The Project Gutenberg eBook ofNeedlecraft

The Project Gutenberg eBook ofNeedlecraftThis ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online atwww.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.Title: NeedlecraftAuthor: Effie Archer ArcherRelease date: January 26, 2014 [eBook #44766]Most recently updated: October 24, 2024Language: EnglishCredits: Produced by Chris Curnow, Chris Jordan and the OnlineDistributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (Thisbook was produced from images made available by theHathiTrust Digital Library.)*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NEEDLECRAFT ***

This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online atwww.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.

Title: NeedlecraftAuthor: Effie Archer ArcherRelease date: January 26, 2014 [eBook #44766]Most recently updated: October 24, 2024Language: EnglishCredits: Produced by Chris Curnow, Chris Jordan and the OnlineDistributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (Thisbook was produced from images made available by theHathiTrust Digital Library.)

Title: Needlecraft

Author: Effie Archer Archer

Release date: January 26, 2014 [eBook #44766]Most recently updated: October 24, 2024

Language: English

Credits: Produced by Chris Curnow, Chris Jordan and the OnlineDistributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (Thisbook was produced from images made available by theHathiTrust Digital Library.)

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NEEDLECRAFT ***

Carpentry and WoodworkBy Edwin W. FosterElectricity and Its Everyday UsesBy John F. Woodhull, Ph.D.Gardening and FarmingBy Ellen Eddy ShawHome DecorationBy Charles Franklin Warner, Sc.D.HousekeepingBy Elizabeth Hale GilmanMechanics, Indoors and OutBy Fred T. HodgsonNeedlecraftBy Effie Archer ArcherOutdoor Sports, and GamesBy Claude H. Miller, Ph.B.Outdoor WorkBy Mary Rogers MillerWorking in MetalsBy Charles Conrad Sleffel

NEEDLECRAFT

Photograph by Mary G. HuntsmanThe Last Step is Making the Buttonholes

Photograph by Mary G. Huntsman

The Last Step is Making the Buttonholes

NEEDLECRAFT

BY EFFIE ARCHER ARCHER

Needlework Editor of well-known magazines. Connected withNew York Public Schools, Y. W. C. A.,and Arts and Crafts Club

Garden CityNew York

DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY

1916

CHAPTERPAGEI.What You Should Have in Your Work Box— Sewing on Buttons—Basting—Darning3II.Back-stitching—Over-casting— Creasing a Hem and Hemming—Rolling a Hem—French Hemming—Sewing on Tapes and Hooks and Eyes12III.Gathering—Sewing on Bands—A Practical Sewing Apron—Hemmed Patches—Gussets and Tucks26IV.A Doll's Skirt—Sewing Case—Bindings—Doll's Bed Linen—Pin Case41V.Making Buttonholes—Cutting from a Pattern—A Doll's Dress58VI.A Lesson in Stencilling74VII.What Can Be Done with One Skin—Cut Leather Bags, Belts, Book Covers, etc.83VIII.Tooled Leather and Tools Necessary91IX.The Simplest Stitches in Embroidery—Chain-stitching, Outlining, Herring-boning, Cross-stitching, Soutache, Coronation Braiding98X.Smocking—Feather-stitching—Lazy-daisy Stitch112XI.Couching—Shadow-work—Turkish Stitch—How to Stamp Designs121XII.Buttonholing and Wallachian Embroidery130XIII.Roman Cut-Work—Fancy Buttonholing for Borders—Bermuda Fagotting138XIV.Satin-Stitch and Marking147XV.Eyelets and French Knots—Bullion Stitch, and Other Fancy Stitches160XVI.Long and Short—Kensington Embroidery—Ribbon Work for Simple Flowers176XVII.Hardanger Embroidery for Squares, Pin Cushions, and Spreads190XVIII.Appliqué on Linen and Other Materials—Hedebo Embroidery198XIX.Hemstitching for Handkerchiefs and Collar and Cuff Sets—Simple Drawn Work Stitches207XX.Easy Lace Stitches—Fagotting, Single Mesh, Double Mesh, Spiders, Fan, Maltese Cross, Twisted and Buttonhole Bars, Picots for Simple Edge227XXI.Simple Baskets242XXII.Raffia Baskets and Napkin Rings250XXIII.Raffia Hats262XXIV.Knotting for Dolls' Hammocks, Shopping Bags and Other Purposes271XXV.Simple Bead Chains on Single Strings—A Homemade Loom—Woven Chains—Belts and Purses278XXVI.Braiding and Weaving Four and Six Strands—Weaving on Looms295XXVII.Simple Crocheting—Stitchery for Edges and Shawls306XXVIII.Pattern Directions for Making Doll Caps and Capes, Jackets, and Child's Bedroom Slippers320XXIX.Irish Crochet Lace333XXX.Knitting, Plain and Purling—Wash Rags—Fancy Stitches for Shawls351XXXI.Doll's Cap, Hood, Leggings, and Jackets360XXXII.Embroidery Suggestions for Boarding School Girl372

