Clothing and Health - An Elementary Textbook of Home Making

By Author	[ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z \| Other Symbols ]
By Title	[ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z \| Other Symbols ]
By Language

Download this book: [ ASCII ]

Look for this book on Amazon

We have new books nearly every day.
If you would like a news letter once a week or once a month fill out this form and we will give you a summary of the books for that week or month by email.

Title: Clothing and Health - An Elementary Textbook of Home Making
Author: Kinne, Helen, Cooley, Anna M.
Language: English
As this book started as an ASCII text book there are no pictures available.

*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Clothing and Health - An Elementary Textbook of Home Making" ***

[Illustration: IN OLDEN TIMES THE WOMEN PREPARED ALL THE TEXTILE YARNS AT
HOME]

_THE HOME-MAKING SERIES_

CLOTHING AND HEALTH

_AN ELEMENTARY TEXTBOOK OF HOME MAKING_

BY
HELEN KINNE

PROFESSOR OF HOUSEHOLD ARTS EDUCATION, TEACHERS COLLEGE
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, AUTHOR OF "FOOD AND HOUSEHOLD
MANAGEMENT" AND "SHELTER AND CLOTHING"

AND

ANNA M. COOLEY, B.S.

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF HOUSEHOLD ARTS EDUCATION, TEACHERS COLLEGE
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, AUTHOR OF "FOOD AND HOUSEHOLD
MANAGEMENT" AND "SHELTER AND CLOTHING"

New York
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
1920

_All rights reserved_

Set up and electrotyped. Published September, 1916.

Norwood Press
J. S. Cushing Co.--Berwick & Smith Co.
Norwood, Mass., U.S.A.

PREFACE

This volume, like its companion, _Food and Health_, is intended for use
in the elementary schools in those sections of the country where the home
life is of the type described. It is hoped that both volumes will be used
by the home people as well as by those at the school.

This volume treats largely of the clothing problems and of the elementary
work in sewing which precedes garment making. It also includes the
subject of the leading textile materials,--where they are grown and how
they are manufactured ready for our use. Such topics as the hygiene of
clothing, buying materials and clothing wisely, the clothing budget, the
use of the commercial pattern, the care and repair of clothing, color
combinations, and attractiveness in dress, are woven in with the lessons
on sewing and textiles, in a very simple and elementary way.

The authors are indebted to the United States Department of Agriculture,
to the Smithsonian Institution, to the Draper Company, Hopedale,
Massachusetts, to the York Street Flax Spinning Company, Belfast, to the
Whittall Rug Company, to Cheney Brothers, silk manufacturers, and to
others, for kind permission to use the pictures shown. We acknowledge,
also, the permission of the Corticelli Silk Mills of Florence,
Massachusetts, for use of their copyrighted photographs of silkworms.
Teachers will be glad to know that they can obtain from the Corticelli
Mills, at slight expense, specimen cocoons and other helps for object
lesson teaching.

CONTENTS

PAGE

THE PLEASANT VALLEY SCHOOL 1

CHAPTER I. THE PLEASANT VALLEY GIRLS LEARN TO SEW:
Lesson 1. Toweling and Other Cotton Samples 6
Lesson 2. The Story of How Cotton Grows 11
Lesson 3. The Hemming Stitch 19
Lesson 4. The Stitching Stitch 23
Lesson 5. The Overhanding Stitch 28
Lesson 6. Planning to Make an Apron 31
Lesson 7. Using the Running and Back Stitch on the Apron 34
Lesson 8. Making and Attaching the Apron Yokes 37
Lesson 9. How to Make a Buttonhole 39
Lesson 10. The Use of the Commercial Pattern 46
Lesson 11. Taking Measurements and Cutting Out the Petticoat 50
Lesson 12. Making the Petticoats 53

CHAPTER II. THE GIRLS OF THE PLEASANT VALLEY SCHOOL LEARN
TO MAKE SIMPLE GARMENTS:
Lesson 1. Cotton Materials Suitable for Underwear 58
Lesson 2. Selecting a Pattern and the Cloth for a Nightdress 63
Lesson 3. How Cotton Cloth is Woven 65
Lesson 4. The Spinning of Cotton into Yarn 72
Lesson 5. Cutting Out a Nightdress 78
Lesson 6. The Parts of the Sewing Machine 80
Lesson 7. Practice in Threading and Running the Machine 84
Lesson 8. The French Seam and Its Use 86
Lesson 9. Protection for the Body at Night 89
Lesson 10. Laces and Their Use 93
Lesson 11. Trimming the Nightdress 98
Lesson 12. Choosing the Pattern and Material for
a White Petticoat 101
Lesson 13. Learning to Make the Petticoat 103
Lesson 14. How to Make a Corset Cover 105

CHAPTER III. LEARNING TO MAKE ATTRACTIVE GIFTS FOR CHRISTMAS
OR FOR A BIRTHDAY PRESENT:
Lesson 1. The Story of How Silk is Produced 109
Lesson 2. Simple Articles Easily Made from Silk Scraps 116
Lesson 3. The Names and Uses of Several Silks are Discussed 122
Lesson 4. More Useful Gifts and How to Make Them 127
Lesson 5. Cousin Ann Tells How Silk is Made into Cloth 131
Lesson 6. The Blanket Stitch can be Used in Many Ways 138
Lesson 7. Learning to Make the Cross-stitch 142
Lesson 8. How to Make the Hemstitch 147
Lesson 9. Another Useful Gift and a New Stitch 149
Lesson 10. The Darning Stitch 152

CHAPTER IV. THE PLEASANT VALLEY GIRLS LEARN TO CARE FOR
THEIR CLOTHES AND TO HELP REPAIR THE HOUSEHOLD
LINENS:
Lesson 1. Care of Clothes 156
Lesson 2. Learning to Darn Straight Tears 163
Lesson 3. Darning Stockings 167
Lesson 4. Patching Saves Clothing and Other Articles 171
Lesson 5. The Story of How Linen is Grown 174
Lesson 6. Common Linen Materials are Identified 181
Lesson 7. Removing Common Stains from Table Linen 185
Lesson 8. Learning to Wash and Iron the Table or Bed Linen 188
Lesson 9. The Story of the Manufacture of Linen Yarn
into Cloth 191
Lesson 10. A Talk about Buying Linens 196

CHAPTER V. THE PLEASANT VALLEY GIRLS LEARN TO MAKE
OTHER GARMENTS:
Lesson 1. The Pattern of the Bloomers 201
Lesson 2. The Story of Where Wool is Grown 203
Lesson 3. Some of the Most Common Materials Made from Wool 209
Lesson 4. Making a Pair of Bloomers 215
Lesson 5. The Story of How Wool is Made into Cloth 218
Lesson 6. Some Facts to Remember in Purchasing Wool Clothing 224
Lesson 7. The Clothing Budget 230
Lesson 8. Planning a Dress Skirt of Cotton Material 236
Lesson 9. Clothing in Relation to Health 240
Lesson 10. More Health Problems in Choosing Clothes 243

CHAPTER VI. CHOOSING AND WEARING CLOTHES:
Lesson 1. What it Means to be Well Dressed 250
Lesson 2. The Choice of Colors for Clothing 256
Lesson 3. Selecting a Hat 262
Lesson 4. Making the Middy Blouse 268
Lesson 5. Suggestions for Buying Garments of Wool and Silk 271
Lesson 6. Learning to Use Some Simple Textile Tests 278
Lesson 7. How Pattern is Made in Cloth 285

THE ELLEN H. RICHARDS HOUSE 291

[Illustration]

THE PLEASANT VALLEY SCHOOL

This is a story of the way in which the mothers and fathers, the teacher
and pupils, and their friends in the township work together to make the
broad valley in which they live truly a Pleasant Valley. The new school
stands where the little red schoolhouse was built for those who are now
grandmothers and grandfathers, when the town was first settled. The old
building had become too small for all the young folk, but everybody loved
the place and it was not until a fire had destroyed it that money was
voted for larger and better housing for the school girls and boys.

These small books can describe only a part of everything that is being
done in and for the school, and for the home people too, for you know
that no town can prosper and no country be great unless the homes are
healthful and happy, where all the members of every family work and play
together. Do you not want to help, too, in your home, and in your town?

[Illustration: 1819]

CLOTHING AND HEALTH

[Illustration]

CHAPTER I

THE PLEASANT VALLEY GIRLS LEARN TO SEW.

Our clothes are important for they help to keep us well. Shall we learn
how to choose the materials for them, and how to make some useful
articles of clothing? Sewing is an art which all girls should learn. If
we know how to sew, we can keep our clothes in order and always be neat
and attractive in appearance. We can, also, make acceptable articles
and gifts for others. It is useful, too, to know about materials and
about their costs and uses; for, when we buy our clothing and household
articles ready-made, we should know how to tell whether the material is
durable and will wear. The women of the home should know how to make a
dollar buy the very best things. The mothers and grandmothers of Pleasant
Valley are delighted to know that their children are to be taught at
school. If we understand about materials, we will be able to help a great
deal. Do you know that the women of the United States spend a billion
of dollars every year for textile materials alone? Isn't it interesting
to know, too, that our clothing materials come from plants or animals?
Do you know how they are obtained and manufactured? Do you belong to a
sewing club or society? Perhaps you can form a sewing club at your school
or in your town as the girls of Pleasant Valley did.

[Illustration: FIG. 1.--Marjorie Allen, President of the Girls' Sewing
League.]

Marjorie Allen (Fig. 1) has been made President of the Girls' Sewing
League of Pleasant Valley. All the school girls belong; they meet once a
week and usually sew for their annual fair. Sometimes they make garments
for the little children who come during the summer to the Fresh Air Home
near their town. Marjorie buys all the materials; so she must know how
to buy. She goes once a month with her mother, Mrs. Allen, to town where
there is a good store. Sometimes she orders by mail.

[Illustration: FIG. 2.--Miss James and some of the Pleasant Valley girls.
They are sewing for the League fair.]

The girls of the league have decided to make some kitchen towels and
potlifters. These are useful and always sell well. As the girls do not
yet know how to make these articles, they have promised to make a towel
for themselves for school use, on which to learn. Then they will make
others for the sale. Cooking, sewing, and housewifery are a part of the
school work. Besides Miss James, the teacher, will give credit for the
sewing done by the Girls' League. The girls are anxious to prove to Miss
James (Fig. 2) that they can really work outside of school.

Later the girls hope to make aprons and caps to wear for their school
work in housewifery, and also some petticoats for the children at the
Fresh Air Home. Miss James says she will help them at school to get
started.

LESSON 1

TOWELING AND OTHER COTTON SAMPLES

Marjorie sent for samples of toweling materials. She also went
to the town store to see what it had to offer, and to look for
materials for petticoats and aprons. One day at school all the
girls wrote for samples. Miss James criticized the letters, and
chose the best one to be sent. Perhaps you can do this at your
school.

=What material is best for toweling?= As soon as all the samples arrived
at Pleasant Valley, Marjorie took them to school, and Miss James spent
an hour with the girls studying the materials. The toweling samples were
examined first. What a difference in them! Some are smooth and feel cold
and look almost shiny, and others feel soft and look more fuzzy on the
surface. Do you know why? It is because some are woven of linen fibers
made from the flax plant, and others from cotton which comes from the
cotton plant. Which do you think are made from cotton? Then, there is
a difference in width: some are only 15 inches wide, and others are 18
inches. Some have a red or blue edge, and others are plain. There is
also difference in price. Which costs more, linen or cotton? Are the
prices not given on the samples? Marjorie and the girls decided that the
towels are to be one yard long. They would like to make four dozen for
the sale and plan to tie them up attractively, half a dozen in a package.
They had $25 left in the treasury from last year. As they will have
many other things to buy, they decided to purchase cotton towels this
year. Later, if there is enough money, they can add some linen towels.
Cotton towels do not absorb the water as easily as the linen. We call
this a difference in the properties of the two materials. Barbara Oakes
said her mother always buys linen towels. Cotton fibers have a kind of
waxy coating which throws off the water. Linen fibers draw in moisture
quickly, and linen materials dry very rapidly. Why, then, is linen really
better for dish towels?

=Gingham, calico, and chambray are pretty and useful.= Let us look at
some of the other cotton materials. Miss James had many samples for
the girls to see. Grandmother Stark sent over some from her piece bag.
Perhaps your teacher will bring some, and your mother may send some, too.
There are several samples of material for the aprons and caps. The blue
and white, and pink and white stripes and checks are ginghams; the white
with the little spots and thin stripes are percales. The plain blues
and pinks are chambray; the plain blues and pinks of cheaper grade are
ginghams. Those with printed designs on one side are calicos. The dark
brown and blue samples are heavier and are called denims. Suppose we make
a book of brown paper and mount all the cotton materials we can find.
This book can be kept at the school for reference. Everybody must help.
See if it is possible to write under each sample the name and common
uses of the material as well as its price. Miss James had some smooth
brown paper to fold for a book. She suggested ways to bind it. If each
girl wishes her own book, a number can be made if so many samples can be
obtained. Barbara and Marjorie decide to make their books at home.

[Illustration: FIG. 3.--The girls made brown paper books for their
textile samples.]

=There are several varieties of cotton flannel.= The fuzzy soft cotton
samples are outing flannels and canton flannels. What is the difference
in their appearance? The canton flannel is heavier, and it has one
twilled surface and one fuzzy surface. It costs 12 cents a yard and comes
about 30 inches in width. Outing flannel, which is fuzzy on both sides,
can be bought from 10 to 35 cents a yard, and it is 36 inches wide. The
flannelette samples are also soft and cost from 8 to 12 cents per yard;
but flannelette is only 27 inches in width. It has a slight nap or fuzzy
surface, and is sometimes plain in color and sometimes printed on one
surface. Compare these three materials. Outing flannel is very dangerous
unless treated with ammonium phosphate. Dissolve one quarter of a pound
of ammonium phosphate, which costs about 25 cents, in one gallon of cold
water. Soak the clothing in this solution for five minutes. This is
easily done and may prevent much trouble. Can you tell why outing flannel
is dangerous unless it is treated?

=Many other cotton materials are useful.= Miss James has ever so many
more cotton materials. She told the girls the use and name of each. Can
we learn them all?

_Cheesecloth._ Thin, sheer, plain weave. Costs from 5 to 12 cents
per yard, and comes 1 yard wide. It is used for wrapping butter or
cheese, for curtains, and for many other purposes. It may be used
for baby, too, because it is so soft. The unbleached cheesecloth
costs from 4 to 12 cents and is 1 yard wide.

_Crinoline._ Something like cheesecloth in appearance and stiffer
in texture. It is used by dressmakers for stiffening parts of
garments. It comes from about 19 to 36 inches wide and costs
12½-cents up.

_Scrim._ An open mesh weave but heavier than cheesecloth. It is
used for curtains and household furnishings, and comes bleached or
unbleached. What is the difference in their color? Cost, from 12
to 90 cents. Width, from 36 to 45 inches.

_Cretonne and Chintz._ Printed materials with flowers or designs
on one side, sometimes on both. They cost from 12 to 75 cents per
yard and are used for curtains, covers, cushion tops, etc. They
vary in width from 25 to 36 inches.

_Denim._ Strong material and has an uneven twilled weave. It is
used for furniture covers, for aprons, and for floor covering.
It costs from 18 to 30 cents per yard and comes about 1 yard in
width. Your big brother or father wears overalls of this material;
perhaps some of the boys in school do, too.

_Gingham._ A material used for aprons or dresses, skirts, etc. It
is from 24 to 30 inches wide and costs from 10 to 50 cents per
yard. Fine ginghams are very beautiful. Sometimes they are plain
in color or striped or in plaids.

_Percale._ A good piece can be bought for 12½-cents per yard, 36
inches wide. It comes plain or printed, and is firm and closely
woven. It is good for aprons or summer dresses.

_Ticking._ A material used for pillows or mattress covers. It is
striped, is twilled in weave, and wears very well. It costs from
12½-cents per yard up to 50 or 60 cents per yard, and is woven 36
inches wide.

[Illustration: FIG. 4.--The surprise box.]

Do you understand what is meant when we read that cloth is woven 36
inches wide? Do you know how cotton cloth is made and where it comes
from? Grandmother Allen told some of the girls; for she knows about all
such things. In our next lesson we shall study where cotton is grown, and
in another learn how it is woven. Another day we will learn the names of
other cotton materials and their uses. Then, we can add them to our book
of cotton samples. The little white box on Miss James' desk is a surprise
box (Fig. 4). Any one who finds a new cotton material different from
those studied at school, Miss James says, may drop it through the little
hole in the cover of the box. What fun the girls of Pleasant Valley will
have when it is opened.

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. If you were buying kitchen toweling for use at home, what
material would you buy?

2. Name three fuzzy cotton materials and tell their uses.

3. Decide whether you are to make a sample book. Begin to collect
samples of cotton materials for it.

4. Write quickly on the blackboard the names of six common cotton
materials. Ask mother to name six.

LESSON 2

THE STORY OF COTTON GROWING

Do you know that our country produces three-fourths of the cotton
of the world? Where is it grown? Have you heard the story of
cotton? Let us learn about it.

While the girls of Pleasant Valley school waited for the cotton toweling
to come from the store, they studied about where cotton is grown. Cotton
is the cheapest and most important textile fiber. What does the word
textile mean? Look up the word in the school dictionary. More clothing is
made from cotton than from any other fiber.

=Where does cotton grow?= Perhaps you have lived in the Southern States.
Can you name them without looking at your geography? Can you tell why it
is warmer in those states and why cotton grows so well there, and not in
Northern States? Texas produces more cotton than any other state. In what
other countries of the world do you think cotton is grown? John Alden and
Frank Allen heard the girls studying about cotton, and they told Miss
James that they thought the boys would like to learn, too.

[Illustration: _Courtesy of the United States Department of Agriculture._

FIG. 5.--The flower and leaf of the cotton plant. The size of the flower
is about four inches across.]

=How cotton grows.= The farmer plants the cotton seeds in rows,--you have
seen corn planted in that way. What color is corn? The cotton seeds do
not look like kernels of corn; but some are fuzzy and soft and gray or
green in color, and others are black and smooth. This is because there
are many varieties or kinds of cotton. Some grow to be five feet tall
like corn; others, ten feet in height. The flowers are yellow at first
and then turn brown or purplish red. There are over one hundred varieties
of cotton. If you do not live near a cotton field, perhaps you can ask
some boy or girl in your school to write to the United States Department
of Agriculture at Washington. This department will send you some cotton
seeds. Perhaps you can plant the seeds in the school garden and see
if they will grow. In the South the planter prepares the fields about
February and plants in April or May. By the middle of August, the plants
are five or six feet high and are covered with fuzzy little white balls,
soft and dry. The cotton fields, or plantations as they are called, look
like fairyland. In the picture (Fig. 6) you will see the men, women,
and children busy picking the cotton and putting it into baskets. The
cotton bolls, as they are called, are brown and dry looking: but when
ripe, they burst, and the woolly looking white ball pops out of its brown
house, or shell (Fig. 7). In each cotton boll there are about thirty or
forty seeds, and the cotton fibers are all attached to these seeds. The
fibers are made into thread and clothing, and the seeds are used for many
purposes.

[Illustration: _Courtesy of the United States Department of Agriculture._

FIG. 6.--Picking cotton.]

=Cotton fibers differ.= We shall learn how the fiber is pulled from
the seeds. This process is called ginning and is done by a machine. If
you have a microscope in your school, look at a cotton fiber under
the glass. Miss James will send for some fibers. You will see that it
looks like a ribbon which has been twisted. The natural twist helps very
much when cotton is twisted or is manufactured into yarn. Cotton is a
wonderful little fiber and varies in length from ½ to 2 inches. The
cotton called Sea Island cotton is the long fiber cotton, and is grown
near the sea, for it needs the sea air. The cotton called Upland grows
away on the uplands and is shorter. These are the principle kinds grown
in the United States.

[Illustration: _Courtesy of the United States Department of Agriculture._

FIG. 7.--Cotton bolls when burst are about the size of a small apple.]

[Illustration: FIG. 8.--Cotton fibers magnified.]

=The cotton seeds are taken from the fiber.= After the pickers have
gone up and down the long rows and filled their bags or baskets, they
empty the cotton into wagons which carry it to the gin house, where the
seeds are separated from the fibers and the brown pieces of the pod are
blown away as it is separated and cleaned. Long ago in India and other
countries, cotton was ginned by hand. What a long tedious process, for
only one pound could be separated by a person in a day. The picture (Fig.
9) shows a little girl at school trying to gin some cotton with a little
ginning machine which she has made at school. While George Washington
was President of the United States, a man named Eli Whitney invented
a machine, called the saw gin, for separating cotton fibers from the
seed. This invention has saved much time. To-day cotton is all ginned by
machinery; and so great quantities can be separated in a day. The machine
works in such a way that the cotton fibers are pulled away from the
seeds, and the seeds are kept separate for other purposes.

[Illustration: _Courtesy of Speyer School, New York._

FIG. 9.--A Pleasant Valley girl trying to gin some cotton with a little
ginning machine which she has made at school.]

=The cotton seeds are used, too.= Some of the seeds are kept for
planting, just as you keep corn and oats on your farm; and others are
pressed. Cottonseed oil comes from the seeds when pressed, and is very
useful for many purposes, such as salad oil, soaps, cooking fats, and
used for cattle feed. The seed is covered with a fuzz which is first
removed and used for lint. Then the hulls are removed, and the dry cake
which is left, after the oil has been extracted, is also used for feeding
the cattle. Isn't cotton a very valuable plant? How poor we should be
without it, for silk and wool and linen cost so much more. Cotton is the
cheap, useful fiber.

[Illustration: FIG. 10.--Bales of cotton on a steamboat dock ready for
shipping.]

[Illustration: _Courtesy of United States Department of Agriculture._

FIG. 11.--Bales of cotton from different countries. The third from the
left is the American bale. The second is Egyptian; the fourth, East
Indian.]

=The cotton is baled and shipped to manufacturers.= After cotton has
been freed from the seed, it is sent to the cotton mills all over the
world; some in this country and some in Europe. It is sent by boats and
sometimes by train. In the picture (Fig. 10) you will see bales on the
dock ready to be shipped. In order to ship it safely after it is ginned,
it is pressed into bales like the hay you have on your farm; and it is
covered with coarse cloth to keep it clean, and is bound with iron bands.
The American cotton bales weigh about 500 pounds. This is the size of a
bale: 54" × 27" X 45". See if you can measure off in your schoolroom a
space which will show the size of the bale. When these bales are taken to
the steamboat piers, they are again made smaller by a machine, called a
cotton compress, which reduces them to 10 inches in thickness. This is so
the bales will not take up so much room in being transported. Sometimes,
however, this pressing injures the fiber. The United States ships cotton
to Liverpool, Bremen, Havre, Genoa, and many other places. Can you find
these on the map and see what a long journey the cotton takes? John
Alden went to the map and traced the journey. He used the pointer and
started from one of the ports of Louisiana. Can you imagine which one?
Which way do you think the steamer sailed in order to reach England as
soon as possible? Perhaps you live near a shipping port and can go with
your teacher to see the cotton loaded on the ships. Notice how the bales
are lowered into the hold. There are large exporting companies which
take charge of shipping bales of cotton. What is the difference between
_import_ and _export_ We import some cotton from Egypt, because it is
a very long fibered cotton and is good for thread, hosiery, and cotton
gloves. Another day we shall study how the manufacturer at the mill opens
the cotton bale and makes it into cloth.

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. Where is cotton grown in the United States? Find the states on
the map. Tell why cotton is grown in these states.

2. Examine a cotton fiber with the microscope. How does it look?
Draw a picture of it.

3. Look up the story of Eli Whitney's invention. Why was it
important?

LESSON 3

THE HEMMING STITCH

Let us begin to make the dish towels. What must we think about in
order to hem them very neatly?

=Why is the hemming stitch useful?= The hemming stitch is a very useful
one to learn, for it can be used for so many purposes. Let us learn on
something simple--a dish towel or dish cloth for mother. Then you can
perhaps hem something for the sale of your Girls' League. Mrs. Oakes says
she has a dozen new towels ready for Barbara when she learns how to hem.

The raw edges of material would ravel unless turned and hemmed. The
turning is called a hem. It is held with a temporary stitch called
basting, and then with the hemming stitch which remains. If the edges
were not hemmed, the material would ravel away or look very untidy. The
warp threads run lengthwise of the cloth. The firm selvedge is made by
the filling thread passing around the warp as the cloth is made. It is
this filling thread which will ravel in dish toweling or other material
unless a hem is made.

=How is the hemming stitch made?= This is how Miss James taught the girls
of Pleasant Valley to hem:

1. _Turn hem of desired width._ For the towels, one-fourth inch
will be about right when finished. There are two turns because one
would ravel. Turn towards the worker. First, turn one-eighth inch
to wrong side of material. Second, turn one-fourth inch. Turn and
pinch to hold until basted.

[Illustration: FIG. 12.--The basting stitch.]

2. _Baste._ Use one-fourth inch stitches. No. 8 needle is a good
size for this work, and basting thread can be used for this
temporary stitch. Be sure to wear a thimble on the middle finger
of the right hand. Little Alice Allen says she never will learn to
use a thimble, but she will if she keeps on trying. The picture
(Fig. 12) shows the even basting stitch with needle in position.
Baste on the edge of the hem. Begin with a knot, and end with two
tiny stitches placed one on top of the other to hold until hemmed.
Remember basting is a temporary stitch.

[Illustration: FIG. 13.--The way to hold the cloth while hemming.]

3. _Hem the edge with the hemming stitch._ Look at the pictures
(Figs. 13-16) and then follow carefully the directions.

[Illustration: FIG. 14.--This shows how to start the hemming.]

[Illustration: FIG. 15.--The hemming stitch. Notice the slant of the
needle.]

Hold the cloth slanting over the fingers of the left hand, with
thumb on top (Fig. 13). Begin without a knot. Put the needle up
through edge of hem and allow one inch of end of thread to lie
under the hem as you pull thread through (Fig. 14). This end will
be worked over and held securely. Now you are ready for the
stitch. Point the needle which is in your right hand towards the
left shoulder. The point of the needle is passed first through the
cloth under the edge of the hem, with a tiny stitch which shows
on the right side. The needle, at the same time, catches the
edge of the basted hem. This makes a tiny slanting stitch on the
right side, so: /. The next stitch is taken about one-sixteenth
of an inch from the first, in exactly the same way. As the thread
carries from one stitch to the next, it makes a slanting line on
the wrong, or hem, side but in the opposite direction from the
stitch which shows on the right side. It slants like this: \

Together these two make this:

1/
2\

The part marked 1 shows on the right side of the cloth; and 2 on
the wrong, where the hem is turned (Fig. 15). When the end of hem
is reached, fasten with two or three tiny stitches. If the thread
breaks, ravel out a few stitches and let the old end of thread
lie under the hem. The new thread can then be started as at the
beginning by putting needle in the hole of last stitch. There
will be two ends under the hem to work over. The picture (Fig.
16) shows how to join a new thread. Find out how many places the
hemming stitch can be used. Try it at home on something before
next lesson.

[Illustration: FIG. 16.--The hemming stitch. Starting a new thread.]

When this stitch has been well learned, it will be possible for the
Girls' Sewing League to make many things.

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. Practice turning hems neatly on a scrap of cloth before
starting to turn them on the dish towel.

2. Study the pictures carefully so as to have the stitch exactly
the right slant.

3. Practice hemming on a scrap of cloth for a few stitches before
beginning the towel.

LESSON 4

THE STITCHING STITCH

Shall we try to make a potholder and learn another new stitch?

Holders are very useful to the housekeeper. Mrs. Stark has a bag
with pockets hanging near the kitchen stove and says it makes such a
convenient place to keep holders, for they are always at hand ready for
use. They can be made many sizes. For the cooking class at school, it is
convenient for each girl to have a holder on a tape attached to the band
of her apron (Fig. 17). It is always with her, then, for use. This can
be done by making a loop at the end of the tape and slipping the holder
through the loop. A hand towel attached at the same place is convenient,
too.

[Illustration: FIG. 17.--The holder.]

=Planning, cutting, and basting the holders.= Holders can be made from
old scraps of woolen cloth, from either pieces of garments which have
been worn and cast aside, or new scraps from the piece bag. Six inches
square is a good size. Place several squares, one on top of the other,
according to the thickness of the cloth. Can you tell why wool makes a
better holder than cotton? For appearance we can cover the holder with
some pretty piece of chintz or cretonne; perhaps you have in the piece
bag some pieces which are large enough. Denim is strong for a covering. A
piece of asbestos might be placed inside. Why? Pin all these thicknesses
together, with a cover top and bottom. Now baste from corner to corner
and from side to side. This is good practice. Make basting stitches of
even length such as you made on the towels. Then baste carefully all
around the four sides so that the edges are held securely. We are going
to bind the edge to prevent it from raveling and to make it strong. Tape
is good for binding; and so is a bias strip of the cretonne cover, or of
a pretty contrasting color. What does contrasting mean?

=Cutting and placing a bias strip.= Can you learn to cut a true bias
strip of cloth? You have learned that the warp threads are the strong
threads of the cloth and run lengthwise of the material. To prepare to
cut a true bias strip (Fig. 18), fold the warp of the cloth over so that
the warp threads lie exactly on the filling threads. The fold is a true
bias edge. Cut through the fold. A true bias edge is made by cutting
a square from corner to corner. Does it cut the warp or the filling
threads? To make one-inch strips for binding the holder, measure at right
angles to the fold you have just cut. Make a dot, and rule a light line
which will be one inch from the cut edge. These are true bias strips.
Baste the strip or tape carefully around the four sides of the holder,
and allow a little fullness at the corner. The edge of the strip or tape
should be even with the edge of the holder, and the basting should be
one-fourth of an inch from the edge in a straight line for a guide for
the next stitch. Miss James showed the girls how to turn the corners by
taking a tiny plait.

[Illustration: FIG. 18.--Cutting a true bias.]

=Making the stitching stitch.= Now we are ready for a new strong stitch.
It is called stitching stitch, for it is used where machine stitching
might be used, and resembles it in appearance on the right side. Ask
your Grandmother if she remembers when there were no sewing machines and
all Grandfather's shirts were stitched by hand? Grandmother Allen and
Grandmother Stark of Pleasant Valley remember.

[Illustration: FIG. 19.--The stitching stitch.]

Look at the picture (Fig. 19) and follow the directions carefully, and
you will be able to make this stitch. It is started with two or three
tiny stitches, one over the other for strength. The row of stitches you
are to make should be in a straight line just below the straight row of
basting stitches. Hold the cloth in the same way as for hemming, with the
material over the fingers and the thumb on top. Now you are ready to make
the new stitch. The stitch is started at the right-hand end of the cloth.
Make a stitch back over the two starting stitches and carry the needle
forward twice the length of this starting stitch. You will have a tiny
space on the right side between the place where the needle comes up and
the end of the starting stitch. Each time your thread should fill this
space, for your needle should go back into the end of the last stitch and
twice the length forward on the opposite side as it comes up. See the
needle in the picture (Fig. 19). Notice the space. Look at your work.
What is the appearance of the stitch on the wrong side? On the right
side? This stitch is also called the backstitch. Why?

=Finishing the holder.= Make a row of stitching stitches all around the
edge of the holder, holding the binding securely. Be careful to catch
the corners well. Remove your basting stitches. Turn the tape or strip
over to the other side of the holder and baste. If you have used a bias
strip, the edge must be turned under one-fourth of an inch or more before
basting. This edge is to be held with the hemming stitch. I am sure
that you can all make the hemming stitch by now. If you wish a loop or
long tape for holding the holder, hem it neatly at one side, turning in
the end of the tape to prevent raveling. If you have some colored silk
thread, it will look well to make tiny stars like this * at the center of
the holder and at four places about two inches from the corners on the
diagonals. These will hold the materials firmly together.

=Other uses for the stitching stitch.= The stitching stitch can be used
for many other purposes. It is a strong stitch for seams. Do you know
what a seam is? Two pieces of cloth sewed together may form a seam. Look
for seams in your skirt, in your sleeve, in your waist. Can you find any?
Some one tell the difference between a hem and a seam. After this lesson
Mollie Stark helped her Grandmother sew some long seams. Mr. Stark's
overalls had ripped, and the sewing machine was being repaired.

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. Practice cutting some bias strips. Be sure they are true bias
edges. How can you tell?

2. Try to make the stitching stitch on teacher's demonstration
cloth, with the large needle and red worsted.

LESSON 5

THE OVERHANDING STITCH

A new game and a new stitch. Let us make the bags with the new
stitch before we learn to play the game.

Perhaps, instead of a potholder, you had rather make iron holders or
bean bags for your League Fair. Have you ever played bean bag game? The
Pleasant Valley school children often play this game at recess. You can
easily make the bags and also the board.

[Illustration: FIG. 20.--The overhanding stitch.]

=Making the bean bag.= Bean bags can also be sewed with the stitching
stitch, as it is strong. Cut the bags of denim 14 × 7 inches, or so as
to make a bag 7 inches square. Fold, baste the edges on three sides, sew
them with stitching stitch, and turn inside out. Fill with beans. Two
inches at the middle of one side should not be sewed until after the
beans have been put in. Would you like to learn the overhanding stitch
for closing the edges of that side? The two edges of the bag are turned
in, and the overhanding stitch is made on the very edge. It is a very
simple stitch, and is used for sewing seams or edges together firmly. The
edges are held in the left hand between the thumb and first finger. The
needle in the right hand is pointed straight through towards the worker
as in the picture (Fig. 20), and the needle is passed through the two
edges. The end of the thread is drawn carefully, and one-half of an inch
allowed to lie on the edge. This is worked over. The needle is pointed
with each stitch towards the worker, and the stitches are placed about
one-eighth of an inch apart. Be very careful to catch both edges, but
do not make your stitches too deep. The overhanding stitch is a strong
stitch and is easy to make. It is finished by working backwards from left
to right on the edge with three or four of the same stitches.

[Illustration: FIG. 21.--The bean bag board.]

=Playing the bean bag game.= The boys will surely wish to help prepare
the board for the bean bag game. Frank Allen and John Alden made the one
used at Pleasant Valley school. Perhaps there is an old box somewhere
which can be braced with sticks and made to stand slanting. The bottom of
the box will have to be cut in holes (see Fig. 21). Each hole can be a
different shape and numbered 5, 10, 25, or 50. The object of the game is
to see how high a score can be obtained by throwing the bags through the
holes. One should stand six feet or more from the board. Each should have
ten turns. Some one must keep the score.

[Illustration: _Courtesy of Mrs. E. J. Esselstyn._

FIG. 22.--John Alden's little brother trying for a high score.]

The boys will have to help saw or whittle to get the holes just right.
Do you think you can make both the bags and the game board? The picture
(Fig. 22) shows John Alden's little brother playing the game.

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. Try to make the bean bag board. Perhaps you can think of an
easier way.

2. Find five places where the overhanding stitch is used and
report at the next lesson.

LESSON 6

PLANNING TO MAKE AN APRON

The girls of Pleasant Valley school decided to make caps and
aprons. They help every day with the preparation of the school
lunch. The aprons will keep their dresses clean, so the girls will
look neat and tidy. The aprons can also be used at home. Let us
too learn how to cut them carefully.

The samples which Marjorie Allen brought from the store have been
examined and studied carefully. The girls know now the difference in
appearance between percales, calicos, ginghams, chambrays, and also how
much they cost. Most of the girls have decided to make pink and white,
or blue and white, checked aprons of gingham. It costs 12½-cents a yard;
and the girls require from two and one-half to three yards, according to
size. They are to make their own pattern for the aprons, as they are so
simple. When they make the petticoats for the Fresh Air children, they
will learn to use a commercial pattern.

=Cutting the skirt part.= Each girl will need two lengths for the skirt
part of the apron, measuring from the armhole at chest, to the desired
length. No pattern is necessary for this skirt part. On each length allow
four inches extra for hem. Tear one length, lengthwise; be careful not
to tear it crosswise of the material. The two pieces torn down are to be
placed one on each side of the whole width, with selvedges together.

[Illustration: FIG. 23.--The plan for the yoke of the apron.]

=Planning the pattern for the yoke.= Now the yoke pattern is to be made.
Miss James helped the Pleasant Valley girls with the patterns. You will
need a good-sized piece of paper, pencil, and a tapeline. Measure the
width of chest from side to side, just at the armhole in front. Look at
diagram (Fig. 23); this measure is the bottom of the yoke. Draw a line
the length of chest measure across the bottom of your paper. Measure up
six inches, and draw a line at right angles to each end of the chest
line. This is to find the shoulder. Draw a dotted line three inches at
right angles to this, as shown in the diagram. Then draw a line three
inches to form a third side of the square. Do this for the other shoulder
and connect the two lines with a line parallel to the chest line. You
will have a yoke three inches wide in front. The shoulder lines are too
straight; so draw slanting lines just a little towards the outside or
armhole side, taking off one-half inch on shoulder edge. This is the
only pattern needed; for the back pattern is exactly the same, but is
divided in half and cut straight through the center for the opening in
back.

=Cutting the yoke.= Lay the pattern on the cloth so that the width of
chest line is on the filling threads of the cloth. Four pieces will be
needed. Can you double your cloth and cut two at once? The yoke is made
double of two thicknesses; that is why we must cut two pieces for the
back and two for the front. Cut the two back portions through the center
back, on the thread of material. Now our aprons are all cut. Carefully
roll up the pieces and material left, for you will need them if you make
the caps.

[Illustration: FIG. 24.--Four of the Pleasant Valley girls wearing their
finished aprons.]

=Basting the skirt part.= Let us make the skirt of the apron first. Pin
the widths together, selvedge to selvedge, to form seams. You all know
what the selvedge is. Look in the dictionary. How is it made so firm?
The whole width is for the center front; the half width for each side.
Pin together and baste one-fourth inch seams, to within 8 or 9 inches
of each length; this will be left open under each arm. Baste also
one-fourth inch hems at the outside edges of the side lengths which are
raveling. Turn the hems to the same side as the seams, the wrong side.
Now all the basting is done, and next time we shall be ready for a new
stitch. The picture (Fig. 24) shows some of the Pleasant Valley girls
wearing their aprons. Can you guess which is Mollie Stark or Barbara
Oakes?

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. Look up these words in the dictionary: _selvedge_, _warp_,
_woof_, _pattern_.

2. Name other materials, besides gingham, suitable for work aprons.

LESSON 7

USING THE RUNNING AND BACK STITCH ON THE APRON

A new stitch called running and back stitch is very useful for
seams (Fig. 25). It is a quick stitch, and it is strong. Let us
learn to make it on the seams of the aprons. We shall need it
later for other things.

The apron seams are all basted with one-fourth inch seams. The selvedges
have not been removed. Some day we shall learn to make a seam which will
be sewed twice, and then we shall remove the selvedges. A seam made
with one sewing is called a plain seam. The basting is only a temporary
stitch.

[Illustration: FIG. 25.--A new stitch called the running and back stitch.]

