Fashion and Things Feminine.

Waipawa Mail, Volume XXXVII, Issue 7917, 11 August 1917, Page 3 (Supplement)

Fashion and Things Feminine.

By IDA MELLER - - Copyright.

A HOME-MADE RAINCOAT. Long coats and raincoats are expensive things to buy ready-made, and although they are among the necessities rather than the luxuries) of a wardrobe, a girl generally begrudges) the money spent on them because they are not among the delicate and pretty things of the toilette that court admiration. For the price she pays for a raincoat or a cloth overcoat she could buy a, charming one-piece frock or a smart costume —things that appeal very much more strongly to her taste thkp top-coats and .wet-weather ga'rb. A suggestion worth offering, therefore, is that a girl should be industrious enough to make for herself a nice raincoat or wrapeoat, as in this way s'he will save money, the. home-made coat naturally comes far less expensive than the bought ready-to-wear one. Even if the latter is fairly cheap, the material will probably be inferior, and the advantage, therefore, of home work is that you can choose your own material and you can select your <y\va pattern, as well, which is another advantage, to nothing of the choice of colour, for over and over again it happens that a ready-made coat may be

of precisely the right pattern required, but the colour or material is! wrong, or the colour may be right and the pattern wrong. All these difficulties are conquered by home-work.. There is no need for the wet weather outfit to be anything but becoming, for coats to-day are essentially, smart, .and a raincoat need not necessarily be made of mackintosh. There is quite „a large assortment of proofed cloth materials to choose from, tfnd thes<e are so lightweight and in some cases so daintily coloured, that coats made of them need not he worn only on wet days, but are pretty and smart enough to be worn as light wrap-coats or dust-coats, and this is a point that appeals to many girls! who want to reduce their wardrobes as much as possible and make use of combined garments. The rain-coat illustrated is of a kind that, if carried out in proofed cloth,

dying is said to have been the redoubtable Hicks himself, and over his corpse a gruesome Arab custom was carried out. In the presence of the Mahdi, who h.-Lt taken no part in the fight, each Shiek thrust his sword into the body of the dead Jeader. It was about this time that the cruel slave-dealer, Osman Digna, came into prominence, and he lost no time in paying the Khedive out for the edict which threatened the slave trade with extinction. Falling upon stray forces of Egyptians an dtheir allies, he wiped them out, leaving not a survivor to tell the tale. At Tamai, for instance, 700 Nubian troops were slaughtered to i man, while 500 Egyptians!, under Commander Moncreiffe, R.N., met a similar fate. BAKER PASIIA AND COLONEL BURNABY.

But on February 4th, 1884, came the most calamitous and at the same time the most amazing massacre of all —the. inhibition for the latter, vate their very ly equipped army of 4,000 Egyptian regulars, officers, and supported by Krupp and machine guns; and when three days after its arrival this respectable force was given battle to by 1.209 of the enemy it seemed very like annihilation for the latter,, as their very heroism promised to seal their doom. But. alas! the Egyptians turned out to be the most abject cowards imaginable, well deserving of the scathing epithet of “Hens,” which General Gordon applied to them. For a time tlieir terror was such that they positively hadn’t even the grit to fly; instead they pitched awav their rifles and sought shelter behind each other like s'heep. All the frenzied efforts of gallant Baker Pasha and the threats of huge, deat'nspurning Colonel Burnaby, utterly failed to get them to face the exultant eneniv. and the utter hopelessness or the situation will host be gauged from the fact that those officers n.t length deliberately abandoned the cowed and doomed horde, which was no longer an army, and hewed a way through their

" Four days later a sequel to the catastrophe came in the .shape of the butchery at Sinknt, one of a very different stamo were the victims here. Refusing to yield or capitulate on terms to their treacherous foes, the 490 brave defenders of Sinknt, confronted lv-’ starvation if thev remained any longer, strove desperately to cut n- waiv out. Tt way an alternative forbiddinelv hopeless, and the wonder is not that 394 of them were .drin but that six men succeeded in escaping.

