Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-12-12
ATTRACTIVE HOMES.
Interest Gravitating Toward the
Christmas Season.
HOLIDAY GIFT MS
OF the Occasion That Can Ee
Made Mt Home-Prcsents Suitable for Young
Girls, Such Sachets for Lingerie, Cro-
chetted Lace. Trimmed Towels, &C.
Written for The Evening Star.


Christmas gifts, consultations as to Christmas
wishes fill most minds and hearts. Where
young folks are away at school or college the
anticipation of home is the absorbing idea.
while the housekeepers are also looking forward
with equal pleasure to the reunion. Home
parties of friends and families separated
through the year are among the best things
that the holidays bring. Wise is the woman
who is doing her Christmas shopping while the
shops are comparatively empty; it is only COM
paratlvely, for already one is obliged to
wait often some time before being served in
the places where there is most to attract
womankind. Even the idea that the after
noon, and rainy one at that. might make
shopping easier was dispeled when on going
to one of these popular shops it was evident
the same bright thought had occurred to a
score OF other people as we'll. Patience, and q
goodly stock OF 1t, Is needed to carry one sue
cessfuily through the campaign Of holiday
shopping. 10 buy presents out and out or to
get materials for manufacturing them requires
much thought and time for year by year ones
list enarges for gift making, and the burden
OF 1t Is felt moro than the pleasure or blessed
ness In some cases. fancy. Then is the time
to stop for sensible people, to shorten the list
and curtail the expenditure of time, thought
and money, until with care-lightened minds
one may begin the annual gift making with q
feeling OF pleasure again.
THE sACHEr FOR LINGERIE.
Now that such a fancy for dainty belongings
Of every kind prevails the sachet for lingerie
makes pretty gift for young girls, or older
Ones too, for that matter This is q square
sachet large enough to hold q set Of UNDER
clothes, and may be in constant use at home, as
well as pretty article to take on a short
journey when little extra clothing will be needed
~ may be made OF lavender silk with lavender
flowers for perfume, tufted and tied with Law
ender ribbons, or with this color hellotrope or
violet orris may be used, though lavender has
come down from old times as tho appropriate
scent to associate with underwear. Pale pink
SILK, blue or yellow. with any sweet powder,
may suit better some tastes, but the idea is
pretty one and makes a novelty for the per-
picking question Of "What shall I give for
Christmas presents?" A more elaborate form
10 fan-shaped, with ruffies of lace and rosettes
OF ribbon among them, but the plain large
square is more tasteful and easier to use. By
always keeping it filed one is surer Of having the
clothes more permeated with the sweet, deli
cate perfume than by merely laying small
sachets among them.
cRocHETED LACE-TRrMMED TOWELS
handsome present has been made for a
housekeeper whose lovely house and furnish
ings justify elaborate accessories. Six large
towels Of fine huckaback. with edge and inser-
outcome OF the leisure moments of the summer
by sk1llful fingers. Last spring the idea was
read Of by young lady and at once she deter
mined to make q similar set for this friend,
who has house beautiful and for whom it
Is rather difficult to find presents all her wants
being more than supplied already. The towels
are really elegant in their way and some thing
that will for years be Of service. An addition,
If one is fond of initials on towels, would be to
crochet square in open stitch and in the CEN
ter In closest work crochet the initial. This
nave seen described, any initial in cross stitch
or letters for canvas embroidery being used as
guide. The huckaback should be cut out
beneath this, SO the initial may show in its lace
like transparency. The crocheted square may
first be basted to the towel. then closely but
tonholed down, or the buttonhole may be in
the shallow points. as the Fayal embroidery is
finished, as this style of initial suggests that
work, and know the pointed edge has been
successfully copied by amateur workers here.
DUTCH LINEN FOR EMBROIDERY.
Dutch linen is much used for embroidery in
scarf and cover. 1t looks much like homespun
linens which have descended to some of US
from our grandmothers. It is only partly
bleached and has a round thread. and in tea
cloths and scarfs is often edged with ecru lace,
either hand-crocheted or Of guipure On this
creamy linen pale gold-colored silk looks pref
tier than anything else, though old blue silk in
the leaf and scroll designs OF Delft pottery is
also very effective.
There is no abatement in the rage for en-
broidery on linen. as q visit to the special
places where materials and stamped linen are
sold will testify-the counters are thronged with
people buying what they find ready to work. or
giving orders for having any special ideas car
ried out. All embroiderers of taste have
reached the same conclusion-that nothing is SO
dainty, nothing suitable tor so many uses or SO
serviceable as silk embroidery on linen of all
grades. The washing of such articles does not
change the silks one atom in color If the
printed directions which come with them are
carried out Thus it follows that articles in
Vulnerable Of this kind Of work will be made
for holiday offerings, and one can never 90
amiss in giving such thing.
PRETTY BoUILLoN SET.
When one wishes to buy or paint china for a
present the selection is almost infinite One of
the comparatively few things that an invalid
may be able to use is pretty bouillon set,
which come in the daintiest possible forme. A
small platter holds the cup with two handles
and cover, the toast rack and little pepper box
and open salt dish, all decorated, with quite a
variety in the colors and designs. II one is
buying the favorite OF the hour, Dresden china.
it is well to understand the marks which signify
its standing in the world Of china. The royal
factory has the crossed swords as its distin-
gushing mark and its decorated pieces have
this sign alone If they are OF perfect quality.
II, however, they are inferior, one, two, three
and even four scratches in the porcelain above
the crossed swords indicate the grade of that
effectiveness. The royal factory, too sells its
own porcelain undecorated but with the mark
upon it Of the crossed swords. When this is
done, however, it always has a mark in the
glaze across the swords. The other factories
often buy the china in this way and decorate it
and sometimes sell it rs the royal Dresden but
this mark will show whether it was decorated
outside of the royal factory or not. 1t may be
lust as pretty, but it is not entitled to the
honor Of the royal name.
CALENDARS FOR 90
The calendars for 80 are what will be given
in many cases for Christmas membranes,
and they make good ones, too. A calendar is
what every one must have to begin the new
year properly, and as there are 80 many really
ornamental ones they make good addition to
a desks appointments.
In point of expensiveness those in silver
frames lead, but it always seems to me the
silver setting is wasted on q plain record of
dates and should hold photograph instead.
while the calendars which are in water color
paper, with the charming water color prints
upon them. are much more artistic and attrac-
tive. Last year the McTickar calendar led in
point OF prettiness, and the same figures re-
appear with the dates Of 1892 attached: a
new one by the same artist is here. too.
but the drawings are not as pretty, while
titles to the pictures decidedly detract from its
good taste. Some charming calendars have
children's heads as the motif, one having
twelve large sheets Of paper composing it, one
for each month, and likewise appearing in two
condensed forms at q lower price, six Of the