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Show WOMAN'S WORLD Bright Dressing Table Changes Drab Room to One of Beauty By Ertta Haley Washable Chair : i ? s '. '0 v:v jv " I h 1 k I TC ttractive dressing tables can change bedroom, bath or dressing dress-ing rooms into real decorative assets as-sets just with a different skirt. Often they can do as much for the room as new curtains or draperies or a more expensive piece of furniture. When you want to make just a small investment in the room that's now drab and colorless, and expend ex-pend only a short amount of time and energy, then the smartest possible pos-sible solution is to change the cover on the dressing table, or to install one where now you have only an empty space. Much more than a decorative asset, as-set, the dressing table can give you storage space for some of the smaller small-er items now cluttering a crowded chest of drawers. If you have a seat for the table as well as a mirror, you may be certain that it will be of great value for cosmetic sessions ses-sions while the chest mirror is in use by the man of the house. Some dressing tables are designed with drawers to fit at the sides or underneath. If not, you can easily A boudoir chair that's washable, wash-able, yet has the appearance and feel of fine slipper satin is this type which u covered with a distinctively-textured vinylite plastic. The material retains its beauty and color despite wear and cleaning and is resistant to wrinkling. The chair can be purchased at a price considerably considera-bly less than a silk-covered chair and is cleaned readily with a damp sponge. Let dressing table skirts . . . get inexpensive chests to fit, or even make some out of cartons or boxes. It need not matter that these are not things of beauty in themselves, them-selves, as a pretty skirt will cover a multitude of faults. The main thing is to get the storage space out of sight. The top of the table can hold your cosmetics prettily and within easy reach, right at the mirror where they're to be applied. Seats for these tables can be purchased, pur-chased, but with budgetary strain, a barrel, an odd piano seat or ottoman, otto-man, or even a wood box can be covered' to match the table to be used effectively as well as comfortably. comfort-ably. Variety of Tables Are Available The type of dressing table you have depends greatly upon what funds you have to put into it, and what happens to be available at the time you acquire it. Some of the smartest finished tables may be an old kitchen table with shortened legs, a crate that's been altered to fit the needs or simply a shelf installed in-stalled in a corner. What the table is in the beginning has very little to do with what you make of it. The most inexpensive kinds can be covered as attractively as expensive purchased items as the whole table top with its skirt is covered. In general, however, the covering put on the table should match the style of the bedroom. If it's informal, infor-mal, you can use gay chintzes and cotton prints; for more formal or tailored rooms, some of the textured tex-tured fabrics with rich weaves and colors are more appropriate. Whether the table is to have gathers and ruffles or neat pleats lso depends a great deal on the look as though they will open. Gathers should be full, and you may need two to two and one-half times the original measurement for this. Filmy materials will require more yardage for fullness than the heavier heav-ier ones as the gathers are softer, the more sheer the fabric. For length of the skirt, measure from the top of the table edge to the floor. Add to this the seam allowance al-lowance for finished top as well as the hem. In cases where the skirt opens at the front, and where the separate sections come together, the figure of the pattern should match. You may have to allow extra yardage yard-age in material for this, so as to have pattern repeat itself properly. With plain materials you need not consider this. An easy way to gather the skirt, especially when you want to iron it flat is to make a narrow casing at the top, as you do for curtains put on rods, and run a heavy cord through this to gather the skirt properly. Make knots on each end of the cord and put a large headed tack at the back edge of the casing, and tack to the table. The center front may be tacked in the same way as the back if you need to hold the material in place properly, and especially if the table ta-ble has a center front opening. Unusual Treatments Add Decorative Accents Be experimental about dressing table skirts if you want to give your room a distinctive note. A Victorian or somewhat formal type room can use a skirt that looks sedate and saucy at the same time if you have the regular gathered skirt, and then shir it at intervals to show a petticoat petti-coat in plaid or print. Ruching at the top of such a table may be finished fin-ished with pinking shears instead of hemming, if desired. Plain gathered skirts can be made interesting if you want to add small appliques of the floral used in curtains cur-tains or draperies to them. Another idea is to cut tassels from fringe which is purchased by the yard to sew them on a plain skirt of taffeta or another of the luxurious materials. materi-als. Several rows of ruffles sewed on a plain underskirt are very effective effec-tive for feminine rooms. Using a plastic material you can have ruffles ruf-fles which do not wilt easily, even in hot, humid weather, and at the same time, you can keep them neat simply by wiping off with a damp cloth. If you want a tailored appearance to the dressing table without using box pleats, a good idea would be to sew colored fringe in overlapping rows on plain" muslin or sateen backing. Three rows give a luxurious luxuri-ous look and do not involve too much work. spice the room with color. room in which the dressing table is used. There should be harmony even though the dressing table is a big item of interest, and frequently is gay and colorful. Glass or mirror tops for the table are most practical in the long run for they're easy to keep clean. When clear glass is used, paper or fabric used elsewhere in the room may be cut to fit the top to be placed under the glass. Do this before be-fore hanging the skirt. Fullness Gives Luxurious Note If you decide you want a gathered skirt, measure the dressing table from both sides, where you want the material end to hang. Usually this will extend to the back a few inches and rarely will it go all the way around. Add to this measurement the necessary allowance for pleating or shirring. Whether pleated or gathered, the skirt should be made full, as this gives an impression of luxury. Pleats should be deep so they do not Give Expensive Look To Budget Fabrics To cut the expense of covering a dressing table, it's possible to use materials that cost little or nothing, and still have them look new. What about an old net formal? The full skirt of this yields enough material for a skirt, and may require re-quire little sewing, especially if there are ruffles on the dress that can be utilized. A small row of ruffles can edge the top of the table, while a larger row trims the skirt, a few inches off the floor. Should just the net be available, you can purchase the ruffling, if desired, by the yard in a harmonizing harmoniz-ing color. Velveteen, corduroy or quality sateen from old draperies can also be used for covering the dressing table. To give the material an even newer look, why not applique a spray of flowers from the draperies or a slipcover in the room to the skirt? This ties the room together as well as adds interest to the skirt. |
