If the reader is not fortunate in the possession of some accommodating female relative who will help him out by kindly making the trunks, he may take an old pair of loose-fitting
Knickerbockers,
and cut the legs off, just below the thigh; then cut slits near the bottom, through which he may run a piece of tape, as the pucker-string is run in the top of a marble-bag.
To put on these trunks he must turn them
Wrong Side Out
and put them on upside down, then fasten the string as high up on his leg as it will go, after which he can reach down and turn the breeches up until they come to the proper place around his waist. It will then be seen that they are not only right side out, but that the cloth folds over and conceals the pucker-strings as neatly as if the trunks were made by a tailor.
Take an Old Soft Felt Hat
(Fig. 275) and soak it well in warm or hot water, then put it over the blunt end of a bedpost, or any similar object, and firmly but steadily pull down the rim (Fig. 276), until the crown is given a conical form (Fig. 277). If you pull too hard you will run the post through the hat; but with a little care you may shape any old soft felt hat into the typical head-gear of the clown (Figs. 277, 278).
Your father’s, big brother’s, or uncle’s