nxious to help a fancy sale for some good cause, or to make a
nice useful present to a friend, but who have not time or skill to
undertake anything long and difficult. It is very quickly done, and can
be used for toilet-covers and mats (these should be edged with narrow
torchon lace), night-dress cases, aprons, comb-bags, and a number of
useful articles; it is much admired, and always sells well at a bazaar.

[Illustration: FIG. 2.--BORDER.]

All you have to do is to get some common glass-cloth, tolerably fine,
with cross-bars of red or blue, and some red or navy blue
knitting-cotton, which you can buy either by the pound or the ball.

[Illustration: FIG. 3.--WORKED WITH COTTON.]

Two ounces will do a quantity of work, and cost about the same as a
ball. With this, which may be either the same colour as that of the
material or the contrasting one, the pattern is worked upon the squares
formed by the cross-bars, as in Fig. 1, and in this way a number of
pretty devices can be formed. Toilet-covers and large aprons should have
a border as in Fig. 2; for mats a single border will suffice. Bags, &c,
may be worked in checquers, every alternate square, or in large
cross-bars, by carrying on Fig. 2 over the whole surface, but when you
choose a large pattern, always count the squares before you cut off your
piece, or you may find the pattern break off in the middle.

[Illustration: FIG. 4.--WORKED WITH WOOL.]

I have seen a very effective-looking bag, all the squares of which were
worked over with dark blue cotton, the bars being blue, and two tiny red
stitches worked as in Fig. 3, wherever a simple cross was formed by the
cotton intersecting the stripe of the material.

Use a darning or crewel needle, and a very long thread, or you will have
to be continually taking fresh. This work is sometimes done with crewel
wool, and in rather a different way, see Fig. 4; but it is not so neat
and pretty, in my opinion, as that done with cotton, and is more
extravagant, since the wool must be used double and every stitch
repeated.

I once saw a large apron with bib and pocket bordered with squares
worked in this style with bright dark ultramarine crewels, and with
ribbon strings of the same colour; it had a handsome effect. I shall
only say in conclusion that I have no doubt the clever brains and nimble
fingers of some of my young readers will soon be able to improve upon
these simple elementary designs, and to produce some new an