CLOTHES AND CUPBOARDS

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 3, 25 March 1927, Page 4

CLOTHES AND CUPBOARDS

YOUR OWN CORNER. A little home in one room often gives a girl a wondefully helpful experience in learning to put away. The most important point is to secure adequate hanging space, and * cupboard which can be painted to match the woodwork so that it looks like a fitment is much better than a wardxobe. especially one that has a mirror in it A room seen by the writer the other day was quite a pleasant sitting-room, except that a wardrobe with a mirror in it gave away the “sitting-roomy” effect. Simple pine cupboards can sometimes be picked up very cheaply at second-hand shops, and there is a kind of enamel to be bought now which makes the painting of them an easy job. Corner wardrobes are used a greai deal nowadays. They save space and look very nice in panelled oak, but of course, they are rather costly, and one girl who found that she could not possibly afford one. much as it was needed planned a very inexpensive substitute She employed a little carpenter o make a couple of doors of three-plj wood in a frame, which was attached at the top to a three-cornered shelf fixed to the wall. A second three-cornered shelf was put at the height of the top of the skirting board for holding shoes, leaving a space underneath for more shoes. The cost was about three pounds —considerably less than a complete cupboard in oak would have cost. Another girl had a similar arrangement carried out with a single door. and the price charged in this case was only 30s. The whole thing was painted grey to match the woodwork and looked like a fitment. A very similar arrangement could be made to take the place of a chest of drawers, which always looks rather bedroomy. In all the fitted dressing-cabi-nets nowadays about two-thirds of space is devoted to hanging room, and the remaining third is fitted with shelves, with one drawer or a locker for furs. The fact is that people have dis covered that shelves are really nicer than drawers for keeping things in; it is easier to see what is in them and to get at their contents. It would be a very simple matter to have a set of shelves fixed in a recess and a removable door made of three-ply wood to go in front. If the shelves were pu* in at a convenient height, the top coul'» be used for books or a little decorative pottery. Whatever is used for storing clothes in a bed-sitting room, whether a cup board, chest of drawers, or the reces. fitted with shelves, something decora tive put on the top helps very mucS in taking away from the bedroomy look Where to keep hats is quite a problem in a bed-sitting room. If the re cess were sufficiently deep, and enough space were allowed between the two top shelves in the fitment described above, hats could very well be kept in here, leaving the lower shelves for linen, gloves, jumpers, and so on. But suppose that the other clothes are accommodated in a chest of drawers, then liothing is nicer for hats than one of the little square ottomans 0.. castors. This ottoman serves the double purpose of a dressing stool, and so saves space, which is most desirable in a bed-sitting room. One girl made a delightful hiding place for her hats out of a small squan bamboo table. She stretched little curtains qf silky looking cotton material between the top and the lower tray, and kept her hats wrapped in tissue paper in the enclosed space. The curtains on one side had little brass rings on them, and ran on rods so that they could easily be drawn apart. But, whatever you do, don’t forget to keep all your cupboards thoroughly aired and dry. In summer this should be a comparatively easy task. All you need to do is to open the windows and cupboard doors wide for about half-an-hour once a week, and you will find that your clothes will keep perfectly. But in winter a fire burning in the room should replace the w r ide-open window.

These precautions are well worth the trouble, otherwise your clothes will smell unbecomingly of mildew, and colds .will lurk in your unaired garments.

NOVEL LAUNDRY BAGS

“Making anything for the bazaar?” I asked Felicity, and when she answered “Yes, laundry bags,” I thought “How dull!” But the bags proved to be anything but dull —in fact, they sold better than anything else on the stall. They were not a bit like ordinary, every-day bags, but were made in all kinds of attractive guises—dainty pompadour ladies, Russian peasants, and melancholy pierrots for the grown-ups; fat babies, golliwogs, and other suitable people for the nursery folks! And although they looked so important, they were exceedingly simple to make, as Felicity explained to me afterwards.

