Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1904-12-13
GIFTS FOR MEN.
The Simple, but Pretty Thing Catches
Masculine Fancy.

10 ehe iloSt uSe1ul CHRISTMAS gift [
nave ever had given me. and it was
made by a little girl He held IN 70
view a small and well-worn housewife
OF style not affected by young women
when making gifts for brother. friend
or sweetheart.
me housewife was a piece of OIL
cloth, of a very fine quality, longer
| than ones hand, but not so broad and
curved at each end. 1t was lined with
tine red flannel. whose edges were
bound to those of the oilcloth by a mar
| row red ribbon
Its interior arrangements wera ~,
vided in three portions. At one end
we're sewed three flaps of pure white
flannel, pinked on the edges. the INNER
| flaps being smaller than the lower one
and these were filled with needles. The
other end had a red silk pocket
stitched up into three divisions for ma.
| pers of needles. and the center WAS a
small, fiat cushion, covered with fan
Eel and stuffed with wool red rib
bon held these articles fiat to the oil
cloth. and little bows made a bi, OF
decoration. piece Of ribbon was
sewed to the back, the two ends folded
over ,he middle, ana the ribbon tied
them down in a snug. fiat case.
! The value of this case lay in the fact
that the wool and flannel were pure
| and preserved the needles and pins or
the explorer in any sort of climate,
| from the North Pole. which he had
| sought. to the regions Of the Antarctic
| circle. An even greater value lay in
| the good quality of the oilcloth which
| formed a perfect protection against
wet. Although the little case had been
| in use for twenty years it was as good
as ever.
! a hint might be taken from this.
| that a man likes something not too
| elaborate or '.fussy" but compact and
serviceable. \ woman would use oiled
silk and encase it in some pretty silk
| cover and use dainty tintS of pure
! flannel for the inner flaps PrettneSs
| may be combined with usefulness with
! out having usefulness sacrificed to il.
| a ell-knoWn army officer when he
returned from his last campaign in the
| Philippines. showed a pincushion
| which, he said. was the best ever made
and he had been the recipient of
| hundreds. 1t had been i'm use for many
Years. and WAS just a small mattress Of
pure silk. made just like a bed mat
tress, and stuffed with wool and then
| held-as mattresses are--by little rib
bons run through the mattress and tied
I in small loops on top. The officer said
that pins seemed to slip so easily into
| this small mattress they never rusted,
| the whole affair was easy to keep clean
and took up little room.
Men are. as class. neater than
women. ana abhor things that collect
dust. At the same time they are quick
| to appreciate prettiness Of color and
| form. Their feminine relatives and
| friends usually snow them under at
| Christmas time with furbelows that
are of little or no use except to serve
| the purpose of collecting dust and mi
crobes by the peck. A representative
! man said he was thankful when his
sisters accidentally discovered that he
| hid all the desk and toilet fixings they
| made him except when he expected
thin on visit. He grieved at the.
hurt to their feelings, but rejoiced that
thereafter they refiained from present.
ing him with any more useless bric-a-
brac
both college men and bachelors. They
may be us pretty as possible with rib
honS and bows and silks; they may
hold sHchet or not. but they are soft
and preserve coat Innings and keep :,
| coat neat in set. A pretty coat hanger
does not take up any more room thar,
an ugly one. The holder is stuffed
with cotton, which is first fastened t.,
Il wire frame. The hook is wrapped
with ribbon and u big rosette put at
the top. bag is hung below the
hanger for socks, thus economiZing
room, an item to be considered in large
cities.
Another useful present is the collar
box. A new style has tiny box lie
In the middle of the top for the recep
ton Of collar buttons and cuff links
To make one. cover a wide band of
pasteboard with silk and sew the edges
together Make a smaller band in the
same fashion and then cut circle of
cardboad to fit the bottom Of the larger
band, cover that and sew the smaller
band to the center of the bottom and
the larger one to the edges. The col
lars fit around one and the cuffs around
the other circle. The cardboard must
be stiff enough to keep its shape.
A lid is made by cutting a circle a
shade larger than the bottom. cover
ing that and a narrow band to sew
around it's lower edge, and then sink
ing a small round or square box in the
middle. A small cover for this is
made and sewed in one spot and tied
with bow. which forms a hinge, and
little brags knob, or fancy button.
tied with bow. forms handle to the
top.
A cravat holder is another useful
gift to man. 1t may be made by
covering a long. narrow. low box with
lowered silk or plain silk hand-paint-
ed with the initials painted or en-
broidered upon the top. The bottom
should have a wadded lining and the
size should permit the cravats to fold
lust once. The top should be wadded
before it is covered with silk, and then
| r.. decoration ShOuId he simple. A