KNITTED LACE FOR CURTAINS, &c.

MATERIALS.--Brooks' Great Exhibition Prize Goat's-head Knitting Cord, No, 40. Penelope Hook. Cast on twelve st.i.tches.

1st row: Slip 1, knit 3, make 1, slip 1, knit 2 together, pa.s.s the slip st.i.tch over, make 1, knit 3, make 1, knit 2.

2nd: Knit 3, purl 8, knit 2.

3rd: Slip 1, knit 3, make 1, knit 2 together, knit 1, make 1, knit 1, knit 2 together, make 1, knit 3.

4th: Knit 6, purl 8, knit 2.

5th: Slip 1, knit 1, knit 2 together, make 1, knit 4, make 1, knit 2 together, make 1, knit 2 together, make 1, knit 2 together.

6th: Knit 2, purl 1, knit 1, purl 1, knit 3, purl 8, knit 2.

7th: Slip 1, knit 2 together, make l, knit 4, knit 2 together, make 1, knit 1, make 1, knit 8.

8th: Cast off seven, knit 1, purl 8, knit 2. Repeat for the length required.

[Ill.u.s.tration: WINDOW CURTAIN.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: WINDOW CURTAIN AND STOVE Ap.r.o.n.]

WINDOW CURTAIN AND STOVE Ap.r.o.n.

MATERIALS.--Brooks' Great Exhibition Prize Goat's-head Knitting Cord, No. 40, with a suitable Crochet Hook.

The number of st.i.tches in this curtain must depend, of course, on the width of the window for which it is intended. Each pattern requires a foundation of 102 chain st.i.tches; and the borders at the sides 57 chain each. As there will be about 560 st.i.tches in a yard, or very nearly five patterns and one border, it will be easy to reckon the number required for any given width. A curtain two yards wide will require 1,135 st.i.tches, which will allow ten patterns of the convulvulus, and the two borders; to this, every 102 st.i.tches added will make one wreath more, nearly equalling in width the sixth of a yard.

The whole of this curtain is done in square crochet, the design in close squares, and the ground in open.

Square crochet (the majority of our readers are aware) consists of d.c. chain st.i.tches exclusively. A close, or solid square is formed of three successive d.c. st.i.tches: an open square of 1 d.c., 2 ch., miss 2 of the preceding row. Almost all square crochet patterns are intended to be worked from the engraving, which is laid open before the worker and copied. To a.s.sist in guiding the eye it is advisable to cover each row of the engraving after it is copied.

We will only observe, with regard to this pattern, that the first two rows are done in ch., and that two st.i.tches at each end are also close, which affords an opportunity for working in the ends of the previous rows.

This design is also extremely suitable for a curtain for a grate. For this purpose, Brooks' Great Exhibition Prize Goat's-head Knitting Cord, No. 70, will be preferable to the coa.r.s.er numbers. It would be greatly improved by the addition of a bead border, similar to that of the anti-maca.s.sar, given in a former part of this work.

The effect of the bead border being to add weight to the end of the stove ap.r.o.n, it would keep it in its place better than anything else, besides being very ornamental.

A handsome fringe may be knotted on the end, and it may be lined with calico to correspond with the furniture of the room.

NETTED WINDOW CURTAIN.

MATERIALS.--Brooks' Great Exhibition Prize Goat's-head Netting Cotton, No. 24: Embroidering Goat's-head Cotton, No. 30; a middle-sized Netting Needle; Steel Mesh, No. 9; and a long Embroidering Needle.

If worked with the above cotton and mesh four squares will measure one inch, which will be a guide for the number of foundation st.i.tches to make in the beginning for the curtain. The pattern must afterwards be darned in embroidering cotton, No. 30, according to the engraving, by pa.s.sing the needle under and over the threads of the meshes very regularly and even, always keeping the same number of threads in every square, and all must run the same way and be drawn to one degree of tightness, for all the beauty of the work depends upon its evenness and regularity. This pattern may be extended to any size, and would look very well if the flowers were sewn in pale pink ingrain cotton, and the fretwork in white cotton.

[Ill.u.s.tration: NETTED WINDOW CURTAIN.]

A FLOWER VASE SCREEN, FOR CONCEALING A FLOWER-POT OR BASIN WITH FLOWERS.

MATERIALS.--4 shades of Green Wool, the lightest almost a pale Lemon, 1 skein only of this, and 3 each of the darkest; 5 shades of Pink, 2 skeins of each, all 4-thread Berlin Wool; 3 yards of ordinary sized skirt cord, the size of blind cord.

D.c. 14 st.i.tches over the end of the cord with the darkest green, unite; now work 2 d.c. into every loop; the next row the same; from this row increase as may be required, working 4 rows of darkest green, 4 rows of next shade, 3 rows of next shade, in all 11 rows; there must by 154 st.i.tches in the outside row.

