A remarkable pretty little basket came under my notice the other day, and the maker very kindly gave me directions for making it. The foundation consisted of a
Fig. 135
elliptical piece of cork covered on the one side with some inexpensive material, on the other with light blue satin on which a spray of apple blossoms was painted. Into the upper side of this piece of cork, pins (rather large ones) were stuck at regular intervals, and put in so as to flare a little. Shaded silks were then woven in and out of these pins in such a way as to leave alternate open spaces between the pins. Then the basket was turned upside down, and pins stuck in and wound in the same way for a standard. The handle was made of a piece of whalebone covered with narrow ribbon in two colors. Much of the beauty in such a basket would depend on the colors employed and the perfect accuracy and neatness of the work.
