.m.nT) . / CLOTHING & HEALTH HARVARD COLLEGE LIBRARY 2044 102 8 I I I I I . THE HOME-MAKING SERIES CLOTHING AND HEALTH AN ELEMENTARY TEXTBOOK OF HOME MAKING BY HELEN KINNE PROFESSOR OF HOUSEHOLD ARTS EDUCATION, TEACHERS COLLEGE COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, AUTHOR OF " FOOD AND HOUSEHOLD MANAGEMENT" AND "SHELTER AND CLOTHING" AND ANNA M. COOLEY, B.S. ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF HOUSEHOLD ARTS EDUCATION, TEACHERS COLLEGE COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, AUTHOR OF "FOOD AND HOUSEHOLD MANAGEMENT" AND "SHELTER AND CLOTHING" THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1916 All rights reserved PREFACE This volume, like its companion, Food and Health, is in- tended for use in the elementary schools in those sections of the country where the home life is of the type described. It is hoped that both volumes will be used by the home people as well as by those at the school. This volume treats largely of the clothing problems and of the elementary work in sewing which precedes garment making. It also includes the subject of the leading textile materials, — where they are grown and how they are manu- factured ready for our use. Such topics as the hygiene of clothing, buying materials and clothing wisely, the clothing budget, the use of the commercial pattern, the care and re- pair of clothing, color combinations, and attractiveness in dress, are woven in with the lessons on sewing and textiles, in a very simple and elementary way. The authors are indebted to the United States Depart- ment of Agriculture, to the Smithsonian Institution, to the Draper Company, Hopedale, Massachusetts, to the York Street Flax Spinning Company, Belfast, to the Whittall Rug Company, to Cheney Brothers, silk manufacturers, and to others, for kind permission to use the pictures iii iv PREFACE shown. We acknowledge, also, the permission of the Cor- ticelli Silk Mills of Florence, Massachusetts, for use of their copyrighted photographs of silkworms. Teachers will be glad to know that they can obtain from the Corti- celli Mills, at slight expense, specimen cocoons and other helps for object lesson teaching. CONTENTS PAGE The Pleasant Valley School i Chapter I. The Pleasant Valley Girls Learn to Sew: Lesson I. Toweling and Other Cotton Samples .... 6 Lesson 2. The Story of How Cotton Grows . . . .11 Lesson 3. The Hemming Stitch ....... 19 Lesson 4. The Stitching Stitch ....... 23 Lesson 5. The Overhanding Stitch ...... 28 Lesson 6. Planning to Make an Apron . . . . .31 Lesson 7. Using the Running and Back Stitch on the Apron . 34 Lesson 8. Making and Attaching the Apron Yokes ... 37 Lesson 9. How to Make a Buttonhole ...... 39 Lesson 10. The Use of the Commercial Pattern .... 46 Lesson 11. Taking Measurements and Cutting Out the Petticoat . 50 Lesson 12. Making the Petticoats ....... 53 Chapter II. The Girls of the Pleasant Valley School Learn to Make Simple Garments: Lesson 1. Cotton Materials Suitable for Underwear ... 58 Lesson 2. Selecting a Pattern and the Cloth for a Nightdress . 63 Lesson 3. How Cotton Cloth is Woven ..... 65 Lesson 4. The Spinning of Cotton into Yarn .... 72 Lesson 5. Cutting Out a Nightdress ...... 78 Lesson 6. The Parts of the Sewing Machine .... 80 Lesson 7. Practice in Threading and Running the Machine . 84 Lesson 8. The French Seam and Its Use .... . .86 Lesson 9. Protection for the Body at Night..... 89 Lesson 10. Laces and Their Use ....... 93 Lesson 11. Trimming the Nightdress ...... 98 v VI CONTENTS PAGE Lesson 12. Choosing the Pattern and Material for a White Petticoat 101 Lesson 13. Learning to Make the Petticoat . . . . .103 Lesson 14. How to Make a Corset Cover ..... 105 Chapter III. Learning to Make Attractive Gifts for Christ- mas or for a Birthday Present: Lesson 1. The Story of How Silk is Produced .... 109 Lesson 2. Simple Articles Easily Made from Silk Scraps . . 116 Lesson 3. The Names and Uses of Several Silks are Discussed . 122 Lesson 4. More Useful Gifts and How to Make Them . . .127 Lesson 5. Cousin Ann Tells How Silk is Made into Cloth . . 131 Lesson 6. The Blanket Stitch can be Used in Many Ways . . 138 Lesson 7. Learning to Make the Cross-stitch .... 142 Lesson 8. How to Make the Hemstitch ..... 147 Lesson 9. Another Useful Gift and a New Stitch .... 149 Lesson 10. The Darning Stitch 152 Chapter IV. The Pleasant Valley Girls Learn to Care for Their Clothes and to Help Repair the Household Linens: Lesson 1. Care of Clothes . . 156 Lesson 2. Learning to Darn Straight Tears . . . . .163 Lesson 3. Darning Stockings 167 Lesson 4. Patching Saves Clothing and Other Articles . . 171 Lesson 5. The Story of How Linen is Grown . . . .174 Lesson 6. Common Linen Materials are Identified . . . 181 Lesson 7. Removing Common Stains from Table Linen . . 185 Lesson 8. Learning to Wash and Iron the Table or Bed Linen . 