600.Transparent Soap.—Put into a bottle Windsor soap, in thin shavings; half fill with spirits of wine, and set it near the fire till the soap be dissolved, when pour it into a mould to cool.601.Genuine Windsor Soap.—To make this famous soap for washing the hands, shaving, &c., nothing more is necessary than to slice the best white soap as thin as possible, melt it in a stew-pan over a slow fire, scent it well with oil of caraway, and then pour it into a frame or mould made for that purpose, or a small drawer, adapted in size and form to the quantity. When it has stood three or four days in a dry situation, cut into square pieces, and it is ready for use. By this simple mode, substituting any more favorite scent for that of caraway, all persons may suit themselves with a good perfumed soap, at the most trifling expense.602.To make Lady Derby's Soap.—Two ounces of bitter almonds, blanched, one ounce and a quarter of tincture of benjamin, one pound of good plain white soap, and one piece of camphor the size of a walnut. The almonds and camphor are to be beaten in a mortar until they are completely mixed, then work up with them the tincture of benjamin. The mixture being perfectly made, work the soap into it in the same manner. If the smell is too powerful of the camphor and tincture of benjamin, melt the soap by the fire, and the perfume will go off. This soap has been tried by many persons of distinction, is excellent in its qualities for cleansing the skin, and willbe found greatly to assist the complexion, the ingredients being perfectly safe.603.To make superior Honey Soap.—Cut into thin shavings two pounds of common yellow or white soap; put it on the fire with just water enough to keep it from burning: when quite melted, add a quarter of a pound of honey, stirring it till it boils; then take it off, and add a few drops of any agreeable perfume: pour it into a deep dish to cool, and then cut it into squares. It improves by keeping. It will soften and whiten the skin.604.Paste for Chapped Lips.—Put four ounces of olive oil into a bottle with one ounce of alkanet root; stop it up, and set it for some days in the sun, shaking it often until it becomes perfectly bright; then strain the oil from the alkanet, add to it one ounce of white wax, and one ounce and a half of clarified mutton suet: let the mixture simmer a little while over a slow fire. When it begins to cool, mix with it a few drops of any essential oil.605.Chapped or Sore Lips.—May be healed by the frequent application of honey-water, and protecting them from the influence of cold air.606.Lip Salve.—Melt together an ounce of white wax, the same of beef marrow, and three ounces of white pomatum, with a small piece of alkanet root, tied in muslin; perfume, when cool, with attar of rose or any other essence. It should be strained while hot.607.Bad Breath from Onions.—A few leaves of parsley eaten with vinegar, will prevent any disagreeable consequences from eating onions.608.Wash for the Mouth.—An excellent wash for the mouth is made of half an ounce of tincture of myrrh and two ounces of Peruvian bark. Keep in a phial for use. A few drops in a glass of water are sufficient.609.Eau de Cologne.—Mix essence of bergamot, lemon, lavender, and orange-flower, of each one drachm; essence ofcinnamon, half a drachm; spirit of rosemary, and honey-water, each two ounces; spirits of wine, one pint: let the mixture stand two weeks, then put it in a glass retort, the body of which immerse in boiling water contained in a vessel placed over a lamp, while the beak of the retort is introduced into a large reservoir (a decanter, for example): keep the water boiling, while the mixture will distil into the receiver, which should be covered with cold wet cloths. In this manner Cologne-water may be obtained as good as the best Farina, at one-fourth the price. A coffee-lamp or nursery-furnace will best answer to boil the water.The above is the most simple method ofdistilling, without the regularstill.610.To make Eau de Cologne.—Rectified spirits of wine, four pints; oil of bergamot, one ounce; oil of lemon, half an ounce; oil of rosemary, half a drachm; oil of Neroli, three-quarters of a drachm; oil of English lavender, one drachm; oil of oranges, one drachm. Mix well, and then filter. If these proportions are too large, smaller ones may be used.611.A very pleasant Perfume, and also preventive against Moths.—Take of cloves, caraway seeds, nutmeg, mace, cinnamon, and Tonquin beans, of each one ounce; then add as much Florentine orris-root as will equal the other ingredients put together. Grind the whole well to powder, and then put it in little bags, among your clothes, &c.612.Method of extracting Essences from Flowers.—Procure a quantity of the petals of any flowers which have an agreeable fragrance; card thin layers of cotton, which dip into the finest Florence or Lucca oil; sprinkle a small quantity of fine salt on the flowers, and lay them, a layer of cotton and a layer of flowers, until an earthen vessel or a wide-mouthed glass bottle is full. Tie the top close with a bladder, then lay the vessel in a south aspect to the heat of the sun, and in fifteen days, when uncovered, a fragrant oil may be squeezed away from the whole mass, little inferior (if roses are used) to the highly-valued otto of roses.613.Curious small Cakes of Incense for perfuming Apartments.—Take equal quantities of lignum rhodium and anise,in powder, with a little powder of dried Seville orange-peel, and the same of gum benzoin, or benjamin, and beat all together in a marble mortar: then, adding some gum-dragon, or tragacanth, dissolved in rose-water, put in a little civet; beat the whole again together; make up this mixture into small cakes, and place them on paper to dry. One of these cakes being burnt in the largest apartment, will diffuse a most agreeable odor through the whole room.614.To perfume Linen.—Rose-leaves dried in the shade, cloves beat to a powder, and mace, scraped; mix them together, and put the composition into little bags.615.To make an excellent Smelling-bottle.—Take an equal quantity of sal-ammoniac and unslaked lime, pound them separately, then mix, and put them in a bottle to smell to. Before you put in the above, drop two or three drops of the essence of bergamot in the bottle, then cork it close. A drop or two of ether, added to the same, will greatly improve it.616.Aromatic Vinegar.—Throw into two pounds of acetic acid one ounce each of the dried tops of rosemary and the dried leaves of sage, half an ounce each of the dried flowers of lavender and of bruised cloves. Let them remain untouched for seven days; then express the liquid and filter it through paper. This is useful in sick rooms.617.Lavender Vinegar.—Prepare a stone jar or bottle, and to each pint of vinegar put into it, add half an ounce of fresh lavender flowers; cover closely, and set it aside for a day or two; then set the jar upon hot cinders for eight or ten hours; and when cold, strain and bottle it. It is a refreshing perfume.618.Spirit and Oil of Roses.—A few drops of attar of roses, dissolved in spirits of wine, form theesprit de roseof the perfumers; and the same quantity dissolved in fine sweet oil, theirhuile antiqueà la rose.619.Essence of Musk.—Mix one drachm of musk with the same quantity of pounded loaf sugar; add six ounces of spirit of wine: shake together, and pour off for use.Musk is seldom obtained pure: when it smells of ammonia, it is adulterated. To preserve it, it should be made quite dry; when to be used as a perfume, it should be moistened.620.Odeur Delectable.—Mix four ounces of distilled rose-water, four ounces of orange-flower water, one drachm of oil of cloves, two drachms of oil of bergamot, two grains of musk, one pint of spirits of wine. Macerate thoroughly, and add one drachm of essence of musk. This delicious scent is a universal favorite with the ladies of thebeau mondein Paris.621.Eau D'Ange.—Pound in a mortar fifteen cloves and one pound of cinnamon; put the whole into a quart of water, with four grains anise-seed; let it stand over a charcoal fire twenty-four hours; then strain off the liquor and bottle it. The perfume is excellent, and will be useful for the hands, face, and hair.622.Shaving.—The hone and razor-strop should be kept in good condition. The German hone is best: it should be frequently moistened with oil, and laid up in a place where it will not readily become dry: if it be rubbed with soap, instead of oil, previously to using, it will give additional keenness and fineness to the edge of the razor.The strop should also be kept moist with a drop or two of sweet oil: a little crocus and oil rubbed in the strop with a glass bottle will give the razor a fine edge; as will also a paste made of tutty powder and solution of oxalic acid.Mr. Knight, president of the Horticultural Society, has invented the following apparatus and method of sharpening a razor: Procure a round bar of cast steel, three inches long, and about one-third of an inch in diameter; rub it smooth from end to end with glass paper; next, smear over its surface a paste of oil and the charcoal of wheat straw, and fix the steel into a handle. To set a razor, dip it in hot water, raise its back, and move it without pressure, in circles, from heel to point, and back again; clean the blade on the palm of the hand, and again dip it into hot water. This newly invented apparatus may be purchased at any cutler's.A very small piece of nitre, dissolved in water and applied to the face after shaving, will remove any unpleasant sensation, though the first application may be somewhat painful.623.Shaving Liquids.—1. Rub in a marble mortar an ounce of any fine soap, with two drachms of carbonate of potassa. When these two substances are incorporated, continue rubbing, and add gradually a pint of lavender-water, or any other odorous water made by dissolving essential oils in alcohol sixty degrees above proof. When the whole is well combined, filter the liquid, and bottle it for use. To make a lather, put a few drops into a wine-glass of tepid water; dip your brush in the mixture, and, when rubbed on the face, a fine lather will appear. 2. Dissolve any quantity of fine soap in alcohol, either with or without perfume. Use it according to the preceding directions.624.An Easy Shave.—The operation of shaving may be robbed of its unpleasant sensations by rubbing the chin over with grease, or a sweet oil, before the application of the razor. The best razor-strop in the world is one's own hand, moistened with its own natural oil or perspiration. Sharpen the razor thus before you wash your hands, and you will find this natural strop most efficacious. After shaving, to allay irritation, wash the chin with Portugal water.625.Composition for Shaving, without the use of razor, soap, or water.—Mix one pint and a half of clear lime-water, two ounces of gum-Arabic, half an ounce of isinglass, an eighth of an ounce of cochineal, a quarter of an ounce of turmeric-root (made into powder), an eighth of an ounce of salt of tartar, and an eighth of an ounce of cream of tartar, together: boil them for one hour at least (stirring up the mixture during the whole time of boiling, and be careful not to let it boil over), clear it through a sieve; then add two and a half pounds of pumice stone, finely pulverized; mix the whole together with the hands, by the assistance of the white of two eggs, well stirred up. Then divide the cake into twelve small ones. Dry them in the open air for three days; put them into an oven moderately heated for twenty-four hours, when they will be ready for use. Apply them, with a gentle friction, to the beard, and they will produce the effect of shaving by rubbing off the hair.PART III.HOME PURSUITS AND DOMESTIC ARTS.Needle-work,Fancy-work—Preparations for Writing—Flowers—House Plants—Birds—Gold Fish,&c.The first and best use of the needle is common or plain sewing. Every woman and girl should understand this art, the beginning of all arts, and the most indispensable to civilization.It is unnecessary to dilate on the importance of common needlework, and to this female accomplishment, so universally necessary, we shall principally confine our directions.626.Requisites for Sewing.—A neat work-box well supplied with all the implements required, including knife, scissors (of at least three sizes), needles and pins in sufficient variety, bodkins, thimbles, thread and cotton, bobbins, marking silks, black lead pencils, &c., should be provided, and be furnished with a lock and key, to prevent the contents being thrown into confusion by children or unauthorized intruders.The lady, being thus provided, and having her materials, implements, &c., placed in order upon her work-table, to the edge of which it is an advantage to have a pincushion affixed by means of a screw—may commence her work, and proceed with it with pleasure to herself, and without annoyance to any visitor who may favor her with a call. We would recommend, wherever practicable, that the work-table should be made of cedar, and that the windows of the working parlor should open into a garden well supplied with odoriferous flowers and plants, the perfume of which will materially cheer the spirits of thoseespecially, whose circumstances compel them to devote the greatest portion of their time to sedentary occupations. If these advantages cannot be obtained, at least the room should be well-ventilated, and furnished with a few cheerful plants, and a well-filled scent-jar. The beneficent Creator intended all his children, in whatever station of life they might be placed, to share in the common bounties of his providence; and when she, who works not for pleasure, but to obtain the means of subsistence, is compelled to seclude herself, for days or weeks together, from the cheering influence of exercise in the open air, it becomes both her duty, and that of those for whom she labors, to secure as much of these advantages, or of the best substitutes for them, as the circumstances of the case will admit.EXPLANATION OF STITCHES.627.Hemming.—Turn down the raw edge as evenly as possible. Flatten, and be careful, especially in turning down the corners. Hem from right to left; bring the point of the needle from the chest toward the right hand. Fasten the thread without a knot, and when you finish, sew several stitches close together, and cut off the thread.628.Mantua-maker's Hem.—You lay the raw edge of one of your pieces a little below that of the other; the upper edge is then turned over the other twice, and felled down as strong as possible.629.Sewing and Felling.—If you have selvages, join them together, and sew them firmly. If you have raw edges, turn down one of the edges once, and the other double the breadth, and then turn half of it back again. This is for the fell. The two pieces are pinned together, face to face, and seamed together—the stitches being in a slanting direction, and just deep enough to hold the separate pieces firmly together. Then flatten the seam with the thumb, turn the work over, and fell it the same as hemming. The thread is fastened by being worked between the pieces, and sewn over.630.Running.—Takethree threads, leave three, and, in order that the work may be kept as firm as possible, back-stitchoccasionally. If you sew selvages, they must be joined evenly together; but if raw edges, one must be turned down once, and the other laid upon it, but a few threads from the top: in this case, it must be felled afterwards.631.Stitching.—The work must be as even as possible. Turn down a piece to stitch to; draw a thread to stitch upon, twelve or fourteen threads from the edge. Being thus prepared, you taketwo threads back, and so bring the needle out fromunder two before. Proceed in this manner to the end of the row; and, in joining a fresh piece of thread, take care to pass the needle between the edges, and so bring it out where the last stitch is finished.632.Gathering.—You begin by taking the article to be gathered, and dividing it into halves, and then into quarters, putting on pins to make the divisions. The piece to which you are intending to gather it, must be gathered about twelve threads from the top, taking three threads on the needle, and leaving four; and so proceeding alternately until one quarter is gathered. Fasten the thread by twisting it round a pin; stroke the gathers, so that they lie evenly and neatly, with a strong needle or pin. You then proceed as before, until all the gathers are gathered. Then take out the pins, and regulate the gathers of each quarter so as to correspond with those of the piece to which it is to be sewed. The gathers are then to be fastened on, one at a time; and the stitches must be in a slanting direction. The part to be gathered must be cut quite even before commencing, or else it will be impossible to make the gathering look well.633.Double Gathering, or Puffing.—This is sometimes employed in setting on frills, and, when executed properly, has a pretty effect. You first gather the top in the usual way; then, having stroked down the gathers, you gather again under the first gathering, and of such a depth as you wish the puffing to be. You then sew on the first gathering to the gown, frock, &c., you design to trim, at a distance corresponding with the width of the puffing, and the second gathering sewed to the edge, so as to form a full hem. You may make a double hem, if you please, by gathering three times instead of only twice; and one of the hems may be straight, while the other is drawnto one side a little. This requires much exactness in the execution, but, if properly done, it gives a pleasing variety to the work.634.German Hemming.—Turn down both the raw edges once, taking care so to do it as that both turns may be toward your person; you then lay one below the other, so as that the smooth edge of the nearest does not touch the other, but lies just beneath it. The lower one is then to be hemmed or felled to the piece against which you have laid it, still holding it before you. You are next to open your sleeve, or whatever else you have been employed upon, and, laying the upper fold over the lower, fell it down, and the work is done.635.Binding.—Various kinds of work have binding set on to them, in preference to hemming them, or working them in herring-bone stitch. Flannel is generally bound, sometimes with a thin tape, made for the purpose, and called "flannel binding." It is also common to bind flannel with sarcenet riband. The binding is so put on as to show but little over the edge on the right side, where it is hemmed down neatly; on the other side it is run on with small stitches.636.Braiding.—Silk braid looks pretty, and is used for a variety of purposes. In putting it on, it is best to sew it with silk drawn out of the braid, as it is a better match, and the stitches will be less perceived.637.Marking.—It is of essential importance that clothes should be marked and numbered. This is often done with ink; but as some, persons like to mark with silk, we shall describe the stitch. Two threads are to be taken each way of the cloth, and the needle must be passed three ways, in order that the stitch may be complete. The first is aslant from the person, toward the right hand; the second is downward toward you; and the third is the reverse of the first—that is, aslant from you, toward the left hand. The needle is to be brought out at the corner of the stitch nearest to that you are about to make. The shapes of the letters or figures can be learned from an inspection of any common sampler.638.Piping.—This is much used in ornamenting children's and other dresses. It is made by enclosing a card of the properthickness in a strip of silk cut crosswise, and must be put on as evenly as possible.639.Plaiting.—The plaits must be as even as it is possible to place them one against another. In double plaiting, they lie both ways, and meet in the middle.640.To keep Thread, Sewing-silk, &c.—In making up linen, thread is much preferable to cotton. Sewing-silk should be folded up neatly in wash-leather, and colored threads and cotton in paper, as the air and light are likely to injure them. Buttons, hooks and eyes, and all metal implements, when not in use, should be kept folded up, as exposure to the air not only tarnishes them, but is likely to injure them in a variety of ways.INSTRUCTIONS IN THE PREPARATION OF HOUSE-LINEN.641.Bedroom Linen.—This includes quilts, blankets, sheets, pillow-covers, towels, table-covers and pincushion-covers.642.Quilts.—These are of various sizes and qualities, in accordance with the purposes to which they are applied. They are generally made of the outside material and the lining—wadding or flannel being laid between—and stitched in diamonds or other devices. The stitches must pass through the whole, and the edges of the quilt are to be secured by a braiding or binding proper for the purpose. They are best done in a frame.643.Blankets.—These are generally bought, ready-prepared for use. It is sometimes necessary to work over the edges at the end, which should be done with scarlet worsted, in a very wide kind of button-hole stitch.644.Sheets.—These are made of fine linen, coarse linen, and cotton-sheeting. Linen sheets are best for summer, and many prefer them at all seasons. If the sheeting is not sufficiently wide for the bed, two lengths must be sewed together. The seam up the middle must be sewed as neatly as possible, and the ends may be either hemmed or seamed: the latter is the preferable method. Sheets and all bedroom linen should be marked and numbered; to add the date of the year is also an advantage.645.Pillow-cases.