TlIcTO^]N[EEDLEi)l^^EIlIB^ ]\fo. 4 ffi^Tnffoi^Co. PLAIN NEEDLEWORK, KNITTING, AND MENDING, FOR ALL, AT HOME AND IN SCHOOLS: GIVING INSTRUCTION IN PLAIN SEWING, THE MANAGEMENT OF CLASSES, ETC. TOtfj Stoentg ©iagratnss. COMPILED FROM THE BEST ENGLISH WORKS ON THESE SUBJECTS, WITH SOME ADDITIONAL SUGGESTIONS BY THE AMERICAN EDITORS. EDITED BY LUCRETIA P. HALE. BOSTON : S. W. TILT ON & COMPANY. 1879. Copyright, 1879, By S. W. TILTON & CO. Wright & Potter Printing Company, 18 Post Office Square, Boston. ELECTROTYPED BY C. J. PETERS AND SON, 73 FEDERAL ST., BOSTON. The book has received the approval of Miss Cumming, one of the most valued teachers in the Boston schools, as she has for many years taught sewing in the Winthrop Grammar-School, where the instruction of sewing was first introduced in Boston, and where it has been most thoroughly carried on. "I have read carefully your little book on 'Plain Needlework,' and think it practical. I have long felt the need of such a work, and think it will be a great help to all instructors of sewing, and to mothers who teach their children at home. "Very truly yours, "ISABELLA CUMMING." PREFACE. THIS manual is compiled chiefly from two publications pre- pared for the use of teachers in the public elementary schools in England. We quote its opening sentence with hearty approbation : " The great object of all instruction is to strengthen the mind, and form the character." Needlework has fallen somewhat into neglect since the introduc- tion of sewing-machines ; but we are glad to notice that a re-action has set in, and that it is taking once more its proper place. Skill in the use of the needle is important, even essential, to every girl, every woman, whatever her position in society. But to those in the humbler walks of life it is doubly valuable, both as an aid to domestic neatness and economy, and as a means of profitable occupation. If a girl is skilled in plain needlework, the whole routine of which under proper care and teaching, is extremely simple, fancy work of all descriptions may be learned with great facility. For those who really like needlework, few things are more condu- cive to quiet thought and reflection than a long seam to be sewed with good cotton and a good needle. And not a few women of studious tastes have found the enforced use of their needle no obstacle to the pursuit of solid and valuable studies, and to the cultivation of high literary tastes. Conversation, too, is easier when needles are the order of the day. For, notwithstanding the many advantages of the sewing-machine, 7 8 PREFACE. its noise and motion are alike unfavorable to quiet talk and con- centration of thought. For these and other reasons we are glad to see needlework resuming its proper place, and becoming a branch of instruction in our schools. Sewing has been taught in the public schools in Boston for many years, and it is now established there as one of the essential branches of instruction in the three lower classes of the grammar schools for girls ; and the advantages of the instruction are each year more widely acknowledged as the methods are more systema- tized, and the results are more fully known. The suggestions in the little book to which this is a preface will be found of value to all the sewing-teachers already employed in public schools, as well as to those teaching in mission schools, or in home nurseries. They show, too, that in England, a methodical and careful instruction has been found advisable in the common schools, and should be recommended here in all public schools where it is not established. We add to the manual a copy of the rules and regulations that have been found of service in the Boston public schools. Many of the suggestions are similar to those recommended in the English book, showing that the necessities and the means for meeting them are the same in both countries. CONTENTS. PLAIN NEEDLEWORK. PAGE Materials u Classification n Primary Schools . . , u Grammar Schools . . . . 12 Seaming 13 Puckering 14 Stitching 15 Marking 16 Gathering 16 Stroking 17 Setting in Gathers 17 Button-Holes . . 17 Darning 18 Cutting out 19 Herring-Boning 19 Running 19 Position Lessons 20 Object Lessons 20 Drawing 20 Spelling 2r Dictation 21 Essay 21 Carefulness 21 Value of Knitting 22 Home Work 22 Test Questions in Needlework 23 Sewing Drill 27 Threading Needles 27 9 IO CONTENTS. PAGE Making a Stitch .28 Position Drill . . .28 Fitting a Hem 29 Counter-Hemming 30 PLAIN KNITTING. The Stitch 34 Purling 35 Narrowing ' 37 Articles for Practice 37 Blackboard-Rubbers. — Dish-Cloths. — Floor - Rubbers. — Tow- els. — Washing-Gloves. — Squares of Cotton . . . -38 Gaiters. — Full-Sized Socks 39 PLAIN DARNING. Darning Stockings 41 Hole [First Diagram) . .40 Hole [Second Diagram) ....._ 41 Hole ( Third Diagram) 42 Twill Darning 43 Wave Darning 44 Bird's-Eye Darning 45 Swiss Darning, Right Side {First Diagram) ..... 46 Swiss Darning, Wrong Side {Second Diagram) . . . .47 Grafting {First Diagram) 48 Grafting {Second Diagram) 49 Patch prepared 49 Patch completed 50 Stocking-web Stitch 50 Stocking-web Hole prepared 51 Stocking-web Hole partly done 51 Ladder, broken 52 Ladder, mended . 53 Mending Sheets (First Diagram) 54 Mending Sheets (Second Diagram) 55 Mending Sheets (Third Diagram) 55 Mending Sheets (Fourth Diagram) 56 Regulations for the Departments of Sewing in the Public Schools of Boston .......... 57 PLAIN NEEDLEWORK FOR SCHOOLS. " 'TT^HE great object of all instruction is to strengthen J- the mind, and form the character. Even needle- work, humble as the employment may appear, may be made conducive to this end. When it is intelligently taught, the mind is employed as well as the fingers ; powers of calculation are drawn out, habits of neatness acquired, and the taste and judgment cultivated." We quote from a book that has been a help to many. We be- lieve that the following practical hints and suggestions will be useful to all who agree with this sentiment. MATERIALS. The best materials for school-work are cotton (bleached and unbleached), print, and flannel : we might add, for the advanced classes, linen for the bosoms and wristbands of shirts. CLASSIFICATION. PRIMARY SCHOOLS. The classes in these schools should be taught threading needles and hemming. In a large class it would be a stimulus to the children, 12 PLAIN NEEDLEWORK FOR SCHOOLS. if it were subdivided into