MAKING A PIUPIU Unexpected enthusiasm was shown at the Ardmore refresher course for a demonstration of making a piupiu, given by Mrs Mary Pinfold (Te Whaiti, right top) and Mrs Maud Isaacs (Kennedy's Bay, left top). Instead of the twelve pupils they expected, the demonstrators found they had nearly forty teachers in their class. The simplest form of piupiu was shown. Raupo leaves are cut into two strips which are then slit at regular intervals with a sharp knife. The fleshy part is lifted from each alternate section of the raupo, so that at those patches only the fibres remain. The raupo strips are then tied to a three ply flax cord, as is shown by Mrs Evelyn Waaka (Waipiro Bay). When the raupo dries the piupiu takes on its familiar shape. At the end of the demonstration, William McFarland, son of an Ardmore college teacher, posed as a model for the new garment. ‘Are you tough?’ asked the photographer. What do you think?