128  ‘Uhe  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
The  Home  Dressmaker 
Winter  Comforts. — A  bath  robe  hard¬ 
ly  sounds  like  a  necessity  to  the  woman 
in  the  country  house  without  modern 
heating  and  plumbing,  yet  such  a  gar¬ 
ment  will  add  immeasurably  to  comfort 
and  self-respect.  The  two  figures  shown 
in  the  first  picture  are  variations  of  the 
same  pattern,  a  standard  model  often 
shown  with  shawl  collar  and  turn-back 
cuffs.  The.  figure  at  the  left  is  a  newer 
model  of  corduroy,  having  a  girdle  made 
of  a  fold  of  the  material,  the  ends  fin¬ 
ished  with  knots,  or  with  stuffed  balls. 
The  fur  border  of  sleeves  and  upper 
edges  looks  very  luxurious,  but  the  home 
dressmaker  may  have  an  old  set  of  furs 
that  she  can  sacrifice  for  this  purpose, 
or  marabou  at  about  60  eeuts  a  yard 
may  be  used.  Belmv  the  girdle  the  front 
is  hound  with  a  fold  of  the  material, 
put  on  crosswise  of  the  goods.  For  me¬ 
dium  size,  the  robe  will  Coke  about  GI4 
yards  of  36-itich  material,  or  eight  yards 
of  27-inch.  It  is  fastened  with  loops 
and  buttons,  which  may  be  wooden  molds 
covered  with  the  material.  A  great  many 
of  these  robes  are  made  of  corduroy.  The 
blanket  robe  shown  at  the  right  is  made 
after  the  same  pattern,  hut  this  has  a 
large  pf’nted  hood  that  may  be  drawn 
right  over  the  head.  This  style  of  robe 
is  mnch  used  by  those  who  sleep  out  of 
doors,  where  the  hood  is  necessary  to 
cover  the  head.  The  robe  should  button 
closely  all  down  the  front,  and  there 
should  also  be  two  buttons  on  the  hood, 
near  the  neck,  so  that  it  may  he  fastened 
closely.  In  addition  to  this  robe  some 
of  our  friends  who  sleep  outdoors  use 
sleeping  hags,  made  by  sewing  a  pair 
of  single  blankets  together  all  around. 
In  the  center  of  the  top  an  aperture  is 
left  for  the  head,  with  a  shallow  placket 
fastened  by  snap  fasteners;  on  the  bot¬ 
tom.  at  each  outer  corner  and  on  the 
sides,  near  the  top,  the  seam  is  l"ft  uu- 
sewn  for  about  eight  inches.  The  wearer 
may  thus  put  hands  and  feet  out  if  de¬ 
sired,  instead  of  feeling  helpless  until 
the  bag  is  removed.  These  sleeping  bags 
are  also  made  with  the  hood  attached, 
the  usual  style  sold  readymade  being  a 
close  bag  buttoning  snugly  at  rite  neck, 
with  pointed  hood  like  that  ou  the  blan¬ 
ket  robe.  They  are  made  of  blanketing, 
eiderdown  flannel,  or  some  of  the  special 
flannels  and  lamh’s-wool  textiles  woven 
for  underwear. 
A  Separate  Coat. — The  figure  at  left 
in  the  lower  picture,  shows  the  little 
touches  on  a  coat  that  make  it  “look  dif¬ 
ferent.'’  The  original  pattern  had  a  belt 
all  around,  such  as  was  soon  on  most 
coats  last  Winter.  The  removal  of  the 
belt  permits  the  coat  to  flare  out  freely  in 
the  hack,  which  is  the  favored  style  this 
Winter.  A  short  belt  across  the  front 
ferms  a  trimming,  and  has  buttons  and 
buttonholes  at  either  end.  which  close 
the  coat.  The  other  buttons  are  put  in 
a  group  near  the  top.  The  pocket  is 
patch  shape  but  is  fastened  at  one  side 
by  a  button  and  real  buttonhole.  High 
fur  collar  and  fur  cull's  fiuish  the  trim¬ 
ming.  The  plain  tricorne  toque  worn 
by  this  figure  is  of  batter’s  plush.  Such 
a  coat  follows  men's  overcoats  quite 
closely  in  outline,  and  is  so  simple  that 
il  does  not  become  old-fashioned  before 
worn  out,  a  fate  that  often  befalls  more 
elaborate  wraps  of  corduroy,  velour,  etc. 
