FOR THE ENGAGED GIRL

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXIV, Issue 18849, 11 April 1931, Page 16

FOR THE ENGAGED GIRL

AN AUTOGRAPHED TABLECLOTH A novel Idea for the girl -who Is proparing her bottom drawer is to add an autographed tablecloth. Special friends might be asked to contribute their signature, or the plan of one girl might be adopted. She used one corner for childhood friends, another corner was occupied by immediate relations of her own and her future husband, the third was filled with signatures of office Mends, while the fourth corner was left untoucH&l. Here she added new friends that she made later as a bride.

First of all, choose a piece of white or green linen. About 45in. square is a good size. Turn up a hem of about liin. to 2in. all round, and hem neatly; mitre each comer. A simple touch of embroidery to cover the hemming should then be worked. It would look very smart with two rows of long stitches, each stitch Jin. In length, and 6 in. distance between each stitch. The bottom row of stitches should be about iin. below the top one. Crosses could be placed between each block of stitches. If preferred, hemstitching buttonholing or feather-stitching could take the place of this design. After making it up, the next step is to obtain the signatures of all the friends who are to feature on the cloth. They should be asked to write their signatures on fairly then paper and as big and clearly as possible. The signatures should then be traced on to the cloth (but only one or two at a time, as the carbon soon rubs off) by means of a piece of carbon paper and a very sharply pointed pencil. When one or two names have been

transferred to the linen, it is quite a simple matter to go over the outlines with needle and thread in very neat and tiny hemstitching.

It is best to use a stranded cotton, guaranteed fadeless, for embroidery, so that big, bold signatures may be outlined with two or three strands, while the smaller and less distinct ones arc worked jyith only one thread. Chocsc the prettiest and brightest colours, and the cloth will look as gay as a lovely flower garden—the flowers being the well-known signatures of all your best friends and relations.

An original idea is to let the people who sign their names choose the colours in which these are to be embroidered. Ask them what dolour they associate with themselves. You will be amused to And that Aunt Nellie, say, who is so meek and sweet, chooses vermilion red, while dashing Mr Brown votfivs for pale blue I If you buy a collection of different-coloured skeins of embroidery cotton when you start the cloth, this will be easy to arrange. APPROPRIATE LENGTHS. The wealthy Europeans who constitute the elite of the fashion world are making a distant difference between the form of the dress worn on the street and those for even wear (writes an Englishwoman). There are no long dragging tails about their garments. Day frocks are to be as simple as possible. Fine stockinette, tricots of every description, jersey tweeds, and coarsely woven flannels (the latter made in Wales and dyed in Paris) cut on simple and comfortable lines will take the place of the too-well-fitted gowns and suits that have been imposed for town wear. One-piece dresses that can be slipped over the head, and in which one can sit about without worrying about creases and “bagging” are preferred to moulded skirts and blouses. They are belted rather loosely at the normal line or slightly below it, and bear a striking resemblance to the much lamented styles which flourished before we were so forcibly smarted up last year. The skirts of these dresses are shorter, too. Not so short as they were at their shortest, but distinctly less long than they were on informal dresses a month ago. It is impossible to give an exact idea of this new length by quoting a certain number of inches from the ground, as it is determined by the position of the calf. (This varies tremendously—oven in women of the same height). Hitherto the smart skirt has hidden the widest part of the calf. The new length discloses the fact that the leg gets smaller above the calf. This small difference improves the silhouette tremendously. making the figure appear lighter as well as younger. LADIES’ MAIDS IN REQUEST. The return of long skirts, frills, laces, and flounces means that women are much more dependent on the services of their maids, or “abigails,” as they used to be called in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, to ensure the freshness of evening frocks after travelling. One of the amenities of a well-known London club, that is mijch appreciated by the members, is th aleting service, □very morning ladiv... maids come round to the members’ bedrooms to iron, prers, mend and repair clothes, mi : country up fur a few ci; .s' v.-i . .... it ere quick to take advantage of thi servu There are also bedrooms for the maids cf Hiembers, with connecting bells.