WOMEN’S NOTES.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVII, Issue 100, 30 March 1937, Page 11

WOMEN’S NOTES.

THE HOME. (By Miss Mary Tallis.) Covers for your divans..—Well-made modern divans demand well-made, tailored covers, which fortunately are very easy to make at home. For a divan 2tt. Gin. wide, about Byd. of 30in. material are required; for a 3ft. one, the same quantity of 4Gin. material, if the cover is finished with a neat txix-pleated frill. Cut the top of the cover in one piece, the size of the divan or mattress plus inch turnings all round. (If the divan is usually made up for sleeping on at night, measure for the cover with the bedclothes in place.) The collar or thickness strip which runs round just- below the top may be the depth of the mattress, or whatever depth looks well — say, five to six inches. When cutting this strip joins may be made to economise stuff, but they are best at the corners, or. at least, they should not occur along the front edge. For the frill, cut strips across the width. 2in. deeper than the measurement from the case of the collar to lin. above the floor. The strips when joined should be about 2i times the measurement round the divan. From left-over material cut, bias strips liin wide for piping. Prepare the piping. Lay it all round the top covers, on the right side, raw edges outwards, and pin in place. Lay over it the collar edge, right side downwards, then overcast all thicknesses together with large stitches. This serves both as tacking and seam neatening. Afterwards stitch the seam as close as possible to the piping. Machine a narrow hem along the bottom of the frill strip. To box-pleat it very professionally. leave a clear inch at one end and from that point mark out with pins, over and over again, along both top and hemmed edges, these three measurements lin. tin.. 2in. Pin up each 4in. space as a wide tuck, then pin out flat into a box-pleat, centring this by making one fold of it reach just to the pin marking the neighbouring lin. space. Press in all pleats well with a hot iron and damp cloth, after tacking them, as made along top and bottom edge. Join the top of the pleated frill to the bottom of the collar with a piped seam, as described above. Remove the pleat tackings and give a final pressing all over. A matching cover for the bolster helps your divan to look inviting during the day. COOKING. Warming dishes for cold days.*— Carrots with mint glaze: Wash and scrape 3 or 4 medium sized carrots, and slice them into rounds fin. thick. Boil them lor 10 minutes, drain off the water, and put in 2 tablespoonstnl of white sugar, 2oz. butter, and a lablespoontul or finely chopped fresh mint leaves. Let them simmer gently until the carrot is tender and has a fine glazed appearance. Arrange on a hot dish, pour over any juice and dust with pepper and salt. Put a border of cooked beans or peas round the dish, and serve very hot with tomato sauce. Try that also with a border of boiled rice or macaroni and curry sauce. Carrot souffle: llub sufficient cold cooked carrots through a sieve to fill a breakfastcupful. Melt loz. butter in a saucepan, stir loz. flour into it and when quite smooth mix in the carrot. Stir over the fire until it boils, cool for a few minutes, then beat in the yolks of 2 eggs, salt and pepper to taste, and a tiny pinch of mace. Beat the whites of the eggs until they are quite stiff, fold them lightly into the mixture and pour at once into a greased pie-dish, filling it only 2-full. Bake in a quick oven for 15 minutes and serve very hot with a dust of finely chopped parsley on t-op. Carrot salad : When greens are scarce and dear, carrots make a good winter salad. Cut up enough cooked carrots into dice to fill a breakfastcup. Lay then on a dish and sprinkle with a teaspoonful of chopped parsley, the grated rind of half lemon, a few drops of salad oil, and a dusting of pepper and salt, and castor sugar. Mix aill lightly together, and heap them in a salad bowl. Tear the leaves of a fresh salad into small pieces, toss them in some salad dressing, and arrange them as a border round the carrot. Garnish with a few tufts of horseradish. GENERAL. Those “extras.”—The coming of the autumn and winter evenings gives us that extra time for the odd jobs to our wardrobes—and to ourselves—which has been difficult to find when the out-of-doors temptingly beckons till bedtime. AVe might find time to rejuvenate our shoes, for instance; tan shoes which are soiled and faded in parts should be washed in a solution of warm soda water, using a soft dry flannel and a little snap. Dry them thoroughly in the air and rub with the inside of a banana skin. After that, polish all over with a dark tan polish, and they will look as good as new. Patent shoes should not be kept near heat, as many people imagine ; it is a good plan to smear them with vaseline between occasions of wearing. Neither should they be ruthlessly exposed to 'the cold, but half-boiling them in front of a fire only injures them. For yourself, there is time to care for arms and elbows, which may be reddened by exposure to sunshine and strong sea air. Now that you will be wearing evening dress for concerts and dances, this redness must be treated. For this it is wise to use a good quality liquid cream which contains peroxide of hydrogen, f Leave the cream on throughout the night, and gradually it will remove j the discoloration.