
=Materials Required:= A number of old corks, the larger the
better,
A tube of glue,
A penknife,
A piece of pasteboard a foot square,
A sheet of dull green tissue paper.
[Illustration: FIG. 5]
Such fascinating castles can be made from old corks--or if you live near
a cork factory you can get plenty of odds and ends of cork bark that
will be even better for the purpose. With a penknife cut small bricks,
half an inch long by quarter of an inch wide and an eighth of an inch
thick. If you are planning a round tower, such as is shown in Fig. 5,
make the bricks in the wedge shape shown in Fig. 6. Cut them as nearly
alike as possible, but it will do no harm if they are not perfectly
regular; the castle will only look more ancient and interesting. It is
wonderful how much the bits of cork look like stone.
When you have a good supply of bricks ready you may begin to build. Use
glue to stick the blocks together; the kind that comes in a tube is the
easiest and cleanest to handle. Leave spaces for doors and windows, and
for the roof use a large flat cork from a preserve jar. Mark it off into
battlements such as are shown in Fig. 5, and cut them out carefully.
Then glue the roof securely on the walls of the castle.
[Illustration: FIG. 6]
Where shall we place it now that it is made? A green mountain side is a
good location for a castle, and it can be made quite easily. Bend a
piece of pasteboard about a foot square (an old box cover will do) into
dents that will almost break it, these look quite like hills and valleys
and sharp crags, especially when they have been covered with green
tissue paper. To do this spread a layer of paste or glue all over the
pasteboard and then press the paper upon it. If it wrinkles, so much the
better, for it will look more like grass and growing things.
_A Doll's Shaker Bonnet_
=Materials Required:= A piece of fine straw about 4 x 6 inches,
Some scraps of plain-coloured china silk,
1/2 yard of straw-coloured ribbon, 1/4 of an inch
wide,
1/2 yard of narrow ribbon the colour of the china
silk,
A spool of straw-coloured sewing silk.
[Illustration: FIG. 7]
The daintiest little Shaker bonnet may be easily made by a little girl
to fit one of her dolls. From the brim of an old leghorn, or other fine
straw hat, cut two pieces, the shapes shown in Figs. 7 and 8. For a doll
six or eight inches long the front piece will need to be about five
inches long by an inch and a half wide. Bind the curved edge of the
front piece with the straw-coloured ribbon, sewing it through and
through with small stitches, using straw-coloured sewing silk. Sew one
edge of a piece of the straw-coloured ribbon close to the curved edge of
the back piece from A to AA (see Fig. 8). Mark, with a pencil, a dot at
the middle of the curved edge of the back portion and one at the middle
of the straight edge of the front part. Pin the two parts together at
these dots and sew the edges together. In doing this you will have to
turn back the ribbon which edges the back portion. Next bring the ribbon
forward to cover the rough edges of the straw where the two parts join
and sew its loose edge along on the front portion. Cut a piece of China
silk seven and three-quarters inches long by an inch and three-quarters
wide. Make a narrow hem all around it. A tiny pencil mark is then made
on the lower edge of the back piece and another at the middle of the
silk strip. Gather the silk just below the hem on the upper edge and sew
it to the lower edge of the bonnet at the back. Stitch a piece of narrow
ribbon eight inches long at each side of the front, for strings, and the
bonnet is done.
[Illustration: FIG. 8]
_Leather and String Puzzle_
=Materials Required:= A strip of thick leather, 7 inches long
by 2 wide,
A piece of heavy linen string a foot long,
A knife.
[Illustration: FIG. 9]
With a sharp knife, a small strip of leather and a bit of strong string
any boy can make this simple puzzle. It is easier to make, however, than
it is to do, as the boy's friends will discover. Fig. 9 will show how it
is made. A strip of leather five and a half inches long, an inch and a
quarter wide at one end and five-eighths of an inch at the other, is
first cut. Then, starting at about five-eighths of an inch from the
narrow end, cut with a sharp knife two slits down the middle of the
piece three-eighths of an inch apart and three inches long. At
three-eighths of an inch from the wide end a small piece, one-quarter of
an inch square, is cut out of the middle of the strip (see Fig. 9). From
the scraps of leather remaining cut two pieces, each one inch long by
five-eighths of an inch wide. Make a hole in the middle of each. Then
pass a piece of stout linen cord eleven inches long back of the long,
open strip in the large piece of leather, leaving the ends of equal
length. Pass both ends down through the square hole and tie each of them
securely through the hole in the middle of one of the small pieces of
leather. This completes it.
