Part 4

These should be cut a little longer than the blankets to allow for the wide hems, and for turning back at the top. The very narrowest of hems should be put at each side of the sheets, and one about half an inch wide along the bottom of each; but the top hems are about three-quarters of an inch wide, and are worked in ladder hem-stitching. All about how to do hem-stitching will be found on page 30.

At the corner of the top sheet the initial B is worked. Of course, you must work the first letter of your doll’s name. If you are not sure you can write the initial on linen yourself, get someone to do it for you; then work it over in a fancy outline stitch with embroidery thread. You have a little specimen of work showing how the outline stitch was made for the B. In working this you hold your thread down along the design of your initial with your left hand, and take a small stitch over the thread, putting your needle in just above the thread and bringing it out just underneath; this makes a little knotted stitch, and the knots are repeated along the design at equal distances apart. You can use this outline stitch for many purposes.

The Pillows.

Make the pillows of the same material as you used for the mattress. These will need to be each about three inches wide, and a little longer than half the width of the bed. For each pillow cut two pieces of material exactly the same size. Run the two pieces together round three of the edges on the wrong side, then turn on to the right side, stuff the pillows with wool or small pieces of rag, and oversew the edges of the fourth side together.

The Pillow-Cases.

Make the pillow-cases in the same way as the pillows but a little larger, and hem round one end so that you can slip the pillow in. Sew two pieces of very narrow tape to each side of the open end, and tie the pillow into the case.

One of the pillow-cases has a frill round. To make this, cut out a narrow piece of linen, hem one side of it, and work a simple crochet edge on to this. Or you can use Cash’s Frillings for this, which are made to draw up easily into frills.

When the frill is ready to sew on, roll the edge of the other side of frill between your finger and thumb and sew over the roll, as shown in the little illustration. Use a coarser thread for this, working from right to left, pulling the thread to gather the frill as you are working it. This is called whipping, and is really very much the same as oversewing, only the stitches are taken right over the hem. Cash’s Frilling needs no whipping.

Oversew the frill around the edge of the pillow-case.

The Bedspread.

Cut out a piece of canvas large enough to cover the bed, and hang over the mattress, allowing extra around for the hem.

Hemstitch around, taking two sets of threads together; for the second side of the hemstitch sew together two sets of threads, but take up alternate threads to those taken up on the other side; this serpentine stitch is shown on page 30.

The pattern of the bedspread is shown on page 61.

Each slanting stitch is worked over two holes—that is, pull the needle through a hole, leave two holes on the cross, put the needle into the next hole, leave two holes on the cross in the opposite direction, pull the needle up through the next hole, put the needle back into the same hole as the end of first stitch, and up again through the hole at the beginning of the second stitch.

Continue to work in this way all round the piece of canvas.

Work three more rows like this, arranged so that the stitches form a diamond pattern as you see illustrated.

Then fill in the corners with the same pattern, and work the pattern in the centre of dolly’s bedspread.

The Nightdress Case.

The nightdress case is made with the same materials as the bedspread.

Cut out a piece of canvas two and a half inches wide and four and a half inches long; fold this so that it makes a bag with a flap over it the same size as the bag. Put the two ends of the canvas for bag together, and work in blanket stitch round through both pieces at once, also around the edges of the flap to finish off the little case.

Work three diamonds on the front of the nightdress case. This completes the outfit for dolly’s bed, and I am sure she will like it.

A Patchwork Quilt.

SUPPOSING Miss Seraphine’s doll-friend Clementine were to write and say she was coming on a visit next week. Wouldn’t you be in a fix with no nice bedspread for the spare bed, because you were reading that book instead of attending to the dolls’ spring cleaning? You will have to see about a new bedspread quickly, and you can make one that will be very pretty, with just a few little pieces. Here is where those scraps that Grandma gave you the other day will come in usefully.

We are going to make a patchwork quilt. It won’t be as large as the one Grandma has, but Clementine doesn’t require a very big one to cover her. First, let us just see what pieces we have got together. Some unbleached calico, some pieces with roses and rosebuds on, some dark ones with leaves and bunches of grapes, one piece with a little pink flower all by itself, a few flowery bits, and some with different kinds of spots. There is just enough here to make something really lovely, and I shouldn’t wonder if when Clementine sees it she doesn’t want to change bedspreads with Seraphine.

Arranging the Pieces.

