WOMEN’S NOTES.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIV, Issue 89, 14 March 1934, Page 11

WOMEN’S NOTES.

KNITTING. (By Miss Mary Tallis.) If you can’t afford fur, why not knit your own astrakhan? Here’s a charming set of cap, cravat and bag with a distinctive personality. Materials: 10 oz kanastra in grey; a pair of No. 10 knitting needles; a No. 10 bone crochet hook; i yard grey lining; i yard buckram ; and an inexpensive clasp. Measurements: Hat: Round head band, 21in; cravat, width 6in; length from point to point, 44in. Bag: Width, 9Jin ; depth, Tension: 5 sts in width to lin. Always knit into the backs of cast-on sts. The Hat: It is high at the back in the newest manner. The crown is worked in double crochet, and the brim in plain knitting. Begin at the centre of the crown with 5 cn. Join into a ring with a slip-sitch then into the ring work 10 d.c. 2nd round: 2 d.c. in each d.c. 3rd round: ** 2 d.c. in Ist d.c., 1 d.c. in next. Rep. from ** all round. 4th round: 1 d.c. in each st. sth round: ** 2 d.c. in Ist d.c., 1 d.c. in each of the next 2 d.c. Rep. from ** all round. 6th round: 1 d.c. in each st. 7th round: ** 2 d.c. in Ist d.c., 1 d.c. in each of the next 3 d.c. Rein from ** all round. Continue in rounds until you have a circle measuring 6^in across. Fasten off. The Brim: Cast in 15 sts. and work 30 rows of plain knitting. Next row: Work across row, working twice into the last st. Next' row: K twice into the first st. then work across row. Rep. last 2 rows, until you have 38 sts. on the needle. Work 24 rows plain (about 4£ins). Next row: K 2 tog. at the edge that is already shaped, then work across the row. Next row : Work across row, knitting last 2 tog. Rep. these 2 rows until 25 sts. remain. Then continue in plain knitting" until the knitted piece fits comfortably round the forehead—about 20 to 21ins. It may be stretched a. little, but not sufficiently to pull it out of shape. When you have worked enough, cast off. To Make-up Hat: Fold the knitted piece to make the beginning meet the end row, and join up carefully. Now pin the crown edge to the high-back of the brim. Sew across the straight piece. Now sew the crown inside the top edge of the briny pushing the edge of the brim in to make it set neatly. Do this on the head first. Stretch the knitting as you sew or you will have it pull on the head. Lightly ’press hat. The bag.—This is a simple shape without a flap. An inexpensive belt clasp is used lor the fastening, which is arranged on a narrow straight strip of knitting. Cast on 56 sts, on No. 10 needles and work in plain knitting until the piece is lOin. deep. Cast off. Cut a piece of buckram to the same size as the knitting, at both ends, but a little wider in the centre where it is folded. Now press the bag piece under a damp cloth, stretching out the knitting across the centre. Fold it over in half and slip it over the folded buckram, pulling it into shape, until it covers the buckram. Now sew in the lining and the buckram, finishing off the bag neatly at the sides. Work an inch wide strip of knitting (7 sts. wide and 2Jin. long). Double it and sew to one side of the bag, top centre, and sew it to one piece of the belt-clasp. Sew the second piece of the clasp to the bag in a suitable position. The cravat. —Cast on 3sts. Ist row: Work across, knitting twice into the last st. 2nd row: K. twice into the first st., k. to end. Rep. these two rows until you have 32 sts. on the needle, then continue in plain knitting for about 28 inches. Now decrease at one edge by knitting 2 sts. tog. at the same edge on every row, until 3 sts. remain. Cast off. COOKING.

For a party.-—A good Madeira mixture: i lb plain flour; § lb sifted sugar; \ lb butter; 3 eggs; 1 teaspoon cream of tartar; \ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda; 1 teaspoon essence of vanilla; i teacup of milk. Sift the cream of tartar and bicarbonate of soda with the flour. Cream the butter, beat in the sugar and add one at a time, beating each well. Then add the milk, and fold in the flour, cream of tartar and bicarbonate of soda; sprinkle the essence of vanilla over the mixture and stir it in. Put into a greased and floured tin and bake for 1 hour in a moderate oven. Should you chance to burn the top, use a grater, not a knife, to remove the burnt bit. The cake must be flat and to get this it is best to cut off the top and turn the cake over, making the bottom of the cake the top. If you dust this and pour icing over it, 'it will be quite flat, and you can decorate it quite successfully. . A Snow Trifle.—This is made of sponge cake soaked in hot jelly, covered with a thin layer of lightly-whipped cream and piled up with apple snow. Some snow figures may be arranged here and there.

Biscuits.—Buy plain biscuits, ice with royal icing in various colours, and decorate with a design in cliooclate, orange, pink, or any other colour. At the seaside.—This is made by covering the rim of an ordinary meatdish with almond paste to represent sand, and filling the centre with greengage jelly to represent the sea. This jelly should be allowed to cool before it is poured into the dish; it will then ripple and be more like waves than if it were poured in quite hot and appeared quite flat. On this, little pastry boats, filled with jam, custard, or lemon curds can he set, or instead of pastry they can be made of cake mixture. GENERAL.

You are back from your holidays and it’s time now to make yourself smart for the autumn. What about all those little jobs that have been neglected V Are your clothes really tidy, and your accessories spick and span f Shoes get stained with sea-water, povAler-puffs get matted and soileds, beads lose their gloss. There is certainly no- time to give them attention when the beach is calling, but when the holidays are over do make tiino to give these little things a good clean up. Here's how to do the work in the easiest wav! Sea air has a knack of making beads look dull. It is easy enough to restore the gloss, but you must first remember that each kind requires its own special treatment. An amber necklace can be restored to its original polished condition by washing in milk. To finish, it should be polished with a soft duster, or chamois leather. Olive oil will freshen up a string of coral beads. First rub the oil all over the beads and then use a leather for polishing. Pearls can bo cleaned with magnesia. Brush tifts well over each, one and then bury them in a box of magnesia for some hours. Polish with a soft leather, or a piece of soft silk. To clean a string of ivory beads wash them in warm soap and water, rinse,

and then rub over each bead with a piece of cotton-wool dipped in hydro-gen-peroxide. Allow this to remain on for a few minutes, then rinse the beads in cold water and dry thoroughly. Glass and china beads should’ be washed in soapy water; wooden beads can be cleaned with powdered magnesia. Finish by polishing with a piece of old silk.

Corks.—Slotted lengthwise and slipped on to the garden clothes-line, a cork will readily remove all smuts and dirt accumulated there. It can be parked at one and used again and again.