The Last Step is Making the ButtonholesFrontispieceFACING PAGEThe Right Way to Darn10A Single Motif Being Used on a Stencilled Scarf76Many a Happy Hour is Spent Embroidering164It is Jolly to Make a Raffia Work Bag250Sewed Raffia Baskets Make Attractive Gifts258The Fascinating Task of Making Bead Chains284A Cushion Top Can be Woven on a Simple Hand Loom296Her First Knitted Shawl356

NEEDLECRAFT

Youwill find that you are happiest when doing things for those you love; and what greater help can you give than by learning to do things for yourself that now those who love you best do for you? The little everyday things that appear to be so simple, yet take so much of the mother's time should be the things first to learn. There are so many things that one could do if one only knew how, that it seems a shame to waste time. Dolly needs new clothes, mother always needs help with her sewing; and then, too, the numerous birthdays and Christmases follow so quickly one on top of another, that there is hardly a chance to save up for one before the next is here. Many a hard problem for the little mother will be solved in this book.

It is lovely to have a little work-box fixed up with thread, needles, and scissors, all of your own, and if you ask mother, I am sure she will give some ofher threads to help you start one. If you take a card and shape it like a Maltese cross you will have space for four colours of threads. You will need a card for the white alone because you will find you use so much more of it. You must have a little thimble and always use it or your finger will look cramped when working. Have you noticed how pretty ladies look when sewing? Well, you must do as they do, tap your needle with the thimble to send it through the material (Figure 1).

Fig. 1. The way to use your thimble

Have you ever wondered and wondered why it is that buttons have the horrid habit of dropping off just when you wanted to dress quickly or take Sally Ann walking? Well, I will whisper the reasons for this: the first is, that the thread might have been worn out from active service; or the thread used might have been weak; or lastly, which is probably the true cause, the button might have been sewn too close to the material and came off the first time it was used. Mother may not be around to help you when the accident happens, and would you not feel proud to sew it on for yourself?

To sew a button on securely you should make apin-hole where the button is to be placed. A four-hole white button is the easiest to work on. Thread a No. 7 needle with a length of No. 40 white sewing cotton, bring the ends together and make a knot. The right length thread is measured from the tip of the thimble finger to the elbow. When a thread is used double it should be twice the length of this. A neat knot is made by holding the threaded needle in the right hand and by taking the end or ends, as the case may be, between the thumb and first finger of the left hand. Keep the thread tightly stretched, wind it around the top of the first finger, then move the finger down the thumb, carrying the thread with it about half an inch. Now with the nail of the second finger bring the knot thus formed to the end of the thread.

A large ungainly knot is a disfigurement to a piece of sewing. You are now ready to adjust the button; place the knot on the upper or right side so that it will be concealed; after adjusting the button put a pin across the top and sew securely through the holes, crossing the threads. Sew not less than three times through each hole. Remove the pin. Insert the needle from underneath, then bring it out between the button and cloth close to the centre of the button. Wind the thread tightlyaround the neck of the button three or four times. (The neck is the threads between the button and material.) Wrapping the threads around protects the stitches and allows room for the buttonhole to lie under the button. Take the thread through to the wrong side and take up three stitches, make a short stitch on the material and cut the thread close (Figures 2 and 3).

Figs. 2 and 3

When a three-hole button is used the stitches form a triangle on the top of the button. A shoe-button should be sewed with a No. 2 needle and coarse black thread. The stitches are taken through the shank of the button. Fasten off the thread after sewing on two buttons, for if they are all on one continuous string or thread and that breaks, all the buttons are apt to come off. If each button is securely fastened the thread may be passed, however, from one to the other.

Fig. 4. Even basting

Fig. 5. Uneven basting

Now I know you want to do some real sewing; it must not be big or you will get very tired and think sewing is not as pleasant as you fancied. The simplest stitch in sewing is basting. This is used to hold materials together until you are ready to makefirmer stitches. In the following illustration the even and uneven basting stitches are shown (Figures4and5). They must be straight. Even basting stitches should be taken about a quarter of an inch apart and in the running stitch which is fine basting about an eighth or a sixteenth of an inch. Pretty huck pillows can be made of even and uneven basting or running stitches. A leaf, star or a figure cut out and traced on a piece of muslinwill make a nice design for running stitches (Figure 6).

