The American Girl's Handy Book

by Lina Beard

  What will You Take to the Picnic?

  can be played very nicely while the party are enjoying some light refreshments.

  The hostess alone should be in the secret, and these directions are addressed only to her.

  Commence the game by announcing that you propose to give a picnic, that it depends upon what your guests will bring for lunch whether they will be allowed to attend, and that each one must furnish two articles of food. Then ask the person nearest you, What will you take to the picnic? If the name of neither of the articles she mentions commences with the initial letter of her Christian name or surname tell her she cannot go, and put the question to the next person, asking each in turn, What will you take to the picnic?

  For example, we will suppose that the name of one of the party is Susan Davis, and she says she will take crackers and lemons, she cannot go, as neither of her names commence with C or L; but if she proproses to take salmon and doughnuts, she will be doubly welcome, since S and D are both her initials. Should she say sugar and cream, she could go for one of her names commences with S.

  Continue to put the question to each player until all, or nearly all, have discovered why their proposed contribution to the lunch secures them a welcome, or debars them from attending the picnic.

  Assumed Characters.

  In this game some well-known novelist is selected—Dickens, for instance—and each player chooses one of his characters to personate, telling no one her choice. Then one of the players relates the life as though it were her own, and portrays with voice and gesture the character she has assumed. Of course no names must be mentioned.

  The person who first guesses what character is being personated has the privilege of deciding who shall be the next to tell her story.

  The game of Assumed Characters will prove to be very entertaining if each player does her part and makes her narrative as amusing and interesting as possible.

  Shadow Verbs.

  A white sheet is fastened tightly across a French window, or doorway opening upon the piazza, and a large lamp set behind it.

  The company separates into two parties; one enters the house, while the other remains seated upon the piazza facing the suspended sheet.

  The outside party chooses a verb which the others are to guess and perform. When their decision is made they call the leader of the inside party and say, “The verb we have chosen rhymes with rake,” or whatever it may rhyme with. The leader then joins her followers and consults with them what the first guess shall be. It is best to take the verbs which rhyme with the noun given in alphabetical order. Bake would come first for rake, and if it is decided that they shall act this, several of the party step before the lamp, which casts their shadows on the sheet and, without speaking, go through the motions of making and baking bread. If the guess is right (that is if to bake was the verb chosen) the spectators clap their hands; if wrong, they cry, No, no.

  When they hear the no, no, the actors retire and arrange what to do next. Make, quake, take, wake are all acted in turn, until the clap of approval announces that they have been successful in guessing the verb. Then the actors take the seats vacated by the spectators, who in their turn enter the house to become shadows and act the verbs chosen by the other party, and the game goes on as before. A little ingenuity on the part of the players in producing funny and absurd shadows makes the whole thing very laughable and causes great amusement.

  There are an unlimited number of games that may be played, but the object of this chapter is not so much to describe the games as it is to illustrate those that are appropriate to the quiet and delightful entertainment known as a doorstep party.

  CHAPTER XIV.

  HOW TO MAKE A HAMMOCK.

  UNDERNEATH the spreading branches of the cool, shady tree swings our hammock.

  Through the intertwining boughs the golden sunlight is sifted in bright little dashes on the leafy foliage below. Lying ensconced in its lacy meshes idly listening to the hum of the busy bumble-bees at work among the red clover, or gazing up through the leafy canopy to the blue heavens where now and then fleecy white clouds float softly past, or watching a flight of birds skim o’er the distant horizon, who would not be lulled by the harmony of the summer day! A delightful languor steals over us and we unconsciously drift into the land of dreams where perfect rest is found. We awaken refreshed, to again gently swing back and forth and vaguely wonder who could have first thought of this most delightful invention. It is said that we owe the luxury to the Athenian, General Alcibiades, who, in 415 B.C. first made the swinging bed. The word hammock is taken from hamacas or hamac, an Indian word which Columbus relates as being used by the Indians to signify a hanging bed composed of netting. What these uncivilized red men made with their rude implements, we ought to be able with our modern facilities to accomplish very easily and quickly.

  Home-made Comforts.

  It is not difficult to make a hammock; anyone can soon knit one that is strong and comfortable, and it should not cost more than fifty cents. The materials required will be one hammock-needle about nine inches long (this can be whittled out of hickory or ash, or purchased for ten cents); two iron rings two and one-half inches in diameter, which will cost about five cents each; two mesh-sticks or fids, one twenty inches long and eight inches wide bevelled on both edges (Fig. 98): the other nine inches long and two and one-half inches wide, bevelled on the long edge (Fig. 99); these you can easily make yourself from any kind of wood.

  Fig. 98

  Fig. 99

  Mesh-sticks.

  Fig. 100.—Hammock Needle.

  Fig. 101.—The Loop.

  Fig. 102.—Small Fid and Loop.

  One pound of Macremé cord number twenty-four, or hammock twine of the same number, which can be had for less than thirty cents; colored cord comes five cents extra.

  Fig. 103.—First Half of Knot.

  Fig. 104.—Construction of Knot.

  Fig. 105.—A number of Knots.