three divisions, or sections, beginning with black thread, rising to red, and going on further to blue. Besides stimulating the children, this plan would assist examiners, who would at once see by the color of the sewing-cotton the state of proficiency of the class. GRAMMAR SCHOOLS. Here, in the lower classes, may be taught hemming, seaming, 1 overcasting, and stitching. These stitches com- bined make an apron, or child's first shirt, or chemise. The more difficult stitches, and darning, patching, &c, should be reserved for the more advanced classes. The girls should be taught thoroughly to fit all their work, the great end and aim being to produce, not so much "beautiful seamstresses," as "intelligent needle-women." At no time in the history of our country have the people been taxed so highly for education as now ; and it there- fore behooves educators more than ever to let parents see as much as they can the result of what they are teaching. This is far more thoroughly done by enabling a child to turn down, begin, and finish off, a hem at home for her parent, than if the teacher has always done the fitting for her. One thing is much to be avoided, the too common and unwise practice of teaching children a new stitch on too fine material. When a child is first taught to read, large letters and large print are used, not " diamond " type ; and, in learning writing, " large-hand " copies come before " running hand : " so it should be in needlework. Coarse unbleached cotton, in which the threads can be 1 The English word " seaming " will be used in this work in place of the some- what awkward terms "top-sewing" or "sewing over and over," commonly used here. PLAIN NEEDLEWORK FOR SCHOOLS. 1 3 easily seen, will teach a child far sooner in the end than fine. For instance, she can be taught to turn down to a thread ; not that it is necessary always to work by thread, but, as in the case of lines in the copy-book, it simply helps train the eye to accuracy. Children's eyes should be trained, not strained, in needlework. To avoid wasting material, as soon as a child has learned to thread the needle, to hold the work over the left-hand finger, to keep the right position of the left thumb and right hand, and to know what effect hemming has on a piece of cotton (all of which should be taught in the primary classes), she should begin to make a bag, or, better still, a work-apron. This, when finished, she could put on during the sewing-lesson, and in it at its close she should neatly fold her work and sewing-materials ready for the basket ; for no child should be allowed to carry her work home until completed. SEAMING. Children should not learn to seam on selvages, as they are seldom even ; and the children get a habit of taking their stitches too deep, and so making a coarse, thick ridge. They should also be trained to consider that seaming is not finished until it be laid open and flattened down. To those who fear that the children would soil their work by using their nails or the top of the thimble for this process, the use of an old tooth-brush handle is suggested, which, to give it greater honor, might be called " the flattener." This has the merit of cheapness, besides being hard, clean, smooth, and round-edged, thus less likely to cut the thread than the scissor-edge, so often used for this purpose. I4 PLAIN NEEDLEWORK FOR SCHOOLS. PUCKERING. Puckering in seaming is caused by the children holding the right elbow close to the right side. This causes the needle to go in slanting, thus making one half of the . stitch wider than the other half. If this be done, even by- one thread per stitch, a pucker must necessarily ensue. But if, when seaming be first given to a child, she be taught to place herself properly, holding the elbow off from the side, bringing the fore-arm in a horizontal posi- tion, so that the palm of the hand faces the chest of the worker, the needle will then point straight to the chest- bone, and the stitch will be of the same size both at back and in front. In this way the habit of neat seaming is acquired from the first, and the time which, later on, should be devoted to mastering another step, is not wasted in learning to undo a bad habit. The practice of giving coarse needles and thread to children at first leads to coarse and untidy-looking work. " Children break their needles so!" is often urged as a reason for this ; the fact being quite overlooked, that chil- dren must be taught not to break their needles. Broken needles are generally the result, either of imperfect teach- ing, or carelessness on the part of the pupil. If a child be allowed to force the needle through the cotton entirely by means of the thimble-finger, so surely will she become a needle breaker ; but if she be trained to work the needle through by the assistance of the thumb, as well as the thimble-finger, broken needles will be of rare occurrence. It surely cannot be more difficult to train a child under seven to handle the needle with care than it is to teach it to use a knife without danger, and to sharpen the points of sticks till they can pierce soaked peas, with which to make mathematical forms, as in the Kindergarten system. PLAIN NEEDLEWORK FOR SCHOOLS. 15 No. 8 needles are, as a rule, quite coarse enough tor the material generally given, and No. 50 cotton (Clarke's). The use of too large a needle necessarily forces the child to make large stitches. Short needlefuls, about half a yard, or the width of the school-desk, should be used at first ; and children should be taught to work up the cotton to within three lengths of the needle. It is attention to minutiae in the beginning that lays the foundation for speedy improvement in the higher classes. STITCHING. Less need be said about this stitch than many, as it is almost the only one that has survived being taught in the glorious hap-hazard manner which has assailed others. Moreover, it is the stitch par excellence in which the sew- ing-machine most materially assists, and therefore it is not now necessary to devote so much time and eyesight to it as of yore. Sewing-machines are doubtless an assistance to rapidity of execution of needlework ; but they will not do away with the necessity of teaching needlework. In fact, no one can use a machine to any real advantage (except in large warehouses, where one portion or descrip- tion is given to each individual), without a good knowl- edge of cutting out and fitting; and the machine is not yet invented which can patch. 