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Mrs. Nickerson's hobby began about a year ago when she first made larger flowers from re-dyed nylon stockings. The large-size blossoms were made to be worn as a single flower to give a touch of brightness to coat, suit or plain dress, while the smaller-size flowers were arranged into bunches for corsages or boutonnieres for more formal wear. Soon she was besieged with requests for matching earrings. Having never created any flowers as tiny as would be needed for such use, it was with mingled doubt and fear that she made her first pair of earrings. After a little practice, she found they really were not much more difficult to make than the larger flowers.

NATURALLY nylons do not burst into full-bloom pretty posies without proper preparation for their reincarnation. The first thing Mrs. Nickerson does, after selecting stockings that are as free from runs and snags as possible, is to cut the feet and heavy tops from the stockings—no use wasting color-remover and dye on stocking-parts that will not be usable. This done, she then removes most of the color from them, using standard fabric color-remover which she buys at a variety or drug store for 25 cents a package. During the color-removing process certain shades of stockings often turn to beautiful pastel colors—blue, yellow, green and various other colors. Seemed logical, thought Mrs. Nickerson, that if the stockings were removed from the solution at the proper time, there would be no need to dye them. Unfortunately, this does not work—the stockings, when dried and exposed to the light for a time, soon lose their pretty colors, turning to an ugly "tattle-tale" grey. "It would have been miserably poor advertising for me," says Mrs. Nickerson, "had I unintentionally made and sold flowers from those undyed colors. It's lucky for me I found out my hunch was wrong before any damage was done."

Mrs. Nickerson finds it is both economical and time-saving to dye quite a number of stockings at one time, making as many different floral shades as possible so she will have a wide variety of colors to choose from when needed. Only a small amount of green is needed for leaves; therefore, she dyes proportionally fewer stockings that particular color. For the dye bath, she uses dyes which are suitable for nylon materials, the price (depending on size) is 15 to 25 cents a package. Many pairs of stockings can be dyed from one package of dye and different shades of the same color can be made by varying the strength of the dye bath. Using a deep shade at the beginning of the dyeing process, Mrs. Nickerson dyes the desired number of stockings that certain shade, then dilutes the dye for lighter shades. In this way she is able to obtain a wide range of shades from just one package of dye.

WITH AN assortment of colored nylon ready, the next step is to prepare the wire foundations for the flowers and that is when Mrs. Nickerson's husband, George, takes on the important role of an able assistant.

After experimenting with different types of fine wire, the Nickersons found none seemed as suitable for petal foundations as unraveled copper window screen. They buy this screening at hardware stores or lumber yards, paying about $1.35 a yard for it. It can also be purchased in small quantities, the usual price being 15 cents for a square foot. The wires running one way of the screening are, when unraveled, slightly crinkly or wavy; it is this wire that they use for the petal foundations. The waviness of the glistening wire, as it shows through the gossamer nylon, produces an attractive effect not to be found if the straight wires are used.

Painstakingly Mr. Nickerson unravels the needed amount of wire and shapes it into assorted sizes of loops that form the foundation for the petals and leaves. Mrs. Nickerson insists the loops be of uniform size for each particular flower and leaf. That is why Mr. Nickerson finds it advantageous to use certain tools for guides in shaping the wires. After determining the size of various petals and leaves, he assembled a few objects that might be useful for this purpose. A glimpse into his tool kit discloses quite an odd assortment of commonplace objects—an empty round bottle from the medicine cabinet, a short length of broom handle, other sizes of round wood, and the cap from a fountain pen—all serve some special purpose. Precision-made jigs would serve no better than do these simple tools that cost nothing extra. This is how Mr. Nickerson uses one of these tools as a help in making the wire foundations of uniform size: the ends of a piece of wire, cut slightly longer than will reach once around a bottle, are twisted together firmly; this loop (a petal foundation) is then slipped off the bottle and others are made in like manner. The bottle serves merely as a guide to make uniform size loops. The piece of broom handle serves the same purpose in making petal foundations for smaller flowers, while the fountain pen cap is just the right size for tiny earring size flower petals.

Mr. Nickerson refers to sizes of petals by the certain object he uses in forming the wire foundations, so when I asked him to tell me the size of the earring petals he replied, "Oh, they are fountain pen size." Wanting a more exact measurement I got out my ruler and found them to be half an inch in diameter. If the present trend for larger earrings continues it may not be long before he will have to substitute his trusty fountain pen cap for one of a larger size.

WITH THE wire foundations now ready, the actual making of the flower petals begins. Regardless of size, Mrs. Nickerson uses the same method to make all petals and leaves. Each stocking is cut down the seam and the nylon is then smoothed out into one flat piece. Unlike some flower-makers, she does not cut a piece from the stocking before making the petal; instead, beginning at one end of the nylon, she shapes the material over the wire before cutting it from the stocking. This method saves both time and material. Mrs. Nickerson stretches the nylon slightly as she binds the gathers at the base of the petal with nylon thread. Nylon thread is used for this purpose because it is stronger than ordinary thread and can therefore be stretched very tight, making it possible to cut the thread without tying. It is essential, however, to stretch the thread very tightly as it is wrapped several times around the base of the petal. If this is not done, the thread will have to be tied.

After making the desired number of petals and leaves (usually five to eight petals and two leaves for each earring), Mrs. Nickerson forms them into individual flowers. Nylon thread is also used for this purpose. After arranging the petals around a few tiny artificial flower stamens, a couple of green leaves are added and the whole is bound together in the same manner as were the individual petals and leaves. The base of the flower is then wrapped with green parafilm tape (an adhesive-type of tape such as florists use in wrapping the stems of natural flowers before making them into corsages). The tape-covered flower base is then cut off as close as possible (about ¼ inch) to the flower.