[Illustration: FIG. 10]
The object is to try to get the string, with the small piece of leather
at either end, off the large piece of leather without cutting or untying
it. The only way to do this is shown in Fig. 10. Holding both ends of
the string, close to where it passes back of the narrow strip in the
middle of the large piece of leather, pull the strip out through the
small square hole. One of the small pieces of leather can then be
slipped through the loop thus formed, releasing the string.
_A Bed for a Little Doll_
=Materials Required:= An oblong pasteboard box an inch or more
longer than the doll it is to hold,
1/2 yard of flowered or striped muslin,
1/4 yard of blue and white seersucker or other
cotton,
Some cotton or wool wadding,
1/2 yard of thin white cotton cloth,
1/4 yard of outing flannel,
1/4 yard of white piqué.
Almost any little girl who chooses to do so can make this dainty bed for
one of her small dolls. She will only need an oblong pasteboard box with
a cover, and large enough to hold the doll comfortably. If mamma will
let her have some pieces of cotton, flowered, striped and plain and a
little cotton or wool wadding, she will have all the materials she
needs.
First cut from blue and white striped cotton a bag the length and width
of the box. Stitch it neatly together around three sides, turn it right
side out and fill it with cotton or wool wadding. Turn in the edges on
the fourth side and sew them together over and over. With a darning
needle threaded with blue cotton or silk the mattress can be tufted here
and there. The needle is first run through to the under side, then one
little stitch is taken, bringing the thread back again to the right
side, where the two ends are tied tightly together and cut close to the
knot. If these tufts are made at equal distances, say one inch apart,
all over the mattress it will make it look very "real."
[Illustration: FIG. 11]
The pillow is made in the same way as the mattress, except that it is
not tufted. Cut the sheets and pillowcase from thin white cotton,
allowing enough for hems. Make the pillowcase a quarter of an inch
wider and about an inch and a quarter longer than the pillow. Stitch it
around both sides and on one end and hem the other end. Tiny blankets
may be cut from outing flannel, and a spread made from a piece of white
piqué or other thick white wash material. The bed can now be made up,
but it will look very plain. A fluffy canopy and valance (or flounce) of
flowered or striped white muslin will improve it wonderfully. The cover
is set on end and the head of the bedstead is pressed into it (see Fig.
11), making a frame for the canopy. Measure from the front corner of
this frame to the middle of the front and cut a piece of muslin half
again as wide as this measurement and long enough to reach from the top
of the frame to the bottom of the bed. Another piece the same size is
cut, and then both are turned in and gathered at the top, hemmed on the
other edges and sewed into place on the top edge of the canopy frame, so
that the two will meet in the middle. They are both looped back against
the front edge of the frame, see Fig. 11, and sewed there securely. The
valance or flounce around the lower part of the bed is cut wide enough
to allow for hemming at the bottom and to turn in at the top. It should
be long enough to reach once and a half around the bed. Turn in the
upper edge of the valance, gather it to fit the bed and pin it in
position. Then sew it with a strong needle and coarse thread on to the
box through and through. This makes as comfortable and pretty a bed as
dolly could wish.
_Floor Baseball_
=Materials Required:= A piece of white chalk,
A piece of sheet lead, 2 by 2 inches, and as thick
as a fifty-cent piece,
3 or 4 strands of scarlet raffia,
A tapestry needle,
A gimlet.