1 In finishing a needleful in stitching, the needle should be taken through -on the wrong side, and darned in and out of the stitches for a quarter of an inch, and the fresh needleful should be treated in the same way. No knots should be allowed. 1 Some of the American sewing-machines can both patch and dam neatly thin, worn linens and cottons, and stockings also. But, as these machines cannot be found in every home, it is important for every girl to know how to darn. — Am. Ed. 16 PLAIN NEEDLEWORK FOR SCHOOLS. MARKING. This stitch is a great pleasure to children in genera^ and the knowledge of it is often a great help. Few poor persons would afford twenty-five cents to buy a bottle of marking-ink, which is sure to dry up and become useless long before they have used it all (if even they are able to write well enough to mark on linen or cotton) ; but a needleful of marking-cotton is readily obtained, and serves to render their clothes easily to be identified. Children should not be kept at work on canvas longer than they have learned the stitch, and can accurately copy a letter. As soon as they can accomplish that, they should, with- out delay, be set to mark holland or coarse cotton. GATHERING. Gathering should be taught by thread on coarse mate- rial, not left till it be required to complete a fine cotton or linen shirt ; and there should be twice as much left between each stitch as is taken up on the needle. Two threads up, and four between, is a common rule. To avoid waste of cotton, measure the space into which the gathers are to be sewed with the cotton (which should be fine), double it, and allow a finger-length over. It is better to gather with fine cotton doubled, rather than coarse cot- ton single, as, in the event of the cotton breaking with careless drawing up, the child can probably sew the gathers in while they hold together with the remaining thread, instead of having to re-gather the whole. It is wiser, if the space into which the gathers are set be more than three inches, to gather only half or quarter with one needleful, taking a fresh needleful for the other portions. PLAIN NEEDLEWORK FOR SCHOOLS. jy STROKING. Stroking, too often, in the hands of beginners, takes the form of "striking," and frequently results in long strips of holes, or ragged shirt-sleeves, after a few weeks' wash- ing and wear. This is caused by using too short a needle or pin, and holding it too perpendicularly. The thread should be carefully and by degrees worked up, by gradually pushing the gathers up, beginning from the first-done portion, and the thread wound round a fine pin set in just enough to keep it from getting loose, and no more. Then a long darning or milliner's needle, or a long steel pin, should be used, the thumb of the left hand kept quite below the gathering-thread ; and each gather should be picked out with the needle-point, and gently pushed under the left thumb. This done, the thread will require tightening up, and the gathers should again be stroked ; and, as a final finish, the top of the gathers above the thread should be stroked, to give them an even appear- ance. If the gathers are carefully worked up, however, by the thumb and finger, stroking in most things is unneces- sary, and often injurious, and is better dispensed with. SETTING IN GATHERS. The position of the needle in setting-in gathers should be perpendicular, not slanting, as in hemming, and each gather should be taken up and fastened separately. These three last-mentioned stitches depend on each other. If gathering is done badly, good stroking will be impossible, and setting-in a difficulty. BUTTON-HOLES. In making a button-hole, cut the slit even to a thread, then take a needle and cotton, and run it once round, about 1 8 PLAIN NEEDLEWORK FOR SCHOOLS. midway between the edge of the slit and what will eventu- ally be the bottom of the stitches. Draw it slightly tight. Or, better, overcast the edges slightly ; but, if the material inclines to ravel, the overcasting should be closer and firmer. Bar the slit once or twice all round. Begin at the left-hand corner. Insert the needle, and, before pull- ing it through, bring the cotton from the eye of the nee- dle over the needle as it sticks in th~ stitch, round from left to right under the point of the needle. Draw the needle out over the edge, and straight from the person working, the left thumb pressing the slit close against the first finger. In proportion to the thickness of the cotton, the stitches should be close, to allow room for the twist at the top of the edge : otherwise, requiring more room at top than at bottom, they will acquire a slanting appear- ance. Each stitch should be exactly the same depth. All this can be understood with ease, if the material be coarse enough to enable the child to see the threads without trouble. It shows more skill, if one corner of the button-hole be worked round, and the other braced properly, not finished with a mere loop across the end. DARNING. Plain darning should be taught as soon as the child is ready for it; i.e., darning of all kinds, — stockings, coarse worsted and cotton, calico or linen, also patching. This can be practised on an old coarse sheet or towel, or a pair of coarse, unbleached cotton stockings. Darning in its original signification (according to Webster), signifies re- placing the material by working in exactly similar pattern. This is taught in the schools in Holland, but cannot with propriety be used to describe the coarse cobble of lattice- work too often seen on a stocking. When parents see the PLAIN NEEDLEWORK FOR SCHOOLS. 19 result of teaching mending, they will not be backward to avail themselves of it by sending a constant supply for the children to do at school. Mending ought to be taught before cutting out. The poorer the parents, the less need they have of cutting out. Moreover, in towns they can often buy ready-made clothes cheaper than the material to make them with ; but, the poorer they are, the more need there is of economy, and nothing tends to that so much as the practical knowledge and ability to execute a darn, or set in a patch ; and who shall say that this will not add very greatly to the comfort of a poor man's home ? CUTTING OUT. This should by all means be taught after a girl has learned thoroughly, not only how to fit and make, but also to " darn," every article required for underclothing. HERRING-BONING. Herring-boning, called also " cat's-tooth," may well be taught. The raw edge of the flannel (coarse for begin- ners) should be cut even to a thread, and turned down six or eight threads. Two threads should be taken up on the needle, along between the fourth and fifth thread from the edge ; so that there should be four threads between the top row of stitches and the bottom row, which should be just below the edge of the flannel turned down. The needle should go in parallel between the same two threads, and a.