188 Lesson 9. The Story of the Manufacture of Linen Yarn into Cloth 191 Lesson 10. A Talk about Buying Linens 196 Chapter V. The Pleasant Valley Girls Learn to Make Other Garments: Lesson 1. The Pattern of the Bloomers 201 Lesson 2. The Story of Where Wool is Grown .... 203 Lesson 3 Some of the Most Common Materials Made from Wool 209 Lesson 4. Making a Pair of Bloomers . . . . . .215 Lesson 5. The Story of How Wool is Made into Cloth . . 218 THE PLEASANT VALLEY SCHOOL This is a story of the way in which the mothers and fathers, the teacher and pupils, and their friends in the township work together to make the broad valley in which they live truly a Pleasant Valley. The new school stands where the little red schoolhouse was built for those who are now grandmothers and grand- fathers, when the town was first settled. The old building had become too small for all the young folk, but everybody loved the place and it was not until a fire had destroyed it that money was voted for larger and better housing for the school girls and boys. These small books can describe only a part of every- thing that is being done in and for the school, and for the home people too, for you know that no town can prosper and no country be great unless the homes are B I 2 CLOTHING AND HEALTH healthful and happy, where all the members of every family work and play together. Do you not want to help, too, in your home, and in your town? CLOTHING AND HEALTH CHAPTER I THE PLEASANT VALLEY GIRLS LEARN TO SEW 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 CLOTHING AND HEALTH 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 interest- ing to know, too, that our clothing materials come from plants or ani- mals? 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. i) has been made Presi- dent of the Girls' Sewing League of Pleasant Valley. All the school girls be- long; 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 Fig. 1.—Marjorie Allen, President of the Girls' Sewing League. LEARNING TO SEW 5 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. Some- times she orders by mail. The girls of the league have decided to make some kitchen towels and potlifters. These are useful and !-»— : ' '—-—-—; 1 1" /'s ^rt Tl id '■MP' t :3V jj. .j^W ^ * ,<: 'V '■"" '''■'"'''-.. 9 . Fig. 2. — Miss James and some of the Pleasant Valley girls. They are sewing for the League fair. always sell well. As the girls do not yet know how to make these articles, they have promised to make a towel for themselves for school use, on which to learn. Then they will make others for the sale. Cooking, sewing, and housewifery are a part of the school work. Besides Miss James, the teacher, will give credit for the 6 CLOTHING AND HEALTH sewing done by the Girls' League. The girls are anx- ious to prove to Miss James (Fig. 2) that they can really work outside of school. Later the girls hope to make aprons and caps to wear for their school work in housewifery, and also some petticoats for the children at the Fresh Air Home. Miss James says she will help them at school to get started. Lesson i toweling and other cotton samples Marjorie sent for samples of toweling materials. She also went to the town store to see what it had to offer, and to look for ma- terials for petticoats and aprons. One day at school all the girls wrote for samples. Miss James criticized the letters, and chose the best one to be sent. Perhaps you can do this at your school. What material is best for toweling? As soon as all the samples arrived at Pleasant Valley, Marjorie took them to school, and Miss James spent an hour with the girls studying the materials. The toweling samples were examined first. What a difference in them! Some are smooth and feel cold and look almost shiny, and others feel soft and look more fuzzy on the surface. Do you know why? It is because some are woven of linen fibers made from the flax plant, and others from cotton which comes from the cotton plant. Which do you think are made from cotton? Then, there is a difference in width: some are only 15 inches wide, and others are 18 inches. LEARNING TO SEW 7 Some have a red or blue edge, and others are plain. There is also difference in price. Which costs more, linen or cotton? Are the prices not given on the samples? Marjorie and the girls decided that the towels are to be one yard long. They would like to make four dozen for the sale and plan to tie them up attractively, half a dozen in a package. They had #25 left in the treasury from last year. As they will have many other things to buy, they decided to pur- chase cotton towels this year. Later, if there is enough money, they can add some linen towels. Cotton towels do not absorb the water as easily as the linen. We call this a difference in the properties of the two materials. Barbara Oakes said her mother always buys linen towels. Cotton fibers have a kind of waxy coating which throws off the water. Linen