UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA

21

RENO, NEVADA, 1919

PRINCIPLES OF SEWING

Equipment, Stitches, Hems, Seams, Plackets, Decorative
Stitches, and Repair of Clothing

By MARGARET M. JOHNSON, State Club Leader

DESIGNED PRIMARILY FOR BOYS' AND GIRLS' CLUB WORK

The drawings of stitches, seams, hems, etc., in this
Bulletin were made by Prof. F. L. Bixby, University of
Nevada, for which acknowledgment is here made.

I

T IS THE DUTY of every girl to dress simply, neatly, and attractively. The feeling that one is appropriately dressed gives ease and poise and helps one to be at her very best. Clothes that are soiled, poorly made, and carelessly put on affect the character of the person wearing them and influence other people's opinion of her.

It is not necessary to have a large supply of expensive clothes to be well dressed, but one must have well-made becoming garments, the style and material of which are suitable to the occasion for which they are to be used. The making of a garment costs as much as or more than the material in it. Therefore if a girl can sew nicely she can make her own clothes for one-half the cost of readymade garments. By using care and good judgment in selecting materials, styles, and colors suitable for her requirements she can be well dressed at small cost. But it will require patience and perseverance to learn to sew well. One must learn to make many different kinds of stitches by hand as well as to do good machine work. She must learn how to use commercial patterns or to draft her own patterns. She must also learn how to mend and care for her clothes properly so as to keep them in good condition.

It is the purpose of this bulletin to give the general principles of sewing and mending. A later bulletin will give instructions in the selection of materials and the general care of clothing.

SEWING EQUIPMENT

In order to do creditable work of any kind, it is necessary to use good tools and keep them in good condition. There are few necessary tools for hand-sewing, but they must be good ones to be valuable. They are needles, thread, thimble, scissors, tape measure, pins, and emery ball. A sewing-bag or work-box is quite necessary, in which these articles may be kept so they will be together when wanted. A pincushion or needle-book for holding pins is desirable. For machine-work a good sewing-machine is necessary.

Needles. There are three kinds of needles used in ordinary sewing: sharps, betweens, and ground-downs. Sharps are long and slender and are the best kind for general use. Betweens are a little shorter than sharps and are often used for hemming and glove-mending. Grounddowns are short and heavy and do not bend or break easily.

Needles are made in different sizes to correspond with the different numbers of thread. The finer the needle the higher the number is. In general, the sizes of needles to use with the different numbers of thread are as follows:

TABLE OF NEEDLES AND THREAD

PLATE I. NEEDLES, CLOTH, TYING OF KNOT, AND POSITIONS FOR SEWING

1. Paper of 5 to 10 sharps, showing arrangement of needles. 2, a. Selvage of cloth. 2, b. Warp threads. 2, c. Woof threads. 2, d. Bias of cloth. 3. Tying of knot in thread. 4. Position for running stitch. 5. Position for backstitch. 6. Position for overcasting stitch. 7. Position for overhanding stitch. 8. Position for plain hemming stitch. 9. Position for buttonhole stitch.

In a paper of needles containing No. 5 to No. 10 sharps the twentyfive needles are arranged as follows: in the middle are three No. 5 needles and on each side of these are two No. 6 needles, three No. 7 needles, three No. 8 needles, two No. 9 needles and one No. 10 needle. (See Plate I, Fig. 1.)

Embroidery and darning-needles are used with embroidery thread, yarn, and darning cotton. They are of different sizes and usually have long eyes. A very long needle is used in millinery. A bodkin or tape needle is blunt, has a long eye, and is used for running tape or ribbon through a hem or casing.

Thread is a small twist made from cotton, flax, silk, or wool. Cotton thread is used for sewing wash materials. It can be obtained in many numbers; the finer the thread the higher the number. Finer than No. 200 is lace thread and coarser than No. 8 is carpet or embroidery thread.

Thread made from flax is called linen thread and is very strong. Shoemaker's thread is usually of linen.

Thread made from silk is called silk or twist, and is used for sewing on silk or fine woolen materials. The finest silk or twist is lettered 000, the next 00, then 0, A, B, C, D, E, and EE. Coarser than EE is embroidery or crochet silk. A is the ordinary size for sewing.

Cotton and silk have opposite twists. Cotton is known as knitting twist, and is made up of three cords, each containing two strands. Silk is known as crochet twist, and is made up of three strands or cords. Cotton thread twists more tightly while sewing, but silk thread becomes looser.

Thread made from wool is called yarn, worsted, or zephyr, and is used for darning or fancy-work.

A Thimble is worn on the middle finger of the right hand. This is because the middle finger is longer and stronger than the others. The thimble is used to aid in pushing the needle through the cloth.

Scissors should be sharp in order to cut cloth or thread easily. They soon become dull if they are used to cut paper or cardboard.

A Tape Measure made of cloth and numbered on both sides is best. to use.

Pins should be sharp so they will not pull the threads in the material. An Emery Bag is necessary to keep the needles in good condition. If a needle is dirty, rusty, or has become damp and sticky from perspiring hands, running it through the emery bag will make it smooth and bright.

Sewing-Machines are of two kinds: the single-thread or change-stitch machine and the double-thread or lock-stitch machine. The work of the single-thread machine must be done on the right side of the garment. The ends of the thread must be fastened well, as the stitching rips easily. The double-thread machine makes a stitch which is alike on both sides, therefore the stitching can be done on either the right or the wrong side. Directions for the use of the sewing-machine are given below.

CLOTH

Cloth is made of cotton, linen, silk and wool. The straight, firm lengthwise edge which does not ravel is called the selvage. (See Plate 1, Fig 2, a.) The raw edge of cloth is one that is cut or torn. fold is formed by doubling one part of cloth over another. All cloth is

A