% the fourth thread from where it went in last time. RUNNING. In addition to all that is taught previously, should be practised whipping, sewing on frills, and running tucks ; and these, added to what are required in a plain shirt, 20 PLAIN NEEDLEWORK FOR SCHOOLS. form the stitches necessary in any thing as complicated as a lady's night-dress. POSITION LESSONS. Much instruction in needlework may be given without needle or work, e.g., position drill. We see infants taught to act the various things they describe as they sing ; and there is no adequate reason against a similar method being adopted in the needlework classes at times, — on dull, dark days, or in hot weather, when the hands are moist and make the work dirty. The position required in hem- ming may be shown (the rule in forming a stitch should be to make the needle come out at the middle of the edge of the left thumb-nail, the needle pointing to the left shoulder), also the positions in seaming, — the bringing forward the right elbow, and keeping the fore-arm in a straight position, so that the palm of the hand faces the worker: this will prevent taking the stitch round the tip of the left forefinger, and also will avoid puckering, as each half of the stitch will then be exactly the same size, which it cannot be when the right elbow is held close to the side, and the needle put in slanting. OBJECT LESSONS. Object lessons may be of great assistance in needle- work. Materials may be classed into four kinds, — wool, silk, linen, and cotton, — subdivided into two parts, the outside of the animal or plant, and the inside of the ani- mal or plant, &c. DRAWING. Drawing, too, will help needlework very much, by teaching the drawing, by scale or otherwise, of patterns of all sorts of garments, both for upper and under wear. PLAIN NEEDLEWORK FOR SCHOOLS. 2 I SPELLING. Another plan of assistance is by spelling. Such words as "stitching," "herring-boning," are quite as hard to spell as "abominable;" and through them can be con- veyed many a useful hint for needlework, thus helping to fix the word in the child's mind. DICTATION. A rule in needlework dictated would serve as well for practice in dictation as much that is used at present for that purpose. ESSAY. Few who have not tried can imagine how testing both to powers of concentration of thought, expression, and terseness of language, it is, to write out entirely from memory the full description of any stitch in needlework. All these are methods of legitimately assisting the needle- work lesson by means of the others. Every stitch in needlework has its rule ; and the chil- dren cannot be too early taught them, and exercised in the various names of the different parts of a garment (and here spelling would be very useful). We do not wait to teach geography till the child has travelled round the world ; neither is it needful to defer teaching this branch of needlework till the child has worn out more garments than she has made. CAREFULNESS. Too much can hardly be said or done to inculcate hab- its of care and economy, and to show to the children that their teachers practise the care and thrift that is urged on their parents. All scraps, when done with for needle- 22 PLAIN NEEDLEWORK FOR SCHOOLS. work, all ends, threads, ravellings, &c., should be collected and put into a rag-bag. This should be intrusted, when full, to a good child to sell ; and the proceeds may purchase some pins to fit with, or go towards a little reward for deserving scholars. The value of these rags may be all but nil ; but the moral lesson taught, who can gauge ? t VALUE OF KNITTING. Knitting stockings may be, as some aver, costly and tedious ; but, when it employs odd minutes which would otherwise be wasted, its chief value shows itself. A woman who has been at the washtub or at housework all day cannot easily sit down to plain needlework ; her hands are " out of tune ; " she cannot, perhaps, even feel the needle, it is too small : but let her be able to knit readi- ly (having been taught at school), and she will add many an inch, at spare moments, to her husband's or children's stocking, which lies ready to be taken up at any time. Moreover, when old age produces dimness of sight, how many weary hours can be enlivened, if knitting has been acquired when young ! and how it may help to ease the feeling of "being a burden," if the old woman of the fami- ly can keep the children's feet well clothed in strong, warm stockings. HOME WORK. There is an idea prevalent among some, that it is quite right to allow children to bring what work they like to school. By what process of reasoning a license is allowed in one Jesson which would not be suffered for a moment in any other is difficult to discover. Moreover, when par- ents can afford to allow their daughters to grow up to ten or twelve years of age without ever having held a needle, PLAIN NEEDLEWORK FOR SCHOOLS. 