—These are made of fine or coarse linen, and sometimes of cotton cloth. The material should be of such a width as to correspond with the length of the pillow. One yard and three nails, doubled and seamed up, is the proper size. One end is seamed up, and the other hemmed with a broad hem, and furnished with strings or buttons as is deemed most convenient. We think the preferable way of making pillow covers is to procure a material of a sufficient width, when doubled, to admit the pillow. The selvages are then sewed together, and the ends seamed and hemmed as before directed. Bolster covers are made in nearly the same manner, only that a round patch is let into one end, and a tape for a slot is run into the other.646.Towels.—Towels are made of diaper or huckaback, of a quality adapted to the uses to which they are applicable. They should be one yard long and about ten or twelve nails wide. The best are bought single, and are fringed at the ends. Others are neatly hemmed, and sometimes have a tape-loop attached to them, by which they can be suspended against a wall.647.Dressing Table Covers.—These may be made of any material that is proper for the purpose. Fine diaper generally, but sometimes dimity and muslin are employed, or the table is covered with a kind of Marseilles quilting, which is prepared expressly for the purpose. Sometimes the covers are merely hemmed round, but they look much neater if fringed, or bordered with a moderately full frill. Sometimes a worked border is set on. All depends upon taste and fancy. A neat and genteel appearance, in accordance with the furniture of the apartment, should be especially regarded.648.Pincushion Covers.—A large pincushion, having two covers belonging to it, should belong to each toilet table. The covers are merely a bag into which the cushion is slipped. They may be either worked or plain; always of white muslin or linen cambric; and should have small tassels at each corner, and a frill or fringe all round.649.Table Linen.—This department of plain needlework comprises table-cloths, dinner-napkins, and large and small tray napkins.650.Table-cloths.—These may be purchased either singly, or cut from the piece. In the latter case the ends should be hemmed as neatly as possible, and marked and numbered.651.Dinner Napkins.—These are of various materials; if cut from the piece, they must be hemmed at the ends the same as table-cloths. Large and small tray napkins and knife-box cloths, are made in the same manner. The hemming of all these should be extremely neat. It is a pretty and light employment for very young ladies; little girls even should do this work, and thus early acquire habits of neatness and usefulness, which will prove useful in after life.652.Housemaid and Kitchen Linen.—In the housemaid's department, paint cloths, old and soft, and chamber bottle cloths, fine and soft, are to be provided. To these must be added dusters, flannels for scouring, chamber bucket-cloths, which last should be of a kind and color different from everything else. All these must be neatly hemmed and run, or seamed if necessary. Nothing, in a well-directed family, should bear the impress of neglect, or be suffered to assume an untidy appearance.653.Clothes-bags.—Clothes-bags of different sizes should also be provided, of two yards in length, and either one breadth doubled, in which case only one seam will be required, or of two breadths, which makes the bags more suitable for large articles of clothing. These bags are to be seamed up neatly at the bottom, and to have strings which will draw run in at the top. The best material is canvas, or strong unbleached linen. In the kitchen department, you will require both table and dresser cloths, which should be made as neat as possible.654.Mending.—In cutting up an old garment, it is a great advantage to have a portion of the same material new. For this reason, when purchasing cloth for a new garment, buy a little additional quantity for repairs, and take care that it is kept for that purpose, and not wasted in any way.It was formerly the custom with all careful women, when buying a dress, to buy an extra yard for new sleeving. To be sure a gown was then more expensive than now; but it should be remembered, that if six gowns can be bought for the money that used to buy three or four, they cannot be made up in thesame time at home, nor for the same money if put out. Any tolerably handy woman, though she may not choose to venture upon cutting out and making a new dress, may repair one, having the old pattern and lining to work by, and the very creases and stitches for a guide. If, by so doing, a gown will wear half as long again, the price of a little over-quantity at first, and a few hours employed on the work, are well bestowed.The same remark applies to the garments of men. Unless these be bought ready-made, the pieces should be carefully laid by for repairs. In children's clothing, these alterations and repairs are often needed.655.Patchwork.—Many improvements may be made in patchwork that most of us have been accustomed to see for years. It is a kind of needlework very interesting for little girls; and old ladies frequently resort to this for amusement by their cosy firesides, during the long winter evenings, when tired of reading.656.Of the Materials.—The materialsnecessary for patchwork are such portions of wearing apparel, whether cloth, calico, linen, holland, silk, velvet, cotton, &c., such as would otherwise be thrown away, or saved for the rag-man. No matter how small the portion, every scrap has its use. The next necessary article is some stiff paper—old envelopes, backs of letters, brown paper, &c., to form the shapes; lastly, the design—shapes, cut out intin, and the designs themselves.The materials should be arranged into shades and qualities. After having been cut to required sizes, and the irregularities of the edges neatly repaired, they are ready for use.657.Patterns.—Thepatternsmay be variedad infinitum, if the person possesses the least talent for drawing; but for the sake of those who may not be able to do this, we submit the following simple and effective designs to be executed in any of the materials.658.To make the Patchwork.—The pattern should be placed before the person, and the shades being selected, the several pieces arranged so as to form the design, and the edges then neatly sewed together; after which they are either pressed, or ironed, the papers removed, and the lining proceeded with.When silks and velvets are employed, it improves the effect to combine the two, taking the silk for the lighter, and the velvet for the darker shades; or, as in figures 5, 6, 8, and 11, to have silk for the lighter shades, and two velvets for the others, shaded to pattern.A very pretty effect is produced by combining Holland and calico, silk and satin, silk or satin and velvet, and rough and fine cloth.The various articlesthat may be manufactured, are quilts in colored and white calico; anti-macassars in silks; ottomans in silks and velvets, silks and cloth; table-covers in silks and cloth; cushions for chairs or sofas, in silks; and mats, rugs, and carpets, in cloth.We have seen many useful white quilts for children's cots, made from the cuttings remaining after shirt making. The centre might be of Holland and calico, pattern 10, fig. 5, and then fig. 7, with a fringe border, knitted. Numerous rugs might be made in colored cloths, to look equal to carpets, for poor people, and wear much better.Figs. 1-6.Figs. 7-11.AN ELEGANT MUSNUD FOR A SOFA.659.The materialsrequired, consist of braid of various hues, purse-silk of different shades, bed-ticking, feathers, down, horse-hair, or worsted ends; the design-shapes, some cord for pipings, the various colored cloths, silks, &c., and a curtain-ring or a piece of cardboard for the centre.The sizevaries from fifteen to eighteen inches in diameter, according to taste.The colorscannot be fixed, because it depends much upon taste, but we have made the elegant musnud givenp. 160, by placing cobalt as the right hand centre-piece, then (proceeding from right to left) white, salmon, purple, crimson, amber, pea-green, and madder-brown. The handles are amber, the side brown, and the back purple.It is better, in combining or arranging all colors for patchwork, to keep as near as possible to the harmony observed by Nature; therefore, to attend to the same order displayed in the case of a refracted ray of light, viz., violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red, adding, in this case, white, to represent the ray in its natural state before refraction or dispersion of its colors took place.To make the Musnud.—Cut two circles of fifteen or eighteen inches in diameter in bed-ticking, and a strip of the same material three inches deep, and thrice the length of the diameter; make into the usual shape, and stuff with feathers, down, horse-hair, or the refuse ends of worsted. Cut out two handles as in the design, of the same material, and sew them on. Rub theinsideof the bed-ticking with a lump of bees'-wax previous to making up the musnud, (as it prevents the feathers and dust working through,) and tack the centre down.Cut out the back in a piece of purple moreen, or any other material, then cut four strips of brown cashmere, each three inches deep and five long, join these neatly together to form the side, and braid the following design in bright yellow on it, finishing the veining of the leaves in chain-stitch with purse silk.The wedge-shaped pieces should now be cut out in the various colored cloths, &c., and braided as in the design, four being braided with floral, and four with fancy designs. Each piece should measure nine inches in length and six inches and three-quarters in breadth at the outer part. The centre piece should measure two inches and a quarter in diameter, be of a dark brown, and braided with a bright yellow star.To cover the musnud, sew the pieces neatly together, and cover the joining with narrow strips of dark brown cloth, braided in bright yellow to resemble a chain; cover the curtain ring, or circular piece of card-board, with the central piece, and sew it on.Now affix the pipings cut crossways out of brown cloth, and cover the handles with amber-colored material, braid and pipe them; join the back to the side with an intervening piping, slip the musnud into the lower covering, and sew on the top.Inbraidingthe patterns, the purple ground should have a scarlet braid.The brown, yellow.In finishing the braiding, it will require the occasional aid of some chain-stitch work in purse-silk, for the veinings of the leaves, stamens, tendrils, &c.Note.—This particularity in arrangingcolors and patternsmay seem very trifling to some people; but rules are required in all finished work. Habits of attention are an important part of education, or, rather, are indispensable to a well-trained mind. Therefore, we say, be particular to do all you undertake in a proper manner; and if you are makingpatchwork, aim at perfection of its kind. But never fall in love with your own creations, and worship them as idols; and never neglect common household duties for fanciful needlework. Remember, also, thatreadingis more refining to the taste than finger-work; and that toread wellis a much higher accomplishment than any mere skill in counting stitches and matching shades.FOR SILK EMBROIDERY.660.Useful Patterns for working in Cord, Silk, and Muslin.—These are what are called "endless patterns," to be worked in cord.These fashions for embroidering the borders of cloaks, pelisses, sacques, &c., on merino, or fine cassimere, or flannel, with silk, are to be wrought with coarse or fine silk, or with a mixture of the two, according to the degree of intricacy or simplicity in the parts of the pattern.We give two designs; from these, other combinations may be made, to suit the fancy of the embroiderer.'Two Endless patterns' for borders of cloaks etc.SILK EMBROIDERY, ANOTHER WAY.Seep. 164.661.—In these patterns for embroidering the borders of cloaks, pelisses, sacques, &c., on merino, or fine cassimere, or flannel, with silk, are to be wrought with coarse or fine silk, or with a mixture of the two, according to the degree of intricacy or simplicity in the parts of the pattern.These patterns are equally serviceable for muslin, or any other material.No. 1, to be worked on fine flannel or merino, with a mixture of coarse and fine silk.No. 2, to be worked on flannel or merino, with fine silk.Embroidery patters for cloaks etc.No. 1. No. 2.662.Sewing on glazed Calico.—By passing a cake of white soap a few times over a piece of glazed calico, or any other stiffened material, the needle will penetrate as easily as through any other kind of work.663.To make Glass Jars to look like China.—Paint figures to resemble those in China jars, and cut them out so that none of the white paper remains; then, with thick gum-arabic water, fasten them to the inside of the glass. Let them stand to dry for twenty-four hours. Then wipe off with a wet cloth the gum-arabic on the glass between the prints, and let them stand a few hours longer. Then take white wax and flake white, ground very fine, and melt them together. With a japanning-brush go over all the glass above the prints: done in this manner, they will hold water. For a blue ground, use white wax and Prussian blue, ground fine; for red, wax and vermilion, or carmine; for green, wax and verdigris; for chocolate, wax and burnt umber.664.To give Plaster Figures the appearance of Marble.—Put into a well-glazed earthen vessel, four pounds of clear water and one ounce of pure curd soap, grated; add one ounce of white bees'-wax, cut into thin slices. Let them dissolve over a slow fire. As soon as the whole is incorporated, it is fit for use. Let the figure be thoroughly dried, then suspend it by a twine, and dip it once into the varnish; upon taking it out, the varnish will appear to have been absorbed; in two minutes' time, stir the compost, and dip it a second time, which is generally sufficient. Cover it carefully from the dust for a week; then, with a soft muslin rag, rub the figure gently, when a most brilliant gloss will be produced.665.To improve Plaster Casts.—Brush them over with size, and, when dry, varnish them with copal varnish.666.To dissolve Putty.—To remove old putty from glazed frames, brush over it pearlash and slaked stone-burnt lime, mixed to the thickness of paint.ANGLO-JAPANESE WORK.Jewelry box in Anglo-Japanese style667. This elegant and most useful work is very easy in its execution, while the means and appliances for its performance are within the reach of every one. The materials are simply yellow withered leaves, a little dissolved gum, black paint, and copal varnish: while the objects to be ornamented may be a box, cupboard, table, &c., in fact, any old furniture that has been rendered unsightly by age or long use. A plain deal box, costing about a shilling, may by this process, so far as the outside goes, be converted into a costly-looking dressing-case. Anexquisite chess-board may be made, with very little skill, from a square piece of deal. Flower-pots, pole-screens, folding and hand-screens, may all be decorated in this manner, and, from untidy-looking lumber, may be converted into articles of use, elegance, and beauty; and this at a merely nominal expense,tastebeing the chief requisite in the production. The employment forms one of the most agreeable and pleasing amusements for summer days and winter evenings; in the summer, giving a purpose and an aim to many a joyous ramble, for in these desultory walks a goodly collection may be made of Nature's ambered jewels.All leaves that are small, of uneven shape, and serrated at the edges, are well adapted for this work. As they are collected, they should be placed between sheets of paper, but not close together, then pressed by placing a board on the top, with a weight upon it, to express any moisture that may be therein, and to render them quite flat. In the autumn, the sweet-scented geranium-leaves, the maple, thorn, chrysanthemum, wild parsley, fern, and a multitude of others, may be found, including the smaller sycamore and small vine-leaves; but they must all have turned of a golden hue, or reddish-tinted yellow. Prepare the article to be ornamented, thus:—First rub the surface smoothly down with sand-paper; then coat it over with black paint, which can be procured, ready-mixed, at any oil-shop; when dry, rub it down smoothly with pumice-stone, and give two more coats. When these are dry, arrange the leaves on the surface in a careless manner, but not in groups, unless preferred. Butterflies drawn, and colored yellow with gamboge, or cut out of prints, and then colored, may be stuck at different spaces with advantage; but there should be no other color than the brown and different tints of yellow in the leaves. Gum the wrong side of the leaf, and press it on in its appointed place with a hard tuft of wadding, fastened tightly up in a piece of silk. Continue this with the whole of the leaves; and when they are all gummed on, dissolve some gelatine or isinglass in warm water, and while rather warm, brush it well over every portion of the work, using the brush entirely one way, not forward and back. When dry, give the work three coats of the best copal varnish, letting the article remain a day or two between each coat. This process, though elaborate in detail, is easily and even quickly done, and will well repay any trouble that may be taken, as, with a renewed coatof varnish every five or six years, it will remain, as long as the wood will hold together, as bright in appearance as when first finished.668.Sealing Wax Varnish.—For fancy work, this has, of late years, been much used, and if well applied, and the wax good, will be a very good imitation of India Japan. The method of making the varnish or japan is very easy, being simply reducing the wax to a coarse powder, and pouring the best spirits of wine on it in a bottle, and letting it gradually dissolve without heat, shaking the bottle occasionally till it is all dissolved. A two-ounce stick of the best wax will be enough for a quarter of a pint of spirits. Recollect that much depends on the goodness of the sealing-wax; and that you may vary the color of the varnish by using different colored wax. As this varnish dries very quickly, it should not be made until it is wanted for use.669.Method of preparing the Composition used for Colored Drawings and Prints, so as to make them resemble Paint in Oil.—Take of Canada Balsam, one ounce; spirit of turpentine, two ounces; mix them together. Before this composition is applied, the drawing or print should be sized with a solution of isinglass in water, and when dry, apply the varnish with a camel-hair brush.670.Oil and Water Gilding.—In oil gilding, the frame is first covered with a composition of whiting and parchment size, then with a coating of "oil gold size," (a kind of varnish,) upon which when nearly dry, gold leaf is applied.671.In Water Gilding, a size mixed withwateris used. Parts of the frame are burnished, other parts leftdead. This is the most beautiful and expensive style of gilding, but it does not bear washing as oil gilding does.["The Carver and Gilder," published by Knight, furnishes much useful information on this subject.]672.To mount Prints or Maps.—Upon a table, floor, or board, stretch a piece of calico or smooth canvas, by first fixing it with tacks along one side, then straining it tightly with one hand, and driving the tacks with the other: nail the remaining edges, leaving no wrinkles on the surface. Paste the back of the printor map, fold it together, and let it remain until the paper issoaked, then open it, and place it evenly on the canvas, cover it with a sheet of clean paper, and beginning in the middle, rub it down carefully with the hand, going from the centre all round to the edges, until all the air is excluded, and the paper adheres closely to the canvas. When quite dry, with a large camel-hair brush lay on a coating of parchment size, repeating this when dry: then varnish with mastic varnish. Parchment size is made by boiling parchment cuttings in water, until it forms a jelly when cold. Mastic varnish may be procured at oil and color-shops.673.New Camera Lucida.—Sir John Robinson devised, a few years since, a cheap and easily-used camera lucida, applicable to the delineation of flowers and other small objects. A piece of plate glass is made to stand in a vertical position by means of a support. It rests on a table covered with white paper, and the object is placed on the paper on one side of the glass. On looking down from that side of the glass diagonally, an image of the object is seen on the paper on the other side, and a drawing of it can be readily taken.674.Varnish for Oil Pictures.—According to the number of your pictures, take the whites of the same number of eggs, and an equal number of pieces of sugar-candy, the size of a hazel-nut, dissolved, and mix it with a tea-spoonful of brandy; beat the whites of your eggs to a froth, and let it settle; take the clear, put it to your brandy and sugar, mix them well together, and varnish over your pictures with it.This is much better than any other varnish, as it is easily washed off when your pictures want cleaning again.675.To take Impressions of Butterflies' Wings.