A SHOE BAG.
Cut two pieces of ticking, one seventeen and a hall inches long by fifteen wide, the other eleven inches long by twenty wide. On the longest piece, which is the back of the bag, the braid need only be put on for seven or eight inches, as the longer part is hidden by the front piece. Having stitched on red braid on the alternate white stripes, work the uncovered white stripes with fancy stitches, arranging the colors as follows:— First, yellow; second, brown; third, green; fourth, brown; fifth-yellow; sixth, blue. Now begin again with yellow, and repeat the colors in the same order.
Work the stripes in herring-bone, feather, and other fancy stitches. Bind the top of the short piece with braid, and stitch a piece of braid across the bottom of the work on the longer piece to conceal the raw edges of the work. Divide each piece into three equal parts, and baste the front to the back at these divisions, stitching them firmly down. Then lay the fulness thus formed into three box-plaits, forming three pockets, and baste the bottom edges together. Bind the whole bag round with braid, and make three loops by which to hang it up.
Handsome chair and table-covers, bracket and mantel draperies, can be made of ticking by using narrow velvet and embroidery silk instead of braid and worsted. For a table cover, work a square piece for the centre. The border should be worked in long strips, each as long as the side of the centre piece, and twice the width of the strip over. Sew the long strips to the centre piece, letting it project an equal distance at either end. Baste the corners together with a slanting seam, which will make the border fit perfectly smooth. Cut away the superfluous cloth and stitch the seams firmly; cover the joining of the border to the centre with velvet, and finish the edge with a chenille fringe, or with a row of velvet.