might serve the dual purpose of an ordinary wrap-coat as well; or if the design were developed in nap-cloth or other thick cloth, the coat could serve the essential purpose of a warm top-coat without thought for its rainproof qualities. The quantity of 52-54 inch stuff required to make it is five yards. This should be doubled, partly lengthwise and partly widthwise, and the pattern pieces, seven in all, disposed on it ats illustrated in the diagram. The pattern pieces include half the seamless back of coat, one front, one yoke-sleeve, the collar, one cuff, one pocket, and half the belt. Price of pattern 6£d. As the yoke is seamless, the straight edge of pattern must be laid to a. fold', and for the same reason the back of coat must be laid to a fold and also the belt. The collar is a nice fold-over one and the cuffs are deep. The pockets, which should be lined, are sewn to the coat fronts and buttoned to the belt, and button and buttonhole fastenings are arranged down the front of the coat. A COMFORTABLE HOUSE-DRESS. It is surprising how greatt a difference in effect h created by even half an inch, more or less, in tfie length of a skirt, the width of a hat, and so on. The modern skirt, with its all-round shortness, is calculated, more than anything else in satorial matters to give an effect of youth to the wearer, and takes, aparently, years off a woman’s age; whereas the long slrirt adds, in effect, to her years.

The short skirt,as now worn, is quite child-like in appearance, and nothing in. the way of bodices approaches it r o? its youth-giving power, >Jo far as appearance goes.

In regard to millinery, it is the sailor hat that is lie most youthful-looking of all styles—the round, wide-brimmed sailor that, like the short skirt, is quite child-like in its effect. When a sailor or other wide-brimmed hat is too small in circumference, size can be given to it by adding a pleating of ribbon or chiffon to the brim. An extnv half-inch all round, yielded by the pleating, will make the hat very much more important-looking. A velvet hat, again, may be widened in outline .by having ail edging of fur. As regards the widening of a princess dress that has become too tight, an excellent plan is to insert a panel in front and let this he of lacey-looking material, edged, perhaps, to match the colour of the dresis. Buttons can be added, to simulate the effect of the panel being buttoned to the fronts. Very pretty changes, again, can be rung in dresses by means of sleeveless tunics of thin material, to be worn at times and discarded at others, and also by -a variation of neckwear. A pretty design for a house-dress is shown in the accompanying illustration, the idea being a complete princess

dress with the addition of a sleeveless tunic, pleated at each side and run through the centre-front with a ribbon sash, tied in a big bow at the left side. It is optional whether the tunic is alsto held to the figure aVfc the back, or f the sash'passes under it and the back hangs sac-fashion. The “ buttonholes” in the tunic through which the sasih passes’ are emphasised by fancy stitching, and the efFect is altogether very pretbv. Fancy stitching also trims the hem of the tunic, and at the neck is a soft frill of muslin. This frock would look well in velveteen or cashmere, and is a pretty style for the woman who likes ease in dreys. It is suitable, also, for mused materials, t-lie tunic being of one material and the under-dress of another—or the sleeves might correspond with the tunic. SAVING WASTE IN THE KITCHEN. (< A shilling sieved is a. shilling aimed.” should he the maxim of the would-be economical housewife. All her careful buying and other economical methods will be of no avail if she permit:? waste to occur in her home. The stoppage of wastage should he her first step in learning how to make the mostof a moderate income, and she will probably find, in studying the subject, that the greatest waste is in the trifles that are thrown away. The average garbage pail contains much that might have been turned! to useful account. A spoonful or two of this and that left over are nothing much in themselves, perhaps), but might have been mingled together into a delirious whole. Every scrap that is useful. should ho saved, not thrown away. If the steak or roast beeff i-i very fat, why not save the grease foil cooking purposes instead r.f disposing of it in the garbage pail? The English housekeeper should learn, the French method of cooking a en casserole” in order to use up trifles to ad-

vantage. The casserole, mo6t women know, is a brown earthenware dish with a cover, and in this all kinds of appetising concoctions are cooked. That spoonful of vegetables or Aavoury, those shabby little ends of steak, those

“Scrappy” left-overs of beef, the little bit of mince remaining from lunch, the half-cupful of rice from last night’s curry—all may go into the casserole with a little stock, pepper andl salt, and a dash of sauce, perhaps, and when the dish comes out of the oven something very good is the result of the mixture. Even tough little pieces'of steak, and so on, if chopped up and added to the casserole, may prove quite tempting. All fat, except lamb or mutton fat,

