Fashion and Things Feminine.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 6, Issue 282, 8 June 1917, Page 3 (Supplement)

Fashion and Things Feminine.

By IDA MELLER

THE COAT FOR EVERY WOMAN

Anything that achieves the maximum effect with the minimum of expense and trouble is assured of a welcome, and m dress matters this rule always hoids good, for which reason it is easy to understand why the tulle scarf, even while fur are worn, continues to be so succeesfid a feature of the sartorial scheme. It is one of those little things that coat little and mean much to the general effect. Take merely a length cf tulle, of about 2£ yards, quite untrimmed, and with tho edges left raw, and you have a filmy and charming finish to any costume, and one that never fails in daintiness. On mild days, the tulle 33arf takes the place of fur, and accompanies serge and cloth dresses alike. When ■worn with a belted coat, the scarf-ends may bo passed under the belt in front. Most women dress well nowadays, and the imyress ; on the majority of girls give one. is that they are remarkably clue in

theii; manner of dress. A lover of pretty clothes, and astonishingly dextrous in making thein, untiring in her efforts to keep tbe smallest detailhs of her toilette spic and span, the modern girl has an infinite capacity for taking pains, wheje her personal appearance is concerned.

Even on rainy days she is good to look upon, and no longer presents a bedraggled appearance when out in a shower, but is as trim in her rainproof coat as in her best tailor-made. Of course, the fashion of the new raincoats hag had a great deal to do in effecting the change, for the mackintosh has witnessed quite a revolution m its make up. Instead of, be'ng a plain, ungainly garment, with nothing artistic in material, make-up, or finisi to argue n its favour, the new mackintosh is a smart affair, made of specially proofed cloth or silk with well-finished appearance. The wrap-coat, again, for everyday wear is very smart, as well as serviceable. A wrap-coat suon as every woman would find useful is illustrated, and for its composition may be recommended thick, dark blue, or brown cloth with n nap surface, or a smart tweed-mix-ture.

A coat of this kind is rather expensive to buy, but if made at home need not cost much. Tho shape is of the very latest, but the pattern is quite simple and easy to copy. The coat fastens with five big buttons, and is provided with monster cuffs and pockets, and at tho throat is a round fur collar. 1 Prostrated with tne coat is a smart hat. A BOYS SLUMBER-SUIT. It it) very important that children should 1)0 adequately clothed at night, :u well as in the daytime, for little folk have a restless habit of tossing aside tne bedclothes during sleep, and it fcs necKssarv, therefore, that the night

giirni'.'iit. worn should bo of a tliorouglily |)i'otci tivc kiiul to ward off cokl-caU !i----in>!. l-'or this reason, a sloopinc suit of tlto combination kind is oivforablo to :ui

Copyright.

ordinary nightgown. It need not necessarily be made with feet, though in many patterns of sleeping suits these are added.

Tho addition of a foot-pieco renders the iraaking-up of a sleeping suit somewhat more complicated, wherefore the design shown in the accompanying illustration is aranged to terminate at the ankles. A pair of sleeping socks can always be worn, of course, in addition to tho suit.

For making up the garment, unshrinkable flannel or wincey is reeommended, and a fine, soft quality should bo selected. The quaivtv of 36-inch material required to uir k t'-.e suit for a boy of three or four ..-.is is about 2| yards.

The pattern is in six pieces, as indicated by tho diagram, these pieces including half the trouoc-rs, one front, and half the back of bodice, the breast pocket, one sleeve, ana half the collar. As the whole collar should be cut in one piece, the lacking half is also indicated on diagram. Part of the material should be folded in half k ii>;tr wise, and on this lay the back or - • :e (against the fold) and collar; Un- rest of tho material should l»e opened out to its full width and doubled and the pattern pieces disposed on it as illustrated. The bodice buttons in front, and when it is joined to the trousers a ribbon is run at the waist cf the suit.

