Home Arts for Old and Young

by Caroline L. Smith

In stitching you should only take up two threads, both behind and before the needle.

Gathering is done on the needle, two threads taken up and four left, and the line should be kept very straight by a thread, if possible. The gathers, when finished, are drawn very tightly together on the thread, and stroked down smoothly with a strong needle or pin.

Darning is done by taking every other thread (in a stocking), and leaving a long loop at the end of each line. The darn is crossed by taking every other thread alternately, each way. It used to be called “weaving.” If muslin is to be darned, it is better to use ravellings of the same instead of thread.

Should you have a rent in a dress to repair, use ravellings of the same material; they are easily to be obtained from the turning in of the top of the skirt, if you have no pieces; but generally some are left by the dressmaker, and should be kept for such accidents. In mending by piecing, be careful that you do it very neatly; match stripes or patterns on the material artfully, and you will have the triumph of preventing the defacement of your dress.

Learn how to make and trim a bonnet, or make a graceful bow of ribbon. Young ladies of small means, who are ingenious and tasteful, often present a better appearance by making things for themselves, than those who, without taste or neatness, spend large sums at the milliners’. We advise you to try and make your own dresses.

In order to do this, rip up an old dress that fits you; lay the several portions of the body on a large sheet of brown paper, with the turnings turned in; trace the pattern carefully with a black pencil; then draw a line round the whole, including the turnings-in, and cut it out. Pin this pattern on your material, and cut out the dress, taking care that you do not get two fronts for the same side, if there is a right and wrong surface to it. To prevent the possibility of this mistake, it is well to fold the material and cut both at once. The same may be said with regard to the side bodies. Greater skill is required to put the skirt into a band, than in making a body, in order that it may hang gracefully; but as fashions change continually, we can only advise you to get a good pattern to copy from, and care and patience will insure you success. If your means render it unnecessary or not expedient for you to make your own dresses, you will find it pleasant to be able to make up the cotton dress you destine for some poor neighbor, whose want of time for needle-work will render her as much obliged for the labor bestowed, as for the material itself. Making clothes for poor children is active charity.

We know of a young lady so naturally industrious, that at the age of six years, she made entirely every part of a day shirt for her father. It is not as likely, at the present day, that your labors will be required for shirt-making for your male relatives; they generally prefer buying their linen ready made. Every woman ought to know how to put one together.

Any child or young lady who can make a shirt well, can easily manufacture all female undergarments; patterns for cutting out will be all that will be required. Both cotton and linen cloth should be scalded in soap-suds, dried and pressed without rinsing, before you work on them, in order to render them soft enough for the needle to pass through easily. But should you be unable to have this done, rub the parts you are going to sew or hem with a cake of white soap, or make a strong suds and brush the parts. Your needle will move easily, and will run no risk of breaking.

We advise young ladies who have the care of their own linen, and perhaps have their own allowance for dress, to take a few hours on one fixed day, weekly, to look over their clothes, and make any small repairs that may be wanted. They will find the truth of the old adage,—“A stitch in time saves nine,”—and will make their linen last as long again as it would otherwise do. Gloves should be neatly mended, and no rip suffered to remain a day. White and light-colored gloves can be nicely cleaned by rubbing them with a flannel dipped in milk and white hard soap. When dry they will need to be pulled till they are soft and in shape.