Fashion and Things Feminine.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 5, Issue 193, 21 July 1916, Page 3 (Supplement)

Fashion and Things Feminine.

By IDA MELLER -

A SMART COSTUME,

There is generally one particular fashion that stands out among others as the lead of the season, and the smart woman lurries to adopt it. At one time it was the full length, slim fitting coat of velvet or seal plush, with curved corners, that carried all before it; this season it is the threequarter coat with ample spring from the waist that leads the way. and this is a coat that besides being a thing to itself, to be worn over any skirt, also forms part of a tailormade cosume. and is of the same material as the skirt itself. It is a compromise, as it were, between the full length coat and the short, little coat that reaches only to the waist or a trifle below, and is certainly a Very striking fashion, yet simple withal. The smartest models are fur-trimmed at the hem, neck, and wrists; others are content with a mere band of fur at the neek. In the fashionable costume illustrated is seen the very latest style referred to, for the development of which green cloth may be suggested, with military of black silk braid across the coat bodice, and a thick, round collar and cuffs of black astrachan or astrachan cloth.

Xo. 1948 A hiuft to correspond sV.ouid complete the fur set, and the "outtons 011 the bodice might be of braid or fur. The semi-fit of the bodice and flow of the skirt of the coat are typical of to-day's mode. The sxlrt worn beneath the coat is quite plain and of a smart, becoming length without being too short. The high-crowned hat, that has created a stir among the feminine world this season, has originality and, by many, is regarded as a welcome change from the flat crush-hat that has flattened the hair of tho modern girl for months past. The novelty of the new hat rests in the "waist" of the crown, the shape of which strcngly suggests a beaver rid-ing-hat, but the brim is of the standout kind and very shallow, or it may be inclined to curve downwards. The liat illustrated expresses the latest mode and is very chic and becoming. It is of black velvet, trimmed with a draped band of satin ribbon, drawn through a green mo-tiier-of-pearl buckle in front. Buckle trimmings are very fashionable on millinery. The buckles are sometimes of veivet or broche, sometimes of oxydised or dull gold-col-oured metal.

A PRACTICAL HOME-MADE SKIRT A good pattern of a skirt is generally useful to the home dressmak-

er_ and a very smart, practical model is shown in the accompanying illustration It is a skirt that suits all types of figure, and the plain front

- Copyright.

and back panels and pleated sides will be fcand particularly becoming. The skirt fits well at the waist, but produces a nice flow at the foot. It is a four-gore pattern, and to make it, about 3% yards of 30-incli material will be required. The pattern is very well suited to this width of stuff, as will be seen by tlie diagram, as well as to the more ordinary Vlinch skirt material.

The paper pattern is in four pieces, and includes one side-gore, half the front, and half the back panel, and half the two-piece belt. The latter trims the sides of the waist oniv, and apparently holds the pleats in place. The narrow diagram indicates the material folded in half lengthwise, and on it should be disposed the front and back patterns, the straight edges of each laid to the fold, to avoid centre seams. The rest of the material, as indicated by the wider diagram, should be opened out to its full width and doubled, and on it should be laid t"he patterns of sidegore and belt, taking care that the straight edge of side-gore ts parallel with the selvedge and is cut on the straight. The side-gore and belt patterns must each be cut out in duplicate

In making up the skirt, a placket should be arranged at the left of front panel (or back, if preferred). The waistbelt at this place snould be 'snapped" to the skirt, •while elsewhere it must be stitched to the material beneath. It is trimmed at each point with a button and "blind" buttonhole. DRESS PATTERN'S Dress patterns are so invaluable to the amateur dressmaker, that those possessed should be cherished and safeguarded from destruction. Many patterns are so carelessly or roughly handled that they are quickly torn, they are crushed up and hurriedly pushed into an envelope "anyhow," or they are not even given the care of .a cover but are thrust into a drawer, with the result that bits or a pattern get separated one from the other and there is no complete pattern when the same is required for use

A pattern, after being used, should be carefully folded up and put, complete, Into a large envelope on which the subject of the pattern should be written > so that the owner knows at a glance what the envelope contains and no time is wasted in opening several envelopes before coming to the right one. A special place should, of course, be reserved for the paper patterns, and they should always be replaced there after use. If a pattern is torn, it should be repaired at once with a piece of stamp paper.