—Lay the wings gently on paper, wet with gum arabic water, and nearly dry; a copy will be left when the wing is removed, but inferior in beauty to the wing itself. It is better to gum the wings themselves on paper, and paint the body of the fly in its natural position.676.To preserve the Eggs of Birds.—First clean them of their contents. This may be done with the larger eggs by making a hole on one side large enough to admit a quill, and shaking outthe contents. Then wash them well with a solution of camphor, not too strong, or it will make them brittle. When dry, fasten them with gum on the side in which the hole was made to a piece of card board, and write the name under each. As the colors of many of them are perishable, to preserve them give them a slight coating of varnish. The best varnish for this purpose is isinglass dissolved in gin. In cleaning the smaller eggs, make a hole at each end, a little to one side, and blow them. The camphor solution need not be used.677.To make Artificial Coral.—Melt together four parts of yellow resin and one part of vermilion. Dip twigs, cinders or stones in this, and when dry they will resemble coral.678.An Excellent Pen-Wiper for Steel Pens.—Fill a short, wide-mouthed vial with shot, the smaller the better. Whenever it is necessary to clean the pen, rub it up and down in the shot. This is much more effectual than cloth wipers, and the shot will last a life-time.679.To preserve Steel Pens.—Metallic pens may be preserved from rusting by throwing into the bottle containing the ink a few nails, or broken pieces of steel pens, if not varnished. The corrosive action of the acid which the ink contains is expended on the iron so introduced, and will not therefore affect the pen.680.Black Paper for drawing Patterns.—Mix and smooth lamp-black and sweet oil; with a bit of flannel cover a sheet or two of large writing-paper with this mixture; then dab the paper dry with a bit of fine linen, and keep it by for using in the following manner:—Put the black side on another sheet of paper, and fasten the corners together with small pins. Lay on the back of the black paper the pattern to be drawn, and go over it with the point of a steel pencil; the black paper will then leave the impression of the pattern on the under sheet, on which you must draw it with ink.If you draw patterns on cloth or muslin, do it with a pen dipped in a bit of stone blue, a bit of sugar, and a little water, mixed smooth in a teacup, in which it will be always ready for use, if fresh: wet to a due consistence as wanted.681.To make Transparent Paper for Drawing.—Tracing paper is readily made by taking a sheet of very thin silk, or other paper, and rubbing it over gently with some soft substance, filled with a mixture of equal parts of drying oil, and oil of turpentine, which, being suspended and dried, will be fit for use in a few days; or it may be had at any of the shops. Lay this transparent material on the print or drawing to be transferred, and, with a sharp black lead pencil, trace the outlines exactly as they appear through the paper. If more permanent or stronger lines are wished, ink mixed with ox-gall will be necessary to make it adhere to the oiled surface.682.Transparent Paper.—Wet some fine paper with a feather on both sides with a thin layer of rosin, dissolved in spirits of wine. It will then serve to put over anything you wish to take off.683.Method of using Tracing Paper.—Take a piece of the size required, and rub it equally over, on one side, with black lead, reduced to a powder, till the surface will not readily soil a finger; then lay a piece of white paper with the leaded side of this paper next to it, under the print, and securing them firmly together with pins at the corners, proceed to take the outlines with a blunt point, and some degree of pressure, which will transfer the lead to the clean paper precisely in the direction the point passed over the print; this may be corrected with the black lead pencil, and cleansed of any soil by the crumbs of stale bread.684.Method of setting Pencil Drawings.—A solution of alum water, in which the drawing is to be dipped (not washed on with a brush, as it would smear) will answer the purpose extremely well.685.Wash for preserving Drawings made with Black Lead Pencil, or with hard Black Chalk.—A thin wash of isinglass will fix either black lead or hard black chalk, &c., so as to prevent their rubbing out; or the same effect may be produced by the simple application of skimmed milk. The best way of using the latter, is, to lay the drawing flat upon the surface of the milk, and then, taking it up expeditiously, to hang it by the one corner till it drains and dries. The milk must be perfectly free from cream, or it will grease the paper.686.To make Red Sealing Wax.—To every ounce of shell-lac take half an ounce each of resin and vermilion, all reduced to a fine powder. Melt them over a moderate fire; and when thoroughly incorporated and sufficiently cool, form the composition into what are called sticks. On account of the dearness of shell-lac, seed-lac is usually substituted. A more ordinary sort, but sufficiently good for most occasions, may be made by mixing equal parts of resin and shell-lac with two parts of red lead and one of vermilion. In a still commoner sort, the vermilion is often entirely omitted.MARKING INK.687. Mix in six drachms of distilled water, two drachms of sub-nitrate of silver, and two drachms of gum-arabic. For the mordant, mix with four ounces of water, half an ounce of gum-arabic, and half an ounce of sub-carbonate of soda. The article to be marked should first be wetted with the mordant, and pressed smooth, and should be thoroughly dried before it is written upon. The mark should be exposed to the light for some time, to become black.688.Permanent Red Ink for marking Linen.—This useful preparation, which was contrived by Dr. Smellie, of Edinburgh, who was originally a printer in that city, may be used either with types, a hair pencil, or even with a pen: Take half an ounce of vermillion, and a drachm of salt of steel; let them be finely levigated with linseed oil, to the thickness or limpidity required for the occasion. This has not only a very good appearance, but will, it is said, be found perfectly to resist the effects of acids, as well as of all alkaline leys. It may be made of other colors, by substituting the proper articles instead of vermillion.689.An Indelible Ink for marking Linen.—Pour a little aqua-fortis into a cup, and add to it a small piece of pure silver; when the effervescence ceases, filter the solution through a piece of blotting-paper, and put it into a small phial; then add to it a little gum-arabic and a little of the paint, called sap-green. After the whole is perfectly combined it is then fit for use.690.To take out Writing.—When recently written, ink may be completely removed by the oxymuriatic acid (concentrated and in solution). The paper is to be washed over repeatedly with the acid; but it will be necessary afterwards to wash it also with lime-water, for the purpose of neutralizing any acid that may be left on the paper, and which would considerably weaken it. But if the ink have beenlongwritten, it will have undergone such a change as to prevent the preceding process from taking effect. It ought therefore to be washed with liver of sulphur (sulphuret of ammonia), before the oxymuriatic acid is applied. It may be washed with a hair pencil.691.To make Old Writing legible.—Take six bruised gall-nuts, and put them to a pint of strong white wine; let it stand in the sun for forty-eight hours. Dip a brush in it and wash the writing, and by the color you will discover whether the mixture is strong enough of the galls.692.Sympathetic Ink.—With a clean pen write on paper with a solution of muriate of cobalt, so diluted with water, that the writing when dry will be invisible. On gently warming the paper, the writing will appear of a blue or greenish color, which will disappear again when cool. A solution of muriate of copper forms a yellow and sympathetic ink, and acetate of cobalt a rose or purple. If a landscape be drawn representing a winter scene, the paper being overlaid where the foliage should be with the green sympathetic ink, then, on gently warming the drawing, it will represent summer. Sky and water may be drawn with the blue, and standing corn with the yellow ink.693.Blue Ink.—Dissolve a small quantity of indigo in a little oil of vitriol, and add a sufficient quantity of water, in which gum-arabic has been dissolved.694.Yellow Ink.—Dissolve gamboge in a solution of gum-arabic.695.Scarlet Ink.—Dissolve vermilion in a solution of gum-arabic.696.Red Ink.—Boil one ounce of Brazil wood in half-a-pint of water for a quarter of an hour; add to the decoction three drachms of gum-arabic, and an ounce of alum.697.Green Ink.—Verdigris, two ounces; cream of tartar, one ounce; water, half a pint; boil till reduced to one half, and filter.698.Excellent Writing Ink.—Boil eight ounces of galls in coarse powder, and four ounces of logwood in thin chips, in twelve pints of rain water, for one hour: strain the liquor, and add four ounces of green copperas, three ounces of powdered gum-arabic, one ounce of blue vitriol, and one ounce of rock candy, powdered; stir the mixture until the whole be dissolved, then let it subside twenty-four hours; decant it very steadily, and put it into stone bottles for use.A clove kept in it will prevent it from becoming mouldy.699.Black Ink.—To make one gallon, take of pounded blue nutgalls one pound; copperas, six ounces; gum common, four ounces; soft water, one gallon. Dissolve the gum separately by the fire, and add, after it has boiled a quarter of an hour. Let the ink be boiled over a slow fire three-quarters of an hour.
600.Transparent Soap.—Put into a bottle Windsor soap, in thin shavings; half fill with spirits of wine, and set it near the fire till the soap be dissolved, when pour it into a mould to cool.601.Genuine Windsor Soap.—To make this famous soap for washing the hands, shaving, &c., nothing more is necessary than to slice the best white soap as thin as possible, melt it in a stew-pan over a slow fire, scent it well with oil of caraway, and then pour it into a frame or mould made for that purpose, or a small drawer, adapted in size and form to the quantity. When it has stood three or four days in a dry situation, cut into square pieces, and it is ready for use. By this simple mode, substituting any more favorite scent for that of caraway, all persons may suit themselves with a good perfumed soap, at the most trifling expense.602.To make Lady Derby's Soap.—Two ounces of bitter almonds, blanched, one ounce and a quarter of tincture of benjamin, one pound of good plain white soap, and one piece of camphor the size of a walnut. The almonds and camphor are to be beaten in a mortar until they are completely mixed, then work up with them the tincture of benjamin. The mixture being perfectly made, work the soap into it in the same manner. If the smell is too powerful of the camphor and tincture of benjamin, melt the soap by the fire, and the perfume will go off. This soap has been tried by many persons of distinction, is excellent in its qualities for cleansing the skin, and willbe found greatly to assist the complexion, the ingredients being perfectly safe.603.To make superior Honey Soap.—Cut into thin shavings two pounds of common yellow or white soap; put it on the fire with just water enough to keep it from burning: when quite melted, add a quarter of a pound of honey, stirring it till it boils; then take it off, and add a few drops of any agreeable perfume: pour it into a deep dish to cool, and then cut it into squares. It improves by keeping. It will soften and whiten the skin.604.Paste for Chapped Lips.—Put four ounces of olive oil into a bottle with one ounce of alkanet root; stop it up, and set it for some days in the sun, shaking it often until it becomes perfectly bright; then strain the oil from the alkanet, add to it one ounce of white wax, and one ounce and a half of clarified mutton suet: let the mixture simmer a little while over a slow fire. When it begins to cool, mix with it a few drops of any essential oil.605.Chapped or Sore Lips.—May be healed by the frequent application of honey-water, and protecting them from the influence of cold air.606.Lip Salve.—Melt together an ounce of white wax, the same of beef marrow, and three ounces of white pomatum, with a small piece of alkanet root, tied in muslin; perfume, when cool, with attar of rose or any other essence. It should be strained while hot.607.Bad Breath from Onions.—A few leaves of parsley eaten with vinegar, will prevent any disagreeable consequences from eating onions.608.Wash for the Mouth.—An excellent wash for the mouth is made of half an ounce of tincture of myrrh and two ounces of Peruvian bark. Keep in a phial for use. A few drops in a glass of water are sufficient.609.Eau de Cologne.—Mix essence of bergamot, lemon, lavender, and orange-flower, of each one drachm; essence ofcinnamon, half a drachm; spirit of rosemary, and honey-water, each two ounces; spirits of wine, one pint: let the mixture stand two weeks, then put it in a glass retort, the body of which immerse in boiling water contained in a vessel placed over a lamp, while the beak of the retort is introduced into a large reservoir (a decanter, for example): keep the water boiling, while the mixture will distil into the receiver, which should be covered with cold wet cloths. In this manner Cologne-water may be obtained as good as the best Farina, at one-fourth the price. A coffee-lamp or nursery-furnace will best answer to boil the water.The above is the most simple method ofdistilling, without the regularstill.610.To make Eau de Cologne.—Rectified spirits of wine, four pints; oil of bergamot, one ounce; oil of lemon, half an ounce; oil of rosemary, half a drachm; oil of Neroli, three-quarters of a drachm; oil of English lavender, one drachm; oil of oranges, one drachm. Mix well, and then filter. If these proportions are too large, smaller ones may be used.611.A very pleasant Perfume, and also preventive against Moths.—Take of cloves, caraway seeds, nutmeg, mace, cinnamon, and Tonquin beans, of each one ounce; then add as much Florentine orris-root as will equal the other ingredients put together. Grind the whole well to powder, and then put it in little bags, among your clothes, &c.612.Method of extracting Essences from Flowers.—Procure a quantity of the petals of any flowers which have an agreeable fragrance; card thin layers of cotton, which dip into the finest Florence or Lucca oil; sprinkle a small quantity of fine salt on the flowers, and lay them, a layer of cotton and a layer of flowers, until an earthen vessel or a wide-mouthed glass bottle is full. Tie the top close with a bladder, then lay the vessel in a south aspect to the heat of the sun, and in fifteen days, when uncovered, a fragrant oil may be squeezed away from the whole mass, little inferior (if roses are used) to the highly-valued otto of roses.613.Curious small Cakes of Incense for perfuming Apartments.—Take equal quantities of lignum rhodium and anise,in powder, with a little powder of dried Seville orange-peel, and the same of gum benzoin, or benjamin, and beat all together in a marble mortar: then, adding some gum-dragon, or tragacanth, dissolved in rose-water, put in a little civet; beat the whole again together; make up this mixture into small cakes, and place them on paper to dry. One of these cakes being burnt in the largest apartment, will diffuse a most agreeable odor through the whole room.614.To perfume Linen.—Rose-leaves dried in the shade, cloves beat to a powder, and mace, scraped; mix them together, and put the composition into little bags.615.To make an excellent Smelling-bottle.—Take an equal quantity of sal-ammoniac and unslaked lime, pound them separately, then mix, and put them in a bottle to smell to. Before you put in the above, drop two or three drops of the essence of bergamot in the bottle, then cork it close. A drop or two of ether, added to the same, will greatly improve it.616.Aromatic Vinegar.—Throw into two pounds of acetic acid one ounce each of the dried tops of rosemary and the dried leaves of sage, half an ounce each of the dried flowers of lavender and of bruised cloves. Let them remain untouched for seven days; then express the liquid and filter it through paper. This is useful in sick rooms.617.Lavender Vinegar.—Prepare a stone jar or bottle, and to each pint of vinegar put into it, add half an ounce of fresh lavender flowers; cover closely, and set it aside for a day or two; then set the jar upon hot cinders for eight or ten hours; and when cold, strain and bottle it. It is a refreshing perfume.618.Spirit and Oil of Roses.—A few drops of attar of roses, dissolved in spirits of wine, form theesprit de roseof the perfumers; and the same quantity dissolved in fine sweet oil, theirhuile antiqueà la rose.619.Essence of Musk.—Mix one drachm of musk with the same quantity of pounded loaf sugar; add six ounces of spirit of wine: shake together, and pour off for use.Musk is seldom obtained pure: when it smells of ammonia, it is adulterated. To preserve it, it should be made quite dry; when to be used as a perfume, it should be moistened.620.Odeur Delectable.—Mix four ounces of distilled rose-water, four ounces of orange-flower water, one drachm of oil of cloves, two drachms of oil of bergamot, two grains of musk, one pint of spirits of wine. Macerate thoroughly, and add one drachm of essence of musk. This delicious scent is a universal favorite with the ladies of thebeau mondein Paris.621.Eau D'Ange.—Pound in a mortar fifteen cloves and one pound of cinnamon; put the whole into a quart of water, with four grains anise-seed; let it stand over a charcoal fire twenty-four hours; then strain off the liquor and bottle it. The perfume is excellent, and will be useful for the hands, face, and hair.622.Shaving.—The hone and razor-strop should be kept in good condition. The German hone is best: it should be frequently moistened with oil, and laid up in a place where it will not readily become dry: if it be rubbed with soap, instead of oil, previously to using, it will give additional keenness and fineness to the edge of the razor.The strop should also be kept moist with a drop or two of sweet oil: a little crocus and oil rubbed in the strop with a glass bottle will give the razor a fine edge; as will also a paste made of tutty powder and solution of oxalic acid.Mr. Knight, president of the Horticultural Society, has invented the following apparatus and method of sharpening a razor: Procure a round bar of cast steel, three inches long, and about one-third of an inch in diameter; rub it smooth from end to end with glass paper; next, smear over its surface a paste of oil and the charcoal of wheat straw, and fix the steel into a handle. To set a razor, dip it in hot water, raise its back, and move it without pressure, in circles, from heel to point, and back again; clean the blade on the palm of the hand, and again dip it into hot water. This newly invented apparatus may be purchased at any cutler's.A very small piece of nitre, dissolved in water and applied to the face after shaving, will remove any unpleasant sensation, though the first application may be somewhat painful.623.Shaving Liquids.—1. Rub in a marble mortar an ounce of any fine soap, with two drachms of carbonate of potassa. When these two substances are incorporated, continue rubbing, and add gradually a pint of lavender-water, or any other odorous water made by dissolving essential oils in alcohol sixty degrees above proof. When the whole is well combined, filter the liquid, and bottle it for use. To make a lather, put a few drops into a wine-glass of tepid water; dip your brush in the mixture, and, when rubbed on the face, a fine lather will appear. 2. Dissolve any quantity of fine soap in alcohol, either with or without perfume. Use it according to the preceding directions.624.An Easy Shave.—The operation of shaving may be robbed of its unpleasant sensations by rubbing the chin over with grease, or a sweet oil, before the application of the razor. The best razor-strop in the world is one's own hand, moistened with its own natural oil or perspiration. Sharpen the razor thus before you wash your hands, and you will find this natural strop most efficacious. After shaving, to allay irritation, wash the chin with Portugal water.625.Composition for Shaving, without the use of razor, soap, or water.—Mix one pint and a half of clear lime-water, two ounces of gum-Arabic, half an ounce of isinglass, an eighth of an ounce of cochineal, a quarter of an ounce of turmeric-root (made into powder), an eighth of an ounce of salt of tartar, and an eighth of an ounce of cream of tartar, together: boil them for one hour at least (stirring up the mixture during the whole time of boiling, and be careful not to let it boil over), clear it through a sieve; then add two and a half pounds of pumice stone, finely pulverized; mix the whole together with the hands, by the assistance of the white of two eggs, well stirred up. Then divide the cake into twelve small ones. Dry them in the open air for three days; put them into an oven moderately heated for twenty-four hours, when they will be ready for use. Apply them, with a gentle friction, to the beard, and they will produce the effect of shaving by rubbing off the hair.
