To make rag rugs, cut rags and sew hit-and-miss, or fancy striped,
as you choose. Use wooden needles, round, smooth and pointed
at one end, of any convenient length. The knitting is done back
and forth (like old-fashioned suspenders), always taking off the first
stitch.
Shoe pockets are made of about two and a half yards of calico,
one yard of which makes the back, to be tacked to the door when
done. Split the remaining yard and a half in two, lengthwise, and,
placing the slips about one inch apart, make across the back three
rows of pockets, by stitching first the ends of the strips to the sides
of the back, and then gather the bottom of each strip to fit the back ;
then separate each strip into two, three or four pockets, according
to the use for which they are designed, and fasten by stitching a
narrow " piping " of calico from top to bottom of the back between
the pockets. A border of leather sewed on the edges of the back,
HOUSEHOLD ORNAMENTATION. 26l
and a narrow strip used instead of the calico " piping," make the
whole much stronger.
To make a case for comb and brush; take some Holland, drill or
ticking, cut in one piece ten inches wide and twenty-five in length,
each end turned up five and one-half inches, leaving a plain piece
in the centre of three inches. Ornament with an embroidered vine ;
fasten together with ribbon strings.
A "lace album" contains either a specimen, or painted imitation of
a specimen, of all the kinds of real lace issued since the manufacture
of lace began. The whole of a design must be given. Fragments of
real lace of family interest, as having been worn by remote ancestry,
are introduced, each one being labelled with the name of the lace and
the noted occasions on which it was worn. The album leaves are of
satin, so as to better display the pattern. When it is possible to pro-
cure a fragment of lace worn by some great celebrity, the autograph,
too, is obtained if possible.
Some little contrivances which have added much to the appearance
and comfort of the dressing-room are as follows : When a room does
not happen to contain a hanging wardrobe, an excellent substitute
may be effected by means of a set of those portable folding pegs,
which can be bought for a very small sum, fastened to the wall by
strong nails. But dresses and cloaks are not sightly objects when
hung up ; and if not covered, they catch the dust in a manner very
detrimental to their preservation. Make a cretonne curtain (a light
ground is the best) the required width and length, with several cur-
tain rings at the top. Then procure at any hardware dealer's two
of those little brass hooks to screw into the wall, which are used
for hanging up cups in china closets — the largest size of these — and
a strong piece of cane about three-quarters of a yard long. Screw in
the hooks just over the pegs, run the cane through the curtain rings
and fasten it up, the two hooks supporting each end. Thus a port-
able hanging wardrobe is at once made, and when the room is swept
nothing need be done save to turn the flowing curtain inside out and
pin it tightly round the dresses underneath it. When there are pegs
262 THE HEARTHSTONE ; OR, LIFE AT HOME.
Page 169
Presented as published in 1883. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
To make rag rugs, cut rags and sew hit-and-miss, or fancy striped, as you choose. Use wooden needles, round, smooth and pointed at one end, of any convenient length. The knitting is done back and forth (like old-fashioned suspenders), always taking off the first stitch.
Shoe pockets are made of about two and a half yards of calico, one yard of which makes the back, to be tacked to the door when done. Split the remaining yard and a half in two, lengthwise, and, placing the slips about one inch apart, make across the back three rows of pockets, by stitching first the ends of the strips to the sides of the back, and then gather the bottom of each strip to fit the back ; then separate each strip into two, three or four pockets, according to the use for which they are designed, and fasten by stitching a narrow " piping " of calico from top to bottom of the back between the pockets. A border of leather sewed on the edges of the back,
and a narrow strip used instead of the calico " piping," make the whole much stronger.
To make a case for comb and brush; take some Holland, drill or ticking, cut in one piece ten inches wide and twenty-five in length, each end turned up five and one-half inches, leaving a plain piece in the centre of three inches. Ornament with an embroidered vine ; fasten together with ribbon strings.
A "lace album" contains either a specimen, or painted imitation of a specimen, of all the kinds of real lace issued since the manufacture of lace began. The whole of a design must be given. Fragments of real lace of family interest, as having been worn by remote ancestry, are introduced, each one being labelled with the name of the lace and the noted occasions on which it was worn. The album leaves are of satin, so as to better display the pattern. When it is possible to procure a fragment of lace worn by some great celebrity, the autograph, too, is obtained if possible.
Some little contrivances which have added much to the appearance and comfort of the dressing-room are as follows : When a room does not happen to contain a hanging wardrobe, an excellent substitute may be effected by means of a set of those portable folding pegs, which can be bought for a very small sum, fastened to the wall by strong nails. But dresses and cloaks are not sightly objects when hung up ; and if not covered, they catch the dust in a manner very detrimental to their preservation. Make a cretonne curtain (a light ground is the best) the required width and length, with several curtain rings at the top. Then procure at any hardware dealer's two of those little brass hooks to screw into the wall, which are used for hanging up cups in china closets — the largest size of these — and a strong piece of cane about three-quarters of a yard long. Screw in the hooks just over the pegs, run the cane through the curtain rings and fasten it up, the two hooks supporting each end. Thus a portable hanging wardrobe is at once made, and when the room is swept nothing need be done save to turn the flowing curtain inside out and pin it tightly round the dresses underneath it. When there are pegs