=To sew seams.= Hold the material in the left hand over the fingers,
with thumb on top. You will sew from right to left. Start with two or
three tiny stitches, one over the other, without knot. Pull needle
through after the starting stitches. Now take two or three tiny running
stitches; they are like basting, only much smaller. As you make the
running stitches, the last one is to be twice the length of the others
as the needle is pulled through. This is because the next stitch is to
be backwards--a backstitch to cover half the space. On the side towards
you, your row of stitches should look like running stitches; on the wrong
side, it will be different because of the backstitch. You should have the
stitches in a straight row under the line of basting. The backstitch,
which covers half the space left by the running, is twice the length of
the running stitch on the wrong side. This will bring the needle up ahead
of the stitch and ready for the next group of running stitches. Both
seams of the skirt of the apron are to be sewed to within 8 or 9 inches
under the arm. Finish with three tiny stitches, one over another. Remove
bastings, and press open the seams. Can you not take this home and sew
the other long seam there, now that you know how; or can you not do it
at the meeting of the Sewing League? The girls of Pleasant Valley did.
Sometimes they sat under the big oak trees on Friday afternoons and had
their sewing lessons outdoors.

=To hem sides.= Hem sides of apron which you have basted, making small
stitches. You know how.

=To hem bottom of apron.= Turn hem at bottom of apron. The cloth should
be even. Four inches were allowed. The first turn may be one-fourth of
an inch; the second, three and one-half inches. The other quarter inch
allowed is for gathering at top of apron. Pin carefully and measure, with
a tapeline or a gauge. Can you make a gauge? A piece of cardboard with a
notch for one or three inches according to measure desired, is a gauge.
The diagram (Fig. 26) shows how to cut a one-inch gauge. Can you make a
three-inch gauge, and keep your hems even by following the marked notch?
Baste hems carefully after pinning. Hem neatly.

[Illustration: FIG. 26. A gauge for the apron hem.]

=To gather the top of apron.= You are now ready to gather the top of
the widths. They are to fit into the yoke; and, as they are too wide,
we shall have to make them fit. Gathering is done by making two rows
of running stitches (small basting stitches), one under the other. This
is done on each width with the rows of running stitches one-fourth of
an inch apart. Begin with a knot and have your thread a little longer
than the width you are gathering. You can then draw the material on the
gathering threads, and make it fit the yoke.

Let us put the finished skirts of the apron away neatly, and next lesson
sew on the yokes.

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. Make a three and one-half inch gauge, using a piece of
cardboard or a stiff paper.

2. Practice gathering on a practice piece of cloth. See how
quickly you can do it, putting in two even rows.

LESSON 8

MAKING AND ATTACHING THE APRON YOKES

The yokes are to be seamed at the shoulders. There are two yokes;
one is for the lining. Let us sew them together and attach them to
the skirt of the apron.

=To make the yoke.= Pin the two back portions of yoke to the one front
portion. Baste at shoulder seams one-fourth of an inch. Sew with running
and back stitch, which you used for the apron skirt.

Make the lining yoke in same way. Sew two back portions to one front.

When both yoke and lining are ready, pin together so that the two right
sides are together and seams match at shoulders. Baste carefully together
all around with one-fourth inch seams only, except across the bottom at
width of chest line. Be careful not to take deeper seams, for then the
yoke will be too small. The chest line width of the yoke is left open
so the skirt can be placed between. The back portions of the yoke are
also left open at the bottom. After basting, sew below the basting with
running and back stitch. Remove the bastings and turn the yoke inside
out. Crease edges carefully. Your yoke will lap one-half inch in back
when finished. Now you are ready to attach the skirt to the yoke.

=To attach the yoke.= You will attach the front of the yoke to the front
gathered width. Find the center of front yoke. Mark with pin. Find the
center of gathered width. Place the right side of the yoke to the right
side of the skirt width, center to center; and pin. Do not pin the lining
yoke, for it is to be sewed down later to cover the seam you will now
make. Pin the ends of the width to the ends of the front yoke. Pull
your gathering thread until the fullness fits the yoke; then move the
gathers along until they fall evenly. Can you not distribute the gathers
carefully, as you pin them to the yoke? Hold the gathers towards you, and
baste with a one-fourth inch seam, not any more. Now sew securely with
the strong stitching stitch, which you used on the bean bags.

=To place the yoke lining.= You are ready now to cover these rough edges
of the seam with the lining. Turn in one-fourth of an inch to match the
width of the seam taken from the yoke. Baste flat to the seam so that the
edge of the turned lining just covers the sewing of the yoke seam. Finish
with a neat hemming stitch.

Do you not think you can join the two back portions of the yoke to the
skirt portions of the apron without any further help?

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. Find three places where you think running and back stitch can
be used.

2. Notice other places where gathers are drawn in to fit a space.
Mollie Stark discovered several places on the garments worn by the
children at school.

LESSON 9

HOW TO MAKE A BUTTONHOLE

The apron is now entirely finished, except for fastenings. Shall
we learn to make a buttonhole, and how to sew on buttons? The
Pleasant Valley girls had a contest. Barbara Oakes won a prize at
the Pleasant Valley County Fair.

=Practice in making the buttonhole.= Long ago little girls were taught to
make buttonholes, when they were five or six years of age. Grandmother
Allen learned at that age. Surely by the time a girl is twelve years old
she should begin to learn how to make buttonholes. One must practice on a
scrap of cloth, before making the buttonhole on the garment. These are
the steps to consider in practicing:

1. Decide about placing the buttonhole. Is it to be in a vertical
or horizontal position on the garment? How far from the edge?

2. Cutting.

3. Overcasting the cut edges. How deep and how far apart to take
the stitches. Correct position to hold work.

4. Making buttonhole stitch along one edge.

5. Turning corner.

6. Turning and buttonholing opposite edge.

7. Finishing second end.

=Placing the buttonhole.= It is important to place the buttonhole
correctly. In some garments, where there is no strain, as in the front of
a shirtwaist or of loose corset cover, the buttonholes can be made to run
up and down. One should decide how far from the edge and exactly where
the buttonhole is needed. Mark the place with pinholes. For the apron
place three buttonholes in the yoke, one in middle and others near each
end, about one-fourth inch from the edge of the yoke at center back.

[Illustration: FIG. 27.--Cutting the buttonhole.]

=Cutting the buttonhole.= One should cut truly and exactly, on a thread.
If a pair of buttonhole scissors is not available, fold the material
halfway between the pin pricks which marked its location, so that the
pin passes through both ends of the located buttonhole. Cut from the
folded edge to the pin, by placing the fold well within the opened
scissors and cutting evenly (Fig. 27). For the apron cut one-half inch
buttonholes and one-fourth of an inch in from the edge.

[Illustration: FIG. 28.--The overcasting stitch for rough edges.]

=Overcasting the buttonhole.= You have not all learned the overcasting
stitch. Practice it on a scrap of cloth. Look at the picture (Fig. 28)
carefully. The overcasting stitch is used on edges to prevent raveling.
Hold the buttonhole along the top of the first finger. Begin without
knot, and at the end farthest away from a finished edge; as at the end
of skirt band or edge of waist. Work over end of thread. Point needle
toward left shoulder to make a slanting stitch. Make about three or four
stitches on each side of the buttonhole (Fig. 29). The depth should be
about one-eighth of an inch. The corner stitches should be taken so that
the needle is pointed at right angles to the cut before the buttonhole is
turned.

Do not forget that, after one side is overcast, it is necessary to turn
the buttonhole around so the other cut edge may be overcast.

[Illustration: FIG. 29.--Overcasting the cut buttonhole.]

=Making the buttonhole stitch.= When the buttonhole has been overcast,
the needle should be in position at the beginning of the buttonhole
where the overcasting was started. Point the needle at right angles to
the edge, and take a stitch one-eighth of an inch deep (Fig. 30). Hold
buttonhole so that it lies flat on top of the first finger. Do not spread
it open. Throw the double thread from the eye of the needle, around the
point, in the same direction as the buttonhole is being worked, from
right to left. Draw needle through, pulling the thread at right angles
to and toward the cut edge of the buttonhole. A little finishing loop
called the purl will be formed at the edge. It is this which prevents the
edge of the buttonhole from wearing. Continue along one edge until the
corner is reached. Remember all stitches are to be the same depth and to
have about the space of a thread between stitches, and the purl is to lie
exactly on the edge.

[Illustration: FIG. 30.--The buttonhole stitch.]

=Turning the corner.= There are several ways of finishing the corners of
buttonholes. They may have two fan ends, or one fan and one bar, or two
barred ends. How can we tell which way to plan? A barred end is stronger
than one which has only a fan. One must judge how the buttonhole is to be
used, and then make the proper combination of ends. The picture (Fig. 31)
shows both the fan and the bar. The fan is made with the same buttonhole
stitch. Five stitches make a good fan. The third one is taken on a line
with the cut and is the deepest, and the two stitches each side are
slanting and of a depth to make an even fan effect at the turn. The fan
can be made more easily by turning the buttonhole so that the end to be
worked with the fan is pointed towards the worker and the cut edge is
over the finger.

[Illustration: FIG. 31.--The fan end and the bar end of the buttonhole.]

=Buttonholing second side.= After making the fan, turn the buttonhole,
and along the second side make the buttonhole stitch of the same depth
and evenness as along the first side.

=Finishing second end.= Practice a bar end. Turn buttonhole so that the
end to be finished lies across finger with fan end towards the worker.
Make two or three small stitches one over the other to bar the end, these
to extend across width of buttonhole stitches. Over these the blanket
stitch is to be placed. This is very easy. Look at the picture (Fig. 82)
of it on page 138. These stitches are to be taken close together and
through the cloth, around the three barred stitches. This makes a firm
finish. Point the needle towards the worker and make a straight row of
blanket stitches.

=Sewing on a button.= Start with a double thread, and make two stitches
one over the other on the right side of the garment. String a button on
the needle, to cover starting stitches. Place a pin on top of the button.
Sew over it with stitches crossed back and forth through the holes of the
button. The stitches should be taken so that the pull of the button will
come on the warp threads of the garment. On the wrong side, the stitches
should appear in parallel bars lying on the woof or filling thread. On
the top of the button, the stitches should cross. Why is it necessary
to sew over the pin? Remove the pin and wind thread around the stitches
under the button. Finish on wrong side with several finishing stitches.

[Illustration: FIG. 32.--The pin prevents the button from being sewed too
near the cloth and allows space for buttoning the garment.]

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. Practice overcasting.

2. Practice blanket stitch.

3. Practice making buttonhole.

_a._ Cutting.
_b._ Overcasting.
_c._ Buttonholing.
_d._ Fan.
_e._ Buttonholing.
_f._ Bar.

4. Practice sewing on one button at home and making one buttonhole.

5. Bring to school garments which need buttons. Sew the buttons on.

LESSON 10

THE USE OF THE COMMERCIAL PATTERN

Have you ever bought a real pattern and tried to use it? Marjorie
Allen says she thinks sometimes it is quite like a puzzle. Let us
learn how to cut our petticoats from a real pattern.

[Illustration: FIG. 33.--Learning to cut a free-hand pattern.]

=Can you cut a pattern?= Perhaps you have cut patterns for sister's
dolls' clothing (Fig. 33). This is probably how you did it. You pinned
the paper to the doll's body or held it in place while you cut around the
armhole, across the shoulder, under the chin for the curved neck, and
then you cut the other shoulder and armhole in the same way. Under the
arm you made a slanting cut towards the feet so the dress or apron would
be wider at the bottom. Try this if you have never done it. It is good
fun. Marjorie dressed a doll for little Alice when she was sick, and cut
the pattern in this way. This is a free and easy way to make patterns.
Some dressmakers make patterns in this way and do not have to send to the
store for a pattern.

=Shall we send for a pattern?= Patterns are bought by age or by measure:
a nightdress, drawers, or a skirt pattern is ordered for fourteen year
age; a shirtwaist for 34 inch bust measure. Patterns sometimes give other
measures; a dress skirt may state the waist measure, the length of skirt,
and the measure around the hips. For children and for young girls, the
patterns can nearly always be bought according to age; but, as some girls
are large for their age and some small, Miss James will have to help
order the right sizes.

Many good magazines offer patterns for sale. There are, also, stores
or firms which make a business of selling nothing but patterns. Some
patterns are better than others. The simplest are usually the best, if
the figure and its proportions have been kept in mind.

=Let us open our skirt pattern.= We have bought two: one a 12-year size,
and one a 14-year. The smaller girls may use the 12-year size, and
the larger girls the 14-year size. How many pieces are there for this
pattern? Barbara stood before the class, and Julia held the pieces where
she thought they would belong in the skirt. Yes, surely the strip is for
the belt or band. Is it long enough? No, only half. What are the other
two pieces? Yes, one is for the back. Is it large enough? No, only half.
Only one piece is left. It must be the front. Is it large enough? Many
patterns are made, giving only half a front or half a belt. Such pieces
must be cut double when you wish to have the front or belt in one piece.
The way to do this is to pin the pattern on a folded edge of the cloth.
We will know if we consult the perforations on the pattern, and the
printed directions. We must do this, then, in cutting the front. Let us
hold the pattern to the light. What do you see? Why do you suppose the
little holes or perforations have been arranged in groups or straight
rows? Barbara said she could not understand why. It is all a secret which
the description on the pattern will tell. To-day we shall learn two
things:

[Illustration: FIG. 34.--Laying the pattern on the cloth. Which do you
think is the fold edge, _A_ or _B_?]

1. How to tell which portion of the pattern is to be placed on the warp
of the cloth.

2. When to place the half pattern on a folded edge, so as to cut the
portion in one piece instead of in half a piece like the pattern.

The pattern may say the long line of single perforations is to be placed
on the warp threads. Can you do that when we begin to cut? You will
have to be careful to find the warp and to lay the pattern exactly. The
pattern may say the group of three little perforations or holes at the
edge of the front pattern means that edge is to be placed on a straight
fold of the cloth.

It is wise always to study all the pieces of a pattern. The parts are
usually numbered. Can you see how? The description on the pattern tells
the name of each piece. Very often only half of a portion is given. You
will always remember now what must be done when that occurs.

It is a good thing always to know each portion and to hold it up to the
person to see if it is too large or too small. Then you will understand
the parts, before you begin to cut. Sometimes it is necessary to add to
the length or to shorten the pattern. Some patterns say allow for seams
in cutting, and others say seams have been allowed. What difference will
this make when you begin to cut?

=Shall we learn to take a few measurements?= Then we can judge if our
pattern is too large or too small. It will also help you in sending for
patterns.

_The bust measure_ is easy to take. Pass the tape measure under the arms,
and over the fullest part of the bust, not too tight; bring it to the
center of the back, sloping the tape slightly upward between the shoulder
blades.

_The waist measure_ is a snug measure around the smallest part of the
waist. For girls this measure should not be too snug.

_The skirt measures_ are taken from the waist line to the floor at the
front, at the sides over the hips, and at the back. For short skirts one
must deduct from the full lengths the number of inches desired from the
floor.

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. Open a pattern and see if you can tell the different parts.
Which are to be cut on a folded edge? How are you to tell which
way the pattern is to lie on the warp threads?

2. Practice taking a skirt measure; then, a waist measure.

LESSON 11

TAKING MEASUREMENTS AND CUTTING OUT THE PETTICOAT

We understand our skirt patterns. Let us take our skirt measures,
front and back, and, if it is necessary to change our pattern,
we will decide how much to add or take off before cutting the
garments.

=To change pattern.= If you must add two or three inches to the length of
your pattern, this must be done as you cut. Or possibly you may wish to
shorten the pattern. If you wish to shorten it, take a plait of one inch
about in the middle of your pattern, crease, and pin it. By taking this
plait rather than cutting off the amount from the bottom, the good flare
of the skirt is saved. Do you know what these pieces of the skirt are
called which are wider at the bottom than at the top? Why is a gore made
such a shape? Can you think of the advantages? In cutting from a pattern
in which a plait has been laid, one must be careful to carry the outline
of the pattern evenly at the place where the fold of the plait comes.

=To lengthen a pattern.= Make a straight cut across a gore about the
middle from side to side. Pin or paste a strip of paper the desired extra
length between the two pieces. This preserves the bottom flare. If length
were added at the bottom, the flare would be too great.

[Illustration: FIG. 35.--The petticoat for the children of the home.]

=To cut the skirts.= One must study carefully the economical use of
material. It is like a puzzle to fit the pattern to the cloth, so that
the perforations are obeyed exactly and there is enough cloth for all the
parts.

The girls of Pleasant Valley have decided to make the petticoats for
the children at the summer home. The ladies of the board furnished the
materials. They have chosen gingham for some and outing flannel for
others. The belts are to be made of muslin. The material is all one yard
wide. By folding the outing flannel selvedge to selvedge, and placing the
triple perforations of the pattern of the front gore on this fold, the
front can be cut all in one piece. It is rather a circular gore. Not all
gores are the same shape. See if you can find other shaped gores in dress
skirts. The two back gores of the skirt can be cut from another width. Be
sure to obey the directions for placing the perforations on the warp. How
many lengths of cloth are needed to cut such a skirt? How much will you
allow for hems at the bottom? As the girls of Pleasant Valley had decided
on two inches finished, they allowed 2½-inches extra in cutting. One must
always think about this. All seams have been allowed on their patterns.

Be sure to lay all the pieces of the pattern on the cloth before
cutting. Find a flat surface. Remember that the wide end of a gore is
apt to cut to better advantage at the end of the piece of cloth. Can
the gores be fitted so as to cut more economically? (Fig. 34.) Pin the
parts carefully, not using too many pins. Mark all the notches with
pencil, chalk, or basting thread. Do not cut notches; one is liable to be
careless and to make them too large. Use long cuts, and make even edges
in cutting. Good shears help.

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. Draw on the blackboard different shaped dress gores which you
have noticed.

2. With the tiny patterns of the skirt which your teacher has cut,
show how to lay them most economically on the red muslin which
represents your material.

3. What would you do if you were using a pattern which did not
allow for seams?

LESSON 12

MAKING THE PETTICOATS

Let us begin to sew the petticoats.

Notice all the notches which were marked lightly with pencil, and follow
all the steps carefully:

1. Place the two back portions so that they join the front as the
notches indicate.

2. Pin from the top of the gores.

3. Baste the three gores together with ½-inch seams, beginning at
the bottom. Can you tell why?

4. Sew the seams on the wrong side, using the stitching stitch.
The back seam is to be left open five inches at the top for the
placket opening.

5. Overcast all the seam edges, overcasting the two thicknesses of
the seams together.

6. Turn hems at the bottom of the skirt. First, turn ¼-inch;
second, turn two inches. Baste carefully, laying little plaits
neatly where necessary on account of extra fullness. Always have
the seams of the turned hem lie on seams of skirt. Sew hem with
hemming stitch or featherstitch (see page 120).

7. Finish placket opening. On right side make ½-inch hem, the
first turn ⅛ and second ½-inch. Turn hem to inside of skirt. Baste
and hem. On left side of opening make hem ¼-inch finished.
Make first turn ⅛ and second ¼-inch. Baste and hem neatly.

8. To put the skirt on the band:

_A._ Cut band. Take waist measure; add to it one inch for lapping
and two inches for the turnings, one at each end of band. Cut
band lengthwise of the muslin, with the warp threads, and twice
the desired width finished plus ½-inch for turnings.

_B._ Gather petticoat ¼-inch from edge, with two gathering
threads one below the other. Divide skirt in half; gather from
center front to back at right side, and from center front to back
at left side.

_C._ Turn in ends of band one inch. Pin center of band to center
front of petticoat, right side of band to right side of petticoat.
Pin so that the edge of band is even with the gathered edge of
skirt. Pin ends of band to the gathered back portions of skirt,
with ends of bands to ends of gathers. Turn gathers towards
worker, and distribute in same manner as when attaching yoke of
apron to the apron skirt. Baste ¼-inch from edge of band, and
between the two rows of gathering stitches. Sew with stitching
stitch. Turn band over to wrong side. Turn in ¼-inch. Baste and
hem flat. Overhand the turned-in ends of the band neatly.

_D._ Finish with buttonhole and button at back, or with two
buttonholes, to button to waist. If the skirt is to be attached
in this way, a buttonhole should be made in the center front of
the band also. This should be up and down in the band.

The girls of Pleasant Valley had a surprise party, when the aprons were
finished, and went to the Fresh Air Home. This was in June before school
closed. Some of the summer children had arrived. The girls made cookies
at home and had a real party with the children.

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. Tell how the putting on of the skirt band differs from putting
on the apron yoke.

2. Do you know of any other kind of placket finish besides the one
which you have made in the skirt? Tell where you have seen it.

REVIEW PROBLEMS

I. Can you make a useful bag on which the following stitches might
be used: basting, running, hemming, stitching stitch, overhanding,
buttonhole?

II. Plan another article, using as many of these stitches as
possible, and cutting the article from a pattern. Try to make this
at home for school credit. Miss James of Pleasant Valley has a
kind of score card which she uses in marking the girls. Perhaps
your teacher will give you credit for your home work.

SCORE CARD

_Girl's name____________________________

I. Article______________________________

A. General appearance

1. General neatness of sewing 10%

2. Cleanliness 15%

3. Appropriateness of material 25%

B. Hand work

1. Regularity of stitches 25%

2. Suitability of stitches 25%
----
100%

[Illustration]

CHAPTER II

THE GIRLS OF PLEASANT VALLEY SCHOOL LEARN TO MAKE SIMPLE GARMENTS

This year the girls of the Sewing League of Pleasant Valley will receive
credit for the garments they make. Miss James will help the girls to
start the garments at school and will give full credit if the work is
completed neatly. A nightdress, a petticoat, corset cover, or under slip,
and perhaps a white summer dress skirt will be made. The school board has
just furnished a machine, so Miss James is planning to teach the girls to
use it. Many of them can practice at home too. Mrs. Stark, who has two
machines, told Mollie she might bring the girls at any time for practice.
Can you plan to learn to stitch at your school? There are many things one
does not wish to sew by hand, and does not have time to make in that way.
Not long ago Miss Travers, who came from the State Agricultural College
to speak to the Mothers' Club at Pleasant Valley, told them that often
people do not use good common sense about this question. She said there
are times when one wishes to make garments and articles by hand, but it
is foolish to do so when one has other duties in life to perform which
are more important. Handmade garments are very beautiful to look at, but
when they mean the sacrifice of health, because one has remained indoors
to make them, they appear less beautiful. Miss Travers and the mothers
had a long discussion about the wages paid in large cities to women who
do this fine work. Miss Travers said the wage paid is usually very low.

LESSON 1

SOME COTTON MATERIALS SUITABLE FOR UNDERWEAR

Suppose you order the muslin for your nightdress and, while
waiting for it to arrive, learn about the cotton materials which
can be used for underwear. Can you add a whole page of white
materials to your textile books?

=Suppose you open the surprise box on your teacher's desk.= It is quite
full. Let us sort the samples and examine the white ones, especially,
to-day; for your underwear is to be made of white cotton material. Let us
look also at the ones which are almost white. They are unbleached white;
the others have been bleached with a chemical to make them look so snowy
white. They have been dipped in a bath of chloride of lime, and then in
another bath of water and sulphuric acid, until the material has become
white.

Do you know how our grandmothers used to bleach sheets and other
unbleached articles which they wished to have white? Grandmother Allen
used to bleach those she made on her hand loom. Why did they place them
on the grass in the sun? What bleached them? This unbleached sample is
_muslin_; it is for sheets. Here is some white which is of the same
plain weave. The unbleached is cheaper. It comes one yard wide and can
be bought for 5 cents and, in better qualities, up to 15 cents per yard.
It wears very well--better than bleached muslin. Can you tell why? It is
used for sheets and pillowcases. We may later make a pair of pillowcases
from this unbleached muslin. The white muslin can be bought in a cheap
quality for 7 cents a yard; and it may also be bought in finer qualities.
Here is a piece of Alpine rose muslin from our sample box. Isn't that a
pretty name for it? It is soft and much finer, and costs 30 cents a yard.
Bleached muslins come in width from 36 to 72 inches. The wide width is
used for sheetings and is woven that width that no seam may be necessary
through the center of the sheet.

This soft, light cotton material is called _nainsook_. Isn't that a
queer name? It is from an old Hindoo word for a material made and used
in India. Nainsook is used for underwear and clothing for baby. It comes
in several grades. Miss James has some coarser samples, too. It is soft
and is nearly always finished, when woven, with very little dressing or
starch to stiffen it. It comes 27 inches in width and varies in price
from 15 to 50 cents a yard.

This soft crinkly looking material is called _cotton crêpe_. It is
used a great deal for underwear and for shirt waists or dresses. It is
considered very economical. Does any one know why? Yes, because it is
easily washed and, when hung out in the fresh air and sunshine, does not
need to be ironed. Think of all the time saved. The little crinkles dry
in place and look well. It costs from 12 to 15 cents per yard, and comes
about 30 inches wide.

This piece is a _cambric_. It is a firm plain weave and is good for
underwear. This quality is fine, and its name is Berkeley cambric. Some
grades of cambric are coarser and are called cambric muslin. They are
glazed and smooth in finish, and are used for linings and for other
purposes. That name is also foreign, from Cambrai, France. Cambric is
woven a yard wide and costs from 10 to 25 cents per yard. It is very
durable material for underwear, not quite so heavy as muslin, and strong.

_Dimity_ is thin. Look at this piece. Mollie had a dress made of it
last summer. It is sheer and light, and has little cords or ribs. It is
always easy to recognize on that account. It is used for summer dresses,
sometimes for dainty underwear; but it is not suitable for underwear
which must have hard usage every day. It costs from 15 to 50 cents per
yard and is woven about a yard wide. Sometimes it comes in colors and
also with pretty printed figures on it. See, here are some printed
ones. What dainty patterns and colors! Would you like a dress of one
of these? Miss James has found two other thin, sheer, white ones. There
are so many I wonder if we can remember all. This thin one is _lawn_ and
is a plain weave. It comes in inexpensive qualities at 5 cents and in
better qualities for 25 cents. The width varies from 36 to 40 inches. Do
you know of anything at home or in school, made of lawn? Yes, dresses,
aprons, curtains. It comes in colors too; here is a pretty blue. It is
smooth and starched and pressed when one buys it.

This other is soft but not so starched. It is called _mull_. That is a
Hindoo word, too. Do you remember that cotton was grown in India many
years before we had it in America; that is why the cotton materials so
often have Indian names. Mull is too fine for underwear, but it is used
for pretty white dresses.

Here are two heavy white samples; one is called _Indian head_, and the
other _duck_. Such strange names! Do you know their uses? Perhaps your
mother had a skirt last summer of duck or Indian Head. Mrs. Alden of
Pleasant Valley had one. Both these cotton materials wear well. The duck
is used for men's trousers, also; and in very heavy qualities, it is
used for sails or tents and awnings. John Alden's first long trousers
were made of duck. How important he felt! Duck is sometimes colored blue
or other colors. It varies in width from 27 to 36 inches and costs from
12 cents up. The Indian head is used for the same purposes as duck and
comes in the same width for about the same price,--15 cents a yard up,
according to quality.

[Illustration: FIG. 36.--A towel which Miss James uses at school.]

We shall have time to study about only two more to-day. They are both
heavy. This is _galatea_, and comes in white, like this sample, or in
colors. It is firm like duck and Indian head. Can you tell for what it
is used? Have you ever seen any before? It is used for dress skirts, and
very often for girls' middy blouses or children's clothes. It washes very
well. It is 27 inches wide and costs from 14 to 25 cents a yard.

The last sample is cotton _birdseye_ or _huckaback_. It is sold by the
yard or by the piece. It costs less per yard to buy it by the piece of
10 yards. It varies in cost, according to quality, and is woven from 18
to 27 inches wide. We also have huckaback towels made of cotton or linen
or a mixture of cotton and linen. Here is one which Miss James uses at
school (Fig. 36).

I wonder who can go to the board and make a list of all the new white
material we have found in the surprise box. Shall we put them in our
sample book? Who will write the use of each, opposite the name? If you
cannot remember the prices and widths, look on the samples; many are
marked, especially those which have come from the town store. Which do
you think will be best for your nightgowns? Yes, cambric, nainsook, or
muslin. Which will be softest and lightest? Which is the heaviest of
these three? Shall we use the muslin? It is strong and will wear well.
Shall we choose this piece? It is 10 cents a yard. How much shall we
need? We shall talk about it next lesson. Any one who wishes to use the
unbleached muslin which costs 7 cents, may do so; or the finer nainsook
which is 15 cents a yard. How can the unbleached be made white as it is
used?

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. Look up the story of how cloth is bleached in any of the
library books on textiles, or in the encyclopedia.

2. Add six cotton materials you have just studied about, to your
textile sample books.

3. Decide what kind of white material you wish to use for your
nightdress.

LESSON 2

SELECTING PATTERN AND CLOTH FOR NIGHTDRESS

Suppose you decide about the pattern for your nightdresses, and
send for the cloth and pattern.

[Illustration: FIG. 37.--A Pleasant Valley girl in a kimono nightdress.]

=A kimono nightdress.= Miss James has a book of patterns; perhaps your
teacher has. Let us look at them. Here are the nightdresses. This picture
(Fig. 37) is a kimono nightdress; that means the sleeves are cut with the
gown all in one, not made separately and sewed in. This name kimono is
Japanese and means a loose garment. The picture shows a Pleasant Valley
girl in a kimono nightdress. Miss James says there is only one piece to
this pattern and the nightdress is easy to make. The way to measure for
the amount of material for such a gown is to take the length from the
shoulder at the side of the neck to the floor and add three inches for a
hem. This gown can be cut without any shoulder seams, all in one piece.
So you will need twice the length from shoulder to floor and hem. Why? If
the cloth is one yard or more wide, it will not be necessary to piece the
gown; so be sure to choose material which is a yard wide. Is there any
one now who does not know how to measure for the material for the kimono
nightdress? Let all write an order for a kimono nightdress pattern and
for the muslin. Take each other's measures first and add together the
amount of cloth needed. It will be easier to send one order for all.
The best letter will be chosen to send to the store. As some girls are
large and some small for their ages, it will be wise to order one pattern
12-year size, and another 14-year size.

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. How much cloth will be needed for a kimono nightdress if the
measure of the girl from shoulder to floor is 55 inches? How much
do you suppose the Pleasant Valley girl in the picture needed?

LESSON 3

HOW COTTON CLOTH IS WOVEN

Not long ago we learned how the cotton plant furnishes us with
cotton for clothing. There are many people who help in changing
the cotton from fiber to cloth. While you are waiting for the
cotton material and the pattern, shall we study how cotton cloth
is made?

=Cotton is used for many things.= We learned that cotton is shipped in
bales of 500 pounds each from the United States to all parts of the
world. The manufacturer receives it at the factory and changes it by
many processes into what he wishes to sell. Some manufacturers make only
cotton threads of various kinds, for sewing, knitting, and crocheting.
Others make cotton cloth of one variety or of several varieties. We know
there are many kinds manufactured. Others make absorbent cotton, gauze,
and such things for surgical use for the sick. Some make hosiery, gloves,
towels; and others make knitted underwear, or laces and embroideries.
Others use cotton for war purposes, for guncotton. John Alden said he did
not know that cotton is used for so many things.

[Illustration: FIG. 38.--Miss James' little loom.]

[Illustration: FIG. 39.--A small loom made from a box cover.]

=The loom for weaving cotton.= We have learned that cloth is made of
threads which run lengthwise, called the warp threads, and of crosswise
threads, called the filling or woof. The machine for holding the threads
and doing the work is called a loom. What is the firm edge which is woven
called? Look at Miss James' little loom (Fig. 38). It shows the warp, and
the filling yarn as it passes over and under and makes the firm edge as
it turns each trip back and forth around the edge threads. If you have
never woven a piece of material, suppose you take a box cover and make
a small loom. The picture (Fig. 39) shows one made at Pleasant Valley
School. Did you ever see your grandmother weave on a loom? Look at the
picture (Fig. 40) of a grandmother weaving on a cloth loom. It is not
Grandmother Allen, although she knows how to weave. The warp threads are
rolled up on a big roller at the back of the loom and are extended to
the cloth roller at the front near where she sits. She holds the filling
thread in her hand. It is wound on a bobbin which fits in the shuttle.
She throws the shuttle from side to side and works her feet to alternate
the warp threads, in order that the filling thread may go over and under,
and make the cloth. Look at the shuttle in the picture (Fig. 41); it
holds the bobbin of thread. There are many kinds of looms. To-day cloth
is woven on looms run by machinery. It is much easier and quicker than
working by hand, and so cotton cloth can be made more cheaply. Frank
Allen says he saw a loom at the silk factory he visited. If it were not
for machines, our clothes would cost much more than they do. Think of all
the people who help to give us our cotton clothes, from the planter who
sows the seed to the manufacturer whose men prepare and weave it. Have
you ever visited a cloth factory and seen the many machines and heard the
great buzzing noise which they make? It is a busy place. Some factories
make only warp, or filling, yarns. They are called spinning factories or
mills (Fig. 46). They send their product to the other manufacturers who
have only weaving machines for making the yarns into cloth. It is about
130 years (1789) since the first cotton mill was started in the United
States, and only a few years longer since the first mill was started
in England. Before that time, people of different countries made their
own looms according to the ways they thought out. As men felt the need
of clothing to wear, they tried to make cloth; and we find all kinds
of primitive looms as their invention. Can you look up the meaning of
primitive? Notice the two pictures (Figs. 43 and 44) of primitive people
weaving. The Indian girl is holding the shuttle in her right hand; the
loom is fastened to something and is also attached at her belt. In that
way the warp threads are held securely while she passes the filling back
and forth. On page 136 you will find a picture (Fig. 81) of a Japanese
girl weaving silk. Notice the loom; find the roller holding the warp
yarn. Find the shuttle which she uses to throw the filling yarn. Can you
tell where she rolls the cloth as it is woven? Under her elbows in the
picture is a cloth roller on which she rolls up the woven cloth as she
weaves and unrolls the warp from the warp roller. Isn't this a wonderful
story? We have not yet learned how the cotton is made into the warp and
filling ready to be woven. We shall save that part of the story for
to-morrow. The Pleasant Valley girls and boys enjoyed this part of the
story about cotton and are anxious for Miss James to tell some more.

[Illustration: _Courtesy of Draper Co., Hopedale, Mass._

FIG. 40.--"In days gone by."]

[Illustration: FIG. 41.--The shuttle holding the bobbin of yarn.]

[Illustration: _Courtesy of Draper Co., Hopedale, Mass._

FIG. 42.--A weaving room in a modern factory.]

[Illustration: _Courtesy of Smithsonian Institute, Bureau of American
Ethnology._

FIG. 43.--Indian girl weaving a belt by hand.]

[Illustration: FIG. 44.--Another primitive loom and a girl spinning. The
distaff with the wool for spinning is held under the girl's arm.]

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. Try to make a simple loom. Take a piece of cardboard 10 × 12
inches. Make a row of holes about ¼-inch apart one inch from the
top; another row ¼-inch apart one inch from bottom. String the
warp back and forth from hole to hole so it looks like the picture
(Fig. 39). Weave a piece of cloth with the filling thread which
goes over and under.

2. Visit a weaving factory if you can.

3. See if you can spin a piece of carded wool. Perhaps you can
card some wool with the hand cards which your great grandmother
used, as the Pleasant Valley girls did.

4. Try to collect pictures of spinning. The primitive peoples did
this in different ways.

LESSON 4

THE SPINNING OF COTTON INTO YARN

How the manufacturer turns the cotton into yarn ready for the
weaver. This is called spinning. Shall we study how it is done?

Perhaps there is some one in your class who has visited a spinning mill
and can tell how cotton is cleaned and made ready for weaving. This is
what the girls of the Sewing League of Pleasant Valley saw the day they
went to visit the mill. The Camp Fire girls went the same day, and Miss
Ashly, their guardian, said that what they learned would count as an
honor.

[Illustration: FIG. 45.--The cotton carding machine, which cleans the
cotton.]

[Illustration: _Courtesy of Leonard & Green, Boston._

FIG. 46.--A cotton spinning room.]

=How cotton is prepared for spinning.= The girls went to the lower floor
where the cotton is received. They saw the bags and iron bands removed
and the cotton pulled apart by a queer machine called a cotton opener, or
bale breaker, for you remember the cotton was pressed very hard before
being shipped. The cotton is then placed in pickers, or machines which
blow it apart and blow out the leaves and dust and dirt. As the cotton
leaves this machine, it looks like a big piece (6 ft. wide) of cotton
batting rolled in a large roll. It looks soft and clean. Then the girls
watched the men place this roll at the back of the next machine, called
a carding machine (Fig. 45). Here it was cleaned some more; and such a
wonderful thing happened. As it left the machine instead of coming out as
a lap of the roll of cotton like it went in, it came out in a long thick
coil which looked like a rope, and there were tall round cans ready to
receive this continuous line of cotton rope. How soft and beautiful it
looked! What wonderful machines the manufacturer had. Some one must have
made them. Can you find out who made the first loom run by machinery?
John Alden looked it up in the encyclopedia. Do you know who invented the
first spinning machine?

[Illustration: FIG. 47.--Grandmother Allen's wheel used for spinning
wool.]

Then the girls visited ever so many machines which wound this cotton rope
on spools. Each machine made the rope thinner and finer until it was
drawn out as thin and round as the manufacturer wished (Fig. 46). Barbara
Oakes noticed this: that these spinning machines not only drew out the
cotton rope and made it thinner, but put in a twist which prevented it
from breaking so easily. Do you remember how the cotton fiber looked
under the microscope? The twist in the fiber helps in the spinning. Isn't
it wonderful to think that such tiny fibers can be made into spinning
yarns, and yarns woven into cloth?

[Illustration: _Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art._

FIG. 48. --The flax wheel.]

=How cotton is spun.= Did you ever see any one spin by hand? One day the
Girls' League went to Marjorie Allen's grandmother's house. She took the
girls to the attic and showed them her grandmother's spinning wheels
(Fig. 47). There was a large one for spinning woolen yarn. This she
called the great wheel. Then there was a small one called the flax wheel
(Fig. 48) for spinning flax, or linen, into yarn for weaving. Grandmother
sat down and showed them how to spin (Fig. 49). She pressed her foot on
the treadle just like a sewing machine; and the wheels went round. The
flax was on a little holder called a distaff. See the pictures (Figs.
48 and 49) of the wheels. She held and drew the flax while the wheels
of the machine put in the twist. That is just what the modern spinning
machine does, but it can accomplish much more in an hour than grandmother
did in a day. Still it is a great satisfaction to possess some of the
beautiful old textiles spun and woven by grandmother's hands. The girls
had the pleasure of opening a great chest in the attic and looking at
the hand-woven sheets and coverlets which Grandmother Allen prizes so
highly. Barbara Oakes and Mollie Stark fairly clapped their hands and
said, "How beautiful the colors are." The coverlets were made of wool
and cotton yarns. Grandmother showed the girls the hand cards which she
used when a girl in helping her mother prepare wool into carded rolls for
spinning. Do you remember that the cotton at the factory passed through
a carding machine to be cleaned and made into a cotton rope? Grandmother
told the girls she used to do the same for wool. She used the little hand
cards and drew the boards with the fine teeth back and forth to clean
the fibers, and then made little rolls for the great wheel to spin. The
picture (Fig. 50) shows how the hand cards are used. Wasn't that a long,
tedious process?

