| Materials Required: | Some scraps of chamois skin in the natural or another colour, |
| 1 skein No. 4-0 beads in a colour that will harmonise with the leather, | |
| 1 E bead of the same colour, | |
| A spool of letter A sewing silk the colour of the leather, | |
| A No. 11 needle. |
Fig. 70 Fig. 71
One of the simplest and prettiest gifts you can make is this beaded knife case. If you have made the Indian costume described in Chapter V. you will have plenty of scraps of chamois left. Otherwise you can buy a small chamois skin in the natural colour, or, if you prefer another colour, skins of beautiful tints may be bought. Red is very effective and not as costly as some others. In buying a skin, choose a colour that you will not tire of, for you will be able to make so many small things of it that it will be well to have a colour you will always like; either red or green or a soft brown that is not too light will be a good choice.
From a piece of cardboard cut the patterns shown in Figs. 70 and 71. If the case is for a penknife, the larger one (Fig. 70) should measure one inch wide by four and one-eighth inches long, and the other should be the same width but two and three-quarters inches long. Cut two pieces of chamois from these patterns, lay the smaller one against the larger, with the rounded ends of both together and the edges of the sides fitted evenly, and baste them so. Now start at the top left-hand edge of the smaller piece, where it comes against the edge of the larger one, and sew the edges together with the stitch shown in Fig. 72. This is how it is done: Thread a No. 11 needle with sewing silk the colour of the chamois. Fasten the end by sewing through and through the edges of the case. String three beads and make one over-and-over stitch through both edges of the case, bringing the needle out at about one-eighth of an inch from where it started. Run the needle up through the third bead, string two more, make another stitch, run the needle up through the last bead strung, and so on. When you have gone all the way around the double edge, continue the stitch across the top of the smaller piece and around the rounded top of the larger. Next a loop must be made to fasten the case. Hold a small pencil at the top of the larger piece of chamois close to the rounded edge, and, starting about an eighth of an inch from the centre of this end, fasten an end of a needleful of sewing silk; take a stitch around the pencil and in at one-eighth of an inch the other side of the centre. Take six or eight stitches back and forth in this way. This will make a loop, which should be covered with buttonhole stitches. Now slip the knife into the case, turn the flap (the rounded edge of the larger piece) down and mark the place to sew the large bead over which the loop is to fit, in order to fasten it. Sew an E bead the colour of the smaller beads at this place, bring the loop over it, and the case is complete.
Fig. 72