A  CoaIee  Dress. — The  center  figure 
shows  an  accordion-pleated  skirt  with  a 
little  coatee  bodice.  The  bodice  is  of  the 
spencer  type,  being  carried  below  the 
waist  line  in  scallops,  which  is  more  be¬ 
coming.  as  a  rule,  than  where  it  ends  at 
the  exact  waist  line.  These  snug  little 
waists  of  old-fashioned  appearance  are 
seen  in  many  different  models  now.  The 
dress  shown  was  of  myrtle  green  chiffon 
taffeta,  the  pleated  skirt  and  bodice  of 
the  same  material,  the  latter  finished 
with  coat  collar  and  turn-back  cuffs  of 
plaid  silk,  and  small  black  crochet  but¬ 
tons.  A  white  organdie  chemisette  with 
flaring  collar  is  worn  under  it.  This 
dress  will  look  very  pretty  in  Spring 
without  a  coat,  or  may  be  worn  now 
under  a  separate  wrap.  Fine  side  plait¬ 
ing  is  often  used  for  such  skirts :  it  is 
carefully  plaited  but  not  stitched  flat. 
Another  Sespenoer  Dress. — The 
figure  at  the  right  shows  a  very  pretty 
suspender  effect;  yet  this  waist  was  cut 
from  the  same  pattern  as  the  little  spen¬ 
cer  in  the  center.  The  lower  part  of  the 
waist  is  brought  down  over  the  skirt  so 
that  it  resembles  a  yoke;  the  material  is 
cut  in  a  V  iu  the  hack  and  front,  and 
cut  out  under  the  arms  so  as  to  show  an 
under  blouse  of  crepe  de  chine  or  other 
tliiu  material.  The  lower  basque  part  is 
slightly  draped  around  the  waist  towards 
the  front,  where  it  overlaps,  with  a  buc¬ 
kle  or  handsome  button  as  fastening.  At 
the  back  the  V  is  partly  filled  with  a 
piece  of  braiding  on  heavy  net,  or  pas¬ 
sementerie,  while  the  bottom  of  the  V 
is  finished  with  an  oval  buckle,  having 
beneath  it  a  little  black  satin  tie.  with 
ends  finished  with  tassels.  The  skirt  is  a 
flaring  two-piece  pattern.  Different 
blouses  may  be  worn  with  this  suspender 
dress,  either  fine  white  material,  a  har¬ 
monizing  color  in  plain  or  plaid  silk,  or 
chiffon  or  marquisette  the  same  color  as 
the  dress,  lined  with  white  or  harmon¬ 
ious  colors.  The  chiffon  or  marquisette 
blouse  worn  with  such  a  gown  is  quite 
dressy.  One  model  seen  was  of  dark 
brown  gabardine.  The  blouse  was  made 
of  brown  chiffon,  lined  with  orange 
china  silk;  the  neck,  cut  in  a  small  V, 
was  finished  with  a  pleating  of  cream 
net.  It  was  very  simple,  but  smart  and 
becoming,  an  old-fashioned  topaz  brooch 
completing  the  color  harmony.  The 
white  blouse  shows  plainly  that  it  is 
separate  from  the  dress  while  one  of  the 
same  color,  though  different  material, 
turns  it  into  a  one-piece  dress. 
Trimmings.— We  see  smocking  used  a 
great  deal  ou  children’s  frocks,  and  also 
on  the  blouses  and  underwear  worn  by 
their  elders.  The  litlle  frocks  of  woolen 
material,  smocked  at  yoke  or  shoulder, 
and  falling  straight  below  either  with  or 
without  a  belt,  are  popular  and  attrac¬ 
tive,  being  finished  with  a  plain  linen  col¬ 
lar  and  cuffs.  Ribbon  is  much  used,  put 
on  iu  plain  bauds,  or  pleated  ruches,  or 
gathered  frills.  A  cord  is  often  put  at 
the  bottom  of  a  child's  party  frock  of 
thin  material,  so  as  to  make  it  stand  out 
like  the  skirts  of  its  elders.  Graduated 
bands  of  ribbou  or  velvet  are  often  used 
as  trimming  on  skirts.  One  attractive 
January  22,  1910. 
dress  of  dark  green  taffeta  had  a  skirt 
slightly  gathered  at  the  top.  and  trim¬ 
med  with  four  bands  of  velvet  of  the 
same  color,  graduating  iu  width  from 
about  six  inches  at  the  bottom  to  three 
inches  at  the  top.  The  plain  waist  was 
gathered  into  a  straight  yoke,  the  only 
trimming  being  a  high  cape  collar  of  the 
velvet,  that  came  up  to  the  ears  and 
down  ou  the  shoulders,  and  deep  velvet 
cuff's,  into  which  the  sleeves  were  gath¬ 
ered.  These  high  cape  collars  are  much 
in  evidence,  both  as  trimmings  and  as 
separate  furs,  The  metallic  trimmings, 
such  as  gold  and  silver  lace,  are  still  in 
use,  especially  when  laid  under  a  thin 
fabric  like  chiffon. 
