AT HOME AND ABROAD.

Auckland Star, Volume 55, Issue 96, 23 April 1924, Page 12

AT HOME AND ABROAD.

PASTE THAT WILL NOT SOUR. A paste' that will not sour ie composed of 3 quarts of flour. 3 teaspoonfuls powdered alum, and J teaspoonful powdered blue vitriol. Mix in dry state, and make in usual war. It is safe to make a barrel of tins paste at a time if much of it is used. TO WASH CREPE SCARVES. China crepe scarves, if the fabric be good, can be washed as frequently as may be required, and no diminution of their beauty will occur. Make a Strong j lather of boiling water; suffer it to I cool; when cold, or nearly so, wash the scarf quickly and thoroughly: dip it immediately in cold, hard water in which little salt has been thrown (to preserve the colours): rinse, squeeze, and han:? it out to dry in r"he open air. when the more rapidly it dries the cleaner it will be. TRY A LEMOH. An astringent that I have found entirely satisfactory is lemon juice. It also has a slightly whitening effect. Cut a lemon in half and rub the cut end over the face, massaging gently with an upward motion for the special benefit of sagging muscles. An application a week is really enough for the average skin, as it causes a general tightening of the tissues, and using j oftener than this might be unpleasantREMEMBER THAT— A stain on wallpaper may be removed by spreading lightly with a paste made oi pipeclay and cold water. Let it remain for 24 hours, then lightly dust off with a clean brush. And that when a saucepan is burnt do not attempt to clean it the same day by boiling soda water in it. Remove as much of the burnt food as you can without actually scraping the pan, then fill with cold water and a good handful of salt. The following day boil up the mixture just as it is, and the burnt particles will have become so softened they will easily come away with one of those little wire saucepan cleaners. BUTTON WISDQM. * Many a needlewoman takes indefinite pains over the making of a garment, but is hopelessly untidy when it comes to sewing on buttons. For sewing on pearl and bone buttons, always use silk twist the same colour ac the garment; when the button has four holes, determine beforehand ■which way the stitches shall lie. The cross, the square, or two parallel stitches "are commonly used, but a more ornamental form is the "arrowhead" stitch. For this, make one hole the base from which three stitches radiate to the other holes. I It is a mistake to draw threads so tightly that a button is fixed too closely to the material. It pulls the garment out of shape, sometimes the material is torn, and the button itself will not remaie fastened. The best method for securing a linen j button is to make a tiny circle, or two parallel bars of back-stitching. LINGERIE FROM PARIS. Lingerie is especially beautiful and tempting just now, although —or perhaps because—it has never been more simple. Its beauty is derived chiefly from beautiful materials and colours. Lace is practically not used at all. When it is seen, it is only in the form of a flat, very narrow edging of real lace. The pretty fashion of an edging of doubled net, into which the material of the garment is appliqued, is still popular, but the very newest lingerie is i trimmed only with the finest hand hemstitching. This, of course, necessitates square neck lines, as hemstitching can only be done in straight lines. The nightgowns either have Teiy short sleeves or no sleeves at all, arid long | "wing pieces" which taper off into the | low waist. The latest models are held ! together on the shoulder by three tiny j hands of the material, and round the hips by a narrow double fold of the same, which it tied at one side. The trimming in front consists of a little square design worked in hemstitching, j Chemises and, knickers, rather than j cami-knickers. are worn by most French- j women, and though lawn is newer just ' now than crepe de Chine,, the latter is ( still preferred, probably- because of its . varied and beautiful colours. The latest, which has had. a tremendous success, is cyclamen, -,'a most beautiful pale purple shade, which is extraordinarily becoming to dark women. The next in favour is a warm yellowishpink, called apricot, and flesh pink is still mucb used. A pretty "set" was in ivory crepe de Chine, very simply cut, the chemise having a round neck, and trimmed only with sprays of cher- I ries appliqued in bright cerise colour. The edges of the garments were bound with tiny folds of cerise. GO-AS-YOU-PLEASE EMBROIDERY. Woollen embroidery. in "crazy" designs is a, most popular form of decoration for coat-frocks. Almost any wool is suitable for thework—perhaps tapestry wool gives the best results. The -amount required would, of course, depend on the quantity of embroidery, but an ounce—or at most two —would be sufficient for a frock. Xo pattern scheme is necessary. The medallion—or straight piece—is first outlined with black wool in back-stitch (like machine stitch), using a canvas needle, as the length of a darning needle is rather a hindrance. Then, continuing the same backstitch, you start outlining the blocks in any kind of shape or size, so that the whole presents a pleasing medley. When this is completed the "islands" are filled in with French knots, all of one colour. The knots are of the simplest description—just one-, twist of" the wool round the tip of the needle, for each; they must not be packed too closely together nor must they encrouch too near the outling thread, or they would obscure it md spoil the bold effect. Embroidery is apt to display a ten- I ilency to pucker in the hands of an in- j experienced needlewoman. When this ' is the case it will be found a great help : to tack the portion of cloth, where the i medallion is to occur, on to a piece of ' toUe or rough brown paper before i beginning the stitchery. W H ?o Ving J fillislled the embroidery, place 1 it face downwards on a well padded

AN IMPROVISED IRONING j BLANKET. It may happen that the ironing blanket gets past further service at a time when it is not convenient or possible to discard another blanket from ordinary use to take its place. A verygood substitute may be made by making a substantial pad of smoothly-placed newspapers. Fix them all" firmly together, and then cover with a sheet, also securely fixed. UNSEASONED WOOD. Very many people who have bought new furniture are discovering to their dismay that it was made of "green" or unseasoned wood, and with use is showing cracks and splits. The latter may be hidden by melting some beeswax to thfl consistency of putty and pressing firmly into the space. Smooth down the surface with a knife, and then gently sandpaper the surrounding wood, and use the wood dust that results to work into the beeswax. This gives it a finish which when revarnished will almost entirely hide the repair. How to wash Crepe De Chine. Ninoa. Georgette Charmeuse. Delaine, etc. Rub-a- I dnb methods destroy the delicate fabric j Lux makes a beautiful ljtber, which coaie» ' Lux cannot harm a s>en thread, yet it ( draws out every suspicion of dirt, Us« I rather than forcc6 the dirt from the clotliea. I Lux.—(Ad.) <li |