fibers draw in moisture quickly, and linen materials dry very rapidly. Why, then, is linen really better for dish towels? Gingham, calico, and chambray are pretty and useful. Let us look at some of the other cotton materials. Miss James had many samples for the girls to see. Grandmother Stark sent over some from her piece bag. Perhaps your teacher will bring some, and your mother may send some, too. There are several samples of material for the aprons and caps. The blue and white, and pink and white stripes and checks are ginghams; the white with the little spots and thin stripes are percales. The plain blues and pinks are 8 CLOTHING AND HEALTH TEXTILE SAMPLE BOOK chambray; the plain blues and pinks of cheaper grade are ginghams. Those with printed designs on one side are calicos. The dark brown and blue samples are heavier and are called denims. Suppose we make a book of brown paper and mount all the cotton materials we can find. This book can be kept at the school for reference. Everybody must help. See if it is possible to write under each sample the name and common uses of the material as well as its price. Miss James had some smooth brown paper to fold for a book. She suggested ways to bind it. If each girl wishes her own book, a number can be made if so many samples can be ob- tained. Barbara and Marjorie decide to make their books at home. There are several varieties of cotton flannel. The fuzzy soft cotton samples are outing flannels and canton flannels. What is the difference in their appearance? The canton flannel is heavier, and it has one twilled surface and one fuzzy surface. It costs 12 cents a yard and comes about 30 inches in width. Outing flannel, which is fuzzy on both sides, can be bought from 10 to 35 cents a yard, and it is 36 inches wide. The flannelette samples are also soft and cost from 8 Fig. 3.-—The girls made brown paper books for their textile samples. LEARNING TO SEW 9 to 12 cents per yard; but flannelette is only 27 inches in width. It has a slight nap or fuzzy surface, and is sometimes plain in color and sometimes printed on one surface. Compare these three materials. Outing flannel is very dangerous unless treated with ammonium phosphate. Dissolve one quarter of a pound of am- monium phosphate, which costs about 25 cents, in one gallon of cold water. Soak the clothing in this solu- tion for five minutes. This is easily done and may prevent much trouble. Can you tell why outing flannel is dangerous unless it is treated? Many other cotton materials are useful. Miss James has ever so many more cotton materials. She told the girls the use and name of each. Can we learn them all? Cheesecloth. Thin, sheer, plain weave. Costs from 5 to 12 cents per yard, and comes 1 yard wide. It is used for wrapping butter or cheese, for curtains, and for many other purposes. It may be used for baby, too, because it is so soft. The unbleached cheesecloth costs from 4 to 12 cents and is 1 yard wide. Crinoline. Something like cheesecloth in appearance and stiffer in texture. It is used by dressmakers for stiffening parts of garments. It comes from about 19 to 36 inches wide and costs 12J cents up. Scrim. An open mesh weave but heavier than cheesecloth. It is used for curtains and household furnishings, and comes bleached or unbleached. What is the difference in their color? Cost, from 12 to 90 cents. Width, from 36 to 45 inches. Cretonne and Chintz. Printed materials with flowers or designs on one side, sometimes on both. They cost from 12 to 75 cents per yard and are used for curtains, covers, cushion tops, etc. They vary in width from 25 to 36 inches. io CLOTHING AND HEALTH Denim. Strong material and has an uneven twilled weave. It is used for furniture covers, for aprons, and for floor covering. It costs from 18 to 30 cents per yard and comes about 1 yard in width. Your big brother or father wears overalls of this material; perhaps some of the boys in school do, too. Gingham. A material used for aprons or dresses, skirts, etc. It is from 24 to 30 inches wide and costs from 10 to 50 cents per yard. Fine ginghams are very beautiful. Sometimes they are plain in color or striped or in plaids. Percale. A good piece can be bought for 12^ cents per yard, 36 inches wide. It comes plain or printed, and is firm and closely woven. It is good for aprons or summer dresses. Ticking. A material used for pillows or mattress covers. It is striped, is twilled in weave, and wears very well. It costs from I2§ cents per yard up to 50 or 60 cents per yard, and is woven 36 inches wide. Do you understand what is meant when we read that cloth is woven 36 inches wide? Do you know how cotton cloth is made and where it comes from? Grandmother Allen told some of the girls; for she knows about all such things. In our next lesson we shall study where cotton is grown, and in another learn how it is woven. Another day we will learn the names of other