But to get to work. We must think out a little scheme of how we are going to arrange the pieces. Whatever you do, don’t put the dark ones on one side, or throw them away, because they are just what you will want to show up the light ones nicely. We will decide to have our design in squares. A little square of the pink flower could come in the centre. Then to show it up, a dark square with leaves and a bunch of grapes could come above, below, and at each side of it. You might have four little spotty patterns at the corners between two dark bits, and above the top and below the bottom dark piece might be a little fancy pattern. At the four corners left, we will put a rose or rosebud. Look at the picture of a patchwork quilt, and you will see how we have arranged them all. Then we might have a border of the unbleached calico.

Before we go any further, do you know what makes this so attractive and pretty? It is the dark pieces—the pieces you wanted to throw away—and the plain border. These darker pieces throw up the pretty light designs, and make them look even more pretty, whereas, if you put all light together, you could not so easily pick them out.

Covering and Joining the Squares.

If you haven’t done any patchwork, you will wonder how to get the little squares even, and to join them together. This is how it is managed. You want 15 squares of stiff paper, each measuring 1½ inches each way. Stiff old letters will do beautifully to cut up for this. Get a piece of cardboard, 1½ inches each way, and cut your papers by this, taking great care that they are perfectly even and true. Cut out your 15 pieces of material in squares, which should measure 2 inches each way. That will allow you ¼ inch on each side for turning the end over the paper to make it neat. Tack a piece over each square of paper, as in the picture. When the 15 squares are covered, join them all together on the wrong side with oversewing stitches, arranging them as we decided. You will see how to do oversewing on page 28.

How to Manage the Border.

For the border, cut a plain strip of unbleached calico, 2 inches wide and about 37 inches in length. On each side of this strip tack down ¼ inch. Now, leaving about 2 inches, start sewing on the border at one corner of the quilt, on the wrong side, with neat oversewing stitches. When you come to a corner you must mitre it. From the corner measure along your border twice the width of the border, _i.e._, 3 inches. Mark with a pin or thread. Now pleat your border strip so that the pin comes just on the corner. If you have done this quite neatly and evenly, your corner will be quite square. On the wrong side you will have a crease across the diagonal of the border. Stitch along this firmly with run and back-stitch. Then cut away just beyond the stitches, and oversew the raw edges to keep from fraying. When you come to the corner from which you started, you must join the two ends of the border, and this is done just the same as the other corners, by first creasing and then stitching on the diagonal.

The Fancy Stitch.

On the quilt in the picture a little fancy stitch has been worked in coloured “Star Sylko,” and this is a great improvement. This is worked from left to right, with first a little horizontal stitch then a long slanting stitch, and below the slanting stitch another horizontal stitch. Bring your needle up from the wrong side. Take a few threads of material, bringing the needle out on a line with the first place at which you brought it up, but a little to the right of it. Bring it out under the stitch just made, and carry it down in a slanting direction and make another little horizontal stitch in the same way, this time, however, keeping your needle above the stitch. Then up again, and so on. The little pictures will make this stitch clear. When you have gone all round the border, you can take out all your tacking stitches and pull the paper away from the little squares.

Now all that remains to be done is to line your quilt, and this is done by taking a piece of white sateen 7¾ inches wide by 10¾ inches long. Turn in once and then tack ¼ inch all round, and hem it neatly to the counterpane, as you were shown how to line the sachet on page 39. Be careful not to let the stitches come through to the right side of the quilt. If you want to make it extra warm you can put a layer of cotton wool in between the quilt and the lining. It is now quite ready for the spare bed.

But perhaps some little mother says: “I haven’t got any pretty pieces like those in the picture. I have only got plain pink, blue and white.” Well, you can arrange these to look pretty, even if they are only plain colours. Put a square of pink in the middle, have a white square above, below, and at each side. At the four corners, where the spotty bits are, have blue. The four outside corners could be pink, and the top and bottom centre ones white. Then you could have a white border with blue stitching on it. This is only one suggestion for plain colours. You will soon think of plenty more. There is ever so much you can do with a few pieces and a little patience.

Just Think!

Mary Mabel Melancholy Wouldn’t even dress her dolly! The only thing that she would do, Was sit and sing “Bo-hoo! Bo-hoo!”

So the cold, uncomfy creature, Was confiscated by the teacher, And given to Alice Always-Good, Who made it such a pretty hood.

F. K.

For the New Perambulator.

There is one thing that dolly absolutely _must_ have before you take her out to see her friends, and that is a new pram-cover. You had almost forgotten that, hadn’t you? Just think how you would feel to have her dressed in her best for visiting, and sitting in that beautiful perambulator that Uncle gave you, and no nice cover to match! Wouldn’t you feel dreadful?

