CHAPTER II

Girl's name___________________________I. Article______________________________A. General appearance1. General neatness of sewing10%2. Cleanliness15%3. Appropriateness of material25%B. Hand work1. Regularity of stitches25%2. Suitability of stitches25%——100%

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 whenone 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.

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 wishedto 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 ismuslin; 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 callednainsook. 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 calledcotton 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 acambric. 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.

Dimityis 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 islawnand 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 calledmull. 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 calledIndian head, and the otherduck. 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 forabout the same price,—15 cents a yard up, according to quality.

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 isgalatea, 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 cottonbirdseyeorhuckaback. 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 youcannot 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.

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.

SELECTING PATTERN AND CLOTH FOR NIGHTDRESS

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

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 forall. 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?

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 lacesand embroideries. Others use cotton for war purposes, for guncotton. John Alden said he did not know that cotton is used for so many things.

Fig. 38.—Miss James' little loom.

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 howto 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 greatbuzzing 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 towear, 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 clothas 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.

Courtesy of Draper Co., Hopedale, Mass.Fig. 40.—"In days gone by."

Courtesy of Draper Co., Hopedale, Mass.

Fig. 40.—"In days gone by."

Fig. 41.—The shuttle holding the bobbin of yarn.

Courtesy of Draper Co., Hopedale, Mass.Fig. 42.—A weaving room in a modern factory.

Courtesy of Draper Co., Hopedale, Mass.

Fig. 42.—A weaving room in a modern factory.

Courtesy of Smithsonian Institute, Bureau of American Ethnology.Fig. 43.—Indian girl weaving a belt by hand.

Courtesy of Smithsonian Institute, Bureau of American Ethnology.

Fig. 43.—Indian girl weaving a belt by hand.

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.

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.

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.

Fig. 45.—The cotton carding machine, which cleans the cotton.

Courtesy of Leonard & Green, Boston.Fig. 46.—A cotton spinning room.

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 theleaves 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 wonderfulmachines 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?

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?

Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.Fig. 48.—The flax wheel.

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 howthe hand cards are used. Wasn't that a long, tedious process?

Courtesy of Miss Mary E. Hoag.Fig. 49.—Grandmother Allen sat at her flax wheel and showed the girls how to spin.

Courtesy of Miss Mary E. Hoag.

Fig. 49.—Grandmother Allen sat at her flax wheel and showed the girls how to spin.

Courtesy of Miss Mary E. Hoag.Fig. 50.—Grandmother Allen carding wool by hand.

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.

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.

CUTTING OUT A NIGHTDRESS

Fig. 51.—Laying the nightdress pattern on the cloth.

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.

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 patterncorrectly 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 seethere 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.

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.

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.

Courtesy of Wilcox and Gibbs Sewing Machine Co.Fig. 52.—Single thread machine.

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 onethread, 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 theright 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?

Courtesy of New Home Sewing Machine Co.Fig. 53.—Double-thread machine.

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 likelittle 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 nightdressesare 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 1⁄8 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 ofthe 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?

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 andhem. 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?

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?

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 looksoiled. 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?

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