THE WOMAN'S WORLD.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XL, Issue 12281, 27 May 1903, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE WOMAN'S WORLD.

A WALL POCKET.

Ax extremely inexpensive wall pocket, made from a flat basket, is illustrated below. Choose a pretty tan-coloured one if possible, take off the handles, and split it down one side. Drape it- as shown in the sketch with some soft silk or satin ribbon caught into puffs and finished off at each corner with bows. The front of the

bag is turned over at the corner where it is split-, and caught down with an arrangement of silk cord and pompoms, which are carried right across to the top left-hand corner. The pocket hangs from a loop of the silk used for draping, and it will be found very serviceable and strong, as well as most useful for odd papers.

A KNITTING BAG.

For a lover of knitting what could be better than a knitting-bag? You can make this in any colour and in any material. It should be cut the shape shown in the design, and embroidered with a pretty group of flowers.

Before making the bag up take it to a saddler and get. him to punch a large eyelet hole in the middle of the front piece. This is intended to put the wool through, and so prevent it from entangling. If you want the bag to be very "fussy"' edge it with a silk frill, but, if severely businesslike, use a silk cord only. HIS MAJESTY THE BABY. Inspired by the advent of the latest Prince to the Royal house, Pier Majesty Queen. Alexandra conceived the pretty idea of the baby's birthday book. Society'on both sides of the Atlantic adopted the Royal inspiration. These' charming volumes may vary in exterior. from the simplest burnt leather cover in brown, with monochrome watercolour .decorations inside, to an. elaborate padded silk cover in daintiest of Pampadour colourings, every page within a gem, lettered in gold. Within the covers, whether rich 'or plain, are gathered treasures of personal allusion and association, which need be limited in expression only by the ability of the artist. A beautiful birthday book in colour and gold is painted in fine paper and bound in white taffeta, with an embroidered Dresden design in vertical stripes, and is laced with heavy white silk cord. It measures about ten by fifteen inches, and was made for the descendant' of a famous Scottish clan, and the little one's monogram in gold and pale tints is surmounted by a kingly crest. She is crowned as tiny Queen of Hearts on the dedication page, and further, on, wrapped in her ancestral tartan, justifies Burns' rhapsody: — "She is a winsome wee thing! She is a handsome wee thing! She is a bonny wee thing!" The "language of flowers" played an important part in the courtship of our grandparents ; and we nse it now less sentimentally-, but not without sentiment. A bower of loveliness would be a room where the September birth flower, convolvulus, emblem of contentment, twined and blossomed. The Japs have taught us what an artistic "thing of beauty" is this flower, and on silver, china, sofa pillows, even in the lace curtaining the windows, and on all the accessories of a boudoir, the design could be repeated effectively. The birthday books in monochrome, if less dainty and exquisite, are simpler for the amateur artist. Only professional skill could bind the book just descrilied, but the softer leather covers, in all tints, are easily adjusted and effective. They are in one piece, and are laced through eyelets at the hinge with tasselled leather cords. ,The October birthday book is done in burnt sienna, water colour, and gold, with burnt leather cover, and it is a symphony j in brown. It is dedicated to " Rhoda, a Red Rose," and in all the illustrations the little figures are portraits of this fascinating infant. There are decorative possibilities in the flower and jewel and zodiac emblems of every month, and the ideas here given could he carried further and varied infinitely. There are other topics suitable for the birthday book besides those mentioned and used for illustration. Especially appropriate to the godparent's gift would be. a page for the certificate of baptism, decorated and lettered in, with blanks left for the signatures of officiating minister or priest an.l the godparents. Another page, might be dedicated to St. Pancras, the patron saint of childhood, or St. Aloysius, patron of youth and ' purity, or St. Agnes, of girlhood, in quaint replica of early Tuscan art. Christian lore, mythology, fact, and fancy may be chosen from to add interest to the birthday book, and when the babe for whom it is designed grows to an appreciative age it will be treasured as a precious possession. SUPERSTITIOUS BRIDES. Matrimony is surrounded with superstitions, many of which apply only to the marriage ceremony. The wedding-ring is made plain and thick only for the reason, that its thickness and plainness secures it against breakage; for to break it is the very worst of luck for both bride and groom. White is the best colour to get married in, but a widow may marry in any colour save yellow. Should a bride drop one of her gloves, woe betide her! She must exercise great care in getting in and out of hex carriage, and a faise step is an ill omen which brings misfortune. In cutting the wedding-cake, should she have the misfortune to cut her finger, she will rue it all through her. married life. ALL ABOUT FACE POWDER. " Where a ton of face powder was made 10 years ago," said a celebrated perfumer, -fifty tons are made now, for a certain amount of powdering seems to bo permitted by universal consent nowadays. "Most of the face powders are harmless enough, and are made from ground talo, potato, starch, or French chalk—these being scented and tinted. But some of these powders are deadly enough, especially those which sometimes seem to assume, when on the skin, a rather blue or purple tint. They are mode from white 1 lead and oxide of zinc, and ruin the skin."