CORNER FOR BUSY BEES

Auckland Star, Volume LXII, Issue 2, 3 January 1931, Page 3 (Supplement)

CORNER FOR BUSY BEES

HOW TO EMBROIDER A HANDKERCHIEF.

INEXPENSIVE AND EASY PROCESS, (Conducted by TINKERBtLL.) Dear Girls,— No one likes to see a dainty handkerchief spoiled with blotchy initials inscribed on it with ink, nevertheless it is often essential for handkerchiefs to be marked. Probably the best way to do this is to embroider your initials together with a neat design in the corner of the linen. An ordinary linen handkerchief is purchased and this will cost not more than sixpence or a shilling. In addition to the handkerchief a knot of embroidery cotton will be required, as well as a transfer (unless you are going to sketch your. own two wooden hoops that fit tightly' int© one another.

When the transfer has been pressed on the materia! with a moderately hot iron, the handkerchief is stretched over the smaller hoop, then the other is placed over it to hold the material tight. " Unless this is done much trouble will be experienced in the embroidering of the corner, for the linen puckers very easily. Probably the most suitable design will he one incorporating shamrocks and initials, as shown in the illustration. In order to raise the design padding will be necessary, but this effect can easily.be obtained by Busy Bees who are handy with needle and thread. The leaves' should be dealt with first. Of course there must be the semblance of a vein or midrib running down the centre of the leaf, and if this is to £e obtained each half of the leaf must be treated separately. A tiny stitch is taken at the bottom of one side of the leaf and the cotton is laid across the surface of the material to the top of the leaf, whtre another small stitch is taken which fastens the thread into position but bring# the cotton again to the right side of the material. When the

entire half of the leaf has been thus filled in, satin stitches are made across the padding. In order to obtain the best results the satin stitches must be kept very close together and should be made very carefully and evenly. The other half of the leaf is treated in exactly the same way and all the leaves are made by precisely the same process. Padding should also be sewn over the initials, and this must be done neatly in order to keep the letters as smooth as possible. When the padding of the initials is completed they are filled in with satin stitches. No padding is necessary for the stems of the shamrocks, neat stitchcs being sewn backwards and forwards between the two* blue lines. The effect of the emb-oidery work adds greatly to thw daintiness of the handkerchief and tic initials worked in the corner make it easy to idsslliy your property when the linen is taken from the wash bag.