Fig. 6. A simple design in running stitch

If you will examine different kinds of materials before they are cut, you will note that the threads run in two directions. The threads running lengthwise must be the stronger, as they have more strain on them. They are called the warp. The warp is set up first before the weaving begins. The threads running crosswise are called the woof. It is the weaker thread and forms the edge or selvage.

If you will take a card three inches square andprick a line of dots half an inch from the top and bottom edges and prick a line a quarter of an inch apart you will have a little loom. The dots must be directly under each other. A piece of coloured worsted and a large-eyed crewel needle No. 2 will be required. Make a knot at the end of your thread and start from the upper right hand hole on the wrong side. Bring your thread up through the hole and down through the lower right-hand dot. The needle must now come up through the next hole at the bottom and the thread be again stretched across the card.

When every hole has been filled and you have several rows of straight lines, fasten off the worsted in the back. Another shade of wool should be selected so that you can distinguish the warp from the woof. The thread you are now going to use is the woof; commence at the top and go straight across to the left line, up over and down under each thread and so on till the row is completed. In weaving the next row, pick up the threads of the warp that you went over last time. Alternate rows agree (Figure 7). When finished, the little piece can be used as a doll's mat.

To darn your stockings is almost as simple a matter as this weaving. Instead, however, of startingthe thread of the warp on an even line, as on the card, start some higher than the others. The reason for this is that an even line will be apt to make an uncomfortable seam in your stocking. The woof threads are always connected to the stocking. A darning ball should be used under the hole. In darning cashmere or woollen stockings it is best to allow the warp to be very slack as wool shrinks considerably in washing. Wool should be used for darning woollen stockings.

Fig. 7. Weaving with worsted

Fig. 8A. The first step in darning

Fig. 8B. The second and last step in darning

Photograph by Mary G. HuntsmanThe Right Way to Darn

Photograph by Mary G. Huntsman

The Right Way to Darn

Have you ever belonged to a sewing club? Ifnot, try to start one and see how much fun there is in it. The club should meet either on Friday or Saturday afternoon, after the school work is finished. Every girl should bring her stockings to darn and another piece of work, so that when the darning is over she will have something to work on. If there are more than four in the club it is a very hard thing to keep up. Three is the ideal number for it. It is better to have a small number—three, for instance. A large club is apt to be distracting, but three or four little girls, with the right helpful spirit, will find such meetings very instructive and entertaining.

Fig. 9. The right way to hold your scissors

Stitchingis witching," the song book says, and it is true, for after we know that stitch there are a hundred and one things we can do. Some people call it back-stitching and we must try to remember that, so that we shall understand of what they are talking. Get mother to give you a piece of material to practise on that has a stripe in it. Now take your scissors (Figure 9) and cut out two three-inch squares. Baste the two squares together a quarter of an inch from the edge. Hold the square over the first finger of the left hand ready for the back-stitching. Let the basting run up and down over your finger. Start from thetop and make a small stitch backward, on the right side of the material, instead of forward as you did in running (Figure 10). Pass the needle under until you have a stitch twice as long on the wrong side as that on the right. Take the next stitch backward close to the end of the last one on the right.

Fig. 10. Back-stitching

Remember that the stitch you take backward is only half as long as the one you take forward. Stitching always looks very different on the wrong side, but on the right side it ought to look like machine stitching. This stitch might be called the lion stitch, because it is so strong. It is used to join two edges together, as for the seams in bean-bags or cushion covers.

In places where there will not be much strain we use a quicker stitch, which is called the half-back stitch (Figure 11). This is very much like the stitching of which I have been telling you. The wrong side will look about the same, but on the right sideinstead of the stitches touching there will be a space, then a stitch of equal length.

Fig. 11. The half-back stitch

The next stitch to learn is the combination-stitch, which is made up of both the running and the back-stitch (Figure 12). It is a stitch that is greatly used for sewing long seams, as on underwear. By this stitch we can cover the distance in about half the time that back-stitching would take.

Fig. 12. The combination running and back-stitch

Whenever you can avoid making a knot, do so, because it spoils the look of your work on the wrong side. You can start your work, if it is a seam, for example, by making two or three stitches on top of each other. Follow the thread of the warp or woofof the material as much as possible. After fastening your thread, make two fine running stitches forward and one back. Keep the stitches the same length.

Fig. 13. Over-casting

Over-casting is used on unfinished or cut edges to keep them from fraying (Figure 13). The stitches all slant from right to left. Take the stitches one eighth of an inch deep and one quarter of an inch apart.

