IMITATION PORCELAIN JARS.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 291, 18 August 1888, Page 6

IMITATION PORCELAIN JARS.

A chaiiiujm; novelty J have lately seen was imported from America, and would be suitable for a Christmas gift. It waa a jar made most cunningly o f cretonne and lined with a plained coloured sateen. It was large and soexactly resembled porcelain, that I w as entirely deceived until the owner passed it to mo for admiration, and I took it into my own hands astonished at finding it &o light The materials required are cretonne, of a design resembling china as> much as possible in c lour also, and some pale pink or blue sateen for lining, and c ome large sheets ot millboard. The cretonne mutt be chosen with discretion, but Mine patterns aie so 1 exactly suggestive o f Dresden cbina, that thcio can .suicly be but Hide difficulty in iindin^ one that will do. I lately ■saw a patten at Liberty's in Regent Sticct Unit exactly resembled blue dragon c-'una. Si.v pieces of, millboard mu&t first be cut oxactly alike, in a sort of vase-shape, about twelve inches long, measuring four inches in width at the tup, diminishing to tv>ro inches and a half one quarter of the way down. widening to live inches half the way down, and dwindling agiin to throe inches in widi.li an the bottom. Then a .se>.agonal pier c ofomlboaid mu&fc be cut to form the boUc-m of (ho vase, each side of the scxagon being exactly even and measuiintr the sum; ;is the bottom of Iho -i 1i 1 piecii- of nnllbo.t'd, that is, three ; inches. (J; ml cue must bo taken incut ■tin;' out I ho-e cai(K, ,is much of the succe"i of the \a-ve flcpends upon it. The next thing to do is to co\er the \iiL^' vase shaped pieces, and t : i is must be nangcd accuding to the pattern of the cictounc. If tbeie be any particularly set p;u t of the design, Mich as a gioup of V A citle.in tiguie?, or a bunch of floweis, it fflibfc be priced exactly in the centre of one ot the sides. The cretonne mu&t bo folded o\ei, tacked if necessary, and the edges firmly gummed or glued down. No wrinkles mu->t be allowed, but a lew snips, in the edges of the cietonne will probably be -ulhciert to keep it in its place. The pioi rs, when oo\oiod, must be laid flat under a heavy weight until they are perfectly d'\. The scxagonal piece may be coveiod in t lie same way. The sateen lining has to be cnielully cut out, but instead oi m'.nm.ing ib in it is better to run it along the oielonne inside at the edge, le.'i\in>r a boiduv ol cretonne ju»t wide cnoujrh to enable tin- f!i\i_-ioi; 0 of caidboaid to be sew n logeblicr without sewing in the satin liiiuis/ as well. T think my meaning will be easily r-ccn whci the description is put into practice, but it it> not veiy comp ehensible to lead. Tiic six pieces must be so vn togcthei with small buo strong stitches, of comse, on the nglu side, as turning it ins-He out is in'} o-sible : L»stly, the six-sided pkee for tiic bottom mu&t be sewn in. Care must be t iken all along that the caid board does not f,ut <it all bruieed or bent, or the jar will show it when the pieces aie put together, also the colour of the cotton to be u-ed nm-,t be carefully coi>sideied ; an immense vancty may be made in the shape v hen once the method is undei stood. They may be made \n short, bioad divisions?, &o that when sewn together, a .small basin shape is made, or they may bo made ot blue cietonne, only four-sided to resemble the squaie .Japanese fern pot*-. They aUo would look very well made in plain brown sateen at the bottom, and yellow sateen -joined on so that it conies at the top like the old fashioned brown earthen waie. Two handles may easily be contrived and fattened at the top and sides, so as to increase the resemblance to some of the quaint biown jars. There are pieces of china lo be seen in mobt houses that can readily be imitated in this way. and many a hint gained by a walk through any large shop. \N hen linished they are useful for many pui poses, tor holding work, waste paper, soiled cufh>, tennis balls, etc. — Farm and Horn i.