[Illustration: _Courtesy of Miss Mary E. Hoag._

FIG. 49.--Grandmother Allen sat at her flax wheel and showed the girls
how to spin.]

[Illustration: _Courtesy of Miss Mary E. Hoag._

FIG. 50. --Grandmother Allen carding wool by hand.]

Perhaps at your school you can have an exhibit of old industrial things
once used in the home. Maybe your grandmother has something in the
attic--some cards, or wheels, or old hand-woven materials. If you have a
Girls' Sewing League, the girls will, perhaps, send out invitations and
invite the mothers and grandmothers. The girls can prepare some coffee
and cookies at school to serve the afternoon of the exhibit. The Pleasant
Valley girls had such an afternoon entertainment and earned five dollars
for their school fund. They will probably buy some dishes for the school
lunch.

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. Try to find some pictures of very primitive spinning. Can you
make a spindle?

2. What does the process of carding do to the cotton or wool?

3. Plan an exhibition of old coverlets and other old hand-woven
textiles. Invite your parents and friends.

LESSON 5

CUTTING OUT A NIGHTDRESS

The patterns and muslin have probably arrived. Suppose you cut out
your nightdress.

Miss James kept a memorandum of the amounts of material needed by each
girl for her gown, and she has divided the cloth. She has, also, cut with
Barbara's help several patterns from the commercial pattern, so that all
may begin to work at once. Miss James has had such nice boards arranged
and fastened with hinges to the walls under the blackboards. They are so
convenient for cutting and can be let down out of the way when not needed.

[Illustration: FIG. 51.--Laying the nightdress pattern on the cloth.]

=Placing the pattern and cutting the material.= Let us look at our
patterns. Some girl will, perhaps, read aloud what the pattern says
in the description printed on the outside or on the envelope of this
commercial pattern. Who will hold up the nightdress pattern, showing how
it is related to the figure? Who can tell what the small group of dots on
the edge means? Who remembers how we can tell about laying the pattern
correctly on the warp of the material? Those two things are important.
It is also necessary to plan so as to waste as little as possible. Some
girls will find that their patterns are too long. Measure from the
shoulder at the neck of your nightdress pattern, and see if it is longer
or shorter than your measure. If the pattern is too long, fold up the
necessary portion. If too short, do not forget you must allow extra when
pinning the pattern on the cloth. How much of the whole nightdress does
this pattern give? If only one-half is given, the nightdress must be cut
on a fold; back and front in one with a hole for the neck, as it slips
over the head. How shall we fold the cloth so as to cut on a fold? Which
edge of the pattern shall be placed on the fold? Have you placed it most
economically on the cloth? Not an inch should be wasted. The pattern may
or may not allow for seams. What will you do if it does not? If you must
add for your hem at the bottom, do not forget to mark, with a fine pencil
mark, the allowance for hem beyond the pattern. So you see there are
many things to remember. Can you all cut out your nightdresses to-day
and baste ¼-inch seams under the arms? Pin your seams carefully before
basting. Instead of the sharp angle under the arm, which the kimono
nightdress usually gives, cut a good curve. Your teacher will help you.
The curve makes a better line and is easier to finish. The pieces left
must be rolled carefully, and your name must be written on the outside of
the roll. We may need the pieces later.

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. Cut a free-hand pattern of a kimono nightdress for your doll.

2. Show, with a piece of newspaper to represent the cloth, how the
pattern can be placed economically.

LESSON 6

THE PARTS OF A SEWING MACHINE

Shall we examine the new machine to-day and learn to run it? You
must practice before sewing your seams.

[Illustration: _Courtesy of Wilcox and Gibbs Sewing Machine Co._

FIG. 52.--Single thread machine.]

=Do you know that sewing machines were invented less than one hundred
years ago?= Our great-grandmothers had to do all their sewing by hand,
and some of our grandmothers too. A man by the name of Elias Howe, of
Cambridge, Massachusetts, first thought about the sewing machine; and
since then many different kinds have been invented, to be run by foot and
also by mechanical power,--electricity. We have two kinds of foot-power
machines. One kind (Fig. 52) has only one thread, which is placed on a
spool on top; and the other (Fig. 53), the two-thread or double-thread,
is like the one we have at school. The double-thread machine is called
a lock-stitch machine, because one thread is on top on a spool and the
other is on a little spool called a bobbin in the shuttle under the
plate. The two threads lock together as the machine works. You will
learn how later. The machine with only one thread on top is called a
chain-stitch machine. The stitching made by it rips very easily; and the
ends must be fastened carefully when one stops. The double-thread machine
does not rip easily; and one can stitch on either the right or wrong
side of a garment. On the single-thread machine, one must stitch on the
right side always. Let us look at a machine before learning to operate it.

=What parts do you find below the table?= What use is the connecting
rod? What does it connect? Watch how your teacher puts her feet on the
treadle. What makes the wheel above the table turn around?

[Illustration: _Courtesy of New Home Sewing Machine Co._

FIG. 53.--Double-thread machine.]

You should practice running the machine first without any thread so as
to learn to use the treadle well, and then with paper to see if you are
holding it straight and making rows of pricks which are straight and
even. If one cannot make rows of even pricks, it means the sewing will be
crooked and must be ripped. Some of the Pleasant Valley girls practiced
in this way at home.

=What do you find besides the wheel above the table?= The shaft has many
parts. Can you name some? Yes, the spool holder, which holds the spool;
the needle bar, which holds the needle and moves up and down; the foot,
which is called the presser foot and can be raised or lowered by the
little handle; the needle plate, through which the needle works; the
feed, which is like little rough teeth of a comb and helps to push the
cloth along as one stitches. The little attachment near the wheel is for
winding bobbins for the shuttle. The shuttle lies in the shuttle race
under the plate. Suppose we move the plate and take it out. See, the
bobbin is in the shuttle. This is the second thread.

=How do you regulate the machine?= Jane asked Miss James about the
screws. There are usually two large ones on the double-thread machines
which are important. One screw is to make the stitch larger or smaller;
we say, to regulate it. Miss James showed the girls how to do this. The
second screw is to regulate the tightness of the thread. It is called a
tension. Press your thumb and first finger tightly together and pass a
thread between them. When you do not press very hard, the thread passes
easily. When you press hard, it is difficult to draw the thread through,
and the thread may break. Have you tried? The tension is regulated by a
screw which presses two little plates together. The thread passes between
the plates. When they are loose like your fingers, the thread passes
easily; when tight, it breaks. So, in threading a machine, we must learn
where the tension plates are, in order to pass the thread between them,
and how the screw is turned to make the plates tight or loose. Your
teacher will show you how to turn the screws.

To-day, while some girls are finishing the basting, others may try to run
the machine, in turn. This is what you are to do:

1. Find all the parts whose names have been put on the blackboard,
above table and below table.

2. Learn to treadle evenly.

3. Learn to raise and lower the presser foot on a piece of brown
paper, and to stitch without thread. Keep the rows of pricks very
even.

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. Study your machine. Find all the parts above the table; below
the table.

2. What is the purpose of a tension? Show how it operates.

3. Learn to stitch, without a thread, even rows of pricks on brown
paper.

4. See how much you can tell mother about the machine, when you go
home.

LESSON 7

PRACTICE IN THREADING AND RUNNING THE MACHINE

Let us learn to thread the double thread machine and practice
stitching. This requires much care, but is not difficult. The
Pleasant Valley girls enjoyed this lesson very much.

As we learned, there are many different makes of sewing machines. All are
based on the principles of the one invented by Mr. Howe. If we know the
important points to remember in threading a machine, it will be very easy
to follow the book of directions which comes with the machine. The names
of some machines are the New Home, Domestic, Singer, Wilcox and Gibbs.

=Here are the things to think about in threading=:

1. Find the spool holder, and put the spool on it.

2. Find all the little eyes and holes through which the thread
must pass. The book of directions will help.

3. Find the tension. Be sure the thread passes between the tension
plates and pulls evenly.

4. Find the needle, and thread it from left to right, towards the
wheel.

5. Find the shuttle. Look at your book of directions.

Miss James helped Barbara to put the bobbin in its place, and to
thread it into the shuttle. Ask your teacher to help you if you do
not know how.

6. Put the shuttle back in the shuttle holder.

7. Turn the wheel and hold the upper thread. This will bring the
under thread up through the little hole in the needle plate.

Both threads should be on top before beginning to stitch.

Now you are ready to begin to practice stitching with a thread.

=Try to remember these things, while stitching with a thread=:

1. To treadle evenly.

2. To hold the material on the table at the left hand and to pass
it on lightly. Do not pull it or push it with your left hand.

3. To turn corners evenly. Have the needle down in cloth. Raise
the presser foot and turn the work. Put the foot down and continue.

4. Be sure to turn the wheel in the proper direction, or the
thread will break.

5. Practice stitching parallel rows. Make good square corners. Use
some scraps of cloth for this sewing, and practice at home.

Those who have not practiced on the machine may do so during study
periods, if there is time. We can move the machine into the coat room.

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. Barbara Oakes does not turn good square corners on her practice
piece. Why?

2. Marjorie says her thread breaks every time she starts. Why?

3. Show some one how you can bring the under thread up through the
needle plate, preparatory to stitching.

4. Practice threading the machine, following book directions if
you do not know how.

5. Practice rows of good straight stitching.

LESSON 8

THE FRENCH SEAM AND ITS USE

What kind of seams shall we make on our nightdresses? How shall we
finish the bottom? The Pleasant Valley girls did most of this at
school in one lesson, but finished at home.

[Illustration: FIG. 54.--The French seam. First sewing near raw edges.]

=Making French seams on the nightdress.= We have learned that our dish
towels had to be hemmed because of the raveling of material. Anything
which is to be washed a great deal must have its raw edges finished in
such a way that they will not ravel. As nightdresses are washed often,
we must make our seams so that the edges will not pull out. Who can name
other garments which are washed often? Who can tell what we can do to
prevent edges from fraying? Yes, we might make small stitches, called
overcasting, on the edge of a plain seam. There is another way, which we
shall learn to-day. It is called a French seam. The French seam is sewed
twice. The seam is basted as you have done, on the right side of the
garment; seams are usually basted on the wrong side. Then, the seam is
sewed close to the basting stitches. We shall sew ours by machine. The
French seam is used on some garments made by hand. The first sewing (Fig.
54), then, is a tiny row of running stitches, close to the basting. After
the first sewing, the basting should be removed and the edges trimmed to
a ⅛-inch seam. This must be done carefully. Then, turn the garment to the
wrong side. Press and pinch the seams evenly so that the sewing of the
seam is exactly on top of the fold as you pinch it. Next, baste again
¼-inch from edge, and sew the second time, by machine. This seam is often
used on dainty handmade underwear. Then, the second sewing is two runs
and a back stitch, like that you used on your aprons, and is made by
hand. What must we be careful about, then, in making the French seams on
our nightdresses?

[Illustration: FIG. 55.--The French seam. Second sewing.]

=Making the hem of the nightdress.= How much was allowed for the hems at
the bottom of the nightdresses? Everybody knows how to turn a hem. The
first turning is ¼-inch; and the wide turning, 3 inches. All use your
gauges or tape measures; and turn and pin and baste carefully before
stitching. Who can tell why the tiny plaits are necessary at the hem
turning? Where shall we lay them? Yes, at the seams and between, if
necessary.

Now you will have plenty to do to finish seams and hem. The Pleasant
Valley girls, after this lesson, finished theirs at home.

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. Show on a practice piece how a French seam is made:

_a._ By hand.

_b._ By machine.

2. Name some garments or articles on which the French seam might
be used. Why?

3. What are the important things to remember in turning the hems
at the bottom of the nightdresses?

LESSON 9

PROTECTION FOR THE BODY AT NIGHT

Do you know that clothes help to keep us well? Mollie Stark wishes
to know what kind of clothing should be worn at night.

=What should be done about clothing at night?= We have learned that,
in order to keep well, we must think about the right kind of clothing
as well as food. Grown people sometimes forget about this; and growing
girls and boys, too. The body must be kept clean; and clothing worn next
to it should also be kept clean at night as well as during the day. Who
can remember how many pints of water the normal body gives off each day?
It loses about three pints in 24 hours. Can you recall what becomes
of this waste? Yes, some is evaporated, but some is collected by our
clothes; that is why they are soiled as they collect the perspiration and
excretions, although often they do not look soiled. The day garments
should be hung up at night in a place where they will air and dry out
by morning. They should not be shut up in a closet. Different clothing
should be worn at night. A muslin nightdress, like those you are making,
is usually suitable for six or seven months of the year; but some of
us who live in the country or in houses not well heated require warmer
clothing at night. Old people and babies, as well as sick people, require
more clothing because they are not able to resist the cold as easily. Do
you recall why? What is the normal human body temperature? Why is the
human body called a machine?

[Illustration: FIG. 56.--The clothing worn during the day should be aired
at night.]

=If our day clothing collects waste and should be aired at night, what
should be done with the night clothing during the day?= Yes, it should be
well aired. Have you ever noticed how the air of a room is spoiled by the
odor of night clothing and of bed coverings which have not been properly
aired? Some people roll up the nightdress and put it under the pillow.
That nightdress will not smell sweet and clean at night. Clean clothing
is absolutely necessary in order to keep well. We shall some day learn
how to cleanse clothing properly, by washing. Clothing worn next to the
body should be changed once a week at least, and twice or three times
if possible. When one works very hard and the body sends off more waste,
clothing should be changed more often.

The body which is to wear the clean clothing should be washed every day.
It may not be possible to take a tub bath or a swim in the river or
lake, but one can bathe all over with a bucket of water and a cloth and
soap. It pays, for one feels so fresh; and, then, the waste of the body
is removed by the washing, and the pores of the skin are kept in good
condition. When our skin is in good condition, we do not feel the cold as
much as do those who do not bathe frequently.

=Do you remember that we said our clothing must help to save some of the
body heat?= That is how clothing protects. Why must some heat be saved?
We also learned that when our body works very hard much heat is created.
Where does it go? It is not all saved. Why? Our clothing helps to prevent
the heat of the body from escaping too rapidly. We should plan to wear
light clothing in summer and heavier in winter, or to adapt our clothing
to the weather. This is only good sense. In summer we have cool days,
and in winter warm ones. People whose habits of living keep them indoors
a great deal should be clothed lightly for a warm house and, when going
out, should protect themselves with extra clothing. The boy or girl who
walks to school rapidly does not require as much clothing as one who
rides. Can you tell why?

=Have you heard that several layers of thin clothing are warmer than one
thick layer?= Frank Allen says he knows why. Yes, because of the layers
of air between the thicknesses of clothing. Still air does not carry the
heat away, so we feel warmer with several layers of still air. Clothing
helps to keep the layers of air from conducting the heat away too
rapidly. Porous clothing is always better because air can pass through
and can be collected in the meshes. Loose wool material is warm because
it holds the air between the spaces made by the woolly fibers. Some day
we shall study the wool fiber as we have the cotton, and find out why it
collects air and why woolen clothes shrink. Do you think you understand
why clothes should be changed at night? Can you tell your big brother at
home why? Mollie Stark and Jane Smith told about this part of the story
when they went home from school. Mrs. Stark had invited some friends in
for tea. All enjoyed hearing Mollie's story.

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. Why is it important to change one's clothing weekly?

2. What care should be taken of the clothing worn at night? Why?

3. How do clothes help to keep us well? Tell mother or father how.

4. Look in your teacher's book on physiology. What does it say
about body temperature; about cleanliness of the skin?

5. Write the story of what you think Mollie and Jane told about
this subject at Mrs. Stark's tea party.

LESSON 10

LACES AND THEIR USE

We must finish the sleeves of our nightdresses, and also the neck.
Shall we use some lace? Do you know that there are many kinds of
lace? How shall we sew it to the gown?

Imitation Cluny insertion $.12

Imitation Cluny edging .15

Real Cluny insertion .25

Real Cluny edging .18

German "Val" insertion .09

German "Val" edging .09

French "Val" insertion .13

French "Val" edging .13

[Illustration: FIG. 57.--The names and retail prices of a few good laces
for underwear.]

Cotton beading $.03

Linen machine-made beading .04

Linen beading .06

Real torchon insertion .24

Real torchon edging .16

Machine-made torchon insertion .07

Machine-made torchon edge .10

Irish crochet insertion .85

Irish crochet edging 1.10

[Illustration: FIG. 58.]

=Do you know that there are many kinds of lace?= The day Marjorie Allen
took the girls to visit her grandmother, they saw many things in the
attic. Grandmother Allen also showed them some old lace and undergarments
which were decorated with lovely embroidery. It was all done most
evenly with lovely flowers and scalloped edges, and all in white cotton
embroidery thread. There were some dainty old laces, too. The girls
learned the names of some of them. The Sewing League sent for several
samples of modern laces of the same names. There were _cluny_ laces
like these in the sample box. Cluny lace is often quite heavy and is
used on heavy materials. The lighter cluny laces are more suitable for
underwear. The cluny laces are hand or machine made. Which do you think
are more expensive? Have you ever seen any one make lace by hand? It is
sometimes done on a lace pillow with pins to outline the pattern. The
little bobbins of thread are thrown around the pins. Can you get from the
picture (Fig. 59) an idea of how it is done? _Torchon_ lace is also used,
but is not quite so heavy as cluny. It is either hand or machine made.
Both of these are linen laces, but sometimes are imitated in cotton. They
are not so pretty when made of cotton. It is better taste to buy of good
lace the amount one can afford than to buy a cheap imitation. If one can
only pay for a cotton lace, then choose a cotton kind, such as the laces
called _valenciennes_. The girls sent for French valenciennes and also
for "_German Val._" lace edging and insertion. What is the difference
between an edging and an insertion? The German valenciennes laces are
somewhat coarser. There are also some samples of _Irish crochet_ lace.
The real Irish handmade crochet is done with a crochet hook, by hand.
The imitations are made by machinery. Marjorie's grandmother has some
real Irish crochet and some real old valenciennes lace. It is handmade
and must have cost a great deal of money. In grandmother's day machines
had not been invented for making lace. Let us look at the samples which
Miss James has. The pictures (Figs. 57 and 58) show some of those used by
the Pleasant Valley girls. Which would you like on your gown? The German
valenciennes wears well and is not expensive. The machine-made linen
cluny or torchon lace is attractive, suitable, and it wears well. Why do
you think a fine French valenciennes lace does not look well on thick
muslin underwear?

[Illustration: FIG. 59.--Lace being made by hand on pillows with tiny
bobbins of thread.]

=Besides using lace, what are some other ways of finishing a garment?= We
shall send for our laces and also learn another way to finish neck and
sleeves, which will cost less. We can use bias bands of lawn to finish
the rough edges. Cut them 2½-inches wide (see page 25), and they will
be about one inch finished. The feather stitch added will make a pretty
decoration. Scalloping is easy. The gowns might be finished with the hand
scallop around neck and sleeves, if one has the time.

=We shall learn how to sew on the lace insertion or edging.= The girls
who use lace may decide to have only the edging. If insertion or beading
is used, too, it is sewed on first.

While we are waiting for the lace to come, we can prepare the edges of
the neck and sleeves. If we use a French fell, the sewing will not show
on the right side at all when the lace is entirely in place; besides,
only one sewing is necessary for the hem and lace. This is how it is done:

1. Turn to the _right side_ of the garment at both neck and sleeve
edges, a hem of ⅛-inch. The first turning must, also, be ⅛-inch.
Baste very carefully with small stitches.

2. Turn these hems backward to wrong side and crease so that the
edge of the turned hem is exactly at the finished edge of the
garment. This is where the lace is to be sewed. We shall learn how
to sew on the lace next lesson.

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. Bring to school all the samples of lace you can find at home.
With your teacher's help compare and discuss their uses. Mount the
best samples for an exhibit.

2. Ask your family and friends to show you any old pieces of lace
they may have.

3. Consult the encyclopedia or other books, and see if you can
learn more about how lace is made. There are several good books
all about lace.

LESSON 11

TRIMMING THE NIGHTDRESS

A new way to sew on lace by hand, and an inexpensive way to trim
the nightdress.

=Did you find it very difficult to turn the narrow hem around the neck of
your nightdress?= Jane Smith almost cried; but Miss James helped her a
little. It is always more difficult to turn a hem on a curved edge than
on a straight edge. If the turns have both been made the same width and
if the basting stitches are small, there will be no difficulty. After
the hems have been turned backwards and creased to the wrong side, we
are ready to sew on the insertion. Hold the insertion straight with
the right side to the right side of the gown, and with the edge of the
insertion to the edges of the creased hem. Now great care must be taken.
The overhanding stitch is to be used. You learned this stitch on the bean
bags (page 28). In taking the stitch be very careful to put the needle
through the _edge of the hem_, _the creased edge_, _and the lace_. The
sewing will not be neat unless all these edges are caught by this sewing.
_This is important._

=If one wishes, it is possible to use only the lace edging without the
insertion.= Sew it to the gown in the same way one would sew it to the
insertion. Towards the worker hold the lace just a little full. Sometimes
one can pull the thread at the edge of the lace and use it as a gathering
thread; but, as not much fullness is required, it is very satisfactory to
hold the lace a little full with the thumb as one sews. Small overhanding
stitches will hold the fullness as it is distributed evenly. The right
side of the lace is placed towards the right side of the insertion
so that the two edges of lace and insertion are overhanded together.
Sometimes, if the neck of a gown is too big and one wishes to make it
smaller, tucks can be put in groups at the center front or back, in
number according to the amount to be taken up. In calculating for tucks,
one must remember that the tuck takes up twice the amount of material
as the width of tuck desired, and covers its own width in lying flat.
If tucks are used to make the neck size smaller, it will be found more
satisfactory to put a narrow facing around the neck before trimming.

To seam the ends of lace, make a plain seam on the wrong side. Lay it
flat, turn under the two edges together, and hem in a narrow hem.

=A pretty way to finish the edges of neck and sleeves is with bias
bands.= Cut strips as for the pot holder (see page 25). White, pink, or
blue lawn may be used for contrast. Cut the bands 2½-inches wide. They
will look one inch wide finished. Place on the right side, right of lawn
to right of gown. Make ¼-inch seam and stitch. Turn to wrong side. Turn
under ¼-inch and hem to wrong side. Another way to finish is to baste the
band and decorate it with the featherstitch to hold the turning. This
stitch is a pretty decoration (see page 120). It is placed on the right
side and at the bottom of the band. It should be made with white cotton
embroidery thread; #25 D.M.C. cotton is very good for such finishings.

[Illustration: FIG. 60.--Nightdress with sleeves set in, and sleeves and
neck finished with bias bands.]

The neckband will need a tape or a ribbon to hold the fullness of the
band close to the neck. The binding should be started and finished
at the front, and the ends of binding should be turned in (Fig. 60).
This will leave an opening where the ribbon can be run in. This is a
satisfactory finish and is not expensive. The lawn is 12 or 15 cents a
yard; and ½-yard will cut enough bands for several girls' gowns. The
D.M.C. cotton will cost only two cents a skein. Send for these in time.

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. Can you suggest any other finish for the nightdress?

2. If you should wish to add 3 tucks each ½-inch wide at the
bottom of your gown and with ½-inch space between them, how many
extra inches in length would you have to add to your gown length?
The Pleasant Valley girls worked this out in their arithmetic
class.

LESSON 12

CHOOSING A PATTERN AND MATERIAL FOR A WHITE PETTICOAT

Do you think you can send for the cotton material and for a
pattern for a petticoat? What kind of cloth will you use? Perhaps
you would prefer to make a slip instead of a skirt.

=Who can remember the names of the best cotton materials for underwear?=
What shall we choose for our petticoats or slips? Look at the pattern
book and choose a simple petticoat. We shall learn to make one with a
ruffle. It is very useful in summer to wear under thin dresses, although
some girls may prefer to make a slip which combines petticoat and waist.
What sizes shall we order? How much cloth will be required? We shall need
three lengths of cloth for the skirt. Let us take our length measures
for the skirt, allowing four inches extra for hem and finishing. Those
who wish to make ruffles of the material will need one yard extra of
same cloth or of lawn. Which will be less expensive, a ruffle of Hamburg
embroidery edging or a ruffle of lawn decorated with a fancy stitch?
Which will take longer to prepare?

The girls of Pleasant Valley School decide on a pattern with five gores.
What does that mean? Would you prefer some other? Why is the five-gored
pattern a good one for the petticoat?

[Illustration: FIG. 61.--A simple petticoat.]

The girls choose cambric for their petticoats. Some decide to buy the
lawn and to make the ruffle with a simple decoration. In calculating for
the ruffle, allow 1½ times the width of the skirt. This is full enough.
The depth of the ruffle is according to desire. It may be from 5 to 10
inches deep. Cut it across the warp. Can you tell why? Others may decide
to make a simple ruffle of the same material with a decorated hem; a few
may use the Hamburg ruffle. Which ruffle will you decide to use for your
skirt or the bottom of your slip?

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. Calculate how much material you will need for your petticoat
without the ruffle.

2. Calculate the amount for the ruffle.

3. How will the patterns help you to make these calculations?

LESSON 13

LEARNING TO MAKE THE PETTICOAT

The girls of Pleasant Valley have had so much practice that the
petticoat will not be a difficult task. Do you think you will find
it easy too?

Mollie Stark is delighted to make the petticoat, for she needs one to
wear under the new dotted Swiss dress that mother made for her birthday.
She saw in the "Pleasant Valley News" that there will be an unusual sale
of Hamburg edgings; and she thinks she will go to town and see if it is
something she can use. Miss James told the girls that Hamburg edging
which is full of holes and in which the pattern is poor and poorly
embroidered, is not worth buying. The edge is usually very weak and
pulls out after one or two washings. The Hamburg edging called "blind
embroidery" has no holes and is likely to be firmer.

Let us study briefly how the petticoats are to be made:

1. _Cut out._ Follow pattern, placing economically. Allow extra
for hem, if necessary, and one inch for receiving tuck under which
the ruffle will be placed. Fold pieces left over; they will be
needed.

2. _Pin and baste gores._ Be careful to match notches--front, then
side gore at each side, then back gore at each side of side gore,
five in all. Pin from top down. Baste from bottom up with bias
edge towards worker. Holding thus prevents stretching.

3. _Make French seams by machine._

4. _Make hem on bottom._ Baste a two or three inch hem as planned.
Stitch. Sometimes dust ruffles of the same cloth or of lawn are
placed on the bottom of the skirt instead of a hem. They are made
about 3 or 4 inches wide and cut across warp of cloth. The skirt
is then cut 3 or 4 inches shorter, and the ruffle makes the length
by being added at bottom under a tuck ⅜-inch wide. This ruffle has
½-inch hem on the bottom edge and is sewed to skirt with a seam on
the right side. The tuck is made directly above it and is stitched
flat to cover the raw edges. A hem at the bottom is enough, and is
suitable for young girls, when a ruffle is to be added above for
decoration and fullness.

5. _Prepare tuck on skirt for ruffle._ Measure from bottom of
skirt depth of ruffle. At that point make a tuck ⅜-inch deep.
Baste and stitch. This must be same distance from the bottom of
skirt all the way around, and on the right side of skirt. It
is not always necessary to use a tuck. A bias band can be used
instead or a beading to cover the raw edges of the ruffle.

6. _Prepare ruffle._ This may be of lawn with edge hemmed and
decorated with featherstitch, or it may be of Hamburg edging or
of same material with scalloped edge (see page 142). A ruffle of
the same material with a simple ½-inch hem may also be used. The
width of ruffle is half as full again as the width of skirt. The
depth can be 5-10 inches as desired. Divide ruffle in quarters,
and gather.

7. _To join ruffle to skirt._ Divide skirt in quarters. Pin
quartered ruffle in place. Draw up gathering threads to fit skirt.
Wind thread around pins to hold. Baste. If a receiving tuck has
been made, turn it down over the raw edge of ruffle and baste and
stitch on very edge of tuck. If a tuck has not been made, baste
over the raw edges of ruffle a band of finishing braid or beading
or a bias strip of the same cloth as the skirt, ⅜-inch wide;
stitch on both edges.

8. _To make placket._ Use straight strip 2 inches wide. Start
at waist line, right of strip to right of skirt. Sew all around
placket opening. Stitch. Turn to wrong side. Hem down by hand. Lap
at bottom of opening so it lies flat. Backstitch across the bottom
with a slanting line of stitches. This makes a flat back with no
fullness and is called a bound placket.

9. _To finish top of skirt._ Cut bias strip of cloth about one
inch wide; sew to right side. Turn over to wrong side even with
top; turn so as to be ½-inch wide finished; stitch on edge, flat.
Lap skirt in back with three buttonholes, one at waist and two
below in placket lap.

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. Calculate how much ruffling of Hamburg edging will be needed
for a skirt 2½-yards around.

2. Get samples of embroidery and pin to the Bulletin Board, where
all the girls may see them.

3. Practice making a receiving tuck.

4. See if you can plan a section of a dust ruffle for a petticoat.
Make the skirt part of brown paper with tissue for the ruffle.

LESSON 14

HOW TO MAKE A CORSET COVER

The new problem of corset cover is not difficult, if one has
learned all the preceding lessons. Let us study how to trim this
garment or the waist of a slip.

Some of the girls of Pleasant Valley will make combinations of corset
cover and skirt, and others the corset cover (Fig. 62). They decide to
use nainsook and to trim them with German valenciennes lace. About
1½-yards of cloth are necessary. They have sent for a simple pattern
and will make them partly by hand. Miss James gave them the following
directions:

[Illustration: FIG. 62.--A simple corset cover.]

1. _To cut._ Place pattern economically. Pin and cut.

2. _Baste._ Pin and baste underarm seams and shoulders. Sew French
seams by machine.

3. _Make front laps._ On left side make hem ¾-inch wide turned
to wrong side. On right front make hem turned to right side ¾-inch
wide. Stitch this ⅛-inch from each edge to form front lap.
It could be run by hand if all handmade or featherstitched with
tiny stitches. This lap is for the buttonholes, which are made
vertically, three or four in the lap. If it is desired to conceal
the buttons, make an extra strip for buttonholes and stitch under
the right front lap with the stitching of hem.

4. _Finish bottom._ Even the bottom, and make as a finish a narrow
hem ¼-inch wide.

5. _Gather at waist line._ In center fronts and in middle of
center back, gather at the waist line to fit figure. Baste on
inside of waist over these adjusted gathers a straight band ¼-inch
wide, with edges turned. Baste and stitch this top and bottom to
hold gathers. Waist line can, also, be finished, if desired, on
right side with beading or with a band.

6. _To finish top of cover and sleeves._ Make the same finish as
for kimono night dress. This is neat and attractive. The top of
the corset cover can be gathered to fit the figure, or tiny hand
or machine tucks of ⅛-inch in width may be run about three inches
deep each side of the front laps, five or six tiny ones being made
on each side, according to the amount of fullness to be taken in.
The top can be finished with a Hamburg beading for ribbon, sewed
on with a French seam; and then lace may be overhanded on the edge
of it. The finish of the sleeves should correspond to the neck
finish.

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

Calculate how much beading and lace or lace alone will be necessary to
trim a corset cover. Draw sketch of how it is to be decorated.

REVIEW PROBLEMS

I. Practice sewing on the machine at home. Learn to turn good
square corners and to stitch straight.

II. Plan to make a slip or some extra garment at home, using
the principles and knowledge gained at school, in sewing seams,
trimming and making.

III. In what ways are you planning to protect your body at night?
How do you ventilate your room? How air your clothes?

[Illustration]

CHAPTER III

LEARNING TO MAKE SOME ATTRACTIVE GIFTS FOR CHRISTMAS OR FOR A BIRTHDAY
PRESENT

Perhaps you would like to surprise mother or father at Christmas time
or to make a birthday gift for grandmother or auntie. All the Pleasant
Valley School girls have made plans for Christmas. Making gifts is
not difficult, if one gives thought and time, and need not be a great
expense, if one is careful to use scraps of cloth. Look in the attic
or in the piece bag to see if there are any scraps of silk. If you are
making a gift for mother, I am sure grandmother will help you to find
something. Giving is much fun when one can make the gift a surprise.
Grandmother Allen and Grandmother Stark are helping the Pleasant Valley
girls with their surprises. It is not the cost of a gift which counts,
but the loving thought which one puts into it. A surprise birthday
pudding or cake, a surprise apron or work bag, are all things into which
we can put loving thought. Who said the "gift without the giver is bare"?
What does that mean? Have you ever given a gift or received one into
which no loving thought had been put? See how much happier you will feel
when you give thought, too.

The girls of the Pleasant Valley Sewing League think they will make
something for their fair. Miss James has a box full of samples of silk
from a wholesale house, which were given to her. She says the girls may
have them. Some of the pieces are very large and can be used for many
things. Next lesson you might do as they did, and all bring any pieces
you may have and see what can be made from them.

LESSON 1

THE STORY OF HOW SILK IS PRODUCED

Do you know that a tiny little worm gives us our silk dresses,
hair ribbons, neckties, gloves, stockings, and many other useful
things? Do you know how the worm makes the silk? It is a very
wonderful story. Let us study about silk to-day.

In the picture (Fig. 63) you will see one of the silkworms full-grown.
The mother and father were beautiful moths. The mother moth lays the
little eggs on the leaves of the mulberry tree because they are good
food for her baby worms. The sunshine and warmth hatch the little eggs.
The eggs are like pinheads, and are smaller than tiny grains of chopped
corn which you feed your chickens. Your mother hen sets on the eggs
until the warmth makes the chicks grow, but the sunshine starts the tiny
moth eggs. Soon a little baby worm comes out and is as small as a tiny
thread. It grows and grows and eats and eats, until it is about three
inches long and nearly as thick around as one of your fingers, as the
picture shows (Fig. 63). It takes about a month for the worm to grow so
large. It must be tended very carefully and given the right food, or it
will die. The food must be chopped fine. It is like preparing milk for
baby; is it not? They must, also, be kept very clean in order to grow.
Cleanliness always helps animals, as well as people, to grow.

[Illustration: _Courtesy of Corticelli Silk Co. Copyright, 1896, Nonotuck
Silk Co._

FIG. 63.--Corticelli silkworm, eating.]

=Have you heard that there are some countries where the silkworm grows
better than in others?= Can you name the countries producing the most
silk? You have learned that in your geography. Yes, Japan and China and
Italy. Yes, and France and Asia Minor, too. Do you think the United
States produces very much silk? Why not? In the countries named, labor is
not so expensive. Silkworms require much care and labor.

[Illustration: _Courtesy of United States Department of Agriculture._

FIG. 64.--The houses or cocoons built by the worms in the branches.]

Silk is the most beautiful and the strongest of the common fibers. It
also costs the most. The silk fiber produced by these tiny worms is often
four thousand feet in length. Let us learn how the tiny worm does such a
wonderful thing. He must work as hard as the busy bee.

=After the worm is full-grown he begins his busy work.= This is like boys
and girls; they, too, begin to work when they are grown. If well fed and
clean, the worm will work well. This is apt to be true of girls and boys,
too. The worm begins by making a house for himself called a cocoon (Fig.
64). Have you ever seen the cocoons of any moth? If you will look, you
will find them on the trees. Miss James has some cocoons of the lovely
green Luna moth. She put the green worm in the box, and it has spun a
cocoon. We do not find the mulberry worm growing wild in the United
States. In some countries it grows wild, just as our Luna moth.

=When the worm is ready to spin, she throws out two tiny little threads
one from each side of her head.= This is a secretion and is a kind of
jellylike fluid. As the air touches it, it hardens. She works her head
back and forth, and the tiny filaments, or threads, as they are called,
are joined together into one. She works and works until she has built a
house of silk threads all glued together so that it seems like a mass
of parchment paper. These houses are about 1½-inches in length, and are
white or yellow in color. In China and Japan these cocoons are grown and
tended very carefully. The outside of the cocoon is covered with the
loose fluffy silk which the worm uses to attach his home to a leaf or
twig. It takes the worm three weeks to make this long, continuous thread
called a cocoon. During that time a wonderful thing happens. The worm
inside the cocoon is changed to a moth like her mother and father and
is ready to leave her home by eating her way out. What would happen to
the long silk thread if she did that? Yes, it would be broken into small
pieces and not be one continuous piece. Some moths are permitted to come
out (see Fig. 65). They then find a mate and soon more tiny eggs are laid
by the mother moth; and all the story begins again.

=A sad thing happens when cocoons are grown for the silk.= The moths are
not allowed to come out and break the thread; but are put in a very
hot place so they die inside. The cocoons are then ready to be reeled
or wound off. They are placed in basins of hot water because the gummy
secretion of the worm must be softened. The ends from four or five
cocoons are caught together and reeled, or wound, off together. This
makes a strand of raw silk.

[Illustration: _Courtesy of Corticelli Silk Co. Copyright, 1895, by
Nonotuck Silk Co._

FIG. 65.--Corticelli cocoons from which the moths have emerged.]

John Alden told the following story. He said his father read it aloud the
night before when the family gathered about the big open fire. Once upon
a time, long ago, people did not know how to use the beautiful fibers of
the silkworm. We are told that a Chinese empress discovered how to use
it as long ago as 2700 years before the birth of Christ. Every year, in
April, the Chinese people have a celebration in her honor, because of
her valuable discovery. Think of all the riches she added to her country
because of this secret. It is said that for many years this secret was
kept; but later some monks traveling east to India and Constantinople
told others how to reel the silk fiber. Then the use of silk fiber spread
to Greece and Italy and Spain, and by the fourteenth century was common
in France. Since then, silk manufacture has grown rapidly in importance.
John traced the journey on the map. Will you see if you can trace this
journey of silk manufacture. Where do you think the secret was carried
from France?

[Illustration: _Courtesy of United States Department of Agriculture._

FIG. 66.--Silk reeling. The cocoons are in the basins before the women.]

=Can you send for some cocoons and raw silk?= Your teacher will tell you
where to write. Raw silk, as it is wound from cocoons, is made up into
hanks like the worsted which you buy at the store. It is sold in hanks by
the pound and costs from $7.00 to $10.00 a pound. It takes three thousand
silkworms to spin a pound of raw silk. Do you know that for grandmother's
dress about two pounds of raw silk were necessary? Can you tell how many
worms were kept busy?

In another lesson we shall learn how the manufacturer of silk ribbons or
silk material takes the raw silk and makes it into beautiful fabrics. Now
we know about a useful little animal as well as about a plant which gives
us clothing. Silk, however, is more expensive than cotton. Cotton is
sometimes made to look like silk. The cotton fiber is mercerized, which
means soaked in certain chemicals and stretched to make it look silky.
Lisle thread looks somewhat like silk. It is cotton twisted hard to give
it a luster. Another day we shall learn more about these.

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. Do you know where silk is grown? Write a story of 100 words
telling about it.

2. Why is not more silk grown in the United States?

3. Find on your map of the world the principal countries where
silk is grown.

4. Name some articles made of silk which you use every day; which
you see used.

5. What are some of the other uses which we have for silk?

LESSON 2

SIMPLE ARTICLES EASILY MADE FROM SILK SCRAPS

There are so many things which can be made from silks. Suppose you
start with something easy. Miss James had some good suggestions.
The little pin-case or the sewing-case are both useful (Figs. 68
and 69). You know the overhanding stitch; so you can make them
quickly. Several of the Pleasant Valley girls will make them for
Christmas gifts as well as for the fair. Which will you make?