  Wind the cord in balls, as it is then more convenient to handle, and begin making your hammock. First, thread the needle by taking it in the left hand and using the thumb to hold the end of the cord in place, while looping it over the tongue (Fig. 100); pass the cord down under the needle to the opposite side and catch it over the tongue; repeat this until the needle is full.

  Next, make a loop of a piece of cord two yards long and fasten this to any suitable place (Fig. 101)—a door-knob will do very well; then tie the cord on your needle three inches from the end to this loop. Place the small fid under the cord, the bevelled edge close to the loop (Fig. 102). With your thumb on the cord to hold it in place while you pass the needle around the fid, and with its point toward you, pass it through the loop from the top, bringing it over the fid, so forming the first half of the knot (Fig. 103). Pull this taut, holding it in place with your thumb while throwing the cord over your hand, which forms the loop as in (Fig. 104). Then pass the needle from under through the loops, drawing it tight to fasten the knot. Hold it in place with your thumb, and repeat the operation for the next knot. Fig. 105 shows a number of these knots finished. A is a loosened knot, making plain its construction. B, in Figs. 103, 104, and 105, is the cord running, to the needle, and D is the fid. When thirty meshes are finished shove them off the fid (Fig. 106), as this number will make the hammock sufficiently wide.

  Fig. 106.—Meshes.

  Commence the next row by again placing the fid under the cord, and take up the first mesh, drawing it close to the fid; hold it in place with your thumb while throwing the cord over your hand; pass the needle on the left hand-side of the mesh from under through the loop thrown over your hand (Fig. 107); pull this tight and you will have tied the common knitting-knot; proceed in like manner with all the loops in rotation until the row is finished. When it is necessary to thread or fill your needle, tie the ends of the cord with the fisherman’s knot shown in Fig. 108, which cannot slip when properly tightened. Wrap each end of the cord from the knot securely to the main co
rd with strong thread to give a neat appearance to the hammock.

  Fig. 107.—Commencing the Second Row.

  Fig. 108.—Fisherman’s Knot.

  Continue knitting until thirty rows are finished.

  Then use the large fid, knitting one row on the short side first, next one on the long side. This accomplished, knit the meshes to the ring by passing the needle through it from the top, knitting them to the ring in rotation as if they were on the mesh-stick or fid (Fig. 109). When finished tie the string securely to the ring, and one end of your hammock is finished.

  Fig. 109

  On the Ring.

  Fig. 110

  Cut the loop on which the first row was knitted, and draw it through the knots. Tie the end of the cord on your needle to the same piece used in fastening the end of the first needleful to the loop (Fig. 110), and knit the long meshes to the other ring as described. This completed, the hammock is finished.

  To swing it, secure two pieces of strong rope and fasten them firmly to the iron rings, the length of the rope depending upon the space between the two points from which you wish it to hang. These should be if possible twelve or fifteen feet apart and at least ten feet high, to give your hammock sufficient room to swing freely.

  This suspended bed will furnish a welcome retreat when the weather is too warm to admit of games, walks, or other amusements. Then, with some favorite book, or if even reading is too much of an exertion, simply to lie indolently in the hammock is a comfort, so restful and quiet that the time quickly passes, and we are made better and brighter for our short, passive repose.

  Very decorative nets, and useful ones of many kinds, including fish-nets and minnow-seines, are made with the same stitch as that used in the hammock. The size of the mesh is regulated by the circumference of the fid, and the twine used is fine or coarse, according to the style of net desired.

  Barrel Hammock.

  When in the Catskills last summer the writer saw for the first time a hammock made of a barrel. It was painted red and looked very cheery and inviting hanging under the green boughs; the two colors, being complementary, harmonized beautifully.

  This hammock was made of a piece of strong rope twenty feet long threaded in and out of barrel staves, and was substantial and durable. The construction of such a hammock is very simple. Remove the top and bottom hoops and nails from a firm, clean barrel. Then before taking off the remaining hoops draw a pencil-line around both ends of the barrel, being careful to have the marking three inches from and parallel to the edges; this is for a guide when making the two holes in each end of all the staves. Bore the holes with a five-eighth of an inch augur or a red-hot poker, using the pencil-line as a centre; leave an equal margin on both sides of the staves, and at the same time enough space in the centre to preclude all danger of breakage.

  Fasten the staves together by threading the rope through the hole from the outside of the first stave, then across the inside of the stave down through the other hole (see illustration). Continue threading until one side is finished, then in like manner thread the other side. Knock off the remaining hoops and the staves will appear as shown at bottom of illustration. Tie the two ends of the rope together and fasten loops of rope on both ends; these should be of sufficient length to conveniently swing the hammock. When threading the staves let the rope be loose enough to leave a space of an inch or so between each stave when the barrel is spread out in the form of a hammock.

  In this way you can have a serviceable hammock, the cost of which will be about twenty-five cents and a little labor.

  Grandmamma’s Dolls.

  CHAPTER XV.

  (FOR LITTLE GIRLS.)

  CORN-HUSK AND FLOWER DOLLS.

