The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1890-10-27
THE HoME e.

HOW THE SMYRNA CARPET is MADE.
One of the most important manufactures
of Asia Minor, and it is also one concerning
which little is known by the general public,
is the manufacture of those carpets which
have acquired worldwide reputation under
the designation of turkey carpets" Oushak
the seat of the trade, is pleasantly situated
in the midst Of fertile plain. 1t is town
OF some twenty thousand inhabitants, most
Of whom are directly or indirectly occupied in
carpet making, the actual number of looms
at work being five hundred. Koula and
Ghiordes have population of about fifteen
thousand. Demirgi has become carpet
weaving town within the last six or eight
years, owing to an accident. Years back
the town was destroyed by fire, and the in
habtants, too poor to reconstruct their habi-
tations, emigrated to Ihiordes, where they
learned the art of carpet making. AS soon
as they bad gained some money they Ie-
turned and rebuilt their native town, setting
up looms of their own. Their carpets were
not success at first. but they managed to
improve them, and now they rank superior
both In texture and color to the Ghiordes.
Ladik, Pergainos and Melas are rug produc-
ing centers. At Sparta the industry has just
been introduced.
The manner of weaving the carpets is
primitive enough. The wool, which is OBJ
| tain from the fat tailed sheep reared by
the Turks on the highlands, is washed by
| the men In the neighboring streams and
then spun on the wheel by the old women
of the town; it is then sent to the Boya Hane
to be dyed, after which it is sold to the man.
ufacturers, Three okes of spun yarn are re
Quired for a square pic of carpet. The looms
consist of two thick poles fixed firmly in
the ground at some pics distance from each
other, two others are joined, one above and
the other below, and to these the warp or
chain of the carpet is attached.
At the foot of this loom the weavers sit
cross legged, sometimes as many as ten In a
row, each working at two foot width of
carpet. The yarn Is taken from bobbns
suspended above their heads and tied to the
warp; it is then cut with sharp knife and
the pile and wool driven together by means
of a comb. A carpet can be made of any
length, but Its width depends on the size of
the loom. IL the loom extends to ten pics
in width, the carpet can be one, two or ten
pics wide. The largest loom in Oushak is
| at present twelve pics Wide, so that If car
| pet of greater width Is required, new
| loom must be made, although this, as one
| may judge from the structure, is not difficult
Notwithstanding that this is primitive
mode of proceeding, it is not without its adj
vantage for, inasmnch as the texture must
perforce be l00ser than the machine made
carpets, the colOrs can blend more easily,
and the carpet or .rng becomes softer and
more plant to the thread.
The carpet weavers are all women. They
are daily chaperoned to the looms by an old
woman. who sees that they work diligently.
The average amount of work one person can
do in day Is about pic. for which the
though the cold In winter is intense and the
workers suffer considerably, they will not
accept the humanitarian Efforts made to pro-
cure them some comfort. Mr.. d'Andria, one
of the largest carpet merchants in this town,
offered to build for them large factory,
with glass windows, wherein they could
| work comfortably though it blew tempest
| without Whether from fear of being seen
| of for some equally valid reason they re-
work In wretched novels barely fit for pig
sites, warming their frozen fingers over the
smoldering contents Of brazier.
During the reign of Abdul-Aziz bright
colors were In vogue, and the manufacturers
had recourse to mineral dyes now, however,
verted to vegetable Observation-Disclosures for
white and brown, yellow berries for green
and yellow, madden roots aid cochineal for
reds, and indigo for blue.
FASHION NOTES.
Trim any wooden material with velvet
ribbon, and put velvet collars on everything,
unless it be bingham frock.
| Put plaids and combination goods npon
slender girls, ard stripes and plain goods on
the plump figures.
Dresses for year-old babies have round
waist reaching three inches below the arm
sizes, which is tucked and feather-stitched,
with full skirt and shirt sleeves.
Beads play an important part in millinery
this season. particularly colored beads and
those of metal.
Broad collars or tiny capes of feathers
are shown, and ostrich feather trimming
will be in favor.
The high Medici collar is in fashion, and
also the collarless gown; the former is be-
coming to the thin face, aud the latter looks
well with plump cheeks.
If you wear a veil have it come to the tip of
your chin, or else invisibly keep your bangs
In place; do not cut the face in two with a
veil drawn tightly across the nose;
Fur boas have been succeeded by those
made from ostrich feathers. Some are two
and half or three yards long. Rufus Of
feathers that merely encircle the neck are
also popular. These are tied at the back of
the neck with long loops. and ends of vel
vet or ribbons or small bow is used.
If sleeve pattern is found too short 1t
| must be equally heightened at the top and
| bottom, as the fit depends upon the elbow
being in just the right place. To make full
|
erect line the top of the sleeve with crime
| line about five inches down from the top and
across the full width.
To make the rosettes used for finishing
basques, take three-quarters of yard Of
ribbon two inches wide, clasp the edges to
| meet and slope to be narrower at the ends.
| Gather the edges on single thread, draw
| them ana wind aronnd In rows of increasing
size, sewing all together in the centre and
tucking the last end underneath: Other ro-
ontfn ID nf Of M
thickly to show the ends; and there are also
fiat rosettes of five loops. like the petals of a
flower.
The fullness of skirts is principally massed
at the back, where the pleats are closely
Tapped, or the gathers deeply laid in, as the
effect is to have almost a tournure when one
steel is used. French dresses show single
steel only, eight inches below the belt though
New York modistes prefer none. Fan
pleated backs are only pressed into shape, as
they must spread near the lower edge.
Walking dresses are made OF walking
length, that is, escaping the ground, as the
skirts with prolonged back breadths are I'M
graceful when held up, and unclean when
permitted to sweep the sidewalks. The En-
glsh habit skirt, still popular for tailor
flowing lines when caught up by the wear
er's hand or lifted by tapes on the inside; 1t
should beleft to fall free from the waist, and
should be very simply trimmed with bor-
DER, binding, or Scall0ped edges.
Ii the home dressmaker does not possess
sleeve-board for pressing the seams, roll
ingpin may be used, as 1t must be quite small
to slip in the sleeve. Always hold the sleeve
OF dress next to you when sewing it in the
armslze: II the high fullness now worn at
the top is tackled tightly here and there, it
will remain in position better. Cut the wrist
facing OF sleeves bias. and always catch it to
the lining only, when hemming it down. If
the dress material is of heavy weight, face
with bit of silk, also the collar, or these
portions of the basque will sit in a bulky
manner.
TO BE REMEMBERED.
Never call on people just at bedtime, or
during dinner or before they are down stairs
in the morning.
Never stop people who are hurrying along
the street and detain them for ten or twenty
minutes.
Never. when you see two people engaged
IN e eernast talk step in and enter upon a
miscellaneous conversation: 49,.
Never begin to talk aoout n's, .na aS ana tba
morning paper or book or anything else.