PRELIMINARY PLAN
Some time before the lesson, the teacher should discuss with the pupils the kind of material they will be able to provide for their bags and, if the material has to be purchased, she should suggest something that is suitable, washable, and inexpensive. The bag should cost only a few cents. The dimensions of the finished bag should be about 12 by 18 inches.
METHOD OF WORK
The pupils should get out the materials they have brought and determine upon the size and shape of their bags. It will not be necessary to make them uniform. The teacher should help the pupils to use their material to the best advantage. It should be straightened, pulled in place, and measured carefully. When the bags have been cut out, the sides should be basted.
LESSON V: BAGS—Continued
Sewing up the seams with a running-stitch and a back-stitch.
SUBJECT MATTER
Running is done by passing the needle in and out of the material at regular intervals. Small, even stitches and spaces should follow consecutively on both sides of the material. The stitches should be much shorter than those used for basting, the length being determined largely by the kind of cloth used.
When running is combined with a back-stitch, two or more running-stitches and one back-stitch are taken alternately. The back-stitch is a stitch taken backward on the upper side of the cloth, the needle being put back each time into the end of the last stitch and brought out the same distance beyond the last stitch.