The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1877-12-20
CHRISTMAS GIFTS.
Hints on Making Useful and Pretty Arti-
cles Suitable for Holiday Gifts.

L Daisy Eyebright," in the Country Gentle
man. f hs
The holy Christmas season brings
with 1t to every home, more or less prep
aration for an exchange of gifts.
Young and old alike participate in its
joys, and delight to make the bright
eyes OF the children glisten with happi-
ness, and the wrinkled faces of the aged
beam with pleasure
There must be gifts for all-from
grandmother, who sits in the coziest
corner of the parlor-to Andrew, who
attends to outdoor concerns-and the
tastes ofhoth great and small are care
fully consulted. While for grandman-
ma soft warm shawls are crocheted or
knitted, and comfortable cushions and
tides prepared, for Andrew heavy tip
pets and mittens are made, and warm
overeoat and cap purchased. For
grandpapaa handsome footrest can be
worked in a gay pattern of woods, and
the little ones can all contribute from
their savings towards making it up at
at the cabinet makers. ..,...
There are so many ways of making
pretty little articles now,in crewel work
on strong white linen, or in Russia
embroidery and Roman embroidery on
Turkish toweling, cloth, linen duck,
coutille and satin, by which table covers,
chair stripes, sofa cushions, tides, toilet
sets, slipper cases, brackets, towel racks,
can be most beautifully ornamented,
that you need not spend great amount
OF money, if you possess hands and fin
gers. Cretonne work is very effective,
also. The materials required are bright
colored cretonne, chintz or damask
from which the ground work should all
be cut away-the flowers in clusters or.
single, the butterflies, ,cupids and birds),
and bright colored opera fannels, cloth,
satins, coutille, thick brown Russia
duck or the like, upon which the figures
are to be applied or transferred. The
edges of the applied pieces-are overcast
lightly upon the cloth with light
or dark sewing silk, according to the
colors of the pieces. They are then
buttonholed loosely on the, cloth, but so
tightly as to hide all the raw edges of
the applied pieces. Shaded embroidery
silks, loosely twisted, or shaded worsteds
in all colors are used for
the work. The colors must be
selected to match with those of the
flower, bird or butterfly, or elseto con-
trast For instance-in working but
terfy, shaded yellow can be used for the
largest wings, and shaded blue or scar
let of crimson for the upper wings. The
body can be worked over in brown, and
barred across with gold colored floss,
and the feelers worked with the same
| color or with black. have seen most
| elegant cushion made of black satin. A
| wreath of pansies cut out of cretonne
was applied in the center. The pansies
were not cut out in the wreath, but in
small clusters, and so arranged that a
beautiful wreath was formed, broad at
the bottom, and meeting in light sprays
at the top. The outer edge of every flow
er was then worked over and over, each
stitch laid smoothly, but not button-
holed, and the effect was very beautiful,
while the work can be very quickly
| DONE As the flowers are raised up by
their application to the satin, the work
appears much more elaborate than it is.
satin stitch embroidery, or what the
French call point passe, can do it easily
thus any little girl of II or IA years can
readily be taught to do it, if mama or
auntie will only give her little instruc-
ton. Oftentimes mama's piece bag
or trunk will supply all the materials,
and the pieces left from chintz curtains
or furniture covering viii be found ito
contain lovely clusters of flowers and
leaves, birds aud cupid, (which when
button -holed around with shaded silks,
or worked over the edges in satin stitch
upon bit of colored satin or cashmere,
will become thing of beauty. 2 g p
Farmers satin makes a beautiful
ground-work for these strips, or for
toilet cushions, and to make up the
cushions it is also very handsome for
the underside. @ ~
Lovely toilet sets, with five mats, car
be made out of linen canvas, narrow
black velvet ribbon (half-inch and
quartcr-inch in width), with blue and
scarlet worsteds, and gold-colored fill.
ing floss. Baste the velvet about two
and a half inches from the edges of the
mats, leaving equal distances between
each row and baste three rows crossing
them at the corners, and letting the vel
vet fall over the linen. Basic the wides
velvet upon. the largest mat, which il
cut toAfit the center of the bureau o.
toilet-table, and the narroWest upor
the smaller mats, which should be graGu
ated to fit the articles upon which
they are to be used One should be cut
to cover atoilet-cushion,t two for cologne
stands, and one for matchbox.
/ After the velvet is basted correctly
j fill needle with scarlet wool and work
a square over the velvet in the form oi
an x, leaving space for similar
| & fr,,ro 20 hn ,uo,lxod In bl1,o tod