This is a delightful game for a rainy day, and the preparations for it
are very simple. In fact, when you have fashioned the disk of lead with
a raffia covering, there is nothing to provide but a piece of chalk. You
can buy, from almost any plumber or tinsmith, for a few cents, a scrap
of sheet lead two or three inches square and about as thick as a half
dollar. Upon this piece of lead lay a half dollar, draw around it with a
pencil and cut out the circle with a sharp, strong pair of scissors. It
cuts as easily as cardboard of the same thickness. Bore a hole
one-quarter of an inch across through the centre of the disk with a
gimlet or sharp-pointed awl. It is possible to use the disk just as it
is, but it makes less noise if it is covered with raffia. To do this,
thread a worsted (or tapestry) needle with raffia--the grass-like
material that you have seen used for making baskets. Tie the other end
of the raffia through the disk, as shown in Fig. 12 A, put the needle
down through the hole in the centre, up through the loop in the raffia
(see Fig. 12 B) and pull your strand up close to the edge. This will
make a stitch like that shown in Fig. 12 C--what sailors call a half
hitch and mothers a buttonhole stitch. Make more of these stitches
around the disk, until finally it is entirely covered (see Fig. 13). If
the strand of raffia gives out before the disk is covered sew the short
end through the last two or three stitches on the edge of the disk and
start a new piece by bringing the end through the last stitch on the
edge. The short ends of both strands should be covered with the
buttonhole stitches as you go on.
[Illustration: FIG. 12 A]
[Illustration: FIG. 12 B]
[Illustration: FIG. 12 C]
[Illustration: FIG. 13]
Now mark the diagram shown in Fig. 14 on the playroom floor with chalk,
making the diamond two feet long by a foot and a half wide. In the
centre of it is a circle, four inches across, which is home. Each player
takes his turn at throwing the disk, standing on a line eight feet away.
If he throws the disk into the space marked 1 he counts that he has a
man on first base; if on 2, that he has one on second; and if on H, a
home run is counted. If by chance with his first and second throws he
puts the disk into 2 and 3 and with the third throw sends it into H he
will have three runs to his credit. Should he throw the disk into F he
loses one point from his score, and when he has thrown the disk outside
the diamond three times he is out.
[Illustration: FIG. 14]
_A Rug for the Doll's House_
=Materials Required:= A small wooden frame,
A piece of cream-coloured canvas,
A ball of dull green worsted,
A ball of cream white worsted,
A steel crochet needle, No. 2.
Hooked rugs such as our grandmothers used to make are great fun to do.
Why should not a little girl make one of finer materials for the floor
of her doll's house? Either an empty slate frame or a wooden frame such
as is sold by dealers in kindergarten supplies for chair caning will do
very well to hold the canvas of which the rug is made. Instead of strips
of woolen we shall use worsted of various colours, and a strong steel
crochet needle will be needed for "hooking."
When you have decided upon the size of the rug you wish to make cut a
piece of canvas an inch wider and longer than it is to be, and make a
hem a quarter of an inch wide all around it. With a needleful of white
linen thread sew the rug into the frame, taking the stitches through the
edge of the canvas and around the frame until it is securely fastened
in. Suppose a green rug is planned, with a group of white stripes at
each end. It will be well to mark on the canvas where the stripes are to
run before beginning the work. The worsted should be wound into balls.
Starting with an end of the green worsted, at the lower right side of
the frame, hold it under the rug and hook it up through the canvas with
the crochet needle. Draw up a long enough end so that it can be cut off
when the rug is finished and leave a thick texture. Do not make all the
loops the same height, for if now and then one is left too low to cut
with the others it will make the rug wear better. One after another of
these loops is drawn through the canvas, leaving two threads of canvas
between every two loops, in a straight line across the rug. When the
edge of the rug is reached a row is made above the one just finished,
bringing the worsted from left to right. So it goes on till the rug is
finished, only changing the ball of green worsted for a white one when
it is time to make the stripes. After the hooking is done, the tops of
the longer loops are cut off with a sharp pair of scissors, so as to
make a smooth, soft rug. It will wear better if it is lined.
When you have completed this rug you may want to make others with
patterns woven into them. Draw the pattern on the canvas with a soft
lead pencil and it will be quite easy to work.
Basket Weaving