Fig. 14. Over-handing

Over-handing is fine over-casting and used to connect two finished edges together (Figure 14), as when sewing lace on ruffles, or joining selvages. What is the selvage? It is the edge of the warp.The next time mother goes shopping ask her to take you with her. When she tells the salesman she wants so many yards of goods, whether it is for kitchen towels or a dress for herself or for you, notice how the goods is measured. The salesman will measure along one of the finished sides of the goods. These finished edges are called selvages.

Fig. 15. The seam opened

Make the stitches in over-handing as small as possible, keeping the stitches even. Sew through both pieces of the material. Hold your work between your thumb and first finger. Here again it is not necessary to make a knot. Let a half-inch of the end of your thread lie on top of the material toward the left side; the over-handing stitches will cover this end. When the over-handing is finished run your thumb-nail along the stitches on the right side. If your stitches are too deep there will be a seam on the wrong side, whereas if the instructionshave been followed carefully the material will lie perfectly flat (Figure 15).

Now we are ready to help mother hem the new kitchen towels. First see that the edge you are to hem is straight. If it is not, pull out a thread so as to mark a line to cut by. You must take a thread that runs the entire way across the end of the towel. Cut carefully along the space out of which the thread came. Get a piece of card that has two smooth or straight edges and make a notch one-half inch from the corner (Figure 16). A half-inch hem is the one commonly used on a towel.

Fig. 16. A notched card

If mother likes to have her towels with a wider or narrower hem, notch the card the size she wishes. Turn the material back one-quarter inch and crease it down with your thumb-nail. A second fold is made the width of the hem. Take your measuring card and, placing the end of it on the double edge, see if your hem is exactly the width desired. Baste along the first folded edge to hold the material together for hemming (Figures17and18). Hold the edge to be hemmed toward you. Do not knot your thread. Insert the needle at the extreme right of the hem. Pull the needle through, leaving alittle end, as in over-handing, to be fastened down with the hemming itself.

Fig. 17. The first step

Fig. 18. The second step

Your needle should slant as shown in the diagram (Figure 19). Take a stitch right through all the thicknesses of the material. Be sure that it goesthrough to the other side. The fewer the threads taken on the needle at the same time, the neater the result will be. The stitches should slant from right to left. The stitches must be close together if we want fine hemming. Let each stitch be the same size as the other and slant in the same direction. The right side of the hem looks like a row of short dashes.

Fig. 19. The way the needle should slant

If your needle gets "sticky" when you are sewing, you should pass it through your emery-bag till it is shiny and sharp again. The needle is apt to get that way if your hands perspire. Ladies who like to keep their sewing looking fresh and white, as if hands had never touched it, find it a good plan to wash their hands in a little vinegar, or lemon and water.

It is very necessary to sit so that the light falls over your left shoulder. A little straight-back chair is another good help in sewing. Do you knowthat many of our English great-grandmothers had very straight backs? When they were little girls they had to sit on a very straight, tall chair, an hour or two every day. A foot-stool was placed under their feet, and their shoulders strapped against the chair. Of course they did not sit there idle, but a piece of fine sewing was given them to work. You see they did not have the opportunity to run around and play as you have. Their chief recreation was their dancing lesson.

Fig. 20. A corner basted ready for hemming

The towel finished, the next thing to learn is how to turn a corner and hem it. Shall we make a cover for Sally Ann's bed or a dust-cloth for mother? In either case cut a piece of material eighteen inches square and turn a hem and baste it as you did for the towel. The next side is folded the same as the first. The corner should form a perfect square (Figure 20). Sometimes the material is very thick and the hem wide; in that case it is wise to cut a little oblong piece out of the corner as shown in the illustration (Figure 21).

Fig. 21. The material cut from a corner

Napkins and table-covers should be sewed with a French hem. Make a turn about a sixteenth of an inch deep. The second turn should be about three sixteenths of an inch wide. Fold the hem back so that it touches the right side of the material. The hem is connected to the material with tiny over-hand stitches. Open the hem, when finished crease with the thumb-nail till it lies perfectly flat.

Fig. 22. Whipping

A pretty new way of finishing a handkerchief is to roll the material for the edge instead of folding it. Over-cast or, as we sometimes say, whip it with delicate-coloured cotton, (Figure 22). The nicest material for handkerchiefs is fine linen, but lawnis cheaper for practice work. Hold the wrong side of the material to you. Then roll about one eighth of an inch between the thumb and first finger of your left hand. Do not roll more than an inch of the hem at a time. Take a needle and thread it with a piece of coloured cotton. In this case it is permissible to make a knot. Insert the needle at the beginning of the roll. Over-cast or whip the rolled edge. The stitches should encircle the roll and not go through it. When the rolled inch is over-casted, roll another inch and repeat in this manner till the whole handkerchief is worked. If you desire, when you have finished one side, you can whip in an opposite direction toward the point at which you started, thus forming a cross with each return stitch (Figure 23).