600.Transparent Soap.—Put into a bottle Windsor soap, in thin shavings; half fill with spirits of wine, and set it near the fire till the soap be dissolved, when pour it into a mould to cool.
601.Genuine Windsor Soap.—To make this famous soap for washing the hands, shaving, &c., nothing more is necessary than to slice the best white soap as thin as possible, melt it in a stew-pan over a slow fire, scent it well with oil of caraway, and then pour it into a frame or mould made for that purpose, or a small drawer, adapted in size and form to the quantity. When it has stood three or four days in a dry situation, cut into square pieces, and it is ready for use. By this simple mode, substituting any more favorite scent for that of caraway, all persons may suit themselves with a good perfumed soap, at the most trifling expense.
602.To make Lady Derby's Soap.—Two ounces of bitter almonds, blanched, one ounce and a quarter of tincture of benjamin, one pound of good plain white soap, and one piece of camphor the size of a walnut. The almonds and camphor are to be beaten in a mortar until they are completely mixed, then work up with them the tincture of benjamin. The mixture being perfectly made, work the soap into it in the same manner. If the smell is too powerful of the camphor and tincture of benjamin, melt the soap by the fire, and the perfume will go off. This soap has been tried by many persons of distinction, is excellent in its qualities for cleansing the skin, and willbe found greatly to assist the complexion, the ingredients being perfectly safe.
603.To make superior Honey Soap.—Cut into thin shavings two pounds of common yellow or white soap; put it on the fire with just water enough to keep it from burning: when quite melted, add a quarter of a pound of honey, stirring it till it boils; then take it off, and add a few drops of any agreeable perfume: pour it into a deep dish to cool, and then cut it into squares. It improves by keeping. It will soften and whiten the skin.
604.Paste for Chapped Lips.—Put four ounces of olive oil into a bottle with one ounce of alkanet root; stop it up, and set it for some days in the sun, shaking it often until it becomes perfectly bright; then strain the oil from the alkanet, add to it one ounce of white wax, and one ounce and a half of clarified mutton suet: let the mixture simmer a little while over a slow fire. When it begins to cool, mix with it a few drops of any essential oil.
605.Chapped or Sore Lips.—May be healed by the frequent application of honey-water, and protecting them from the influence of cold air.
606.Lip Salve.—Melt together an ounce of white wax, the same of beef marrow, and three ounces of white pomatum, with a small piece of alkanet root, tied in muslin; perfume, when cool, with attar of rose or any other essence. It should be strained while hot.
607.Bad Breath from Onions.—A few leaves of parsley eaten with vinegar, will prevent any disagreeable consequences from eating onions.
608.Wash for the Mouth.—An excellent wash for the mouth is made of half an ounce of tincture of myrrh and two ounces of Peruvian bark. Keep in a phial for use. A few drops in a glass of water are sufficient.
609.Eau de Cologne.—Mix essence of bergamot, lemon, lavender, and orange-flower, of each one drachm; essence ofcinnamon, half a drachm; spirit of rosemary, and honey-water, each two ounces; spirits of wine, one pint: let the mixture stand two weeks, then put it in a glass retort, the body of which immerse in boiling water contained in a vessel placed over a lamp, while the beak of the retort is introduced into a large reservoir (a decanter, for example): keep the water boiling, while the mixture will distil into the receiver, which should be covered with cold wet cloths. In this manner Cologne-water may be obtained as good as the best Farina, at one-fourth the price. A coffee-lamp or nursery-furnace will best answer to boil the water.
The above is the most simple method ofdistilling, without the regularstill.
610.To make Eau de Cologne.—Rectified spirits of wine, four pints; oil of bergamot, one ounce; oil of lemon, half an ounce; oil of rosemary, half a drachm; oil of Neroli, three-quarters of a drachm; oil of English lavender, one drachm; oil of oranges, one drachm. Mix well, and then filter. If these proportions are too large, smaller ones may be used.
611.A very pleasant Perfume, and also preventive against Moths.—Take of cloves, caraway seeds, nutmeg, mace, cinnamon, and Tonquin beans, of each one ounce; then add as much Florentine orris-root as will equal the other ingredients put together. Grind the whole well to powder, and then put it in little bags, among your clothes, &c.
612.Method of extracting Essences from Flowers.—Procure a quantity of the petals of any flowers which have an agreeable fragrance; card thin layers of cotton, which dip into the finest Florence or Lucca oil; sprinkle a small quantity of fine salt on the flowers, and lay them, a layer of cotton and a layer of flowers, until an earthen vessel or a wide-mouthed glass bottle is full. Tie the top close with a bladder, then lay the vessel in a south aspect to the heat of the sun, and in fifteen days, when uncovered, a fragrant oil may be squeezed away from the whole mass, little inferior (if roses are used) to the highly-valued otto of roses.
613.Curious small Cakes of Incense for perfuming Apartments.—Take equal quantities of lignum rhodium and anise,in powder, with a little powder of dried Seville orange-peel, and the same of gum benzoin, or benjamin, and beat all together in a marble mortar: then, adding some gum-dragon, or tragacanth, dissolved in rose-water, put in a little civet; beat the whole again together; make up this mixture into small cakes, and place them on paper to dry. One of these cakes being burnt in the largest apartment, will diffuse a most agreeable odor through the whole room.
614.To perfume Linen.—Rose-leaves dried in the shade, cloves beat to a powder, and mace, scraped; mix them together, and put the composition into little bags.
615.To make an excellent Smelling-bottle.—Take an equal quantity of sal-ammoniac and unslaked lime, pound them separately, then mix, and put them in a bottle to smell to. Before you put in the above, drop two or three drops of the essence of bergamot in the bottle, then cork it close. A drop or two of ether, added to the same, will greatly improve it.
616.Aromatic Vinegar.—Throw into two pounds of acetic acid one ounce each of the dried tops of rosemary and the dried leaves of sage, half an ounce each of the dried flowers of lavender and of bruised cloves. Let them remain untouched for seven days; then express the liquid and filter it through paper. This is useful in sick rooms.
617.Lavender Vinegar.—Prepare a stone jar or bottle, and to each pint of vinegar put into it, add half an ounce of fresh lavender flowers; cover closely, and set it aside for a day or two; then set the jar upon hot cinders for eight or ten hours; and when cold, strain and bottle it. It is a refreshing perfume.
618.Spirit and Oil of Roses.—A few drops of attar of roses, dissolved in spirits of wine, form theesprit de roseof the perfumers; and the same quantity dissolved in fine sweet oil, theirhuile antiqueà la rose.
619.Essence of Musk.—Mix one drachm of musk with the same quantity of pounded loaf sugar; add six ounces of spirit of wine: shake together, and pour off for use.
Musk is seldom obtained pure: when it smells of ammonia, it is adulterated. To preserve it, it should be made quite dry; when to be used as a perfume, it should be moistened.
620.Odeur Delectable.—Mix four ounces of distilled rose-water, four ounces of orange-flower water, one drachm of oil of cloves, two drachms of oil of bergamot, two grains of musk, one pint of spirits of wine. Macerate thoroughly, and add one drachm of essence of musk. This delicious scent is a universal favorite with the ladies of thebeau mondein Paris.
621.Eau D'Ange.—Pound in a mortar fifteen cloves and one pound of cinnamon; put the whole into a quart of water, with four grains anise-seed; let it stand over a charcoal fire twenty-four hours; then strain off the liquor and bottle it. The perfume is excellent, and will be useful for the hands, face, and hair.
622.Shaving.—The hone and razor-strop should be kept in good condition. The German hone is best: it should be frequently moistened with oil, and laid up in a place where it will not readily become dry: if it be rubbed with soap, instead of oil, previously to using, it will give additional keenness and fineness to the edge of the razor.
The strop should also be kept moist with a drop or two of sweet oil: a little crocus and oil rubbed in the strop with a glass bottle will give the razor a fine edge; as will also a paste made of tutty powder and solution of oxalic acid.
Mr. Knight, president of the Horticultural Society, has invented the following apparatus and method of sharpening a razor: Procure a round bar of cast steel, three inches long, and about one-third of an inch in diameter; rub it smooth from end to end with glass paper; next, smear over its surface a paste of oil and the charcoal of wheat straw, and fix the steel into a handle. To set a razor, dip it in hot water, raise its back, and move it without pressure, in circles, from heel to point, and back again; clean the blade on the palm of the hand, and again dip it into hot water. This newly invented apparatus may be purchased at any cutler's.
A very small piece of nitre, dissolved in water and applied to the face after shaving, will remove any unpleasant sensation, though the first application may be somewhat painful.
623.Shaving Liquids.—1. Rub in a marble mortar an ounce of any fine soap, with two drachms of carbonate of potassa. When these two substances are incorporated, continue rubbing, and add gradually a pint of lavender-water, or any other odorous water made by dissolving essential oils in alcohol sixty degrees above proof. When the whole is well combined, filter the liquid, and bottle it for use. To make a lather, put a few drops into a wine-glass of tepid water; dip your brush in the mixture, and, when rubbed on the face, a fine lather will appear. 2. Dissolve any quantity of fine soap in alcohol, either with or without perfume. Use it according to the preceding directions.
624.An Easy Shave.—The operation of shaving may be robbed of its unpleasant sensations by rubbing the chin over with grease, or a sweet oil, before the application of the razor. The best razor-strop in the world is one's own hand, moistened with its own natural oil or perspiration. Sharpen the razor thus before you wash your hands, and you will find this natural strop most efficacious. After shaving, to allay irritation, wash the chin with Portugal water.
625.Composition for Shaving, without the use of razor, soap, or water.—Mix one pint and a half of clear lime-water, two ounces of gum-Arabic, half an ounce of isinglass, an eighth of an ounce of cochineal, a quarter of an ounce of turmeric-root (made into powder), an eighth of an ounce of salt of tartar, and an eighth of an ounce of cream of tartar, together: boil them for one hour at least (stirring up the mixture during the whole time of boiling, and be careful not to let it boil over), clear it through a sieve; then add two and a half pounds of pumice stone, finely pulverized; mix the whole together with the hands, by the assistance of the white of two eggs, well stirred up. Then divide the cake into twelve small ones. Dry them in the open air for three days; put them into an oven moderately heated for twenty-four hours, when they will be ready for use. Apply them, with a gentle friction, to the beard, and they will produce the effect of shaving by rubbing off the hair.
