| Materials Required: | A piece of white chalk, |
| A piece of sheet lead, 2 by 2 inches, and as | |
| thick as a fifty-cent piece, | |
| 3 or 4 strands of scarlet raffia, | |
| A tapestry needle, | |
| A gimlet. |
This is a delightful game for a rainy day, and the preparations for it are very simple. In fact, when you have fashioned the disk of lead with a raffia covering, there is nothing to provide but a piece of chalk. You can buy, from almost any plumber or tinsmith, for a few cents, a scrap of sheet lead two or three inches square and about as thick as a half dollar. Upon this piece of lead lay a half dollar, draw around it with a pencil and cut out the circle with a sharp, strong pair of scissors. It cuts as easily as cardboard of the same thickness. Bore a hole one-quarter of an inch across through the centre of the disk with a gimlet or sharp-pointed awl. It is possible to use the disk just as it is, but it makes less noise if it is covered with raffia. To do this, thread a worsted (or tapestry) needle with raffia—the grass-like material that you have seen used for making baskets. Tie the other end of the raffia through the disk, as shown in Fig. 12 A, put the needle down through the hole in the centre, up through the loop in the raffia (see Fig. 12 B) and pull your strand up close to the edge. This will make a stitch like that shown in Fig. 12 C—what sailors call a half hitch and mothers a buttonhole stitch. Make more of these stitches around the disk, until finally it is entirely covered (see Fig. 13). If the strand of raffia gives out before the disk is covered sew the short end through the last two or three stitches on the edge of the disk and start a new piece by bringing the end through the last stitch on the edge. The short ends of both strands should be covered with the buttonhole stitches as you go on.
Fig. 12 A
Fig. 12 B
Fig. 12 C
Fig. 13