IB 
six dies 
tonal ftafeaei anil Pictorial Home iSWpmiofL 
187 
I|au$4|alb Jul 
PICTURE-FRAMES AND FANCY AR¬ 
TICLES. 
Maxi' different styles of picture-frames have been 
described in the Floral Cabinet, and I have made 
them in various ways, but I prefer a frame made ot 
moulding to any other; and they can be made very j 
cheaply in the way that we make them. We buy, 
the moulding, of whatever style or widtli we wish, 
several feet at a time, and make up the frames at 
home. It requires some practice to do this work 
nicely, but it can be done with care, and I never 
think now of getting pictures framed iu any other 
way. The cost is not more than half What it would 
be, to buy frames ready made. For large pictures I 
get thin board for the backs, but for small ones I use 
pasteboard. A glass-cutter is very useful in framing 
small pictures, as larger glasses that have been 
broken can be utilized for them. I always prefer to 
have a glass over a picture, to protect them from flies 
and dust. I have framed some small pictures lately 
with brown walnut-colored paper. This is very easy, 
and may be done in a few minutes. I have the glass, 
picture, and a piece of pasteboard all cut the same 
size. I sew two loops of tape to the back of the 
pasteboard in the proper places to pass a cord 
through to hang it by. Next I place the picture, 
glass, and pasteboard in their relative positions, and 
glue a strip of new muslin, an inch or more in width, 
carefully over the edges of the pieces, fastening them 
securely together. I let it dry a little ; then, having 
the brown paper cut into strips the proper width to 
cover the edge and lay an inch wide around the pic¬ 
ture, I paste it on carefully. After it is thoroughly 
dry I give it two coats of Demar varnish, about two 
days apart. These picture-frames look very neat. 
If the picture has no margin to allow for what will 
be covered by the paper, the glass can be cut an 
inch larger all round than the picture, and the pic¬ 
ture secured in place by fastening it to the paste¬ 
board back with a little paste. None but light pic¬ 
tures, or those with a white margin, should be framed 
with anything so dark as this, as they look too dull. 
I have made frames of straws and splints, first 
binding the glass, picture, and back together in the 
way I have described. I follow the same rule with 
regard to light and dark pictures; in framing large 
ones with moulding, selecting gilt moulding for dark 
pictures, and black or walnut for light ones. The 
width of the moulding must always depend on the 
size of the picture, being selected wide or narrow 
according as the picture is large or small. This de¬ 
pends somewhat, too, on the character of the pic¬ 
ture, landscapes or photographs requiring a heavier 
frame than a picture composed of flowers and foliage. 
I have lately seen a beautiful photograph frame 
made of black perforated card and embroidered with 
yellow floss silk. It was five and a half inches wide 
and nine and a half inches long in the middle, 
the sides being two inches shorter at the top. 
The middle piece is five inches long and three and a 
half wide. It is embroidered around the opening 
with single stitch, and a scroll pattern is worked in 
each corner with the same stitch. It is fastened to 
the larger piece on three sides, the top being left open 
to put the picture in. After the embroidery is finish¬ 
ed it is cut out all around the edge in the row of holes 
outside of those that are worked. As the frame is 
very light, a pin is sufficient to fasten it to the wall. 
A tidy and cushion that I have just been making 
for a large rocking-chair have been much admired. 
The foundation for both was knit of scarlet wool, 
Afghan stitch. The cushion has square corners, but 
is rounded in front the same shape as the chair seat. 
The tidy is octagon shape. The cushion was em¬ 
broidered with a pattern of lilies, and a strip three 
inches wide was knit of scarlet wool and embroi¬ 
dered with the Roman key pattern in black, to put 
around it. This is joined to the cushion at top and 
bottom with black. The tidy was worked with a 
pattern of honeysuckles, crocheted around the 
edge with black, and a black fringe looped in. 
Crocheting has almost superseded knitting, but for 
some uses, as for wrist-warmers, I prefer the old-fash¬ 
ioned stitch. A necklace that I knit last winter has 
proved very soft and warm in wearing. I knit it of 
brown chinchilla zephyr, on bone needles, with the 
stitch called patent knitting, which is the softest of any 
way of knitting that I know of. I will describe the 
stitch, as it may not be as well known as it was in the 
days of our grandmothers. Have an even number of 
stitches ; for the necklace I speak of I used thirty-six 
stitches. Put the wool before the. needle, and take 
up the first stitch as for seam stitch, and slip off with¬ 
out knitting. Then, still keeping the wool before 
the needle, take up the next stitch and knit it with 
the loop that is made by the wool round the needle, 
making a double stitch, as one stitch in ordinary 
knitting. Bring the wool forward again, and con¬ 
tinue as before, every two stitches being knit the 
same wav. I knit the necklace just a yard long, and 
finished the ends with nine crocheted rows of the 
same shade of plain brown zephyr, and looped in a 
fringe of chinchilla. 