Here is a pram-cover that you can make. This has been worked on pale pink sateen, with shaded green for the leaves and stems, and dark crimson for the rosebuds. Use a shaded green No. 8 “Star Sylko,” crimson, No. 8, and plain green thread, No. 5, the same shade as the darkest part of the shaded thread, for the lines around. Perhaps these colours won’t go quite nicely with dolly’s pram and outdoor clothes. In that case you must decide on some other shades.

This pram-cover measures 10 inches long by 7½ inches wide, then another 2 inches has been added to the length, and 2 inches to the width for the hem. You may find you need your cover larger or smaller than this one, but whatever size you have, don’t forget to allow extra for a nice hem. Tack the hem down all round, but do not hem it: the stitches on the outside line keep it in place.

Having tacked your hem, you have now to get the design transferred to your pram-cover. Just look at the outline design. This is just the size you will want. Now take a piece of tracing paper, and go carefully over the outline of the leaf wreath. Don’t trouble about the bud at present. Next turn the paper over and run over the back of the design with a fairly soft lead pencil—the outlines will show through the transparent paper. Turn it over again and lay it on your cover, taking care to get it nicely in the centre. Keep it firm and follow every line with a slightly harder pencil, marking it firmly and evenly. When you take your paper up you will find the leaves transferred to your pram-cover. The buds are transferred to each corner in the same way, putting them whichever way up you want them.

All you have to do now is to work over the design in the outline stitch described on page 58. Work the leaves and stems in the shaded green, the rosebuds in crimson, and the border lines in plain dark green. You can then take out the tacking threads.

Dolly will be highly pleased to have such a nice cover to her perambulator. She does like to be stylish, doesn’t she?

A Bedspread for Victoria.

I wonder whether you have made the bedspread, shown on page 61, with the doll’s bed outfit. I daresay you have, and perhaps the patchwork quilt too. But of course you will not want all your doll-children’s beds to look quite the same, so how about a bedspread with a fringe to it for Victoria’s bed? You usually dress her in blue, don’t you, to match her eyes, so you had better work the bedspread in blue. No, I know she does not go to sleep with her eyes open, but she has lovely fair hair, and pink roses in her cheeks; and a cream bedspread, worked in blue, is what she needs to set her off properly.

The bedspread is worked in coarse cream Hardanger Canvas. The little detail of the stitch shows you the actual size of the canvas. If you use a finer canvas than this—as of course you can if you like—then you will have to take your stitches over more threads to get your design the same size as the one shown here.

The shade of blue that will suit Victoria beautifully is No. 709 in Ardern’s “Star Sylko,” size 5, and you could use this for the work on your bedspread; and you will also want some white “Star Sylko,” size 5, for the satin stitch. For sewing the fringe cream linen thread can be used.

If you have not yet learnt to work the stitches used in making this bedspread, the best plan would be to take an odd piece of canvas and practise on that first.

Satin Stitch.

We will start with the white outlines of the border. This is worked in satin stitch—a very simple stitch, but it needs to be worked evenly, and the thread must not be pulled too tightly. Do not make a knot to start the work, leave a piece of thread at the back, and put the needle through this piece before you work the second stitch. Start by putting the needle up through a hole of the canvas, miss 1 hole, put the needle into the next hole; put the needle through the next hole on a line with the first, and go on working stitches like this in a straight line.

If you do this in the right way, the stitches on the right side will be straight, and on the wrong side they will slant a little.

The corners of this piece of work are done in an easy way, look carefully at the illustration, and I think you will see what to do. The 2 stitches on each side and the centre stitch are all worked into the same hole on the inside of the corner.

Outlines of Border.

Now if you can do satin stitch, the bedspread can be started.

Leave 12 holes around outside the satin stitch line. Work 50 stitches across both ends, 84 stitches on each side—not counting the 3 extra stitches at corners. Leave 14 holes on the side and work a line of stitches across to the other side, on both ends of work. Leave 14 holes, counting towards the centre from side, and work a second line on each side between the ones worked at each end.

To divide this into squares, leave 14 holes, and work rows of satin stitch between the 2 lines.

Centre of Squares.

Thread your needle with blue, and put it up through the corner hole, miss 2 holes, counting towards the centre, put the needle in the next hole, put the needle up through the third hole in a straight line from end of first stitch, then into same hole as the end of first stitch; work another straight stitch on the other side.

Work 3 more stitches like the first 3. Do 3 more corners in the same way, and join these corners with 4 stitches, these stitches make the square in the centre.

The fringe looks difficult, but it is easier than it looks.

Count 3 lines of thread from the satin stitch, this will leave 2 holes, draw out the next two lines of thread from across the canvas; this leaves a narrow piece of the canvas with threads one way only.

