TT 712 .F6 ITT! SEWING rmaniiii " '" ; ■ BY OLIVE HYDE FOSTER M, ^H «r ^ Class Book hm- fk Copyright N .. COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. A BUSY MORXINC SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS BY OLIVE HYDE FOSTER Author of "Cookery tor Little Girls" NEW YORK DUFFIELD & COMPANY 1911 & <<> Copyright, 1909, bt F. M. LUPTON, Publisher Copyright, 1911, by THE BUTTERICK PUBLISHING CO. COPYBIGHT, 1911, BY DUFFIELD & COMPANY $ o,n$ ©CI.A300749 DEDICATED To two of the neatest little seamstresses that ever learned to sew. Preface It is an easy matter to interest a little girl in sewing if one approach the subject in the right way. The average mother pays scant attention to her child's play with dolls, not realizing that it is possible to turn the making of the doll's outfit into the most practical of lessons. While a garment for herself might at first only weary and dishearten the little seamstress, the miniature pieces have a peculiar appeal of their own that will cause her to execute the most per- fect kind of work with delight. The wise woman, therefore, will assist with sug- gestions about the suitability of the materials to be used, and aid in the laying on of the patterns, the cutting and the fitting, as well as instruct about the actual sewing. Indeed, with the doll's clothes it is possible to make each article teach some special lesson under the guise of the most fascinating play, while hav- ing mother for a friend and helper will be another incentive to neatness. PREFACE As the making of the small clothes shows how the larger ones are put together, the child that has made a complete outfit for a doll will have, when she awakens to the delight of sewing for herself, definite ideas about how she wants her own. And after all, few things give a woman more satisfaction than the ability to sew. 0. H. F. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. Preparing dolly's bed 1 II. The sewing outfit 13 III. Buttons and buttonholes . . . . 21 IV. Dolly's drawers 27 V. Some simple trimmings 33 VI. Dolly's skirt 39 VII. The fine white dress 47 VIII. Different kinds of fastenings 53 IX. Embroidery stitches 59 X. The coat and hat 65 XI. A DAINTY MENDING OUTFIT 73 XII. A CHAT ON MENDING 77 ILLUSTRATIONS A busy morning Frontispiece *' PAGE Basting and hemming 10 Over-handing -^ A"polybag" 16 a convenient sewing apron 20 The way to sew on a button 22 Working a buttonhole 23 Pattern for pencil-case 24 Finished pencil-case 25 Pattern for drawers 28 A French seam 2 9 A single leg 01 Putting on a ruffle ^5 Hand-run tucks and hem 36 Dolly's skirt 40 Featherstitching 42 Blanket stitch Hemstitching 45 Pattern for embroidered dress 48 49 50 Dolly in her new dress 4 9 Backstitching Sewing on hooks 54> ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE Sewing on eyes 55 Fly fastenings 57 Studying out a pattern (facing) . . . 60 - Different embroidery stitches 62 Chart of dolly's coat and hat 67 Dolly's new coat and hat 71 a dainty mending outfit (facing) .... 74) / Darning 79 Patch, wrong side 81 Patch, right side 82 SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS CHAPTER I Preparing Dolly's Bed O bed! O bed! delicious bed! That heaven upon earth to the weary headl — Hood. Do you really want to learn to sew? Well, al- though you are a twentieth century little girl, your mother must have some good old-fashioned ideas about things a child should be taught, and if you tell her you are ready to begin, I am sure she will help you. Of course the very first thing you will need is a needle and thread. Now, if some well-inten- tioned dear old grandma has not already given you a "ready-made" work-box, filled with heavy red and blue cotton, and scissors that never were intended to cut, here's a chance to start a nice little sensible work-box such as your mother may be glad to run to in a hurry. First, coax one of your devoted uncles to buy you a pair of small, sharp, round-pointed scissors. You will notice that I said to ask your uncle. 1 SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS That's because he is less likely to think of your hurting yourself and therefore will get a good pair. But do not use them to cut wire! Ask mother to please give you a whole paper of nee- dles for yourself (5's to 10's will be best assort- ment) so you can have any size you need, and then take care of them. THE WORK-BOX Now that you have two things, you will want to keep them together, so suppose you take a pretty candy box and use that for a work-box. Mother probably will not think it necessary to give you a number of spools of thread to start with, but she may not object to your winding off some of both the fine and coarse of her black and white, as well as a little colored silk also; and if you cannot find empty spools enough for the pur- pose, wind on to rolled-up pieces of writing- paper. If you will first fold this paper into strips about two inches wide, your rolls will be all the same size. A thimble, of course, is necessary, for all fine needlewomen use a thimble, but do not let it roll away and get stepped on. It spoils the shape. And just as soon as you begin to sew, you will feel the need of a needle book to hold your loose nee- % PREPARING DOLLY'S BED dies, so hunt through the scrap-bag until you find some pretty little pieces of flannel and some small scraps of silk or velvet, and out of these I will show you later how to make a handy little needle- book and a small pin-cushion. But in the mean- time use a piece of folded cloth. A bodkin, or tape-needle, is quite an important part of a well-ordered sewing outfit, too, as you will find after awhile, and then if you can per- suade some one to buy you a "run-in-and-hide" tape measure, and a pretty little strawberry em- ery, your box will be quite complete. Take good care of all your things. When you get through sewing, do not go off and leave them scattered about, but put them back in the box, replace the cover, and set them carefully away. You might want to use them soon again. THE SEWING CHAIR AND TABLE You probably have noticed that when mother gets ready to sew she gets out her work-table and her pet sewing chair, and makes herself as comfortable as possible. When you are ready to sew you, too, should get out your little table, if you have one, and the chair that best fits it, so you can have your things all together and keep the pieces off the floor. It is much better to work 3 SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS on a table than to try to keep thread, needles, scissors, thimble, pin-cushion, goods and patterns all in your lap, and besides, you would scarcely be able to move if you did. So, follow the ex- ample of your wise mother, and get everything ready before you begin. MAKING PATCHWORK For your first sewing lesson I am going to tell you how to run plain seams, and in order that you may have something worth while to show for your time and trouble, I will suggest that you make a quilt for Dolly's bed. First, take a piece of news- paper and cut it several inches larger all round than the exact size of the bed. Fold this in the middle lengthwise, then crosswise, making a block one-fourth the size. Cut out one of these sections, fold it twice in exactly the same way, and then cut out one of these small corners. But you have to allow for seams, on every side, so lay the small square on another piece of paper and cut it a quarter of an inch larger on each edge. Be sure to keep this pattern for future use, or else cut out all of the sixteen pieces at once, and put them where they will not get lost. What kind of goods are you going to use, by the way? If you have many ends of silk, they 4 PREPARING DOLLY'S BED would come in very handy for this purpose, but if you can't get enough, then see if you have plenty of woolen scraps such as flannel, broadcloth, serge, cashmere, etc. It is better to have them all about the same weight, although the more colors the better. But if you can get only cotton, re- member that that was what the nice old-fashioned quilts were made of, and see how many pretty pieces you can find, left from wash-dresses, aprons, shirt waists and such things. If you decide to cut out these sixteen pieces like your pattern all at once, then it would be a good idea to fit them together on a piece of paper the size of the quilt, so you can select and put the right