Finishing  a  Skirt. — When  one  buys 
a  readymade  skirt  nowadays,  the  hem 
is  turned  up  and  hasted,  not  stitched:  it 
may  thus  lie  taken  up  or  let  down,  ac¬ 
cording  to  the  wearer's  height.  The  edge 
of  the  hem  is  not  turned  in,  but  is  fin¬ 
ished  with  a  binding  of  cambric  or  silk. 
A  good  skirt  of  silk  or  wool  material 
should  never  have  tile  hem  stitched  by 
machine;  it  should  always  he  done  by 
hand.  Instead  of  hemming  after  the  or¬ 
dinary  method,  the  hem  of  an  expensive 
skirt  is  now  done  with  fine  feather 
stitching,  one  side  of  the  stitching  being 
on  the  binding  of  the  hem.  the  other  on 
the  material  of  the  skirt.  This  makes  a 
very  firm  hem  that  scarcely  shows  the 
stitches  on  the  right  side;  it  does  not 
pucker  and  there  is  little  chance  of  its 
pulling  out.  The  feathersti tolling  takes 
longer  than  plain  hemming,  hence  is  not 
done  on  cheaper  commercial  work,  hut  it 
is  a  good  idea  for  the  careful  home  dress¬ 
maker.  Skirts  are  still  short,  though  not 
the  exaggerated  shortness  of  a  few 
months  ago,  which  was  never  adopted  by 
women  of  good  taste. 
Straw  ITats. — The  first  week  iu  Jan¬ 
uary  always  sees  new  Spring  hats  in  the 
New  York  shops  for  the  benefit  of  those 
going  South.  The  earliest  models  were 
of  smooth  satin  straw  combined  with 
silk,  largely  close  oval  turbans  having 
silk  crowns  and  straw  brims.  As  a  rule 
the  trimming  points  high  at  the  back,  up¬ 
standing  wings  being  much  in  favor.  One 
pretty  turban  of  this  shape  was  old  rose 
satin  straw  brim  combined  with  a  crown 
of  faille  in  the  same  color.  At  the  back 
was  one  very  tall  pointed  wing  of  black 
shaded  with  metallic  tints.  Another  mo¬ 
del  is  very  high  and  straight,  almost  like 
a  brimless  oval  flower  pot.  One  of  these 
was  made  of  satin  straw  with  a  flat  turn¬ 
up  brim — more  like  a  bordering  band 
than  a  brim — of  closely  pleated  silk, 
while  the  tops  of  the  crown  was  bor¬ 
dered  with  a  wreath  of  roses.  Another 
style,  very  trim  and  jaunty,  was  a  high 
oval  turban  of  straw,  trimmed  high  on 
one  side  with  a  large  rosette-like  how  of 
ribbon.  Among  mid-season  hats  there  are 
many  in  plain  black  satin  of  the  modi¬ 
fied  sailor  shapes,  and  other  models  with 
brims.  They  are  simply  trimmed,  look 
well  with  any  style  of  dress,  and  general¬ 
ly  becoming.  The  plain  sailor  shapes  of 
black  satin,  however,  have  a  tendency 
to  bring  out  the  lines  in  a  thin  or  elder¬ 
ly  face,  and  are  thus  less  becoming  than 
velvet  to  one  past  her  youth. 
Lingerie  Blouses. — The  shops  are 
full  of  them,  and  very  fresh  and  charm¬ 
ing  they  look.  A  great  proportion  of 
them  are  of  voile,  embroidered,  tucked, 
and  with  lace  insertions  and  edgings. 
Practically  all  of  them  have  long  sleeves, 
some  quite  snug,  others  with  moderate 
fullness.  Those  with  high  collars  fasten 
down  the  back,  but  a  great  proportion 
have  rolling  collars,  opening  iu  the  usual 
V-shape.  The  long  sleeves  are  finished 
with  a  deep  cuff',  and  where  the  waist  is 
embroidered  there  is  often  a  design  of 
embroidery  at  the  elbow,  or  just  above 
it.  Many  of  the  collars  are  a  rolling 
Byron  shape.  While  these  waists  are 
sheer,  they  are  not  as  diaphanous  as 
former  styles,  and  the  embroidery  on 
voile  is  usually  solid.  Irish  crochet  and 
imitation  Venise  are  used  for  insertion 
and  edging,  also  fine  Cluny  and  other 
pillow  lace,  and  crocheted  buttons.  A 
simple  tucked  waist  of  voile,  with  edging 
of  Irish  crochet  on  collar  and  cuffs, 
might  have  a  few  of  the  little  crocheted 
roses  used  ns  further  trimming,  between 
groups  of  tucks  on  the  front:  these  are 
often  set  in  medallions  of  embroidery. 
Waists  of  crepe  de  chine,  white,  flesh  or 
pale  yellow,  still  hold  their  popularity, 
usually  simple  styles  with  no  trimming, 
except  hemstitching. 
Winter  Comfort  Variations  in  Bath-robes 
A  Warm  Coat  and  Two  Useful  Dresses 