Another thing: When piecing together a dress pattern, it is a good plan to number each'piece plainly with a red or blue pencil, as this will save much time and trouble in identifying stray pieces.

PRESERVING THE SKIN* FROM WRINKLES.

Hovering over a hot stove to cook for several hours, on and off, during the day, will surely wrinkle the skin unless care be taken to prevent it. Every night the face should be cleansed with a softening cream, then massage should be applied for ten minutes with a skin food. Wipe off any cream that is not absorbed, dust the face with ground oatmeal, and in the morning bathe with soft water.

SCRAP BOOKS FOR WOUNDED SOLDIERS.

Children, as well as their elders, can all help in making handy little scrap-books for soldiers in hospitals —books that will help to while away the moments pleasantly, and bring a smile to the faces of our wounded heroes.

The books must be quite light i' weight, so that they can easily be held up, and should be made of brown paper, while the contents should comprise comic pictures and jokes cut from magazines.

The most convenient size for the scrap-book is about 10V& inches long, by 9V* inches wide, and an ordinary-sized sheet of brown paper, folded four times, should make a nice little scrap-book light to hold, and containing 16 sheets. When all the pages are filled, and the book is finished, a ribbon should be tied round the "hinge" of the book.

The outer page or cover should be made as pretty as possible, with the help of a coloured picture and, possibly, lour small centre pictures for the corners, and it goes without saying that the book must be kept clean, and all the pictures and jokes must be pasted in neatly and with an eye to correct line.

Children should begin at once collecting from any available source ail the jokes and amusing pictures the;, can muster for the making of albums for the cheer of our wounded; and they will also, no doubt, be glad to copy the idea of brown-paper scrap, books for their own use filling them with pictures from Christmas cards and torn rhyme-books, and with funny or pretty little verses. And they should also bear in mind that books of the sort would carry joy to tiie hearts of some poor little children in homes where luxuries ara unknown. THREE BELGIAN" RECIPES. The Belgian women are very good cooks, and some of their recipes nre w< 11 worth noting. The following, for instance, have been given to me by a little Belgian housewife, whose cookery is most excellent. The weights slated are sometimes rather vague (I give them in her own words), but the recipes, on the whole, are sufficiently definite to be worth passing on. Currant Bread.—This bread, made from the recipe appended, is very much richer and more solid than the ordinary currant loaf, and cuts like a calv«. The ingredients are: 21bs. of flour, nearly of butter, 2 eggs, a

"handful" of currants or raisins, % pint of milk, three-halfpennyworth of yeast, a "little" white sugar, and a pinch of salt. Mix all to a paste, lightly, and set the mixture in a pan before the fire to rise. When slightly risen, kned all again and put the paste in a tin and let it rise for half an hour. Then cook it for threequarters of an hour in the oven. To give it a good colour, it should be brushed over with white of egg before being baked.

Note.—Mix the yeast with a little warm, not hot milk, before adding it to the other ingredients

Rabbit Pate. —Remove the meat from the bones of a rabbit "and add to it lib. of smoked bacon, one cooked apple, cored and peeled, a small onion, chopped, and a flavouring of pepper and salt. Put all through a mincing machine, then add flour enough to work the whole into a stiff "loaf." Set this in an enamel or earthenware basin, and have ready some strong stock that, when cold, cuts like a jelly. Cover the rabbit with the bouillon, and let it cook in the oven for two liours. When it is cooked, remove it and let it get cold. then, just before serving dip the basin in hot water for a minute and turn out the pate.

Speculation Biscuits.— These biscuits are very nice for afternoon tea The recipe is: Five oupfuls of flour, three cupfuJs of brown sugar, V«ib. cl butter or margarine, one egg. half a cupful of cold water a pinch of cinnamon, a te.aspoonfiil of bi-cir-bonate of soda. .Mix all ingredients overnight, and the following day malt up the mixture into flat biscuits, and bake in a moderate ovjii till cooked. The biscuits should be about the same size as ginger-breai nuts, or mayba somewhat larger if preferred. '