Page:Embroidery and Fancy Work.djvu/297

Rh coat of oil of turpentine over the whole. I have seen prints transferred to white wood in the same way. In this case, the wood was carefully varnished and polished after the design was laid on. Great care should be exercised in rubbing off the paper at the back, as it is an exceedingly easy matter to rub through to the glass.

UTILIZING PEACH BASKETS.

Very serviceable and pretty scrap baskets can be made from peach baskets, by painting them black or any desirable color, and then ornamenting them with a band of embroidery, or a drapery of crochet or macramé fringe. Several coats of paint should be put on to hide the roughness of the basket, which should be lined with a suitable color. A pocket on one side for scraps which suggest doubts as to the propriety of throwing them away will prove a useful addition.

A small peach basket similarly treated, would prove a convenient ornament for some sitting room mantelpieces, to be used as a receptacle for the various articles which are apt to gather there.

Two of the large peach baskets fastened together at the lower end, so as to form an hour glass, and either painted or covered with cretonne, gathered at narrowest part with a band of cretonne bound with braid or else with a ribbon, makes an excellent work basket for holding large pieces of fancy work, or it may be used as the family mending basket. If used for the latter, one or more pockets should be put on the lining of the upper basket for holding pieces and the other necessary aids to darning and mending. A brace of inch wood in the shape of a cross put at the bottom will serve to balance the home-made table. If wished, a cover of heavy mill- board covered with cretonne can be fitted, to the upper basket or if the table basket is painted and trimmed