Fig. 4. — The surprise box. . , 1 1 . cotton materials and their uses. Then, we can add them to our book of cotton samples. The little white box on Miss James' desk is a surprise box (Fig. 4). Any one who finds a new cotton material different from those studied at school, Miss James says, LEARNING TO SEW u may drop it through the little hole in the cover of the box. What fun the girls of Pleasant Valley will have when it is opened. EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS 1. If you were buying kitchen toweling for use at home, what material would you buy? 2. Name three fuzzy cotton materials and tell their uses. 3. Decide whether you are to make a sample book. Begin to collect samples of cotton materials for it. 4. Write quickly on the blackboard the names of six common cotton materials. Ask mother to name six. Lesson 2 the story of cotton growing Do you know that our country produces three-fourths of the cotton of the world? Where is it grown? Have you heard the story of cotton? Let us learn about it. While the girls of Pleasant Valley school waited for the cotton toweling to come from the store, they studied about where cotton is grown. Cotton is the cheapest and most important textile fiber. What does the word textile mean? Look up the word in the school diction- ary. More clothing is made from cotton than from any other fiber. Where does cotton grow? Perhaps you have lived in the Southern States. Can you name them without looking at your geography? Can you tell why it is warmer in those states and why cotton grows 12 CLOTHING AND HEALTH so well there, and not in Northern States? Texas produces more cotton than any other state. In what other countries of the world do you think cotton is grown? John Alden and Frank Allen heard the girls studying about cotton, and they told Miss James that they thought the boys would like to learn, too. How cotton grows. The farmer plants the cotton seeds in rows, — you have seen corn planted in that way. What color is corn? The cotton seeds do not look like kernels of corn; but some are fuzzy and soft and gray or green in color, and others are black and smooth. This is because there are many varieties or kinds of cotton. Some grow to be five feet tall like corn; others, ten feet in height. Some have yellow flowers, and some brown and purple red. There are over one hundred varieties of cotton. If you do not live near a cotton field, per- haps you can ask some boy or girl in your school to write to the United States Department of Agricul- ture at Washington. This department will send you some cotton seeds. Perhaps you can plant the seeds in the school garden and see if they will grow. In the South the planter prepares the fields about February and plants in April or May. By the midCourtesy of the United States Department of Agriculture. Fig. 5.—The flower and leaf of the cotton plant. The size of the flower is about four inches across. LEARNING TO SEW 13 die of August, the plants are five or six feet high and are covered with fuzzy little white balls, soft and dry. The cotton fields, or plantations as they are called, look like fairyland. In the picture (Fig. 6) you will see the men, women, and children busy picking the cotton and putting it into baskets. The Courtesy of the United States Department of Agriculture. Fig. 6. — Picking cotton. cotton bolls, as they are called, are brown and dry look- ing; but when ripe, they burst, and the woolly looking white ball pops out of its brown house, or shell (Fig. 7). In each cotton boll there are about thirty or forty seeds, and the cotton fibers are all attached to these seeds. The fibers are made into thread and clothing, and the seeds are used for many purposes. CLOTHING AND HEALTH Courtesy of the United States Department of Agricutture. Fig. 7. — Cotton bolls when burst are about the size of a small apple. Cotton fibers differ. We shall learn how the fiber is pulled from the seeds. This process is called ginning and is done by a machine. If you have a miscroscope in your school, look at a cotton fiber under the glass. Miss James will send for some fibers. You will see that it looks like a ribbon which has been twisted. The natural twist helps very much when cotton is twisted or is manufactured into yarn. Cotton is a wonderful little fiber and varies in length from | to 2 inches. The cotton called Sea Island cotton is the long fiber cotton, and is grown near the sea, for it needs the sea air. The cotton called Upland grows away on the uplands and is shorter. These are the principle kinds grown in the United States. The cotton seeds are taken from the fiber. After the pickers have gone up and down the long rows and filled their baskets, they empty the cotton bolls into wagons which carry the cotton to the gin house, where Fig. 8. — Cotton fibers magnified. LEARNING TO SEW the seeds are separated from the fibers and the brown pieces