shades together. RUNNING THE PATCHES When the squares are all arranged, choose a needle that is suitable for the material, because a fine needle might break on some stiff, heavy goods, while a big, coarse needle would be difficult to push through fine close cotton weaves. Select a thread, not too long, of a color as near as pos- sible like the goods, and put on your thimble. Lay the right sides of two squares together, and, holding the edges even (or pinning them to keep 5 SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS them straight, if you prefer), run along one side of the blocks with your thread and needle. To do this nicely take a very small stitch on the nee- dle, leave an equal space, and push in for the sec- ond stitch, which you must try to get the same length as the first. You ought to get four or five stitches on your needle at a time, and a little prac- tice (holding pieces with the left hand), will enable you to get them quite perfect. Be sure to have a knot in the end of your thread, and when you have sewed across the block and finished the seam, fasten your thread by taking three or four small stitches one on top of the other. Next take two other blocks and stitch them neatly together in the same way, fastening the end of the thread securely when you have gotten through. This done, lay the first set, smoothed out nice and straight, on top of the second, and sew across two blocks before you fasten your thread. Then, when you open out your work, you will find you have one-quarter of the patchwork done. This may be as much as you feel like doing in one day, and if so, pick up all your things, put them carefully away, and go off to play. But be sure not to lose any of the pieces. When you are ready to sew again, do not get 6 PREPARING DOLLY'S BED careless, but take the same care as at first; and when you have finished another set of four, put that away, too. When you have made them all — the four sets of four small blocks — put them together exactly as you did the little one, thus making the whole quilt. PRESSING I came near forgetting to tell you to take your little flatiron and press the seams open on each set of blocks as soon as finished, for if not pressed, your work will be "humpy," and not at all like what a neat seamstress would do. And when the sets of blocks are all sewed together, you must press these last seams, too, nice and flat. Then lay your patchwork on the piece of goods you are going to use for the lining or back, right sides together. Pin or baste to hold perfectly even, and cut it out the right size. Stitch around three sides, every inch or two setting your needle back a stitch to make the sewing firmer. When you have finished the three sides, turn your work right side out, smooth it into shape, and crease on both the front and back edge left open, as much of a seam as you have been taking, and pin these two edges exactly even. Sew very carefully together, taking the tiniest stitches you can, so they will 7 SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS not show. When all done, press the finished quilt on the wrong side and you will find you have a pretty coverlet, all made with your own fingers. SHEETS When you have finished your quilt, you will be apt to find that you need some sheets, too, for Dolly's bed, So, ask your mother for a clean piece of old muslin (you will find it much easier to sew than the new), and then before you cut it out make a pattern from newspaper. Cut this longer than the bed, and wider, too, folding the paper across the top, first one-quarter of an inch and then over again one inch, to make a wide hem. Allow only a quarter-inch hem for the bot- tom and sides, and then you will always be able to tell which end of the sheet goes to the head. Bet- ter lay this pattern on the bed next, to be sure it is plenty large enough to tuck in nicely, and after you are positive it is all right, cut the goods the exact size of the paper with the hems smoothed out straight. BASTING After creasing the hems all around, take some big, long stitches, called basting, to hold the hems in place. 8 PREPARING DOLLY'S BED For even basting, the stitches should be the same length ; but for the more common, uneven basting, take up a stitch as in "running," skip a space twice as long, take up another short stitch, skip a long space, and so on to the end. HEMMING Then prepare yourself with a fine needle and a fine thread. Starting at the left-hand end of the hem, holding it over your left forefinger, with the folded hem on the upper side so you can see plainly, take a "teenty-weenty" stitch through the sheet, and catch the very edge of the hem as you push the needle out. Pull the thread clear up to the knot, and putting your needle in the sheet again close to the first stitch, take another one of the same length and catch that in the folded hem before you pull it out. There — that's all there is to hemming! And if you do not quite see it in your mind's eye, the little picture will make it plain. The real beauty of hemming is in having the little stitches so fine and even that they scarcely show on the right side ; but you will learn that with practice. If your first attempt at it re- sults in work a bit clumsy-looking, do not be dis- couraged, for your second attempt will look bet- 9 SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS ter, and before long you will be able to hem al- most as well as mother. BASTING AND HEMMING The basting stitches are the long. The hemming stitches are the short. And if you get in a hurry for your sheets, as housekeepers often do, and do not feel like tak- ing the time to hem them all the way around, you 10 PREPARING DOLLY'S BED can run the sides and bottom, using the same stitch you put the blocks together with. This is much faster sewing, and if you take pains, will look very nice, too. 11 CHAPTER II The Sewing Outfit There is always work And tools to work withal, for those who will. — Lowell. As you have already tried running and hem- ming, I am going to suggest that you do a little more practicing on these two stitches by making what the children call a "polybag." This is a pretty silk bag for carrying your thread, needles, scissors and thimble when you go visiting and take your work. One presented to a child I know was made of a piece of fancy ribbon six inches wide and twenty-seven inches long, al- though any pretty piece of goods cut that shape would do just as well. First fold under each end one-eighth of an inch (basting if necessary to keep in place), and then lap over four inches, like a great wide hem, and baste that. Next, taking a thread the same color, hem each of these ends across, taking the nicest kind of little stitches, so the thread will scarcely show on the right side. Fasten securely when you come to the end, or it 13 SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS will pull apart when you begin to use it. Then run a line of stitches half an inch inside each row of hemming, which will leave a little narrow open- ing or casing, for holding the ribbon when you are ready to draw your bag together. OVER-HANDING When you have each end finished nicely this way, fold the strip together in the middle, and begin right at the fold to over-hand the two edges, by putting the needle through both pieces at once as they are held side by side, pulling it out, and putting in again in very much the same way as when hemming. Only, if you will look carefully at the illustration you will see that the goods must be held differently. Over-hand up each side until you come to the two hems, which should just ex- actly meet, then fasten very tightly, and sew over and over again to prevent coming apart. When both sides are done, and you turn your work right side out, you will see that you have made a pocket or bag about six inches square, that has a pretty three-inch doubled ruffle on each side. Now thread one yard of quarter-inch ribbon in your bodkin, run it through the opening you left for the purpose clear around the bag, and tie the ends in a little bow. Taking another yard of the 14 THE SEWING OUTFIT same kind, start that from the opening on the other side of the bag, and carry around in the same way; tie in a like bow. Does this sound OVER-HANDING strange? Well, it is not, for if you do exactly as I have directed, you will find that when you take a bow in each hand and