PART III.HOME PURSUITS AND DOMESTIC ARTS.Needle-work,Fancy-work—Preparations for Writing—Flowers—House Plants—Birds—Gold Fish,&c.The first and best use of the needle is common or plain sewing. Every woman and girl should understand this art, the beginning of all arts, and the most indispensable to civilization.It is unnecessary to dilate on the importance of common needlework, and to this female accomplishment, so universally necessary, we shall principally confine our directions.626.Requisites for Sewing.—A neat work-box well supplied with all the implements required, including knife, scissors (of at least three sizes), needles and pins in sufficient variety, bodkins, thimbles, thread and cotton, bobbins, marking silks, black lead pencils, &c., should be provided, and be furnished with a lock and key, to prevent the contents being thrown into confusion by children or unauthorized intruders.The lady, being thus provided, and having her materials, implements, &c., placed in order upon her work-table, to the edge of which it is an advantage to have a pincushion affixed by means of a screw—may commence her work, and proceed with it with pleasure to herself, and without annoyance to any visitor who may favor her with a call. We would recommend, wherever practicable, that the work-table should be made of cedar, and that the windows of the working parlor should open into a garden well supplied with odoriferous flowers and plants, the perfume of which will materially cheer the spirits of thoseespecially, whose circumstances compel them to devote the greatest portion of their time to sedentary occupations. If these advantages cannot be obtained, at least the room should be well-ventilated, and furnished with a few cheerful plants, and a well-filled scent-jar. The beneficent Creator intended all his children, in whatever station of life they might be placed, to share in the common bounties of his providence; and when she, who works not for pleasure, but to obtain the means of subsistence, is compelled to seclude herself, for days or weeks together, from the cheering influence of exercise in the open air, it becomes both her duty, and that of those for whom she labors, to secure as much of these advantages, or of the best substitutes for them, as the circumstances of the case will admit.EXPLANATION OF STITCHES.627.Hemming.—Turn down the raw edge as evenly as possible. Flatten, and be careful, especially in turning down the corners. Hem from right to left; bring the point of the needle from the chest toward the right hand. Fasten the thread without a knot, and when you finish, sew several stitches close together, and cut off the thread.628.Mantua-maker's Hem.—You lay the raw edge of one of your pieces a little below that of the other; the upper edge is then turned over the other twice, and felled down as strong as possible.629.Sewing and Felling.—If you have selvages, join them together, and sew them firmly. If you have raw edges, turn down one of the edges once, and the other double the breadth, and then turn half of it back again. This is for the fell. The two pieces are pinned together, face to face, and seamed together—the stitches being in a slanting direction, and just deep enough to hold the separate pieces firmly together. Then flatten the seam with the thumb, turn the work over, and fell it the same as hemming. The thread is fastened by being worked between the pieces, and sewn over.630.Running.—Takethree threads, leave three, and, in order that the work may be kept as firm as possible, back-stitchoccasionally. If you sew selvages, they must be joined evenly together; but if raw edges, one must be turned down once, and the other laid upon it, but a few threads from the top: in this case, it must be felled afterwards.631.Stitching.—The work must be as even as possible. Turn down a piece to stitch to; draw a thread to stitch upon, twelve or fourteen threads from the edge. Being thus prepared, you taketwo threads back, and so bring the needle out fromunder two before. Proceed in this manner to the end of the row; and, in joining a fresh piece of thread, take care to pass the needle between the edges, and so bring it out where the last stitch is finished.632.Gathering.—You begin by taking the article to be gathered, and dividing it into halves, and then into quarters, putting on pins to make the divisions. The piece to which you are intending to gather it, must be gathered about twelve threads from the top, taking three threads on the needle, and leaving four; and so proceeding alternately until one quarter is gathered. Fasten the thread by twisting it round a pin; stroke the gathers, so that they lie evenly and neatly, with a strong needle or pin. You then proceed as before, until all the gathers are gathered. Then take out the pins, and regulate the gathers of each quarter so as to correspond with those of the piece to which it is to be sewed. The gathers are then to be fastened on, one at a time; and the stitches must be in a slanting direction. The part to be gathered must be cut quite even before commencing, or else it will be impossible to make the gathering look well.633.Double Gathering, or Puffing.—This is sometimes employed in setting on frills, and, when executed properly, has a pretty effect. You first gather the top in the usual way; then, having stroked down the gathers, you gather again under the first gathering, and of such a depth as you wish the puffing to be. You then sew on the first gathering to the gown, frock, &c., you design to trim, at a distance corresponding with the width of the puffing, and the second gathering sewed to the edge, so as to form a full hem. You may make a double hem, if you please, by gathering three times instead of only twice; and one of the hems may be straight, while the other is drawnto one side a little. This requires much exactness in the execution, but, if properly done, it gives a pleasing variety to the work.634.German Hemming.—Turn down both the raw edges once, taking care so to do it as that both turns may be toward your person; you then lay one below the other, so as that the smooth edge of the nearest does not touch the other, but lies just beneath it. The lower one is then to be hemmed or felled to the piece against which you have laid it, still holding it before you. You are next to open your sleeve, or whatever else you have been employed upon, and, laying the upper fold over the lower, fell it down, and the work is done.635.Binding.—Various kinds of work have binding set on to them, in preference to hemming them, or working them in herring-bone stitch. Flannel is generally bound, sometimes with a thin tape, made for the purpose, and called "flannel binding." It is also common to bind flannel with sarcenet riband. The binding is so put on as to show but little over the edge on the right side, where it is hemmed down neatly; on the other side it is run on with small stitches.636.Braiding.—Silk braid looks pretty, and is used for a variety of purposes. In putting it on, it is best to sew it with silk drawn out of the braid, as it is a better match, and the stitches will be less perceived.637.Marking.—It is of essential importance that clothes should be marked and numbered. This is often done with ink; but as some, persons like to mark with silk, we shall describe the stitch. Two threads are to be taken each way of the cloth, and the needle must be passed three ways, in order that the stitch may be complete. The first is aslant from the person, toward the right hand; the second is downward toward you; and the third is the reverse of the first—that is, aslant from you, toward the left hand. The needle is to be brought out at the corner of the stitch nearest to that you are about to make. The shapes of the letters or figures can be learned from an inspection of any common sampler.638.Piping.—This is much used in ornamenting children's and other dresses. It is made by enclosing a card of the properthickness in a strip of silk cut crosswise, and must be put on as evenly as possible.639.Plaiting.—The plaits must be as even as it is possible to place them one against another. In double plaiting, they lie both ways, and meet in the middle.640.To keep Thread, Sewing-silk, &c.—In making up linen, thread is much preferable to cotton. Sewing-silk should be folded up neatly in wash-leather, and colored threads and cotton in paper, as the air and light are likely to injure them. Buttons, hooks and eyes, and all metal implements, when not in use, should be kept folded up, as exposure to the air not only tarnishes them, but is likely to injure them in a variety of ways.INSTRUCTIONS IN THE PREPARATION OF HOUSE-LINEN.641.Bedroom Linen.—This includes quilts, blankets, sheets, pillow-covers, towels, table-covers and pincushion-covers.642.Quilts.—These are of various sizes and qualities, in accordance with the purposes to which they are applied. They are generally made of the outside material and the lining—wadding or flannel being laid between—and stitched in diamonds or other devices. The stitches must pass through the whole, and the edges of the quilt are to be secured by a braiding or binding proper for the purpose. They are best done in a frame.643.Blankets.—These are generally bought, ready-prepared for use. It is sometimes necessary to work over the edges at the end, which should be done with scarlet worsted, in a very wide kind of button-hole stitch.644.Sheets.—These are made of fine linen, coarse linen, and cotton-sheeting. Linen sheets are best for summer, and many prefer them at all seasons. If the sheeting is not sufficiently wide for the bed, two lengths must be sewed together. The seam up the middle must be sewed as neatly as possible, and the ends may be either hemmed or seamed: the latter is the preferable method. Sheets and all bedroom linen should be marked and numbered; to add the date of the year is also an advantage.645.Pillow-cases.—These are made of fine or coarse linen, and sometimes of cotton cloth. The material should be of such a width as to correspond with the length of the pillow. One yard and three nails, doubled and seamed up, is the proper size. One end is seamed up, and the other hemmed with a broad hem, and furnished with strings or buttons as is deemed most convenient. We think the preferable way of making pillow covers is to procure a material of a sufficient width, when doubled, to admit the pillow. The selvages are then sewed together, and the ends seamed and hemmed as before directed. Bolster covers are made in nearly the same manner, only that a round patch is let into one end, and a tape for a slot is run into the other.646.Towels.—Towels are made of diaper or huckaback, of a quality adapted to the uses to which they are applicable. They should be one yard long and about ten or twelve nails wide. The best are bought single, and are fringed at the ends. Others are neatly hemmed, and sometimes have a tape-loop attached to them, by which they can be suspended against a wall.647.Dressing Table Covers.—These may be made of any material that is proper for the purpose. Fine diaper generally, but sometimes dimity and muslin are employed, or the table is covered with a kind of Marseilles quilting, which is prepared expressly for the purpose. Sometimes the covers are merely hemmed round, but they look much neater if fringed, or bordered with a moderately full frill. Sometimes a worked border is set on. All depends upon taste and fancy. A neat and genteel appearance, in accordance with the furniture of the apartment, should be especially regarded.648.Pincushion Covers.—A large pincushion, having two covers belonging to it, should belong to each toilet table. The covers are merely a bag into which the cushion is slipped. They may be either worked or plain; always of white muslin or linen cambric; and should have small tassels at each corner, and a frill or fringe all round.649.Table Linen.—This department of plain needlework comprises table-cloths, dinner-napkins, and large and small tray napkins.650.Table-cloths.—These may be purchased either singly, or cut from the piece. In the latter case the ends should be hemmed as neatly as possible, and marked and numbered.651.Dinner Napkins.—These are of various materials; if cut from the piece, they must be hemmed at the ends the same as table-cloths. Large and small tray napkins and knife-box cloths, are made in the same manner. The hemming of all these should be extremely neat. It is a pretty and light employment for very young ladies; little girls even should do this work, and thus early acquire habits of neatness and usefulness, which will prove useful in after life.652.Housemaid and Kitchen Linen.—In the housemaid's department, paint cloths, old and soft, and chamber bottle cloths, fine and soft, are to be provided. To these must be added dusters, flannels for scouring, chamber bucket-cloths, which last should be of a kind and color different from everything else. All these must be neatly hemmed and run, or seamed if necessary. Nothing, in a well-directed family, should bear the impress of neglect, or be suffered to assume an untidy appearance.653.Clothes-bags.—Clothes-bags of different sizes should also be provided, of two yards in length, and either one breadth doubled, in which case only one seam will be required, or of two breadths, which makes the bags more suitable for large articles of clothing. These bags are to be seamed up neatly at the bottom, and to have strings which will draw run in at the top. The best material is canvas, or strong unbleached linen. In the kitchen department, you will require both table and dresser cloths, which should be made as neat as possible.654.Mending.—In cutting up an old garment, it is a great advantage to have a portion of the same material new. For this reason, when purchasing cloth for a new garment, buy a little additional quantity for repairs, and take care that it is kept for that purpose, and not wasted in any way.It was formerly the custom with all careful women, when buying a dress, to buy an extra yard for new sleeving. To be sure a gown was then more expensive than now; but it should be remembered, that if six gowns can be bought for the money that used to buy three or four, they cannot be made up in thesame time at home, nor for the same money if put out. Any tolerably handy woman, though she may not choose to venture upon cutting out and making a new dress, may repair one, having the old pattern and lining to work by, and the very creases and stitches for a guide. If, by so doing, a gown will wear half as long again, the price of a little over-quantity at first, and a few hours employed on the work, are well bestowed.The same remark applies to the garments of men. Unless these be bought ready-made, the pieces should be carefully laid by for repairs. In children's clothing, these alterations and repairs are often needed.655.Patchwork.—Many improvements may be made in patchwork that most of us have been accustomed to see for years. It is a kind of needlework very interesting for little girls; and old ladies frequently resort to this for amusement by their cosy firesides, during the long winter evenings, when tired of reading.656.Of the Materials.—The materialsnecessary for patchwork are such portions of wearing apparel, whether cloth, calico, linen, holland, silk, velvet, cotton, &c., such as would otherwise be thrown away, or saved for the rag-man. No matter how small the portion, every scrap has its use. The next necessary article is some stiff paper—old envelopes, backs of letters, brown paper, &c., to form the shapes; lastly, the design—shapes, cut out intin, and the designs themselves.The materials should be arranged into shades and qualities. After having been cut to required sizes, and the irregularities of the edges neatly repaired, they are ready for use.657.Patterns.—Thepatternsmay be variedad infinitum, if the person possesses the least talent for drawing; but for the sake of those who may not be able to do this, we submit the following simple and effective designs to be executed in any of the materials.658.To make the Patchwork.—The pattern should be placed before the person, and the shades being selected, the several pieces arranged so as to form the design, and the edges then neatly sewed together; after which they are either pressed, or ironed, the papers removed, and the lining proceeded with.When silks and velvets are employed, it improves the effect to combine the two, taking the silk for the lighter, and the velvet for the darker shades; or, as in figures 5, 6, 8, and 11, to have silk for the lighter shades, and two velvets for the others, shaded to pattern.A very pretty effect is produced by combining Holland and calico, silk and satin, silk or satin and velvet, and rough and fine cloth.The various articlesthat may be manufactured, are quilts in colored and white calico; anti-macassars in silks; ottomans in silks and velvets, silks and cloth; table-covers in silks and cloth; cushions for chairs or sofas, in silks; and mats, rugs, and carpets, in cloth.We have seen many useful white quilts for children's cots, made from the cuttings remaining after shirt making. The centre might be of Holland and calico, pattern 10, fig. 5, and then fig. 7, with a fringe border, knitted. Numerous rugs might be made in colored cloths, to look equal to carpets, for poor people, and wear much better.Figs. 1-6.Figs. 7-11.AN ELEGANT MUSNUD FOR A SOFA.659.The materialsrequired, consist of braid of various hues, purse-silk of different shades, bed-ticking, feathers, down, horse-hair, or worsted ends; the design-shapes, some cord for pipings, the various colored cloths, silks, &c., and a curtain-ring or a piece of cardboard for the centre.The sizevaries from fifteen to eighteen inches in diameter, according to taste.The colorscannot be fixed, because it depends much upon taste, but we have made the elegant musnud givenp. 160, by placing cobalt as the right hand centre-piece, then (proceeding from right to left) white, salmon, purple, crimson, amber, pea-green, and madder-brown. The handles are amber, the side brown, and the back purple.It is better, in combining or arranging all colors for patchwork, to keep as near as possible to the harmony observed by Nature; therefore, to attend to the same order displayed in the case of a refracted ray of light, viz., violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red, adding, in this case, white, to represent the ray in its natural state before refraction or dispersion of its colors took place.To make the Musnud.—Cut two circles of fifteen or eighteen inches in diameter in bed-ticking, and a strip of the same material three inches deep, and thrice the length of the diameter; make into the usual shape, and stuff with feathers, down, horse-hair, or the refuse ends of worsted. Cut out two handles as in the design, of the same material, and sew them on. Rub theinsideof the bed-ticking with a lump of bees'-wax previous to making up the musnud, (as it prevents the feathers and dust working through,) and tack the centre down.Cut out the back in a piece of purple moreen, or any other material, then cut four strips of brown cashmere, each three inches deep and five long, join these neatly together to form the side, and braid the following design in bright yellow on it, finishing the veining of the leaves in chain-stitch with purse silk.The wedge-shaped pieces should now be cut out in the various colored cloths, &c., and braided as in the design, four being braided with floral, and four with fancy designs. Each piece should measure nine inches in length and six inches and three-quarters in breadth at the outer part. The centre piece should measure two inches and a quarter in diameter, be of a dark brown, and braided with a bright yellow star.To cover the musnud, sew the pieces neatly together, and cover the joining with narrow strips of dark brown cloth, braided in bright yellow to resemble a chain; cover the curtain ring, or circular piece of card-board, with the central piece, and sew it on.Now affix the pipings cut crossways out of brown cloth, and cover the handles with amber-colored material, braid and pipe them; join the back to the side with an intervening piping, slip the musnud into the lower covering, and sew on the top.Inbraidingthe patterns, the purple ground should have a scarlet braid.The brown, yellow.In finishing the braiding, it will require the occasional aid of some chain-stitch work in purse-silk, for the veinings of the leaves, stamens, tendrils, &c.Note.—This particularity in arrangingcolors and patternsmay seem very trifling to some people; but rules are required in all finished work. Habits of attention are an important part of education, or, rather, are indispensable to a well-trained mind. Therefore, we say, be particular to do all you undertake in a proper manner; and if you are makingpatchwork, aim at perfection of its kind. But never fall in love with your own creations, and worship them as idols; and never neglect common household duties for fanciful needlework. Remember, also, thatreadingis more refining to the taste than finger-work; and that toread wellis a much higher accomplishment than any mere skill in counting stitches and matching shades.FOR SILK EMBROIDERY.660.Useful Patterns for working in Cord, Silk, and Muslin.