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CHINA MAIL CHRISTMAS SUPPLEMENT, 1929.
FANCY DRESSES FOR CHRISTMAS
Charming Frock For A Small Sum
THIS season the popularity of the fancy
THIS
dress party promises to be greater than ever. Fancy dresses are expensive to buy ready made, but cheap to make. The two dresses sketched in our illustration are very pretty and becoming, are quite easy to make, and may each be made for a small sum.
When you have settled upon your design and obtained the pattern, hunt through everything you possess before you buy a scrap of material. So often little things that have been put away
SELTEDERS
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4 36" MATERIAL
and forgotten come in splendidly for a fancy dress and add greatly to its effect. For instance, the strings and trimming on Miss 1929's bonnet will have to be carried out in sateen if the price be kept down, but a little fur or swansdown, or a ruche of net, and some ribbon which has already done duty on a garment would greatly add to the effect of the bonnet.
A CHRISTMAS IN SWEDEN
Miss 1929
You will need four yards of printed winceyette, printed sateen, or printed cotton, (the printed winceyette is made in the most charming colourings, and is particularly pretty); 3 yard of sateen, and 3 yard of similar material in contrasting colour; three yards of narrow lace. Dress of cream winceyette patterned with blue and pink flowers; bonnet of blue sateen lined with pink sateen, pink bows and trimming, and edge of pink gauged sateen; if no swansdown or net is available, is a suggestion for a pretty colour scheme.
Follow The Diagram
The diagram shows you exactly how the material should be folded and the patterns placed. Where "fold" is not printed in the pattern the fold comes at the bottom and the selvedges down both sides. Where the fold is at the side the selvedges come together down the opposite side. Pin all selvedges securely together and all patterns firmly into place. The bodice fastens down the back. Put a wrap facing on the left edge and a flat facing on the right edge of the opening. Fasten with hooks and eyes. Join the shoulder seams. Bind the neck edge with a crossway strip of material. Put in the tucker. Join the underarm seams. Make up the sleeves, set them into a narrow strap of the material, and put in a tucker. Put the sleeves into the bodice. Join up the skirt seams, make a placket down the back, and face it up. Gather the top of the skirt, join bodice and skirt together, and hide the joining by a strap of material. Cut four straight strips 9in. wide from the material, join them, gather the flounce with a heading, hide the gathers under a piping, and put on to the skirt. Cut the bonnet out first in thin cardboard, cover, line and trim it.
The Houri
Materials required: 2 yards of sateen; 14 yards of sateen for sash; 34 yard for jacket; 4 yards of white butter muslin. Suggested colour scheme: White sleeves and bodice, pale yellow trousers, deep green jacket ornamented with designs cut out of tinsel paper and gummed on, cerise red sash.
The Jacket
Cut the jacket out twice. Join the shoulder and side seams of jacket and lining,
is a row of pigeon holes. Each lad places his wooden shoes therein before he enters the school room. Inside he wears soft shoes or heavy woollen socks. The trolls are Christmas morning he may find a little watching him. If he has been naughty, on has been good there will be presents. All through the holi- days the children take part. They must be to learn, and mother to help, and presents to very very busy, with preparations, and songs
By MARJORIE HOWE DIXON 10 begin with, there is the children's view To whey put their faith in little trolls in Sweden. A troll is a tiny Santa Claus—it is as if Santa had a great many helpers who are called Jul Tomtar. There is always a troll for every home. The old grandfather said he remembered the bowl of rice that was always placed in the barn on
Placed in Various Positions Christmas Eve for the Trolls. In the morn- ing the rice was gone!
Then they must watch while father or And that day the uncle ties a sheaf of wheat to a post for the work went so quickly, because all the little birds' Christmas. This may be pats. It is trolls helped! Who could doubt grand-sometimes tied to a chimney, sometimes on the top of a post, and then other times is placed in the branches of a tree.
father?
Then there is this matter of wooden shoes. In Sweden in the school house entry
pack.
To begin the holidays there is a little
then turn in raw edges and slip-stitch the lining inside the coat. Decorate as gaily as possible with shapes cut out of tinsel, or any sham jewels-the gayer the more effective the dress. Join the bodice seams, hem the neck, and run in a drawing thread. Hem the bottom and thread with elastic. Cut the sleeves up where the slit is marked, and hem the edges and the bottom. Join up the
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sleeve seams, gather the top to fit the arm- holes and again where the gathers are mark- ed, and hide by a strip of material. Put the sleeve in. Join up the trousers seams, hem top and bottom and thread with elastic. Cut the sash to fit you, hem the ends, and fasten with hooks and eyes. Fold and knot the rest of the muslin round the head, as in the sketch.
ceremony for the thirteenth of December. "Santa Lucia," a pretty girl, attended by five baker boys, comes to call on a family at five o'clock in the morning. Since they will coffee, while the baker boys bring buns, one surely be in bed, she walks in, bringing find;
bure, and
the other with four wheels. "Santa Lucia" wears a green wreath about her head in think, she will have to go to school that day which are thirteen lighted candles. Just
--and get the candle grease out of her hair before she goes.
day and is very jolly and gay.
The day of Christmas Eve is a full holi- day in contrast is very quiet and thoughtful. Christmas
Each has its special dinner, at which cer- tain viands are part of tradition.
.
(Continued on Page 30.)