pull, your bag will begin to close up! And if people ask you why this is called a "polybag," you can tell them prob- ably because it can be used for so many different things, as every one that has studied the meanings of words knows that "poly" stands for "many." Another pretty and very simple bag is made by gathering one edge of a strip of fancy silk twenty-seven inches long by nine inches wide and 15 SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS then over-handing it firmly to a circle of cardboard that measures four inches across, and that is cov- ered with silk. This forms the bottom. Sew the ends together and run double drawstrings of baby ribbon through a casing made at the other edge, to close the bag at the top. Such a bag could be made, though, of any kind 'POLYBAG of ribbon or even pretty wash goods. Plain cot- ton duck, with your initial or monogram on one side and with a tape for a drawstring, would make 16 THE SEWING OUTFIT a nice and very practical bag, as it could be easily washed when soiled. PIN case With all this work, however, you must be feel- ing the need of a needlebook and a pin-cushion. A pretty little case for pins, is made by first cut- ting out two circles of light cardboard one and one-half inches in diameter, and then two circles of pretty silk or velvet two inches across. With a strong thread run around close to the edge of the good's, and after laying the cardboard in the center, draw up tight, yet smooth and even, and fasten securely. When both pieces of cardboard have been covered on one side in this way, put the two unfinished sides together, hold firmly in place with your left hand, and sew them with small fine stitches, over and over, as you over-handed the bag. Then hide your sewing by filling the edge all around with a row of pins. NEEDLEBOOK For a nice needlebook, cut a four-inch square from some heavy goods like the scraps from mother's broadcloth dress, or your winter coat, and nick all around the edge to make it look pretty. Cut two smaller squares of fancy flan- nel, nick them, pin in place so you are sure they 17 SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS are exactly in the middle, and tack right through the center from top to bottom, making a book when folded over that is four inches long by two inches wide. Then, if not too thick, punch a small hole clear through as it is folded, at the top, middle and bottom, and tie in short lengths of baby ribbon to make pretty bows. Slip in an eight-inch length of this ribbon clear across the middle of the broadcloth, on the inside, and tack in several places as well as at the edge, to make places to hold the paper of needles, bodkin, darn- ers, etc. The ends left flying, of course you know, are to tie the book shut when you are through. SEWING APRON Did you ever notice, by the way, that when mother sits down to sew she usually puts on a fresh, white apron? This is to keep the threads and lint from her dress, as well as to keep her sewing nice and clean. So, if you are going to be a thorough little seamstress, you better make yourself a sewing apron right away. Use any kind of thin white goods, or a short length left from one of your summer dresses, if you like colors. Taking a full width of goods that is thirty inches long, crease a one-inch hem along one end, 18 THE SEWING OUTFIT and hem it very nicely. Then fold over nine inches (the way you did the top of the little bag), to make a deep pocket across the bottom, and over-hand up each side with close, fine stitches so the sewing will hold. Next, crease a line up and down the apron, directly in the middle, and on this line fasten the pocket to the apron itself, so as to divide it in two parts, one for the sew- ing things and the other for the work. Taking a double thread, run two rows, half an inch apart, across the top of the apron, and draw it up to about twelve inches. Cut for a band a strip of goods thirteen inches long and two and one-half inches wide, and adjust the apron to it, pinning the gathers in place the way you like and allowing the ends of the band to extend beyond far enough to catch the strings. Then baste. COMBINATION BACKSTITCH Sew the band and apron evenly together, after every three running stitches setting your needle back a stitch, making what is called the combina- tion backstitch, to hold firmly. Next, fold under the other side of the belt (and the ends) one-eighth of an inch first, then again directly in the center of the belt, so that it will be double and the edge come over just far enough 19 SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS to hide the raw edge of the first seam. Pin or baste carefully in place, and hem the belt along the edge very closely, taking the stitches only through the gathers, so they will not show through on the right side. A CONVENIENT SEWING APRON For the strings, cut two lengths twenty-four inches long, and three inches wide, and make tiny one-eighth inch folds along each side, which you can either hem or run, and fold a one-inch hem across one end of each. When all nicely finished, plait the other end of each string up small enough to slip in the opening left at the ends of the belt, and hem it into place with particularly fine, close stitches that will be strong enough to hold. When all done, press with a hot iron, to make nice and smooth, and tack a dainty bow on one corner of the pocket. Then how proud you may feel of your work, when you come to wear it! 20 CHAPTER III Buttons and Buttonholes Seam, and gusset, and band, Band, and gusset, and seam, Till over the buttons I fall asleep, And sew them on in my dream! Hood. Before going any further, you better learn the proper way to sew on a button, for that is some- thing many grown up people do not know. If yours has four holes like the one I have pictured, note that I have marked them 1, 2, 3, 4». SEWING ON BUTTONS Take a double thread, with as fine a needle as you can use, make a small knot, put the button in place, and push the needle up through hole No. 1. Lay a pin across the center of the button and hold it with your left thumb and forefinger while you push the needle down through hole No. % and draw the thread tight enough to hold the pin. Take several more similar stitches and then push the point of the needle up through hole No. 3, 21 SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS carry it over the pin also, down through hole No. 4, and repeat several times. Then bring the needle up along the under side of the button, remove the pin, and wrap the thread around the now loose stitches holding the button, and you will make a nice little shank. Lastly, push the needle back through to the under side, fasten the thread and clip off. THE WAY TO SEW ON A BUTTON Next you must cut your buttonholes, but be sure to get them in the right place, and exactly the right size. Take a heavy thread to match, go with a long stitch around the slit twice, to strengthen the cut, as shown in the illustration, then start from the inside end. Set your needle exactly as shown in 22 BUTTONS AND BUTTONHOLES the drawing, with the thread from the eye coming around the point from the right, so it will form a knot when you draw it back, away from you, to make a firm edge. This takes practice, but any clever little girl can do it. In working a buttonhole be sure to start from the inside end. A DAINTY PENCIL-CASE A pretty little pencil-case I know you will find convenient for use at school, so you better make one immediately. Take a strip of plain blue chambrey (or simi- lar material), 20 inches long and 5 inches wide. Crease a quarter-inch fold around the four sides ? 23 SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS then a line through the cen- ter lengthwise, and another exactly in the middle each side, marking four long, nar- row, even divisions. Turn a second fold one- half inch wide across one of the short ends, for a hem, and hem it down. Bring the two corners of the op- posite short end together (with the fold on the out- side) and over-hand at the center line, then turn inside out and press out flat and you will see you have made a pointed flap. Next bring the short hemmed end up to meet the turn of the pointed flap, and beginning at the edge of the hem, over-hand along each side to the botom of the case. Now you will see that you Have simply a bag, closed pattern for pen- with a flap; but if you will cil-case backstitch on the line of the up HERE BUTTONS AND BUTTONHOLES FINISHED PENCIL-CASE 25 SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS long creases you made at the start, from the bottom to the very edge of the hem, you will find you have four neat little pockets to hold your pencils. Attach a loop of cord or tiny tape to the end of the flap, and sew a button on the center line of the backstitching, in the exact spot to catch the loop. Then you can keep it securely closed. 