“The bar we place along each side,
To keep the slit from stretching wide,”
Bar
explained the King as Stitcher stepped through the cloth again at the place where he started. Then he sang:
“Now over and over the edge we skip,
So it won’t ravel and so it won’t rip.
Along each side, ’round each end go,
Catching down the long bar threads as we sew.”
“That’s the overcasting,” said Sir Bodkin, when they were through. “The buttonhole stitch will need heavier thread.”