Some years ago there came into my possession a 
half yard of handsome Brussels carpet. I kept it 
for some time and considered whether to make a mat 
a chair-seat, or a pair of stools of it, and finally de¬ 
cided that I did not need any of these, but that I did 
need a satchel, and the piece of carpet was just the 
size to make one. I got drilling to line it with, and, 
after cutting it to fit, 1 added a piece on one side for 
a pocket. I fastened a strip of thin wood at top and 
bottom, between the outside and the lining, to stiffen 
it and keep it in shape ; the top piece I made one 
inch wide, and the bottom one three inches. Four 
large brass-headed nails, such as are used in trunks, 
were driven into the bottom piece from the outside, 
and the nails flattened on the inside. This makes a 
flat, substantial bottom to the satchel. In fastening 
the pieces in place for the top and bottom I allowed 
about four inches over, on one side, for a flap, so 
that it should fasten on the front side. A piece of 
morocco was sewed into each side, which was three 
inches wide at the bottom and sloped off before 
reaching the top, to give the bag a proper shape, as 
I had only the straight piece of carpet to work with. 
The seams and edges were all finished with a narrow 
crimson cord ; crimson-covered buttons were put on 
the front, and loops of the cord to fasten it with. A 
heavier cord, doubled three times, and twisted si) as 
to make a solid round cord, was fastened securely at 
the upper corners for a handle. So, with only a few 
cents expense, I had a handsome satchel, both use¬ 
ful and ornamental when anything larger than a 
; cabba is needed in travelling. 
I made a pincushion this winter for a wedding 
present, which was pronounced beautiful. It was 
made of blue velvet and ornamented with clear and 
chalk beads. The cushion was make just a quarter 
of a yard square, as it was intended to stand on a 
bureau. The design was partly copied from an old 
magazine, and part I arranged myself. In the cen¬ 
tre I made a cluster of flowers, a rose, made wholly 
-of clear beads, with leaves of chalk beads, and two 
or three smaller flowers. In each corner I made a 
large flower, and run a simple pattern of small flow¬ 
ers and leaves from one of these to another. The 
middle design I drew on tissue paper and tacked on. 
For the flowers that were to be made of clear beads 
I cut white paper the exact size and shape that the 
flower was to be, and tacked it in place, and covered 
with the beads. The leaves and stems were made 
entirely of chalk beads. After the bead-work was fin¬ 
ished I cut a stout bag the same size and stuffed it 
tightly with bran, and put the outside on, making 
the under side of blue chintz. The seam was cov¬ 
ered with chalk beads sawed slanting-wise across the 
seam, three at a time, and a deep fringe was made 
of alternate loops of clear and chalk beads, looped 
into each other. Amaranth. 
HOME ORNAMENTS. 
Among a little group of pictures is a bracket, 
which is easily made. Get strong pasteboard, mark 
upon it a pattern from any bracket, cut it out with a 
sharp knife, sew the pieces together, and then paint 
to imitate dark wood. Above the same group is an 
anchor made of autumn leaves, which I gathered in 
the golden October days, and pressed with a moder¬ 
ately hot iron on which beeswax had been rubbed, 
and then fastened on to a pasteboard foundation cut 
in the form of an anchor. 
A neat frame for an engraving or photograph is 
made by taking a glass the size of the picture you 
wish to frame, and pasting around the edges a strip 
of black glazed paper, any width you wish, binding 
the glass and picture together. Before framing 
make a loop on each side of the picture with a 
needle and strong thread, by which to hang it. 
A little gem may be made by taking a pasteboard 
box, about a foot square and two inches deep; line 
with black velvet; arrange in it a bouquet of skele¬ 
tonized leaves. Get a mat and glass to fit over the 
box; paste on the side's black paper, allowing a strip 
about half an inch in width to come over the glass, 
thus forming a frame and keeping the glass in its place. 
The Tradescentia I consider invaluable, it patient¬ 
ly endures so much ill treatment, and flourishes al¬ 
most anywhere you put it. I have vases of it on 
brackets scattered all-over the room, and bottles of 
water, in which it is growing, hanging behind a num¬ 
ber of the pictures. 
A pretty ornament for a bracket is a cross made 
of wood, fastened to a block for a foundation, and the 
whole covered with the gray lichen. Arrange autumn 
leaves, ferns, and the scarlet berry of the bitter-sweet 
around the base, and a vine made of tiny leaves and 
the berries over the arms of the cross. 
We are all fond of rocking-chairs, and so have 
them in abundance. On one is a tidy similar to the 
daisy tidy, only it is made of black calico. Cut 
circular pieces of black calico about three inches 
in diameter; turn in the edges, and gather with 
a, strong thread; draw it as tight as possible, and 
fasten. Make within the gathers several short loops 
of scarlet zephyr, then cut them. You will now have 
a black wheel with a scarlet tuft in the centre. 
Make eighty-one of these, sew them together, and 
finish with a border of scarlet. 
Take a piece of perforated card-board, about five 
inches long and four inches wide. Work a border 
around the edge of scarlet zephyr, and within the bor¬ 
der the words “ Scratch my Back.” Cut a piece of 
sandpaper the same size as the card-board, and bind 
them together with narrow scarlet ribbon. Make a cord 
of the zephyr, and fasten it to two of the corners, and 
hang beneath your match-safe, and you will have a 
pretty little arrangement on which to strike your 
matches. 
