The Amiable Pussy Cats.
Doesn’t your pussy cat always like to be near at hand when the table is laid for tea, on the chance of perhaps getting a saucer of milk? Of course, you never let pussy himself sit on the table, but it would be rather uncommon, wouldn’t it, to have a cosy on the table with two dear little pussies worked on it like the one in the picture? I think Mother would like it, too, don’t you?
The cosy cover in our picture was made of white Hardanger canvas, and is not fastened to the tea cosy itself, but is made loose, so that it can be taken off and washed. Red “Bright-eye” thread was used for working the cats.
HOW THEY LOOK ON THE COSY.
You will want to make it the right size for Mother’s tea cosy, won’t you? Well, you will be able to get it exactly the size, if you first take a piece of paper, lay the cosy on it, and draw round the cosy with a pencil, then cut the paper out on the pencil line.
This gives you the shape of the side of the cosy, but the material will need to be cut larger than this to allow for a seam and a hem across the bottom, so take another piece of paper, and using the piece you have already cut as a pattern, cut the side out again, this time allowing an extra quarter of an inch all round the curved edge for the seam, and an inch along the straight edge for the hem.
Now that you have a pattern, cut out two pieces of canvas exactly this shape, and you can commence to make up your cosy cover.
The hems at the bottom of the cosy have to be hem-stitched, so you had better pull the threads out for this first. Measure each side up 1¾ inches from the straight edge and draw out four threads.
Directions for the simple hemstitching used are given on [page 30], but before you do this part you must work your cats and join the two sides together, so that you can turn up your hem all along both sides evenly, and not have to join the hem after they are turned up.
Work your cats in cross-stitch. This stitch was described on [page 25], so that if you don’t know how to do it, just turn to this page and see how it is done.
You will be able to count the crosses from the drawing you have of the two cats. The lowest cross of the tail of the cat sitting down should come six threads above the open threads for your hem; this will help you in starting to work the design. Work two cats on each side of the cosy.
THE DESIGN FOR COUNTING THE CROSSES.
When you have finished the pussy cats, place the two sides together, with the right sides facing one another, and sew round the curved edges with a run and back-stitch, then oversew along the cut edges to make them neat.
THE CATS WORKED ON PENELOPE CANVAS.
Now turn up your hem and hemstitch it, then turn the cosy on the right side, and sew a piece of red cord over the seam of the cosy, making three little loops in the centre at the top. You must use red cotton to sew on the cord, and take tiny hemming stitches that will not show too much.
If you don’t want to make your cosy cover of canvas, but would like to use linen or some other material, you can work the cats on Penelope canvas, tacked over the material, as you learnt to do when making the Feeder.
What a Contrast!
Lazy Lizzie uses pins
When she sees a tear!
Her buttons lie upon the floor,
The lace is off her pinafore;
And don’t the people stare!
Hilda is industrious,
Nothing ever tires her;
She simply gets her sewing-box,
And quickly mends her pretty frocks;
And everyone admires her!
F. K.
[The Orchid Flower Bag.]
Have you been trying very hard to think of something else that you can make for Mother? I wonder if she has a Stocking Bag? If not, you could easily make her one of these, couldn’t you, and I know she would like to have one, especially if she has several little boys and girls to mend stockings for. If you make her a lovely big bag like the one in the picture, she will be able to keep all the stockings that need mending together, and will know exactly where to find them when mending day comes round.
This Bag will hold a lot of stockings.
It will be best to make the bag of a material that will wash nicely. A good strong Holland or Crash would be very suitable. You will want a strip of material about a yard long and fifteen inches wide to make a good-sized bag.
THE ORCHID DESIGN FOR THE BAG.
The pretty little flowers across the bag are worked in cross-stitch, and you have an enlarged diagram of the design which you will be able to count the crosses from.
Use “Bright-eye” embroidery thread for working the flowers. A purple thread would look pretty, but perhaps you know another colour that Mother is very fond of, and would like to use that.
You must work the designs before you make up the bag. Fold the strip of material in half and tack a strip of Penelope Canvas across about four inches up from the fold. Directions for working cross-stitch over Penelope Canvas are given on [page 27], in case you want to know how this is done.
A ROW OF ORCHIDS WORKED ON CANVAS.
How to make up a bag, too, was described on [page 11], and you can make this one in exactly the same way. You will notice that this one has a cord threaded through rings outside of the bag instead of through a runner at the top though, and if you like this way better you can sew twelve white bone rings at equal distances apart round the outside of the bag just at the bottom of the hem, and put the cord through these. You will want about two yards of coloured cord, in the same shade as the thread you used for working the flowers. Thread the cord twice round the bag through the rings, join it together, and your bag is complete.