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Show WOMAN'S WORLD Clever Mending Tricks Make Many Uses for Odd Materials By Ertta Haley Fabric furnishings don't always wear out altogether, as most home-makers home-makers know, and there's always the problem of knowing what to do with those parts which are not completely com-pletely worn out. Drawers, attics and closets are often full of pieces cut from dresses, dress-es, drapes, bedspreads and other furnishings, but the problem Is: Just to what use should these be put? Now is a goixl time to start a project using old materials, not only to give you space for things to be bought this fall and winter, but to renovate some of the furnishings which need mending. It's never wise to make something simply for the sake of putting it together and using it, if the item does not fit into your furnishing scheme. With a little thought and .perhaps a little more work, you can make something that actually goes with your home. Take, for example, two old sheets which are torn in the center, but which have good widths of material ' at their sides than can be used. In-' In-' stead of using these in their white an Ideal solution in the narrow ruffle placed around the window for framing. This permits light and air to come into the room and still gives a curtained appearance in place of the bare look. Old ruffles saved from curtains, neatly starched and ironed, are excellent for this use. Sheer curtains which are torn beyond repair can be folded several times, then stitched and used as a filler for pot holders. Large beach towels which are torn or frayed but which have enough serviceable material in them might be used to make youngsters' robes for beach or indoof wear as they are cool but lightweight. If you have no robes to make, cut down the large bath towels into hand size, sew simple hems in them, and use in both kitchen and bath. Smaller sized towels can be cut down to wash cloth size and simply hemmed or crocheted at the edge for many months' usage. Colorful edging on kitchen towels, which will only infrequently wear, can be trimmed off to be used as a decorative edging for table linens, casual skirts, blouses or curtains. When cutting these off, trim enough of the material on either side of the border to fold under to give a finished fin-ished edge. miscellaneous Materials Offer Various Uses There's many an attic or clothes closet which houses several old for-mals for-mals or bridesmaids' dresses. They'll never be used as clothing but they can be put to useful work. If you need some decorative pit-lows pit-lows for living room, porch or bedroom, bed-room, you might check into the possibilities of making them out of some of these colorful fabrics. If the color does not go into the room Investigalt new uses ...... color, dye them to match or har-imonize har-imonize .the color scheme in the 'bedroom. Put them together with a 'border or band cut from some old I drapes, which might also be dyed if it doesn't work out in its original color; or, buy some band trimming that can be used with the sheeting. The band trimming can be used on each side of the bed with one i large width of fabric to cover the ' bed, and two narrower pieces to i fall down the sides. All of these can I be attached to the two bands. Extra sheeting material and contrasting con-trasting band might be used to make a matching pair of drapes or a dressing table skirt, runners for .the dresser or a chair cover. The re-rsult: re-rsult: new use for old material, new furnishings for the bedroom. Many Solutions Offered For Worn Tablecloths Every now and then we acquire i a tablecloth which for one reason i or another is a particular favorite with us. These are used over and over again, but no matter how much 1 tender care is lavished on them, the best will finally show a worn spot. There's still use In the cloth, how-icver, how-icver, if the worn spot is near the side or edge, because an applique can be used to cover it. You may buy appliques or cut them from materials ma-terials with patterns. Some women in which you want to use it, then you might investigate colors into which it can be dyed or tinted. Some of the satin dresses with their elaborate ruffles might well be used for lampshades. This requires re-quires careful work, but the results can be beautiful. Colorful chintz materials which have been drapes can also be used as pillow coverings. If you'd like to use some of these as drapes or a spread, then add enough solid color as a decorative border to make them the proper size. Old oilcloth table covers can be converted to seat covers for porch, kitchen or playroom. They are occasionally oc-casionally put to good use as liners for shelves or drawers in youngsters' young-sters' rooms when you want something some-thing easy to clean and durable. Old oilcloth is fine, too, for making mak-ing a clothes pin apron or bag which can slide along the line as you hang the clothing. Clean and Dye Fabrics Before Cutting, Sewing If you want to enjoy your job of making new things out of old as greatly as possible, then do your cleaning, dyeing and tinting before starting the new project. Working with new colors, or, at least, freshly cleaned or laundered materials is more satisfactory than trying to cut and sew accurately from slightly dusty or wrinkled materials. ma-terials. Beauty can be put back in old materials with simple cleaning and laundering, and new interest can be created in using them if you repair faded spots with a brand new color that covers these spots. If you have no immediate use for for good, though old, fabrics. cut them from flowered print draperies which have no further 1 use, thus taking two worn articles ' and making one of them useful. Holes in the center of an otherwise other-wise good tablecloth can be treated thus: use a white or colored cloth to go with the old tablecloth to give a square center and a border to match the center. Sew or hemstitch this in neatly. Tablecloths which have worn at the edges can have this cut off and be replaced by some contrasting material used as a border. If the napkins to such a cloth have been lost, make napkins to match the border, and you'll have a practically practical-ly brand new tablecloth and napkin set. Cloths which are worn in too many places can be cut down for doilies or table runners. Old lace is put to good use as an edging, as are other materials for contrasting borders on the doilies and napkins. Many inexpensive edgings are available, too, for use as a trimming on these doilies if you have nothing to press into use. Old Curtains, Towels Can Give More Service Old sheer curtains which are torn in many places may offer several possibilities. If they have ruffling which is torn in a few places only, rip this off the curtain and put together to-gether the good pieces of ruffling. These may be used for trimming a dressing table skirt or to give a frame to several pictures used in the bedroom. Women who do not like curtained windows during warm weather find some good piece of material, then restore as much of its original look as possible. While working with it, you might find a use for it. Wrap-around junipers, fashioned in sturdy denim, are one of the neatest neat-est tricks of the season for the woman who likes comfortable clothes that withstand wear while she gardens, goes on picnics or does the housework. Two big catch-all pickets, double stitched seams and adjustable shoulder straps are among the excellent features for which to look. |