Here are the directions for making both the pin-case and the sewing-case.
They are not difficult if the directions are followed carefully.

_For the Pincase._ Cut two circles of stiff cardboard from 2 to 3
inches in diameter, if your silk pieces will permit. The circles
must be exact. Cut two pieces of silk 3 or 4 inches in diameter,
so the silk pieces will be ½-inch larger all around than the
cardboard. ¼-inch from the edge, with double thread, make a row
of gathering stitches; slip cardboard within and draw up the silk
around the card. Now crisscross with your thread through the
edges of material until all is held firmly (Fig. 67). Cover both
cards. Then hold the two together, and very neatly overhand with
silk thread of a color to match. Tiny stitches should be taken.
Put in a row of pins around the edges close together. A pretty
decoration can be made by working a design or an initial on the
silk if it is a plain color. This can be done with chain stitch or
featherstitch, before the cover is put over the cardboard.

[Illustration: FIG. 67.--This shows how to cover the circle, and draw the
silk neatly at the edges.]

In the picture (Fig. 68) notice the other cases. They are made exactly
like the pin-case but of circles or of pieces of different shape.

[Illustration: FIG. 68.--Several useful cases: _A_, pin-case; _B_, oval
pin-case; _C_, spool-case; _D_, darning-case; _E_, needle-book.]

Cases for doilies can be made of two large circles of 12 in. in
diameter. The circles can be tied together with ribbon and the
doilies lie flat between. The case for darning thread is also very
useful.

_For the sewing case._ This is more difficult. It is three-sided
and is made of three elliptical disks covered as we did the round
ones for the pincase. How many cardboards will you need? Thin
cardboard is necessary. What does elliptical mean? A good size is
4 inches the long way and 2½-inches across. All the girls know how
to draw an ellipse. Cut the six pieces of silk ½-inch larger all
around than the ellipses, and cover in same way as you did the
round disks. If there are not enough scraps of one color, use a
contrasting color for the lining. After the six pieces have been
covered and joined together to make three ellipses, then the three
are to be overhanded together very neatly, leaving open the third
edge, which is the opening of the case where the spools, etc. are
put inside. The case naturally closes itself; but, when pressed at
the ends, it opens easily.

[Illustration: FIG. 69.--The sewing case made of three elliptical disks
sewed together.]

=What are some pretty stitches that may be used for decorating?= If one
wishes, the sewing case can also be decorated with a good design like the
one in the picture (Fig. 69). Would you like to make the chain stitch and
the featherstitch? They are both useful for decoration on bags, aprons,
dresses for baby, underwear, and many things. Mollie Stark learned this
stitch and used it on a dress for her baby brother. Mrs. Stark is very
happy to think Mollie is learning how to sew. These are the directions
for making several pretty stitches:

_The chain stitch_ is easy to learn. Begin with a knot. Pass the
thread from the under side up. Throw the thread so as to make an
O (see Fig. 70). Put the needle into the hole where thread came
through, and make a stitch about ⅛-inch long. Hold the cloth over
the fingers with the thumb on top. The needle should be pointed
towards the worker, and the point of the needle should be brought
up through the little round O. Care must be taken in pulling the
thread through to have the loop of thread lying flat on the cloth.
The length of stitch should be uniform. What does uniform mean?
The outline of an initial or any drawn design can be followed with
this stitch.

[Illustration: FIG. 70.--The chain stitch.]

_The featherstitch_ is very beautiful, when made small and even
(Fig. 71). It can be varied by making one or two stitches on each
side of a center line. The length of the stitches and the slant
always affect the appearance. In practicing the featherstitch
draw a pencil line on your cloth as a guide. The stitches are
slanting and are taken towards this line. This stitch is used for
decoration in the same way as the chain stitch.

[Illustration: FIG. 71.--_A_, the single featherstitch; _B_, the double
featherstitch.]

_The single featherstitch._ Hold the work over the finger with
thumb on top of cloth. Work towards you. Start with knot on under
side of pencil line. Draw thread through to right side. Lay thread
on the pencil line and hold with thumb. To right of thread near
beginning, take a small ⅛-inch slanting stitch towards the line
of thread. Draw needle through over the loop of thread. Have it
loose and lying flat. For the second stitch, hold thread again on
the pencil mark. Throw thread for next stitch on the left of the
line. Take slanting stitch towards center line. Draw needle up
through the loop, which should lie flat. The next stitch is taken
to the right of the center line directly under the stitch above
it, and should be the same length and slant. The beauty of this
stitch depends on its evenness. A striped material makes a good
practice piece. After the stitch is learned, it is easy to make
it on plain cloth; but one must then keep constantly in mind an
imaginary center line. This is a very useful stitch for finishing
hems instead of using the hemming stitch. The lawn ruffles on our
petticoats were finished with this stitch. The featherstitch is
sometimes a straight stitch instead of slanting. It is taken each
side of the imaginary center line as the slanting one, but the
needle is held straight.

[Illustration: FIG. 72.--The outline stitch.]

_The outline stitch._ This is another easy stitch (Fig. 72) which
every girl should learn. It can be used instead of the chain or
featherstitch, as decoration. It outlines, or follows, the design,
and so gets its name. The stitch is taken on the line and is
worked from left to right. Care must be taken to have the stitches
all the same length and to throw the thread in one direction
either away from or towards the worker. The pretty effect will be
spoiled if there is a variation. Away from the worker makes a neat
effect. Begin with knot. Draw needle to right side on the line.
Throw thread away from worker; take a small back stitch on the
line, needle pointing towards the worker. This will make a long
thread on the surface and the short stitch beneath. The effect is
much prettier when the stitches are taken close together.

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. Name some other articles on which the featherstitch or chain
stitch can be used; some on which the outline stitch may be used.

2. Draw a picture on the blackboard of the featherstitch, chain
stitch, and outline stitch. Can you show how the needle looks in
position, without looking at your textbook?

LESSON 3

THE NAMES AND USES OF SEVERAL SILKS ARE DISCUSSED

To-day we shall study again about silks. Let us look at those in
Miss James' piece bag; and, also, see how many different kinds we
have for our gifts. Perhaps your teacher has some too.

Such a variety of kinds and colors! Some are soft and light, and others
are heavy and stiff. Do they have names just as the cotton materials?

=Can any one tell the names of any of these silks?= Yes, the plain one is
a _taffeta_. It is plain in color; and the weave is plain, the same on
both sides. Sometimes it comes with printed and woven figures. What is
the difference between a woven and a printed design? Here is a piece with
a printed design. It is a _foulard silk_. How does this design differ
from the taffeta with the design? Foulard silk is used for dresses.
Taffeta is also; as well as for linings and for petticoats. A cheap
quality of taffeta does not wear well. It costs from 75 cents to $2.00 a
yard, and is woven 21 inches and wider. Foulards are about 24 inches wide
and can be bought for the same price as the taffetas. Mollie's mother had
a foulard silk dress last summer; so did Grandmother Allen.

Here is a soft crinkling white piece and a dark blue just like it; and
also a black piece. These are called _crêpe de chine_ and are used for
dresses, also; and sometimes for underwear. It is soft and lustrous, and
comes in plain colors and sometimes printed. It costs from 75 cents up
and is woven 22 inches and sometimes wider.

Shall we start another book of materials, and see how many silks we can
learn about?

The piece Barbara Oakes brought is smooth and shiny on the right side.
Does anyone know the name? It is woven in such a way that the filling
thread goes over several threads and under one. Try it on your school
loom. This weave brings most of the filling thread on the surface of the
cloth. The material is called _satin_, and the weave is the satin weave.
Some cottons are woven with the satin weave, and often in table linen
or damask we see the smooth satin weave. Here is a bit of damask table
linen. Let us compare this smooth part with the satin.

[Illustration: _Courtesy of Crompton and Knowles._

FIG. 73.--The Jacquard loom. Notice the cards with punched holes above
it. They affect the pattern. Can you find the cloth which is being woven?]

Satins are used for dresses, linings, trimmings, boxes, and for many
other purposes. They cost $1 to $20 per yard, if very beautiful, and are
woven from 21 to 54 inches wide. Satin is sometimes made of a combination
of linen or cotton, with the silk. It is then less expensive. The woof,
or filling thread, which gives the smooth finish is silk; and it is
that which shows in the finished cloth. This piece of silk, which looks
figured like table linen, only it is made of silk, is called a _brocaded
satin_. This satin is used for dresses and trimmings, and often for
furniture covering and for hangings in beautiful rooms. It is made on a
loom called a Jacquard. Table damask is made on the same kind of loom.
This wonderful loom (Fig. 73) is able to produce very beautiful patterns,
because of the management of the perforated cards above the loom which
affect the pattern.

The soft white piece is _china silk_. Little Alice Allen had a dress
made of it last summer. It is a plain weave, and many of such silks are
still woven by hand in China. It is very durable and is used for dresses,
waists, and underwear. It costs $1 for a fairly good quality, and is
woven 24 inches wide.

This piece of silk, also, originated in China. It is called _pongee_.
Mary Jones had a coat of this last year. It is ecru in color and is soft.
The real Chinese pongee is hand-woven and is made from the silk of wild
silkworms. It is woven 27 inches wide and costs $1 per yard up. This
piece was $1.50 per yard.

This is a queer-looking piece. It is marked in a watery pattern. The silk
has been pressed between hot rollers which are stamped with a pattern to
give that effect. It is called _moiré_ silk, and is used for trimmings
and dresses. It is quite expensive. A good piece will cost at least $2
per yard and is 22 inches in width.

We shall learn about two more of the most common silk materials. One is
thick, and the other is thin. The thin piece is called _chiffon_. Who
has ever seen it used? Yes, for veils. It is used for dresses, too, and
for hats and trimmings. Isn't it light and thin and gauzy? It is made in
plain colors generally; sometimes figured. It is 46 inches wide and costs
from $.75 to $2 per yard.

Yes, every one knows this one! It is called _velvet_. This piece is all
silk, and was a part of Marjorie's great-grandmother's dress. Some
velvets are made of linen and silk, or of cotton and silk. All silk
velvet is very expensive. It often costs $10 a yard and more. Some silk
velvet can be bought for $4 or $5 a yard. It is woven from 18 to 42
inches wide. Isn't it thick? Do you notice the tiny ends standing up? It
is woven just like some carpet, and the thickness is called the pile. In
weaving, little loops of the filling thread are made, and after weaving,
these are cut to form the pile. Such weaving looks very difficult. The
warp is sometimes linen or cotton. This other thick piece with a pile is
called plush. It has a longer pile than velvet. There are also cotton
plushes. Did your mother ever have a winter coat of plush? Mrs. Alden had
one which lasted for years.

Let us mount our silk samples. Another day we shall study how they are
woven from the raw silk. Isn't it interesting to feel acquainted with
this new family of materials? Notice before next lesson how many things
you see which are made of silk. Have you any in your schoolroom?

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. Bring to school all the samples of different kinds of silks
which you can collect. Can you tell their names?

2. Name an expensive silk suitable for a dress, and give its
approximate cost. Name an inexpensive silk suitable for a summer
dress; give its approximate cost.

3. What is plush used for? What is chiffon made of?

4. Start a book of silk samples.

LESSON 4

MORE USEFUL GIFTS AND HOW TO MAKE THEM

Two more useful gifts: a workbag of silk, and a sewing apron.
Which will you chose to make?

* * * * *

=The workbag.= Barbara Oakes has a very complete little workbag (Fig. 74)
which grandmother made for her last Christmas. The girls think they would
like to copy it. It is made of a piece of yellow flowered ribbon which
was 8 inches wide; ½ a yard is enough. If you have scraps of silk, use a
strip 8 inches wide × 14 inches long. With the other 4 inches, if ribbon
is used, the circular disks for the bottom are to be covered. To make:

[Illustration: FIG. 74.--_A_, a very useful bag. _B_, the sewing apron.]

1. Cut two circles of cardboard 3 inches in diameter. Cut the silk
for covering four inches in diameter. Cover in the same way as you
covered the pin disk. This is the bottom of the bag.

2. Seam the two ends of the 14 inch strip together with two runs
and backstitch (see page 35). Open seams flat. Turn along one long
edge, ½-inch if selvedge of ribbon; if silk, make two turns: first
⅛-inch, second ½-inch. Baste and hold with featherstitch (see page
120), or cross-stitch (see page 145) At seam of bag open seam
carefully ½-inch on the right side for casing hole for ribbon. At
the opposite side, work a small buttonhole (see page 43) ⅜-inch in
length. This will be the top of the bag; and the two ribbons are
to be run through the casing so it will draw up.

3. At the other edge of the long strip, fold to the wrong side:
first 2 inches of the strip, and then the 2 inches folded over
itself. Baste carefully. This fold is to form pockets on the
inside of the bag. Every two inches along length of strip, mark
with a pin; and on the right side of bag, featherstitch or
cross-stitch in rows two inches deep, to form pockets on the
inside of the strip.

4. Gather the edge of the strip to be sewed to the covered disks.
Divide gathers in half. Pin to disk. Overhand to disk with close
stitches on the inside of bag.

This workbag makes a very useful gift. It can be filled with a pair of
small scissors, emery, needles, and spools of silk placed in the pockets.
The ribbon for drawing top is in two pieces, ½-yard in each. Start one
piece from one side and run around casing until it comes out at the same
place it started. Tie in bow. Start other ribbon at opposite side, and
run it all around casing, until it returns to the same side it started
from. Tie in bow.

=The sewing apron.=--Another useful gift is a small sewing apron (Fig.
74). It can be made of silk or of dimity at 12½-cents a yard, and need
not then cost more than 15 cents. Dimity is one yard wide; and ⅞ of a
yard is enough. To make:

1. From one selvedge cut a strip 2½-inches wide, lengthwise of the
piece. This is for the band and is cut off before the apron is
made. Remove other selvedge.

2. Turn ⅜-inch hem to _right_ side of apron at the lengthwise
edges of cloth; baste carefully.

3. At one cross wise end turn, hem 1¼-inches wide to _right_ side.
Baste and hem with featherstitching on reverse or wrong side.

[Illustration: FIG. 75.--Four useful aprons.]

4. Turn up at bottom 8 inches to form pocket, so featherstitching
will be on the upper or right side. Baste and overhand edges the
depth of pocket.

5. Featherstitch side hems, catching the pocket to hold securely.

6. Divide large pocket in three by making two rows of
featherstitching like picture.

7. Put on band. Divide gathered top of apron. Divide band. Allow
band to extend each side of gathers. A space of 12 inches in
center of band is enough to contain the gathers. Put on as you put
on the band of petticoat, but overhand edges of the band extending
beyond gathers.

8. A buttonhole and button can be used to finish, or ribbon may be
sewed to ends of band. This makes a very useful gift.

[Illustration: FIG. 76.--Two cases on which the featherstitch can be
used. _A_, needle case and bag. _B_, linen traveling case for overshoes.]

Look at the sketches (Fig. 75) of other aprons:

_A_ is made from a square of figured lawn; ½-yard is enough. It is shaped
at one corner for a bib. A hem is turned at the edge and featherstitched.
A few small tucks make it fit the waist, and ribbon trims it.

_B_ is made from ⅔ of a yard of lawn, as shown in the diagram. Place
pattern economically.

_C_ is made of a width of lawn or silk with a hem at the bottom and
casing at the top.

_D_ is made of glass toweling trimmed with finishing braid and
featherstitching.

Figure 76 shows some useful cases with decorations of featherstitch.

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. Plan a gift and surprise mother at her birthday anniversary.
Your teacher will help you.

2. See if you can plan an original gift. Draw a sketch of it.

3. Bring all the suggestions for gifts you can find in clippings
from old magazines.

LESSON 5

COUSIN ANN TELLS HOW SILK IS MADE INTO CLOTH

Last summer Marjorie Allen's Cousin Ann visited her. She lives at
Paterson, New Jersey, where there are many silk mills. She told
the girls of the Sewing League about the way silk is made into
cloth. Shall we too learn how?

=Where is silk manufactured?= We know that very little silk is grown
in the United States; but we also know that our country leads in the
manufacture of silks and uses more raw silk than any other country in the
world. France is next and produces very beautiful materials. Most of our
silk factories are in the East: in New Jersey, Connecticut, New York, and
Pennsylvania. People have tried to raise silkworms here. In 1624 some
Frenchmen living in Virginia tried, but were not very successful. Such
experiments have usually failed because it costs so much for labor. In
1747 the governor of Connecticut wore a coat and stockings made of silk
produced on his place. We use about 85 per cent of the silk manufactured
here. What per cent is, then, exported? In 1876, at the great Centennial
Exhibition in Philadelphia, Marjorie's grandmother saw wonderful exhibits
of silk woven in many colors, and even beautiful woven pictures of silk.
Has any one ever seen a woven picture of silk? Have you ever seen one
tiny fiber of silk as it looks under the microscope? What do you notice?

[Illustration: FIG. 77.--Silk fibers magnified.]

=This is what Marjorie's cousin from Paterson told the girls.= They went
to one room at the mill where there were great bales of silk, weighing
about 100 or 150 pounds, but not quite so heavy or large as a bale of
cotton. When opened there were many hanks in each bale; tied up, five
or ten in a bundle. These hanks were taken first to a man called a
throwster. Silk throwing means soaking the skeins to remove more of the
gum, and winding the silk from the skein to a spool. This is done by
soaking in warm water, drying, and then placing the silk on swifts, or
reels. Have you ever seen a reel for winding? (See Fig. 78.) It holds
the skein of silk. The ends are taken, and the machine unwinds from the
skein and winds the silk on spools. In one skein there are from 75,000
to 200,000 yards of silk. The spools are then placed in a machine which
cleans and twists two of these spool threads together to form one, and
then winds it off on new spools. This twisted silk is called "organzine."
Isn't that a queer name? It means the thread used in a loom for the warp
or strong threads. Why are twisted threads stronger? Try, and see if they
are.

[Illustration: FIG. 78.--Silk winding.]

Silk is a most perfect fiber; and does not have to be prepared as much as
cotton or wool. Sometimes it is twisted a very little for the warp. The
filling thread has a queer name, too. It is called the "tram," and need
not be of so good a quality of silk as the strong warp, nor so tightly
twisted. Cotton spinning is different from silk throwing; but both mean
getting the fibers ready for weaving.

[Illustration: _Courtesy of Cheney Bros._

FIG. 79.--Silk dyeing.]

=There are many beautiful colored silks.= Silk is usually dyed (Fig. 79)
in the yarn in hanks. The poor qualities, however, are dyed after the
silk is woven into the piece. Silk is dyed by dipping the skeins or yards
of silk in great vats of dye. For dyeing, the coal-tar products (aniline
dyes) are used. Did you know that coal could produce such beautiful
colors? That is a long story of the many wonderful things which can be
made from tar. Do you know that 25 per cent of the weight of the raw silk
is made up of the gummy substance? The dyer boils out some of the gum;
and, if he wishes to produce cheap silks and make much money, he makes
up for the weight of gum boiled out, by using tin. The silk is dipped in
bichloride of tin or other substances; and it takes up, or absorbs, until
sometimes it weighs twice or even four times as much as the boiled-off
silks. This tin is bought for silk. Women who do not know think they are
buying heavy silk and are getting a good quality because it is so heavy.
This solution of tin rots the silk, and, when the silk comes in contact
with light and air, it crumbles away. Perhaps you have at home a sample
of silk which has done this. Marjorie's Cousin Ann saw some petticoats
of silk which went to pieces just hanging in a closet. Sometimes that
happens when store keepers keep the petticoats for some time. One can see
the holes by holding the silk up to the light. In order to know what one
is buying one must study about materials and about how they are made.

[Illustration: _Courtesy of Cheney Bros._

FIG. 80.--Warping or preparing silk for the loom.]

=Have you ever seen a picture of silk being dyed in the skein?=
Marjorie's cousin says it is done by machinery. See how many skeins are
on the big wheel, or drum as it is called. As it turns, the skeins are
dipped in the vat of dye.

[Illustration: _Courtesy of Cheney Bros._

FIG. 81.--Silk weaving on a hand loom in Japan.]

After the warp threads are twisted and wound on spools, the workman
places the spools in racks (see Fig. 80). They are then unwound again on
to a very large roller, as you can see in the picture. The large roller
is then put into the back of the loom, and the warp threads are drawn
through and prepared so they are attached to the roller where the cloth
is to be rolled after it is woven. Do you remember how we found the
cloth and the warp rollers when we were studying about how cotton cloth
is made? For plain silks a loom is used very much like the looms for
weaving cotton cloth (see page 69); but, for fancy silks and beautiful
patterns and designs, the Jacquard loom like the picture (see page 124)
is necessary. This wonderful machine was invented by a Frenchman, Joseph
Marie Jacquard, in 1801. The cards are cut in tiny holes which regulate
the pattern and make beautiful designs. The cards control the warp
threads and regulate which threads are to be up and which down, as the
shuttle passes over and under. The shuttle is lined with soft seal skin
to protect the silk fibers of the filling thread on the bobbin as they
unroll.

=Would you too not like to visit a silk factory?= Perhaps come day you
may be able to go to Paterson or to some large city, and may see all the
wonderful things which Marjorie's cousin saw. The book pictures will
give you a good idea of how a mill or factory looks inside. It is a very
busy place. Perhaps your teacher may be able to get some stereopticon
or motion picture views to show you, as Miss James showed the Pleasant
Valley children. She used the church lantern. Some of the mothers and
fathers came, too, to hear the story about silk.

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. Find on your map the most important city in the United States
for the manufacture of silk.

2. Write a story about the silk "throwing."

3. If there is a silk mill in your neighborhood, plan to visit it
with your teacher.

4. Look up the story of Jacquard, the inventor of the loom devices
for making beautiful patterns.

LESSON 6

THE BLANKET STITCH CAN BE USED IN MANY WAYS

Did you ever hear of a stitch called the blanket stitch? It is
very useful for decoration. We can make some attractive gifts if
we know how to make it. Would you like to try to-day?

[Illustration: FIG. 82.--The blanket stitch.]

=Did you ever notice how pretty some verandas look in summer time?= Mrs.
Stark of Pleasant Valley has a very attractive, cosy porch. Yours can
look pretty, too, if you will give thought and a little time to it. You
can plant some pretty vines as the girls did at the Ellen H. Richards
house. The cucumber grows wild and can be transplanted. Perhaps in
the attic you can find an old table, which will do to hold your sewing
things. Can you make a cover for it? Perhaps you can make a porch
cushion, too. The blanket stitch (Fig. 82) will be useful for both.

=Did you ever see a material called Russian crash?= It is made in Russia,
of coarse linen, and is often woven in the fields. It is not very wide,
16 or 18 inches only. It is light brown in color. If you cannot get the
crash, perhaps you have some grain or feed bags which will do. You can
dip them in coffee to stain them light brown, as Marjorie Allen did when
she made a cover for the porch table. A piece 1½-yards long and from 16
to 20 inches wide will make a good-sized table runner to throw over the
old table on the porch. If you use the old bags and the edges are not
selvedges, turn them with one turning ½-inch wide all around the edges,
and baste.

=How can you finish the edge of a table runner?= You can make the blanket
stitch close together around the edge. A heavy mercerized cotton thread
can be used for the stitch, and will look well if it is brown in color to
harmonize with the linen or bag. The blanket stitch is used generally for
blanket edges which are not hemmed. It is a stitch to prevent material
from fraying, and is taken on the edge of material. When the cloth is not
very heavy, one turning can be made to give firmness to the edge. This is
not necessary on blankets or on heavy materials. The stitch is worked
from left to right. The edge of the cloth is held towards the worker.
Start with a few running stitches and bring the needle up near the edge.
Have the thread under the thumb. Insert the needle any depth desired
and point needle at right angles to the edge of the cloth, towards the
worker. The needle should come up under the edge and through the loop
made by the thread. The thread will be carried along the edge as the
stitches are made. In finishing a thread, take small tiny stitches on
the wrong side. In starting a new thread, bring it up through the last
loop at the edge. On some materials the stitches can be ¼ or ½ of an
inch apart, or taken very close together as we do when we work on white
linen and scallop the edges. The stitches can be ¼ or ½ or even an inch
deep, and they can be arranged to form a pattern. In the picture you will
see that the stitches are arranged in blocks--twelve low ones ¼ of an
inch, and 12 of ¾ of an inch. They can also be arranged to form stairs
ascending and descending with a difference of ⅛ of an inch in the depth
of each stitch. Suppose you plan to make the block pattern of the blanket
stitch all around the edge of the table runner.

=Now, can you make a porch cushion?= The porch cushion (Fig. 83) can be
made of a strip of crash or of a piece of bagging, 1 yard long and 16
inches wide. Hem one end with a 1 inch hem and the other with a ½-inch
hem, turning both to wrong side. Fold so that the 1 inch hem overlaps
the ½-inch hem. Pin carefully. This makes a kind of envelope and it can
be filled later with a cushion of bran or excelsior or feathers. Fold
so that the overlapping of hems comes about 4 inches from one end of
the cushion. After folding and pinning, baste carefully through the two
thicknesses of material. Work the blanket stitch all around four sides
with the heavy brown linen or cotton thread. Use the same block pattern
as for the table cover. The cushion is kept closed with three or four
snaps sewed on the hems. These cushions can be made any size for hammock
or for porch use. Mrs. Stark liked Mollie's so well that she made a whole
set for her porch, and used old bags for this purpose.

[Illustration: FIG. 83.--The porch cushion, showing the blanket stitch in
block pattern, and the opening near one end.]

=Can you think of any pretty articles to make for the fair or for
surprise gifts on which the blanket stitch can be used?= Have you ever
scalloped the edges of doilies with plain scallop? The white linen can
be cut in circles to fit the size of the plates and the edge marked
in scallops by using a spool. The stitch is exactly the same, but the
stitches are taken very close together and cover the two lines of the
marked scallop which indicate the depth. Doilies are very useful instead
of a tablecloth. They are easily laundered and save the heavy washing. A
bare wooden table which is kept clean and oiled is very attractive when
set with doilies. (See _Food and Health_, page 73). Can you make a set
sometime as a surprise for mother's Christmas gift?

[Illustration: FIG. 84.--Blanket stitch made close together for a
scalloped edge.]

Pincushion tops, bureau covers, table covers, tray covers, centerpieces,
can all be made with this useful stitch.

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. Draw a picture on the blackboard of the blanket stitch.

2. Bring to school some article on which the blanket stitch is
used in some way. Have an exhibit of all the articles brought.

LESSON 7

LEARNING TO MAKE THE CROSS-STITCH

Did your grandmother ever tell you how she learned to sew when she
was a girl? Have you seen her sewing sampler? Shall we learn the
stitch she used on her sampler?

[Illustration: _Courtesy of Metropolitan Museum of Art._

FIG. 85.--Two samplers of long ago.]

Before the days of sewing machines, the family sewing was all done at
home and by hand. To-day we have factories and shops, and we can buy many
articles of clothing ready-made. All little girls were taught to sew
at home in those days. Sewing was not generally taught at school. Many
long seams were given to the girls to sew. The girls had much practice
and learned to sew very well. Every little girl was supposed to make a
sampler. The picture shows two samplers (Fig. 85). Barbara Oakes has
two samplers which she values very much because her great-grandmother
and grandmother made them. Perhaps you may have one which your
grandmother made. The stitch used for the samplers was usually the
cross-stitch (Fig. 87). Would you like to learn to make it, too? It is
a decorative stitch and is often used for marking linen. Grandmother
and great-grandmother used to mark their sheets, pillowcases, and other
household linens with tiny initials of cross-stitch. It is possible,
also, to make quaint designs of the same stitch. Perhaps you would like
to learn to make such a pattern. It is necessary to have squared paper
and to make the crosses conform to the figures or initials wished. The
picture (Fig. 86) shows how to make the crosses fit the squares.

[Illustration: FIG. 86.--Cross-stitch designs can be easily made on
squared paper. _A_, initials for towel; _B_, design for repetition on
table cover or scarf.]

=Will you try to make a design for the cross-stitch?= As the design
is made on the squares, it is necessary to use squared canvas called
Penelope canvas in working this cross-stitch. The canvas is basted in
place and the stitches made over the squares of the canvas, following
the design of the pattern. There are some coarse materials which can be
followed without using canvas. The canvas is woven so loosely that after
the cross-stitch design is finished, the threads are drawn out. How to
make the stitch:

[Illustration: FIG. 87.--The cross-stitch.]

Baste the canvas carefully so that the warp of the canvas lies on the
warp of the cloth. The canvas comes in several sizes, some finer than
others, and this makes a difference in the size of the design when
finished. The stitch consists of two slanting lines crossed. On the wrong
side all the stitches may be _either_ vertical or horizontal, but should
be one or the other. Do you know the difference? The canvas is so woven
that one makes the cross over two threads high and two wide. Bring needle
up to right side at lower left corner of the square that the stitch would
form if inclosed (Fig. 87). Pass thread slanting across warp threads, and
take stitch on line with warp, pointing needle towards the worker. When
thread is drawn through, a slanting line of half the cross is made. This
can be repeated across a whole row according to design, and the cross
finished by returning from right to left with the same vertical stitches.
It is necessary to have all the stitches of the design crossing one way:
the ground stitches, or first half, one way; the other half, or upper
stitches, all the other.

=What pretty gifts can be made from the cross-stitch?= Towels hemstitched
across the ends and marked with cross-stitch make attractive gifts for
mother or grandmother. A pretty set for a baby is made by marking bath
towel, face towel, and wash cloths with a pretty wreath design with
baby's initial. Bureau covers, table scarfs, pincushions can be made.
Here is a picture (Fig. 88) of a simple hand towel with cross-stitch
initials. The towel is made of huckaback, all linen. You remember it can
be bought in all cotton, too, or a combination. Which is more expensive?
The width varies. The picture shows a small guest towel 18 inches wide.
It is easy to learn to hemstitch linen. Shall we try next lesson? The
picture (Fig. 88) shows fancy hemstitching and drawn work. We shall learn
the plain hemstitching.

[Illustration: FIG. 88.--A guest towel marked with cross-stitch.]

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. If any one in your town has an old sampler, try to get it for a
loan exhibit, while the girls are making their cross-stitching.

2. Make a design for cross-stitch work suitable for an end of a
towel or for any article you wish.

LESSON 8

HOW TO MAKE THE HEMSTITCH

Do you know that some girls are often confused and call the
hemstitch, the hemming stitch? Barbara Oakes used to, but
understands now. You have learned the hemming stitch; now you will
try the hemstitch.

[Illustration: FIG. 89.--The hemstitch.]

=See if you can discover the difference between the hemming stitch and
the hemstitch?= Both are used at the top of the hem to hold it in place,
but often the hemstitch is used in other places, too. It is necessary to
draw out some threads of the cloth or linen, before the stitch can be
made. For the hemstitched towel, measure for your hem. From the raw edge,
it will be twice the width of the finished hem plus one turning of ¼-inch.
How much, then, will you measure for a hem one inch when finished?
At the point measured, place a pin. Draw out three or four of the woof
threads very carefully. Be sure to pull out the whole thread all the
way across, when it breaks. Remember how the filling thread passes at
the selvedge, and remove it there as it turns. Then baste the hem very
carefully, turning to wrong side. Baste close to first drawn thread. Hold
work over fingers of left hand in vertical position. Place needle in
edge of hem, and draw thread without a knot under the edge of hem just
exactly as plain hemming is started (Fig. 89). Throw thread away from
the worker; take up a bundle of the threads by passing the needle under
them and pointing it towards the worker along the edge of the hem. Again
pass the needle under the same bundle of threads, but this time pass the
needle through the under cloth and also through the _edge_ of the turned
hem, just beyond the bundle. This stitch should come between two bundles
of thread. Make the next stitch by taking up a second bundle of threads.
At first, one should count the number of threads so as to have the
bundles uniform; but with practice this is not necessary. As a rule, the
coarser the material, the fewer the number of threads taken up. This is
a simple way of hemstitching. There are other ways. Double hemstitching
means to hemstitch the other side opposite the hem, by taking up the same
bundles. Marjorie Allen made Grandmother Allen a lovely hemstitched towel
for Christmas. She was very much surprised and delighted to have some of
Marjorie's own work. Marjorie tied it up very daintily in white tissue
paper and used some Christmas seals to hold it fast.

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. Now that you know the hemstitch, you can use it in many places.
Can you tell how it differs from the hemming stitch?

2. Think of some useful things on which this stitch can be made
besides those mentioned below:--

Collars
Bags
Handkerchiefs
Cuffs
Covers
Doilies

LESSON 9

ANOTHER USEFUL GIFT AND A NEW STITCH

Have you ever noticed how convenient it is to have a place for
the clothespins, on wash day? Would you like to learn to make a
clothespin bag?

=How to make another gift.= A very useful clothespin bag (Fig. 90) for
mother can be easily made with a hammock hook and some ticking. Mrs.
Allen says she cannot keep house without hers. Did you learn about
ticking when you studied cotton materials? Pillow covers and mattresses
are made of it, as it is heavy and strong and wears very well. Put
a piece in your cotton sample book. It is woven 36 inches wide and
costs from 12½-cents up. Notice the weave. It is twilled or striped or
herringbone weave.

Denim or any heavy material can be used. A square piece is necessary, 28
× 28 inches.

Hem. First turning, ¼-inch; second turning, one inch. Stitch on machine.
Miter the corners. The corners are to be sewed securely with heavy linen
thread to the four corners of the hammock hook (Fig. 90). The hook is
hung on the clothesline, and it is very easy and handy to push along as
the clothes are hung up. If one wishes, the bag can be decorated with a
catch stitch.

[Illustration: FIG. 90.--The clothespin bag.]

=How to make the catch stitch or herringbone stitch.= This stitch can
be used for decoration or for catching the edges of a seam or hem.
Grandmother Allen used to use it on her own flannel petticoats and on
baby Alice's flannel skirts. After the plain seam is made, it is opened
flat and the edges are caught with the loose catch stitch. It is really a
flannel stitch, because, as the flannel may shrink a little, the stitch
allows for this, and holds the hem flat. Flannel hems do not have the
first turning as it is so thick. The catch stitch is then used to hold
the hem. Can you bring one of baby's petticoats to show the class how it
looks?

The same stitch is used for decoration too. We shall use it for that
purpose on the clothespin bag, before we sew the corners to the hook.

[Illustration: FIG. 91.--The catch stitch.]

The stitch is made from left to right. We can use the machine stitching
for a guide. We shall use the stitch on the right side. It resembles
cross-stitch. It is really a series of back stitches placed alternately
above and below the guide line. The spaces between stitches should be
the same and the stitches below the guide line opposite the spaces above
(Fig. 91). This causes the thread to slant and makes the cross, as it
is worked from left to right. To start, draw needle to right side about
⅛-inch below the line of machine stitch. The first back stitch is taken
⅛-inch above the machine stitching. This will make the slanting line,
as the stitch is ¼-inch beyond the starting place. The second stitch is
taken below the line; and the directions as above are followed so that
stitches come opposite the spaces, above and below. In finishing an old
thread, take two or three small stitches on wrong side. In beginning a
new thread, draw up as at the start, so as to form the correct cross on
the right side.

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. This herringbone or catch stitch can be used in many places.
Can you suggest any?

2. Draw a picture of this stitch on the blackboard.

3. Show some neighbor how to make this stitch.

LESSON 10

THE DARNING STITCH

Did you know that sometimes darning is used for decoration instead
of just on the stocking? Let us make a gift using it.

[Illustration: FIG. 92.--The darning stitches make the initials stand
out.]

The darning stitch is nothing but fine running stitches placed
alternately under one another so as to fill a space. Miss James has
asked the girls to make linen covers for their cooking notebooks. They
decide to put their two initials on the cover and to work them in outline
stitch. The sketch (Fig. 92) shows how they will make them within an
oblong which is also to be outlined. The darning stitch will be used as
a background to make the initials stand out. It is a fine running stitch.
Any design can be made to stand out by arranging the darning back of the
outlined design. The notebooks will be covered so that the covers may
slip off. This is done by overhanding the edges and slipping the cover of
the book into the pocket formed by the overhanding. The cover is all in
one: a straight piece folded back inside the cover of book and overhanded
at the folds, to hold the book. The picture (Fig. 93) of baby's bib also
shows the use of the darning stitch to make a design stand out. This is
a bib used by little Alice Allen. Marjorie made it for her, when she was
two years old and had a birthday party.

[Illustration: FIG. 93.--The darning stitch makes the design of the
rabbits stand out.]

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. Make a design for your notebook cover.

2. Calculate size of piece of material needed, if both covers are
9 X 6. Allow ½-inch turnings all around.

3. Try to plan a design with a background of darning stitches.
Perhaps you can use it on a Christmas gift for brother.

REVIEW PROBLEMS

I. Plan a gift for father's Christmas on which the darning or
cross-stitch is used.

II. Look up the story of the history of silk culture and write a
story to be read in school. Perhaps it may be as good as the one
Barbara Oakes wrote. Her story was printed in the "Pleasant Valley
News."

[Illustration]

CHAPTER IV

THE PLEASANT VALLEY GIRLS LEARN TO CARE FOR THEIR CLOTHES AND TO HELP
REPAIR THE HOUSEHOLD LINEN.

Have you ever noticed that some houses where you visit are always
neat and look well cared for, and that the towels and table linen are
carefully darned or patched? Have you seen what a difference there is
in the appearance of the people who do not care for their houses and
clothing, and those who do? The latter are apt to wear neat-looking shirt
waists, to patch the worn places and darn the holes before they are too
large, and to sew on the buttons before they are lost. The little word
C-A-R-E is responsible for the difference. Have you learned to help at
home to repair and care for the clothing and household linens? "A stitch
in time saves nine." It often saves money and time, too. Do you know
why? Learn how. The Pleasant Valley girls learned to darn and patch and
occasionally Miss James had a "repair day," when all were permitted to
bring their mending. Can you do this at your school?

LESSON 1

CARE OF CLOTHES

What are some of the things to learn in order to care for one's
clothes?

[Illustration: FIG. 94.--Ethel Allen remembers about the lesson on
neatness. She is removing a spot.]

Marjorie Allen's Cousin Ann, who lives at Paterson, New Jersey, spends
her summer vacation with Marjorie at Pleasant Valley. Marjorie knows that
she earns ten dollars a week at the office and pays all her own expenses.
She always looks very neat and well dressed. What is the secret? She has
learned how to spend wisely and how to care for her clothing. She learned
much of this at school, and experience has taught her how to manage.
Suppose we learn, too, so as to be able to care for our clothes. Here are
some of the things Marjorie's cousin learned:

1. That clothes, if well brushed, look better.

2. A well-pressed suit or skirt lasts longer and looks neater.

3. Stains or spots spoil one's neat appearance and look careless.

4. A patch or a darn is no disgrace. They make one feel more
self-respecting than holes or tears. They help to increase the
life of a garment, too, if taken in time.

5. That being careful each day saves much time; a little care is
worth while.

Let us study to-day how to do some of these things. Perhaps we can clean
our school coats or some wool garments brought from home.

