Domestic

New Zealand Tablet, 15 December 1910, Page 2077

Domestic

By MAUREEN

Concerning Muslin Frocks. Muslin frocks and blouses should be put out in the sunshine and be well aired after they have been ironed. If they are put away immediately they will become limp and lose all dainty freshness. Crochet D'Oyleys. ' When crocheting on edge on round linen d'ovlcys turn the hem on the wrong side and tack it down. then place a large needle in the machine, leaving it unthreaded, follow the hem carefully -around, and you will have a number of holes of sufficient size to insert the crochet needle an equal distance apart. Crochet the edo- c and when done pull out the tacking threads. The hem will hold and have a neat finish not obtained by hand hemming. Tender Feet. If the feet are inclined to be tender, powder the inside of the stockings with boracic powder. Boracic fomentations are excellent for tender toe-joints and bunions, and are made by dissolving an ounce of boracic powder in boiling water, and saturating a piece of lint with this when cod Ihe lint is laid on the joint, and a piece of oiled silk laid over to prevent evaporation, and the whole bandaged to keep it in place. On Giving Medicine. It is useful to know how to give medicine in drops, halt drops, and even smaller quantities, because sometimes one is nervous lest the hand should shake and an overdose bo given. The plan is simplicity itself. Suppose one wishes to give half a drop. Place one drachm of the medicine in a marked sixteen-ounce bottle, and fill up with water to fifteen ounces. This will contain one hundred and twenty tea spoonfuls-, and each of those will hold half a drop of the drug. If one uses a measuring glass it is quite easy to pour fifteen drops eorreet.lv: and in such case one may mix one-fourth of the quantities stated above. Home Dressmaking. . There are very few households at the present day in which some member of the family is not more or less an adept at home dressmaking. Such facilities are now offered, that every g,r has the opportunity of improving or becoming proficient in the art, That the money is well pent in learning ,s proved by the great saving' effected in this particular hue of expenditure. But the great fault to be found with home dressmaking is that, in many cas"s TWW B -V ? mateu r appearance when finished! latis to say, it de not possess that neat, stylish look which characterises shop-made goods, and ' consequents the home dressmaker is apt to feel disappointed and discontented with the result of her labors. There are a few tricks of the trade l however, which are invaluable in making up and altering clothes, and account for all the difference between a neat and trim garment and one which is 11fitting and ill-finished. Not a few home dressmakers for instance, overlook the fact that when putting on a collar he neck of the bodice or blouse should* be slightly smaller than the base of the collar band, and the bodice note led here and there while putting the collar on. By doing this wrinkles are avoided Again, when cutting out slfeves to avoid the disaster of cutting both for the same arm fold t e material either face to face or back to back. Place the pattern on it and cut both together. A proper pair of j eeves is bound to be the result. 0 Make the under pa t of the sleeve double, so that it can be darned, as this w?ars out sooner than the upper. Don't forget to do p enty of tacking and pressing. To neglect these two points stamps a garment as ' home-made 'at once. Always shrink a S braid before sewing to a skirt, otherwise" the bottem of the skirt will become puckered the first time of wear" a shower of ram. In shortening a skirt natter, tn always fold a pleat across the middle «f the pattern ; never shorten from the top or bottom of the skirt or the shane ill be spoiled. _ A rolling pin with a cloth round *£ makes a good pressing board. It is alwavs a ndstakc to use a very coarse needle and thread for tacking nurposS; cxcentin the case of heavy tweeds and series, as whin the +Ev are removed a line of tiny holes will le the ,Suit When putting bones in a fitted lining, the ends whore tun- 1 , the waist line should be slightly bent as a m eh b?iter"fit will be thus secured . Another point which it is necessarv to observe when making a bod of this r7p«m. ■ ' MCe T sa y have it fitted once with" the arms foldid oveTZ*Z f*" unless this is done the bodice will never I 1 heat i' as able to wear. It is attention to such details that SSW" nfakers. to a garment W m " Ch desired by l-U'dress!

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