  NO such beautiful dolls as delight the hearts of the children of to-day, ever peeped forth from the Christmas-stockings of our grandmothers or great-grandmothers when they were little girls. In those times there were not, as there are now, thousands of people doing nothing but making toys for the entertainment and pleasure of the little ones, and the motherly little hearts were fain to content themselves with lavishing unlimited affection and care upon a rag, wooden, or corn-husk baby, made and dressed at home. Since then almost every child tired of, and surfeited with handsome and expensive toys, has been glad at times to get grandma to make for her a real old-fashioned dollie which might be hugged in rapturous moments of affection without fear of dislocating some of its numerous joints, or putting out of order its speaking or crying apparatus; and might in times of forgetfulness be dropped on the floor and suffer no injury thereby. Such a doll is just the kind to adopt for the summer. The fine French doll with its delicate wax or china face, silky hair, and dainty toilets, is more suited to the elegances of the parlor than to the wear and tear of out-door life, and everyone knows that summer holidays spent in the country are far too precious to be wasted taking care of anyone’s complexion, let alone a doll’s; so it is best to leave the city doll in her city home, safe out of harm’s way, and manufacture, from materials to be found in the country, one more suited to country surroundings.

  Fig. 111

  Head Commenced.

  Corn - husks, corn - cobs, and ordinary garden flowers can be made into dolls which, although not quite so pretty nor so shapely as those produced from more costly material, yet possess a charm of their own which the children are not slow to perceive.

  Little Indian girls, to whom store babies are unknown, make the most complete and durable corn-husk dolls, and the following directions tell just how to construct them:

  Fig. 112

  The Corn Husk.

  Provide yourself with the husks of several large ears of corn, and from among them select the soft white ones which grow closest to the ear. Place the stiff ends of two husks together, fold a long, soft husk in a lengthwise strip, and wind it around the ends so placed as in Fig. 111. Select the softest and widest husk you can find, fold it across the centre and place a piece of strong thread through it (as in Fig. 112), draw it in, tie it securely (Fig. 113), place it entirely over the husks you have wound, then bring it down smoothly and tie with thread underneath (Fig. 114); this will form the head and neck. To make the arms, divide the husks below the neck in two equal parts, fold together two or more husks and insert them in the division (Fig. 115). Hold the arms in place with one hand, while with the other you fold alternately over each shoulder several layers of husks, allowing them to extend down the front and back. When the little form seems plump enough, use your best husks for the topmost layers and wrap the waist with strong thread, tying it securely (Fig. 116). Next divide the husks below the waist and make the legs by neatly wrapping each portion with thread, trimming them off evenly at the feet. Finally, twist the arms once or twice, tie, and trim them off at the hands. The features can be drawn on the face with pen and ink, or may be formed of small thorns from the rose-bush. Fig. 117 shows the doll complete, minus its costume, which may be of almost any style or material, from the pretty robe of a civilized lady to the more scanty garments of its originator, the Indian. The doll is represented in full Indian costume in Fig. 118. The war-paint and tomahawk are not necessary here, as he is smoking a pipe of peace. His apparel is composed of one garment, which is cut from a broad, soft corn-husk, after the pattern given in Fig. 119. A narrow strip of husk tied about his waist forms the belt.

  Fig. 113

  Corn-husk Tied.

  Fig. 114

  Head Finished.

  Fig. 115

  Head and Arms.

  Fig. 116

  Head, Arms, and Body.

  Fig. 117

  Finished Doll.

  His head-dress is made of small chicken feathers stuck at regular intervals into a strip of husk. The corn-silk hair is placed on his head, and on top of that one end of the head-dress is fastened with a thorn.

  A small twig is used for the stem of his pipe, and two rose-bush thorns form the bowl. Instead of using a thorn for his mouth, a round hole is punched in the face and the stem of the pipe i
nserted.

  Fig. 118

  A Real Indian Doll.

  Fig. 119

  The Indian’s Dress.

  Mary Jane.

  Here is another way of making a doll which is very easy and simple. First find a young ear of corn, one on which the silk has not turned brown; then with a crab-apple for a head and a leaf of the corn to dress her with, you have your material. Cut off squarely that end of the ear where the husks are puckered, to join the stalk, and carefully take the silk from the other end, disturbing as little as possible the closely wrapped husks.

  Roll part of the leaf (as indicated in Fig. 120) for the arms, then with a small twig fasten the head to the arms; stick the other end of the twig into the small end of the corn-cob, and the doll is ready for dressing. Her bonnet is made of the leaf just where it joins the stalk (Fig. 121), and is fastened to her head with a thorn. Before adjusting the bonnet, however, the silk must be placed on the head to form the hair.

  Fig. 120

  Fig. 121

  Fig. 122

  Material and Parts of Doll.

  Mary Jane.

  Make the scarf of part of the leaf (Fig. 122), fold it around the shoulders, and secure it with thorns.

  The features also are made of thorns.

  When her toilet is complete, you can but acknowledge that this rosy-cheeked little maid, peeping from beneath her poke-bonnet, is very cunning indeed.