Table cloths and serviettes are usually sent to the laundry, even when the bulk of the washing is done at home, as it is so difficult for the amateur to get the evenly glazed surface that the professional worker gives the cloths. The result is that tablecloths soon show signs of wear and tear, and invariably “go” first down the edges.
As soon as holes and fraying appear at the sides or ends, cut the strip right off, unless it is quite a small rent and can easily be mended. As a rule, when the edges once start to go, they do the job pretty thoroughly. And the best way is to cut off the weak part, before it tears far into the material, and turn a new hem.
If the cloth is then too narrow to use on the dining table, it can be widened or lengthened, by applying a deep hem, which can be joined with fagotting to the cloth. It will be necessary to tack both the cloth that has been cut and re-hemmed, and the new hem on stiff paper to keep it even as you work the faggoting.
Mending a Sheet.
Showing the centre of the sheet with selvedge edges in overlapping seam, and hem-stitching reworked over the seam.
Nowadays, when economy must be the watchword with most of us, a great saving can be effected in our household by paying attention to the requirements of the contents of the linen chest and remembering the old proverb, “a stitch in time saves nine.”
When a piece of bedroom or table-napery shows signs of wear in any part by becoming thin, patching can be avoided by carefully darning the spot with soft cotton or linen thread, running the stitches well up into the sound portion surrounding the weak. But when, as in the case of sheets, a large portion gets thin all over, patching must be resorted to.