CLOTHING AND HEALTH
CHAPTER I
THE PLEASANT VALLEY GIRLS LEARN TO SEW.
Fig. 1.—Marjorie Allen, President of the Girls' Sewing League.
Our clothes are important for they help to keep us well. Shall we learn how to choose the materials for them, and how to make some useful articles of clothing? Sewing is an art which all girls should learn. If we know how to sew, we can keep our clothes in order and always be neat and attractive in appearance. We can, also, make acceptable articles and gifts for others. It is useful, too, to know about materials and about their costs and uses; for, when we buy our clothing and household articles ready-made, we should know how to tell whether the material is durable and will wear. The women of the home should know how to make a dollar buy the very best things. The mothers and grandmothers of Pleasant Valley are delighted to know that their children are to be taught at school. If we understand about materials, we will be able to help a great deal. Do you know that the women of the United States spend a billion of dollars every year for textile materials alone? Isn't it interesting to know, too, that our clothing materials come from plants or animals? Do you know how they are obtained and manufactured? Do you belong to a sewing club or society? Perhaps you can form a sewing club at your school or in your town as the girls of Pleasant Valley did.
Marjorie Allen (Fig. 1) has been made President of the Girls' Sewing League of Pleasant Valley. All the school girls belong; they meet once a week and usually sew for their annual fair. Sometimes they make garments for the little children who come during the summer to the Fresh Air Home near their town. Marjorie buys all the materials; so she must know how to buy. She goes once a month with her mother, Mrs. Allen, to town where there is a good store. Sometimes she orders by mail.