PREPARING IN ADVANCE. Thie woman who works, and who each week-day morning lies to catch •• train or a tram, perhaps, realises the importance of having every article of dress required ready to band, If 6he has mislaid her belt or her gloves, for instance, precious minutes are wasted trying to locate the missing articles, and this hunting around to hnd trifles not infrequently results in missing a tram.

Uenerally the woman who is out working all day is tired on arriving home. Absent-mindedly 6he may remove her gloves, slip tnem into some nock, and torget all about them. Naturally in the morning she cannot find tnem, and her last tew minutes before leaving home are spent in a vain or successful search for them. The wiser among her sex, however, devote a few moments each evening to looking after the needs of the morning to come. It is a good plan, indeed, for the business woman or business girl to tinnlv, before retiring, about the dothes she is going to wear next day. Perhaps a blouse needs a button put on here or a stitch there, a glove wants repairing at the finger-tip, and so on. .bet ail those things be attended to in advance and not left till the last minute, to cause a needless rush.

Keep to-morrow morning in mind, and see that everything to be worn is where it can easily be found. The same rule of looking forward l to to-morrow morning's neeas applies to the mother in her home. Breakfast matters should bo well outlined the evening before, and oatmeal, if it is to be served, should be partly prepared tli'_'ii. It is excellent for the ciiikiren'-j breakfast.

Young people who work —in fact, any person who work;*—should have good, nourishing breakfast, and the housewife or mother should see to it that those under her care have such a meal before they leave the house. All of us aro liable to forget. We over-sleep, we mislay, we omit to order things, and ».s a result we pay the penalty for all these 6lips. That may oe; but if we made a rule of preparing beforehand, which many of us fail to do, we should save ourselves a great deal of unnecessary worry and fatigue.

USEFUL HINTS FOR HOUSEWIVES. Oil from the sewing machine may oc removed by tacking a piece of cotton wool on each side of the stain while fresh. Tne cotton will absorb the oil. If a kettle or pot boils dry, boiling water should be poured into it, as this will prevent it cracking, A GIETJ3OX. To those who take long journeys by tram, the gift of a pneumatic cushiou would, no doubt, be very acceptable, for it can lie folded into a small space ani inflated with air whenever needed. Very often a small pillow at the hack of the head is just the thing to relieve the strain of sitting for hours in a railway carriage.

People are so embarrassed at times to know what to give, that an appropriate suggestion is useful. A woman who has frequent calls upon hor present-giving capacity, has hit upon the plan of starting a "gift-box,*' which always contains gifts of one kind or another to bo bestowed upon friends at the right moment, and saves her, gfte declarer, a great deal of worry in nut having to think out at he eleventh hour what to give. "I found tha special sales and bargain days of great assistance in filling my Gilt-Box," she explained, "for I had to plan my pin-money very carefully. Whenever 1 came across a. particularly attractive bit of china, or a prettily' bound! volume of a favourite author or poet, or lighted on any other little article that would be prized either for its usefulness or beauty, 1 puroluvscd it for my Box. But Iby no means confined myself to bought articles, but whenever 1 had any spare time 1 occupied it in making up dainty little KiicV.ets and other things for the Box. Then, after I had gathered together a certain number of gifts..pf various kinds, I stopped adding to the Box until demand made it sufficient to en use mo to refill it. I never, mean to let it get empty." IVrhaps the contents of the Gift-Box will prove suggestive to woni.'ii who like the idea, and would care to start :i, Box of their own. Hero, then, are ■iome of the items included :—;A powder box of painted wood : a hat-pin of ilosonno: :> set of embroidered d'oylies; an embroidered handkerchief; a wrist-bag; a pair of candlesticks; « pretty penholder; trunk and handkorcluel sachet,; a cretonne blotter and n cretonne lace-box. KKKPIXfI TDK HANDS IN GOOD CONDITION. The woman who finds it difficult to do her household tusks in gloves, yet who values unstained hands and nails.

