Evening star., 1925-02-05

| smallest accessories. surely 1t Is well
worth while to see to 1t that even so
diminutive an affair as q handker-
| chief be Of the finest and daintiest to
be rhe had hanawAs upon these mou-
| choirs makes them expensive to buy,
but the materials themselves are
within the reach of all. nice grade
| of China silk, bought by the yard. Is
most popular for the painted hand
kerchief. Take account of the width
| of the silk in determining the
dimensions Of the squares, so that
| there will be no waste. -Four hand
kerchiefs, eight or nine inches
| square, can be made from a quarter
| of a yard of silk that is SO inches
| wide. The difference in the size Of
| the handkerchief is according to
| whether you have the edge picoted or
hemmed. A hemmed edge requires
| more goods, of course. Fortunately
picot is the preferred finish.
1t Is good economy to make a num-
| ber of these handkerchiefs at one
| time. A yard of material, hem
stitched in squares and cut through
the center Of the stitching, gives 16
picoted handkerchiefs at small cost.
1t must be remembered that the
| stitching extends along the selvages
to complete the picoted finish all
around some of the squares. This
must be allowed for when calculating.
Women's handkerchiefs range from
10 inches square to small glove
handkerchiefs, but painted silk styles
| are seldom the largest or the small
est sizes. The 9-inch or 91s Inch
squares are excellent.
Paints, Brushes, Etc.
Oil paints are used and water
| color brushes. the latter because they
make finer points than the stiff
bristles of oil brushes. Tiny tubes of
oil paints containing colors, and one
of white, and cup of gasoline are
essentials. Gasoline dries more
quickly than the usual thinning
mediums, and therefore it Is recon-
| mended. However. If there is a fire
| in the room or an exposed Jet of
light, substitute some non-inflam-
mable fluid of the same nature, thus
insuring safety.
An excellent substitute for an
artists palette, in case one is not
able, is a smooth piece of glass
or tin. Squeeze a small amount of
color upon the palette" forming a
crescent, leaving the space that is
| toward you free for the thinning and
mixing Of the colors. The colors as
they come from the tubes are too
thick. and require thinning with
gasoline. To make a color of a
| paler shade, mix with white.
Thumb tack one of the handker-
chiefs on to a board covered with a
sheet Of white blotting paper. The
silk must be taut to be painted we'll.
The blotting paper will absorb the
superfiuous color and liquid, pre-
venting either from spreading.
In applying the paint to design Of
your own invention, or one which you
have stamped by means of a transfer
pattern, work with system. Put in all
| the paint Of one shade at one time,
cleanse the brush by dipping in the
gasoline and wiping dry, and then ap-
ply another color. Complete the de-
sign in this way and the work will
progress rapidly, especially II the sur
face covered with the blotting paper
is large enough for more than one
handkerchief to be stretched in posi-
tion at one time. Avoid having two
painted surfaces in a design overlap.
They may run together. Keep the
petals of flowers separate. Leave a
wee space for center to be put in
of contrasting shade.
Before applying q color to the silk,
try 1t out on a bit of the fabric
fastened somewhere along the edge of
| the blotter-covered board. When the
| color is right and the paint is of the
proper consistency, start work on the
design.