"But can you not give me any idea of the appearance of this basket, mamma? I never feel as if I could do anything unless I had some notion of what it would be like when completed."
"Here is a sketch for you, my dear, and though no drawing will faithfully represent the extreme elegance of the basket, yet it will, as you say, give you a notion of the general effect."
"It is, indeed, very pretty. I see the sides are transparent; they, I suppose, are made of the filet."
"Yes; and you will begin by cutting a piece of the netting long and deep enough for the four sides, as it is joined only at one of the corners. Take great care to cut it accurately, or your flowers will not run evenly. It must be cut to appear in diamonds, not in squares. Another piece will be required for the bottom of the basket. On these a pattern must be darned in colored silks. I have drawn you one which will do nicely for the sides."
"It is intended that one of these designs shall be seen in each compartment of the basket. You will see that there are three on each side, and two at each end--ten altogether--so that the pattern is to be repeated that number of times."
"How shall I manage to keep them at equal distances, mamma?"
"I think I should fold the length of netting into ten parts, and run a white thread to mark each separate piece. Now you will require three colors for the darning; what will you choose?"
"What do you think of sky-blue, with maize and scarlet? They would be very pretty, would they not?"
"Very; but then all the trimmings must be in sky-blue, and as you want something rather effective for candle-light, I would suggest that a rich crimson or scarlet would be a better predominant color. With it you might have green and gold, or green and blue."
"Green and blue form a mixture that I cannot fancy to be pretty, mamma. Do you like the effect of it?"
"Not much; but it is very fashionable. The French introduce it into everything, and call it _préjugé vaincu_, or, prejudice conquered."
"Well, I am afraid, mamma, that my prejudice is unconquerable; so if you please, we will have maize and green in preference. How am I to use these colors?"
"Do the upper part of the design in scarlet, the lower in green, and the spots up the centre, and between the designs, in maize. In darning, work half the design, from the centre, leaning towards the right hand, and the other half towards the left."