=Brushing clothes.= Many people who live in large cities do not have
gardens and yards where they can hang their clothes and brush them. Often
brushing and cleaning must be done on the roofs of houses. How glad we
should be for space and a chance to keep clean. The Pleasant Valley girls
have studied about this. Do you know that it costs to keep clean? It
takes time and energy and much thought. People who live in the country
can keep clean more easily than city people. This is a good way to air
and brush your cloth garments: Hang them on the line, and beat with a
clothes beater. Turn the cuffs or collars and pockets inside out if
possible. Brush with a whisk brush carefully all over. Shake free from
dust and let them hang in the sunshine. They will smell sweet and clean.

=Pressing suits and skirts.= A suit or skirt which is kept well pressed
has a neater appearance and keeps its shape for a longer time. Tailors
do this work; but one can learn to do it at home, if no tailor is near,
and can save the money, too, if one has the time. It is a good general
rule to press on the wrong side unless one is using the steaming process.
Then, one presses on the right side, over dampened cloth. Wring the
cloth, place over a portion of the garment, and press with hot irons
until nearly dry. After steaming the garment all over on the right side,
turn to the wrong side and press dry. Woolen goods will mark or shine if
pressed on the right side without a cloth. This pressing will add to the
life of a suit. Good press boards, tailors' cushions, and sleeve boards
help very much if one has them.

It is always wise to examine clothes before pressing and to remove any
spots which have accumulated. Grease, milk, oil, sugar are common spots
which girls are apt to get on their woolen clothing. The Pleasant Valley
girls studied how to remove these.

=Removing stains and spots.= Woolen goods which are soiled and badly
spotted can be cleaned by washing in warm water with soap solution or
soap bark. Here are some recipes for making soap solution or soap bark:

_Soap Solution._ Simmer (do not boil) one cake of white soap in
two or three quarts of water.

_Soap Bark._ 1 cup of soap bark or powder in three or four
quarts of water. Let it stand two hours. Strain and pour into
the lukewarm water in which the material is to be washed. Why is
lukewarm water used? Wash and rinse carefully. Always use water of
same temperature for rinsing. What would the shock of cold water
do? Bath temperature is about right.

All woolen garments should be washed and rinsed carefully in lukewarm
water only. Some day we shall try at school. Good pure white soap is best
for woolens. Why do woolens shrink in hot water? Why are they difficult
to cleanse?

Let us examine the school coats to see if we can find grease. As a rule
grease spots can be removed by washing with soap solution and lukewarm
water. Wagon grease can be removed with lard; then wash in warm water.
Grease may also be removed by dry cleaning, or chemical cleaning as it is
called. The cleaning liquid may be benzine or ether. This is a warning:
D-A-N-G-E-R. These must not be used near fire or an explosion will occur.
A bad accident occurred at Pleasant Valley in just this way when Mrs.
Leroy was cleaning her white gloves. Rub the spot on the wool garment
with a cloth or sponge wet with benzine. The grease or fat spreads when
dissolved; a piece of blotting paper under will help to absorb some of
the grease. Care must be taken to use fresh benzine as each rub removes
some of the fat, which will spread if rubbed in again. It is usually wise
to use as a sponge a piece of the same material. Rub towards the center
so as to avoid a ring. The spot cleaned will usually be lighter than the
rest of the garment, which is apt to be soiled. Sometimes by rubbing the
surface near the spot all over, the ring will not be noticeable. Another
way to remove grease is to try a warm iron and a blotting paper. Place
paper on right side, iron on the wrong side of the cloth. This will
remove some grease spots, as the blotter absorbs it.

Marjorie Allen discovered that sugar spots can be removed with warm
water. Dip cloth in water and wash thoroughly and rinse before pressing.
What does the warm water do to the sugar?

Milk spots can be removed from some materials with cold water and pure
white soap. Why cold?

Machine oil spots can be removed by washing in cold water and pure white
soap. This will remove most machine oil spots. Barbara Oakes got some oil
on her nightdress while making it, and removed the oil easily in this way.

[Illustration: _Courtesy of Miss Alice Blair._

FIG. 95.--Which way do you arrange clothes in your closet?]

These simple rules will help every girl to be neat. Let us see how many
garments you can clean at home after you have learned to brush, clean,
and press one at school.

=Protecting clothes.= Marjorie's cousin takes good care of her clothing
while it is in use. When she works about the house she always wears
an apron. Do you? This saves a great deal. You know how to make some
attractive ones.

[Illustration: FIG. 96.--A useful cover to protect your best dress.]

When she removes her clothing it is not thrown in a heap, but is hung
up on skirt or coat hangers. They are very cheap or one can make them.
Barrel staves or even rolls of newspaper, rolled securely and covered
may be used as coat hangers, a cord or ribbon may be tied at the center.
Nails between two points in a closet will keep the bands of skirts
extended, when loops are sewed to the bands. Marjorie's cousin always
airs her clothes at night (Fig. 56), and when necessary washes her
shields and hangs them up to dry. Many girls do not realize how necessary
this is. The odor of perspiration is not neat and is offensive to others.
If one washes one's self carefully with warm water in which borax has
been dissolved this odor will not be noticeable. Marjorie noticed that
her cousin has covers over her good clothes (Fig. 96). This saves a
great deal. Also she is particular about sewing buttons on her shoes,
and braid on her skirt when it is torn. She also washes the yokes of
her dresses and sometimes her own shirt waists. She is going to teach
Marjorie to do this. Some day we shall learn at school. Do you know that
Marjorie discovered that the people at the summer boarding houses near
have difficulty in having their dainty shirt waists carefully laundered.
She is going to practice during the winter and next summer she will earn
some money in that way. It is a good idea. Perhaps some day she may have
a laundry of her own, if she is a good manager and can have help to work
with her.

[Illustration: FIG. 97.--Cousin Ann thinks about these things.]

Cousin Ann told Marjorie that each winter she is particular about buying
a pair of rubbers. She finds they save her shoes because they prevent the
dampness and wet from rotting the thread of the shoes. She is particular
about having her heels straight. Cousin Ann believes that many girls lose
good positions because they are not clean and neat about their personal
appearance. Run over heels are not neat. Ann is careful about having her
shoes resoled when necessary, and so lengthens their life. She wears an
old pair of shoes on rainy days with her rubbers. Ann knows that wet
feet are dangerous. One may not feel the results at once, but sometime
the effect on health will be felt.

Next lesson let us learn how to keep our clothing darned. You may bring
any garment or towel or other piece of household linen which has a tear,
and we shall learn to darn it.

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. Carry some of your clothes to the back yard. Brush them, and
hang them in the sunshine.

2. Try at home to press your wool skirt. Steam it; it is not
difficult to do.

3. Do you know of any other way besides those Cousin Ann tried,
of keeping your clothes clean so as to prevent them from getting
spotted?

4. Do you not think that knowing how to launder shirt waists
carefully would be a good way to earn money when the summer
boarders come to your town?

LESSON 2

LEARNING TO DARN STRAIGHT TEARS

What threads of the cloth are torn, in a square tear? In a
straight tear? How can we replace these threads and prevent the
article from tearing further?

[Illustration: FIG. 98.--These tears run in different directions. Which
kind of a tear will you have to darn in your dress?]

=There is always a collection of garments needing repairs in any home
where there are boys and girls.= What a help it will be to mother to have
some one who can darn some of the tears. Mrs. Alden was very glad that
Florence was learning to darn, for she has so many things to patch and
darn for her family. How many different kinds of tears have been brought
to-day? Yes, here is a straight tear on this napkin; yes, two straight
tears. Who can tell which threads have been torn in this first tear? Find
the selvedge; the tear runs across the selvedge. In the second straight
tear, the tear runs up and down with the selvedge, or warp. Which threads
have been torn? Here is a garment with a square corner tear. John Alden
tore his overalls climbing over the barbed wire fence. In this tear which
threads have been torn? So we see that in some tears, the warp is torn;
in others, the filling threads; and in others, like the square tear, both
warp and filling threads. Now darning means putting back the threads
which have been worn or torn away. Miss James told her class it is very
useful to keep some black and white wash net in the mending basket. A
little piece basted under the worn or torn place to be darned is a great
help; for it reënforces the weak place and makes it last longer. It is
put on the wrong side of the article to be darned. The picture (Fig. 98)
shows two straight tears: a slanting one, and also a square corner tear.
Everyone knows how to make the running stitch. Darning is fine running.
Begin without a knot and a little beyond the tear for strength. Fill in
the missing thread with rows of stitches close together. The stitches
should extend far enough each side of the tear to take in the worn part
also. In turning at the end of each row, leave a tiny loop. Why? Do
not leave a very large one, but simply one large enough to allow for
stretching and pulling in washing. In passing over the threads at the
torn place, try to make the stitches hold down the threads. In finishing
extend the rows beyond the tear as at the beginning. Either a warp or
woof straight tear is mended in this way. A square tear is a combination
of the two. At the corner there will then be both warp and filling
threads and a double darn like a weave. Can you see from the picture how
this will look? The thread should match as nearly as possible. Sometimes
horsehair or human hair makes a good darning thread when one does not
wish the darn to show, or split silk thread or No. 150 cotton. Ravelings
of the same cloth are sometimes used. The size of the needle will depend
on the fineness of the cloth to be darned. No. 8 is right for ordinary
darning.

=Where can you use this darn?= Is it the same as stocking darn? Next
lesson every one is to bring from home a stocking, white, brown, or
black. Can you mend one at school to surprise mother or father or
brother? The Pleasant Valley girls did. Mr. Allen said Marjorie darned
his socks so well that he couldn't even feel the darn when he walked!

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. Show mother how you can mend a straight tear by mending one for
her at home. Perhaps there is a straight tear in her dress, or in
a towel or napkin.

2. Why is it worth while to mend it?

LESSON 3

DARNING STOCKINGS

We all have stockings to darn each week as they come from the
laundry. Do you mend the small holes at once, or let them grow
larger?

It is always a saving of time and energy to take care of the small
holes; small ones grow to be larger ones if one is not careful. It
pays to mend at once. We will learn how to mend stockings.

[Illustration: _Courtesy of H. Brinton Co._

FIG. 99.--The knitting machine. Caps, stockings, and underwear are made
on similar machines.]

Stocking darning differs from darning the straight or the square tear,
because, as a rule, there is a hole in the stocking. The stocking
material is worn away, and it is necessary to replace it with a small
piece of weaving over and under of warp and filling. A patch or extra
piece of material might be placed under the hole, but that would be
uncomfortable; so a woven piece is put in. The stocking is made of
knitted material called stockinet, not of woven cloth. How do they
differ? Can you think of other articles of clothing made of knitted
material? Yes, mittens, sweaters, caps, underwear. Have you ever seen
a knitting machine? Here is a picture (Fig. 99) of one showing how the
stocking is knitted in the factory to-day on the knitting machines. In
weaving there are two threads. What are they? In knitting there is only
one thread; just like grandmother's knitting of the stocking round and
round as the tiny loops are formed. Have you ever torn your stocking in
a loop and had it run right down the whole leg of the stocking? Barbara
Oakes had this experience. That shows how the tiny loops are made. If one
catches the loop, the raveling is prevented.

=This is how we shall darn our stockings.= Use single or double darning
thread, according to the fineness of the stocking, and a darning needle.
Can you thread the big eye by doubling the end of the thread?

Begin on the wrong side without a knot, about ¼ of an inch to the right
of the hole. The stitches are the same fine running as for other darning,
and the rows made close together. Look at the picture (Fig. 100). The
darn is about diamond shape when finished. Why? This prevents the strain
from coming on any one row of loops. A tiny loop is left at each row in
turning, as stockinet is a stretchy material. This darning should run the
same way as the loops, up and down the material. Care must be taken at
the hole. If possible, pass the needle through the loop at the edge of
the hole and extend the thread across the hole to the loop opposite, and
continue with the darning stitch. When the warp is all in, there will be
rows of threads close together extending across the hole. In fine darning
or when one is darning sweaters or gloves, all the loops at the edge of
the hole should be carefully caught. For everyday stocking darning, one
does not have time to stop for every loop at the edge of the hole.

[Illustration: FIG. 100.--_A_, the wrong side of the stocking darn
putting in the first set of threads; _B_, weaving in the second thread.]

As we said above, the hole is to be filled in with a piece of woven
material which we are making. The warp (Fig. 100 A) has all been put in;
then we must go over part of the darn and fill in the cross threads,
which are woven over and under the warp threads which have been put in
at the hole. The running stitch is used. The sketch (Fig. 100 B) shows
the portion of the darn to be covered with the running stitches, and just
where the weaving is to be done. You will notice that the first row of
crosswise running stitches is placed a little below the hole, and the
last row extends a little above. Why? At the hole one must go over and
under the warp, alternately, as one does in weaving. This is all done
with one thread which is carried in fine running stitches to the hole,
then passes over and under the warp threads, and continues with running
stitches at the other side of darn; turns with a tiny loop, continues
with running, and again passes over and under the warp alternately. This
is continued until the darn is completed.

=Sometimes there are tiny rips in the seams of stockings.= They can be
overhanded carefully on the wrong side, taking up only the very edges of
the seam so as not to make a ridge. If the long ladders which sometimes
come in stockings are not too wide, they can be overhanded together on
the wrong side; or, if one has time, they can be darned as a hole. As a
rule this is a waste of time. A worn place near a hole should be included
in a darn, or where several small holes are close together, darn in one
large darn.

=What kind of stockings do you buy?= Marjorie's Cousin Ann says it does
not pay her to buy very cheap stockings, at 15 cents a pair, or very thin
ones either. She has discovered that if she pays 25 cents a pair or a
dollar for three pairs of a good make, and cares for them, watching when
the tiny holes appear, that she can make six pairs last a whole year.
Ann says that the girls who buy the very thin transparent stockings are
buying stockings all the time; and then, too, they are often ridiculed
by others. One is not well dressed when one is conspicuous and when one's
clothing is noticed and criticized in such a way.

Next lesson you may bring a stocking which has been darned at home.
Credit will be given for this. Do you think you can darn one all alone?
It is not difficult if one follows carefully the description above. You
may also bring a linen towel or napkin or tablecloth which has a hole.
We shall learn how to patch the holes. The Pleasant Valley pupils had
a darning contest. Mrs. Allen was invited to be the judge. Who do you
suppose made the best-looking stocking darn? Mollie Stark won.

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. Darn one of father's socks or baby sister's stocking or any
other you can at home. Surprise mother by showing her how well you
can darn, after your school practice.

LESSON 4

PATCHING SAVES CLOTHING AND OTHER ARTICLES

Some holes are too large to darn; they are, then, repaired with a
patch. Would you like to learn how to patch?

[Illustration: FIG. 101.--The patch as it should look on the wrong side
in process of hemming.]

=How to make the hemmed patch.= A patch is a piece of cloth cut larger
than the worn hole and used to cover the hole. The hemmed patch is the
simplest and most useful. It is sewed with the hemming stitch and so
called the hemmed patch because all the rough edges of the patch are
turned under and hemmed flat. This kind of patch is used on garments
or household articles which are to be laundered. It is a good one for
towels, napkins, or tablecloths, and for underwear. Perhaps you have
some tablecloths, napkins, and towels which have been brought to patch
to-day. Miss James brought some for her class. For patches some girls
brought pieces as nearly like the towels and napkins which they brought
as possible. It is better to patch with material which has been used,
than with new material. Why? The hemmed patch is always put on the wrong
side. Cut a square or oblong piece which will cover the hole, and extend
beyond the worn part. Allow ¼-inch extra all around for turnings. Crease
this patch diagonally. Find the center of the hole of the worn article.
Crease it in diagonal lines for a square or oblong, according to shape of
place to be patched. Pin patch on wrong side so that diagonal creases of
patch fall on diagonal creases of the article. Turn to right side. Cut
the hole, removing all frayed edges until it is a true square or oblong,
measuring from the center where diagonal creases cross. After cutting,
make a tiny slanting cut from ⅛ to ¼-inch at each corner on the diagonal
creases of the article, and turn under these cut edges. Pin and baste
carefully. Turn to wrong side. Hold to light to see if the patch is the
same width on all sides of the hole. Trim if necessary. Remove pins,
flatten, turn edges of the patch by opposites, and baste. The hemming
stitch is then used on both the right and wrong sides of the patch to
hold the edges. This patch is laundered flat and neat. For next lesson we
shall study about the table linen and towels. We know that some of them
are linen. Where does linen come from? Do you know whether it is a plant
or an animal? There are several reference books on the shelf. See how
much you can discover about this secret.

[Illustration: FIG. 102.--Hemming the patch in place, on the right side.]

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. Practice making a hemmed patch at home. Mother will surely have
a tablecloth or an undergarment or an apron which needs a patch.
Try to keep the patch very flat.

2. See how much you can learn about linen before next lesson.

LESSON 5

THE STORY OF HOW LINEN IS GROWN

What is the story of our linen materials?

Where do they come from? Would you like to know?

Mollie's Stark's Uncle John has just come to Pleasant Valley. He is her
father's brother and has been in the linen business in Ireland. He told
the Girls' League the other evening about flax and about how it is made
into cloth. This is the story he told. It has also been printed in the
"Pleasant Valley News." Have you read it?

=Where does flax grow?= Ireland is a cool country, and flax is a plant
which grows well in cool places. Cotton, we have learned, is grown in
warm countries. Do you know that Russia produces about half of the
world's supply of flax? Find your map of Europe, and see if you can
locate all these countries. The Russian flax is rather inferior in
quality. Ireland and Belgium produce the best quality of fiber. Flax is
also grown in Holland and France, and in Egypt and Italy. The United
States grows some flax; but it is a rather coarse fiber used for crash
and for bagging. The United States grows very little flax and only
for the coarser purposes. This is for the reason that labor is very
expensive; and flax, like silk, needs much care if weeded and grown for
fiber. The care of the worms makes silk expensive. Flax grown for seed or
coarse purposes does not require so much care.

[Illustration: FIG 103.--The flax plant grows 20 to 40 inches in height.]

=What is the flax plant?= Perhaps your teacher will buy some flax seed
which you can plant in the school garden. The Pleasant Valley girls did,
and it grew quite tall. Then you can really see how the growing plant
looks. Your teacher will have some dry flax to show you. Do you know how
a waving field of wheat or oats looks? Flax is planted thickly when it is
grown for its fiber. It comes up straight like the wheat and does not
branch. When it is planted for its seed, it is not planted so thickly
because it must have more room to branch and bear seed. Flaxseed is used
for many purposes. Flaxseed, or linseed, oil is used for paints and
varnishes, and even for food, in some countries. Like cotton seed, the
dry cake, or meal, left is a valuable food for cattle. Has mother ever
used the oil or the meal for anything at home?

The flax plant as it grows is from 20 to 40 inches in height. It has
lovely little blue flowers on the stems which branch at the top. Uncle
John knew a little girl at Pleasant Valley who thought the flax came from
the little brown seed pods on top, just as the cotton comes from the seed
pod, or boll. It does not; for the flax fiber is the part of the long
stem which grows just inside of the outside woody portion. So, you see
flax fibers can be from 20 to 40 inches long, according to the height of
the plant. The wonderful part of the story is how the fibers are removed
from the long stems.

=How is flax grown?= Flax requires much hand labor in its care while
growing. The women and children in Europe weed it and care for it, on
their hands and knees. When it is full grown and the flowers have come
and gone, the tiny seed pods grow where the flowers have fallen, just
like the seed pods your peonies or poppies grow. Before the seeds are
quite ripe, and while the stalks are brownish yellow, the flax is ready
to be pulled. It is not cut like wheat with the reaper and gathered into
bundles, but must be pulled up by the roots. This is done in clear
weather, by hand. The pulled flax is laid on the ground with the roots
together and the stalks parallel. The stalks are then bound something
like the wheat, and stacked in stooks. You have often seen oats or wheat
so stacked.

[Illustration: _Courtesy of United States Department of Agriculture._

FIG. 104.--The stooks of flax.]

[Illustration: _Courtesy of Speyer School, New York._

FIG. 105.--This little girl is rippling flax by hand at school. Can you
see the seeds?]

[Illustration: _Courtesy of Woolman & McGowan, Textiles._

FIG. 106.--Flax retting at Courtrai, Belgium.]

=What is rippling and retting flax?= The next process is to remove all
the seeds without injuring the long fibers. The machine for this looks
like a comb made of iron teeth set in a wooden frame. This frame is
placed on a cloth so as to collect all the seed as it falls. This is
called rippling, and is done in the fields. The seed pods are drawn
across the teeth which remove the seeds. Then the flax is bound in
bundles for the next process, which is retting. This is really the most
important part of all, for it means rotting the outside woody portion of
the stem so as to get the flax fiber. This woody portion is of no value.
The flax is sometimes retted by dew; just left on the ground at night.
You know how wet the grass can be early in the morning. So the dew, rain,
air, and sunshine decompose the outside woody bark. This is a very slow
process. More often flax is retted in water. The bundles are placed in
crates or boxes, and left for about two weeks under water. If you grow
some flax, you can ret it also and remove the fiber. Do you know what
takes place when the woody part decomposes? It is called fermentation.
What have you learned about fermentation? (_See Food and Health._) After
retting, the flax is spread to dry in the fields and is then ready for
the next process, called breaking. Just think of how many things have
been done to the fibers of our linen towels and napkins and dresses,
which we use every day. Jane Smith said she never realized before how
many hands prepare our clothing and other materials.

[Illustration: _Courtesy of Speyer School, New York._

FIG. 107.--Flax breaking done by hand.]

=What is meant by breaking flax?= Breaking means removing the dry wood
portion which has been decomposed by the retting. This is sometimes done
by means of a hand break. In the picture (Fig. 107) you will see a little
girl of Pleasant Valley breaking flax by hand. Sometimes the woody part
is broken away by passing the flax between rollers of a machine which is
run by power. These power mills are called scutching mills; scutching
means cleaning and breaking. After this process the flax lies in long
bundles of parallel fibers, something like a girl's hair as it is ready
to be braided. The flax varies in color; sometimes it is gray or of a
greenish tint, and sometimes pale yellow.

[Illustration: FIG. 108.--Flax fibers magnified.]

If you have a microscope or a glass at school, examine the flax fiber.
See how it looks, rough and woody. It also looks something like the silk
fibers, straight. It has tiny markings or spots called nodes. Flax is
principally cellulose. Do you know what cellulose means? Look it up in
the dictionary.

[Illustration: FIG. 109.--The mummies of Egypt are found wrapped in linen
cloth made from flax long ago.]

So you see that the long fibers are freed from the stem of the flax plant
and are ready for the manufacturer to spin into yarn to be woven into
cloth, or to make it into cord, rope, twine, lace, or thread for many
useful purposes. Isn't this an interesting story? Flax cultivation is
one of the most ancient industries. Think how very useful it is, both
for fiber and for seed. It has been grown for at least 5000 years in
Egypt and in Assyria. Do you remember reading about the ancient mummies
which have been found wrapped in linen in the tombs of Egypt? In the
Bible, chapter xlii of the book of Genesis, we are told that Pharaoh
arrayed Joseph in vestures of fine linen. Do you know of any other Bible
references which tell of the use of linen in ancient times? Have you
ever heard of the Swiss lake dwellers? Perhaps your teacher will tell
you about them, or you can look it up in the encyclopedia. They too used
linen long ago, for pieces have been found and are in the museums in
Switzerland.

Next lesson we shall make a large chart for the schoolroom, which will
tell the story of flax. You may bring anything which you think will help
to illustrate that story. We shall also mount on the chart the most
common linen materials which we use in our homes.

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. Examine a flax fiber with a microscope or a magnifying glass.
What do you see?

2. Look up references which prove the age of flax culture.

3. Perhaps some one near your school has been in the linen
business in Ireland. Perhaps he will come to the school and tell
the boys and girls about it. Try to find some one.

LESSON 6

COMMON LINEN MATERIALS ARE IDENTIFIED

Can we learn to identify at least eight of the common linen
materials?

To-day we shall study about the different linen materials, and then see
what we have to mount on our school chart. If you prefer, you may make a
book of linen materials like the cotton and silk.

=Let us divide the pieces which have been brought to school into two
piles: the thin, and the thicker ones.= We have more of the thick ones.
Yes, we all know the heavy coarse linen is called _Russian crash_. We
used it for our porch cushions or covers. It comes from 18 to 36 inches
in width and costs from 15 cents a yard up to 75 cents sometimes. We know
it is used for dresses, and sometimes for toweling and upholstery uses.
It is unbleached in color.

This wide sample is _linen sheeting_. Our great-grandmothers always had
linen sheets of flax which they grew, spun, and wove, because long ago
cotton was not grown. Some of the Pleasant Valley girls saw these sheets
which Grandmother Allen made. Sheeting comes in several widths, and costs
about $1 per yard up. Cotton sheeting is cheaper.

The one thin one is _handkerchief linen_. It costs from 60 cents to $2.00
per yard. What kind of a weave is it? What is it used for? The other thin
piece is called _batiste_. It, too, is used for waists and dress linens,
and it is fine and sheer. It can be used for handkerchiefs too. It costs
about $1.00 per yard up, according to the fineness, and is 1 yard or more
wide. Batiste is made of cotton, also, and is then cheaper.

The weave of this piece is different. You have a cotton sample of the
same weave. Yes, it is called _bird's-eye_ pattern. It is used for
toweling and costs about 30 cents per yard, 24 inches wide.

Here is another piece used also for toweling. You all know its name.
_Huckaback_ is correct. We have also cotton huckaback, and some huckaback
made of half linen and half cotton. It is woven in a pattern which
absorbs easily. The filling thread shows more on the surface than the
warp threads. It is woven 18 inches and wider, and costs 15 cents up.

Every one knows this one. Our tablecloths and napkins are of _damask_.
It is a lovely material made in beautiful patterns. Sometimes it is all
linen and sometimes a mixture. There is also cotton damask for table
napkins and cloths. It is much cheaper. The cloths are woven 1 yard wide
or wider, and for damask towels from 16 to 36 inches. One can spend a
great deal for beautiful damask towels and napkins.

This plain coarse linen is called _butchers' linen_, because it wears
very well and butchers sometimes have their aprons made of it. It is
used, too, for dress skirts, and is very satisfactory. It is woven from
27 to 44 inches in width and costs from 40 cents to $1.50 per yard.

The heavy stiff piece is a _linen canvas_ and is used by tailors for the
interlining of cuffs and collars of coats. It costs 25 cents per yard and
is 27 to 36 inches wide.

Suppose our chart is 24 × 20 inches. Perhaps a cardboard or cover of an
old box will do if your teacher has nothing else. Put two holes near
the top in the middle of the 20 inches side and run a cord through for
hanging. At one edge down one side place the common linen materials with
their names and uses, etc.

=Let us see what the girls have brought.= Here is a bottle of linseed
oil. Yes, and some flax seeds. Jane has brought a linen collar. Here is
a small china doll wrapped as a mummy. Marjorie's grandmother has sent
some flax which she grew and prepared herself, and a piece of an old
hand-woven towel which she made when a girl. And here is some hand-spun
flax! Notice how rough it looks. We have, also, some cord and twine
and some linen thread. Do you know that Paterson, New Jersey, where
Marjorie's Cousin Ann works in the silk mill, is also a great center for
linen thread manufacture? Thread is made by twisting fine yarns together.
The twisting makes them strong. They are then dyed or bleached white.
Much of our linen thread is unbleached in color. Why?

Suppose we draw a picture of the flax stalk and flower on our chart and
fasten some of the school-grown flax to it. All the other things can be
arranged and fastened too, by punching holes in the cardboard and tying
them on with cord.

What an interesting story it makes. Perhaps the children of the lower
classes would like to hear the story told by one of the seventh grade
girls some morning.

Next lesson you may bring any table linen or towels which are stained;
and we shall learn how to remove the stains.

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. Draw a picture of the flax plant, and color the flowers with
your crayons.

2. Prepare the chart telling the story of flax.

3. Look up the story of how linen thread is prepared.

4. See how many linen materials you can find at home.

LESSON 7

REMOVING COMMON STAINS FROM TABLE LINEN

Some of the common stains one finds on table linen are coffee,
tea, fruit, rust, or grass stains. Do you know how to remove them?

=When should stains be removed?= A good housekeeper always looks over the
clothing and household linens before putting them to soak. Mrs. Allen
says she usually does this on Monday. Do you know why? She spends this
day getting ready for wash day. She bakes and prepares certain foods
for her family for two days; and so the work is easier on Tuesday and
Wednesday, when she washes and irons. Fruit, coffee, or tea stains on
linen should be removed as soon after the stain appears as possible.
If this is not done, then certainly the stains must be removed before
putting the linen into the tub. White clothes are boiled. What will this
do to the stains if they are not removed?

=How can stains be removed?= Let us try to remove these spots one at a
time. I think we have six or seven different kinds on the articles which
have been brought to school to-day. Your teacher will show you how to
follow the directions.

_Coffee and tea stains_ are the most common on table linen. To remove,
wash in lukewarm water, and then dip in a solution of washing soda, and
rinse very carefully until all soda is removed. (Washing soda solution
is made of one pound of washing soda to one gallon of water. This can be
kept in glass jars and used when occasion demands.) Tea stains are easily
removed by brushing the spot with glycerine and then washing carefully
in warm water to remove the grease. Rubbing the spot with the bowl of a
spoon is a good way to put on the glycerine.

_Fruit stains_ are also common. An easy way to remove them is to stretch
the fabric, if it is white, over a bowl and pour boiling water from
a height, through the spot. On white wool or silk, lukewarm water is
sometimes all that is necessary; or lukewarm water and a little borax. If
the fruit stains are on colored garments, they are difficult to remove
on account of removing the color also. If the article is of much value,
consult a professional dyer if possible. It is wise to experiment on
the material on another part of the garment, as the inside of a hem or
facing. Make a similar spot and try to remove with different methods.
Often one can discover a way, through experimenting.

_Rust stains_ often appear on table linen or white clothing. To remove,
wet the spot and apply a few drops of oxalic acid or salts of lemon or
cream of tartar solution, and wash thoroughly. On colored or wool goods
of good quality, one must decide whether one prefers the stain or the
color removed. Water and lemon juice will generally remove the spot, but
may take the color too. Care is necessary for colors.

_Grass stains_ are also common. If the stains are fresh, cold water will
usually remove them. When on white goods or material which cannot be
washed, alcohol may be used. When color will stand it, dyed fabrics which
are grass-stained can be washed with water and a little ammonia, followed
by warm soap solution and careful rinsing.

Here is a garment which has both _ink_ and _blood stains_ on it. Marjorie
must have cut her finger. Blood stains when fresh are easily removed with
lukewarm, not hot water, and a little ammonia. When on colored silk, wash
carefully with lukewarm water only. The ink stains are more difficult,
because the composition of inks varies. Wash at once in cold water; this
often removes some spots. Sour milk or several rinsings in sweet milk may
cause the spot to disappear. Then wash in warm water and soap to remove
the grease. If this does not remove it, try a paste made of starch, salt,
and lemon juice except for colors. If this will not, try Javelle water.
This can be obtained at a drug store. Wash the spot in the Javelle water,
but rinse very quickly and carefully. Repeat until the spot disappears.
These directions are for white materials only.

How many would like to try to remove some spots at home, before next
lesson? You may report your successes or failures, and we shall try to
learn the reasons for them. Next lesson we shall learn to wash and iron
this table linen. It will be well to keep it at school until next lesson.

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. How many spots have you been able to remove? Tell of your
successes or failures.

2. See if mother or grandmother has any better recipes than you
have learned for spots.

LESSON 8

LEARNING TO WASH AND IRON TABLE LINEN OR BED LINEN

We have studied many things about cleanliness, and we all know
how much cleanliness of clothing and household linen adds to
our comfort. We have learned that sometimes we can wear our
underclothes without ironing and that towels can be washed and
dried and will smell sweet and clean even if not ironed. Table
linen, though, must be washed and boiled and ironed to look well.
Our lesson to-day is about how to do this.

The linen, as well as the cotton, are, as you know, vegetable fibers.
They are strong and able to resist heat and the friction from rubbing.
They have resistance for chemicals also. So cotton and linen may be
boiled, starched, and ironed with hot irons because the fibers are
strong. They may also be treated with acids of a dilute nature when
necessary to remove spots, as we have learned. For the usual grease
spots on the family tablecloths, soak the cloth in soda water to remove
grease (one cup of soda--the dissolved solution--to a pail of water, see
page 186).

[Illustration: FIG. 110.--Mrs. Stark washing out of doors on a warm day.
This is the old way. She has just bought a washing machine.]

=The processes for washing and ironing.= If the stains have been removed
from the table linen, it can then be soaked. Soaking helps to loosen the
dirt when soap is added before the soaking. It is then unnecessary to
rub them as much, and so materials are saved from wear. These are the
processes for washing and ironing: soaking, washing, rinsing, boiling,
rinsing, bluing, starching, hanging, drying, sprinkling, pulling,
folding, ironing.

1. _Soaking._ Soak the table or bed linens about 1½-hours in cold
or lukewarm water. Soap is really not necessary as the linen is
not very dirty. All stains should have been previously removed.

2. _Washing._ Wash with soap on both sides, rubbing on clothes
board or in washing machine. Use hot water.

3. _Rinsing._ Rinse and soap again to be placed in the boiler. The
dirt is carried away by this rinsing.

4. _Boiling._ Put the soaped articles in clear cold water. Boil
briskly for five minutes. Add enough soap to keep a suds while
boiling; save small pieces for this purpose. Stir clothes and
press with a stick. Remove from boiler, after boiling actively for
five minutes. Put in clean hot water, then in cold. Rinse once or
twice again thoroughly before bluing.

5. _Bluing._ Make the blue water from some good blue. Do not make
it too deep. Test on a small doily. Stir the blue before each
article is dipped, so it may not appear streaked on the clothes.
If articles are very yellow it may be necessary to let them stand
in the blue for a little while. If not yellow, dip two or three
times.

The next process is starching; but it is not as a rule necessary
to starch napkins, tablecloths, or bed linens.

6. _Hanging._ Hang very straight after stretching. Do not pin at
corners. Hang ⅓ of the napkin or tablecloth over the line.

7. _Sprinkling._ Table linen must be sprinkled evenly. Sometimes
it can be taken from the line when half dry, and the process of
sprinkling omitted.

8. _Ironing._ Linen should be ironed damp and until dry. This
makes the pattern stand out and gives a shine and gloss to the
linen. This takes the place of starch.

9. _Folding._ Iron napkins partly dry on wrong side; then turn to
right side, and iron dry. Fold edges evenly. In the lengthwise
fold do not fold quite to end, as in the final fold the napkin,
handkerchief, tablecloth, or sheets will appear uneven at the
edges. Fold the tablecloth, or napkins with selvedges together.
Tablecloths may be folded with three, or four, long creases.

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. Try to wash and iron the napkins for mother.

2. Try to wash and iron some towels or pillowcases. Is the process
different?

3. Why is it unnecessary to iron some clothes if one is very busy.
Can you give a good reason why it is hygienic not to iron them.

LESSON 9

THE STORY OF THE MANUFACTURE OF LINEN YARN INTO CLOTH

To-day we are going to study again about our linen tablecloths and
napkins, and learn how the flax fiber is made into cloth after it
has been cleaned at the scutching mill.

[Illustration: FIG. 111.--The flax wheel.]

=Combing and spinning flax.= Uncle John divided his story in two parts,
and told the Pleasant Valley Girls' League about the manufacture of
flax as well as about its growth. The scutched flax is delivered to
the manufacturer. He must first spin the flax into yarn before it can
be woven into cloth. The flax fibers measure from 20 to 35 inches in
length. How are they to be made into one continuous piece for spinning?
The pictures (Figs. 112 and 113) will give a very good idea. Long ago
grandmother or great-grandmother spun the yarn for the linen sheets on
the flax wheel. Marjorie's grandmother sent her old flax wheel to school
for the girls to see. The flax is here on the distaff. If you haven't
a wheel at your school, look at the picture (Fig. 111). The woman is
holding the flax fibers which come from the distaff; and, as her foot
turns the wheel and the flax in her fingers is fed to the spindle, it
is twisted. Spinning of flax is a very old invention. It was once done
with just a spindle like the woman has in the picture on page 71 (Fig.
44). This is the secret of how flax spinning is done to-day. The flax
is opened at the mill and graded according to color and quality. It is
then combed. This process is called hackling (Fig. 112). It is sometimes
done by hand, and the worker draws the flax over the iron teeth of a
comb. The straightened fibers are left and are called line; and the
combed-out fibers are called tow. This first combing process is sometimes
called roughing instead of hackling. The line is then combed again in a
big machine which removes any loose tow. Tow is often put in a carding
machine and made into yarn for coarser purposes; but the long straight
line is used for the better materials. The line, after it is hackled, is
placed on a spread board; and the process is called spreading. You can
see in the picture (Fig. 113) that the bundles of flax yarn are spread
and overlapped as they enter the machine. Now you know how the yarn
begins to be made of continuous length. The flax comes from this machine
in a rope and is something like the cotton rope or roving as it leaves
the carding machine; but flax is brown and stiff, not so soft as cotton.
Can you find in the picture (Fig. 113) the cans ready to receive the flax
rovings as they come from the spreading machine? They are at the back of
the machine. The rovings are then ready to be wound on spools and to be
twisted to make them strong. This is done in the same way as the cotton.
The spools are put in at the top of the machine; they hold the rovings.
The rovings pass over rollers which draw out and twist and wind the yarn
on the spools below. This is called spinning. (Fig. 46 shows the cotton
spinning machines.) Flax spinning is somewhat like this. Perhaps some
day you may be able to visit a flax mill and see the spinning frames, as
the machines are called, at work. Uncle John says that yarns are made of
coarse or of very fine grade, according to the fineness of cloth desired.
Linen thread is made by twisting together two or three of the linen
yarns. Look at the linen thread and see if you can discover two or three.

[Illustration: _Courtesy of York St. Mills, Belfast._

FIG. 112.--Flax hackling done by machine.]

[Illustration: _Courtesy of York St. Mills, Belfast._

FIG. 113.--Spreading flax to make it a continuous line.]

=Weaving linen.= After the threads of flax have been spun, they are wound
on spools; and the spools are put in the big spool holder or skarn in
order to prepare the roll of warp threads for the loom. Do you remember
how the cotton warp was prepared and how the weaving was done? Uncle
John says that in Scotland to-day much of the very fine linen is woven
by hand; but we know that linen weaving by machinery has been perfected
there and that very beautiful materials are produced on the modern looms
with the Jacquard harness as it is called, to produce the wonderful
designs. Fine table damask is as beautiful as fine silk. The French,
perhaps, make the most beautiful designs for table linen, and the Scotch
and Irish come next. (See page 124 for Jacquard loom.)

=Bleaching linen cloth.= Uncle John says there are many things to be done
to the linen cloth after it is woven. If we were to go to Ireland, we
might ride for miles and see the woven linen cloth spread on the grass
in great lengths. This is called crofting or grass bleaching. Do you
remember how we said grandmother used to bleach her linen? Did she use a
chemical? What did the sour milk which she used do to her linen? What did
the oxygen do? Chemicals are sometimes used to-day in the early stages
before the linen is spread on the grass. Uncle John says that from 20-25
per cent, or about ¼, of the weight of the linen is lost in bleaching.
Linen is sometimes bleached in the thread, but more often after it is
woven.