Fasten off the cord neatly, and with darkest shade of green, work 21 d.c. st.i.tches; now turn on reverse side, and work 21 rows of ridged crochet, which is done by working into the lower loop instead of the upper one, and omitting at the end of every row the 1 ch. which in ordinary ridged crochet prevents it decreasing, but by omitting this 1 ch. these 21 d.c. st.i.tches will be decreased to a point; work 6 rows of the 2 darkest shades, and 9 of the lightest of the 3 shades: make 7 of these points, but be careful, in joining on every shade, that the knots are concealed, and run in the last end very neatly. With the lightest green of the 3 shades, commence on the wrong side of the mat, begin on the first dark ridge of the point, make 5 ch., d.c. on every ridge, but d.c. into the point, make 5 ch., d.c. into same loop, then 5 ch., d.c. on every ridge till the last, then crochet into the 1st ridge of next point, without making any chain between.

_Palest Green_.--D.c. into centre of 2nd 5 ch. from the bottom of the point, 5 ch., d.c. into centre of every 5 ch. till the point, then d.c. in centre of top, 5 ch., 5 ch., d.c. into same, then work down till within the last ch. of 5, omit this, and d.c. in 2nd ch. of 5 from the bottom of next point.

1st row.--_Darkest Pink_: Make 41 ch., turn back, 1 l. into 9th loop from hook, * 3 ch., 1 l. into 4th loop, repeat from * 7 times more, in all 9 s.p.a.ces.

2nd: Turn on reverse side, 3 l. under the 3 ch., 1 ch., repeat at the point, work 9 l., 2 ch., 6 more l. under same s.p.a.ce, then 1 ch., 3 l.

under the 3 ch., repeat; at the end cut off the wool.

3rd: With next shade commence on same side as 1st row, 1 l. between each long, but after every 3rd l., make 1 ch. at the point, and between each of the 6 l., make 1 l., 1 ch., then under the 2 ch., make 1 l., 3 ch., 1 more l. under same, then work the same as the half just completed.

4th.--_Next Shade_: With same colour, inclose some white wire drawn from ribbon wire, thus--between each l. st.i.tch, and under each 1 ch., work 1 d.c. st.i.tch with the wire between, first bending the end of the wire to prevent it slipping, but over the point work 2 d.c. under each 1 ch., and under the 3 ch., work 3 d.c.; now work the remaining half, and d.c. along the bottom, still enclosing the wire to the side where this row was commenced, twist the 2 ends of the wire together, after pulling it into shape.

5th: Great care must be taken in working this row not to bend the work; next shade, 1 l. on 1st d.c. st.i.tch at the side, 3 ch., * 1 l.

into successive loops for 4 times, 3 ch., repeat from *, be careful that a 3 ch. comes at the point; this row will end as it was begun; then crochet along the bottom.

6th.--_Next Shade_: 2 l. under the 1st 3 ch., 3 ch., 2 more l. under same; repeat this 6 times more, then repeat the same over the point, but for 5 times make 5 ch. instead of 3. Now sew these pink points up at the side, joining them for 6 times by the chain of 3, slipping the wool on from chain to chain; now pin each green point on to the part of the pink which is sewed together, stretching each green point as high as possible; then sew these green points at about the second shade of green, on to the pink, as in engraving.

[Ill.u.s.tration: BREAD CLOTH.]

MATERIALS.--Three reels of Brooks' No. 24, and two of No. 16, Great Exhibition Prize Goat's-head Crochet Cotton. A hook suitable for the fine number.

The octagon shape is one extremely well adapted for bread baskets, as well as for papier-mache trays of the usual forms; but it requires a little nicety to produce even edges at the sloping sides. The way it is done is this. The whole pattern, it will be perceived, is done in square crochet, and in the increasing sides a close square is added at each end. This is done by making one chain extra at the beginning and end of the first row of d.c. 2nd row: 1 ch., 2 d.c. on the chain, and 2 on the first d.c. at the commencement, thus increasing three st.i.tches, besides the one chain which is merely a foundation for the next increase; then at the other extremity of the row, 2 d.c. on the last st.i.tch, 2 d.c. on the chain, and make one chain. Do this for every row which is increased, working in all the ends.

For the decreasing rows begin with 1 slip, 1 s.c., 1 short double crochet, 1 d.c.--this last coming on the first st.i.tch in the second square of last row, keeps the squares evenly over each other. At the other end of the row reverse the process, by doing 1 d.c., 1 short d.c., 1 s.c., 1 slip, which completes it.

The short double-crochet st.i.tch, being new to our readers, may be briefly described. It is, as its name implies, a medium st.i.tch between a s.c. and a d.c. st.i.tch. Begin as for a d.c. st.i.tch, with the thread round the hook, but after the latter is inserted in the st.i.tch, and the thread drawn through, so that there are three loops on the needle, the thread must be drawn through all three at once.