—These are what are called "endless patterns," to be worked in cord.These fashions for embroidering the borders of cloaks, pelisses, sacques, &c., on merino, or fine cassimere, or flannel, with silk, are to be wrought with coarse or fine silk, or with a mixture of the two, according to the degree of intricacy or simplicity in the parts of the pattern.We give two designs; from these, other combinations may be made, to suit the fancy of the embroiderer.'Two Endless patterns' for borders of cloaks etc.SILK EMBROIDERY, ANOTHER WAY.Seep. 164.661.—In these patterns for embroidering the borders of cloaks, pelisses, sacques, &c., on merino, or fine cassimere, or flannel, with silk, are to be wrought with coarse or fine silk, or with a mixture of the two, according to the degree of intricacy or simplicity in the parts of the pattern.These patterns are equally serviceable for muslin, or any other material.No. 1, to be worked on fine flannel or merino, with a mixture of coarse and fine silk.No. 2, to be worked on flannel or merino, with fine silk.Embroidery patters for cloaks etc.No. 1. No. 2.662.Sewing on glazed Calico.—By passing a cake of white soap a few times over a piece of glazed calico, or any other stiffened material, the needle will penetrate as easily as through any other kind of work.663.To make Glass Jars to look like China.—Paint figures to resemble those in China jars, and cut them out so that none of the white paper remains; then, with thick gum-arabic water, fasten them to the inside of the glass. Let them stand to dry for twenty-four hours. Then wipe off with a wet cloth the gum-arabic on the glass between the prints, and let them stand a few hours longer. Then take white wax and flake white, ground very fine, and melt them together. With a japanning-brush go over all the glass above the prints: done in this manner, they will hold water. For a blue ground, use white wax and Prussian blue, ground fine; for red, wax and vermilion, or carmine; for green, wax and verdigris; for chocolate, wax and burnt umber.664.To give Plaster Figures the appearance of Marble.—Put into a well-glazed earthen vessel, four pounds of clear water and one ounce of pure curd soap, grated; add one ounce of white bees'-wax, cut into thin slices. Let them dissolve over a slow fire. As soon as the whole is incorporated, it is fit for use. Let the figure be thoroughly dried, then suspend it by a twine, and dip it once into the varnish; upon taking it out, the varnish will appear to have been absorbed; in two minutes' time, stir the compost, and dip it a second time, which is generally sufficient. Cover it carefully from the dust for a week; then, with a soft muslin rag, rub the figure gently, when a most brilliant gloss will be produced.665.To improve Plaster Casts.—Brush them over with size, and, when dry, varnish them with copal varnish.666.To dissolve Putty.—To remove old putty from glazed frames, brush over it pearlash and slaked stone-burnt lime, mixed to the thickness of paint.ANGLO-JAPANESE WORK.Jewelry box in Anglo-Japanese style667. This elegant and most useful work is very easy in its execution, while the means and appliances for its performance are within the reach of every one. The materials are simply yellow withered leaves, a little dissolved gum, black paint, and copal varnish: while the objects to be ornamented may be a box, cupboard, table, &c., in fact, any old furniture that has been rendered unsightly by age or long use. A plain deal box, costing about a shilling, may by this process, so far as the outside goes, be converted into a costly-looking dressing-case. Anexquisite chess-board may be made, with very little skill, from a square piece of deal. Flower-pots, pole-screens, folding and hand-screens, may all be decorated in this manner, and, from untidy-looking lumber, may be converted into articles of use, elegance, and beauty; and this at a merely nominal expense,tastebeing the chief requisite in the production. The employment forms one of the most agreeable and pleasing amusements for summer days and winter evenings; in the summer, giving a purpose and an aim to many a joyous ramble, for in these desultory walks a goodly collection may be made of Nature's ambered jewels.All leaves that are small, of uneven shape, and serrated at the edges, are well adapted for this work. As they are collected, they should be placed between sheets of paper, but not close together, then pressed by placing a board on the top, with a weight upon it, to express any moisture that may be therein, and to render them quite flat. In the autumn, the sweet-scented geranium-leaves, the maple, thorn, chrysanthemum, wild parsley, fern, and a multitude of others, may be found, including the smaller sycamore and small vine-leaves; but they must all have turned of a golden hue, or reddish-tinted yellow. Prepare the article to be ornamented, thus:—First rub the surface smoothly down with sand-paper; then coat it over with black paint, which can be procured, ready-mixed, at any oil-shop; when dry, rub it down smoothly with pumice-stone, and give two more coats. When these are dry, arrange the leaves on the surface in a careless manner, but not in groups, unless preferred. Butterflies drawn, and colored yellow with gamboge, or cut out of prints, and then colored, may be stuck at different spaces with advantage; but there should be no other color than the brown and different tints of yellow in the leaves. Gum the wrong side of the leaf, and press it on in its appointed place with a hard tuft of wadding, fastened tightly up in a piece of silk. Continue this with the whole of the leaves; and when they are all gummed on, dissolve some gelatine or isinglass in warm water, and while rather warm, brush it well over every portion of the work, using the brush entirely one way, not forward and back. When dry, give the work three coats of the best copal varnish, letting the article remain a day or two between each coat. This process, though elaborate in detail, is easily and even quickly done, and will well repay any trouble that may be taken, as, with a renewed coatof varnish every five or six years, it will remain, as long as the wood will hold together, as bright in appearance as when first finished.668.Sealing Wax Varnish.—For fancy work, this has, of late years, been much used, and if well applied, and the wax good, will be a very good imitation of India Japan. The method of making the varnish or japan is very easy, being simply reducing the wax to a coarse powder, and pouring the best spirits of wine on it in a bottle, and letting it gradually dissolve without heat, shaking the bottle occasionally till it is all dissolved. A two-ounce stick of the best wax will be enough for a quarter of a pint of spirits. Recollect that much depends on the goodness of the sealing-wax; and that you may vary the color of the varnish by using different colored wax. As this varnish dries very quickly, it should not be made until it is wanted for use.669.Method of preparing the Composition used for Colored Drawings and Prints, so as to make them resemble Paint in Oil.—Take of Canada Balsam, one ounce; spirit of turpentine, two ounces; mix them together. Before this composition is applied, the drawing or print should be sized with a solution of isinglass in water, and when dry, apply the varnish with a camel-hair brush.670.Oil and Water Gilding.—In oil gilding, the frame is first covered with a composition of whiting and parchment size, then with a coating of "oil gold size," (a kind of varnish,) upon which when nearly dry, gold leaf is applied.671.In Water Gilding, a size mixed withwateris used. Parts of the frame are burnished, other parts leftdead. This is the most beautiful and expensive style of gilding, but it does not bear washing as oil gilding does.["The Carver and Gilder," published by Knight, furnishes much useful information on this subject.]672.To mount Prints or Maps.—Upon a table, floor, or board, stretch a piece of calico or smooth canvas, by first fixing it with tacks along one side, then straining it tightly with one hand, and driving the tacks with the other: nail the remaining edges, leaving no wrinkles on the surface. Paste the back of the printor map, fold it together, and let it remain until the paper issoaked, then open it, and place it evenly on the canvas, cover it with a sheet of clean paper, and beginning in the middle, rub it down carefully with the hand, going from the centre all round to the edges, until all the air is excluded, and the paper adheres closely to the canvas. When quite dry, with a large camel-hair brush lay on a coating of parchment size, repeating this when dry: then varnish with mastic varnish. Parchment size is made by boiling parchment cuttings in water, until it forms a jelly when cold. Mastic varnish may be procured at oil and color-shops.673.New Camera Lucida.—Sir John Robinson devised, a few years since, a cheap and easily-used camera lucida, applicable to the delineation of flowers and other small objects. A piece of plate glass is made to stand in a vertical position by means of a support. It rests on a table covered with white paper, and the object is placed on the paper on one side of the glass. On looking down from that side of the glass diagonally, an image of the object is seen on the paper on the other side, and a drawing of it can be readily taken.674.Varnish for Oil Pictures.—According to the number of your pictures, take the whites of the same number of eggs, and an equal number of pieces of sugar-candy, the size of a hazel-nut, dissolved, and mix it with a tea-spoonful of brandy; beat the whites of your eggs to a froth, and let it settle; take the clear, put it to your brandy and sugar, mix them well together, and varnish over your pictures with it.This is much better than any other varnish, as it is easily washed off when your pictures want cleaning again.675.To take Impressions of Butterflies' Wings.—Lay the wings gently on paper, wet with gum arabic water, and nearly dry; a copy will be left when the wing is removed, but inferior in beauty to the wing itself. It is better to gum the wings themselves on paper, and paint the body of the fly in its natural position.676.To preserve the Eggs of Birds.—First clean them of their contents. This may be done with the larger eggs by making a hole on one side large enough to admit a quill, and shaking outthe contents. Then wash them well with a solution of camphor, not too strong, or it will make them brittle. When dry, fasten them with gum on the side in which the hole was made to a piece of card board, and write the name under each. As the colors of many of them are perishable, to preserve them give them a slight coating of varnish. The best varnish for this purpose is isinglass dissolved in gin. In cleaning the smaller eggs, make a hole at each end, a little to one side, and blow them. The camphor solution need not be used.677.To make Artificial Coral.—Melt together four parts of yellow resin and one part of vermilion. Dip twigs, cinders or stones in this, and when dry they will resemble coral.678.An Excellent Pen-Wiper for Steel Pens.—Fill a short, wide-mouthed vial with shot, the smaller the better. Whenever it is necessary to clean the pen, rub it up and down in the shot. This is much more effectual than cloth wipers, and the shot will last a life-time.679.To preserve Steel Pens.—Metallic pens may be preserved from rusting by throwing into the bottle containing the ink a few nails, or broken pieces of steel pens, if not varnished. The corrosive action of the acid which the ink contains is expended on the iron so introduced, and will not therefore affect the pen.680.Black Paper for drawing Patterns.—Mix and smooth lamp-black and sweet oil; with a bit of flannel cover a sheet or two of large writing-paper with this mixture; then dab the paper dry with a bit of fine linen, and keep it by for using in the following manner:—Put the black side on another sheet of paper, and fasten the corners together with small pins. Lay on the back of the black paper the pattern to be drawn, and go over it with the point of a steel pencil; the black paper will then leave the impression of the pattern on the under sheet, on which you must draw it with ink.If you draw patterns on cloth or muslin, do it with a pen dipped in a bit of stone blue, a bit of sugar, and a little water, mixed smooth in a teacup, in which it will be always ready for use, if fresh: wet to a due consistence as wanted.681.To make Transparent Paper for Drawing.—Tracing paper is readily made by taking a sheet of very thin silk, or other paper, and rubbing it over gently with some soft substance, filled with a mixture of equal parts of drying oil, and oil of turpentine, which, being suspended and dried, will be fit for use in a few days; or it may be had at any of the shops. Lay this transparent material on the print or drawing to be transferred, and, with a sharp black lead pencil, trace the outlines exactly as they appear through the paper. If more permanent or stronger lines are wished, ink mixed with ox-gall will be necessary to make it adhere to the oiled surface.682.Transparent Paper.—Wet some fine paper with a feather on both sides with a thin layer of rosin, dissolved in spirits of wine. It will then serve to put over anything you wish to take off.683.Method of using Tracing Paper.—Take a piece of the size required, and rub it equally over, on one side, with black lead, reduced to a powder, till the surface will not readily soil a finger; then lay a piece of white paper with the leaded side of this paper next to it, under the print, and securing them firmly together with pins at the corners, proceed to take the outlines with a blunt point, and some degree of pressure, which will transfer the lead to the clean paper precisely in the direction the point passed over the print; this may be corrected with the black lead pencil, and cleansed of any soil by the crumbs of stale bread.684.Method of setting Pencil Drawings.—A solution of alum water, in which the drawing is to be dipped (not washed on with a brush, as it would smear) will answer the purpose extremely well.685.Wash for preserving Drawings made with Black Lead Pencil, or with hard Black Chalk.—A thin wash of isinglass will fix either black lead or hard black chalk, &c., so as to prevent their rubbing out; or the same effect may be produced by the simple application of skimmed milk. The best way of using the latter, is, to lay the drawing flat upon the surface of the milk, and then, taking it up expeditiously, to hang it by the one corner till it drains and dries. The milk must be perfectly free from cream, or it will grease the paper.686.To make Red Sealing Wax.—To every ounce of shell-lac take half an ounce each of resin and vermilion, all reduced to a fine powder. Melt them over a moderate fire; and when thoroughly incorporated and sufficiently cool, form the composition into what are called sticks. On account of the dearness of shell-lac, seed-lac is usually substituted. A more ordinary sort, but sufficiently good for most occasions, may be made by mixing equal parts of resin and shell-lac with two parts of red lead and one of vermilion. In a still commoner sort, the vermilion is often entirely omitted.MARKING INK.687. Mix in six drachms of distilled water, two drachms of sub-nitrate of silver, and two drachms of gum-arabic. For the mordant, mix with four ounces of water, half an ounce of gum-arabic, and half an ounce of sub-carbonate of soda. The article to be marked should first be wetted with the mordant, and pressed smooth, and should be thoroughly dried before it is written upon. The mark should be exposed to the light for some time, to become black.688.Permanent Red Ink for marking Linen.—This useful preparation, which was contrived by Dr. Smellie, of Edinburgh, who was originally a printer in that city, may be used either with types, a hair pencil, or even with a pen: Take half an ounce of vermillion, and a drachm of salt of steel; let them be finely levigated with linseed oil, to the thickness or limpidity required for the occasion. This has not only a very good appearance, but will, it is said, be found perfectly to resist the effects of acids, as well as of all alkaline leys. It may be made of other colors, by substituting the proper articles instead of vermillion.689.An Indelible Ink for marking Linen.—Pour a little aqua-fortis into a cup, and add to it a small piece of pure silver; when the effervescence ceases, filter the solution through a piece of blotting-paper, and put it into a small phial; then add to it a little gum-arabic and a little of the paint, called sap-green. After the whole is perfectly combined it is then fit for use.690.To take out Writing.—When recently written, ink may be completely removed by the oxymuriatic acid (concentrated and in solution). The paper is to be washed over repeatedly with the acid; but it will be necessary afterwards to wash it also with lime-water, for the purpose of neutralizing any acid that may be left on the paper, and which would considerably weaken it. But if the ink have beenlongwritten, it will have undergone such a change as to prevent the preceding process from taking effect. It ought therefore to be washed with liver of sulphur (sulphuret of ammonia), before the oxymuriatic acid is applied. It may be washed with a hair pencil.691.To make Old Writing legible.—Take six bruised gall-nuts, and put them to a pint of strong white wine; let it stand in the sun for forty-eight hours. Dip a brush in it and wash the writing, and by the color you will discover whether the mixture is strong enough of the galls.692.Sympathetic Ink.—With a clean pen write on paper with a solution of muriate of cobalt, so diluted with water, that the writing when dry will be invisible. On gently warming the paper, the writing will appear of a blue or greenish color, which will disappear again when cool. A solution of muriate of copper forms a yellow and sympathetic ink, and acetate of cobalt a rose or purple. If a landscape be drawn representing a winter scene, the paper being overlaid where the foliage should be with the green sympathetic ink, then, on gently warming the drawing, it will represent summer. Sky and water may be drawn with the blue, and standing corn with the yellow ink.693.Blue Ink.—Dissolve a small quantity of indigo in a little oil of vitriol, and add a sufficient quantity of water, in which gum-arabic has been dissolved.694.Yellow Ink.—Dissolve gamboge in a solution of gum-arabic.695.Scarlet Ink.—Dissolve vermilion in a solution of gum-arabic.696.Red Ink.—Boil one ounce of Brazil wood in half-a-pint of water for a quarter of an hour; add to the decoction three drachms of gum-arabic, and an ounce of alum.697.Green Ink.—Verdigris, two ounces; cream of tartar, one ounce; water, half a pint; boil till reduced to one half, and filter.698.Excellent Writing Ink.—Boil eight ounces of galls in coarse powder, and four ounces of logwood in thin chips, in twelve pints of rain water, for one hour: strain the liquor, and add four ounces of green copperas, three ounces of powdered gum-arabic, one ounce of blue vitriol, and one ounce of rock candy, powdered; stir the mixture until the whole be dissolved, then let it subside twenty-four hours; decant it very steadily, and put it into stone bottles for use.A clove kept in it will prevent it from becoming mouldy.699.Black Ink.—To make one gallon, take of pounded blue nutgalls one pound; copperas, six ounces; gum common, four ounces; soft water, one gallon. Dissolve the gum separately by the fire, and add, after it has boiled a quarter of an hour. Let the ink be boiled over a slow fire three-quarters of an hour.
Needle-work,Fancy-work—Preparations for Writing—Flowers—House Plants—Birds—Gold Fish,&c.
The first and best use of the needle is common or plain sewing. Every woman and girl should understand this art, the beginning of all arts, and the most indispensable to civilization.
It is unnecessary to dilate on the importance of common needlework, and to this female accomplishment, so universally necessary, we shall principally confine our directions.
626.Requisites for Sewing.—A neat work-box well supplied with all the implements required, including knife, scissors (of at least three sizes), needles and pins in sufficient variety, bodkins, thimbles, thread and cotton, bobbins, marking silks, black lead pencils, &c., should be provided, and be furnished with a lock and key, to prevent the contents being thrown into confusion by children or unauthorized intruders.