26 CHAPTER IV Dolly's Drawers By the work one knows the workman. — La Fontaine. Making Dolly's drawers so they would allow her to sit, puzzled me greatly when I was a little girl. Her jointed kid body allowed the legs to bend so much that there was never room enough in the seat, and it took me some time to figure it out for myself, but I finally did it this way: I measured first the length I wanted the gar- ment from the waist-line in front to the knee, and then the inside of the leg from body to knee, and wrote the numbers down ; next from the waist in the back to the knee when Dolly was bent in a sit- ting posture. This proved considerably longer than the first. Then I measured from a line taken straight down the middle of the front to a similar straight line down the back, around the hips when she was bent, and I found she was much broader from her side line to the back line than from the side line to the front line. Folding a strip of paper that was deeper than 27 SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS the length of the drawers, I placed the fold at her side line, and creased where the top and bot- tom should come; then opening out, I corrected this roughly indicated mark according to the measurements first set down, and — lo — there was a pattern cut to fit. And the following is the queer-shaped piece I had cut ! PATTERN FOR ONE LEG OF DRAWERS But it looked so different from most drawer- patterns I had seen, I was not sure I was right until I sewed the seams and tried the garment on. To make the drawers in this way, after they are cut from the pattern, first fold the hems at bot- 28 DOLLY'S DRAWERS torn, and where they are to be open down the mid- dle of the back, and baste. A FRENCH SEAM 29 SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS FRENCH SEAM Lay the two short, front edges together, with the hems on the inside, and sew with a running stitch very close to the edge. Trim the edges even, near to the sewing, then fold over the other way, exactly on the stitching and sew up once more, now using the combination backstitch. You will then have what is called a French seam, and it not only makes your sewing stronger, but it folds in and covers the raw edges. Fold and crease one leg at the dotted side line, and then with the hems inside, stitch the two rounded edges together, from the hem at the bot- tom to the notch, and fasten securely. Gather along the edge of the back piece separately as far as the back hem, draw it up to fit the front, and stitch the two pieces together back to the notch. After doing the other leg the same way, trim off close to the sewing, turn the garment inside out, crease on the stitching for another French seam, and stitch this time straight around from one bottom hem to the other. Now you will see you have left no raw edges. But you need a belt, so cut a strip one inch wide, and one inch longer than the waist measure, and fold under each end one-quarter of an inch to strengthen for the button and button-hole. DOLLY'S DRAWERS After gathering the top of the drawers from the notch near the side, to the back hem, and pinning the center of the belt to the center of the drawers (at the front), on the outside, draw up to fit the cft To 85/-T A SINGLE LEG belt, and sew all the way around. Stitch care- fully, then crease a tiny fold along the other side, turn the belt exactly in the middle and hem down on the wrong side. Then after hemming the hems, and adding the buttons and button-holes, Miss Dolly will have a garment that will allow her to sit down. CHAPTER V Some Simple Trimmigns Be plain in dress, and sober in your diet; In short, my deary, kiss me and be quiet. — Lady Montagu. In making nice underwear for Dolly (or your- self), you will want some simple, pretty trimming, so first I am going to show you how to make ruffling. Take a straight, narrow piece of paper one third longer than the edge where the ruffle is to go, fold over one side the width you want for a hem, and then cut the strip the width that you want the ruffle. With a pattern of this kind you will be pretty sure to make no mistake when you cut out the goods. Fold the hem and baste it to keep it straight, then either hem or run. GATHERING Next take a long thread, put through your nee- dle and knot the two ends together. A double thread always holds gathers much better than a single, and also is stronger. Take running stitches twice as long on the underside as they are 3$ SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS on top, along the raw edge of your strip, and when you have come to the end, tie a knot in the thread. Then put in a second row exactly the same way, one-quarter of an inch from the first, and you will find that with the two gathering threads your "puckers" can easily be evenly distri- buted. They will not slip like they would on a single thread, either. When your ruffle is all ready to be applied, pin it in place on the garment, draw up the two strings so as to make it the exact length, and put in some more pins to hold it until you can get it basted. Cover the raw edge with finishing braid or a tiny folded bias band, and hem down. SHIRRING Shirring is easy, too, and is done like ruffling, only you put in as many rows of gathering threads as you want, and then draw them all up to fit, and adjust the fullness the way you like. For in- stance, in making a nice white dress for Dolly, the waist could be cut fuller than usual, and shirred around the neck, with three or four threads, while the full skirt could have five or six rows around the hips. Just try this some time and see how pretty it looks. Shirring, however, is not so suitable for underwear. 34 SOME SIMPLE TRIMMINGS PUTTING ON A RUFFLE 35 SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS TUCKS Tucks make a nice simple trimming, and, as of course you know, are little folds stitched at regu- HAND RUN TUCKS AND HEM lar intervals. They can be any width you like, but after you decide on the first one and mark and crease that, mark a card or a piece of folded paper 36 SOME SIMPLE TRIMMINGS as a measure for the rest, so you will get them perfectly even. Baste each tuck after you crease it, and when you get them all In the way you want, sew them with a fine running stitch and remove the bastings. 37 CHAPTER VI Dolly's Skirt Her feet beneath her petticoat Like little mice stole in and out, As if they feared the light. — Sir John Suckling. Now that you girls have had several different kinds of plain sewing, I am sure you will be ready to try some of the fancy stitches ; and as doll chil- dren, like real, are always needing new under- wear, suppose this time you try making a skirt. I want you to learn to cut your own patterns, too, which is another reason why I choose this simple garment. Then you can make it as dainty as you please with handwork. CUTTING THE SKIRT PATTERN First cut a strip of paper as wide as from the belt to the bottom of Dolly's dress, with a folded hem as deep as you desire. If the skirt is to be of flannel, cut the pattern strip just wide enough to set well, which ought to be about three times her 39 SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS waist measure. A thin, white skirt, however, will have to be fuller. When you have the right width and length, cut out the garment after laying the paper pattern straight on the goods, sew the seam from half way down the back to the bottom, half an inch in from the edge, and trim off close to the sewing. Then overcast the raw edges along this seam. OVERCASTING Overcasting is done like over-handing, except that the stitches are longer and taken farther apart. It is done along the raw edges, to keep the goods from fraying. Finish separately the two edges left to form DOLLY S SKIRT 40 DOLLY'S SKIRT the placket by hemming very neatly up to the top, and then press all the sewing with a warm iron. FEATHERSTITCHING If you want to featherstitch the bottom hem, fold it carefully, and run it with a fine basting thread to hold firmly in place. Take a needleful of some pretty embroidery silk, and start your featherstitching at the center back seam, holding the skirt right side out, with the hem to the left. Bringing your needle to the upper or outside, where the edge of the hem is marked by the bast- ing thread, throw the silk to the left, set your nee- dles as shown in the picture, and pull through. Draw the thread just tight enough to lie smoothly, then throw the silk to the right, set your needle in the same way again, only at the opposite angle,* for the point must always be toward the middle as marked by the basting; take the same length stitch as before, and pull through smoothly again. Now, this is very easy if you will pay close atten- tion to the directions and to the little picture ; and you will find it very easy, rapid, and fascinating work, too. Continue around the hem, throwing the thread each time in the opposite direction from the last, left-right-left-right, etc., and you will soon find that you are getting beautifully even stitches. 