of the pod are blown away as it is separated and cleaned. Long ago in India and other countries, cotton was ginned by hand. What a long tedious pro- cess, for only one pound could be separated by a person in a day. The picture (Fig. 9) shows a little girl at school trying to gin some cotton with a little ginning machine which she has made at school. While George Washington was Presi- dent of the United States, a man named Eli Whit- ney invented a machine, called the saw gin, for separating cotton fibers from the seed. This in- vention has saved much time. To-day cotton is all ginned by machinery; and so great quantities can be separated in a day. The machine works in such a way that the cotton fibers are pulled away from the seeds, and the seeds are kept separate for other purposes. The cotton seeds are used, too. Some of the seeds are kept for planting, just as you keep corn and oats Courtesy of Speyer School, New Yort. Fig. 9. — A Pleasant Valley girl trying to gin some cotton with a little ginning machine which she has made at school. 16 CLOTHING AND HEALTH on your farm; and others are pressed. Cottonseed oil comes from the seeds when pressed, and is very useful for many purposes, such as salad oil, soaps, candles, cooking fats. The hulls of the seedsare used for fertilizer, and the dry cake which is left, after the oil has been extracted, is used for feeding Fig. io. — Bales of cotton on a steamboat dock ready for shipping. the cattle. Isn't cotton a very valuable plant? How poor we should be without it, for silk and wool and linen cost so much more. Cotton is the cheap, useful fiber. The cotton is baled and shipped to manufacturers. After cotton has been freed from the seed, it is sent to the cotton mills all over the world; some in this LEARNING TO SEW i7 country and some in Europe. It is sent by boats and sometimes by train. In the picture (Fig. 10) you will see bales on the dock ready to be shipped. In order to ship it safely after it is ginned, it is pressed into bales like the hay you have on your farm; and it is covered with coarse cloth to keep it clean, and is bound with Courtesy of United States Department of Agriculture. Fig. 11. — Bales of cotton from different countries. The third from the left is the American bale. The second is Egyptian; the fourth, East Indian. iron bands. The American cotton bales weigh about 500 pounds. This is the size of a bale: 58" X 30" X 22". See if you can measure off in your school- room a space which will show the size of the bale. When these bales are taken to the steamboat piers, they are again made smaller by a machine, called a 18 CLOTHING AND HEALTH compressor, which reduces them to 10 inches in thick- ness. This is so the bales will not take up so much room in being transported. Sometimes, however, this pressing injures the fiber. The United States ships cotton to Liverpool, Bremen, Havre, Genoa, and many other places. Can you find these on the map and see what a long journey the cotton takes? John Alden went to the map and traced the journey. He used the pointer and started from one of the ports of Louisiana. Can you imagine which one? Which way do you think the steamer sailed in order to reach England as soon as possible r Perhaps you live near a shipping port and can go with your teacher to see the cotton loaded on the ships. Notice how the bales are lowered into the hold. There are large exporting companies which take charge of ship- ping bales of cotton. What is the difference between import and export? We import some cotton from Egypt, because it is a very long fibered cotton and is good for thread, hosiery, and cotton gloves. Another day we shall study how the manufacturer at the mill opens the cotton bale and makes it into cloth. EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS 1. Where is cotton grown in the United States? Find the states on the map. Tell why cotton is grown in these states. 2. Examine a cotton fiber with the microscope. How does it look? Draw a picture of it. 3. Look up the story of Eli Whitney's invention. Why was it important? LEARNING TO SEW 19 Lesson 3 the hemming stitch Let us begin to make the dish towels. What must we think about in order to hem them very-neatly? Why is the hemming stitch useful? The hemming stitch is a very useful one to learn, for it can be used for so many purposes. Let us learn on something simple — a dish towel or dish cloth for mother. Then you can perhaps hem something for the sale of your Girls' League. Mrs. Oakes says she has a dozen new towels ready for Barbara when she learns how to hem. The raw edges of material would ravel unless turned and hemmed. The turning is called a hem. It is held with a temporary stitch called basting, and then with the hemming stitch which remains. If the edges were not hemmed, the material would ravel away or look very untidy. The warp threads run lengthwise of the cloth. The firm