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 instructions have 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 (Figures [17] and [18]). 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 a little end, as in over-handing, to be fastened down with the hemming itself.