23 or set a stitch, they must have become so habituated to doing without their assistance in needlework as not to miss it. The only method by which it can be allowed, without causing injustice to the teacher, and positive hin- derance to the child, is by the parent sending a garment cut out to be made, or an article to be patched or darned, and by leaving it in the school until it is completed to the satisfaction of the teacher. Fathers do not expect their sons to write up their business letters, or keep their ac- counts, at school, though they do expect them to learn the method by which it can be done in after-life, or out of school. Let us, for a moment, contemplate the effect of a reading-class, where each child considered itself entitled by right to bring what book, or periodical, or newspaper, its parent preferred, and ask what would be the result And, if a parent may not dictate about one lesson, why should she be allowed to do so in another ? The children do not attend school for their parents' convenience, but for their own benefit; and justice to the teacher ought also to be considered. TEST QUESTIONS. This manual can only serve to give suggestions to the teacher, or skeleton ideas, rather than a full treatise on the subject. We add a few questions that have been selected, to assist teachers in giving oral lessons, or to form the text for an essay on a particular stitch. TEST QUESTIONS IN NEEDLEWORK. Question. — What is a fair rule for width for turning down a hem? Answer. — Turn the raw edge down once four threads, and then turn it down again the same width as at first. Ques. — How do you begin a fresh needleful in hemming ? Ans. — By pointing the needle from me, turning in the end of the thread under the hem, and drawing it out till near the end of the thread ; then the end must be neatly turned in under the hem with the point of the needle. Ques. — How should the needle point in hemming ? Ans. — Towards the chest, not towards the left shoulder. Ques. — How deep should the needle go in seaming? Ans. — Take up one thread. Ques. — What causes puckering in a seam ? Ans. — Putting the needle in slanting ; thus more cloth is taken up on one side than on the other. Ques. — Describe how you begin a fresh needleful in seaming. Ans. — Leave an end of thread that has been used, and the same length of the new one, and sew them both over neatly and carefully. Ques. — Where should the needle point in seaming? Ans. — Towards the chest ; and the stitches must be straight across the seam. Ques. — What rule have you for stitching? Ans. — Bring the needle out two threads, then put it back two threads : by taking two threads only, the stitches are always proportioned to the quality of the material. Ques. — Describe the rule for gathering. Ans. — First halve and quarter the garment ; make a mark with a piece of thread at each quarter, and about fourteen threads from the raw edge. Gather on the right side, taking up two threads, and missing four. Ques. — Describe the position of the left hand in stroking gathers. Ans. — The thumb of the left hand should be kept quite below the gathering-thread. 24 PLAIN NEEDLEWORK FOR SCHOOLS. 25 Ques. — Explain the position of the needle in setting in gathers. Ans. — A long darning-needle or long steel pin should be used, and each gather picked up with the needle-point, and gently pushed under the left thumb. Ques. — How do you make a button-hole ? Ans. — Cut the slit even to a thread. If the material ravels, overcast lightly. If the cloth is fine, bar once ; if coarse, twice ; draw it slightly tight. Begin at the left-hand corner. Insert the needle, and, before pulling it through, bring the thread from the eye, round from left to right, under the point of the needle : in drawing the needle out, see that what is called the pearl of the button-hole is kept on the upper edge. There should be one thread between each stitch and the next, and these stitches should be of exactly the same depth. The upper corners of the button-holes should be worked round, and the lower barred, except when they are cut as in the bosom of a shirt : then they should be barred on each end. Ques. — Describe the twist given to the cotton in " tailor's fashion " of button-holing. Ques. — How do you sew on a button ? Ans. — First take two stitches firmly on the right side, then sew the button through four times without spreading the stitches on the wrong ; wind round twice, drawing the thread slightly tight, and fasten neatly. Ques. — State the rule for cat's-tooth stitch, and for what it is used. Ans. — It is used on flannel. It should be five threads from the edge : two threads should be taken up, and two down. Ques. — How many parts are there in a plain shirt? Ans. — Count- ing gussets, nine parts. Ques. — Give the names of the different stitches used in a shirt. Ans. — Hemming, top-sewing (or seaming), running, felling, back- stitching, gathering, stroking gathers, button-holes, and sewing on buttons. Ques. — What is the first thing to be done in darning a hole in a stocking? Ans. — Draw out the rough, jagged ends, so as, in some degree, to contract the size of the hole, and bring the loops or threads as nearly as possible to their original position. Ques. — What next ? Ans. — Then, if the hole be a large one, place under it a card, and run beyond the hole as far as the stocking is thin, leaving a loop of the thread at the end of each turn. In crossing the first course of threads, take up and leave down a thread alternately. The shape in large darns is best and most easily preserved by begin- ning the crossing at the middle. 2 6 PLAIN NEEDLEWORK FOR SCHOOLS. Ques. — Why should loops be left in darning ? and what should be done to them when the darn is finished ? Ans. — So that the hole may not be contracted. They may be cut off when the darn is fin- ished. Ques. — Describe the way a patch should be set in. Ans. — Cut the piece you intend to repair with exactly to a thread, and place it on the worn part to a thread, also, on the right side, taking care, should the article have any pattern, to place the patch so the pattern would correspond. Baste and hem on neatly ; then carefully cut out the old piece on the wrong side, leaving sufficient to form a hem. Ques. — Should a darn be even, or irregular, in shape, and why? Ans. — It should be irregular : an even darn does not wear well. SEWING-DRILL. "/'"~*UT your coat according to your cloth" is an old V_^ and true proverb, and one which has a larger meaning than is often supposed. It has been brought forcibly to my mind by the difficulty experienced in dealing with large schools, where sixty totally ignorant children are placed under one unaided teacher. I have therefore suggested, that, to meet such cases, a new method should be adopted, viz., that of simultaneous teaching in needlework. The following directions may help those who have felt the difficulties above mentioned : — THREADING NEEDLES. Let the children stand out of the desks in a square class. Give a No. 7 needle to each, to be held in the mid- dle with the left-hand finger and thumb. Give each child one quarter-yard of fine thread. When this is done, "Attention" should be called. Let the teacher, being similarly provided; raise her left hand to