The lady, being thus provided, and having her materials, implements, &c., placed in order upon her work-table, to the edge of which it is an advantage to have a pincushion affixed by means of a screw—may commence her work, and proceed with it with pleasure to herself, and without annoyance to any visitor who may favor her with a call. We would recommend, wherever practicable, that the work-table should be made of cedar, and that the windows of the working parlor should open into a garden well supplied with odoriferous flowers and plants, the perfume of which will materially cheer the spirits of thoseespecially, whose circumstances compel them to devote the greatest portion of their time to sedentary occupations. If these advantages cannot be obtained, at least the room should be well-ventilated, and furnished with a few cheerful plants, and a well-filled scent-jar. The beneficent Creator intended all his children, in whatever station of life they might be placed, to share in the common bounties of his providence; and when she, who works not for pleasure, but to obtain the means of subsistence, is compelled to seclude herself, for days or weeks together, from the cheering influence of exercise in the open air, it becomes both her duty, and that of those for whom she labors, to secure as much of these advantages, or of the best substitutes for them, as the circumstances of the case will admit.
627.Hemming.—Turn down the raw edge as evenly as possible. Flatten, and be careful, especially in turning down the corners. Hem from right to left; bring the point of the needle from the chest toward the right hand. Fasten the thread without a knot, and when you finish, sew several stitches close together, and cut off the thread.
628.Mantua-maker's Hem.—You lay the raw edge of one of your pieces a little below that of the other; the upper edge is then turned over the other twice, and felled down as strong as possible.
629.Sewing and Felling.—If you have selvages, join them together, and sew them firmly. If you have raw edges, turn down one of the edges once, and the other double the breadth, and then turn half of it back again. This is for the fell. The two pieces are pinned together, face to face, and seamed together—the stitches being in a slanting direction, and just deep enough to hold the separate pieces firmly together. Then flatten the seam with the thumb, turn the work over, and fell it the same as hemming. The thread is fastened by being worked between the pieces, and sewn over.
630.Running.—Takethree threads, leave three, and, in order that the work may be kept as firm as possible, back-stitchoccasionally. If you sew selvages, they must be joined evenly together; but if raw edges, one must be turned down once, and the other laid upon it, but a few threads from the top: in this case, it must be felled afterwards.
631.Stitching.—The work must be as even as possible. Turn down a piece to stitch to; draw a thread to stitch upon, twelve or fourteen threads from the edge. Being thus prepared, you taketwo threads back, and so bring the needle out fromunder two before. Proceed in this manner to the end of the row; and, in joining a fresh piece of thread, take care to pass the needle between the edges, and so bring it out where the last stitch is finished.
632.Gathering.—You begin by taking the article to be gathered, and dividing it into halves, and then into quarters, putting on pins to make the divisions. The piece to which you are intending to gather it, must be gathered about twelve threads from the top, taking three threads on the needle, and leaving four; and so proceeding alternately until one quarter is gathered. Fasten the thread by twisting it round a pin; stroke the gathers, so that they lie evenly and neatly, with a strong needle or pin. You then proceed as before, until all the gathers are gathered. Then take out the pins, and regulate the gathers of each quarter so as to correspond with those of the piece to which it is to be sewed. The gathers are then to be fastened on, one at a time; and the stitches must be in a slanting direction. The part to be gathered must be cut quite even before commencing, or else it will be impossible to make the gathering look well.
633.Double Gathering, or Puffing.—This is sometimes employed in setting on frills, and, when executed properly, has a pretty effect. You first gather the top in the usual way; then, having stroked down the gathers, you gather again under the first gathering, and of such a depth as you wish the puffing to be. You then sew on the first gathering to the gown, frock, &c., you design to trim, at a distance corresponding with the width of the puffing, and the second gathering sewed to the edge, so as to form a full hem. You may make a double hem, if you please, by gathering three times instead of only twice; and one of the hems may be straight, while the other is drawnto one side a little. This requires much exactness in the execution, but, if properly done, it gives a pleasing variety to the work.
634.German Hemming.—Turn down both the raw edges once, taking care so to do it as that both turns may be toward your person; you then lay one below the other, so as that the smooth edge of the nearest does not touch the other, but lies just beneath it. The lower one is then to be hemmed or felled to the piece against which you have laid it, still holding it before you. You are next to open your sleeve, or whatever else you have been employed upon, and, laying the upper fold over the lower, fell it down, and the work is done.
635.Binding.—Various kinds of work have binding set on to them, in preference to hemming them, or working them in herring-bone stitch. Flannel is generally bound, sometimes with a thin tape, made for the purpose, and called "flannel binding." It is also common to bind flannel with sarcenet riband. The binding is so put on as to show but little over the edge on the right side, where it is hemmed down neatly; on the other side it is run on with small stitches.
636.Braiding.—Silk braid looks pretty, and is used for a variety of purposes. In putting it on, it is best to sew it with silk drawn out of the braid, as it is a better match, and the stitches will be less perceived.
637.Marking.—It is of essential importance that clothes should be marked and numbered. This is often done with ink; but as some, persons like to mark with silk, we shall describe the stitch. Two threads are to be taken each way of the cloth, and the needle must be passed three ways, in order that the stitch may be complete. The first is aslant from the person, toward the right hand; the second is downward toward you; and the third is the reverse of the first—that is, aslant from you, toward the left hand. The needle is to be brought out at the corner of the stitch nearest to that you are about to make. The shapes of the letters or figures can be learned from an inspection of any common sampler.
638.Piping.—This is much used in ornamenting children's and other dresses. It is made by enclosing a card of the properthickness in a strip of silk cut crosswise, and must be put on as evenly as possible.
639.Plaiting.—The plaits must be as even as it is possible to place them one against another. In double plaiting, they lie both ways, and meet in the middle.
640.To keep Thread, Sewing-silk, &c.—In making up linen, thread is much preferable to cotton. Sewing-silk should be folded up neatly in wash-leather, and colored threads and cotton in paper, as the air and light are likely to injure them. Buttons, hooks and eyes, and all metal implements, when not in use, should be kept folded up, as exposure to the air not only tarnishes them, but is likely to injure them in a variety of ways.
641.Bedroom Linen.—This includes quilts, blankets, sheets, pillow-covers, towels, table-covers and pincushion-covers.
642.Quilts.—These are of various sizes and qualities, in accordance with the purposes to which they are applied. They are generally made of the outside material and the lining—wadding or flannel being laid between—and stitched in diamonds or other devices. The stitches must pass through the whole, and the edges of the quilt are to be secured by a braiding or binding proper for the purpose. They are best done in a frame.
643.Blankets.—These are generally bought, ready-prepared for use. It is sometimes necessary to work over the edges at the end, which should be done with scarlet worsted, in a very wide kind of button-hole stitch.
644.Sheets.—These are made of fine linen, coarse linen, and cotton-sheeting. Linen sheets are best for summer, and many prefer them at all seasons. If the sheeting is not sufficiently wide for the bed, two lengths must be sewed together. The seam up the middle must be sewed as neatly as possible, and the ends may be either hemmed or seamed: the latter is the preferable method. Sheets and all bedroom linen should be marked and numbered; to add the date of the year is also an advantage.
645.Pillow-cases.—These are made of fine or coarse linen, and sometimes of cotton cloth. The material should be of such a width as to correspond with the length of the pillow. One yard and three nails, doubled and seamed up, is the proper size. One end is seamed up, and the other hemmed with a broad hem, and furnished with strings or buttons as is deemed most convenient. We think the preferable way of making pillow covers is to procure a material of a sufficient width, when doubled, to admit the pillow. The selvages are then sewed together, and the ends seamed and hemmed as before directed. Bolster covers are made in nearly the same manner, only that a round patch is let into one end, and a tape for a slot is run into the other.
646.Towels.—Towels are made of diaper or huckaback, of a quality adapted to the uses to which they are applicable. They should be one yard long and about ten or twelve nails wide. The best are bought single, and are fringed at the ends. Others are neatly hemmed, and sometimes have a tape-loop attached to them, by which they can be suspended against a wall.
647.Dressing Table Covers.—These may be made of any material that is proper for the purpose. Fine diaper generally, but sometimes dimity and muslin are employed, or the table is covered with a kind of Marseilles quilting, which is prepared expressly for the purpose. Sometimes the covers are merely hemmed round, but they look much neater if fringed, or bordered with a moderately full frill. Sometimes a worked border is set on. All depends upon taste and fancy. A neat and genteel appearance, in accordance with the furniture of the apartment, should be especially regarded.
648.Pincushion Covers.—A large pincushion, having two covers belonging to it, should belong to each toilet table. The covers are merely a bag into which the cushion is slipped. They may be either worked or plain; always of white muslin or linen cambric; and should have small tassels at each corner, and a frill or fringe all round.
649.Table Linen.—This department of plain needlework comprises table-cloths, dinner-napkins, and large and small tray napkins.
650.Table-cloths.—These may be purchased either singly, or cut from the piece. In the latter case the ends should be hemmed as neatly as possible, and marked and numbered.
651.Dinner Napkins.—These are of various materials; if cut from the piece, they must be hemmed at the ends the same as table-cloths. Large and small tray napkins and knife-box cloths, are made in the same manner. The hemming of all these should be extremely neat. It is a pretty and light employment for very young ladies; little girls even should do this work, and thus early acquire habits of neatness and usefulness, which will prove useful in after life.
652.Housemaid and Kitchen Linen.—In the housemaid's department, paint cloths, old and soft, and chamber bottle cloths, fine and soft, are to be provided. To these must be added dusters, flannels for scouring, chamber bucket-cloths, which last should be of a kind and color different from everything else. All these must be neatly hemmed and run, or seamed if necessary. Nothing, in a well-directed family, should bear the impress of neglect, or be suffered to assume an untidy appearance.
653.Clothes-bags.—Clothes-bags of different sizes should also be provided, of two yards in length, and either one breadth doubled, in which case only one seam will be required, or of two breadths, which makes the bags more suitable for large articles of clothing. These bags are to be seamed up neatly at the bottom, and to have strings which will draw run in at the top. The best material is canvas, or strong unbleached linen. In the kitchen department, you will require both table and dresser cloths, which should be made as neat as possible.
654.Mending.—In cutting up an old garment, it is a great advantage to have a portion of the same material new. For this reason, when purchasing cloth for a new garment, buy a little additional quantity for repairs, and take care that it is kept for that purpose, and not wasted in any way.
It was formerly the custom with all careful women, when buying a dress, to buy an extra yard for new sleeving. To be sure a gown was then more expensive than now; but it should be remembered, that if six gowns can be bought for the money that used to buy three or four, they cannot be made up in thesame time at home, nor for the same money if put out. Any tolerably handy woman, though she may not choose to venture upon cutting out and making a new dress, may repair one, having the old pattern and lining to work by, and the very creases and stitches for a guide. If, by so doing, a gown will wear half as long again, the price of a little over-quantity at first, and a few hours employed on the work, are well bestowed.
The same remark applies to the garments of men. Unless these be bought ready-made, the pieces should be carefully laid by for repairs. In children's clothing, these alterations and repairs are often needed.
655.Patchwork.—Many improvements may be made in patchwork that most of us have been accustomed to see for years. It is a kind of needlework very interesting for little girls; and old ladies frequently resort to this for amusement by their cosy firesides, during the long winter evenings, when tired of reading.
656.Of the Materials.—The materialsnecessary for patchwork are such portions of wearing apparel, whether cloth, calico, linen, holland, silk, velvet, cotton, &c., such as would otherwise be thrown away, or saved for the rag-man. No matter how small the portion, every scrap has its use. The next necessary article is some stiff paper—old envelopes, backs of letters, brown paper, &c., to form the shapes; lastly, the design—shapes, cut out intin, and the designs themselves.
The materials should be arranged into shades and qualities. After having been cut to required sizes, and the irregularities of the edges neatly repaired, they are ready for use.
657.Patterns.—Thepatternsmay be variedad infinitum, if the person possesses the least talent for drawing; but for the sake of those who may not be able to do this, we submit the following simple and effective designs to be executed in any of the materials.
658.To make the Patchwork.—The pattern should be placed before the person, and the shades being selected, the several pieces arranged so as to form the design, and the edges then neatly sewed together; after which they are either pressed, or ironed, the papers removed, and the lining proceeded with.
When silks and velvets are employed, it improves the effect to combine the two, taking the silk for the lighter, and the velvet for the darker shades; or, as in figures 5, 6, 8, and 11, to have silk for the lighter shades, and two velvets for the others, shaded to pattern.
A very pretty effect is produced by combining Holland and calico, silk and satin, silk or satin and velvet, and rough and fine cloth.
The various articlesthat may be manufactured, are quilts in colored and white calico; anti-macassars in silks; ottomans in silks and velvets, silks and cloth; table-covers in silks and cloth; cushions for chairs or sofas, in silks; and mats, rugs, and carpets, in cloth.
We have seen many useful white quilts for children's cots, made from the cuttings remaining after shirt making. The centre might be of Holland and calico, pattern 10, fig. 5, and then fig. 7, with a fringe border, knitted. Numerous rugs might be made in colored cloths, to look equal to carpets, for poor people, and wear much better.
Figs. 1-6.
Figs. 7-11.
AN ELEGANT MUSNUD FOR A SOFA.
AN ELEGANT MUSNUD FOR A SOFA.
659.The materialsrequired, consist of braid of various hues, purse-silk of different shades, bed-ticking, feathers, down, horse-hair, or worsted ends; the design-shapes, some cord for pipings, the various colored cloths, silks, &c., and a curtain-ring or a piece of cardboard for the centre.
The sizevaries from fifteen to eighteen inches in diameter, according to taste.
The colorscannot be fixed, because it depends much upon taste, but we have made the elegant musnud givenp. 160, by placing cobalt as the right hand centre-piece, then (proceeding from right to left) white, salmon, purple, crimson, amber, pea-green, and madder-brown. The handles are amber, the side brown, and the back purple.
It is better, in combining or arranging all colors for patchwork, to keep as near as possible to the harmony observed by Nature; therefore, to attend to the same order displayed in the case of a refracted ray of light, viz., violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red, adding, in this case, white, to represent the ray in its natural state before refraction or dispersion of its colors took place.
To make the Musnud.—Cut two circles of fifteen or eighteen inches in diameter in bed-ticking, and a strip of the same material three inches deep, and thrice the length of the diameter; make into the usual shape, and stuff with feathers, down, horse-hair, or the refuse ends of worsted. Cut out two handles as in the design, of the same material, and sew them on. Rub theinsideof the bed-ticking with a lump of bees'-wax previous to making up the musnud, (as it prevents the feathers and dust working through,) and tack the centre down.
Cut out the back in a piece of purple moreen, or any other material, then cut four strips of brown cashmere, each three inches deep and five long, join these neatly together to form the side, and braid the following design in bright yellow on it, finishing the veining of the leaves in chain-stitch with purse silk.
The wedge-shaped pieces should now be cut out in the various colored cloths, &c., and braided as in the design, four being braided with floral, and four with fancy designs. Each piece should measure nine inches in length and six inches and three-quarters in breadth at the outer part. The centre piece should measure two inches and a quarter in diameter, be of a dark brown, and braided with a bright yellow star.
To cover the musnud, sew the pieces neatly together, and cover the joining with narrow strips of dark brown cloth, braided in bright yellow to resemble a chain; cover the curtain ring, or circular piece of card-board, with the central piece, and sew it on.
Now affix the pipings cut crossways out of brown cloth, and cover the handles with amber-colored material, braid and pipe them; join the back to the side with an intervening piping, slip the musnud into the lower covering, and sew on the top.
Inbraidingthe patterns, the purple ground should have a scarlet braid.
The brown, yellow.
In finishing the braiding, it will require the occasional aid of some chain-stitch work in purse-silk, for the veinings of the leaves, stamens, tendrils, &c.
Note.—This particularity in arrangingcolors and patternsmay seem very trifling to some people; but rules are required in all finished work. Habits of attention are an important part of education, or, rather, are indispensable to a well-trained mind. Therefore, we say, be particular to do all you undertake in a proper manner; and if you are makingpatchwork, aim at perfection of its kind. But never fall in love with your own creations, and worship them as idols; and never neglect common household duties for fanciful needlework. Remember, also, thatreadingis more refining to the taste than finger-work; and that toread wellis a much higher accomplishment than any mere skill in counting stitches and matching shades.
660.Useful Patterns for working in Cord, Silk, and Muslin.—These are what are called "endless patterns," to be worked in cord.
