“USELESS” CURTAINS

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 663, 15 May 1929, Page 6

“USELESS” CURTAINS

SHOULD NOT BE DISCARDED Curtain material often looks shabby and dull long before it is really worn out, but the inventive housewife will desire to make further use of the hangings when their life at the windows is over. Some curtains "go” in patches. In this case the good pieces can be cut from them and turned into excellent cushion squares. If finished off nicely, they will look just as attractive as bought squares and give a lot of wear. In smaller bedrodms, old chests and small tables are often converted into dressing-tables. The best pieces of a discarded pair of curtains will make attractive “petticoats” for these makeshift tables, and harmony can he secured by making runners for the tops and cushion-covers for the bedroom chairs out of the same material. An ingenious mother recently made three sets of fancy dresses out of old curtains. They were a startling success, two of the creations winning prizes in competition with hundreds of others, some of which were very expensive, elaborate affairs. Striped and floral designs are, of course, the best for this purpose. One of the winning costumes was a little Arab girl’s kit, concocted out of one old curtain in vivid red with golden stripes. This idea might be held in reserve by the busy mother, who wants her children to make a good show when the dancing season comes round again. An attractive and original bedspread may be fashioned out of a pair of curbains which have “thinned” a little, and reveal this defect when hanging at the window. When the two lengths are joined to form a double layer the thin spots will not be noticeable. “Are paint brushes made from pigs’ bristles, father?” “I believe so, my son.” “Well, what part of a pig do the pigments come from?”