On page 30 you will see how to do the Serpentine Hem-stitching. This is the stitch that is used for the edge of this bedspread, only that here you have no hem. You just do the work on both sides of the threads. Then pull away the threads at the edge, outside the second row of stitches, and you will get your fringe.

The Two Dollies.

I always dress the Princess Clare In white with pale blue bows; She is a most well-mannered doll, And careful where she goes. She never soils her muslin dress, Or makes her slippers in a mess.

But Lady Maude is always getting Some ugly-looking tear; Or else her hat has had a wetting And isn’t fit to wear! And though I give her lovely sashes, She gets them spoilt with muddy splashes!

A doll who acts so carelessly Will have to wear a sack! With just a piece of string to tie A sash behind her back! You cannot let her wear pink silk When she upsets her bread and milk!

But Princess Clare goes out to tea, And often has a treat; You know wherever she may be She will be clean and neat. A child like this is quite a treasure, To take her out is such a pleasure!

F. K.

For Dolly’s Cottage Window.

LITTLE casement curtains are quite the best kind for the doll’s cottage windows, and on this page is shown a very pretty one that you will probably like to make. This is of dark green sateen, and the work on it is done in light green and pink “Brighteye.” It looks very nice in the picture, but it looks a great deal prettier when you can see the colours just as they are. And isn’t the way the little circles are entwined just sweet? Are you thinking that you couldn’t manage it? Well don’t think it any more, because you can, if you just follow this little talk carefully.

The stitch on this little curtain is called chain stitch. It is worked from right to left, or to be really nearer the mark—from top to bottom. To make it, bring your needle up from underneath, leaving a little end at the back. Hold the thread down with the left thumb, and, putting the needle back where you brought it up, take up a few threads of the material with the needle. Pull the thread through, but not too tightly, repeat the stitch. One little picture shows you chain stitch being worked.

For this curtain, a piece of sateen, 5 inches long by 4½ inches wide, is needed. Turn a narrow hem on all four sides, and tack it. The top edge must be hemmed with tiny stitches, but the other three sides need not be hemmed, as the chain stitches will keep the hems down. This chain stitch can now be worked over the hems, on the right side. Now measure in 1 inch from the left side of chain stitch, and work another row in the same way. Between these two straight rows come the interwoven circles. To get these circles even, cut out a piece of cardboard the same size as the top of your thimble, and draw little circles round it on the sateen, allowing each circle to overlap the last one just a little bit. Now each little round touches the next one at two points. At one of these points it goes under, and at the other, over the next round. You will easily see what I mean by looking carefully at this little curtain. When the circles are all finished, they look like a chain, with one pink and one green link alternately. The only other thing to do is to sew the rings to the top of the curtain, for putting your curtain rod through. You will want one just like it for the other side of the window, and in making this, be sure and get your circles on the opposite side of the curtain, so as to make them a perfect pair.

Carpets and Hearthrugs.

The worst of having a house papered and painted a fresh colour is that it means getting all the furnishings to match, and carpets, hearthrugs, curtains, etc., are expensive items, if you have to buy them. But one must have a change in the doll’s cottage sometimes, so suppose, to-day, you learn how to make a pretty carpet and hearthrug for it.

You can make your carpet and rug of whatever shades you like, and it would be best to choose colours that will go nicely with your wall paper. For instance, if the sitting-room of your doll’s cottage is going to have a paper with pink roses and green leaves on the wall, you had better decide to have pink and green for your carpet and rug. If you have yellow walls, a carpet in a lovely shade of brown, and just a little yellow in it would be delightful. Of course, if the doll’s cottage has white or cream walls, you can choose whatever colours you like for the floor.

The In-and-Out Pattern.

Let us make this little rug first, as this is a particularly easy pattern. Cream Congress Canvas has been used for this, and on page 78 there is a picture of a little bit worked on canvas, that you may see which way the stitches go. This rug measures 4 inches long by 2½ inches wide when finished, but it does not matter at all what size you make it. This has been worked in Baldwin & Walker’s Ladyship 3-ply Fingering, pink and green. This is a lovely soft wool to use.

Commence by turning the canvas in all round and tack it. Run the pink wool up a little way at the back of the canvas, leave a loop at the end, then start the first row between 2nd and 3rd threads from the left side, * pass the pink wool under 1 thread of canvas; then over 6 threads and under 2 threads 6 times, now over 6 threads and under 1 at end of canvas, leave a loop at end, and start the next row between the next two threads of canvas. *

Work four more rows from * to *.