selvedge is made by the filling thread passing around the warp as the cloth is made. It is this filling thread which will ravel in dish toweling or other material unless a hem is made. How is the hemming stitch made? This is how Miss James taught the girls of Pleasant Valley to hem: 1. Turn hem of desired width. For the towels, one-fourth inch will be about right when finished. There are two turns because one would ravel. Turn towards the worker. First, turn one- eighth inch to wrong side of material. Second, turn one-fourth inch. Turn and pinch to hold until basted. LEARNING TO SEW 21 curely. Now you are ready for the stitch. Point the needle which is in your right hand towards the left shoulder. The Fig. 14. — This shows how to start the hemming. Fig. 15. — The hemming stitch. Notice the slant of the needle. point of the needle is passed first through the cloth under the edge of the hem, with a tiny stitch which shows on the right CLOTHING AND HEALTH side. The needle, at the same time, catches the edge of the basted hem. This makes a tiny slanting stitch on the right side, so: /. The next stitch is taken about one-sixteenth of an inch from the first, in exactly the same way. As the thread carries from one stitch to the next, it makes a slanting line on the wrong, or hem, side but in the opposite direction from the stitch which shows on the right side. It slants like this: \ Together these two make this : / The part marked i shows on the right side of the cloth; and 2 on the wrong, where the hem is turned (Fig. 15). When the end of hem is reached, fasten with two or three tiny stitches. If the thread breaks, ravel out a few stitches and let the old end III /Iof thread lie under the hem. The '". '' new thread can then be started as at the beginning by putting needle in the hole of last stitch. There will be two ends under the hem to work over. The picture (Fig. 16) shows how to join a new Find out how many places the hemming stitch can be Try it at home on something before next lesson. Fig. 16. thread used. -The hemming stitch. Start- ing a new thread. When this stitch has been well learned, it will be pos- sible for the Girls' Sewing League to make many things. LEARNING TO SEW 23 EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS 1. Practice turning hems neatly on a scrap of cloth before starting to turn them on the dish towel. 2. Study the pictures carefully so as to have the stitch exactly the right slant. 3. Practice hemming on a scrap of cloth for a few stitches before beginning the towel. Lesson 4 THE STITCHING STITCH Shall we try to make a potholder and learn another new stitch? Holders are very useful to the housekeeper. Mrs. Stark has a bag with pockets hanging near the kitchen stove and says it makes such a convenient place to keep holders, for they are always at hand ready for use. They can be made many sizes. For the cook- ing class at school, it is convenient for each girl to have a holder on a tape attached to the band of her apron (Fig. 17). It is always with her, then, for use. This can be done by making a loop at the end of the tape and slipping the holder through the loop. A hand towel attached at the same place is convenient, too. Fig. . The holder. 24 CLOTHING AND HEALTH Planning, cutting, and basting the holders. Holders can be made from old scraps of woolen cloth, from either pieces of garments which have been worn and cast aside, or new scraps from the piece bag. Six inches square is a good size. Place several squares, one on top of the other, according to the thickness of the cloth. Can you tell why wool makes a better holder than cotton? For appearance we can cover the holder with some pretty piece of chintz or cretonne; perhaps you have in the piece bag some pieces which are large enough. Denim is strong for a covering. A piece of asbestos might be placed inside. Why? Pin all these thicknesses together, with a cover top and bottom. Now baste from corner to corner and from side to side. This is good practice. Make basting stitches of even length such as you made on the towels. Then baste carefully all around the four sides so that the edges are held securely. We are going to bind the edge to pre- vent it from raveling and to make it strong. Tape is good for binding; and so is a bias strip of the cre- tonne cover, or of a pretty contrasting color. What does contrasting mean? Cutting and placing a bias strip. Can you learn to cut a true bias strip of cloth? You have learned that the warp threads are the strong threads of the cloth and run lengthwise of the material. To prepare to cut a true bias strip (Fig. 18), fold the warp of the cloth over so that the warp threads lie exactly on the filling threads. The fold is a true bias edge. Cut LEARNING TO SEW through the fold. A true bias edge is made by cutting a square from corner to corner. Does it cut the warp or the filling threads? To make one-inch