The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1894-01-08
THE HOME.
The Care of Clothing.


up good clothing may be averted by con-
slant care. Gowns should be brushed be-
fore hanging up in the closet 1t is best
to have this done as soon as possible af
ter taking them off, thoroughly reInov
ing the traces of street dust and mud
from facings, seams and gathers. The
neat woman does not brush her gown in
her chamber, but takes it into the bath
room and brushes it beside an open
window, or better still, has. it carried
out of doors for the operation.
Disease germs may be carried home in
clothing. and, were this not the case, 1t
is very untidy proceeding to put into
one's wardrobe an article of dress which
has not been thoroughly cleansed.
When the French woman takes off her
bonnet she does not bundle it at once
into a bandbox, or throw it hastily on
a shelf, or hang it up on peg. Not he.
Every little loop and bow is pulled out
and put into shape, strings are gently
caressed into smoouhl ess, jets and garnets
are Strengthened and fastened in posi-
ton, and the bonnet receives the touch
of the brush to remove dust, and then
it is laid between folds of tissue paper
diO Is Tcduy lOI lbS ucAU app6dfduCe, DIS
fresh and new, to all intent as when it
left the milliner's hand.
Gloves are expensive articles, no mat
ter how sedulous the care bestowed upon
them. But gloves will last third long
er than they usually do if pulled off the
hand from the wrist down, and turned
inside out, as is done when they are tried
on in the shops; if laid by themselves,
properly Strengthened. and not crumpled
into tight ball, and If mended at the.in-
saint rip shows itself, pair of gloves
will retain their pristine freshness. 1t
is good policy to have best and second
best gloves, and gloves for shopping and
running about. In our chilly winters
the aforementioned should be of dog-skin,
and sufficiently loLse not to cramp the
hand. Light gloves may be cleaned
more than once to advantage.
Shoes with yawnlng gaps where but
tons should be, at once convict the wear
Ell of heedlessness. A large needle and
stout thread will replace a button, and
it requires only moments work, and
the wearer will part with no portion of
her self-respect If she does this as mat
ter of habit. -Harper's Bazaar.
Sofa Pillows.
The fancy for sofa pillows is by no
means on the wane, according to Harper's
Bazaar, but many are SO elaborate that
they serve rather for ornament than use.
One which combines service and beauty,
however, can be quickly and inexpensive
ly made Of square of heavy linen, on
which pattern Of large interlaced rings
is worked in outline stitch with heavy
linen floss. Cut the square of linen
(Which may be either bleacned or un-
bleached, the size desired; then, COM
mencing at the upper left hand corner,
lay saucer upside down On the material
(far enough from the, top and side to al
low ample room for turnings, and draw
line around it with "a pencil. Move
the saucer to the right till the left-hand
and repeat. Continue in this way across
the top, then down both sides and across
the bottom, thus forming border. 1t
may save time and perplexity to suggest
that the maker should first lay the sau-
GER ON the material, get the exact meas
urement, and see how many rings the
width of the square will allow. Divide
the.surplus. For instance, if two inches,
make the first circle one inch from the
top and one inch from the side of the
upper left-hand corner. If preferred,
patterns of cresents, triangles, pansies,
clover leaves, or any design, can be cut
from stiff brown paper, laid on the
linen. and traced with pencil at irregu
lar distances over the whole surface and
then connected by slanting limos.
When the embroidery is finished, cut
another piece of linen of the same size,
sew neatly together around three sides,
slip the pillow in, and catch the fourth
side lightly When the cover is soiled,
it4can be easily ripped, and will come
from the wash looking as good as new.
A ruffie of embroidery or heavy lace
can he added if 0esire1
The easiest way to get the pillow is, of
course, to buy so-called down cush-
ion" at any Of the large shops. But if
expense must be considered, very nice
ones can be made at home of ticking
stuffed with feathers, or. if they cannot
lengthways in narrow strips, the finer
the better, may be su Instituted. This
latter lining is also excellent for boat
cushions, which may be covered with
the durable blue denim, on which the
name of the boat or the initials OF it's
owner have been embroidered with
coarse white linen thread in outline
stitch, arranged diagonally.
The new changeable denim is shown in
medium shades Of red and blue in fan
cy weave and is very pretty. The designs
are rather large, and work out showily,
and If one wishes to produce most ser
viceable and handsome result, COUGHING
A square of this red and blue, which is
stamped with either design forming a
border and nearly filling the whole. or
a centre is worked cut with blue filoselle
laid directly on the line of the design;
with this is laid one thread of medium
Japanese gold thead and held so that
the gold thread is kept directly on top.
This is crossed by two threads of red
silk, the same shade as that in material
The stitches should be less than one
quarter of an inch apart. In those parts
of The design that will admit it lag two
more rows of this COUGHING and let the
succeeding rows of stitches alternate,
forming a basket work. Leaves and
flowers will bear this.
When the material is more expensive,
as for instance satin sheeting, armure
OF velvet, the whole design may be filed
up entirely, making very rich and ex-
pensive looking gift.
A Girls Pin-Cushion.
A novel pincushion, and one which
may be fashioned at very little expense,