41 SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS After you have mastered this perfectly, try tak- ing two stitches on each side, and the result will be even prettier. Next run a double row of gathers around the FEATHERSTITCHING remaining raw edge, at the top of the skirt, draw up to fit Dolly's waist, and fasten securely. If your child happens to be rather large around her waist (for some children are quite chubby), you may not want so many gathers over her little stomach, so push all the fullness you can to the 42 DOLLY'S SKIRT back, and lay the rest in two flat little plaits each side of the front. Cut a strip of fine muslin long and wide enough for a band, and put on the same way as I told you for the pretty apron. Sew a tiny button from an old glove on one end, and make a neat buttonhole in the other. And to make particularly nice, overcast on a piece of narrow lace at the bottom of the hem. BLANKET STITCH For a plain flannel underskirt, however, turn a half inch fold at the bottom, and baste. Take a needleful of fine worsted or embroidery silk, and, starting from the left, hold the thread down with your thumb while you set the needle in one-quarter of an inch back from the edge, and bring it out from under the edge (and over the thread held down), so as to form a loop a little like the but- tonhole stitch. The next time set the needle not quite so far in, and continue to alternate with long and short stitches. You may want to make a fine white skirt, how- ever, so get a piece left over from your own or mother's summer dress, and that you can trim differently. After cutting the fine, thin goods, and folding 43 SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS the hem, before your fasten it pull a thread where the very top of the hem comes, which will prob- ably be in one to two inches from the edge. It may be a little hard to get out this first thread, but a needle will help, and, never minding how often it breaks, just start again. Then after you have drawn one thread all the way around, so as to get the line straight, take out enough more — eight, ten or twelve, to make the width space you want for hemstitching, and baste the folded hem along this line of drawnwork. HEMSTITCHING Now, however, you sew with fine white cotton, and for very sheer material take a fine needle and 44 DOLLY'S SKIRT at least No. 80 thread. After making a knot, put the needle through the hem, which for hem- stitching has to come on top, instead of under- neath as for the featherstitching ; then throwing the thread around to the right, take up on your needle as many of the strands of the goods in the open space as you pulled out. Do not catch the needle in the hem, though, but pull the thread In hemstitching use a fine thread. toward the hem and it will draw up like a knot. Then take another short stitch toward you, in the hem but not through to the underside, pull up close, throw thread again to the right; once more take up the requisite number of threads of the material, just as shown in the picture, pull toward the hem, and draw to tie once more. There! that's all there is to hemstitching, 45 SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS - though it takes practice, of course, to do it nicely. But the advantage of mastering hemstitching is that after you once learn to do it well, you can use it for all sorts of pretty things for yourself, such as dainty handkerchiefs, collars, etc. The reason I suggest making these little ar- ticles is that you may have easy things to start with, and yet something worth while when nicely finished. But always take pains. Get your stitches straight and even, and do each piece of work as well as if you knew that every one that saw it was going to judge you by your handiwork. Then the first thing you know, you will find your- self a good, capable little seamstress. 46 CHAPTER VII The Fine White Dress She loves me when she cuts an' sews My little cloak an' Sund'y clothes. — James Whitcomb Riley. Dolly probably needs a nice, white dress, so prepare to take her measurements for the pat- tern. You can most likely get a piece of fine ma- terial from mother's scrap-bag, though you may have to press it out smooth before going to work. CUTTING TO MEASURE First lay Dolly flat on the table, with her arms out straight, and measure from one elbow to the other, across her body, and write the figures down. Measure next from her neck under the ear to be- low her knees, with allowance for hem extra, and write that down. Measure across her knees as far each side as you wish the skirt to extend, — and you will probably find that this measurement is the same as the space between the elbows. Now take a piece of paper twice as long as the length from neck to hem, and the same width as m SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS between the elbows. Fold in half crossways, and then again lengthways, trim out the small open- ing for the neck at the corner coming in the center PATTERN FOR EMBROIDERED DRESS of the paper, and shape out, on the long side show- ing the four edges, to fit under the arms, as shown in the picture. (I think you usually cut paper- doll dresses this way, don't you?) Then round off 48 THE FINE WHITE DRESS the bottom as indicated, or your dress will sag at the sides. Next lay this pattern against Dolly, and see if you have cut it right. If not, take another piece of paper and try it again ; and keep on trying until you are satisfied that it is the way it ought to be. Thus you will prevent any mistake in cut- ting your goods. MAKING THE DRESS When the pattern is all ready, lay it very care- fully on the material, getting the crease down the front of the paper on the straight of the cloth. You will see by looking at the illustration that we are to have a dainty low - necked, short - sleeved dress, so when the goods is cut, first sew the under-arm seams. Put a fly-fastening down the back, or, if you find Dolly is narrower across the back than she is across the front, you will be able to turn narrow hems that will allow for tiny buttons and button- holes. Take a half-inch strip 49 DOLLY IN HER NEW DRESS SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS wmmmmmmmmm—mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmammmmmmm Jmmmmmmmmmmmimmmmmmmmimmmmmmmm^tmmtm^mmm of the material cut on the bias, lay it on the right side of the dress and stitch around the neck-open- ing, being very careful not to stretch either the neck or the band. Then when you have creased a tiny fold along the other side of the strip, turn exactly on the line of sewing and hem down on the wrong side just like an ordinary hem. BACKSTITCHING Sometimes when you are working on such a BACKSTITCHING thing as the seams of a waist you will find that your sewing ought to be particularly strong and firm, so then instead of the simple running stitch like you used in the patchwork, you must try backstitching. To backstitch means to take one stitch under- neath, and then set the needle back on top nearly to the previous stitch. It is slower sewing, of course, but much better for any place that is sub- 50 THE FINE WHITE DRESS ject to a strain. When finished, it looks like the running stitch on the top side, but has a line of close double stitches on the under side. Hem the bottom of the dress and the edges of the loose, open sleeves. Run two rows of gather- ing threads about one-third the way up from the bottom of the dress and draw it in slightly, to fit the body around the hips (or below, as you prefer), and cover with a belt, a sash, or embroid- ery "beading" run with a narrow ribbon. 