A NEW HANDICRAFT

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 19374, 24 December 1932, Page 11

A NEW HANDICRAFT

PLAITED PAPER HATS. HOW TO MAKE THEM. Waxed paper, being pliable and yet firm, is easy to manipulate, and one of the chief advantages of paper hats is that they can be moulded with a bend of the brim here and a twist there to any becoming angle. The 10 yards of paper, which is all that is needed to make a shady hat, with a wide brim, cost only Is. Simplest of all is the three-strand plait. To commence, the three strips of paper (the strips in the roll each measure about 24in. in length) are set over each other, with ends overlapping, and are given a twist to hold them in place. They are then plaited together, working from one thumb to the other, and with a twist of the wrist they are given a“crinkle,” which adds strength to the plait and makes it look very much nicer than an ordinary, straightedged and flat-surfaced plait. There is a knack in making this crinkle in the paper strands; it is done by turning the palms of the hands upward as the outside strands are brought into the centre of the plait. Great care must be taken in joining in the fresh strands as the paper is used up; the new strand is overlapped over the plait on the right side, to a distance of no less than 3in., and pressed in place with the thumb, and then plaited in the usual way. Then end which is left sticking up above the plait can be snipped off when the plait is finished.

The hats should be made in one piece, without a join at the crown and brim. This is the simplest and most satisfactory method. The full length of the plait should be completed before commencing to make up the hat. To do this, commence at the crown. First of all, twist a double thread of cotton round the very end of the plait; with the right side facing the thumb; run a line of stitching down the edge of the plait to meet the end of the stitching, and draw up the thread tightly to form the top “button” that is the centre of the crown. The plait is then curled round under the button, and worked round and round till the top of the crown is the right size. Each row of plaiting should underlap the previous one (remember that you are working from the right side), and it is stitched in place with strong silk or cotton, making a short stitch on top and a long, running stitch underneath.

WHITE HAIR CRAZE. The new craze for white hair promises to be even more popular than the platinum vogue, states a Londoner. Nothing looks more attractive, of course, than a white head crowning a youthful face. The bleaches used are guaranteed not to make the hair harsh or brittle, and the only drawback seems to be that women have to have the new hair frequently bleached as it grows. There is another new hair colour with which a few brave women are experimenting. This is a dark peacock blue-green. A woman at an evening function recently had hair of this shade. It toned queerly will) her greenish eyes, and was evidently effected by a powder brushed over the head after it had been carefully greased with pomade.

“TALE OF A TUB." At the hotel where the British delegates assembled for the Treaty of Versailles, there was a suite known as the “bridal suite,” which included a room with a silver bath. Two distinguished Cabinet Ministers of Great Britain did not want mere Colonials to have the use of this bath. So it was arranged that when Mr. Winston Churchill was occupying the suite he should hold it until his friend. Lord Birkenhead turned up Then the suite was handed over to Lord Birkenhead. During all the momentous discussions in 1919 the chief interest among the British Delegation was “who has got the silver bath?"