=Finishing linen cloth for shipping.= After linen cloth has been
bleached, Uncle John says it is ready to be finished for shipping to the
merchants. It is washed by passing the cloth through a machine called
a rub-board. Then it is dried and passed through a beetling machine.
This makes the fibers stand out. Then it is pressed between rollers to
give it a smooth surface. Cotton is sometimes finished by means of these
processes to look like linen and be sold for linen. When this cotton
material is washed, the finishing wears off and it does not look like
linen. Is such material cheaper or more expensive? Is it honest to sell
cotton for linen, and to cheat the buyer? It is all right if the goods
are labeled. Next lesson we shall talk about the buying of household
linens. One must know many things in order to purchase wisely. Do you see
how a knowledge of how things are made will help you, too?

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. Write a story of two hundred words telling how flax is made
into cloth.

2. Have an exhibit of articles brought from home, showing
different patterns of linen cloth.

3. Perhaps there may be a cord factory near for you to visit. Tow
is sometimes used in making twine. Study how cord is made.

LESSON 10

A TALK ABOUT BUYING LINENS

Have you ever gone shopping with mother? There are some important
things to remember when buying table linen or other household
materials. What are they?

Marjorie goes with her mother once a year to buy household linens.
This is usually in January, when the big shop in town has a sale. Last
January, when Marjorie's mother was ill, they had to order by mail. The
catalogue from the shop described fully, and Mrs. Allen knew exactly what
to ask for; so they managed without going to town. This can be done if
one knows how and if the store is a reliable one. These are some of the
things Mrs. Allen is teaching Marjorie. Some day she will wish to buy for
her own home; or, if her mother is ill again, she can go alone. It is
always more satisfactory to see what one is buying.

=Here are some of the points to be noticed in buying=:

1. The first important thing to remember is to buy only what one needs.
Know the shops one patronizes, if possible, and go or send to only
reliable firms. The reliable places are the cheapest in the end. One
learns, too, that some things are better at one shop and some at another.
Reliable stores often have sales, but as a rule bargains are not cheap.
Remember nothing is ever given away.

2. It is wise and cheaper to purchase some new household linen once each
year than to wait and have it all wear out at once.

3. Cost is a good guide. Linen is expensive. If too cheap, beware.

4. Linen is sometimes cheapened or adulterated with cotton. If the
store keeper sells it for union, it is honest; if he calls it linen,
and you pay linen price, it is dishonest. Ravel and untwist the ends of
the warp and filling thread. Cotton will be fuzzy, linen should be long
and lustrous. Round threads of linen are best. The linen threads appear
pointed at the ends when separated. The all linens made from the tow (you
have learned what that is) are cheaper than those made from the line.
Why? They will not last quite so well.

Wet the linen. Water spreads more rapidly on linen than on cotton. An
old-fashioned test was to moisten with the finger. If you have a sample
of linen at home for testing, use a drop of olive oil. The oil makes the
linen fibers more translucent than the cotton. Why?

5. Another way to know. Linen feels colder than cotton; also it feels
heavier when crushed in the hand.

6. Notice the finish. Is it full of starch which can be picked off? If
so, after the washing you will have a loosely woven material without
starch. It is better to buy a softer linen than one filled stiff with
starch which will crack.

7. Damask by the yard is slightly cheaper than by the cloth. One dollar
a yard is a fair price. Table cloths from 2½ to 3 yards are a good
size for a family of six. A cloth wears about as long as 1½ or 2 dozen
napkins. The price of one dozen napkins about equals the cost of a
cloth. Napkins come in three sizes: ⅝, 17-22 inches; ¾, 23-27 inches;
⅞, 29-31 inches.

8. Scotch, French, and Irish linens are the best for quality, beauty,
and variety of patterns. German damask is good; but German patterns are
perhaps the least attractive. Unbleached linen will wear much longer, is
less expensive, and is bought by many housewives and bleached as used.

9. For family towels huckaback is the most serviceable, although damask
is used a great deal. Linen towels vary in price from $3.00 a dozen
up, according to size and quality. Dish towels of linen crash are very
serviceable.

10. The microscope is the only sure test for distinguishing cotton and
linen fibers.

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. Ask mother if she knows any other methods of judging good linen.

2. When you go to town, price some tablecloths and napkins. How
much will a good cloth and napkins cost?

REVIEW PROBLEMS

I. Plan a systematic way of looking over your clothing and keeping
it in repair.

II. How do you store your winter clothing for protection during
summer? Your summer clothes during winter?

III. How does your knowledge of buying linens help you in going
shopping with mother?

[Illustration]

CHAPTER V

THE PLEASANT VALLEY GIRLS LEARN TO MAKE MORE GARMENTS

Would you like to learn to make some useful garments? Perhaps, then,
you can help with the family sewing and make some useful garments for
your sister or mother. Some day you may wish to be a seamstress or a
dressmaker and to earn money in that way. Barbara Oakes says she expects
to do so. Now is the time to begin to learn how, and later perhaps you
may go to a dressmaking school.

Barbara Oakes and some of the League girls have a class which meets once
a week for instruction in gymnastics and fancy dancing. In the spring
or early summer they expect to give a dance outdoors. A pageant will be
prepared by some of the members of the Mothers' Club; and the dance is
part of that pageant.

The pageant will picture the history of Pleasant Valley. The Mothers'
Club is planning to have all the people who will, take part. Have you
ever seen a pageant? It is a pleasant way to learn history and to
celebrate an interesting local event. Pageants have been held in many
parts of the eastern and western states; and in England there have been
many pageants. Perhaps you can plan a pageant for your town. While the
girls are practicing their dancing and gymnastics, bloomers will be very
useful, and the girls have decided to learn to make them. Would you like
to learn how? The bloomers will be useful for school gymnastics, too. You
can also make a middy blouse and a skirt to wear with them, so as to have
the whole outfit.

LESSON 1

THE PATTERN OF THE BLOOMERS

Let us study the pattern which your teacher has brought to school.
You have learned to read patterns. You must also calculate how
much material to order, and what kind.

=Let us open the pattern and study its parts.= Yes, the long narrow
strips are for the belt; some are for the placket facings. Notice if
the dots indicate where these are to be placed: on a fold of material
or lengthwise of the cloth. There is one other piece. It is the leg; so
two must be cut. Is it possible to cut two at the same time? How, then,
should the material be folded? Notice the perforations. They will help
us to know which part of the pattern is to be placed on the warp of the
cloth. How wide is the width of the pattern at the widest part? If it is
34 inches, then it will be easy to calculate how many lengths to buy of
cloth 36 inches wide. Measure the length of the pattern and see if it is
long enough for you to allow for fullness at the knee so that there is
some to blouse over. If not, how will you add to the pattern? This extra
length must be allowed in ordering the material. Can you tell how much
cloth to order? See if you can calculate.

[Illustration: FIG. 114.--The bloomers and middy blouse.]

=What kind of material will you use?= Some of the Pleasant Valley girls
wish wool material because it will be warmer for winter wear. Dark blue
or black serge is very durable, is washable also, and will shed the dust.
Here are some samples. Sateen is also a durable cotton material, but it
is not so warm. It is easier for girls to handle in making than wool.
Bloomers can also be made from gingham, percale, galatea, or other cotton
cloth. Which will you choose? Shall we not write for some samples of
these different materials? The Pleasant Valley girls wrote and received
them in a few days. Perhaps you too are learning how to order by mail
when you are too far away from town to go shopping. Try to make all the
calculations to-day and to learn all about the pattern. Pin the pieces of
the pattern together; also try to hold them up to your figure or the girl
next to you. It helps one to learn where the parts lie on the body and
to locate where the seams will fall. The Pleasant Valley girls worked in
pairs and helped each other with the cutting, fitting, and planning. This
is a good way when each girl does her part.

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. Open the pattern for the bloomers. Notice the parts, also the
perforations and directions.

2. Calculate how much cloth will be necessary for a pair of
bloomers for yourself.

3. Bring samples of materials suitable for bloomers.

LESSON 2

THE STORY OF WHERE WOOL IS GROWN

While you are waiting for the samples of wool serges, galatea,
and sateen, let us study about wool. Wool is the most important
textile fiber. All girls should know about it, whether you will
use wool or cotton for your bloomers.

In the picture (Fig. 115) you will see a very peaceful scene. The sheep
are grazing and storing up food and energy to be converted into food for
us to eat and clothing for us to wear. Mr. Allen has over a hundred sheep
on his farm. How grateful we should be to the patient sheep. This animal
fiber called wool is a variety of hair, and varies in fineness. The
coarser varieties are called hair. Hair is obtained from the angora goat,
the camel, and alpaca. Perhaps your teacher has a microscope. Look at the
fibers under the glass. You can see how hair differs from wool. There
are tiny serrations on the wool surface which look like the scales of a
pine cone, lapping one over the other. This is a wonderful thing to see;
for it is on account of these tiny serrations which close up when in hot
water that one must be so careful about laundering woolens. Wool looks
wavy in length. It is fine and has a luster; while hair has a smooth
surface and lies straight.

[Illustration: _Rosa Bonheur._

FIG. 115.--These peaceful looking sheep provide our wool clothing.]

=Have you ever seen sheep sheared of their wool?= Perhaps it is done on
your farm. Sheep are usually sheared only once a year, in April or May.
If there are only a few sheep, it is easy to use the hand shears like
those in the picture (Fig. 117); but where there are many sheep, the
machine clippers must be used. These clipping machines can be run by hand
or other power. They shear close and save wool. Notice the machine which
the man in the picture (Fig. 118) is using; it is just like the one Mr.
Allen uses. Frank or John sometimes helps. The coating of wool from one
sheep is called a fleece. On the large sheep ranches of the West the
fleeces are tied into bundles, and these bundles are put in sacks holding
about 400 pounds to be shipped to certain wool-purchasing centers where
the buyers examine the wool and buy in quantities.

[Illustration: FIG. 116.--Wool fibers magnified.]

=What do you know about the sheep industry?= Our sheep industry is very
important. The western states, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, and Oregon,
support about 38 million sheep. That is a large family to shear and feed.

[Illustration: FIG. 117.--The hand shears.]

Other countries grow sheep for clothing wools, too. Australia, England,
South Africa, South America, Spain, and Germany all give much attention
to sheep raising.

[Illustration: _Courtesy of Chicago Flexible Shaft Co._

FIG. 118.--Sheep shearing by machinery.]

This industry is very old. We read in the Bible that wool was used long
ago and that King David of Israel wrote psalms as he tended his sheep
on the hillside. Abel, the brother of Cain, was a keeper of sheep. Can
you find these stories in the Bible? Writers of many ages tell about
wool--Pliny, Homer, and Virgil. Alexander too, when he journeyed to India
in early days, saw beautiful woolen shawls being made.

=Some sheep give a better quality of wool than others.= The Merino wool
is the very finest. The camel furnishes a beautiful soft fiber. Then,
there is the angora goat of Asia Minor, which provides us with mohair.
This is a lovely soft fiber resembling silk. Can you find this country on
your map? Look for Peru and for Chili. The sheep there furnish the alpaca
and llama wools.

=Some wool fibers are long, and some are quite short.= The length of
fiber, or staple as it is called, varies. An average length is 7 or 8
inches. How does this compare with the silk or linen fiber? Is it as
long as cotton? The fibers also vary in strength and luster, fineness,
softness, and elasticity. What do these words mean? Can you find them
in your dictionary? The tiny serrations on the wool fiber cannot be
seen with the naked eye. They are, however, very important; for it is
this characteristic of wool which makes it felt, and, because these
tiny serrations interlock, it is possible to make the fine texture of
broadcloth and other fine wool materials. We shall study how later. Do
you think we wish the tiny serrations to interlock when we wash woolen
articles? If they do, what will happen to the garment? Do you know how
this can be prevented? If you have sheep on your farm or near, will you
bring some of the wool to school. It is dirty. Perhaps you can wash it
at school, and see how soft and fine and lustrous it is. You may also be
able to dye some. The center of the wool fiber is rather porous, and
this enables the fiber to take up dye easily.

=The wool from some sheep farms varies on account of the differences in
climate, soil, and breed of sheep.= The sheep of southern England produce
short and fine wool; while in the north, where it is colder, the wool is
stronger and coarser. Wools from Saxony and Silesia are very fine. The
English and Australian wools are of several qualities. The long wools
come from Lincoln and Leicestershire, and the shorter from Suffolk and
Shropshire. Can you find these places on your map of England? The long
coarse wools are used for carpets and for knitting, because they are so
strong. The short wools used for clothing are about 3 to 4 inches in
length. The long wools, about 10 inches in length, are called combing
wools and are used for materials which are loosely woven like serges,
homespuns, and others.

Next lesson we shall study our samples of woolen materials. Bring all
the scraps of different kinds which you can contribute. Put them in the
surprise box. We shall learn the names of the most common ones. Will you
make a sample book for these too?

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. Find on the map the principal countries producing wool.

2. If your teacher has a microscope, compare wool and hair. How do
they differ?

3. Why do woolen garments shrink when washed in hot water?

4. Why is wool the most important fiber of commerce?

5. Tell some of the uses of long coarse wools; of the finer wools.

LESSON 3

SOME OF THE MOST COMMON MATERIALS MADE FROM WOOL

There are many materials made from wool. Let us learn to-day about
those which are used most commonly.

Perhaps some one in the class will sort the pieces in the surprise
box. Mollie Stark sorted those at Pleasant Valley School. Do not sort
according to color, but place them in three piles. We have the thick,
close materials, which are heavy and firm. Then we have the thin, sheer
ones. In the third pile, place the medium weight ones which look strong
and are wiry but not so closely woven and firm as those in the first
pile. Shall we learn about some of each kind?

=Let us see what we have in the third pile of wiry, more loosely woven
materials.= First we have the _serges_. Here are several pieces. Some
are fine with the twilled weave, and others are twilled but the weave is
coarser. They are very serviceable and are suitable for bloomers, or for
dress fabrics. Here is a sample of a plaid serge. Marjorie Allen had such
a dress last winter. It is possible to buy plain colors too. Serges are
woven quite wide, from 42 to 54 inches, and cost from 75 cents to $3 per
yard. _Cheviots_ are very similar to serges in price and width, but are
somewhat heavier in appearance. The surface of some is rather rougher
than serge, although there are smooth cheviots too. Have some samples of
serges been sent from the store? You must examine these, too, to see if
you will select one for your bloomers.

This coarse one in the same pile is a _homespun_, and this is a _tweed_.
They are both rough, wiry, loosely woven, and made of rather coarse yarn.
They are rather open in texture and were both in olden times spun and
woven by hand, but are now made by machinery. Tweed gets its name from
a place in Scotland. These materials are very serviceable, especially
for rough wear for suitings, coats, or dress goods. The color or pattern
is not always clearly defined, because the yarn of which it is woven is
mixed in color. Homespuns are somewhat cheaper than tweeds. They cost
from $1 to $3 per yard, and are woven from 42 to 50 inches wide. Tweeds
are a little wider, 52 to 54 inches, and cost from $2 to $4 per yard.

There are four samples in this pile, not quite so heavy. They are
_cashmere_, _challie_, _albatross_, and _henrietta_. Have you ever heard
these names before? They are all common wool materials. They are often
used for girls' school dresses, for wrappers, and for baby wear. They
are all softer than serges. Cashmere and henrietta resemble each other.
They both have a twilled weave. Henrietta was originally woven with a
silk warp. One can buy silk warp henrietta to-day. Grandmother Stark has
one. Is there a sample in your box? Cashmere is also soft, and the finer
qualities are made from hair of the cashmere goat. Cashmere is woven 36
to 45 inches in width and can be bought for from 75 cents to $1.25 per
yard. Henrietta is about the same width and price, except when it has
silk warp. Then it is more expensive.

Challie and albatross are about the same weight. I am sure you have all
had a pretty challie dress sometime. Challies are figured;--sometimes
the pattern is woven in and sometimes printed. It is made sometimes of
a mixture of cotton and wool, or silk and wool; but now challies can
be bought in all cotton too as well as in all wool. They come about 30
inches wide and cost from 50 to 75 cents per yard.

Albatross is also soft and a fancy weave. It too is used for dress goods
and costs about the same as challie, 50 cents to $1 per yard. It is woven
from 38 to 45 inches in width.

=Let us now examine some of the heavy ones in the first pile.= Yes, every
one knows the name of the heavy fine piece. It is _broadcloth_ and is
used for coats and dress goods. There are also some lighter weights of
broadcloth with a smooth satiny finish. They are called _lady's cloth_. A
very good broadcloth is expensive, and costs about $5 per yard. One can
buy it for $1.50, but as a rule it is not very satisfactory under $2 per
yard. Broadcloth is closely woven, smooth, and soft in finish. It is from
50 to 58 inches in width. Has any one at your house a dress or coat made
from this? Examine it and ask how durable it has been. Father's winter
overcoat was perhaps made of _melton_, or _covert cloth_. Mr. Allen had
such a coat last year. Examine the samples. They are both heavy. Melton
is about the same width as broadcloth, 52 inches, and costs also from $2
to $4 per yard for a good quality. It is used for suits, overcoats, and
heavy garments. This is a standard material and is usually dark blue or
black. Uniforms are often made from it.

Covert cloth is, also, used for overcoats and suits. It is heavy, but
differs from the smooth surface of broadcloth. It is a heavy twilled
cloth.

_Felt_ and _flannel_ are both in this heavy pile, although there are
some lightweight flannels. Felt is not woven, but is compressed, so
that the wool fibers are matted together in a flat mass. It is made 24
to 50 inches in width and costs from 80 cents to $1.50 per yard. I am
sure you all know its use. School pennants are made from it, and so are
some table covers. Flannel is woven. It is finished with a soft surface
which is slightly napped. What does that mean? It is a rather loosely
woven fabric, and is used for many purposes. Can you tell some? Yes,
petticoats, baby garments, waists, dressing sacques, shirts for men. It
costs from 50 cents to $1 per yard. Sometimes it is made of a combination
of cotton and wool, instead of all wool. It varies in width from 27 to 36
inches.

=Let us examine some of the thin samples.= Here is one which it is almost
possible to see through. It is called _voile_ and is thin and gauzy, like
veiling. This sample near is called _nun's veiling_. It, also, has an
open mesh weave, and is a common wool material. They are both used for
dress goods, and are made in solid colors. There are also some printed
voiles, but they are usually made of cotton. _Wool voile_ costs from
$1.25 to $2 per yard and is woven from 42 to 45 inches wide; while nun's
veiling is narrower, 36 inches wide, and slightly less expensive, from 75
cents to $1 per yard.

Here are some samples called _etamine_ and _grenadine_. They are similar
to the voiles, of open mesh weave, and are used principally for dress
goods.

_Bunting_ is another open mesh weave. We certainly all know its use. Look
at the flag flying on your schoolhouse. Bunting is about 24 inches in
width and costs about 35 cents per yard. It is sometimes made from mohair.

Here are three samples: one called _brilliantine_; and another, _alpaca_;
the third, _mohair_. The brilliantine and mohair do not feel as soft as
the wool serges or cashmeres, but rather more wiry. They are made from
hair of the Angora goat. They are serviceable, for they both shed dust
and wear well. They are used for dresses or dust coats. The Alpaca is
made from the hair of the llama, which is bright, strong, and elastic.
All of these materials are bright and glossy. Here are their prices and
woven widths:

Alpaca 36-45 inches 75 cents-$1 per yard
Brilliantine 54 inches 75 cents-$2 per yard
Mohair 40-54 inches 50 cents-$2 per yard

=There are still some common wool materials we have not mentioned.=
Yes, _blankets_. They are made of cotton as well as of wool, or of a
mixture of the two. They cost from $7 to $30 per pair if all wool. The
combination of cotton and wool can be had for less.

_Carpets_ are also made from wool yarn. They are woven so that the yarn
stands up in loops, and then these loops are cut as in velvet carpet. In
Brussels and ingrain carpets the loops are not cut.

Suppose you plan to arrange your sample books with three columns of
materials made from wool. You may have four or five columns if you prefer
to put the mohairs, alpacas, and brilliantines by themselves, and the
blankets and carpets in a separate column. That is the way the Pleasant
Valley girls arranged theirs. The first will be the heavy materials;
then the medium weight, and then the thin ones. It is easy to sort and
label them now that you know their names, uses, and widths. Before very
long we shall learn the story of how the wool fiber is made into so
many different kinds of cloth. It is treated by different processes in
manufacture in order to get a smooth close finish or a loose wiry finish.
We shall learn how.

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. Tell the difference between felt and flannel.

2. Name some heavy wool materials; some of lighter weight. Tell
where you have seen them used.

3. Look up the story of how carpets are made. Perhaps you would
like to study about rugs, too.

4. How do serges and broadcloths differ in appearance?

5. Plan to collect materials for the five columns of the chart.
Mount with prices and widths.

LESSON 4

MAKING A PAIR OF BLOOMERS

Let us begin to make the bloomers to-day.

=First, we shall lay the pattern.= Some girls have probably chosen serge
for their bloomers, and some have ordered galatea or sateen. The black
or the blue are serviceable. Suppose you cut them out to-day. You have
studied the pattern which your teacher had. Perhaps some girls will find
it necessary to add in length or width. Your teacher ordered the pattern
by size, according to age. 14-year size was chosen. Perhaps you must
make yours smaller or larger. One pattern can be adapted to the whole
class. This you allowed for, in ordering the amount of cloth. Let us
place the pattern carefully. Be sure that the perforations which indicate
lengthwise of the material are placed on the warp. Can you cut out both
legs at the same time? Can you tell where to place the two strips for the
bands, and for the placket facings? Which way of the material will the
length of band and facings be cut? Pin carefully in place and cut with an
even motion. It will perhaps be safer to mark the notches with a pencil
or with a white thread. Girls sometimes forget--cut the notches too large
and spoil the cloth.

=Then we shall learn to make a flat felled seam.= The _two_ legs are to
be sewed up on the right side. Be very careful not to make both legs for
the same leg. That is the mistake Marjorie Allen made. Baste the seam
½-inch wide. Then stitch close to the basting. Cut off one edge of this
seam to within ⅛-inch of the stitching, and lay the other edge of seam
flat on the cloth for the fell. Turn in the raw edge, baste, and stitch
flat. This must be done very carefully, for it is very easy to make a
fell which is wrinkled and full instead of flat (see Fig. 119).

[Illustration: FIG. 119.--The flat fell, showing the three steps in
making: _A_, the seam stitched; _B_, one edge cut; _C_, the turning of
the other edge flat, to be basted and stitched.]

Join the two legs together at the center with the same flat fell. Be sure
to have the two leg seams come together. This is important.

The placket openings lie over the hip. A single strip may be used to
bind this opening, or a regular placket may be made according to your
pattern. If a strip is used, cut it lengthwise of the cloth and one inch
longer than twice the length of placket opening. If cut 2½-inches wide,
the finished facing will be one inch in width. Place the right side of
the strip to the right side of the bloomers. Baste ¼-inch seams, holding
strip all around the placket opening; and then stitch. Turn to the wrong
side, turn in ¼-inch and baste, stitch again. Care must be taken at the
bottom of the placket opening to make the seam of sufficient width so
that it will not pull out.

At the bottom of each leg make a hem, one inch wide finished. Stitch,
leaving one inch open. This is the opening for the elastic band. Run in
the elastic before completing the hem by hand.

=Now we are ready for the bands.= There is one for the front and one for
the back. If your pattern allows for fullness, gather to fit ½ of your
waist measure. It will be necessary to measure your bands and to allow
the two inches for lapping on the back band. The front band is usually
shorter than the back. Fasten the bloomers so that they lap towards the
front.

To put on the band, work in the same way as in putting on the apron or
petticoat band, except the band is turned to the right side for tailor
finish on a garment with flat fells. Begin by placing the right side
of the band to the inside of the front, and also back of the bloomer
portions. Baste, stitch, turn to the right side. Snaps may be used, or
buttons and buttonholes, for closing. Buttonholes can also be placed at
the center front and at the back of the bands, if the bloomers are to
be fastened to a waist. How shall the buttonholes be placed in cutting
for fastening in this way? Do you think it is very difficult to make the
bloomers? The girls who use serge can make the placket facings and bands
of silk or sateen or some lining material which will be thinner. Only
the most experienced Pleasant Valley girls used the serge--those who had
sewed at home.

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. What are the important things to remember in cutting out the
bloomers?

2. How does the band of the bloomers differ from that put on the
petticoat?

LESSON 5

THE STORY OF HOW WOOL IS MADE INTO CLOTH

The Pleasant Valley boys and girls learned how wool is made into
cloth after it has been sheared from the sheep. Would you like to
know?

[Illustration: _Courtesy of M. J. Whittall._

FIG. 120.--Wool sorting.]

=First, the wool is sorted.= Wool sometimes travels a long distance
before it is delivered to the manufacturer. Perhaps the wool in your
skirt was grown in England or in Australia, and was shipped in great
sacks to New York, and then to the manufacturer. As it is sheared from
the sheep, it is dirty and full of burrs, grease, and perspiration. This
grease helps to preserve the wool until the manufacturer is ready to
use it; and, although he buys the wool by weight and pays for dirt and
grease, he prefers to do so because of the preserving qualities of the
grease. Even ⅔ of the weight may be dirt and grease. The first thing the
manufacturer does is to sort the wool to put the good grades together,
and to separate them from the poor ones. You remember the fleece is the
whole coat of the sheep. Some parts of this coat are better wool than
others; especially the part from the head and upper part of the back and
sides. About seven different grades are separated for different purposes.

[Illustration: _Courtesy of M. J. Whittall._

FIG. 121.--Wool washing or scouring.]

=The second process is washing or scouring.= Wool cannot be carded
and spun until the dirt and grease are removed; so the next thing the
manufacturer does is to remove the grease, or "yolk" as it is called, by
washing. This must be done very carefully so as not to break or injure
the wool. Perhaps you can bring some dirty wool from your farm to school
and wash it. Soft soap is the most harmless. Use a soft water at a low
temperature (120° F.). Can you tell why it must be low? The washing is
done in a series of tanks. You can see them in the picture (Fig. 121).
The wet wool is swished back and forth by means of wooden forks which
carry the wool forward and beat it out. There are rollers for passing
the wool from one tank to another. Then the wool must be dried. This is
done in a kind of wringing machine called a "hydro extractor." Then it is
beaten into a fluffy mass.

Then a strange thing happens. Oil in wool is necessary in order to help
in the spinning and to keep it soft and elastic, so the manufacturer must
return some oil to the wool, after having washed it all out. Olive oil is
used.

If there is any dirt or any burrs left in the wool, they must be removed.
A machine called a burr picker is used to beat out the dirt.

=Then the wool is blended.= Do you know that the wool skirt which you
are wearing may not be made of all new wool? Wool can be used over and
over again. Old wool rags are pulled apart and mixed with new wool. If
this did not happen, the manufacturer would have to charge much more than
you pay for serge or some woolen materials, as he would have to use all
new wool. That is why some wool materials are so expensive. If only new
wool were used, there would not be enough raised in the world to clothe
everybody. The wool manufacturer, therefore, blends, or mixes, the wool
before it is sent to the carding machine. In blending he knows just what
color, style, and grade of material he wishes to produce, and he grades
accordingly. Cheapness is one of the principal reasons for blending.
Sometimes cotton or jute are mixed in, if the manufacturer wishes to
produce a very cheap material which is not all wool.

Would you like to know the names of some of the all-wool substitutes
which are used in reducing the cost of all-wool materials? Marjorie
Allen's grandmother told her, and Marjorie told the League girls. Shoddy
is one; it is made from old rags, like woolen stockings, flannels, soft
underwear; materials which have not been felted together. Do you know
what felted means? The rags are washed, ground up, and prepared to mix
with the new wool. Mungo is another queer name which is given to woolen
rags which have been felted, as broadcloth or men's suitings. Flocks
is nothing but dust or waste from the clipping machines when cloth is
sheared or clipped in finishing. This is used to fill in. So you see
nothing is wasted.

[Illustration: _Courtesy of M. J. Whittall._

FIG. 122.--Wool carding. Notice the round cylinders. The gauzy web is
being delivered into the can in front of the carding machine.]

=The next process after blending is carding.= Do you remember how cotton
is carded? Long ago, when Marjorie's grandmother was young, wool was
carded by hand. Look at the picture on page 77 and see how Grandmother
Allen holds the cards. She is preparing rolls of wool for the spinning
wheel. The manufacturer must prepare the slivers, or rolls like ropes
of wool, for the spinning frames as they are called to-day. The machine
which helps to produce these ropes is called the carding machine. It also
helps to clean the dirt from the wool. The picture (Fig. 122) will show
you how the wool carder looks. There is a center cylinder and around it
revolve small cylinders. They are all covered with wire teeth which help
to pull the wool apart and to cleanse it. If you were to stand before the
machine, you would see a gauzy, filmy sheet of wool the width of the long
rollers as it leaves the machine. The wide gauzy mass is pulled together
as it is drawn through a hole at the front of the carder and is delivered
or wound up in the can, just as we learned the cotton was delivered.
This wool roving is then wound on spools and is ready for spinning. Do
you remember the story of how cotton is drawn out and twisted and wound
on spools? Wool too must be spun and made into yarn, before yarn can be
woven into cloth. The manufacturer makes woolen yarn and also worsted
yarn. Do you know the difference? We shall study in our next lesson about
them.

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. Ask your grandmother to tell you about sheep raising on the
farm, when she was a girl.

2. Tell why the manufacturer must blend old and new wool. What are
the names of some old rags of wool used for this purpose?

3. Tell how carding was done in olden times. How is wool
carding done to-day? Why is carding an important process in the
manufacture of cloth made from wool?

LESSON 6

SOME FACTS TO REMEMBER IN PURCHASING WOOL CLOTHING

Why does the manufacturer use woolen yarn in weaving some
materials and worsted yarn for others? If one knows this, it will
be a guide in purchasing wool materials. The Pleasant Valley girls
know.

=The difference between woolen and worsted yarns.= Before you can answer
the question for this lesson, you must learn the difference between
woolen and worsted yarns. Worsted yarn is prepared from the sheep giving
long wool. It is prepared by processes which comb it until all the short
fibers are removed and only the long straight ones are used. This combing
prepares the long wool fibers for spinning so that they lie parallel.
This makes an expensive yarn because so much is combed away. This fine
combed worsted yarn is used for high grade worsted materials, as some
cheviots or fine tweeds, and for underwear.

[Illustration: _Courtesy of M. J. Whittall._

FIG. 123.--Wool combing for high grade materials. There is much waste.]

Woolen yarn is not combed to remove the short fibers. It is, instead,
carded a great deal so that the wool fibers are well mixed and the
serrations of the tiny fibers arranged so that they will interlock,
when put in water of high temperature, and the gelatinous scales are
opened up. Woolen yarn is woven into broadcloths and meltons. After the
weaving the cloth is put into vats where the temperature opens up the
serrations and the scales interlock, and make a close, smooth piece of
cloth. This is called fulling. Isn't this interesting? Do you see why the
manufacturer uses worsted instead of woolen yarn for making underwear?
If worsted yarn were used for making broadcloth, there would not be the
same close finish. The worsted yarn is combed and the fibers are not in
position to interlock as in the woolen yarn (Fig. 124). Can you answer
the question now why worsted yarn is used sometimes and woolen at others?

[Illustration: FIG. 124.--This shows the difference in the slivers of
wool and worsted yarn. _A_ is the woolen yarn, well mixed; _B_ is the
worsted yarn, well combed.]

After the yarn has been spun, it is woven into cloth just as cotton is
prepared and woven. Woolen yarn is fuzzy; cloth made from it is woven
loosely and then it is put into vats and shrunken or fulled until the
cloth is compact, as broadcloth.

Worsted yarn when made into cloth is shrunken very little or not at all.
It is woven as it will appear. Beautiful homespuns and worsted suitings
are the result.

[Illustration: _Courtesy of M. J. Whittall._

FIG. 125.--The spinning of wool into yarn.]

Many fabrics made of wool are of simple weave like the plain homespun,
but complicated patterns are also woven of wool. The yarns are arranged
in the loom in the same way as the cotton about which we studied. Many
beautiful patterns are made in woolen materials, even the complicated
patterns of double cloth weaving like the old-fashioned golf capes, made
of double cloth, which were worn a few years ago.

So you can see that the manufacturer must know whether he is to
adulterate his wool cloth with cotton or reduce the cost of production
by using mungo, shoddy, or flocks. Flocks is put in when the cloth is
shrunken or fulled in the vats. The short pieces and dust, or flocks
as it is called, are drawn in as the serrations open and the cloth is
shrunken.

This is all useful to know, for it helps one in purchasing materials.
Most of us cannot afford to buy cloth made of all new wool, but we should
be able to tell whether cloth is made of cotton and wool mixed, or all
wool. We will know by price whether the all wool is new wool or not. No
shopkeeper should sell a cotton and wool for all wool. When we have our
textiles labeled as foods are now labeled, we shall be able to tell. What
have you learned to-day which will help you in purchasing wool materials?

[Illustration: FIG. 126.--This is the teasel which is used to brush the
nap of the cloth in finishing. These small thistles are arranged in rows
in the machine rollers through which the cloth passes.]

Woolen and worsted yarns are used also in the manufacture of carpets,
rugs, hosiery, blankets, underwear, and also for knitting purposes. Do
you know how to knit? Does any one know at your home? It is a useful and
pleasant accomplishment. Shawls, afghans, caps, and sweaters can all
be knitted. Miss James taught the Pleasant Valley girls to knit bright
scarfs which they wore for tobogganing the next winter. Some girls made
them for sale.

=Points about buying woolen garments.= Here are a few things to think
about which Miss Travers from the State College told the Mothers' Club of
Pleasant Valley to remember in buying wool garments or materials.

1. Wool mixed with cotton should not be sold for all wool. It is a
cheaper fabric. It wears fairly well, but is not so warm. Pull the fabric
apart, untwist the fibers to see if cotton is present.

2. Garments bought ready-made of cotton and wool do not keep their shape
as well as all wool garments.

3. Burning a piece of the fabric will help you to identify the fiber.
Wool burns slowly, chars, and gives off an odor of burned feathers.
Cotton burns quickly with a flame.

4. A good wool material can always be used over again. The inexpensive is
not cheap unless you wish something which does not look well or wear well
but is cheap.

5. Remember that a close twill weave is more durable than a basket weave.
Think about this in buying; for the weave of material affects the wearing
quality.

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. How is yarn which is to be used for underwear treated in
manufacture? Why?

2. How does this treatment differ from yarn used in the
manufacture of broadcloth?

3. What are some of the things your mother thinks about when she
buys a garment made from wool, in order to get good value for her
money?

LESSON 7

THE CLOTHING BUDGET

Have you ever thought how much your clothing costs father and
mother every year? Marjorie Allen and Barbara Oakes tried to
figure the cost one day. Girls must begin to learn how to spend
wisely, for they will very soon have the responsibility of being
spenders. If you can make some of your clothing, you will help
to reduce the cost. Would you like to learn to make a budget as
well as a simple dress skirt to wear over the bloomers? Suppose we
study to-day about the clothing budget.

=Have you ever tried to calculate how much is spent each year for your
clothing?= If not, suppose you try. Girls who know how to make some
articles of clothing can have more for the same amount of money. Suppose
you send for the material for your dress skirts. It is wise to learn to
make a very simple skirt first. Choose a simple pattern. Your teacher
will help you. What material will you use? Perhaps you would like a
middy blouse later to wear with the skirt. Can you name some suitable
cotton materials to use for this purpose? Yes, Indian head, galatea,
duck. You have studied about all of these and should have them in your
sample books. Such a dress will be suitable for school wear. Talk with
your teacher and calculate how much cloth you must buy for your skirt and
middy. While you are waiting for the cloth you have ordered, let us study
how Marjorie's Cousin Ann, who works at Paterson, manages to plan each
year for her clothing. She has such good plans. Do you know that such a
plan is called a budget?

=Would you like to learn to make your clothing budget?= Ann earns $10
per week and her room and board cost her $6 per week, so she has $4 for
other expenses. She puts aside $1.50 each week for clothing, and so has
$6 per month or about $75 per year. She lives near her work so does not
have daily carfare, and she goes home at the noon hour for a little rest
and for lunch. The rest of her money she divides in this way: Each week
she tries to save 75 cents or $3 per month. The rest she uses for church
and club expenses, for gifts, newspapers, or occasionally she buys a new
necktie or an extra waist; but usually the $75 supply all her clothing
needs. This is how she manages. She plans for more than one year, usually
trying to keep three years in mind. Ann also goes to the Girls' Club and
has learned to make her waists and some simple dresses.

[Illustration: FIG. 127.--Cousin Ann's division of her money. How much
was for clothing?]

The following is what she bought the first year. Remember she had some
clothes to begin with before she started to keep her clothing budget.
Your budget will of course be different from this, but this will show
how Ann manages with $75. Some things which she needs you may have
no use for in your section of the country. Try to plan what you would
substitute. This will at least be a working basis for you, and will give
you some suggestions for making yours. Marjorie Allen and Barbara Oakes
have made their clothing budgets. They have $60 per year for clothing.
What do you think they omitted from this list? The things marked * are
made at home. Ann's mother helps her; but Ann learned to make clothes at
her Sewing Club.

FIRST YEAR

2 union suits (winter) @ #2.00 $4.00
3 union suits (summer) @ .50 1.50
1 flannelette nightdress @ 1.00 1.00
1 flannelette nightdress left over
2 night dresses @.80 1.60
*3 corset covers @.50 1.50
2 pairs of corsets @ 2.00 4.00
6 pairs of stockings @.25 1.50
2 pairs of garters @.25 .50
shoes: 1 high lace @ 3.00
2 pairs low shoes @ 2.50 8.00
1 pair rubbers .75
1 black sateen petticoat 1.00
1 long white petticoat 1.25
2 short white petticoats @.75 1.50
retrimming last year's best winter hat 1.25
summer hat (new) 4.00
1 straw hat, common wear .75
1 umbrella 1.00
*1 wool dress skirt 4.00
*3 shirt waists: 2 tailored @ 1.00
*1 fancy @ 1.50 $ 3.50
1 winter coat 12.00
1 spring coat (left from last year)
1 pair kid gloves 1.50
1 pair wool gloves .50
1 wool dress (winter, bought close of season) 12.00
1 sweater 3.00
*1 summer dress 3.00
*1 white duck dress skirt 1.00
1 party dress (left over from last year)
Gloves, handkerchiefs, neckties, collars
received for Christmas.
------
Total $75.60

Notice that in the second year some articles are left over from the year
before. This is because Ann has foresight. She is a good manager, and
takes care of her clothes too, and plans ahead. Do you?