These fashions for embroidering the borders of cloaks, pelisses, sacques, &c., on merino, or fine cassimere, or flannel, with silk, are to be wrought with coarse or fine silk, or with a mixture of the two, according to the degree of intricacy or simplicity in the parts of the pattern.
We give two designs; from these, other combinations may be made, to suit the fancy of the embroiderer.
'Two Endless patterns' for borders of cloaks etc.
661.—In these patterns for embroidering the borders of cloaks, pelisses, sacques, &c., on merino, or fine cassimere, or flannel, with silk, are to be wrought with coarse or fine silk, or with a mixture of the two, according to the degree of intricacy or simplicity in the parts of the pattern.
These patterns are equally serviceable for muslin, or any other material.
No. 1, to be worked on fine flannel or merino, with a mixture of coarse and fine silk.
No. 2, to be worked on flannel or merino, with fine silk.
Embroidery patters for cloaks etc.No. 1. No. 2.
No. 1. No. 2.
662.Sewing on glazed Calico.—By passing a cake of white soap a few times over a piece of glazed calico, or any other stiffened material, the needle will penetrate as easily as through any other kind of work.
663.To make Glass Jars to look like China.—Paint figures to resemble those in China jars, and cut them out so that none of the white paper remains; then, with thick gum-arabic water, fasten them to the inside of the glass. Let them stand to dry for twenty-four hours. Then wipe off with a wet cloth the gum-arabic on the glass between the prints, and let them stand a few hours longer. Then take white wax and flake white, ground very fine, and melt them together. With a japanning-brush go over all the glass above the prints: done in this manner, they will hold water. For a blue ground, use white wax and Prussian blue, ground fine; for red, wax and vermilion, or carmine; for green, wax and verdigris; for chocolate, wax and burnt umber.
664.To give Plaster Figures the appearance of Marble.—Put into a well-glazed earthen vessel, four pounds of clear water and one ounce of pure curd soap, grated; add one ounce of white bees'-wax, cut into thin slices. Let them dissolve over a slow fire. As soon as the whole is incorporated, it is fit for use. Let the figure be thoroughly dried, then suspend it by a twine, and dip it once into the varnish; upon taking it out, the varnish will appear to have been absorbed; in two minutes' time, stir the compost, and dip it a second time, which is generally sufficient. Cover it carefully from the dust for a week; then, with a soft muslin rag, rub the figure gently, when a most brilliant gloss will be produced.
665.To improve Plaster Casts.—Brush them over with size, and, when dry, varnish them with copal varnish.
666.To dissolve Putty.—To remove old putty from glazed frames, brush over it pearlash and slaked stone-burnt lime, mixed to the thickness of paint.
Jewelry box in Anglo-Japanese style
667. This elegant and most useful work is very easy in its execution, while the means and appliances for its performance are within the reach of every one. The materials are simply yellow withered leaves, a little dissolved gum, black paint, and copal varnish: while the objects to be ornamented may be a box, cupboard, table, &c., in fact, any old furniture that has been rendered unsightly by age or long use. A plain deal box, costing about a shilling, may by this process, so far as the outside goes, be converted into a costly-looking dressing-case. Anexquisite chess-board may be made, with very little skill, from a square piece of deal. Flower-pots, pole-screens, folding and hand-screens, may all be decorated in this manner, and, from untidy-looking lumber, may be converted into articles of use, elegance, and beauty; and this at a merely nominal expense,tastebeing the chief requisite in the production. The employment forms one of the most agreeable and pleasing amusements for summer days and winter evenings; in the summer, giving a purpose and an aim to many a joyous ramble, for in these desultory walks a goodly collection may be made of Nature's ambered jewels.
All leaves that are small, of uneven shape, and serrated at the edges, are well adapted for this work. As they are collected, they should be placed between sheets of paper, but not close together, then pressed by placing a board on the top, with a weight upon it, to express any moisture that may be therein, and to render them quite flat. In the autumn, the sweet-scented geranium-leaves, the maple, thorn, chrysanthemum, wild parsley, fern, and a multitude of others, may be found, including the smaller sycamore and small vine-leaves; but they must all have turned of a golden hue, or reddish-tinted yellow. Prepare the article to be ornamented, thus:—First rub the surface smoothly down with sand-paper; then coat it over with black paint, which can be procured, ready-mixed, at any oil-shop; when dry, rub it down smoothly with pumice-stone, and give two more coats. When these are dry, arrange the leaves on the surface in a careless manner, but not in groups, unless preferred. Butterflies drawn, and colored yellow with gamboge, or cut out of prints, and then colored, may be stuck at different spaces with advantage; but there should be no other color than the brown and different tints of yellow in the leaves. Gum the wrong side of the leaf, and press it on in its appointed place with a hard tuft of wadding, fastened tightly up in a piece of silk. Continue this with the whole of the leaves; and when they are all gummed on, dissolve some gelatine or isinglass in warm water, and while rather warm, brush it well over every portion of the work, using the brush entirely one way, not forward and back. When dry, give the work three coats of the best copal varnish, letting the article remain a day or two between each coat. This process, though elaborate in detail, is easily and even quickly done, and will well repay any trouble that may be taken, as, with a renewed coatof varnish every five or six years, it will remain, as long as the wood will hold together, as bright in appearance as when first finished.
668.Sealing Wax Varnish.—For fancy work, this has, of late years, been much used, and if well applied, and the wax good, will be a very good imitation of India Japan. The method of making the varnish or japan is very easy, being simply reducing the wax to a coarse powder, and pouring the best spirits of wine on it in a bottle, and letting it gradually dissolve without heat, shaking the bottle occasionally till it is all dissolved. A two-ounce stick of the best wax will be enough for a quarter of a pint of spirits. Recollect that much depends on the goodness of the sealing-wax; and that you may vary the color of the varnish by using different colored wax. As this varnish dries very quickly, it should not be made until it is wanted for use.
669.Method of preparing the Composition used for Colored Drawings and Prints, so as to make them resemble Paint in Oil.—Take of Canada Balsam, one ounce; spirit of turpentine, two ounces; mix them together. Before this composition is applied, the drawing or print should be sized with a solution of isinglass in water, and when dry, apply the varnish with a camel-hair brush.
670.Oil and Water Gilding.—In oil gilding, the frame is first covered with a composition of whiting and parchment size, then with a coating of "oil gold size," (a kind of varnish,) upon which when nearly dry, gold leaf is applied.
671.In Water Gilding, a size mixed withwateris used. Parts of the frame are burnished, other parts leftdead. This is the most beautiful and expensive style of gilding, but it does not bear washing as oil gilding does.
["The Carver and Gilder," published by Knight, furnishes much useful information on this subject.]
672.To mount Prints or Maps.—Upon a table, floor, or board, stretch a piece of calico or smooth canvas, by first fixing it with tacks along one side, then straining it tightly with one hand, and driving the tacks with the other: nail the remaining edges, leaving no wrinkles on the surface. Paste the back of the printor map, fold it together, and let it remain until the paper issoaked, then open it, and place it evenly on the canvas, cover it with a sheet of clean paper, and beginning in the middle, rub it down carefully with the hand, going from the centre all round to the edges, until all the air is excluded, and the paper adheres closely to the canvas. When quite dry, with a large camel-hair brush lay on a coating of parchment size, repeating this when dry: then varnish with mastic varnish. Parchment size is made by boiling parchment cuttings in water, until it forms a jelly when cold. Mastic varnish may be procured at oil and color-shops.
673.New Camera Lucida.—Sir John Robinson devised, a few years since, a cheap and easily-used camera lucida, applicable to the delineation of flowers and other small objects. A piece of plate glass is made to stand in a vertical position by means of a support. It rests on a table covered with white paper, and the object is placed on the paper on one side of the glass. On looking down from that side of the glass diagonally, an image of the object is seen on the paper on the other side, and a drawing of it can be readily taken.
674.Varnish for Oil Pictures.—According to the number of your pictures, take the whites of the same number of eggs, and an equal number of pieces of sugar-candy, the size of a hazel-nut, dissolved, and mix it with a tea-spoonful of brandy; beat the whites of your eggs to a froth, and let it settle; take the clear, put it to your brandy and sugar, mix them well together, and varnish over your pictures with it.
This is much better than any other varnish, as it is easily washed off when your pictures want cleaning again.
675.To take Impressions of Butterflies' Wings.—Lay the wings gently on paper, wet with gum arabic water, and nearly dry; a copy will be left when the wing is removed, but inferior in beauty to the wing itself. It is better to gum the wings themselves on paper, and paint the body of the fly in its natural position.
676.To preserve the Eggs of Birds.—First clean them of their contents. This may be done with the larger eggs by making a hole on one side large enough to admit a quill, and shaking outthe contents. Then wash them well with a solution of camphor, not too strong, or it will make them brittle. When dry, fasten them with gum on the side in which the hole was made to a piece of card board, and write the name under each. As the colors of many of them are perishable, to preserve them give them a slight coating of varnish. The best varnish for this purpose is isinglass dissolved in gin. In cleaning the smaller eggs, make a hole at each end, a little to one side, and blow them. The camphor solution need not be used.
677.To make Artificial Coral.—Melt together four parts of yellow resin and one part of vermilion. Dip twigs, cinders or stones in this, and when dry they will resemble coral.
678.An Excellent Pen-Wiper for Steel Pens.—Fill a short, wide-mouthed vial with shot, the smaller the better. Whenever it is necessary to clean the pen, rub it up and down in the shot. This is much more effectual than cloth wipers, and the shot will last a life-time.
679.To preserve Steel Pens.—Metallic pens may be preserved from rusting by throwing into the bottle containing the ink a few nails, or broken pieces of steel pens, if not varnished. The corrosive action of the acid which the ink contains is expended on the iron so introduced, and will not therefore affect the pen.
680.Black Paper for drawing Patterns.—Mix and smooth lamp-black and sweet oil; with a bit of flannel cover a sheet or two of large writing-paper with this mixture; then dab the paper dry with a bit of fine linen, and keep it by for using in the following manner:—Put the black side on another sheet of paper, and fasten the corners together with small pins. Lay on the back of the black paper the pattern to be drawn, and go over it with the point of a steel pencil; the black paper will then leave the impression of the pattern on the under sheet, on which you must draw it with ink.
If you draw patterns on cloth or muslin, do it with a pen dipped in a bit of stone blue, a bit of sugar, and a little water, mixed smooth in a teacup, in which it will be always ready for use, if fresh: wet to a due consistence as wanted.
681.To make Transparent Paper for Drawing.—Tracing paper is readily made by taking a sheet of very thin silk, or other paper, and rubbing it over gently with some soft substance, filled with a mixture of equal parts of drying oil, and oil of turpentine, which, being suspended and dried, will be fit for use in a few days; or it may be had at any of the shops. Lay this transparent material on the print or drawing to be transferred, and, with a sharp black lead pencil, trace the outlines exactly as they appear through the paper. If more permanent or stronger lines are wished, ink mixed with ox-gall will be necessary to make it adhere to the oiled surface.
682.Transparent Paper.—Wet some fine paper with a feather on both sides with a thin layer of rosin, dissolved in spirits of wine. It will then serve to put over anything you wish to take off.
683.Method of using Tracing Paper.—Take a piece of the size required, and rub it equally over, on one side, with black lead, reduced to a powder, till the surface will not readily soil a finger; then lay a piece of white paper with the leaded side of this paper next to it, under the print, and securing them firmly together with pins at the corners, proceed to take the outlines with a blunt point, and some degree of pressure, which will transfer the lead to the clean paper precisely in the direction the point passed over the print; this may be corrected with the black lead pencil, and cleansed of any soil by the crumbs of stale bread.
684.Method of setting Pencil Drawings.—A solution of alum water, in which the drawing is to be dipped (not washed on with a brush, as it would smear) will answer the purpose extremely well.
685.Wash for preserving Drawings made with Black Lead Pencil, or with hard Black Chalk.—A thin wash of isinglass will fix either black lead or hard black chalk, &c., so as to prevent their rubbing out; or the same effect may be produced by the simple application of skimmed milk. The best way of using the latter, is, to lay the drawing flat upon the surface of the milk, and then, taking it up expeditiously, to hang it by the one corner till it drains and dries. The milk must be perfectly free from cream, or it will grease the paper.
686.To make Red Sealing Wax.—To every ounce of shell-lac take half an ounce each of resin and vermilion, all reduced to a fine powder. Melt them over a moderate fire; and when thoroughly incorporated and sufficiently cool, form the composition into what are called sticks. On account of the dearness of shell-lac, seed-lac is usually substituted. A more ordinary sort, but sufficiently good for most occasions, may be made by mixing equal parts of resin and shell-lac with two parts of red lead and one of vermilion. In a still commoner sort, the vermilion is often entirely omitted.
687. Mix in six drachms of distilled water, two drachms of sub-nitrate of silver, and two drachms of gum-arabic. For the mordant, mix with four ounces of water, half an ounce of gum-arabic, and half an ounce of sub-carbonate of soda. The article to be marked should first be wetted with the mordant, and pressed smooth, and should be thoroughly dried before it is written upon. The mark should be exposed to the light for some time, to become black.
688.Permanent Red Ink for marking Linen.—This useful preparation, which was contrived by Dr. Smellie, of Edinburgh, who was originally a printer in that city, may be used either with types, a hair pencil, or even with a pen: Take half an ounce of vermillion, and a drachm of salt of steel; let them be finely levigated with linseed oil, to the thickness or limpidity required for the occasion. This has not only a very good appearance, but will, it is said, be found perfectly to resist the effects of acids, as well as of all alkaline leys. It may be made of other colors, by substituting the proper articles instead of vermillion.
689.An Indelible Ink for marking Linen.—Pour a little aqua-fortis into a cup, and add to it a small piece of pure silver; when the effervescence ceases, filter the solution through a piece of blotting-paper, and put it into a small phial; then add to it a little gum-arabic and a little of the paint, called sap-green. After the whole is perfectly combined it is then fit for use.
690.To take out Writing.—When recently written, ink may be completely removed by the oxymuriatic acid (concentrated and in solution). The paper is to be washed over repeatedly with the acid; but it will be necessary afterwards to wash it also with lime-water, for the purpose of neutralizing any acid that may be left on the paper, and which would considerably weaken it. But if the ink have beenlongwritten, it will have undergone such a change as to prevent the preceding process from taking effect. It ought therefore to be washed with liver of sulphur (sulphuret of ammonia), before the oxymuriatic acid is applied. It may be washed with a hair pencil.
691.To make Old Writing legible.—Take six bruised gall-nuts, and put them to a pint of strong white wine; let it stand in the sun for forty-eight hours. Dip a brush in it and wash the writing, and by the color you will discover whether the mixture is strong enough of the galls.
692.Sympathetic Ink.—With a clean pen write on paper with a solution of muriate of cobalt, so diluted with water, that the writing when dry will be invisible. On gently warming the paper, the writing will appear of a blue or greenish color, which will disappear again when cool. A solution of muriate of copper forms a yellow and sympathetic ink, and acetate of cobalt a rose or purple. If a landscape be drawn representing a winter scene, the paper being overlaid where the foliage should be with the green sympathetic ink, then, on gently warming the drawing, it will represent summer. Sky and water may be drawn with the blue, and standing corn with the yellow ink.
693.Blue Ink.—Dissolve a small quantity of indigo in a little oil of vitriol, and add a sufficient quantity of water, in which gum-arabic has been dissolved.
694.Yellow Ink.—Dissolve gamboge in a solution of gum-arabic.
695.Scarlet Ink.—Dissolve vermilion in a solution of gum-arabic.
696.Red Ink.—Boil one ounce of Brazil wood in half-a-pint of water for a quarter of an hour; add to the decoction three drachms of gum-arabic, and an ounce of alum.
697.Green Ink.—Verdigris, two ounces; cream of tartar, one ounce; water, half a pint; boil till reduced to one half, and filter.
698.Excellent Writing Ink.—Boil eight ounces of galls in coarse powder, and four ounces of logwood in thin chips, in twelve pints of rain water, for one hour: strain the liquor, and add four ounces of green copperas, three ounces of powdered gum-arabic, one ounce of blue vitriol, and one ounce of rock candy, powdered; stir the mixture until the whole be dissolved, then let it subside twenty-four hours; decant it very steadily, and put it into stone bottles for use.
A clove kept in it will prevent it from becoming mouldy.
699.Black Ink.—To make one gallon, take of pounded blue nutgalls one pound; copperas, six ounces; gum common, four ounces; soft water, one gallon. Dissolve the gum separately by the fire, and add, after it has boiled a quarter of an hour. Let the ink be boiled over a slow fire three-quarters of an hour.