should, in order to preserve the latter clean, adopt the ha Hit of digging her finger-tips into a cake of wnitc soap before to work. The soap fills up the nails, prevents other substances from getting under, and is easily removed when the liands arc washed. Filling the finger-nails with soap Is also to be recommended foe women gardeners. It is, again, a good plan to keep half a out lemon near the. kitchen sink, and rub the tips of the fingers in it as soon as the hands are washed after rough work. At night, the hands should be rubbed over with toilet cream in order to keep the skin soft and clean and delicate looking. FRIED CHEESE BALLS. To make cheese balls, take one-and-a-half eupfuls of grated cheese, one t.iblespoonful of flour, tlie~whites of three eggs, salt, pepper, and dry breadcrumbs or the dust of cracker biscuits. Beat the whites of the eggs, add the other ingredients, make into halls and roll in the bread-crumbs or cracker dust, and fry in fat. If the amount of flour is doubled, the mixture may be dropped from a spoon and fried without being rolled in crumbs. FRENCH TOAST. Quite a novelty to our tcatablc is French toast. Grate the crust from stale rolls or hread, and cut the latter into slices of moderate thickness. Spread half of theso slices with jam, cover with the plain slices, and soak them in milk for one hour. Then roll them in crumbs and beaten egg and fry in boiling fat to light brown. Sprinkle thickly with powdered sugar and cinnamon and serve immediately on a hot dish. This makes a nice change from the ordinary tea-tablo dish.

A THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK. Economy no more means slaving money than spending money. It means spending and saving, whether'time or money, or anything else, to the best possible advantage.—John Ruskin. A USEFUL HINT. When you make a plain suet pudding put it into a well greased ordinary straight jam jar, and cover, with a saucer. Stand this in the saucepan of Wlhig water, and steam until done. You will find it more satisfactory than when cooked in a cloth. RICE AND POTATOES. Here is a hint to economise potatoes: Boil two or three tablespoonfuls of ordinary rice (in a cloth preferably, in order not to make the rice too watery, allowing room in the cloth for the expansion of the rice grains) about an hour before one pound of potatoes are put on to cook. When the potatoes are boiled, mash them, and add the rice which has been boiled soft, and mix well together, 'jhree people out of four who were served with this mixture did not know until afterwards that they had not eaten solely mushed potatoes. Not much rice to the pound of potatoes is required, sis the rice grains swell up considerably.

HINTS FOR BUSY HOUSEWIVES. Tieaclo will leave the scales quite easily if they are first dusted with Hour. • * • If new boots will not pulfth, rub over with half a lemon and leave till thoroughly dry. Repeat once or twice if necessary. # * * Mint sauec .should be slightly warmed before being sent to table. This will prevent the gravy from becoming "set" when tho sauce is poured on the plates. * * * When potatoes are inclined to turn black m cooking, add a few drops of vinegar to the water in which they arc boiled. This makes them beautifully white and mealy. * * » if the boiler immediately after u*o, and while still warm, is nibbed all over with good household soap, it will prevent rust, and will help to make the sud-< when tho boiler is filled for the next wuslr'ng day.

T'mo is often wasted by tho bottom of a newly-kiked cake sticking to the tin. To prevent this stand ihe tin direvtly it is taken from the oven on a cloth which luv, been wrung out in v;tv hot water.

'f oranges are to bo peeled, place t'iciii in the oven for a few minutes, or pour ho'l'ng water over them and let them ht.ind for live minutes. The white, bitter inside dtin will thou conic off with flic r'-nd.

When preparing apples for pics or pudding;, wipe them with a damp chub, and as you peel them put the skim, into a separate saucepan and cover them with water Add seme Migar ami boil gently for an hour. You will then have a. delicious rich juice to add to your pudidng-. instead of throwing away the peel which contains most cf the nourishment c.i the apple.