Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-11-12
XMAS WORK BASKET
How to Make Gifts That Men
Like and Will Use.
HAVE NO FUSSINESS
THE SIMPLE, BUT PRETTY THING
CATCHES MASCULINE FANCY.
Gifts for College Men and Bachelors
That Answer This Re-
quirement
HAVE NO FUSSINESS


the most useful Christmas gift 1 have ever
had given me, and it Was made by little
girl" He held up to view small and
well-worn housewife of a style not affected
by young women when making gifts for
brother. friend or sweetheart.
The housewife was apiece of oilcloth, of
very fine quality. longer than ones
hand, but not SO broad and curved at each
end. 1t was lined with fine red flannel,
whose edges were bound to those of the
oilcloth by narrow red ribbon.
Its interior arrangements were divided in
three portions. At end were sewed
three flaps of pure white flannel, pinked on
the edges. the upper flaps being smaller
than the lower one, and these were filled
with needles. The other end had red silk
pocket. stitched up into three divisions for
papers of needles, and the center was a
small, fiat cushion, covered with flannel
and stuffed with wool. A red ribbon held
these articles fiat to the oilcloth. and little
bows made a bit of decoration. A piece of
ribbon was sewed to the back, the two
ends folded over the middle. and the rib
bon 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 of the ex-
plorer in any sort of climate, from the
North Mole, 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 pro-
lection against wet. Although the little
case had been in use for twenty years 1t
was as good as ever.
hint might be taken from this. that
man likes something not too elaborate or
"fussy," but compact and serviceable. A
woman would use oiled silk and encase it
in some pretty silk cover and use dainty
flannel No inner
Prettiness may be combined with useful
ness without having usefulness sacrificed
to it.
His Old Pincushion.
A well-known army officer, when he re-
turned from his last campaign in the Phil
fppines. showed pincushion which, he
said. was the best ever made-and he had
been the recipient of hundreds. 1t had
been in use for many years, and was just
a small mattress of pure silk, made just
like a bed mattress, and stuffed with wool
and then held-as mattresses are-by little
ribbons run through the mattress and tied
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, heater than women.
and abhor things that collect dust At the
same time they are quick to appreciate
prettiness of color and form. Their femi-
nine relatives and friends usually snow
them under at Christmas time with furbe-
lows that are of little or no use except to
serve the purpose of collecting dust and
microbes 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 male him ex-
cept when he expected them on visit. He
grieved at the hurt to their feelings, but
retoiced that thereafter they refrained from
presenting him with any more useless brio
a-brac.
A Coat Hanger for Him.
Coat hangers are nice presents for both
college men and bachelors. They may be
pretty as possible with ribbons and
bows and silks; they may hold sachet or
not, but they are soft and preserve coat
Innings and keep a coat neat in set. A
pretty coat hanger does not take up any
more room than ugly one The one
illustrated is stuffed with cotton, which Is
first fastened to a wire frame. The hook
is wrapped with ribbon and big rosette
put at the top. A 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 let in the mid
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 a
ii
larger band, cover that and sew the smaller
band to the center of the bottom and the
larger one to the edges. The collars fit
around one and the cuffs around the other
circle. The cardboard must be stiff enough:
to keep it's shape.
A lid Is made by cutting a circle a shade
larger than the bottom, covering that and
narrow band to sew around its lower
edge. and then sinking a small round or
square box In the middle. A small cover
for this is made and sewed In one spot and
tied with a bow, which forms hinge, and
little brass knob. or fancy button, tied
with bow, forms handle to the top.
A Cravat Holder.
cravat holder is another useful gift to
man. 1t may be made by covering a
long. narrow, low box with Powered silk,
or plain silk hand-painted, with the Initials
painted or embroidered upon the top. The
bottom should have a wadded lining and
the size should permit the cravats to fold
just once. The top should be wadded be-
fore 1t Is covered with silk, and then its
decoration should be simple. A small brass
handle in the middle. or a glass KNOB is
more appreciated than ribbon bow would
be.
Another form of cravat holder is made
by covering a shallow box with leather.
The box should be half as long as cravat
and wide enough to hold a number OF them.
It Is lined with wadded silk and has tiny
BRASS roo run through the upper part and
another on the top, outer edge. A soft cur
tain of tinted leather, decorated in hand
painting or burnt work, Is hung with a
number Of tiny rings to the rod, and a
cravat Is taken out or put in by merely
pushing aside the curtain. The curtain has
fringe extending below the bottom of the
box. This is hung to the wall and has an
ornament on top of it. 1t may be made OF
silk or any fancy needlework that can be
kept clean.
Something that men like to keep their
boxes Of silver, lined with wadding, but the
home made box or basket is just as useful
1t may be of sweetgrass, wadded inside,
and all the owner has to do Is to lift the
basket lid to take out handkerchief. Or
1t may be hand-patnted box, or one en-
broidered in wreaths of flowers, with a lid
that lifts easily. In any case, the gift is
useful and ornamental
Pretty and Useful.
Another thing that a man likes is laun-
dry bag-the prettier. the better. Make
this Of Powered, washable cretonne or good
silk. The initials embroidered upon the
side add to the attracuveness Of the pos
session. It should have hem at the top
end q band with a drawing string both
ways, with big bows on each side. Sim
plicity should be the rule in cut.
Trays for the home writing table and i.
dresser are appreciated and handsome
or embroidered design is fas-