Fig. 23. A pretty finish for handkerchiefs

Lace is sewed to raw edges by rolling and whipping the material and connecting the lace at the same time.

Fig. 24. A rolled hem

Fig. 25. One end creased one quarter of an inch

Fig. 26. The tape open flat on material

Tapes should be on all towels and on all your skirts and dresses that are to hang on nails or pegs. Take a piece of fine tape about five inches long. Crease one end down one quarter of an inch (Figure 25). If the tape-loop is to be sewed on a towel find the direct centre of the top edge of the towel. Lay the tape with the creased end open flat on the towel (Figure 26). Sew along the creased line with back-stitching. Fold the other end of the tape over, baste it down so that it entirely covers the stitches already made and with small hemming stitches connect the tape to the material (Figure 27). There should be two tape-loops on your dress or separateskirt. There is usually too much weight for only one loop. Place a loop in each armhole of the waist or dress. For the skirt, measure the waist-band and place the loops so that the band is divided in thirds.

Fig. 27. The tape finished

Do you know that very few people sew on hooks and eyes properly? Yet there is no difficulty in sewing them correctly and they look much nicer. Take the eye, connect it to the material with two stitches that make a cross. With the same thread pass the needle to the left-hand loop. Insert the needle in the material so that the eye of the needle is within the loop and the point of the needle comes just outside. See that the thread passes from left to rightunderthe point of the needle. Draw the needle through and repeat in this manner until the two loops of the eye are firmly connected to the material. Sometimes it is necessary to cover the upper part of the eye. In that case cover the metal with fine over-and-over stitches as shown in (Figure 28B).

Fig. 28A. The eye firmly sewed

Fig. 28B. A covered eye

The loop of the hook is sewed on in a very similar manner at the base, while the top of the hook is caught with eight or nine over-and-over-stitches (Figure 29). These stitches are taken under the hook portion and connect the under side only. Measure accurately just where every eye goes and place the hook so that when it meets the eye it will be straight. A sixteenth of an inch out of the way spoils the appearance and is apt to pull the material crooked. Another point to remember is that it is not a good plan to place the eyes on the extreme edge. A margin of some size is most necessary to extend beyond the eyes. Sometimes it is necessary to sew a piece of material so that it extends one inch beyond the eyes if the eyes are sewed on the extreme edge of the finished garment. This piece is called the fly piece.

Fig. 29. The hook

ThoughI know you don't like making samples, I am going to ask you to make a little apron for a doll, as a model, before we make a real big one.

Get a piece of muslin five by nine inches and a No. 9 sewing needle. Thread it with a piece of No. 70 cotton. Baste an eighth of an inch hem on both of the five-inch sides, and a three-quarter of an inch hem on one of the nine-inch sides.

The basting of the three sides being finished we will now start to gather the fourth side. Thread a No. 8 needle with No. 50 thread. Use a thread a trifle longer than nine inches. Make a good-sized knot in the thread so that the end cannot slip through the material. Start from the right-hand side of the piece and insert the needle on the under side. Let the knot come on top of the narrow hem about one quarter of an inch from the raw edge.

The needle is now in position on the right side of the material. Take up several stitches on the needle before pulling it through (Figure 30). The stitches are nothing more than running stitches. When the running has been worked across the nine inches of the material, take the needle out and make a knot in the thread.

Fig. 30. Gathering the apron

Put a pin, vertically, close to the last stitch. Take up only a few threads of the material on the pin. Draw up the running thread so that you have about three and a half inches of gathering. Wind the thread that extends beyond the gathering over the top and under the point of the pin a number of times, crossing the thread at the middle of the pin so that it forms an eight (Figure 31).

To allow the gathering to fall evenly, it will be necessary to stroke it. Use a No. 2 needle for this purpose. With the right side of the work towardyou begin at the left-hand edge. Hold the work between the left thumb and forefinger, keeping the thumb below the gathering thread. Put the point of the No. 2 needle under the gathering thread, holding it obliquely. Press the needle toward the thumb, bringing the little plait under the thumb and drawing the needle downward. Pinch the little plait down lightly with your thumb. Continue in this way, putting the needle under each stitch (Figure 32).

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