the level of her mouth, or eyes, as she finds most suitable, requiring the class to do the same, and say, " One." Raise the right hand, holding the thread protruding half an inch from the finger and thumb, and point it close to the eye of the needle, and say, "Two." Let the children try to thread the needle while she counts slowly twenty, decreasing by 27 28 PLAIN NEEDLEWORK FOR SCHOOLS. five as the children become proficient. When all have threaded, say, "Three," and all hold the left hand up high, to show the fact accomplished, and cry, " Four," all to- gether. The needle should then be unthreaded by the right hand. This should be repeated until the whole class can do it with quickness and precision. Then a three- minute glass (commonly called an egg-boiler) should be used, and the children encouraged to try who can thread the needle oftenest while the sand is running ; the child who has done it most often to take the head place in the class, and keep it until another can outdo her. By this plan needles are not so easily lost ; and, the eye of the teacher being always on the class, the children can- not amuse themselves by spearing the desks, or trying the effect of the point of the needle on their neighbors' arms. MAKING A STITCH. POSITION DRILL. In this case the children may, if preferred, sit in the desks. The teacher should make all the class sit straight. Hold the left-hand fore-finger doubled at the second joint, and pointing to the chest. Lay the cushion-top of the left thumb on the left finger, between the first joint and the tip. Join the tips of the right thumb and fore-finger to- gether, and let them touch the left fore-finger. This being done by all in the class, and all being ready, the teacher — facing the children, and acting throughout step by step --should make them move the right-hand finger and thumb to touch the front edge of the left thumb, and say, "One." Raise both hands in the same position, so that, when the needle is used, it shall be seen by the teacher whether each child points its needle exactly along the middle of the left thumb-nail, and say, "Two." Still keeping the hands in the same position, turn them over PLAIN NEEDLEWORK FOR SCHOOLS. 29 till the knuckles face the chest (this is to see that the needle shines through, which proves the stitch is taken through), and say, "Three." Turn back the hands into the "two" position, and say, "Four." Let the thimble- finger fall back about two inches, and draw it sharply up to the right thumb, imitating the working through the needle in making a stitch, and say, "Five." Make the arc of a circle in the air with the right hand, as if drawing out the needle, and say " Six." Let this be done patiently, regularly, and simultaneously, until all can do it as the teacher counts. Then give the children the cotton, placing it over the left fore-finger, and let them act it again until they thoroughly know each movement, and can tell them consecutively to teacher. This plan will do away with the necessity of so much "waste," so inseparable in the minds of some teachers with elementary teaching of needlework, and with the amount of dirty "bits" too often seen in schools. FITTING A HEM. Here, too, simultaneous teaching and work may be of use. Let each child have half a width of coarse, un- bleached " ordinary " cotton, half a yard long, snipped selvage-way into six pieces ; the teacher being also simi- larly provided. Let her tell the children to show that they know their right from their left hand, also teach them the difference between "holding" and "pulling;" the one being an active, the other a passive operation. This might be further exemplified by holding a child by the arm, thus preventing it from moving, and pulling a child towards her. Then let the teacher, making each child act with her, "hold" the cotton in the right hand, and with the left "pull," or " scratch down " as a little child once said, the 3 o PLAIN NEEDLEWORK FOR SCHOOLS. cotton off the thread, little by little, creeping up to the top, and then beginning at the bottom again ; and so on, over and over again, until the thread comes out. This in itself teaches care and patience, and is called the first step. When done, the children should be questioned, What has been the effect of drawing the thread? Many answer, "To make a line," or "a mark." What for? To cut straight by, just as, in the copy-book or slate, lines are drawn to write straight by. Then the child should hold the cotton, and watch the teacher, to see that she cuts by the thread-line which the child has made : this forms the second operation. The third consists in letting the child turn down the edge of the cotton six threads deep. The fourth is showing up to the teacher, who, if it be turned down true to a thread, lets the child pinch it down to keep it folded. The fifth step is like the third ; and the sixth like the fourth. Basting the hem makes the seventh ; and hemming is the eighth. These should all be gone over until thoroughly learned by the children, who, if they have gone through the two former lessons, will probably be well able to go on with plain hemming. COUNTER-HEMMING. This is a well-known plan of fastening two pieces of material together before the child has learned the art of seaming or running. Turn down the raw edge or selvage once towards you. Then lay the edge farthest from you on the nearest, so as to cover the raw edge. There is now a union of the two sides of the garment. Baste down the fold, and hem on both right side and wrong side. The advantage is, that a child in the very lowest class can make a simple garment as soon as she has learned to hem fairly well. At present much time is spent by a PLAIN NEEDLEWORK FOR SCHOOLS. 31 child in learning hemming ; and, when that is learned, she has to learn another stitch before she can produce the tangible result of a completed garment, and this is obviated by teaching counter-hemming. Plaiting is advocated, because good plaiting is better than bad gathering, and because it opens the door to a variety of garments being practicable ; and children who are trained in the Kindergarten system are considered by competent teachers to be capable of doing it. Aprons with full skirt can be plaited instead of gathered into the band ; and the fulness round the neck of a chemise can also be treated in the same manner. The fact that gar- ments are so made by the parents will prove that this plan is not unpopular. NOTE. The remarks on knitting are simply to aid those who find knit- ting a difficulty in school. There are so many books of receipts for knitting garments, that it is needless to add to the number in such a manual as this. Any one who can knit a stocking with intelligence and ease can, if necessary, soon pick up any particu- lar pattern that takes # the fancy. 