Whatever the decorative theme, the method of making the bag is the same. A capacious square bag is prepared, with a casing round the top through which a ribbon drawstring may be run. Then the doll’s head and body are fashioned from scraps of material. A circle, gathered round and stuffed with rag, forms the head, on which appropriate features are painted or embroidered; the body and arms are just sausage-like bags of stuff, packed with rag, and sewn firmly together. When the doll is dressed in suitable clothes, it is neatly stitched on to the middle of the bag, at the point marked A in the little diagram. Thus, when the drawstring is pulled up tightly, the bag suggests the skirts of the doll. When trousers are to be indicated, as in the case of pierrot and golliwog, the bottom of the bag should be slightly shaped accordingly. The examples sketched are intended to be carried out in bright cretonnes and ginghams for the children's clothes. For more elaborate bags, suitable .for the boudoir, taffeta and satin may be employed, with dolls’ head of china, something like those used for tea cosies and telephone covers.

A TALENTED FAMILY

By marriage Mrs. Jeanette Gibbs, author of “Portia Marries,” makes a fifth writing member of the famous family of Gibbs. She is the wife of Major A. Hamilton Gibbs, whose book “Labels” is having much success, and she was the first woman to practise as a lawyer in the United States, having been admitted to the Massachusetts Bar in 1918.

WOMEN EXPLORERS

, Two noted women explorers, Mrs Rosita Forbes, of Africa fame, and Clare Sheridan, the sculptress, who travelled through remote Russia in its most troublous times, have joined forces to explore the wild regions beyond Turkey. Mrs. Forbes recentlv remarked that, in a tight corner, she would rather have a woman companion than a man. She tells of one feminine comrade who, when officials warned that any narticular region was impassable, would promptly remark When can we start?” This courage however, Mrs. Forbes attributes not to any superiority, but to lack of abilitv to visualise actual and probable dangers—in short, a lack of imagina-

HOME-MADE SWEETS

Home-made sweets often present a most unappetising appearance, when, with a little care, they could so easily be made to look and taste delicious. Colouring and flavouring should b« added drop by drop till the desired tint and taste are obtained. The colour must be delicate, and tin® flavour subtle. A bright green pepper* mint, for instance, would tempt very few people, whereas a pale, cool shade of green looks inviting-*—and If qi® flavouring is “just right,” the -fish wJJ soon be emptied. When arranging a box of sweets, do not place them here and there, irrespective of variety and colour, but PjjJ each kind in lines across the box. Still further to improve their appearance, place them in the small paper cups that are made for the purpose: the* can be obtained very cheaply. Here is a recipe for fondant, which only requires practice to make perfect; for it is only by practice that the amateur sweet-maker can learn the exact moment to remove the saucepa® from the fire. A minute too long, and the fondant turns sugary, but this may be remedied by adding more water and re-boiling—testing as before. 2 cups of sugar. i cup of water. A pinch of bicarbonate of soda. Cook all together in a saucepan, over a brisk flame. Do not stir after the syrup once boils. Test frequently with f a little on a teaspoon, dipped into a cup of cold water. When it can ju® l be formed into a soft ball, take the saucepan from the fire and pour the contents on to a large dish or marble sjab, which has previously been rinsed with cold water. When a skin form® on the syrup, beat briskly with a knii«j till the mixture becomes white and firm, then knead it for a little while. With this fondant can be made peP' permint, date, almond, walnut, ginger, cherry, and innumerable other cream®The addition of a little cocoa turn® them into chocolates; coco-nut makes coco-nut ice, and almond meal make® marzipan. A little ingenuity is all that is needed to turn out a varied ajj Q delectable assortment. But mould th®sweets carefully into a uniform si* 6 Frequent dipping of the hands in a bowl of water (afterwards drying the©of course) ensures the sweets being ■’ree from that dry, sticky vhich is so objectionable, and . eral, in the usual home-made var> \!^ j Above all, be careful in the appl ica " tion of colour and flavouring!