Judies” floral fiaSiiiet mul Pictorial Home ^ornjiaaion. 
181 
HOW I MADE MY PARLOR PRETTY AT 
SMALL EXPENSE. 
I always loved a pretty parlor to ask my friends 
into—for with us Southern people that is still the 
custom, even in country towns. Before I left my 
father’s home I had been accus¬ 
tomed to a pretty parlor, and now, 
when I was to take charge of a 
home of my own, how could I, on 
the small allowance my husband 
could give me, start about it ? 
My parlor was on the north side 
of the house, which gave it a cold, 
uncheerful appearance, and I wished 
to overcome that difficulty as far as 
possible. To add to the gloominess, 
my carpet was a dark, dull brown 
on the right side, not a thread of 
any bright color to add to the cheer¬ 
fulness. My piano-cover w'as gray, 
and of course did uot match at all 
with the carpet, and my two large 
chairs, which with the exception of 
a centre-table completed the fur¬ 
nishing, were, as one of the writers 
in the Cabinet has called it, that 
dismal black haircloth. I grew 
desperate over its appearance, and 
determined to make a change some¬ 
how. 
First of all I discovered that the 
wrong side of my carpet (it was 
two-ply) was lighter than the right 
side, and I turned that. I then de¬ 
cided to dispense with that gray 
piano-cover, but was not able to 
purchase an expensive one in its 
place. After some deliberation, my 
mind was decided as to what I 
should do. Went to a store, bought 
ten yards of the best quality of 
seal-brown canton flannel I could 
find, one half yard of double-width 
lady’s cloth (scarlet), and one ounce 
each of seal-brown, scarlet, buff, and 
green single zephyr. Then I was 
ready for work. 
Divided my canton flannel into 
three equal lengths, sewed them up on the machine, 
and pressed the seams open. Next cut the scarlet 
flannel into strips about three inches wide, and pinked 
out on each side. Then basted these strips on the 
canton flannel cover, seven inches from the edge. 
Then commenced to work with the zephyr. Made 
a figure by first making two lines diagonally crossing in 
the centre with the brown zephyr; then used the green 
on one side of the brown, and the buff on the other, 
and crossed the figure in the centre with the scarlet. 
The next figure was a cross, using the zephyr in 
the same order as in the first one. The space be¬ 
tween was about three inches. Made a point-russe 
stitch between each scallop in the scarlet flannel, 
and it was done. I was delighted with the result, 
and many who saw it exclaimed, “ How pretty !” One 
gentleman said : “ It is the prettiest one I ever saw.” 
It looks like a handsome felt cover, and the expense 
almost nothing. 
I had a considerable amount of the zephyr left 
from the piano-cover. I had also in the house a 
piece of white railroad canvas. This I first worked 
in squares about four inches wide with the brown. 
A Floral Picture. 
I will say here that eight-fold worsted should be 
used in working this canvas. I then worked a cross 
in each square, making a row of crosses with the 
scarlet, buff, and green alternating; finished off 
with a fringe made of all the colors. This I used to 
cover the back of one of those haircloth chairs to 
hide a worn place. Fastened it on with safety-pins, 
on which I had previously tied little tufts of the 
worsted so as to completely hide the pin; and it 
never worries me by falling off, as tidies generally do. 
The arms of this same chair were worn, and I wanted 
to hide them, so I crocheted strips of black long 
enough to fit the arms, and about three inches wide, 
then worked a star of the scarlet, one of the buff, and 
one of the green along the length, and finished with a 
scalloped edge, made by a row of each of the colors. 
For my other large chair I crocheted three strips 
of black, one longer than the others, and all pointed 
at one end ; finished with a scalloped edge as in the 
first one, and worked a vine of green with red flowers 
on two of the strips, and buff flowers on the centre 
one; joined the three together the longest in the 
centre, and put a tassel made of all the colors in 
each point. Both tidies have been 
very much admired, and require 
very little time or material in mak¬ 
ing them. 
I also made two foot-stools, the 
foundations of which were old round 
wooden boxes which the rats had 
eaten so as to make unfit for service 
in any other way. I took some of 
the same brown flannel, and worked 
a figure in chain-stitch all over; 
then made a cushion of stout drill, 
to fit the cover of the box after it was 
stuffed with bran so as to make it 
firm. Fitted the flannel cover on the 
cushion, and tacked firmly on the 
top. Took a straight piece of flannel 
to fit round the rim, and tacked it 
on, hiding the tacks with a large cord 
made of the scarlet and buff. Cov¬ 
ered the box with a piece of the flan¬ 
nel, tacked as tightly as possible, and 
another cord about an inch from the 
bottom. 
I wanted a centre piece for my 
table, so I took a block about fiv.u 
inches square, and bored an inch hola 
in it. Took the top branch of a Nor¬ 
way spruce, and fitted in the hole in 
the block; made it firm by pouring 
plaster-of-paris around it. I then 
glued on bits of lichens, wood-moss, 
and florist’s moss on the branches of 
the little tree till I had it covered. 
Covered the base completely with 
florist’s moss, stuck in tiny white ar¬ 
tificial flowers and grasses, and here 
and there bits of fern and small peb¬ 
bles. Then placed a deer under this 
miniature tree, which has in the top 
a real little nest and three tiuy eggs, 
with a red and black bird just in the 
act of flying of the nest. 
By this time my parlor was looking much more 
cheerful for having the bright scarlet here and there 
about it, and I took care to have that the predomi¬ 
nant color; my pictures all hung with scarlet cords, 
and decorated with the long gray moss and scarlet 
sumac leaves. 
Space forbids that I shoiad speak of smaller deco¬ 
rations which add much to the pretty aspect of my 
little parlor, but I have said enough to show that no 
one need give up in despair because they cannot 
have just what they would like. I attribute all my 
success and love of adding to home adornment in a 
great measure to the dear Floral Cabinet. 
Homebody. 