51 CHAPTER Vni Different Kinds of Fastenings Cut and come again. — Crabbe. Hooks and eyes are put on in places where we do not want any fastenings to show, and — like everything else — there is a right way to sew them on. If you prefer hooks to buttons down the back of Dolly's dress, for instance, crease the hems after folding them wide enough to cover your hooks. Then mark the places, at regular intervals, where the hooks are to go, make a tiny hole in this hem with the point of your scissors and push the point of the hook through FROM THE UNDER- SIDE. Holding carefully in place with your thumb and forefinger, so it will not slip crooked, sew the hook, over and over, to the loose hem (for that is not to be stitched down until the hooks are all on), through the two little round eyes, and take a couple of extra stitches at the other end to hold the hook steady. Then when every one is tightly 53 SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS sewed in place, lay the hem nice and smooth, and hem that down, and you will find that none of the SEWING ON HOOKS stitches fastening the hooks and eyes show at all on the right side. Measure and mark the places on the hem on 54s DIFFERENT KINDS OF FASTENINGS the other side of the back where the eyes are to go, getting them exactly opposite the hooks. If these happen to be the "hoop" shape, bend them SEWING ON EYES out straight, and sew over and over with a double thread, through the little eyes, with small, close stitches. If your thread matches your goods, 55 SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS they will scarcely show, and leave only the metal bar exposed. The picture will show you exactly what I mean, however. If you want a nice finishing, — the kind that does not show, — down the back of Dolly's dress (or on your own blouse waist in case you are am- bitious enough to try that) suppose you put on a fly-fastening. FLY-FASTENING Cut two strips the length of the opening, and a little more than double the width necessary for the buttonholes. Lay one along one edge of the garment on the upper or outside, stitch with a running stitch, turn a tiny fold along the other edge of the strip, and then crease it exactly in the center, so that the "fly," pressed flat, covers the raw edge, on the under side. Hem neatly, catching the stitches so they do not show through and put the buttons on this strip. Fold a tiny hem on the other side of the gar- ment, fold the other strip exactly through the center, and after turning its two raw edges to- gether, inside, so they do not show, lay the strip with the other edge along the edge of the hem, and stitch the two edges AS ONE, to the dress. In this attached strip work the buttonholes. 56 DIFFERENT KINDS OF FASTENINGS FLY-FASTENING, EIGHT SIDE FLY-FASTENING, LEFT SIDE 57 CHAPTER IX Embroidery Stitches A lady richly clad as she, Beautiful exceedingly. — Coleridge. Did you say you wanted some trimming? Why, of course you do. If you can get lace narrow- enough, overhand it on to the neck and sleeves, and featherstitch a line around the neck, sleeves, and bottom hem to cover the hemming stitches. This would be very nice done in some color, — pink or blue. Hand embroidery, however, would make pretty trimming, and I am very sure you could mark out the design on the dress, with a lead-pencil, just as I have planned for you to copy from the pic- ture. DESIGNING THE PATTERN Draw first the little five-leaf forget-me-not in the center of the front, then the stem at each side, ending near the top of the shoulder, and add the other flowers and the leaves. You might prac- 59 SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS tice this by drawing several times on your paper pattern, so you will be sure it is right, and then if your goods is thin enough, you can lay it over the drawing on the paper (before sewing the gar- ment up), and trace right through. FRENCH WORK Take a needleful of white embroidery cotton, and fill in the petals of the center flower by tak- ing four or five long stitches from the center to the outer edge, then start back at the middle of the flower and take short stitches directly across the others, — the padding stitches, — setting your needle in on the right side line of the petal and bringing it out on the left side line, putting the point of the needle each time exactly on the pat- tern. STEM OR OUTLINE STITCH For the stem stitch, hold the goods firmly be- tween thumb and fingers of your left hand, start from the end of the stem where it would be broken from the plant, and holding this end toward you, take first a couple of short stitches one on top the other (so you will not need a knot), then a stitch twice as long, made by setting the needle in — away from you — and bringing the point out 60 m$M ^ STUDYING OUT A PATTERN. EMBROIDERY STITCHES (toward you) close to the previous stitch. The needle must go in and come out every time on the stem line, with the thread left lying on the right side of the marking, and the needle-point on the left side of the line. A little practice will enable you to get a smooth, rope-like stem. The leaves can be done like the petals, only as they are long and slender, they require but two or three long stitches first for the padding. Perhaps you might like to scallop the edge of the neck and sleeves instead of trimming the other ways suggested, and if so simply indicate with a pencil mark the neck opening, but do not cut out -until after the embroidery is all done. SCALLOPED EDGES Take a thimble, and setting it exactly in the middle of the front of the dress, at the neck open- ing indicated, mark half way around the rim, then move one-eighth of an inch lower and mark half way around again, and you will have the two lines for the scallop. Lift your thimble, and set down for the second scallop where it will just touch the first, and mark in the same way. Then repeat until you have been entirely around the neck open- ing. With a needle as fine as your embroidery thread 61 SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS I Stem outline: stitch. Z. FRENCH EMBROiDEfVf. 3 EYELET WORK 4 Scalloped edgs . DIFFERENT EMBROIDERY STITCHES 62 EMBROIDERY STITCHES will take, fill in the scallops with a few lengthwise stitches, for padding, so the edge will be firm and strong, and then take short buttonhole stitches, at right angle to the others, beginning at the right hand end. You will find this very quick work, and pretty, too. MAKING EYELETS For the little eyelets, pierce a hole as large as you want with a stiletto, — or a common crochet- needle, if you can find nothing else. Run a row of fine stitches around this opening, and then overhand it, holding the edge of the hole away from you all the time as you work around. Take small, close stitches, and draw the thread each time as tight as possible without puckering the goods. When you have been all the way around, fasten your thread on the underside, and clip off. FRENCH KNOTS When mothers, big and little, get to putting nice handwork on their children's clothes, they nearly always want to use pretty French knots. These look rather hard to make, but really they are as easy as any other fancy stitches ; and they fit in where nothing else does as well, along the edges of hems and between tucks and insertion. 63 SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS So, when you are ready to make Dolly some- thing new, take a double thread of heavy silk or embroidery cotton, knot the end, and start the needle through from the underside exactly at the point where you want the first French knot to come. Then, after pulling the thread straight towards you, place your thumb directly over the spot of the knot, wrap the thread once around your thumb to make a loop, then slip it off and after laying flat, stick your needle back right where the thread first came out and push the needle point through and out again where you want the next knot to come. But before drawing the needle out again, catch hold of the thread within an inch of the loop and pull the thread up close around the needle, to make a small knot. Then pull the needle until the thread is drawn up nice and smooth, and you will find yourself ready to make another. This carries the thread along on the underside, from one knot to an- other, so you do not have to fasten or cut off each time. There are several different ways of making French knots, but this seems to me to be the simplest. 