Part 9 (2/2)

First plait the raffia together until you have a very long braid Take the starting end,the purse When the top of the crown is as large as you wish it, turn the braid at right angles and forh, le to form the brim, which may be wide or narrow as taste dictates Use a blunt needle (S

_Proble

_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 isin co-board, fasten the ends together and ith 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 lued

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 n before you and work as closely from it as possible

Take three thick strands of raffia and twist theth, as it is much neater to add one new thread at a time than two or three Keep the rope of the sahout, and as each thread is used up, insert another overlapping the old one two or three inches Around this rope, and twisted in the sa to have the spaces equal and using threads of the sa twisted and wound four or five inches start the basket by for 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 isso that it will be supported The ring hich to lift the lid is er, 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 iven is made of white raffia twisted with red Dia 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

_Problerass, pine needles, or corn husks

_Material_--Narrow-blade n in pencil, ink, or colored crayon

Here the adaptability of athered about the horasses may be collected, spread out for three or four days where they will dry, and then utilized You will find that alrass varies in color The root end ht 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 see do not wrap the grasses as rapped the strands of raffia, but si or blending color To form the button, wrap the threads three or four tihtly, then coil to forh the center and over the coil as many times as you think necessary toof 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 froht 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]