3 2 PLAIN KNITTING. THE first step will probably be the teaching of the right position of hands and fingers. Here simultaneous drill, or class-teaching, when practicable, will prove to be economy of time and labor. Each child being duly pro- vided with two needles, they should be taught to place one in the palm of each hand. In the left hand, the needle should rest on the third fin- ger, midway between the first and second joint, and com- ing out against the edge of the palm, half-way between the last joint of the little finger and the bone of the wrist; and this and the third finger should be bent, so as to touch the inside of the palm, and thus keep the needle steady. The left thumb should cover the first stitch but one on the left-hand needle, and also rest on the inside of the first joint of the forefinger. The right-hand needle should rest along the first joint of the second finger, which should be so bent that the tip of that finger holds the needle against the " ball " of the right thumb. The forefinger should cover the stitches up to the last knitted on the needle. The cotton or wool should go over the forefinger, across the nail, and be held down by the third finger ; and this and the fourth finger should be bent so as to touch the inside of the palm of the hand. The right thumb should be about three-quarters of an inch below the last knitted stitch. Both thumbs 33 34 PLAIN NEEDLEWORK FOR SCHOOLS. should be perfectly stationary during the whole time of knitting all the stitches on the needle. There are other ways of holding the knitting-needle ; viz., holding the right needle so that it may rest on the point of the " Y " formed by the joining of the forefinger and the thumb, which by some is called the English method ; and the German plan, where the thumbs almost touch each other, and the wool is worked across the first joint of the left forefinger. Proba- bly each one is right ; but the custom of letting the right- hand needle stick in the stitch, and throwing the right hand up and over the needle to make the stitch, is not sanctioned by any rules in knitting. Teachers too often appear to treat this matter with indifference ; deeming it immaterial how the children hold their knitting, so long as they get the stitch done. Would they think of letting their pupils hold their pens " anyhow " when teaching them to write ? THE STITCH. All these positions being properly and thoroughly taught, the next step is to teach the stitch. As little chil- dren learn what is new to them more readily if it come to their ears with some sort of rhythmical movement or " refrain," it has been found of use to divide the movements necessary to complete a stitch in knitting into four parts. Put the right needle into the first stitch on the left-hand needle, and say, "In." Put the cotton round the right needle as it sticks in the stitch, and say, "Round." Tighten the cotton, and catch it in and on the right-hand needle, and say, "Catch." Take this newly-made stitch off the left needle, and on to the right, and say, " Off." These four words — "in, round, catch, off" — are quickly caught up by children ; and they should be carefully cate- chised as to their rotation, action, and use.. PLAIN NEEDLEWORK FOR SCHOOLS. 35 When a child has fairly learned plain knitting by the above methods, it should be further taught to "set on." The old-fashioned plan of twisting the cotton round the left thumb, &c, made, as it was intended to do, a very strong foundation ; but, unless the stitch was made very loose, it was too inelastic, and was generally unable to yield to the stretching the stocking usually received in putting on or off, and the broken edge caused thereby must be familiar to all home knitters. Knitting can hardly be "set on" too loosely, and therefore the French or foreign method is preferable. Make a " slip-loop," and put it on the left-hand needle, then go through the first three motions of the stitch as before described, but, instead of taking the stitch "off," catch the point of the left-hand needle into the stitch on the right-hand needle, and keep it thus as a fresh stitch on the left-hand needle. Continue knitting on fresh stitches in this manner. After " setting " or " casting " on becomes easy to a child, she should be next taught to "cast or bind off," which is done by knitting two stitches, and pulling the first-made stitch over the last, so that the loop of this one remains on the needle, rising through the loop of the first. Continue knitting one stitch at a time, never hav- ing more than two stitches on the' right-hand needle, and pull the first over the last, as above described. At the end, pull the cotton through the last stitch, draw it tight, and darn the end in and out among the narrowings, of the toe if for a stocking, for an inch and a half, to keep it safe. PURLING. Purling, or knitting backwards, sometimes called " seam- ing," should be the next step ; as this is necessary to the 36 PLAIN NEEDLEWORK FOR SCHOOLS. completion of stocking-heels, even if the top be not ribbed. Here, after knitting plain, bring the cotton forward in front of the right-hand needle, which should take up the stitch on the left-hand needle, entering at the right side of the thread ; throw the thread round at the back of the needle as it sticks in the stitch, catch it in, and take it off. In leaving off knitting, always knit to the middle of a needle. If one is longer than another, as in the instep, choose that one, and wind the cotton round the needles at the end of the knitting to keep all safe. Persons of all ages knit so differently, — some tightly, and others loosely, — that much disappointment is often caused in following out plans and descriptions as usually written. It is therefore better to describe the various meas- urements by inches rather than by rows, as being less likely to vary with different knitters. As a rule, children knit tightly, and therefore a larger sized needle is desira- ble for them. In long ribbed stockings for boys, where the trouser or knickerbocker covers the knees, it is not necessary to rib that part of the stocking which goes over the knee ; and it is quicker to knit, and easier to darn (especially in the " Swiss " method), if knitted plain. So, also, over the instep, and across the heel : these can be knitted plain by degrees, a little more in each succeeding row, keeping the ankles ribbed; which gives the appearance of a "clock," and tightens the stockings where it is advisable, giving ease where ease is wanted, viz., over the instep, and across the heel. In narrowing, it is necessary to consider whether the knitter requires the decrease to lie from left to right, or from right to left, to decide whether it should be done by knitting two stitches together, or by slipping a stitch (i.e., taking it off without knitting), knitting the next, and pulling the slipped stitch over. PLAIN NEEDLEWORK FOR SCHOOLS. 