THE LADIES’ FLORAL CABINET. 
273 
they. can be ornamented with grotesque figures in black 
or color. 
Other pretty and novel uses will, perhaps, suggest 
themselves to those who have shells to decorate. 
M. E. Whittemore. 
Scrap-Basket for Sewing-Machine.* 
O NE of these little baskets hung beside the sewing- 
machine will be found a very convenient receptacle 
for the ends of thread which collect when one is sewing. 
These baskets can be made of many different materials, 
such as birch-bark, plush, burlaps, or they may be the 
dainty little baskets which one often finds in a willow- 
ware shop. The last merely require a pretty lining of 
silk or satin. A small screw-hook is fastened in the un¬ 
der-side of the table, and on this the basket is hung by a 
ribbon loop finished with a bow. 
If made of birch-bark, or any of the materials before 
named, the basket must first be cut from pasteboard, 
shaping it as one may fancy. Then cover with whatever 
material is to be used, and line with a color which will 
make a pretty contrast. The handle, also of pasteboard, 
is covered with the material which is used for the basket. 
A bow of ribbon finishes the joining of the handle at each 
side, and another is fastened on the top of the long loop 
of ribbon by which the basket is hung on the .hook be¬ 
neath the table. 
They can also be made of crochet-work, and a soft 
basket of olive-green macrame thread is very pretty if 
lined with scarlet, or any other shade of thread can'be 
used with some gay-colored silk or satin for lining. 
They will be found most serviceable little things for 
holding the scraps and threads which are cut from the 
work while sewing. M. E. W. 
Bag for Duster. 
E VERY housekeeper knows how necessary it is to 
have a duster near at hand; for this purpose a 
pretty bag is made in the manner of the one shown in 
the illustration. 
Gray linen is a suitable material. A piece three-quar¬ 
ters of a yard long and twenty-four inches wide should 
be folded together the long way (to make it twelve inches 
wide when doubled) and sewed in a seam. The lower 
part of one side should then be embroidered; a simple 
little design of grasses and daisies is very suitably worked 
in outline and then filled in with long darning stitches. 
Twelve inches from the top of the bag make an opening 
six inches long in the front, in which to slip the duster, 
and face each side neatly. Sew the ends of the bag to¬ 
gether on the wrong side, turn it, and slip the upper end 
through a brass or nickel ring far enough to cover the 
opening made to receive the duster. Ornament the 
lower edges of this upper piece with a row of little cres¬ 
cents ; above these a few disks can be outlined with some 
bright color and filled with darning stitches, if more 
decoration is desired. Fasten the bag at the top so it 
will not slip through the ring, and make the duster of a 
yard of cheese-cloth, button-holed arcund the edges with 
pink worsted. E. S. Welch. 
Bag for Duster. 
English Fancy-Work. 
S O much pretty and handsome needlework is now done 
by English ladies that I think the fair readers of this 
paper may be glad of a description of some of it. Cross- 
stitch is, I am sure, thoroughly well knowm now by all 
“ fancy-workers,” but it is not everyone who knows what 
extremely effective embroidery can be done on cross- 
stitch linen material (sometimes called toile carrte) in 
properly selected shades of crewel wool. Choose a 
handsome pattern of flowers—such a one as was once 
used for Berlin wool work. The background should not 
be worked. Mats, cushion-covers, wash-stand splashers. 
