Dress Aids for Mothers.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 957, 4 July 1890, Page 4

Dress Aids for Mothers.

Handsome hand-sewing is eagerly sought when preparing the first short clothes for an infant ; but if it cannot be weil done, better try machine-stitching and buy the readymade tucking for the yokes. The necessary yokes are of single or clustered tucks, alternate tucks and strips of insertion, or allover hemstitching or Hamburg embroidery. Dainty yokes of fine linen, ornamented with drawn work, are a labour of love when the busy mother has time for such work. The yoka may be round, square or pointed, and is sown permanently to the little, fall dress, whioh is composed of two widths of the material, short enough to escape the flour, and finish with a hem only, or hum and tucks. All seams, like the joining of the yoke and gathered skirt, are concealed by a row of the ready-made beading or feather-stitching, whioh only costs 13 to 25 cents for twelve yards. The neck is a tiny band with a row of edgiug turned over or sewed in with the lower part of the neok-band and turned down. Sashes are made of the dress material, of strips about eight inches wide, hemmed on all sides, sewed in the side seams and tied in the back. French and English nainsooks, lawns, ckecked goods, cambrics, small figured percales and ginghams, creamy China silks, stripped flannels and cashmeres are made in this fashion ; but I must confess a great regard for white dress for babies until they are certainly two years of age. Of oourse. wearing white makes an immense washing ; but a baby looks so much sweeter and cleaner in white. For creeping babies nothing is better than a * creeping apron ’ of stout gingham—a pattern which has been issued by a paper pattern house—which covers all the clothes. Two styles of Bleeves are worn by these newly short-coated infants—the full shirt and plain coat sleeve, with a turnover or band cuff of edging or insertion. The yoke is prettiest of white cotton goods, no matter what the dress may be ; hut, if possible, mothers, let us see white-dressed babies.

Gowns at Moderate Cost.

RE-MAKING A WHITE WOOLLEN DRESS. If you have a white woollen gown, instead of paying to have it dry-cleaned—though they do it beautifully it will soil easily afterward -have it dyed a faint green, pearlgray or old-rose, and trim with black-ribbon velvet, or the gray would trim stylishly with clear green velvet. Have a straight, full skirt, with three broad (five inches) kilt pleats on eaoh side of the narrow front, which are trimmed with two rows of ribbonvelvet down each, ending under a large rosette of velvet called a chou, whioh is newer in effect than a border of ribbon. In sewing on ribbon-velvet, first baste it carefully and then run along with long stitches on the underside, and short ones on the outside, holding the material easily, almost loosely, over the left band. Cut the pointed basque off, until it is very short in front and over the hips, and out of the postilion back form a small coat tail like those worn on riding habits. Have the ooat sleeves remodelled by adding a puff at the top above a band of velvet, and place bands of the same from the wrist to the bend of the arm if the arms are very long or thin ; but if the wearer is stout, just one row at the wrist is more becoming. The high collar oan be of ribbonvelvet, and three pieoes from each side seam should be brought to the point in front and oaught there with a silver or gilt buckle. The buttons fastening the front and decorating the fiat coat back, six in each of the two rows up the centre, may correspond with the velvet or buckle. With a buckle for seventy-five cents, and velvet of the proper width $1.60 a piece, this will not prove an expensive dress for blonde or brunette maid.

GRANDAM GOWNS. A fortunate girl has an old, fall skirt of black brocade belonging to a grandaunt, and yet has ‘ nothing to wear for a demi-toilette.’ On the contrary, she has a * lucky find ’ of immense power. The skirt has twelve breadths; so three may be saved for a bodioe. The skirt is short; but let- out the hem and press it out on the inner side with a damp cloth between the dress and iron; face it down, so that it just escapes the floor in front and touches it iu the b=ek; the lining skirt is of the usual shape, except that it mußt be guiltless of a steel or pad. Gather uhe lOp iu two i'uW3 so that it may setsvunly* The bodice is in a short point, back and front, and without darts in the outer material, the fulness being laid in tiny pleats. The gigot sleeves are very fall and high at the top, and so tight-fitting at the wrists that they button up on the outside, nearly to the elbow, with small, gilt balls. The fronts are fastened with similar buttons, whioh continue up the collar. The top of the bodice is trimmed in yoke shape with gilt points, which also form a girdle from the side seams, fastening in front under a gilt hackle, while black ribbon, No. 20, from the aide seams tied in long ioops and ends in the back. Finish the neok and wrists .with white lißse folds, through which gold thread is ran, and a charming effect is obtained with an old gown at the outlay of only five do!! "- landing linings, o!

black gloves, black hose, and ties with gilt buckles, gilt pin in the hair and a blaok-sud-gold fan, give a charming picture of a modified grandma gown, whioh is rendered doubly attractive when worn by a young person, for youth has charms of its owd, rendering it independent of expensive materials. STYLISH SLEEVES AND SASHES.

The gigot sleeve, referred to above, is made over a coat-shaped lining fitting tightly from the elbows to the wrist, with the outer material fitting smoothly ovp? it until at the top, which is cut wider and longer, gathered over the top of the lining, and tho fulness taoked here an i there to keep it up. The tacking should be done on the wearer, so that a becoming effect may be attaiued. From the wrist to a distance of six inches up, leave the inner seam open, finish with a fly, buttons and button-holes. Or, a slit is made on the outside of the sleeve and buttoned over in the same manner. Tartau silk Bashes are made of the 24-inch wide surah, cat in half, the sides hemmed and the bottom fringed ; or, the lower part may be hemmed and a fringe of sewing silk, of the different shades, knotted in. These sashes are worn round the waist as a bow asd ends in the back, or come from the side seams and knot in the baok, which is a fashionable fad and only requires one-and-a-fourth yard of snrah, NEW EFFECTS IN SKIRTS. The plain effect of a kilt-pleated skirt is broken by a box-pleat down either side of the narrow front. Line pleated skirts of any kind with sleazy crinoline, for at least fifteen inches. Full round skirts should be four-and-a-hßlf to five yards wide, and just now it is stviish to drape one side slightly, by pushing the fulness up near one hip and fastening a large rosette there under the fulness. It requires one and a half yards of No. 9 velvet-ribbon to make a rosette cf an ordinary size for this purpose. A handsomely hanging skirt must be perfectly even all around when on. Wear a small pad bustle if the figure requires it, and one steel, twelve inches long, placed twelve inches below the belt ; or two drawing strings, fourteen and twenty-four inches below.