SECOND YEAR

2 union suits (left from last year, winter)
2 union suits (left from last year, summer)
1 new union suit summer $ .50
2 flannelette nightgowns (left over)
2 summer nightdresses (left over)
1 new summer nightdress .75
*3 corset covers @.50 1.50
2 pairs of corsets @ 2.00 4.00
6 pairs of stockings @ .25 1.50
2 pairs of garters @.25 .50
shoes: 1 high laced @ 3.00
1 pair low shoes @ 2.50
1 pair low left over, half soled @ .75
1 pair high laced, half soled @ .75 7.00
1 pair rubbers $ .75
1 black sateen petticoat 1.00
1 long white petticoat (left over)
2 short white petticoats (left over)
1 new short white petticoat .75
1 winter hat 5.00
1 winter hat (left over) common wear
1 summer hat (retrimmed) 1.50
1 new summer hat (second) 2.00
1 umbrella (left over)
*1 wool skirt (refreshened) 1.00
*2 shirt waists (plain) @ 1.00 2.00
*1 extra white waist @ 1.50 1.50
2 shirt waists (left over)
1 winter coat (left over)
1 spring coat (new) 12.00
1 pair kid gloves 1.00
1 pair wool gloves (left over)
1 wool dress (left over)
1 sweater (left over)
*1 summer dress (left over, remodeled) 1.00
1 white duck skirt (left over)
*1 new white duck skirt 1.00
*1 party dress 8.00
1 coat suit, bought end of winter season 14.00
2 gingham aprons 1.00
1 gingham house dress (ready-made) 1.50
1 summer dress 4.00
------
Total $74.75

Try to find below, in the list for third year, the articles left over.
Also new articles which will be of service the fourth year. Do you not
think it is wise to plan in this way? Marjorie and Barbara have enjoyed
making their budgets.

THIRD YEAR

2 union suits, winter @ 2.00 $ 4.00
2 union suits, summer @ .50 1.00
1 union suit, summer (left over)
2 flannelette nightgowns @ 1.00 2.00
1 new summer nightgown @ .75 .75
1 summer nightgown (left over)
*3 corset covers @ .50 1.50
2 pairs corsets @ 2.00 4.00
6 pairs of stockings @ .25 1.50
2 pairs garters @ .25 .50
shoes: 1 pair high laced @ 3.00
1 pair high laced repaired, left over, @ .75
1 pair low shoes (new) @ 2.50
1 pair party slippers (new) @ 2.00 8.25
1 pair rubbers .75
1 black sateen petticoat 1.00
1 long white petticoat 1.25
1 new short white petticoat .75
1 short white petticoat (left over)
retrimming last year's winter hat 1.25
1 winter hat (common wear) 1.50
1 summer hat (new) 5.00
1 summer hat (remodeled, common wear) 1.00
1 umbrella 1.00
*1 wool skirt 4.00
*2 shirt waists (plain) @ 1.00 2.00
*1 extra white waist @ 1.00 1.00
2 shirt waists (left over)
1 winter coat (left over 2 years)
1 spring coat (left over one year)
1 pair kid gloves 1.50
1 pair wool gloves .50
*1 wool dress (remodeled after 2 winters' wear) $ 3.00
2 white duck skirts (left over)
1 party dress left over (refreshened) 2.50
1 coat suit (left over)
2 gingham aprons (left over)
1 gingham house dress (new) 1.50
1 gingham house dress (left over)
1 summer dress remodeled 1.00
1 new summer dress 4.00
1 raincoat 5.00
1 wool dress (bought towards close of season) 10.00
1 pair winter arctics 2.00
------

Total $75.00

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

Plan a clothing budget with mother's help, and see how yours will
differ from the above. Perhaps mother spends less for your clothes
or more. Mrs. Allen says that Marjorie is learning to purchase
so wisely that next year she may buy all of her own clothes. Of
course, Mrs. Allen will always be willing to help when Marjorie
needs her.

LESSON 8

PLANNING TO MAKE A DRESS SKIRT OF COTTON MATERIAL

Let us begin to make our dress skirts.

=Open the pattern carefully and examine it.= How did you order it, by
age or by waist measure? The pattern books usually say order by age for
a girl unless she is large or small for her age; then order by waist
measure.

=Notice how many pieces you have.= Notice whether some are to be cut on
a lengthwise fold: perhaps, the center front and maybe the center back
if it has a panel front and back. Notice how many gores there are. Do you
know what a skirt gore is? Look at your pieces. A gore is always wider
at the bottom than at the top. Can you tell why? Gores are of different
shapes. Style sometimes regulates the width, for some seasons skirts are
very narrow and at other times very full. The gores help to reduce the
fullness around the waist. Do you understand? Notice how many gores your
pattern has. The front panel is counted as one gore, and the back panel a
gore. There are skirt patterns with three, four, or even eleven or more
gores. Perhaps your pattern has three gores like the one in the picture
(Fig. 128). Then the center back will be cut on a lengthwise fold of
material, as there will be two front gores joining the back with seams
at the hips. This is an easy pattern and suitable for a young girl. One
must think of suitability in selecting the style to be worn. Instead of
three, you may have a plain five or seven gored skirt. Then the center
front will be placed on a lengthwise fold, and there will be two gores
each side of the front for the five gored skirt, and three each side of
the front for the seven gored. A five gored skirt is a simple one.

[Illustration: FIG. 128.--The simple dress skirt and shirt waist.]

=Study your pattern.= Notice all the notches; also just where the pattern
is to be placed on the warp threads. This is very necessary. Take your
tapeline and measure the skirt length; compare with your own measures.
Your teacher will show you how to take your skirt measure, at front,
hips, and back, from the waist line to the desired length (see page 50).
You have learned how. Pin the tapeline about the waist and measure from
it. If your pattern is too long, it will be wise to double it over at the
center to reduce the length. If too short, add a few inches at the bottom
in cutting your cloth. Remember you must allow for the hem according to
desired width (see page 50 for changing patterns).

=Now lay the pieces economically.= Remember the wide end of the gore
usually cuts to best advantage at the end of the cloth. Pin and cut out
after your teacher has approved.

The pattern usually allows from ⅜ to 1 inch for seams. Notice how much.
Match the notches, pin, baste, and then try on. If too loose or too
tight, it is possible to stitch inside or outside of the bastings and so
to alter. The seams can be finished by overcasting the rough edges (see
Fig. 28).

If your pattern calls for an opening or placket at one side of the front,
it will be appropriate to make a hem running lengthwise of the skirt as
a finish at the placket, and the skirt will not be seamed with a simple
seam at that place. Turn to the wrong side one inch for hem along the
right front. Baste. Lap this hem over the left side. Baste flat to the
left portion of front, and stitch nearly one inch from edge, to within 8
or 9 inches of the top. The placket opening on the under side of front
can be bound with a two inch strip, sewing on right side at the edge and
turning to wrong just at the edge. If the pattern does not allow for a
hem on right front and lap finish on the right side of front, but only
for a simple seam, then it will be necessary to face the right front
portion with a strip 1½-inches wide.

=Pin the skirt to the belting.= It is possible to turn in the skirt edge
at top of belt so that it comes even with the top of the belt. This makes
a slightly raised waist line. Stitch neatly at the top edge. Turn hem at
the bottom the desired width and baste carefully. The stitching of the
hem can be done on the right side for neater finish if the basting is
done with care.

Sew on hooks and eyes. Be careful to attach the hooks so that they will
not show on the outside of skirt.

Mollie Stark was so successful with her skirt that she made one for her
older sister Ruth, and also won the prize at the County Fair contest.

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. Study some of the skirt patterns which mother has at home.
Compare with the one used at school.

2. What is a skirt gore? Describe. Draw on the blackboard.

3. Give some suggestions for economical cutting.

LESSON 9

CLOTHING IN RELATION TO HEALTH

Do you know that clothes help to keep us well? The Pleasant Valley
girls learned how, and we are to study, too.

Well people are usually happy people and they can do many more things for
themselves and for others than sick people. Have you ever thought about
this? All people wish to be well, but many are not because they forget
that it is absolutely necessary to think each day about keeping well.
There are many things which help to accomplish this. One cannot wait
until the end of the month or year to think about keeping well, but must
do so every day, as you have learned. Exercise and good habits, sleep,
proper food, recreation, and proper clothing all have a share. Clothes
are more important than people think. Ill health is often the result of
lack of thought in the protection of the body. Let us study how clothes
affect health. You know clothing helps to keep us warm or cool, if we
dress properly. You have learned how necessary it is to preserve an even
body temperature. Growing girls must think about this, for no girl is
well dressed who does not think about the relation of clothes to health.
Is a dress really beautiful if it is unhygienic? Miss Travers told the
Mothers' Club that clothing should serve our use in the best way, should
be pleasing and artistic, but also comfortable enough to permit freedom.
Did you ever feel sorry for the poor Chinese women who squeeze their
feet? Many American women squeeze their waists as well as their feet.
This prevents proper circulation of the blood and causes many complaints,
loss of hair, and serious troubles, because the circulatory system cannot
carry nourishment to the many parts of the body.

Perhaps you have noticed some girls wear very thin stockings, low shoes,
and low-necked dresses; really very scant clothing in cold weather. Is
this a good practice, do you think? Why not?

[Illustration: FIG. 129.--Shoes are important. Why?]

Heat and energy are generated by the body. We have learned that it is a
machine. Food, water, exercise, rest, keep it going. Heat and energy are
the result and are needed if the machine is to run well. If the heat is
all carried away quickly because the surfaces of the body are exposed to
the cold, then there is a waste of the energy which should go to provide
for the necessary workings of the body.

=Why do we wear clothing?= The principal reason is that the body may be
protected from the cold and that the temperature of the body may be kept
constant. It protects also from sharp, hard objects and briers and stones
which might injure the feet. Many people think only of the decoration.
This does affect our choice of clothes too, but should not be the prime
consideration. Miss Travers told the girls of Pleasant Valley to keep
these things in mind in choosing clothes:

_Some things to remember in choosing wearing apparel._

1. Adapt your clothing to your work. One cannot do garden and
house work in stiff collars and unsuitable clothing.

2. The condition of health will affect choice. Strong, well people
do not need the same kind of clothing as sick or delicate people.

3 Age makes a difference; young people are more vigorous than old
people. Babies feel the heat or cold more than adults.

4. Clothing should be chosen in relation to climate and
temperature; in winter, one should prevent an undue loss of heat,
in summer, clothing should not interfere with loss of heat.

_Some important things about wearing clothing._

1. Wet clothing is very dangerous and should be removed at once.
If this is not possible, exercise, keep moving, until there is
opportunity for a rubdown and change. John Alden always runs when
he gets his clothes very wet.

2. The clothing worn next to the skin should be changed twice a
week. The body gives off impurities which are absorbed by the
clothing. This change is necessary if one wishes to keep well.

3. Clothing worn at night should be aired during the day, not shut
up in a closet or folded and placed under a pillow.

4. Clothing worn during the day should be aired at night. This
is necessary for health. The same underwear should never be worn
day and night both. How do you air your clothes? (Fig. 56.) Many
mothers do not change baby's shirt at night and wonder why he
cannot sleep and is so cross. Sometimes this irritability is due
to this very cause.

5. Outer garments should be rather closely woven, so that the wind
cannot penetrate and carry the heat away too rapidly.

6. Heavy garments are a great burden. One wearing them is not free
to act or work.

Next lesson we will study about selecting our clothes, shoes, underwear,
and other garments with reference to health.

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. Write on the blackboard some important things to remember in
choosing wearing apparel.

2. Tell some important things to remember in wearing clothing.

LESSON 10

MORE HEALTH PROBLEMS IN CHOOSING CLOTHES

Clothes help to keep us well. Let us study about the wise
selection and use of them.

=Buying shoes.= When Barbara Oakes goes to buy a pair of shoes what do
you suppose she thinks about besides the fact that they are pretty and
that she likes or dislikes them? She remembers that they should fit her
feet. She thinks about these things:

1. They should suit her purpose, be adapted to her use.

2. They should fit the instep and heel snugly.

3. They should be straight on the inside line.

4. The heel should be broad enough to balance the body well.

5. The soles should be strong enough to walk, and thick enough so
dampness cannot strike through.

6. There should be plenty of room for the toes to move. (See Fig. 129).

7. They should be long and wide enough for comfort. Tight shoes are a
strain on the body.

Many girls have "fallen arch." This affects the whole nervous system and
makes them ill. Many are suffering and do not know the cause. Barbara
Oakes was ill for a long time before her mother or the doctor knew why.
It is not necessary to wear an arch supporter or an orthopedic shoe, if
one has normal feet; and one can have normal feet if the above things
are remembered. Some girls choose foolish footwear, and later have much
discomfort and are unable to walk.

Very great care must be taken to keep the feet dry. It is cheaper to buy
a pair of rubbers than to pay a doctor; and rubbers save shoes and keep
the wet from rotting the thread of the shoes. Many women forget that it
is dangerous for a woman to get her feet wet.

=Selecting clothing that is healthful.= _Stockings_ should be chosen in
relation to climate. It is unwise to wear thin, transparent stockings on
a cold day. If possible have two weights and select according to weather.

_Corsets_ are important. They may seriously affect health if not worn
correctly. They should fit snugly over the hips but allow freedom at the
waist line. For young girls corset waists are very satisfactory. Great
care should be taken, however, when the first corset is selected. Jane
Smith says her mother tried several for her before getting exactly the
right one. The corset should leave no marks on the body. The danger is
that, unless well fitted, a corset interferes with circulation. Lacing
causes all kinds of troubles. It deforms the body and makes it hour glass
in shape, instead of free and beautiful like Miss James' picture of the
Venus de Milo (Fig. 130). When tight bands or corsets interfere with
circulation, the blood supply for the brain and the other organs is shut
off, and consequently these organs are not nourished. Most girls wish to
preserve the graceful waist line with which nature has endowed them. Do
you? Fat easily accumulates around the waist, but plenty of exercise,
gardening, sweeping, walking, climbing, will prevent this. Buy a corset
which supports your organs, one which does not press downwards; and
arrange the garters so that they will not be too tight and interfere with
the circulation.

[Illustration: FIG. 130.--Notice the beautiful lines on the figure of
Venus de Milo.]

=Underwear affects health.= Do you remember that we discovered the reason
why one should be particular about the kind of underwear worn? We learned
that ill health and fatigue are often caused by weight of clothing or by
tight clothing causing lack of circulation or by clothing which prevents
the skin from being ventilated. Textile materials and temperature of the
body are closely related. We should learn to know which materials to
select. Each person feels the need differently. Old people and little
babies feel the heat or cold more than other people. Grandmother Stark
usually feels cold and wears a shawl about her shoulders. Underwear must
be chosen in relation to climatic conditions and also for conditions
under which one wears them, for indoor or outdoor work. Each must study
her health, the climate, her age, and occupation, and plan accordingly
for the best kind.

Underwear should be chosen which can be easily cleansed, also that
which will permit plenty of air next to the skin. These properties of
materials, as we call them, must be studied.

The body, as we know, loses heat and water every day. Some materials
conduct heat more rapidly than others; and some absorb and retain, while
others eliminate, moisture more readily. Absorption and elimination
differ with different fabrics. Linen is quicker than other fabrics to
eliminate moisture. Wool on a dry body of a person who does not exercise
freely feels warm and continues so as long as the skin does not give off
more moisture than the wool can take up. If the body continues then to
give off moisture, the heat of the body cannot escape and one does not
feel comfortable. If a current of air or a draught occurs, the heat will
be conducted quickly and the bodily temperature reduced too quickly. So
underwear must not only prevent too great loss of heat by conduction, but
must be so constructed as to conserve heat when it is needed.

Heat is eliminated when materials conduct it. Porosity of materials
prevents too great elimination. The air in the meshes or pores prevents
this, as a still layer of air does not conduct heat readily. A loosely
woven or knitted shawl is warmer under certain conditions than one which
is firmer. Two lightweight garments are better than one heavy one because
of the air space between.

Wool is warm, but irritating to many people. It is not as cleanly as some
fabrics, for it absorbs the body excretions and is not easily laundered.
As it shrinks with use, it has fewer air spaces between the meshes. Any
loosely woven or knitted underwear with air spaces is more hygienic than
the closely woven.

Cotton garments are often woven loosely and so treated in manufacture
that they absorb easily. Silk is very pleasing but costly. Silk and
wool combined are also excellent, but expensive. The great argument for
wool or for wool and cotton is that evaporation is slow unless moisture
and draught are present, and so the bodily temperature is not apt to be
reduced so unduly as through cotton or linen; in other words, one is not
so apt to take cold.

Union suits form an even layer over the whole body and are considered
more hygienic than the double layer of vest and drawers at the abdomen.

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. What underwear do you think is the best kind for you to wear
considering your age, work, climate, health?

2. Write a composition of two hundred words about the best kind of
corsets to wear, and why.

3. What important things will you consider the next time you buy a
pair of shoes?

REVIEW PROBLEMS

I. Begin to keep your clothing budget. Ask mother to permit you to
plan it. Do not stop at the end of the year; keep on for at least
four years.

II. In what ways are you definitely planning each day to keep
well? How do clothes help?

III. What facts learned at school can you give mother about wool,
which will help in buying your new winter coat.

IV. Plan a school exhibit of all the work done during the year.
Your teacher will make suggestions about the refreshments and
invitations as well as plans for mounting the work.

[Illustration]

CHAPTER VI

CHOOSING AND WEARING CLOTHES

Have you ever thought that being properly and attractively dressed helps
towards achieving success in life? Marjorie's Cousin Ann says she knows
that the neat, tidy girls who come to the factory looking for work are
more apt to be chosen than those who are careless about their dress.
Cousin Ann, as you have learned, is very particular about her appearance.
She learned long ago that cleanliness of clothing is the first essential
in being well dressed, and that neatness is another requirement. Cousin
Ann knows that it takes time to wash out her collars, her shields,
and stockings every other night; but she also realizes that she must
be particular about her appearance if she wishes to be retained at
the factory. She takes time to mend the tears which sometimes come so
unexpectedly, and the lace which is ripped on her waist, or to sew on
the button which will soon be lost from her coat unless sewed. If she
spills anything on her dress or coat, she tries as soon as possible to
remove the spot. This takes thought, too, as well as time; but Ann knows
that it pays. Have you, too, thought about these things? One must also
know what is suitable and appropriate for various occasions, and how to
choose becoming colors in materials or hats and gowns if one buys them
ready-made. This is really a study in buying, too, and of knowing how
materials are made and can be tested. All these things were discussed by
Miss James and the Pleasant Valley girls. They were always very glad when
Miss Travers came to help too.

LESSON 1

WHAT IT MEANS TO BE WELL DRESSED

The Pleasant Valley girls have decided that it is worth while
learning about suitable and attractive dress. They are anxious to
begin this study. Suppose we learn some of the things one must
think about and study in order to be properly and attractively
dressed.

One does not have to be expensively dressed in order to be attractively
and well dressed. Much depends on appropriateness. It is not appropriate
for a girl to wear jewelry, thin stockings, low fancy slippers, lace
waists, feather hats, to work or to school. How much more attractive
and appropriate is a plain, neat shirt waist and cloth skirt, a plain
necktie and a simple hat, and plain boots or ties. One should not dress
as if one were going to a party when one goes to work or to school.
Do you understand what appropriateness means? It means wearing the
suitable kind of clothing for every occasion. It is our duty to be as
well dressed as possible, for our friends' sakes as well as for our own;
but a well-dressed girl is never conspicuous. Clothes which would be
appropriate in a large city for a reception might be very inappropriate
in a small town. Our daily clothes should be adapted to our uses, whether
in country or city. Would you wear your party dress for gardening or for
tennis or skating?

[Illustration: FIG. 131.--Which of these girls looks ready to do her
work?]

=Criticize your own garments.= Try to have them neat and clean, for this
makes one more self-respecting. Try to have your clothes convenient,
neat, graceful, beautiful, allowing for free movements of the body.
Choose something which is not overdecorated but which will emphasize your
charm and personality. Young girls do not need jewelry or much decoration
on clothes, for youth is always charming in itself.

Some girls try to copy every "latest style." Do you? One should not
unless it is a style which will suit one. Cousin Ann heard a talk at the
Young Women's Christian Association one night. It was on simplicity
of dress. The speaker was from a large department store in Paterson
where Ann lives, and she gave Ann some new ideas about dress. She
said simplicity is not necessarily plainness, but it means being so
intelligent that one knows what to leave off in the way of decoration.
She said being well dressed is knowing what to omit. She also said that
trimmings and ornaments without reason are foolish and spoil a gown.
Because one bow looks well it does not follow that ten will improve
one's appearance. So many girls are really caricatures. They wear every
exaggerated thing and many things which are not refined, as the very
low neck, or the very scant or transparent skirt. This is not beauty of
dress, but very bad and vulgar taste. The speaker said that "beauty of
costume is not necessarily the result of costliness, but of artistic
appreciation." Cousin Ann said several of the members of her sewing
club were at this lecture, and they decided to ask Miss Willing, who
leads their club, to talk about "artistic appreciation." Cousin Ann said
she did not quite understand what the speaker meant. This is what Miss
Willing told the girls, and then they understood perfectly. Perhaps you
would like to know, too.

=A costume is a work of art.= She said we must think of our costumes as
being works of art. Every girl has a style of her own, and she should
study it and dress so as to bring out all her good points and conceal
those not so attractive. One's hair or eyes should be considered
in choosing color. Stooped or narrow shoulders, if they cannot be
corrected, can be made to look less narrow by the plan of the gown. Stout
figures can be made to look less stout. So by choosing the right colors
and correct decoration and right lines, one can often improve one's
appearance. Miss Willing says to understand about this is to have what
the speaker at the Young Women's Christian Association called "artistic
appreciation." One should cultivate artistic appreciation for good
furnishings as well as for appropriate dress. Miss Willing told the girls
another evening about color and good lines, for they are all so anxious
to learn. They never even imagined before that any one ever thought about
such things. Marjorie Allen and the other girls at Pleasant Valley School
are very glad Cousin Ann told them too.

=The costume should be the background as it were.= Miss Willing says to
remember always that a really artistic costume is one which makes us say
"what a lovely girl!" rather than "what a lovely gown she is wearing."
A costume should not be so strong in color or design that one thinks
only of that. Do you remember how in some rooms we feel the pattern of
the wall paper or of the carpet. When one does, the design is poor;
the wall is the background. Our clothes should make the wearers' good
qualities stand out. They should be subordinate, Miss Willing says. Do
you understand that word?

Miss Willing says the outline of our clothed figures should be pleasing.
Have you ever walked to town and seen girls with large hats which were
not balanced on their heads, and short skirts and perhaps large muffs?
If you watch them as they come towards you down the street, you will
see that the whole outline or silhouette against the sky or house is
poor; they look top-heavy or, we say, unbalanced. Such a costume is not
good. A smaller hat with the short skirt is what is needed in order to
have a balanced figure. The outline of the natural human figure is most
beautiful. Look at the lovely figure of the Grecian woman (Fig. 132);
see how the lines follow her figure. Costumes which make ugly lumps, as
bustles and large muffs, and other ugly shapes are not well balanced.

[Illustration: FIG. 132.--Notice the lovely folds of the Grecian costume.]

=An artistic dress shows good taste.= Do you remember your talks in
your art class about the spaces in a design, and the relation of one to
the other. This is true in dresses too. Tucks, buttons, seams, bands of
trimming all mark off spaces on our bodies (Fig. 133). In order to have
a really artistic dress, there must be a plan about the arrangement of
spaces. A short, stout girl with bands of trimming running around her
skirt and with lines of trimming running up and down the waist will
present a very strange appearance to one who has "artistic appreciation."
Can you tell why this would not be good taste? A stout figure should
wear vertical lines of trimming rather than horizontal; and the spaces
between lines should be such as will make the girl look smaller rather
than larger; so dresses must be really designed, and the spaces, colors,
values, really thought about. Do you know what value means? Some costumes
have contrast in values. Black and white are sharp contrasts. One sees
the black or the white at once. These spots of black or white jump at
one unless there is something to connect the two, as gray, which would
be an intermediate value. Spotty costumes are not good or restful. Have
you seen, perhaps, a white dress with black hat and gloves and shoes?
Did you notice how the black things stand out and the eye jumps from one
spot of black to another? A white dress with white shoes and gloves and a
black hat trimmed with some white, thus carrying some of the white to the
black, would be better.

[Illustration: FIG. 133.--Notice the good spacing and arrangement of
lines.]

Miss Willing said this is called studying values. We can study values of
color as well as of black and white. Next lesson we shall learn what Miss
Willing told the girls about color in selecting or making dresses.

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. Why do you think Miss Willing had "good taste" in dress?

2. What can you tell about Miss Willing's talk on artistic
appreciation? What does it mean in relation to dress?

3. Criticize your own garments in relation to line, simplicity,
decoration, appropriateness.

LESSON 2

THE CHOICE OF COLORS FOR CLOTHING

Color is important in choosing or making our clothes. We too must
learn if we would choose as wisely as the Pleasant Valley girls.

Miss James thinks that the Pleasant Valley girls have learned so much
about color in relation to general design in their art classes that they
will be able to understand easily about color in dress too. Colors, they
have learned, have value, with gradations from light to dark. In black
and white the contrast is striking, but when values are closer together
the harmony is closer and less conspicuous.

=In choosing your new spring dress be sure to think of your own
characteristics.= Your appearance may be injured or improved according to
the color chosen. Color even more than design may spoil the appearance,
and is important to the wearer and to all who come in contact with her,
for color is expression of one's refinement and culture. Every girl of
Pleasant Valley will wish to know how to look her best. Color in which
there has been mixed much gray, as dull blue or dull red rather than
pure bright color, is apt to make the individual characteristics stand
out. This grayness in color forms a background as it were, or a setting,
for the face and shows the figure to best advantage.

Artists have a way of expressing this brilliancy of color. Miss James
says they call it intensity. Do you understand what is meant by color
when it is strongest and loudest and most intense? Think of red of the
most vivid brilliant kind; gradually think of it growing grayer and
grayer until it is pure gray. By intensity of a color is meant this
difference in grayness. Very few people can wear very bright red. Miss
James says she must have the "grayed" colors, in dahlia tones of red if
she wishes a dark dress of this color, or in old rose if she wishes a
dress which will be less somber. This is true of all colors; only red is
perhaps the most difficult to use. One learns to use color in its full
intensity only for touches here and there on a gown or a hat, which is
itself not intense in color.

[Illustration: FIG. 134.--Can you find the middle values of gray?]

Large people should not wear red. Blue or green are cooling, quieting
colors and so are better adapted to large figures than red and also
better for those whose features are not very pronounced. Blues which are
not very strong, or so grayed that they have lost half or more than half
of their strength, are more interesting and becoming for large figures
for a whole dress.

Yellow is nearest light, and in combination with red gives the oranges
from which we get browns of all kinds and degrees, rich and warm in
effect. Try mixing these colors in your paint box. Green combines yellow
and blue. It is a light, cheerful, and calm color, always restful and
soothing. The yellow-greens are perhaps more cheerful; that is, when more
yellow than blue is used. When more blue is introduced, the greens are
more soothing and cool. Violet is red and blue mixed; a cool and exciting
color, which can be very intense or very subdued.

=Choosing color for a dress.= Do you think the Pleasant Valley girls will
think before choosing their new gowns whether it is for school, or for
a best dress, for a party or for the house? Even apron material can be
chosen which will make the wearer look unattractive. Why not look pretty
and clean when one is at work too? Miss Willing says that quiet color
in dress is an evidence of good taste. In combining colors in dress one
must aim to obtain the right balance in color. Miss Willing says, in
planning the color scheme for a costume, think about the dominant or most
prominent color and endeavor to bring the others into harmony with it.
Harmony is the result of colors being brought together. Touches of black
help to bring colors together and so harmonize them. Miss Willing gave
several other suggestions for harmony. Cousin Ann put them down in her
notebook and sent them to Marjorie.

1. When one wishes to use contrasting colors, as yellow and
violet, one can get pleasing harmony by using a large quantity
of one color and a small amount of the other. This subordinate
relationship of one color to the other gives harmony; the more
grayed the tone of the large mass of color, the greater the
intensity of color in contrast that can be used.

2. In combining colors of weak intensity for harmony, a harmony of
costume of one mode, that is one color used in different values,
is safe but is not always so interesting as the contrasting colors.

3. To emphasize a color, a touch of the same may be added to some
part of the costume. Blue eyes seem even more blue with a blue
necktie around the shirt waist collar.

4. Another way to make a good harmony is to use complementary
colors. Red and blue; green, violet, and yellow; green and plum;
blue and orange; purple and yellow-green. One should be used
intense, and the other in a gray tone. For example, in combining
color with hair, greens, particularly gray greens, are very
pleasing with auburn hair. Barbara Oakes discovered that fact
with her auburn hair. Violet tends to make yellow hair look more
golden, so care must be taken to have a gray violet so the gold
color in the hair will not be overpowered. "Red" hair is made to
look brighter when a blue costume is worn. So you see one can
avoid unfortunate combinations if one studies the strength of the
color of the hair in relation to the colors to be used.

=Learning to combine colors.= Miss James had many samples of gauzy
chiffons which the girls learned to handle and to combine so as to get
artistic results, for combinations of complementary and contrasting
colors as well as for combinations of "one hue." It is only through
trying that one learns. This, too, is a matter of appreciation. Some
people have finer appreciation for color than others. By thinking about
this and learning all you can in school and from books, you too may come
to have real color appreciation.

In choosing the best colors for your figure or for mother's or for
auntie's, you must think about the value and intensity as well as the
other characteristics of color.

Our costumes, as a rule, are worn for different occasions and are seen
against different backgrounds. We say that the backgrounds, as in rooms,
or against rocks or grass or hillside, are of about middle value--halfway
between white and black; in other words, gray. Black and white costumes,
then, will always stand out. White tends to make the figure appear large;
black calls attention to the outlines of figure and looks best on people
with good figures because of this emphasis of outline. Blue, blue green,
and blue violet--if of middle value, very "gray"--or gray itself are best
adapted to stout figures as they are retiring colors. They seem to melt
into the background and do not give prominence to the figure. A little
brighter color may be added and make the costume more becoming to the
face. This should be used through the center of the gown, not at the edge
to draw the eye to the boundaries of the stout figure. A rose or a flower
of contrast at the center of the belt is an example.

=Studying lines of a costume.= Miss James says the best way to get an
effect of height is to place the longest possible vertical lines through
the center of the figure with no points of emphasis as trimming on the
outer parts (Fig. 135). For a slim figure, when one wishes to appear
stout, the outline of the figure should be emphasized at the outer sides
of sleeves or shoulders or skirts, by such arrangement of trimming that
the eye is carried across the figure (Fig. 136).

[Illustration: FIG. 135.--Vertical lines through the center of the
costume make the figure appear thinner.]

Miss Willing and the girls had a good laugh about the use of large plaids
and broad stripes for stout people. Plaids or squares certainly tend to
emphasize stoutness, as do bold designs or conspicuous color combinations.

[Illustration: FIG. 136.--Notice how the emphasis on the outside of the
costume makes the figure appear larger.]

So many things to remember--line, value, color; all-important, if one is
to be attractively dressed. Miss James has decided to permit the girls to
work out the color combinations at school for their new spring dresses.
The subject of color in choosing hats is equally important. Let us study
next lesson about it.

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. Study your own characteristics. Write them down. Decide what
predominating color you would like for a spring dress. From the
chiffon colors which your teacher has, combine the appropriate
color combination which you would like.

2. Arrange with the chiffon samples, combinations of complementary
colors, of contrasting colors.

3. Write a composition on the subject of "What makes a girl well
dressed."

LESSON 3

SELECTING A HAT

What can you learn about the care and arrangement of your hair. Do
you know how to choose a hat?

Jane Smith says that some day she expects to be a milliner. Perhaps
she will be. Miss James says she can later go to a school and study
millinery. This means that Jane will learn not only how to make hats, but
about the right lines and colors to use. Jane has a natural deftness of
touch and a good idea about copying and designing; so Miss James thinks
she will make a good milliner. So often hats are unbecoming because the
colors are inharmonious, or the lines out of relation to the face wearing
them. Whether one is old or young, one should think about this.

=Give some care and thought to your hair.= One day when Miss Travers came
from the State College to speak to the Mothers' Clubs, she stopped at
the school and gave a talk to the girls of Pleasant Valley School about
their hair and hats. She said that so many women and girls forget to take
care of their hair. It should be washed once a month in hot water with
castile soap and perhaps with the white of an egg, and then thoroughly
rinsed. The comb and brush should be washed once a week. Marjorie Allen's
mother has beautiful hair, and she says she does as Miss Travers told
the girls; and also she brushes her hair carefully to remove dust, every
night before going to bed, and braids her hair in two braids for the
night. This is a very good way to care for one's hair.

Have you ever noticed how some girls nearly lose all their hair because
they burn it or dry it up with the curling irons? One should be very
careful always to test the irons on a paper. Burned hair is not
beautiful. So often girls forget that the becomingness of a hat will
depend on the way the hair is taken care of or dressed.

[Illustration: FIG. 137.--Which arrangement of hair and bow do you think
most appropriate for school wear?]

Large bows, out of proportion to the size of the head, are very poor
taste. A bow as well as a hat should suit the face in line as well as
color, and a bow which stands way out in conspicuous angles is not good
in line, as it is not apt to conform to the lines of the face and of
the head wearing it. Have you noticed this? Perhaps you can try to
rearrange some of the bows the girls are wearing to school so they will
be in better taste. Cleanliness of the head and hair, and a clean, clear
complexion, which comes from proper food and good digestion as well as
from cleanliness, are the best backgrounds for a hat. Any girl who has
this charm of cleanliness can with thought choose a hat which will be
becoming. Hats, also, emphasize the defects as well as the good points
of the wearer; so neatness and a becoming way of arranging the hair will
help very much. Perhaps some of the girls would like to learn to make
hats, too. The hat is the most difficult article of the whole wardrobe
to select. Most girls and women wear hats that are too small and that
stand on the top of the head instead of fitting it. Good taste, Miss
James says, in choosing hats means the very thing we have studied about:
artistic appreciation, a knowledge of line and color and form as well as
appropriateness.

=Think about the shape and the lines of a hat.= Hats should be chosen or
planned, if one is making them, in relation to the whole figure. Do you
stand up or sit down before the mirror in selecting a hat? Try standing
up so you can see your whole figure and the relation of the hat to the
whole. You can tell then if the hat is too large or too small, whether it
overbalances the figure, or if the silhouette will be pleasing. Marjorie
Allen says since she has learned about these things she is surprised to
notice how few people have thought of this question of the silhouette.
Sometimes, the milliners are to blame too, for they do not always know
this secret. Marjorie says her new winter hat does not please her because
of the silhouette.

Miss Travers told the girls to think especially about lines. The
round-faced girl whose nose turns up a little will look best in a hat
that is slightly tilted in front or with a rolling brim at the side or
front. Barbara Oakes says she discovered that for herself. She had two
hats which rolled in that way; and she liked them better and was more
comfortable in them than in others. She also learned through experience
that she did not look well in narrow hats that bend over the face. Miss
Travers says it is true when one's face is full and the nose _retroussé_,
that such a shape is not apt to be becoming.

[Illustration: FIG. 138.--One can select a hat which will make a good
silhouette when one sees the whole figure before a mirror.]

Miss James says she noticed that long, thin faces look longer and thinner
in high pointed trimmings. What kind of trimming, then, would you
recommend for a long, thin face? For long faces, a brim worn slightly
forward will cast a shadow and so tend to shorten the length of the face;
and brims that are rolling and wide, counteract the effect of the long,
thin face. Do you see how very important it is to study the face and its
lines?

The way of dressing one's hair may make it difficult to choose a hat. If
the person with the long, thin face also draws back her hair sharply at
the sides, her face will look longer and it will be more difficult to
choose a hat for such a face. If the hair is worn very fluffy when one
has a very round, full face, then the face is apt to look fuller. So you
see hairdressing is very important to study too, if a girl is to look her
best and choose the most becoming hats.

=Color, too, should be kept in mind.= Some skins are pale; others are
rosy. Black makes the complexion look white and should not be worn next
to a dark, swarthy skin. Browns are apt to look well with auburn hair
like Jane Alden's. She has such a clear complexion. Barbara's mother,
Mrs. Oakes, with gray eyes and hair, will look well in gray.

We have studied about contrasting colors. The contrasting colors for a
person with light hair will be quite different from the colors for a
person with auburn hair. Notice what is said in the lesson about color in
selection of dress. This is true of hats too.

=Select a hat that is becoming.= In choosing hats aim always to get
what is becoming to _you_ and _your style_ rather than the extremes of
fashion. The latest styles can always be adapted to suit your style if a
milliner knows her business.

Remember that very often hats are not becoming because they are not WORN
PROPERLY. Sometimes the wearer forgets and pushes the hat back or to one
side; and then its lines do not conform to the outline of hair and head
and face. Study how to wear your hats. Large hats are often difficult to
wear because of correct balance.

[Illustration: FIG. 139.--Which way looks better?]

If you would like to try to make a simple summer hat, perhaps you can
buy a frame, and with your teacher's help learn to change and adapt it
to your face. It is easy to learn to sew straw on a frame and to trim
with a bow or flowers. Simple trimming for young girls is always the most
pleasing; flowers, wings, quills, and simple bows are the most suitable.

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. What things will you have in mind when you go to the milliner's
to select a new hat, or to have your old hat remodeled? Write a
list of the principal points to be kept in mind in choosing.

2. Bring to school pictures of hats adapted to faces; some that
are not. You can find these in old fashion magazines; perhaps
in old portraits. Pin them on your classroom Bulletin Board.
Criticize. Your teacher will probably have some too. Why is this a
good subject to study?

LESSON 4

MAKING THE MIDDY BLOUSE

The Pleasant Valley girls will make middy blouses and so complete
their gymnasium suits. Will you not wish to complete your suits
too?

The girls have found their bloomers and skirts very useful, and
are glad to make the middy blouse too. They will use the same
material as for the skirt.

By this time the Pleasant Valley girls are so expert that they make no
mistakes in laying on their patterns or in cutting out garments. They are
very particular to have the long line of single perforations indicating
the length lying exactly on the warp threads of the cloth. Jane Smith
says she can tell exactly which pieces must be cut double on a fold of
the goods. Can you? The girls sent for patterns for 34 bust measure and
for 38. Some of the girls are quite large for their age--Jane Andrews and
Barbara both are large and will need the 38 size.

Miss James opened a pattern and held up all the pieces. She pinned them
to the dress form so as to show the relationship of each piece to the
figure. Can you do this, too, before you begin to cut, and so learn which
pieces are to be cut on a fold? Then lay the pattern on your cloth most
carefully and pin ready for cutting. Do not cut until your teacher says
you may. Learn to use a tracing wheel and trace your seams, so all will
match in putting the middy together. This garment will be made entirely
by machine, except the hand processes of basting and gathering. Hems and
facings should be carefully basted before being stitched. Good, perfect
stitching improves all such tailored garments. Poor stitching spoils the
effect.

=How to make a middy blouse.= After the pattern has been carefully laid
on, and the material cut out, this is the way to make and finish a middy
blouse:

1. Baste, with the seams on the outside, shoulder, and underarm
seams. Try on. If necessary in order to fit more smoothly across
the chest, let the front drop; if extra fullness across the chest
is desired, let out under the arms. The shoulder seams will be
finished, but not the underarm. Mark with tracing or pencil the
new seam for underarm if you must change it.

Make a flat fell seam at the shoulder, ½-inch wide finished. You
have all learned how.