64 CHAPTER X The Coat and Hat Look what a nice new coat is mine, Sure there was never a bird so fine. — Bryant. If your Dolly is like most children, she is apt to be in need of a new hat, and coat, and if you have gone along with your other sewing as well as I expect, you ought to be able to cut and make these yourself. A pattern, of course, is necessary, and as it is not always possible to get the latest of doll styles in all sizes, I will give you a pretty model and tell you how to cut it. It is easy, too, as you will see by looking carefully at the map. You know all about other kinds of maps, so of course you can copy this one. The first step is to get a pencil, paper and tape measure, so you can write down the exact measurements, just like a really truly tailor would. TAKING MEASUREMENTS Next, lay Dolly flat on the table. Stretch her 65 SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS arms out straight from "her body, and see what she measures from one wrist to the other, add- ing one inch at each hand to be turned back for the facing, and two inches more which will be needed for the box plait in the back of the coat and the hems down the front opening. These extra four inches are about right for a doll six- teen inches long, but more would be needed for a larger, and less for a smaller one. But add this extra length to the exact distance between her wrists, and write it down on your paper. Measure next from her neck (under her little ear) down as long as you want her coat to come when it is finished, add one inch for a hem at the bottom, and write that number down, too. Then, if you want a fashionably large hat, see how wide she is across the shoulders, and put that figure down as the diameter of the hat brim, and make the circle for the crown the same size. A third circle nearly as big, cut out, afterwards, like the picture, will form the collar. CUTTING THE PATTERN After getting these figures, take a good sized piece of newspaper, fold it first lengthwise and then crosswise. Then measure from the folded corner lengthwise as many inches as you have 66 THE COAT AND HAT CHART OF DOLLY S COAT AND HAT 67 SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS written down for the length of the coat, and mark there "Bottom." Measure from the same inside folded corner across the folded paper one-half as many inches as you wrote down for the distance between her hands. You know the paper is double now ! Mark a line for the bottom of the sleeves. Lift Dolly's arm and see what she meas- ures from wrist to body, add one inch, and mark in that far on your paper pattern from the bottom of the sleeve, to see how long to make the sleeve. You better measure very loosely around her el- bow, over her dress, particularly if she belongs to the jointed family, so her coat sleeve will be plenty large, and then before you even start to cut your pattern, draw a picture like the tiny "pattern model" in the map illustrated herewith, making the main points come where you have put your pencil marks. If you have ever cut paper doll dresses, I am sure you will understand what I mean, for this is done in precisely the same way. The neck opening, to be cut in from this same folded corner, may look very large at first, but the box plait made by bringing the dotted lines of the picture together, in the back, and the two hems folded after cutting an opening down the front, will take up the extra fullness. Lay your paper pattern against Dolly, after 68 THE COAT AND HAT creasing the hems, pinning the plait, and turn- ing back the hand facings, and see if you have the right proportions. If not, cut another pat- tern with the needed changes. This will take a little experimenting, to get exactly as it should be. But it will prevent mistakes later. Cut out, then, the other pieces like the pictures, but accord- to your own measurements. Next lay your patterns, just like the map, on your goods, being sure to get them the proper way of the material, up and down. If you have one whole length that mother or auntie has been able to spare you so much the better, but you can use scraps if you have to. Should it happen that you cannot find about the house a single thing suitable, take the ten cents that you would otherwise spend for candy, and buy as much as you need of pretty striped tennis flannel. A blue and white would make a dainty coat, and one that would wash, too. MAKING THE COAT When your pieces are all cut out, sew with a running stitch up the sleeve (under the arm), and down the body. Stitch along the dotted lines where you pinned the plait for the back, open out flat and press as a box-plait. Turn 69 SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS back the hems about one* inch from the opening cut in front, and baste them, as well as baste up an inch hem around the bottom, and the inch facing at the hand. Then slip on your coat and see how it fits. If too tight, let out your hems in front, and make the plait smaller in the back. If too big, take them in more instead. When all right, proceed to hem your fronts and the bottom neatly, hem the little collar with a very narrow hem, and sew that in place, but let this seam come on the right side of the coat under the collar when on, so that the raw edges will not show around the neck. Turn under the raw edge of the facing at the hands, and gather with a strong thread in to fit the hand, and fasten securely. Sew two rib- bons at the neck for the bow, put on four buttons, like the picture, and mark and cut buttonholes in the opposite hem. Overcast the inside seams of your coat, for neatness, and when all finished, heat your little iron and give the garment a good tailor pressing, so it will have a finished air. THE NEW HAT Cut the two circles for the hat brim, taking out a small round piece (about one and one- half inch circle) from the center, where the hat will rest on the hair. Make a little nick exactly in the center of this inside edge, front and back, 70 THE COAT AND HAT to mark for the crown, then sew the two brims together around the outside edge, turn and press. Cut the circle for the crown, run a double thread around the outside edge after marking the exact center line through the middle (to meet the nicks in the brim), and draw up small enough to just fit the head opening of the brim when you slip both brims and crown holes over your fingers. Place the marks on the brim to the line through the crown, so you can divide the gathers evenly on each side, and then holding the brim against the gathered crown, with your fingers through the opening in each, sew together, taking a backstitch now and then. Fasten securely, then pat down the crown, Tarn o'Shanter style, nice and flat, trim around with a pretty piece of ribbon, and see if you cannot find some nice chicken quills for a finishing touch. Then you will have a stylish little outfit; and you can do the work well, if you try. 71 DOLLY S NEW COAT AND HAT CHAPTER XI A Dainty Mending Outfit If there's a hole in a' your coats, I rede ye tent it; A chiel's amang ye takin' notes, And, faith, he'll prent it. — Burns. Are you supplied, by the way, with a mending outfit? Every seamstress needs a work-bag, well fitted with the things she is likely to use. Just the other day I saw a tiny sewing kit, which was the cutest thing imaginable! It was made of pink silk belting, held in shape by satin- covered cardboard sides. It was three inches long by two inches wide, just the dimensions of its little embroidery scissors, and less than one inch high, exactly the height, in fact, of its small aluminum thimble. But the finest thing about it was that it contained a complete mending outfit. There was a double fold of fine white flannel, an inch by an inch and a half, on one side of which were as- sorted needles, and on the other side a dozen small safety-pins. A tiny silk button-bag, an inch and 7S SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS a half square, held a few pearl