should go into a pot on the back of the stove and remain to simmer gently. When it has simmered a few hours or iso, and all the fat is liquid, the latter should be strained through a close-ly-woven bit of clean lawn to remove the residue. The remaining fat should bo allowed to stand until hard. This clarified fat 'is much nicer than lard and saves the expense of the latter. When bacon has been fried for breakfast or other meals, the fat should De poured off at once into a cup, and may, when cold and hard, he used on plain bread or toast instead of butter. Many children arc very fond of “ dripping” toast or bread and dripping, and the latter is considered very nourishing for them, and is certainly very appetising. SHADE FOR ELECTRIC LIGHT. To modify the too brilliant stream of light that falls from an electric lamp that has a porcelain globe, it is a good idea to make a shallow bag of the thinnest silk, or chiffon, in very pale flesh colour or ivory, mount it on a wire hoop, that will fit the lower part of the porcelain shade, and draw the bottom together, finishing it with a Chinese tassJel. Any diaphanous material Is equally good for making this shadie, which protects sensitive eyes from glare. i fry A TEA HINT. Before using tea, spread it on a sheet of brown paper and place it in a warm but not hot oven, leaving it there for ten or fifteen minutes. By so doing the tea, it is said, will go much farther, and the flavour will be much improved. Tea from the teapot should be saved, and when there is a sufficient quantity boiling water should be poured over : t, and when this has cooled!, the tea can be used for wiping hard-wood floors. This is an old English idea. BEAUTY HELPS. A beauty expert says: “If you wish to make your finger-tips more tapering, soften them with warm 'water or olive oil, and then massage them with a long, slow stroke, beginning at the wrist and proceeding to the finger-tips. Then take each finger separately between the thumb or .orefinger of the other hand, pinch the finger-tips gently at the sides, and at the same time draw the finger out from the grip. A good! bleach for the hands,” she continues, “ ri made with one ounce each of lemon juice, lioney and perfume of any chosen kind. If your hands have a congested, swollen appearance, form the habit of holding the hands up as! much as possible instead of down at the sides. This will relieve the blood-vessels.”

A THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK. God has not given us vast learning to solve all the problems, or unfailing wisdom to direct all the wanderings of our brothers’ lives); but He has given to every one of us the power to be spiritual and hv our spirituality to lift and enlarge and enlighten tlio lives we to well. —Phillips Brooks. SAVOURY SAUSAGES. GOLDEN SAUSAGES. Ingredients: • Pork sausages Beaten-up egg Breadcrumbs Fat for frying. After boiling the sausages dr aril them well, and let them cool. Next pull away the skins, and roll the sausages separately in grated breadcrumbs, then brush over with the beaten egg, and roll again in the crumbs. Heat the fat in a frying pan. When a faint smoke rises put in the sausages, .a few at a time, and: fry to a golden ty-own. There should be sufficient fat to cover the sausages. When done, drain them well on to a piece of paper, and arrange on a very not dish. You will find sausages cooked in this way excellent when cold, and far nicer than when cooked in tlieir skins. .SAUSAGE SHAPE. Ingredients: -Jib. of pork sausages Milk or stock Brown crumbs Seasoning, salt, and pepper 2oz. of white breadcrumbs 2 tablespoonfuls of lean ham. 1 teaspoonful of chopped parsley. Remove the skins from the sausages, and to the meat add the .ham chopped' very finely, breadcrumbs, with a little chopped parsley and sweet herbs, and pepper and salt to taste. Mix well together, and moisten with a little milk or stock. Grease a pudding basin, and ttprinkle rather thickly with the crushed' brown crumbs. Press the sausage mixture into the basin, put greased prper ever the top, and bake for about tl'ieequairters of an hour, standing the basin in a shallow baking-tin containing a little watei'. Serve on a hot dish, with gravy or sauce poiwed round. SAUSAGE TOAD IN THE HOLE. Ingredients: Alb. of .beef sausages £ pint of milk Pinch of salt •1 °gg 1 table-spoonful of flour. Peel the sausages, and if large ones cut them in half, and place in a wengreased baking-tin. Make a batter with the flour, egg, and milk, and after beating it well pour it over the sausages taking care that none of these project above the hatter. Bake in a good oven for half an hour, and serve very liot with nice gravy. SAUSAGES IN GRAVY. Ingredients, lib, of best pork sausages A little good gravy or tomato sauce Fried potatoes. Boil the sausages for ten minutes, peel them, and cut into slices. Heat the sauce or the gravy (slightly thickened), and lay in the slices of flausage, heating gently for about ten minutes. Do not let them boil hard! in the gravy. Take out the slices and arrange them in a very hot dish, pouring over the gravy or sauce. Have ready some rounds of potatoes fried cri-plv, and place these round the drib, as n, garnish.

This hi an excellent way of preparing beef as well <v, pork sausages.