2. The sleeves, which are in one piece, are put in next, before
the sleeves or underarms are seamed. Match the notches, gather
the sleeves if there is any fullness at armhole, and baste in the
sleeves so that the seam is on the right side. Make flat fells,
basting the turn which falls over the sleeves so that it will lie
very flat.

3. Baste seams of sleeve and underarm all in one long seam on
right side. Match at armhole. Make flat fell, turning the fell
towards the front (see page 216).

4. Hem the bottom of the middy with one inch hem.

5. Finish the neck next. Prepare the collar with its facing
according to the notches of the pattern and directions. Sew; turn
to right side. If the collar is to be decorated with finishing
braid, this decorating should be done before the collar and facing
are sewed together. Attach collar to middy, right of center collar
to right of the center back of middy. The seam will then fall on
the inside towards the neck and will be concealed by the facing
which should be turned in and sewed over the seam. Patterns
for middies vary, and other methods of attaching collar may be
suggested. A loose ribbon or scarf of silk can be tied under the
collar to form a sailor's knot.

6. Then finish the sleeve. The sleeve may be finished with a half
inch hem and rolled as many are worn, or a cuff can be attached
which will be of the same width as the sleeve or just to fit the
wrist. In the latter case, the fullness of the sleeve must be
gathered to fit.

[Illustration: FIG. 140.--Eyelets were made by some girls, in the front
of their middy waists.]

The girls of Pleasant Valley School made sleeves of three quarter length,
and attached a turned-up cuff of same width as sleeve. This cuff was made
double: the two pieces sewed together, turned, and attached to the sleeve
with the seam, on the outside of sleeve. The facing, then, concealed the
seam and, when the cuff was turned up, was entirely concealed. This makes
a very neat finish inside the sleeve.

Some of the girls, those who worked rapidly, made eyelets at the front
of the middy and laced the middy. Eyelets are punched with a stiletto or
sharp point, and are worked like a buttonhole, only perfectly round.

The girls of Pleasant Valley will give an entertainment of calisthenic
exercises as soon as their middy suits are entirely completed. The
boys will also give some exercises with the dumbbells and join in the
folk dancing. "The Pleasant Valley News" has already announced this
entertainment at the Town Hall. Every body in Pleasant Valley is going.
The money will be used to pay for some of the furnishings of the Ellen H.
Richards House.

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. Draw a sketch of your middy blouse. How will yours differ from
the one in the picture?

2. Try to make another middy at home.

LESSON 5

SUGGESTIONS FOR BUYING GARMENTS OF WOOL AND SILK

Miss Travers from the State College talks to the girls of Pleasant
Valley School about buying clothing, especially of wool or silk.
You, too, will wish to know what Miss Travers said.

=Have you ever considered whether it is wise or not to buy your clothing
ready-made?= Most of the mothers of the Pleasant Valley girls make the
garments at home with some assistance from the visiting dressmaker.
What a help the Pleasant Valley girls will be when the dressmaker comes
to their homes. They are not old enough to take full responsibility, but
they will surely be able to assist after the dressmaker has planned. This
will help their mothers, too. Mrs. Allen, Mrs. Stark, and Mrs. Oakes have
already discovered how many good suggestions their daughters have to give.

=It is sometimes wise to buy things ready-made.= In our grandmothers' day
this was impossible. Grandmother Stark used to stitch all Grandfather
Stark's shirts by hand and make his overalls. To-day one can buy good
serviceable garments like overalls, rompers, shirts, etc., at moderate
prices, ready-made. Just what should be made at home should be determined
by the mother, and will depend on her time and duties at home. Some
mothers can so organize their household work that they have time for some
sewing too, and they enjoy the change of work. It pays to make certain
garments because the workmanship is often better and one can choose
one's own materials. This means that the life of the garment is apt to
be longer. This is economy if one has the time and strength; but it
never pays if one sacrifices other things like fresh air, exercise, some
relaxation, for the sake of saving a little money.

=What should you consider in buying ready-made garments?= Miss Travers
says it never pays to buy flimsy materials, cheap lace edging, or
insertions which are poorly put together and will tear. One can instead
purchase ready-made garments which are plain. It is not always possible
to afford the time to make dainty, fine, handmade underwear, which soon
wears out; but one can often spare the time to construct a few pairs of
more durable drawers, and corset covers, by machine for everyday wear,
when one realizes how much greater will be the life of the garment.

If one is buying ready-made garments, one should think about the
following things:

1. Is the _material_ suitable? will it wear well? is the color suitable
or will it fade very soon?

2. Consider the _workmanship_. Are the seams well sewed? Is the stitching
very coarse, or does the garment look well finished? Is the appearance
neat, or will it pull apart very soon?

3. _The construction_ should be examined. Is the garment well cut, or
is it cheap because it is scant in fullness? This may not permit of
freedom in movement, and the garment may have to be cast aside because
uncomfortable. Then money is wasted.

4. It never pays to buy anything which one does not need. It is well
to have foresight and to plan for what one will need for the year,
but experience soon teaches one the quantity. It is foolish to buy
unnecessary things because they are pretty. One should learn not to be
tempted.

5. It sometimes pays to wait until certain seasons for purchasing
garments. Between seasons one can get well-made articles of clothing at
considerable reduction, if one can wait. Winter garments are reduced in
January or February, and summer goods in July or August. It often pays
to wait. In planning one's wardrobe, one can think about this. January
is often a good time to buy household linens or other furnishings at a
reduction.

6. The use of garments should guide one in making a selection. It is
necessary to study one's whole wardrobe and to know what is needed. A
girl engaged in business will need an entirely different wardrobe from
one who spends most of her time at home helping mother. The first step,
then, in economy is to know one's needs and to purchase accordingly.
Is the garment needed and suitable for the occasion? Remember about
appropriateness, and buy garments which will render the service needed.
One does not wear silk dresses for housework.

7. Sometimes undergarments are made in sweatshops under very undesirable
conditions for health. The garments are cheap because made by poorly
paid workers under very unsanitary conditions. Do you wish to wear such
garments? As long as women buy the cheap kind made at the sacrifice of
human life, this sweatshop system will continue. One can buy inexpensive
underwear made under sanitary conditions. It is labeled with a tag of
the Consumers' League. This is an organization which is trying to better
the conditions in workrooms and shops in which clothing is made and to
improve wages and working hours. This League permits the use of its
label on white underwear made under the conditions they approve of: no
work outside of factories, no child labor under sixteen years of age, and
obedience to the state labor laws. The labels are used by firms agreeing
to fulfill the above requirements. If you are purchasing underwear,
perhaps you can buy some with the Consumers' League label. It looks like
this (Fig. 141). Miss James wears this kind, and Mrs. Oakes and Mrs.
Allen, too, now that they know about it.

[Illustration: FIG. 141.--Consumers' League Label and Union Label.]

8. It is sometimes more economical to decide on a particular color for
a season. One can, as a rule, wear one's clothes to more economical
advantage and look better dressed by choosing a particular color than if
one has a red dress, a blue coat, and a green dress for best. The coat is
probably worn with both dresses and may not look well.

9. Remember, if one has only a limited amount of money for clothes,
one should not try to buy the very latest fashions. Exaggerated styles
live but a short time, and some of us must wear our clothes for a long
time, until they are worn out. If materials are good, one can often have
one's clothes remade, by combination with a little new material of a
contrasting kind. A knowledge of textile materials and values will always
help in selecting either ready-made clothing or materials.

10. Remember you must _know_ about the things you wish to purchase.
Clerks as a rule know very little about the goods they sell. If you know,
you can make the dollars earned buy more than if you were ignorant.

[Illustration: FIG. 142.--It takes much thought to learn to buy
intelligently.]

=What should you think about in buying materials?= Here are some of the
hints for purchasing wool and silk materials or garments which Miss
Travers gave the Pleasant Valley girls. Talk them over with your teacher.
See if you agree.

1. Garments made of wool and cotton mixed do not keep their shape as well
as all wool. If one can afford only wool and cotton, the salesman should
tell one in purchasing about their composition. The mixture should be
cheaper. It is often sold for all wool at a higher price. If one untwists
the fibers of the material, it is possible to detect cotton. Try at
school on some ravelings of garment seams or other materials. The burning
test will help one to decide. We shall learn some tests in our next
lesson.

2. Remember wool is an expensive fiber. Do not expect to get all wool for
little money.

3. Remember the weave affects wearing quality. A close twill weave is
often more durable than a basket weave.

Do you remember your lessons about silk; how it is grown and made by the
little worm, and how it is manufactured or spun into thread or woven into
silk cloth? In buying silk one must remember about its manufacture.

1. Silk is seldom pure. It is apt to be weighted. If the silk feels heavy
in the hand, it does not always mean that it is a good piece of material
and will wear; it may be weighted with tin; up to 30 per cent of tin is
not harmful. A softer, pliable silk is not apt to be so weighted, and
will wear better. Soft silks so woven as to pull at the seams are not
economical. Close weaves are better than loosely woven ones for wearing.

2. Fray some of the threads of the cloth you wish to buy. Is it possible
to break either the warp or woof easily? If so, the silk will split
along either warp or filling and will not wear.

3. One should not expect to get bargains in silk. Cheap silk will not
wear. It is better to wear some other material. Is the material made of
reeled silk or of spun silk? You have learned the difference. Articles
made of reeled silk are more expensive.

4. Silk is sometimes adulterated with cotton or artificial silk and sold
for all silk. We shall learn some tests in our next lesson so we may
discover too.

Miss James talked over all these points with the Pleasant Valley girls
and showed them some good and bad materials. The girls decided to be on
the lookout for these things. Will you?

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. Bring to school garments or materials which have not worn well.
Try to find out why. Your teacher will help.

2. Write a composition about things to think about in purchasing a
new winter suit ready-made. If you must buy from a catalogue, can
you judge about the wearing qualities?

LESSON 6

LEARNING TO USE SOME SIMPLE TEXTILE TESTS

Miss James and the girls of Pleasant Valley tried some simple
tests for materials. Perhaps you would like to try them too?

The Pleasant Valley girls became so interested in Miss Travers' talk
about textiles and how difficult it is to buy intelligently that they
decided to learn to judge materials and to study about adulterations.

=How are clothing materials adulterated?= Miss James told the girls that
there are a number of ways of adulterating materials, and that most
women shoppers are so indifferent that manufacturers have been able to
adulterate the materials of everyday use. This increases the cost of
living, for materials do not wear so long. Miss James says that textiles
should be labeled so we may know what we are buying. Some kind of
adulterations are honest if the goods are so marked; but, when sold for
something they are not, the buyers are fooled. The tests help one to know
whether materials are adulterated or not. Let us learn first some of the
methods generally used in adulterating, and then some of the simple tests.

_Weighting_ is one method of adulterating. This means that something else
has been used beside the material. In cotton and linen material, sizing
or starch is pressed in with the rolling in finishing. After washing,
this material will be found to be very open in mesh instead of smooth.
Notice some of the smooth linen table cloths before they are laundered.
Afterwards you will notice they look quite coarse and have lost their
smoothness. Sometimes glue or clay or gums are used instead of starch.

Silk is often weighted in the finishing process with sugar and some with
dyes and metals. This is because silk has a property which enables it
to absorb a great deal of moisture without changing its quality. The
manufacturer can buy salts and dyes for less than silk, and so he often
uses a large per cent of dye or metal in place of the gum washed out
of the silk in manufacture. One can seldom find to-day silks like our
grandmothers used to use. This is because people wish cheap silks; the
manufacturer cannot produce silks for little money, as the raw fiber is
so high; and so he uses other things with silk to weight it.

Materials are also adulterated by _combination_ with other materials.
Did you ever buy a handkerchief marked "pure linen" and discover it was
a mixture of cotton and linen? Cotton is also used to adulterate woolen
materials, and sometimes silk materials; "pure silk" so called, is often
artificial silk.

[Illustration: FIG. 143.--One can sometimes test materials by burning.]

Adulteration is also practiced when made-over materials or waste is used
to cheapen the cost. We learned about this in studying about wool. Wool
materials should be labeled so that the purchaser will know. It is not
fair to pay the price for an all-new wool material if shoddy and mungo
and flocks, which are all old wool and waste, have been used. The per
cent of new wool should be told and the price made accordingly.

Silk is sometimes sold as reeled silk when waste from cocoons which is
called spun silk has been used for the woof or filling thread.

In _finishing_ of materials, adulteration is sometimes practiced. In
pressing cotton or linen, a luster is given to the surface. Cotton can
be made to appear like silk or like linen, and is often sold for those
fibers. Cotton can be napped in finishing and made to look woolly as in
blankets or outing flannel, but it is still only cotton.

[Illustration: FIG. 144.--The microscope reveals many things.]

=How can clothing material be tested?= These are the simple tests which
the Pleasant Valley girls learned:

=For sizing.= This is easy to identify. Pick at the surface with your
nail, and the starch or sizing will easily come off. Hang a wet piece
in the air and see how the gloss looks then. This sizing often conceals
defects in the cloth. These can be seen if the material is thin, by
holding it against the light.

[Illustration: FIG. 145.--The test for fading.]

=Burning tests.= The girls unraveled the fibers which Miss James gave
them and tested wool, silk, cotton, and linen. They tried both warp and
filling threads. They burned them with a taper. The animal threads (which
are they?) burned slowly, charred, and smelled like burned feathers.
Silk burns to an ash, except when weighted. Then it burns more slowly.
When very heavily weighted, the flame does not burn readily and the form
of the silk will remain. The vegetable fibers, cotton and linen, burn
quickly and with a flame.

[Illustration: FIG. 146.--The test for shrinkage.]

=Tests with microscope.= You have all seen the appearance of the fibers
under the microscope. This reveals many things, and the unraveled fibers
are easily identified. The microscope is the only sure test for telling
cotton and linen fibers. One can sometimes discover shoddy mixed with
the all-wool fiber because of the color. Shoddy is sometimes made of old
colored woolen rags.

=Tests for fading.= Pin a piece of cloth on a board with thumb tacks.
Cover half with cardboard or heavy paper. Expose to the rays of sun
for several days. Remove paper and notice difference. A piece can also
be exposed near bright light, but not in sun's rays, to see the effect
under ordinary wear. Marjorie Allen tested a piece of cashmere she was
considering for a dress and decided not to buy it, for it faded quickly
near the bright light.

[Illustration: FIG. 147.--The test for strength.]

=Tests for strength.= Try to break either warp or woof threads. Place
the two thumbs together and press down on the cloth which should be held
firmly in the hands. Try both sets of threads. Sometimes a weak warp or
woof can be discovered.

=Tests for shrinkage.= Barbara Oakes had a white cotton dress last year
which never seemed to stop shrinking. Sometimes we can test materials for
shrinkage. Measure width and length of sample to be tested. Wash it in
hot water and soap. Dry and measure again. Is it narrower and shorter?
In planning for cotton or woolen garments allowance should be made for
shrinkage.

[Illustration: FIG. 148.--The chemical tests show many things of use in
judging materials.]

=Chemical tests.= Chemicals are used for identifying fibers. Have you
learned in your eighth grade studies about acids and alkalies? Have
you studied at all about chemicals? It is possible to discover the
composition of woven materials by testing them with chemicals. This
is because acids and alkalies affect vegetable and animal fibers in
different ways. Look up the difference between acids and alkalies.
Study with your teacher and try to discover some of the common food and
cleaning materials which we use every day in our homes which are acid or
alkali. Some of these teach us we should know what the soaps and washing
powders which we use will do to our clothes. Your teacher will provide
some chemicals for testing. It is easier to test samples of cloth if they
are fringed at the edges. Here are directions for some chemical tests:

1. Place a piece of white cotton cloth and a piece of woolen
material in small dishes. Cover with 50 per cent solution of
nitric acid. The wool fibers will turn yellow. The cotton remain
white. If a piece of wool cloth was mixed with cotton, how would
the test prove it?

2. Boil samples of cotton and wool together; then samples of
cotton and silk together, for fifteen minutes in a 5 per cent
solution of caustic potash. The animal fibers will dissolve, the
cotton will remain. Of what use would this test be?

3. Moisten samples of cotton and of wool with Millon's reagent.
Place in porcelain dishes and heat gently. The animal fibers will
become red; the vegetable are unchanged.

4. Material made of cotton and linen and sold for all linen can
be tested. Place fringed sample in a porcelain dish. Heat gently
in 50 per cent solution of caustic potash for two minutes. Remove
with glass rod and dry between blotting papers. The linen will be
dark yellow in color and the cotton white or light yellow.

So we have learned a few tests of different kinds. There are many more.
When you go to high school you can learn about others. The Pleasant
Valley girls enjoyed making these tests with Miss James' help. Perhaps
you may be able to try them with your teacher.

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. Try the above chemical tests with your teacher's help.

2. Try some of the other tests for adulterations.

3. Tell four ways in which materials are adulterated.

LESSON 7

HOW PATTERN IS MADE IN CLOTH

Barbara said she never could quite see how pattern is made in
cloth. There seem to be so many different kinds of patterns. Miss
James explained about this. She said there are several ways of
making patterns. Some are printed; others woven; some embroidered.
Have you discovered this?

=Patterns are often woven.= Do you remember, when you studied about
linen, you learned that the Jacquard loom has a series of cards above
it which are able to control the pattern? Wonderful silks and beautiful
velvets and brocades as well as damask table linen are made in this way
by weaving. Patterns of stripes and plaids are also made by the loom in
weaving. Sometimes the warp or the filling threads are colored; and this
color forms patterns in stripes or squares. See if you have any pieces in
your surprise box in which pattern is made by colored threads of warp or
woof.

Try to find some woven patterns made by the Jacquard loom in silk or
linen. Think of all the beautiful ribbons, silks, tablecloth damasks,
towels, and napkins; all such patterns are woven by the loom. Plain
patterns like basket weave, twill, diagonal, satin weave, are also made
by weaving. See if you can work out some of these patterns on your school
loom.

=Some patterns are printed.= On the plain woven material, patterns are
printed by means of rollers on which the pattern has been stamped. The
colors are put on by this roller. The picture shows the machine. Did you
ever have a calico apron or dress of percale or cambric on which the
pattern showed on one side only? Many ribbons are printed with a pattern,
but sometimes patterns are put on both sides of the cloth. Again,
printing is sometimes done on the warp threads before the filling thread
is woven in. This makes a dull effect in pattern. Miss James had a piece
of ribbon which was so printed. When it was ravelled out a little, the
printed warp could be seen.

[Illustration: _Courtesy of Cheney Bros._

FIG. 149.--Printing cloth by machinery.]

Did you ever see a foulard silk dress with white spots? Do you know how
they are made? There are two. methods. One is called "resist," and the
other "discharge." The first method, "resist," is easy to understand.
The material is printed before it is dyed. The spots are printed with
a chemical which resists the dye when it is put in the dye bath. So
the cloth comes out of the dye with white spots where the chemical was
stamped. The "discharge" method is just the opposite. The cloth is dyed
blue or black or whatever the color is to be, and then it is passed
between rollers something like your wringing machine and the color is
taken out in spots by chemicals. Sometimes, when the chemicals are too
strong or cheap, they eat the cloth. Jane Alden's cousin had a dress from
which the white spots fell out, leaving holes.

Patterns are sometimes printed on cloth by means of wood blocks or
stencils. Perhaps you can do some printing on plain cloth. You can make a
stencil pattern. Cut out the design in it and paint through the holes, or
cut a design from a piece of wood, dip it in color, and print the cloth.
Lovely materials are made by hand in this way. Miss James has a beautiful
English piece of Morris block printing which she values highly.

=Many patterns are embroidered.= Look in the piece box. Sometimes
embroidered designs are worked on cloth by hand, but many are made by
machine. Miss James has a scarf which came from India. It is embroidered
in gold with little bits of glass sewed on the right side, and held by
the embroidery. This is all hand work. Miss James has a waist with little
spots of white embroidered in silk. This is done by machine on a loom.
Find some piece of material embroidered by machine.

So Barbara Oakes now understands about the patterns. Miss James had some
books to show the girls, too. They looked up in the encyclopedia about
printing of materials and about the other things they wished to know
about patterns. Barbara says to her the most wonderful thing is the way
in which the warp threads of the loom can be controlled by the Jacquard
pattern cards and other devices. The shed of the warp as it is raised for
each filling thread is governed by the devices, and a different set of
threads bobs up for each shuttle throw.

EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS

1. Mount on strips of cardboard, samples of material made:

_a._ By weaving, plain, stripes, diagonal, etc.

_b._ By printing, resist, discharge, machine, block, stencil;

_c._ By embroidery.

2. Look up in the encyclopedia or other books the subject of
cotton printing.

3. Try to find pictures of modern looms and more primitive ones in
which pattern is controlled by the harness which raises the warp
threads and makes the so-called shed.

REVIEW PROBLEMS

I. Look over the fashion pages of your magazines at home and find:

1. A young woman suitably dressed for business.

2. A girl dressed for outdoor sports.

3. A girl in a party gown.

Tell why you think each is "well dressed." If not, why?

II. What textile tests would you suggest when buying a silk dress.
Mrs. Stark expects to have one next summer. How will she be able
to judge if it will wear?

III. Can you make another middy at home. Perhaps you are so expert
you can take an order for one.

THE ELLEN H. RICHARDS HOUSE

[Illustration: _Courtesy of Mr. R. J. Planten._

FIG. 150.--The Ellen H. Richards house.]

You will be glad to know that all the townspeople in Pleasant Valley were
delighted with the year's work in homemaking in the new schoolhouse.
Mr. Roberts, the President of the Pleasant Valley Bank, was so pleased
with the results both at school and in the homes of the valley that he
gave the house that you see in the picture (Fig. 150), to be used for
homemaking work by the girls, and for the boys' clubs as well. The house
was named for Mrs. Ellen H. Richards, the great and good woman who lived
in Boston, Massachusetts, but whose friends are found all over the world,
and who helped to develop the teaching of home economics everywhere.

=What are some of the facts about clothing and health that a girl may
learn, useful to herself and her family?= This is the question at the
beginning of the first chapter. Do you not think that you can all give
an answer to this question now? And would you not like to write a
composition about it? Perhaps your teacher will have a gathering at the
school of all the fathers and mothers; and maybe one of you can write a
little play or pageant connected in some way with household arts for this
closing party of the school year. Perhaps you are able now to design your
costumes and make some of your garments or, at least, to select them more
wisely.

=And where is Pleasant Valley?= Perhaps you asked this question when you
looked at the picture on one of the first pages. Pleasant Valley is your
own home town; and, though it has really quite another name, it may still
be Pleasant Rivers, or Pleasant Hill, or Pleasant Fields, or Pleasant
Plain. Why not? In this wide country of ours there are many forms of
natural beauty; and even in the dry sections, where trees are grown
with difficulty, there are still the far reaches of the plains and the
beautiful effects of cloud, sunrise, and sunset. If our own town is ugly
and unhealthy, it is not Nature's fault; for the beauty and home-likeness
and the healthfulness of any place depend upon its inhabitants. Even the
simplest and plainest village or countryside has one kind of beauty if it
is kept perfectly clean, and it costs but little money in many places to
plant trees and shrubs and keep the grass green.

You must see, however, that it is something more than beauty in the
things about us that we have been studying together. You boys and girls
in your school are to be the men and women who will make the homes and
the town the best possible places for successful and happy living. Do
you realize what it means to be citizens of a great commonwealth like
this of our United States? Do you understand the meaning of the word
"commonwealth"? It is a good old word that means a land where all the
people share everything alike and work together for the good of all. We
cannot succeed in doing this unless we begin in our home and in our home
town. More and more must our country stand for democracy for ourselves
and for the whole world, and you must bring to the problems of the
future, bodies strong and clean, and strong hearts and minds.

INDEX

Adulteration:
by combination, 280.
by weighting, 279.
in finishing, 281.

Albatross, 210.

Alpaca, 213.

Ammonium phosphate for outing flannel, 9.

Aniline dyes, 134.

Apparel:
choosing, 242.

Apron:
attaching the yoke, 37-39.
basting skirt part, 33.
cutting skirt part, 31.
cutting yoke part, 33.
gathering top of, 36.
hemming sides and bottom, 36.
material for, 7.
planning pattern for yoke, 32.
planning to make, 31-33.
sewing seams of, 34-36.
the sewing, 127, 128.
useful, 129.

"Artistic appreciation" in dress, 254-255.

Attaching an apron yoke, 38.

Basting:
corset cover, 106.
gores of petticoat, 104.
hemmed patch, 173.
skirt of apron, 33.
stitch, 20.

Bathing, 91.

Bean bags, making, 29.

Bean bag board, 29.

Bean bag game, 29, 30.

Bias bands, to finish, 99.

Bias strip, cutting and placing, 24-25.

Birdseye, 62, 183.

Blankets, 214.

Blanket stitch:
how to make, 138.
uses of, 44, 138, 141.

Bleaching linen cloth, 195.

Bloomers:
bands for, 217.
making, 215-217.
material to use for, 202.
pattern for, 201.

Bluing, 190.

Bobbin, 67, 68.

Boiling linen, 190.

Brilliantine, 213.

Broadcloth, 211.

Brocaded satin, 124.

Brushing clothes, 157.

Bunting, 213.

Butchers' linen, 183.

Button, sewing on, 45.

Buttonhole:
fan and bar ends, 43.
finishing, 44.
overcasting, 41, 42.
placing, 40.
practice in making, 39.
stitch, 42, 43.
turning corner, 43.

Buying:
garments, 271-278.
materials, 276-278.
points about, 197-199.

Calico, 7.

Cambric, 60.

Canton flannel, 8.

Carding:
by hand, 76-77.
cotton, 72, 74.
wool, 222-224.

Caring for clothes, 155-174.

Carpets, 214.

Cashmere, 210.

Catch stitch, how to make, 150-152.

Chain stitch, 119.

Challis, 210.

Chambray, 7.

Cheesecloth, use of, 9.

Cheviot, 209.

Chiffon, 125.

China silk, 125.

Chintz, use of, 9.

Cleanliness of body, 89-92.

Cloth:
how made, 74-76, 132-137, 191-196, 218-224.
how pattern is made in, 285.

Clothes:
appropriate, 251.
brushing, 157.
care of, 155-163.
choosing and wearing, 249, 250.
removing stains and spots from, 158.
things to learn about caring for, 156.
why important, 3.

Clothespin bag, 149-152.

Clothing:
budget, 230-236.
color for, 256-259.
expense of for a year, 230.
for body at night, 89-92.
helps save body heat, 91.
important things about wearing, 242.
night, aired during day, 90.
points about buying, 229.
ready-made, 271-272.
relation to health, 240-248.
selecting healthful, 244.
several layers of, warmer than one thick layer, 92.
things to think about in choosing, 242.
what to do with, at night, 89.
what to remember, in purchasing wool, 224-229.
why air at night, 89.
why changed at night, 90-92.
why we wear, 241.

Clothing budget, 230-236.

Cluny lace, 93.

Cocoons, grown for silk, 109-114.

Colored silks, 133.

Colors:
choice of, 256-260.
for clothing, 256.
for a hat, 266.
"grayed," 256-257.
intensity of, 257.
learning to combine, 259-260.
to bring out one's characteristics, 256-258.

Commercial pattern, how to use, 46-53.

Consumer's League, 275.

Corsets, 245.

Corset cover:
how to make, 106.
material for, 106.
nainsook for, 105.

Corticelli cocoons, 113.

Costume:
a background, 253.
a work of art, 252.
artistic, 254-255.
studying lines of, 261.

Cotton:
baled and shipped, 16.
carding, 72, 74.
fibers, 7, 14.
how grown, 12.
how spun, 74, 75.
loom for weaving, 66.
picking, 13.
seeds taken from fiber, 1.
spinning, 72-77.
use of, 65.
use of seeds, 15.
varieties of, 17.
weaving, 66-71.
where grown, 11-12.

Cotton cloth, how woven, 66-71.

Cotton crêpe, 60.

Cotton fibers, magnified, 14.

Cotton flannel, varieties of, 8.

Cotton ginning, 15.

Cotton materials, 7-10, 59-62, 101.

Cotton plant, 12.

Cousin Ann:
her clothes budget, 230-236.
how she cares for her clothes, 156-163, 249.
what she learned about dress, 251-256.
what she told about silk, 133-137.

Covert cloth, 211.

Crêpe de Chine, 123.

Cretonne, use of, 9.

Crinoline, use of, 9.

Cross-stitch:
design for, 144.
gifts made from, 146.
how to make, 144, 145.
use of, 143-146.

Damask, 183.

Darning, straight tears, 163-166.

Darning stitch:
for stockings, 167-169.
for straight tears, 163, 166.
how made, 152-153.
where to use, 166.

Decorating, stitches used for, 118-121.
(_See also_ Embroidery stitches.)

Denims, 8, 10.

Dimity, 60.

Dress:
artistic appreciation in, 254-255.
colors for, 258.
personal characteristics in relation to, 256-257.
spacing and arrangement of lines, 255.
use of colors, 255.

Dress Skirt:
laying and cutting pattern, 238.
making, 238-239.
pattern for, 236-238.

Duck, 61.

Dyeing silk, 134-135.

Ellen H. Richards House, 291.

Embroidery stitches:
blanket stitch, 138-141.
catch stitch, 150-152.
chain stitch, 119.
cross-stitch, 143-146.
featherstitch, 119, 120, 129, 130.
outline stitch, 121.

Embroidered patterns, 288.

Etamine, 213.

Eyelets, 270.

Factory, silk, 137.

Featherstitch:
how made, 119, 120.
use for, 129, 130.

Felt, 212.

Fibers:
cotton, 7, 14.
flax, 180.
silk, 111, 132.
wool, 205-207, 226.

Filling thread, 66.

Flannel, 212.

Flat felled seam, 216.

Flax:
breaking, 179.
combing and spinning, 191.
cultivation an ancient industry, 180-181.
fiber, 6, 180.
hackling, 193.
how grown, 176.
rippling and retting, 177-179.
rippling by hand, 178.
rovings, 193.
seeds, 184.
what is the, plant, 175.
wheel, 76, 192.
where grown, 175.

Flocks, 228.

Folding table linen, 190.

Foulard silk, 123.

Free-hand pattern, 46.

French seam:
how to make, 87-88.
use of, 86-88.

Galatea, 62.

Garments:
buying, 271, 278.
criticize your own, 251.
points to consider in buying ready-made, 272-276.

Gauge, for hem, 36.

"German Val," 94-97.

Gifts:
aprons, 129.
bag, 127.
clothespin bag, 149-152.
darning-case, 117.
guest towel, 146.
needle book, 117.
pin-case, 116, 117.
sewing apron, 127.
sewing-case, 118.
spool-case, 117.
useful cases, 130.

Gingham, 7, 10.

Grenadine, 213.

Guest towel, 146.

Hair, care of, 262-264.

Hamburg edging, 101, 103.

Handkerchief, linen, 182.

Handmade garments, 57-58.

Hanging table linen, 190.

Hat
becoming, 266-267.
color, 266.
how to wear, 267.
selecting, 262.
shape and lines of, 264-265.
trimming for, 267.

Health:
clothing in relation to, 240-248.
underwear effects, 245-247.

Heels, 162.

Hem:
gauge for, 36.
making on nightdress, 88.
turning around neck of nightdress, 98.

Hemmed patch, how to make, 171, 174.

Hemming stitch:
for hemmed patch, 171.
how made, 19-22.
why useful, 19.

Hemstitch:
different from hemming stitch, 147.
how to make, 147-148.

Henrietta, 210.

Herringbone stitch, 150.

Herringbone weave, 149.

Holder:
finishing, 27.
planning, cutting, and basting, 24.

Homespun, 210.

Huckaback, 62, 183.

Indian head, 61.

Ironing, 189, 190.

Jacquard Loom, 124.

Javelle water, 187.

Kimono night dress, 64.

Knitting machine, 167.

Lace:
cluny, 93.
German Val, 94, 96.
kinds of, 93, 96.
made by hand, 96.
names and retail prices of, 94-95.
other ways to finish instead of using, 97.
sewing on, 97-99.
torchon, 93, 95.
valenciennes, 94, 97.

Lady's cloth, 211.

"Latest style," 251.

Lawn, 61.

Linen:
bleaching, cloth, 195.
finishing, cloth for shipping, 195.
kinds of, 182-184.
manufacture of, 191-196.
weaving, 194.
where grown, 175.
(_See_ Flax.)

Linen canvas, 183.

Linen laces, 93, 96.

Linen materials:
adulteration in, 280.
how identified, 181-182.
kinds of, 182-183.

Linen sheeting, 182.

Linens:
how to wash and iron, 188-190.
points to be noticed in buying, 196-199.

Linseed oil, 184.

Loom:
for weaving cotton, 66-68.
hand, 67, 70, 71.
"in days gone by," 68.
in factory, 69.
Jacquard, 124.
primitive, 68, 71.

Luna moth, 111.

Materials:
adulterated, 279, 280.
buying, 276-278.
for apron, 31.
for bloomers, 202.
for underwear, 101, 106.
from cotton, 7-10.
from wool, 209-214.
linen, 182-184.
silk, 123-126.
weighted, 279.

Measurements:
how to take, 49-50.

Melton, 211.

Middy blouse, how to make, 268-271.

Mohair, 213.

Moire silk, 125.

Mull, 61.

Muslin, 59.

Nainsook, 59.

Nightdress:
cutting, 78.
french-seam, 86-89.
making hem of, 88.
material for, 63.
placing pattern, 78.
trimming, 98.

Nun's veiling, 212.

Organzine, 133.

Outing flannel, 9.

Outline stitch, 121.

Overcasting buttonhole, 41, 42.

Overhanding stitch, 28-30.

Pageant, 200.

Parts of sewing machine, 80-83.

Patch (_See_ Hemmed patch).

Pattern:
embroidered, 288.
for bloomers, 201.
for petticoat, 102.
how made in cloth, 285.
how woven, 285.
laying for bloomers, 215.
laying nightdress, 79.
opening and reading, 47-48.
opening and studying, 201.
printed, 286.
sending for, 47.
to change, 51.
to lengthen, 51.

Percales, 7, 10.

Petticoat:
learning to make, 103-105.
making, for children, 53-55.
material for, 101, 102.
pattern for, 102.
planning and cutting, 48-52.

Pincase, 116-118.

Placket, 105.

Pongee, 125.

Porch cushion, 140-141.

Pressing suits, and skirts, 157.

Printing cloth, 287.

Protecting clothes, 161.

Raw silk, 115.

Removing stains and spots, 158, 185-189.

Rinsing, 190.

Rubbers, 162.

Ruffle, making for petticoat, 104.

Running and backstitch, 34.

Running stitch, 165, 168, 169.

Russian crash, 139, 182.

Samplers, 143.

Samples for toweling, 6.

Satin, 123.

Scalloped edge, 142.

Seams, sewing with running and backstitch, 35.

Serge, 209.

Sewing, an art, 3.

Sewing apron, 127-129.

Sewing case, 118.

Sewing machine:
how to regulate, 83.
how to run, 84-86.
how to thread, 84-86.
invented, 81.
kinds of, 81.
parts of, 81-83.
things to remember about stitching with, 85.

Sewing on lace insertion or edging, 97.

Shearing sheep, 204-206.

Shears, 205.

Sheep, 204.

Sheep industry, 205.

Shoes:
buying, 243.
care of, 162.

Shuttle, 67-68.

Silhouette, 254, 255, 261.

Silk:
cocoons grown for, 112.
dyeing, 133-135.
fibers, 111, 132.
how produced, 109.
kinds of, 122-126.
moths, 109.
names of, 122-126.
raw, 114-115.
reeling, 114.
throwing, 132-133.
weaving by hand, 136-137.
weighting, 135, 279-280.
where manufactured, 131.
winding, 133.

Silk-scraps, articles made from, 116-122.

Silkworm:
life story of, 109-112.
where grown, 110.

Sizing:
test for, 281.

Skirt pattern, 47.

Skirts:
changing and lengthening pattern for, 50, 51.
pressing, 157.
to cut, 51, 52.
to make, 53-55.

Soap bark, 158.

Soap solution, 158.

Spinning, method of:
in modern factory, 73, 227.
primitive, 71.

Spinning:
cotton, 72-77.
flax, 191-194.
silk (_See_ silk throwing).
wool, 225-228.

Spinning wheel:
for flax, 75.
for wool, 74.

Sprinkling linen, 190.

Stains:
blood, 187.
coffee, 186.
fruit, 186.
grass, 187.
how removed, 185.
ink, 187.
tea, 186.
when to be removed, 185.

Stitches for decorating, 118-120.
(_See_ Embroidery stitches.)

Stitching stitch:
making, 25-26.
other uses of, 27.
use of, 23.

Stockinet, 167.

Stockings:
darning, 167-169.
how made, 167.
kind to buy, 170.
sewing rips in, 170.

Studying lines, 261.

Studying values, 255, 257, 259.

Suits, pressing, 157.

Table runner, 139.

Taffeta, 122.

Tears, learning to darn, 163-166.

Textiles:
for apron, 7, 8.
weighted, 279.

Textile sample books, 8.

Textile surprise book, 10.

Textile surprise box, opening, 58.

Textile test:
burning, 282.
chemical, 284.
for combination, 280.
for fading, 283.
for finishing, 281.
for shrinkage, 284.
for sizing, 281.
for strength, 283.
with microscope, 282.

Threading and running a machine, 84-86.

Ticking, 10, 149.

Torchon lace, 93, 95.

Toweling, material for, 6.

Towels, material for, 6-7.

"Tram", 133.

Tweed, 210.

Underwear:
cotton material for, 101.
relation to health, 245-247.

Uses of lace, 93-97.

Valenciennes lace, 94, 96.

Velvet, 125.

Voile, 212.

Warp thread, 67-68.

Washing and ironing, the process for, 189-190.

Weaving:
by hand, with simple loom, 67.
cotton, 69.
in modern factory, 69.
Japanese girl, 69-70, 136.
linen, 194.
patterns in cloth, 285.
silk, 124, 136-137
wool, 226-228.

Well-dressed, what it means to be, 250-255.

White petticoat, 101-102.

Wool:
blended, 221.
carder, 223.
carding, 222.
carding by hand, 76-77.
fibers, 205, 226.
how made into cloth, 218-228.
material made from, 209-215.
sheared from sheep, 206.
sorted, 218.
spinning, 225-228.
quality of, 207.
variety of fibers, 207.
washing or scouring, 220.
where grown, 203-204.
why it varies, 208.

Wool clothing, facts to remember about purchasing, 224-229.

Woolen garments:
points about buying, 229.
washing, 158.

Wool Voile, 213.

Woolen yarns, 225.

Workbag, 127.

Worsted yarns, 225.

Yarn:
spinning of cotton into, 72-77.
woolen and worsted, 225.

Yoke:
attaching, 38.
cutting, apron, 33.
making for apron, 37.
placing the lining, 39.
planning pattern for apron, 32.

Printed in the United States of America.

* * * * *

+------------------------------------------------------------+
| Transcriber notes: |
| |
| P.242. "5." changed to '3.". |
| P.262. 'characterisics' changed to 'characteristics'. |
| Various punctuation fixed. |
| |
| Note: The equals sign is used to surround =bold text=; |
| underscores to surround _italic text_. |
| |
+------------------------------------------------------------+

*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Clothing and Health - An Elementary Textbook of Home Making" ***

Home