Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 89, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 April 1916 — HANDICRAFT FOR BOYS AND GIRLS [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

HANDICRAFT FOR BOYS AND GIRLS

(Copyright, by A. Neely Hall.)

JUMP STANDARDS. Two poles six or seven feet in length are necessary for the uprights. Clothes poles will do nicely, and likely you can borrow a pair, as they are not to be damaged in the least, and can be slipped out of their bases in an instant, for use on washday. Two small boxes are needed for the bases. Fig. 3 shows one completed standard, and Figs. 4 and 5 how the inside of the box bases are prepared to sup-

port the uprights. The upper end of a clothespole has a right-angie notch cut in it for the clothesline to fit in. This notched end of the pole is used for the base end of the jump standard, and fits over a cross strip A (Fig 4), fastened between the sides of the box, in the center of the bottom. Cut a pair of sticks to fit lengthwise between the ends of the box (B, Fig. 5), and fasten theta just far enough apart to permit the clothespole to slip down between them. Then cut the pair of sticks C of the same length as stick A, cross them over the pair of sticks B, and fasten between the box sides with just enough space left between to

allow for the width of the clothespole upright. It is not necessary to mark the height measurements upon the uprights. You can have an additional pole so marked, for the purpose of adjusting the cross bar or rope to heights desired. Still, it simplifies matters to have the poles graduated. Rule the “foot” divisions across one face and edge, the “half-foot" divisions across the face, and the ‘‘inch’’ divisions half-way across the face. Mark the “foot” divisions “1,” “7 J “3,” etc. The adjustable supports for the cross bar or rope are made of tin and wood (Figs. 6 and 7). To make the wedge-shaped blocks D and E first cut a block of wood about 3 inches

long, 1 inch wide and 1 inch thick; then saw it in half diagonally. Cut a strip Qf tin about 1% inches wide from a tin can, for the sleeve F, tack one end of this to the straight face of block D, bend it around the pole, make the other end meet the first end, and tack to block D. Make the sleeves fit loosely so they will slide up and down the poles easily. To fasten them at the desired point, it is necessary to slip the wedge E between the pole and block D, and push it up until the sleeve fits tight Use a light-weight stick, or piece of clothesline with weight attached to each end (Fig. 2), to hang across the uprights. Fig. 8 shows a boy rope-vaulting. If you have never tried this forni of leaping you must do so, because it is lots of Cun.

By A. NEELY HALL and DOROTHY PERKINS

BASKET MAKING WITH GRASSES. The baskets are built *of coils of grasses, each made of several strands of grasses, and upon the care with which the grasses are assembled and the turns of the coil joined to one another, depends the success of the basket. In gathering the grasses, pull long ones, because less splicing will be necessary with them. To prepare the grass rope for the basket coil, lay together enough

grasses of equal length to make a thickness a triffe less than the diameter of a pencil. Then grasp these grasses in your left hand, and taking a long strand of grass, wrap it around the bunch from stem ends to blade ends, bringing the turns close to one another as shown in Fig. 1. When you reach the ends, of the grass blades, take another bunch of equal thickness and splice them on to the ends of the first bunch, lapping the ends about an inch (Fig. 2), and binding them together with the covering strand of grass (Fig. 3). An 18-lnch rope is long enough to begin the basket with. Fig 4 shows how to start a basket bottom. Coil the end of the rope over on to itself, to form a small button, and coil several turns

of the rope about this; then with a coarse needle, threaded with the stem of one of the greases, sew the turns one to another, using a plain over-and-over stitch. Splice other bunches of grass on to the rope as you need them, and sew each turn of the coll to the preceding one, as you build. If you haven’t a coarse enough needle, you can use linen thread to sew with, instead of strands of grass. Draw the stitches tight, to make a firm structure, and, while building one turn upon another, pull in or spread them according to how much and where you want the sides of the basket to flare. When the rim of the basket has been formed, cut off the end of the coil, find trim back the grass blades to different lengths so the coil will bevel off on to the rim. The basket in Fig. 5 has a handle, and the making and attachment of

this requires explanation. A piece of wire—electi-ic bell-wire will do —forms a center core of the handle, to give it stiffness, and several strands of grass are placed outside of the wire to add thickness; then all are bound together and concealed by a strand of grass (Fig. 6). To attach the handle, bend the end of the wire core around ths rim of the basket, as shown in Fig. 7; and fasten the ends of the grasses to the rim, also. Fig. 3 shows a basket with another style of handle made in the same way. ___ Square baskets (Fig. 9) are not substantial unless re-enforced by other material. The best scheme is to use a cardboard box as a foundation, and to coll the grass rope around the sides (Fig. 10), and glue it to the box. The Inside may be lined with silk Instead of grass.