Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1914-12-01
0ifts for chrlstmas.

Begin - early % possible TO plan your
Christmas gifts this year, and sec how
much pleasanter the season will DO. The
hurried rush to finish things ut the last
minute 10 wearyins whom ono should be
fresh and foil Of the JOY Of giving. Don't
give unfinished things. Give less II you
must but have what you do give quite
complete. Try to discriminate and give
to each person something especially &C.
ceptable, and don't give useless things.
There are leglons Of these which look
pretty and dainty, and yet which ono
does not know what to do With. There
are many things at the ton cent stores
that would be very acceptable even TO
folks who patronixe the same. Such
things arc really better than tribes which
cost much more and are useless.
One woman know has been making
crochetsd ends for bath towels. A five
cent ball of knitting yarn will make
ends for one towel, unless the edge
10 very wide and very solid. A good
towel can be had for from twenty; five to
thirty. five cents. It does not pay to buy
anything cheaper, because they do not
last. The rub-dry towels can be had for
about fifty cents and they are splendid
for their purpose and come in q box.
With neat orocheted edge and an ini-
tial worked in about six inches above
tho hem, these towels make very pretty
and also useful gifts at very nominal
cost. One can crochet an edge In very
short time. Initials to work over can
be bought for from three to eight cents
each, depending upon the height and
size. Such q gift, although the actual
money cost 10 small, will prove accept.
able to either man, woman, boy or girl.
Two or three such towels for the girl or
boy who 10 away at school are especially
nice, and 1t is possible that such . towel
given to the child who il not fond oil
water might help out in q difficult pro-
ceeding.
Another nice gift for housewives or
others is the buck towel. Be SUITE 1t Ia
pure linen, for cotton one Is not very
acceptable. The cotton towel Is very
hard to wash, 10 not absorbent, and docs
not wear nearly as long as q linen one
and IL therefore not worth the work OF
embroidering or trimming.
There are many beautiful designs Tor
crocheting trimming. The Grecian
chain 10 beautiful design, and one can
make pattern in diamonds, done In fillet
crochet. In tho middle Of one end OF
the crocheting make the initials or even
the name of the person for whom the
towel is designed. This lettering can
be copied from any initials or letters In
either cross stitch or fllet crochet. In
inserting the crocheting, make the hem
above the crocheting the same width as
that below It. Good buck can be had
for fifty cents q yard, and almost the
very finest and best for sixty cents.
These qualities are wide and very hand
some, but less expensive grades can DC
used. Making gift Of this kind costs
from thirty to seventy five cents, accord.
ing to the width, fneness and length oil
the towel.
1t often chances that unused towels oil
6ne grade can be bought very cheaply,
and even embroidered end towels can be
had for q nominal sum. By washing
carefully and doing up neatly, such
towels hardly show that they have been
laundered, especially II little borax Ia
used In the rinsing water. In case OF an
embroidered end, one could 60 over the
edge again with picot stitch or with
simple second row of buttonhole stitch,
and make quite an elaborate finish az
W. II as a durable one; then with hand
some initial worked In, such towel
could not fall to please the recipient.
The things that can be done with
dollars worth of linen are almost In
Vulnerable. A very heavy quality oil
linen sheeting, ninety inches wide 1.-TWO
yards and balf,) can be had for dol
lar and seventy five cents per yard, and
lighter weight, but one very good fol
fancy work, pillow slips. scarfs, etc, car
be had for dollar yard. At the pres
ent time scarfs are being made just to III
the dressing bureau, commode, or side
board, and hence the length Of the piece
bought, II for such purpose, should be
long enough to cut scarf leDgthwise 10
6t the longest piece for which it Is de.
signed. A simple scallop may be used
to finish the edge, or scallop on one
end and hemstitch on the other may
be used, or scallops on both ends and hem.
stitch on sides with little drawn work
for extra decoration. Many sideboards
i nave em6u buoiNco WuiCu Ac4u'Ao oPSS's'
doilies. A housewife who needs such
things would be delighted with q set to
ft.
Tray cloths, twenty-seven inches long,
and about twenty inches wide, are &C
ceptable any where to any housewife.
Tattipg edges, crochet edges, or inserts,
may be used to beautify and individual.
ize them. Think of giving = pair OF
linen pillow slips to some friend, with
your personal work on them, hemstitoh.
ing and initial. By the way, they are
embroidering pillow slips in the center
now, with q wreath and initial or other
design. A yard of linen ninety inches
wide would make q pair of forty-ave
inch slips, which 10 the usual size, al.
though there are both larger and smaller
pillows. Make yours to fit those fol
which they are designed. A linen strip
to spread outside the bed, to initiate .
folded over sheet, makes very pretty
dressing for bed in conjunction with
the pillow slips. 1t is really good
scheme to make many similar things,
because one gets used to the work aud
can do it expsditiously. Then, II you
buy linen for tue work, plan carefully,
and cut exactly, and you will fiud that