| Materials Required: | A piece of flowered silk or ribbon 5 inches long by 3 ½ inches wide, |
| A piece of plain-coloured ribbon the same size, | |
| A piece of white flannel 10 inches long by 7 inches wide, | |
| ½ yard of narrow ribbon the colour of the silk, | |
| A spool of sewing silk the same colour, | |
| A piece of bristol board 10 by 7 inches. |
The Shakers make needle books of fine straw cloth, that are so dainty and yet simple that they are well worth copying. Fig. 73 shows the shape in which the cover of the book is cut. It may be made of two pieces of bristol board; one covered with flowered silk or ribbon, the other with plain silk that will harmonise with the flowered. The two are then basted together and sewed over and over. Two pieces of flannel are cut the same shape, but about half an inch smaller all the way around. These are laid inside the cover, which is then bent exactly at its centre so that both ends will come evenly together. A hole is punched through both sides of the cover and the flannel at about half an inch in from the edge and quarter of an inch from the doubled middle of the cover. Another hole is made on the other side of it and a narrow ribbon threaded in a bodkin, or ribbon needle, is brought in through one hole, across the back and out through the other. The ends are then tied in a pretty bow (see Fig. 74), which finishes it.
Fig. 73 Fig. 74
Sweet Clover Bags
| Materials Required: | All the white sweet clover that a little child can gather, |
| Some pretty cotton cloth, | |
| A needle and thread, | |
| Scissors. |
Did you know that the white sweet clover that grows in long spike-shaped sprays on low bushes along the wayside is even more fragrant when it is dried? Gather some this summer, and spread it where it will dry in the sun, turning it often. Strip the blossoms from the stems, and when a rainy day comes you can make with them some gifts that will be welcome wherever they go. Keep the flowers in a covered box till you are ready to use them, then make linen, or even pretty white cotton, bags about ten inches long by six wide. Fill them with the dried clover, sew up the ends securely, and they will be ready to send to grandmothers, aunts and cousins, to make their linen closets fragrant. A little pillow of white cotton filled with these flowers, with a pretty outer case of fine linen, makes a delightful gift for an invalid friend.