THE SEWING HOUR

Southern Cross, Volume 1, Issue 5, 29 April 1893, Page 12

THE SEWING HOUR

At least one hour a day in a family, whore there are growing girls, should be devoted to hand-sewing. It happens often in these days of the sewing machine that this part of the manual education of girls is neglected. It is a good plan to teach children when they are quite young all the important stitches of the needle, and then give them systematic work to keep them in practice. There is no occupation more womanly and more useful than needlework. It is a rest to any tired housekeeper, who has been on her feet during a large part of the day, to dress herself for the afternoon and sit down with her needle-work. The over-and-over stitch is the one generally taught to children first, but it is quite as well to teach the running stitch and afterward a back-stitch. After plain sewing is mastered,

a few of the simpler embroidery stitches may be taught. If a small dress for a doll or some simple piece of work is cut out, which will interest the child in her task, she will probably accomplish more than if she is given •‘patches ” or scraps to wort at, which do not count. A pretty work-basket, neatly made, will encourage the little worker, and should be filled with a thimble, needles, a supply of emery, pretty pincushions, darning cotton, and darning yarn and silk, and everything necessary to the work of the seamstress. Heat little sewing aprons are also useful and pretty. Give the little worker one or two made and the materials to make several more on which to practise; if she is old enough. Children should be especially instructed in darning and mending. A darn well done on cloth is invisible for all practical purposes. Darning of lace is to all intents a lost art, but it is beautiful work. Mending a rip in a pair of kid gloves is a very dainty bit of work. The colour of the glove should be matched in silk and a bit laid under the part broken ; after this it should be caught down to the kid by stitches that do not show on the right side; the rip must be carefully drawn together with sewing silk, taking up as little as possible of the kid. A glove mended in this way will last almost as long as if it had not ripped.— American paper.