8 Plaited Mat
_Problem_--To construct a mat of plaited raffia rope.
_Material_--Raffia.
[Illustration: MAT OF PLAITED BRAID]
The starting-point in all these designs is the little round coil, called the button.
To make a mat, first plait a rope several feet long. To form the button hold the end of the rope between thumb and forefinger, and begin to roll the rope just as a watch spring is coiled. With a needle and fine thread of raffia, make the button firm; then keep on coiling around the button and, as each row is added, tack it to the preceding row by pushing the needle in and out at right angles with the braid, so that the stitch may be invisible. When finished the mat should be about four inches in diameter. The object of winding the plait sideways is to give the mat firmness and thickness.
9 Purse
_Problem_--To construct a purse or bag of plaited raffia rope. (See page 87.)
_Material_--Raffia.
To make a purse, plait enough rope to make two mats three and a half inches in diameter. To construct these mats first make the button. Work this time with the braid flat. Sew by holding the inner edge of the plait just under the outer edge of the preceding row. When both mats are finished, place them flat against each other, and overseam or buttonhole the edges together for about two-thirds of the circumference. Plait a rope, seven inches long, for a handle. Tie a knot in each end, and ravel the ends of raffia to form a tassel. Attach this handle to the purse at each side, where the opening begins. Girls especially delight in this little purse or bag.
10 Plaited Basket
_Problem_--To sew braid together to form ONE angle. (See page 88.)
_Material_--Raffia.
_Dimensions_--Bottom three inches in diameter; sides two inches high; handle six inches long and two braids wide.
Using three threads of raffia, plait a rope several feet long. Proceed just as with purse, and sew until you have a mat three inches in diameter. Now place the braid at right angles with the base, and sew round and round to form the sides. When these are two inches high fasten the braid; and, without cutting it, carry it to the opposite side to form the handle. Fasten it there and bring it back again, to make the handle two braids wide. Either overseam these together to make a broad handle, or leave them separated to form a double handle.
An easy way to obtain a more uniform shape in constructing this basket is to have a smooth tumbler or a tin box, and, as you work, fit the material to the form. When it is finished, dampen it and let it remain on the form until it dries.
[Illustration: PURSE OR BAG OF PLAITED RAFFIA--(For description see page 86.)]
[Illustration: BASKET OF PLAITED RAFFIA--(For description see page 86.)]
11 Hat of Plaited Rope
_Problem_--To sew the braid together to form two angles.
_Material_--Raffia.
[Illustration: HAT OF PLAITED RAFFIA]
First plait the raffia together until you have a very long braid. Take the starting end, make the button, and sew round and round, as in making the purse. When the top of the crown is as large as you wish it, turn the braid at right angles and form the sides. When, in your judgment, the crown is high enough, make a second right angle to form the brim, which may be wide or narrow as taste dictates. Use a blunt needle (Smith's tapestry, No. 18).
12 Napkin Ring
_Problem_--To construct a raffia napkin ring.
_Material_--Raffia. A piece of tag-board 1-1/2 or 2 inches wide and 6 inches long. Quarter-inch ribbon or strip of paper, or raffia of a contrasting color.
There is mentioned a raffia napkin ring in comparison with the one of reed.
Take the strip of tag-board, fasten the ends together and wrap with raffia until the board is covered.
It may be ornamented with a narrow strip of ribbon, paper or colored raffia woven around the center. If ribbon or raffia is used tie the ends in a bow. If paper is used the ends must be glued.
13 Indian Basket
_Problem_--To teach construction with twisted raffia rope.
(See page 91.)
_Material_--Two contrasting colors of raffia.
First think of what shape and size you would like a basket; then roughly sketch a design, in order that an idea of shape, size, and proportion may be had. Keep the design before you and work as closely from it as possible.
Take three thick strands of raffia and twist them into a rope. In starting have the threads unequal in length, as it is much neater to add one new thread at a time than two or three. Keep the rope of the same thickness throughout, and as each thread is used up, insert another overlapping the old one two or three inches. Around this rope, and twisted in the same way, wrap a contrasting color of raffia, aiming to have the spaces equal and using threads of the same size. Having twisted and wound four or five inches start the basket by forming a button, then, holding the button firmly with the left hand, coil the rope round and round and sew it. Use the sharp-pointed needle and join the coils in such a way that the threads will coincide with the twist.
When the basket is finished, the opening at the top should be either greater or less in diameter than the base. Make a lid exactly as the base is made, and have it just a shade wider than the opening so that it will be supported. The ring with which to lift the lid is made by wrapping raffia three or four times over the finger, and then buttonholing it over. Sew the ring to the middle of the lid and attach the lid to the basket.
[Illustration: INDIAN BASKETS]
The model here given is made of white raffia twisted with red. Diameter of base, 4 inches; height, 2-1/2 inches; opening at top, 3-1/2 inches; diameter of lid, 3-3/4 inches.
[Illustration: INDIAN BASKET--(For description see pages 89 and 90.)]
14 Grass Basket or Tray
_Problem_--To teach how to construct a basket of grass, pine needles, or corn husks.
_Material_--Narrow-blade marsh or sweet grass. Raffia for sewing.
Make a design in pencil, ink, or colored crayon.
Here the adaptability of material gathered about the home is illustrated. The tall, fine marsh grasses may be collected, spread out for three or four days where they will dry, and then utilized. You will find that almost every blade of this grass varies in color. The root end may be brown, while toward the tip the leaf shades into a light green, or white, or vice versa; this blending, when the grass is bunched, is most artistic.
Bunch a sufficient number of blades to make a coil a half or three-quarters of an inch in diameter. Do not twist. Never allow the coil to lessen in size. Keep adding fresh strands by slipping the root ends of the new blades up between those already in the coil. When we begin to sew we do not wrap the grasses as we wrapped the strands of raffia, but simply use as a sewing thread raffia of a contrasting or blending color. To form the button, wrap the threads three or four times around the root ends of the bunch, fasten tightly, then coil to form the center. Take the needle through the center and over the coil as many times as you think necessary to make the button firm. These stitches are the beginning of the spiral rays which radiate to the edge of the basket. Take the stitches at equal distances from each other.
Handle the needle so as to pass from back to front, and always have the new stitch pass through the stitch of the coil just below it from right to left. When the coil has been wound around four or five times, the stitches will be seen to interlock and form a spiral. Soon the spaces will become too wide; then take an extra stitch in the center of each space, thus adding another set of rays. Continue adding new sets of rays as the spaces widen, until the basket is finished.
[Illustration: BEGINNING OF BASKET TRAY]