The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-02-27
ideas tor d1anrnem.

IN some of the little garments it would
take a microscope to discover a stitch,
and 1t is almost impossible to believe
that human hands could have accom-
plished anything so delicate. But that
is the kind of work the mother of good
taste likes to put on her baby for its first
garments.
81 don't think there is one mother IN a
hundred who would put machine-made
clothes on her baby" the lover of baby
clothes who presides over that depart
ment of an exchange in New York con-
tinued. THAT is, among our customers
here. OF course, I 10 not know about
the women outside. There is not a single
article in the layettes we prepare here
that is not made by hand of the finest
and softest material.
Our most elaborate layettes range in
price from $500 to $500. A description of
one of the finest will give an idea of
what is required for such an outfit.
49,
There are, in the first place, six knit
ted shirts, made of the finest Saxony;
six knitted bands and a dozen socks, as
sorted sizes. These are of fine. soft wool
and may be either all white or varied
with pink and blue-no other colors for a
little baby. The pink is usually consid-
cred the color for a boy, and the blue for
a girl. but mothers use their own taste in
such matters. The wooHen socks are the
best for use. but we sometimes put in
two or three pairs of silk socks. really
more for show than anything else.
Next there are from eight to ten little
n~ightgowns. trimmed with real valen-
ciennes lace, a tiny edging, n made Of
English nainsook. there are six all-wo
flannel n~ightgowns, the collar, cuffs. two
sides to the front, and the skirt, feather
stitched with silk. The hem to these
little garments is an inch deep. There
are six pinning blankets, or barrow coats
as some people call them. simply made
and with a silk binding on the edge.
1.-THE flannel ~peticoats. of which there
are six. are finished around the bottom,
some of them with a simple embroidered
scallop and others with a little more
elaborate vine pattern above the scallop;
the five inch band. pinned around the
body, is of the soft nainsook. The regu-
lar white petticoats are of the same ma
terial. and there are six of them. They
are tucked in clusters or in single groups
of five or seven tucks. Some of them
have hemstitched ruffles with lace, though
we do not use the real lace for this pur-
pose.
1.-THE four little flannel or cashmere
wrappers are handsomely embroidered
down the front and around the collar
and cuffs. The newest collars for the
wrappers are double. The little garments
are usually of white, though occasionally
blue or pink will be used. Frequently the
yoke of the wrapper Is made of solid en-
broidery.
''The eight little hand made slips are
of the finest English nainsook the yoke
made of tiny tucks as fine as can be
made, with rows of feather stitching be-
tween, the tucks forming the fullness of
the skirt. A tiny ruffle of the material
edged with very narrow Vaienciennes
lace finishes the neck. At the waist there
is a little sash of the material with a
ruffle at each end. like that in the neck.
and there are similar ruff1es on the little
turned-back cuffs.
There are-six handsome white dresses.
These are distinguished from the slips by
being trimmed back and front. You can
not see the stitches IN the tucks on these
little dresses, and it is hard to understand
how any woman could hold such a tiny
tuckestraight to put the needle in and out.
There is a thread drawn for each tuck
to make It straight You cannot see a
stitch in the fine shirriug at the waist
line, and the work on the edges of the
little sash ends that tie in the back is
SO fine that it looks to the naked eye like
a round selvage.
THE little dresses vary in the method
OF arranging the tucks and IN the man
ner of placing the lace Insertion in the
yoke. In some of the little gowns there
IS a band of lace insertion in place of
the shirring at the waist. There is a line
Of hemstitching between the tucks in
some of the Jokes. There are several
styles of feather stitching that are used
to vary the gowns and slips. The skirts
to the dresses are also trimmed with
groups of tucks. and lace insertion.
THE last garments in the little out
fit are sacques of cashmere. They are
intended for service, and must be made
to wash. There are only three of them
to begin with, and they are embroidered
around the edge and collar and cuffs with
a pretty running design. The diapers, of
which there are four dozen. are always of
fine cotton-never of linen.
1Ae D6auIllui young OucA6SS or Sutn-
erland is a fair phflanthropist, who is
ever trying to interest herself In the well
fare of her less fortunate fellow-crea-
lures. Lady Warwick. her sister, is still
another peeress who does a world of good
In a practical fashion and the Marchio-
ness of CRANKY. who will be h Duchess
of Rutland some day. is a good SamAri-
tan to more people than she can easily
recall.
Every one of these titled women are
of money to the various charities in
which they take special interest, but
they are members of the poor guardians,
oyerseers of schools and the warehouses
for women, in their husbands districts
or domains; and in addition, president
or c-hairwoman of no end of sother
guilds. societies and clubs for the poor
and suffering.
All this demands time and no end of
patience and endurance, yet each of
these great ladies is a leader In the
most cultured and distinguished society
In Europe.
They are not merely social figures and
ornaments of fashion, but useful mem
bers of the worlds greatest society. as
well: and at the same time, the intel
!ectual- equal of their husbands peers
philanthropists, politicians and states
men, though they are.
1t is such women as the foregoing