37 NARROWING. For instance, in the case of the narrowing necessary to form the instep, the narrowing at the end of the right-hand foot-needle should be done by knitting two stitches to- gether, because it looks better, if it fall to correspond with the slope of the foot ; whereas, for the same reason, the nar- rowing at the beginning of the left-hand foot-needle should be done by the " slip and pull over " process. On the other hand, in forming the toe, the narrowings at the beginning of the needles should be by "knitting two together," and, at the end of the needles, by " slip and pull over ; " and this is also the case in the narrowings in the heel. There are so many ably-written manuals on knitting, and so many descriptions constantly appearing in most of the periodicals, that it will not be necessary to enlarge here on various patterns. Knitting, like every thing else, requires practice to secure proficiency ; and no amount of directions will save the necessity of patience and persever- ance. The choice of material, too, is a matter of experi- ence. Much of the wool sold for knitting is little better in its degree than the "shoddy" which is converted into so-called "superfine broadcloth." It has no length of staple, and consequently cannot bear the strain caused by wear; and this is one great reason why persons are so often disappointed in the wear of their stockings after they have spent time and trouble in knitting them. Unbleached cotton becomes whiter by washing, and is far warmer, than much so-called "Angola. ARTICLES FOR PRACTICE. It is evident, that, if these things are taught in schools, an additional power is added to children's education, pro- vision is made for the employment of odd minutes and for 38 PLAIN NEEDLEWORK FOR SCHOOLS. a pastime in old age. Knitting is rarely learned by the aged, therefore it becomes almost necessary to teach it in youth. But knitting should be a lesson, not the lesson, of the " needlework hour." When children have once learned to knit, however, it is well to have knitting-work at hand, as it is often useful to take up occasionally, if there be an accidental stop in other work, or the teacher is engaged with another child. Blackboard-Rubbers, also Dish-Cloths, and Floor-Rubbers. — Cast on thirty stitches ; knit the strip eighteen inches long ; sew three together. The veriest " waste " of begin- ners can be utilized, if too badly knitted to be used as above, by rolling it up tightly like a roll of cloth, fastening it securely, and using it as a slate-rubber. Towels. — When a child can knit correctly and regu- larly, make the 'strips one yard and a half long, and sew seven of them together. Make a handsome fringe at each end by cutting the cotton into six-inch lengths, and knot- ting in six threads into every tenth stitch. These make excellent bath-towels, and can be sold for the weight of cotton they contain. Washing-Gloves. — Cast on forty stitches ; knit plain for sixteen inches ; cast off. Double this in the middle ; sew up the sides, and round the corners, so that, when turned inside out, it should fit the fingers of the hand like an infant's glove. These answer well to use for personal washing, instead of flannel or sponge. Squares of Cotton. — These are useful to teach darning ; beginning with colored cotton until it can be done cor- rectly, passing on to white cotton. The squares can pro- vide further practice by " grafting " them together, and they will then be of still further use as blackboard-rubbers. Gaiters, i.e., legs of stockings without feet, form a use- PLAIN NEEDLEWORK FOR SCHOOLS. 39 ful grade before teaching the complete stockings. These are very useful to those who are obliged to walk out in all weathers, as they protect the leg from the wet edge of the petticoat, and are easily pulled off when in school or at home. Full-sized Socks. — The following have been found prac- tical directions. Cast on seventy-six stitches ; if stout leg, eighty-four. Knit two and purl two for three inches. Knit plain for two inches and a half. Narrow five times, with five rows between. Knit plain three inches. Divide for heel. Knit heel three inches, slipping the first stitch in every row. Turn it (Dutch shape) i.e., leave four stitches on each side the seam stitch, and take in one of the side stitches at each plain row ; knitting the first two together on the right side, and slipping the last and knit- ting one of the other needle, and pulling over on the left. Take up the stitches for instep, and narrow one stitch every other row on the end of the right foot-needle, and one stitch at the beginning of every left foot-needle every other row, until there are as many stitches on all the four needles as when the sock was divided for the heel. Knit foot seven inches, measuring from where the instep stitches were picked up. Narrow every other row for toe, at the end and the beginning of the instep or long needle, and at the beginning of the left, and at the end of the right, foot-needle. Continue thus until there are twelve, six, and six stitches (twenty-four stitches in all), and cast off. PLAIN DARNING. THE first great principle of darning should be, "Never to darn a hole." On the same principle, an old lady once told a young man of her acquaintance, who apologized for something he thought he had done wrong, bi^U^R5$H^ IS "NfJiJ PjRJ^^iJW */tWtyV \\% ^SwUWrMm fflft®i > 'tt4] ^^g Nj *T 4\t :|vyt!g;|H Mg|:| y XiTK ' ^^^m|