buttons of differ- ent sizes and a dozen assorted hooks and eyes, both black and white. Attached to one corner with a few strong stitches was a tiny emery. Loose in the bottom were six tiny cards, half an inch square, each wrapped with a few yards of thread (coarse and fine black and white cotton, black silk and black darning cotton). There was also a bodkin, a darning-needle, a roll of, perhaps, half a yard of narrow tape, and a ball of wax. Several large safety-pins completed the equipment. This little sewing kit was carried by one of my friends on all her travels, because it could be slipped into even the smallest hand-bag. It pro- vided always for the button suddenly missing from glove or underwear, the rip or rent in a gar- ment, the mysterious hole in a stocking. If you should care to make one for yourself, I will tell you how to do it, but it would make a lovely pres- ent for you to give to mother or sister or your dearest friend. A DAINTY MENDING OUTFIT First lay your small embroidery scissors on a piece of paper and mark off their length. Then cut an oblong from the paper half an inch longer 74 IP ml *tA ( ^-y%^VV-VVSy^y'. ? rV'?'VV~yVVVV V» ^^ A DAIXTY MENDING Ol T TFIT. A DAINTY MENDING OUTFIT than the scissors and three-quarters of an inch wide, and round off the corners. This is your pattern, and by it you must cut four pieces of cardboard just the same size. Cover each piece smoothly on one side with plain silk, catching the edges down with crisscross stitches. Now place the uncovered sides of two pieces together and overcast them neatly. Do the same with the other two pieces and your two sides are finished. A piece of silk belting of the same shade is needed for the body of the case. It must, of course, be a trifle wider than the handle of your scissors, for you do not want them to fit too snugly. Take one of the silk-covered sides in your hands, and fit the belting around the edge as shown in the illustration. Overhand from one side around both ends, leaving an opening at the top, along the edge, but allow the belting to lap about an inch to cover the opening. Hem the raw ends. Then whip neatly to the other cardboard side in the same way. The end of belting is left loose to lay over the opening when you are through. Lastly, fasten a piece of baby ribbon twelve inches long to the loose end of the belting, so that you can tie the case up. Have I made all this clear? For example: if it takes nine inches to go around the side pieces 75 SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS and lap, and jour scissors are one inch and three- quarters wide through the handles, then the belt- ing, or other heavy ribbon, must be two inches wide and nine inches long. 76 CHAPTER XII A Chat on Mending The mother, wi' her needle an' her sheers, Gars auld claes look amaist as weel's the new. — Burns. Is your little girl-doll much of a "a torn-boy," so that she frequently tears her clothes? Per- haps not, but possibly her small mother some- times snags her dress on an old nail when she tries to climb a fence. A three-cornered rent of this kind is an awkward thing to mend, so in this last lesson I am going to tell you how to fix it. If fortunately you have escaped one so far, it will still be a good thing to cut such an opening in a scrap of goods and then try to see how neatly you can stitch it, for it will be a test of your nicest needle-work. MENDING Take a needleful of quite fine thread the right color, start at the extreme end of the opening, and holding the goods as flat and even as you can, take a short stitch through from one side, across the rent, and into the other side. Draw 77 SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS the thread close, without puckering, and come back the same way. Do not get those stitches too close together the first time you go around, as you might un- consciously "full" one side more than the other, but when you have reached the other end, turn and come back the same way, now putting your stitches in between the first set. Also take them a little deeper, so they will catch more of the material and make the sewing hold better. The second time around, if you will notice, you will see you have left a little hole at the sharp corner (in the middle), so put in a few extra stitches there, spread out fan shape to strengthen that particular place. After you have learned to do well all the dif- ferent things we have talked about, do you not think it will be lovely to surprise mother by tell- ing her you are going to begin to darn your own stockings? That would be such a help, and she would know then you had obtained real, practical good out of your sewing lessons. But let me tell you first that if you want to make this work very light, never put on a stocking with a hole in it. No matter if you have worn it but a day, mend it before wearing again, and then you will find that the holes are never large. 78 A CHAT ON MENDING If you will look closely at one of these small holes, you will probably be surprised to see that usually it looks like a cut across the weave; and perhaps the threads are "running" the other way. DARNING To fix this nicely, take a needleful of fine thread and first draw the edges of the hole together as near as you can without puckering or tearing out the thin, worn parts. Then taking a needleful of darning cotton the right color, run back and forth across the fine threads put in, and across any hole left where the edges would not meet. When the thread is put in closely one way of the goods, start weaving, basket-like, across the other way, taking up every other thread as shown in the illustration. When you have finished this, start over again and run back and forth each side beyond the first mending, so the sewing will 79 SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS be sure to go into the firm goods and make the darned place strong. Stockings mended in this way will be smooth and flat, not hurting the feet, and they will last much longer than if loosely "basket-stitched." And if you repair each tiny hole as soon as it comes, your work will not take much time, either. PATCHING Patching means putting on a piece to cover a hole or a worn place. This piece ought always to be of the same kind of goods, and laid on exactly the same way of the material. First cut a square a little larger than the part you want covered, crease an eighth of an inch fold all around, place exactly in the right spot on the wrong side of the goods, and pin carefully at each corner until you can get properly basted. Then hem with the tiniest kind of stitches, using a fine thread of the right color. PATCH, ON UNDERSIDE Next turn to the right side, cut away the rough or worn edges, leaving a hole either round or square, as you prefer. If round, you will have to make little, even snips all around the circle in order to allow you to turn under the edge, and 80 A CHAT ON MENDING then hem down with stitches that can scarcely be seen. Usually, however, a square hole shows less, so if you decide on that, cut from the center toward each corner of the patch but to within not less SQUARE PATCH WRONG 5<0t. than a quarter of an inch, snip off the worn part up nearly but not quite to these points, turn under the raw edges evenly in a perfect line with the first hemming of the patch, and hem down. PATCH, RIGHT SIDE When it is all nicely done, press with a hot iron, to make the work smooth and flat. 81 SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS Always remember that' a true lady would no more wear a stocking with holes than she would wear a dress all out of the elbows. No matter how poor she might be, she would always be both SQUARE OPENING RKiHl neat and clean; and her clothes (even if mended) would show attention. So, learn to take good care of all your things. Sew on a button as soon as it comes off, mend your gloves when the first rip appears, and make it a rule to keep your pretty neckwear, hair-ribbons, and such acces- sories fresh and attractive. You will find, as a reward, that they will look nice and last twice as long. Don't — don't grow up into a careless big 82 A CHAT ON MENDING girl who thinks it too much trouble to take "a stitch in time," and who makes anything do for ordinary occasions ; but keep yourself attractive by always being dainty and neat. THE END 83 nuv i* i»n One copy del. to Cat. Div. N< : 24 »»■■ ?u W AON