Since shops in her city do not carry the stamens or tape, Mrs. Nickerson orders these items in quantity from artificial floral supply companies. The price of stamens varies according to type, the average price being about 10 cents a bunch, while the cost of the tape is 25 cents per roll.

Using household cement, which can be purchased for 10 cents a tube, Mrs. Nickerson cements the completed flowers onto metal earring screws. While the cement hardens in a few minutes time, for added assurance that the flowers will not loosen from the bases later, she allows the earrings to set untouched at least a day before attaching to the cards, upon which she has written the words "Hand Made." As a final touch she shapes the petals and leaves as needed to give a realistic appearance to the miniature flowers.

WHEN MRS. NICKERSON started converting nylons into flowers her own accumulated supply of discarded stockings, and those that friends gave her, were sufficient for her needs. However, her hobby mushroomed to such proportions that her supply was soon exhausted and she had to devise other means to obtain stockings. She decided to offer a made-up corsage in exchange for used stockings but this plan proved unsatisfactory. Often people, not realizing that it was sheer stockings she wanted, would give her service weight ones or such badly worn ones that they were totally unfit for flower making. To exchange a corsage that she could sell for $1 or more seemed too high a price to pay for such stockings. While stockings with small snags or runs are usable, Mrs. Nickerson avoids using those having many such defects. Since she has these certain requirements she finds it more advantageous to buy her supply of stockings at rummage or thrift sales where she can pick and choose those most suitable for her work. Usually she is able to buy a big bundle of such stockings for 25 cents which, obviously, is better than trading a corsage for them.

The cost of most of the material that is used in making nylon earrings, such as stockings, color-remover, dye, wire, stamens, thread, tape and cement, is so slight that it is difficult for Mrs. Nickerson to determine exactly the actual material cost of each pair. The metal earring bases, costing 5 to 10 cents a pair, constitute the greatest single expense. She estimates the total cost for all materials (except plastic boxes) does not exceed 25 cents a pair.

The beauty of the earrings is greatly enhanced by putting them up in clear plastic boxes and this Mrs. Nickerson does when advisable and when the boxes are available.

Working as a team, the Nickersons are able to turn out a lot of earrings in a single day even though routine housekeeping and gardening duties take some of their time. The price of $1 for each pair of earrings brings them in very satisfactory hourly wages. The price is somewhat less if the earrings are sold by the dozen.

A corner of the Nickerson living room is used as a workroom; no large tools or equipment is needed so a table or two provides ample working space. Work is conducted on more or less of an assembly line basis. Mr. Nickerson shapes a large quantity of varying size wire rings, placing them in separate small boxes. Mrs. Nickerson makes constant inroads into the supply as she converts the little wire rings into flower petals. Making petals by the dozens, she too, keeps them in separate little boxes—brilliant red for poinsettias and roses, purple for pansies and violets, shades of yellow for dainty daffodils, blue for forget-me-nots—each color petal in its own compartment ready to be assembled at the proper time.

Mrs. Nickerson tries to create each miniature flower as nearly like a natural flower as possible. Once, however, she deviated from this practice and made a five petal flower, each petal a totally different color. For want of a better name she calls it a "whatsit" flower. When made up into earrings this strange little flower appealed to people and has since proved to be one of her best selling numbers.

AS IS the case with most hobbies that grow into profitable ventures, Mrs. Nickerson made her first sales to friends and acquaintances who in turn showed her creations to others; soon they too, wanted similar pieces and thus the hobby grew more profitable as time went on.

A local dress shop sells a great many of Mrs. Nickerson's nylon creations, charging 20 per cent commission for selling them for her. It was through this shop that she got started making the earrings. Because so many customers asked for earrings to match the corsages and boutonnieres the shop owner urged Mrs. Nickerson to make up some matching sets. She did this and while such sets sell readily at prices ranging from $2 to $3.50, her greatest number of sales at present are of the earrings separately at $1 a pair.

While on a trip to the west coast last summer the Nickersons sold many pairs of earrings, as well as some corsages and boutonnieres, to people they met at tourist camps and other places. Not realizing they would find their work so saleable, they did not take a large supply with them but, as Mr. Nickerson expressed it, "We could have sold a washtub full if we had only had them with us."

Mrs. Nickerson recalls stopping at an antique shop (yes, she collects old dishes as a hobby, too) where she found a dish she wanted for her collection. The price of $4.50 seemed a bit more than she felt she should pay. Asking if the shop owner would be interested in taking nylon flowers and earrings in exchange for the dish, Mrs. Nickerson was told quite frankly by the shop owner that artificial flowers did not interest her. Mr. Nickerson, who is very proud of his wife's work, could not understand anyone not liking the pretty creations. As they left the shop he suggested to his wife that they return later, taking with them a box full of the spring-like flowers, and see if the shop owner would not take time at least to look at their hobby products. This they did and apparently the shop owner realized she had been ignorant as to the real beauty that is often to be found in certain types of artificial flowers. At any rate an exchange was made whereby Mrs. Nickerson became the owner of the much-wanted dish and also received several dollars for additional floral pieces the shop owner especially wanted.

Other contacts were made while the Nickersons were on that vacation trip that later resulted in orders for their flowers and earrings.

Never, since nylon posies began blooming in the Nickerson home, has there been any lengthy lull in their business. While they have not become rich through their hobby, nor do they expect to, they enjoy doing this type of craft work and are fully satisfied with the substantial profits they are deriving from it.