strips for binding the holder, measure at right angles to the fold you have just cut. Make a dot, and rule a light line which will be one inch from the cut edge. These are true bias strips. Baste the strip or tape carefully around the four sides of the holder, and allow a little fullness at the corner. The edge of the strip or tape should be even with the edge of the holder, and the basting should be one-fourth of an inch from the edge in a straight line for a guide for the next stitch. Miss 1 James showed the girls how to turn the corners by taking a FlG. l8. — Cutting a true bias. tiny plait. Making the stitching stitch. Now we are ready for a new strong stitch. It is called stitching stitch, for it is used where machine stitching might be used, and resembles it in appearance on the right side. Ask your Grandmother if she remembers when there were no sewing machines and all Grandfather's shirts were stitched by hand? Grandmother Allen and Grand- mother Stark of Pleasant Valley remember. Look at the picture (Fig. 19) and follow the direc- tions carefully, and you will be able to make this 26 CLOTHING AND HEALTH stitch. It is started with two or three tiny stitches, one over the other for strength. The row of stitches you are to make should be in a straight line just below the straight row of basting stitches. Hold the cloth in the same way as for hemming, with the material over the fingers and the thumb on top. Now you are ready to make the new stitch. The stitch is started at the right-hand end of the cloth. Make a Fig. 19. — The stitching stitch. stitch back over the two starting stitches and carry the needle forward twice the length of this starting stitch. You will have a tiny space on the right side between the place where the needle comes up and the end of the starting stitch. Each time your thread should fill this space, for your needle should go back into the end of the last stitch and twice the length forward on the opposite side as it comes up. See the needle in the picture (Fig. 19). Notice the space. LEARNING TO SEW 27 Look at your work. What is the appearance of the stitch on the wrong side? On the right side? This stitch is also called the backstitch. Why? Finishing the holder. Make a row of stitching stitches all around the edge of the holder, holding the binding securely. Be careful to catch the corners well. Remove your basting stitches. Turn the tape or strip over to the other side of the holder and baste. If you have used a bias strip, the edge must be turned under one-fourth of an inch or more before basting. This edge is to be held with the hemming stitch. I am sure that you can all make the hemming stitch by now. If you wish a loop or long tape for holding the holder, hem it neatly at one side, turning in the end of the tape to prevent raveling. If you have some colored" silk thread, it will look well to make tiny stars like this * at the center of the holder and at four places about two inches from the corners on the diag- onals. These will hold the materials firmly together. Other uses for the stitching stitch. The stitching stitch can be used for many other purposes. It is a strong stitch for seams. Do you know what a seam is? Two pieces of cloth sewed together may form a seam. Look for seams in your skirt, in your sleeve, in your waist. Can you find any? Some one tell the difference between a hem and a seam. After this lesson Mollie Stark helped her Grandmother sew some long seams. Mr. Stark's overalls had ripped, and the sewing machine was being repaired. 28 CLOTHING AND HEALTH EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS 1. Practice cutting some bias strips. Be sure they are true bias edges. How can you tell? 2. Try to make the stitching stitch on teacher's demonstration cloth, with the large needle and red worsted. Lesson 5 the overhanding stitch A new game and a new stitch. Let us make the bags with the new stitch before we learn to play the game. Perhaps, instead of a potholder, you had rather make iron holders or bean bags for your League Fair. Have you ever played bean bag game? The Pleasant Valley school children often play this game at recess. You can easily make the bags and also the board. Fig. 20. — The overhanding stitch. LEARNING TO SEW 29 Making the bean bag. Bean bags can also be sewed with the stitching stitch, as it is strong. Cut the bags of denim 14 X 7 inches, or so as to make a bag 7 inches square. Fold, baste the edges on three sides, sew them with stitching stitch, and turn inside out. Fill with beans. Two inches at the middle of one side should not be sewed until after the beans have been put in. Would you like to learn the overhanding stitch for closing the edges of that side? The two edges of the bag are turned in, and the overhanding stitch is made on the very edge. It is a very simple stitch, and is used for sewing seams or edges together firmly. The edges are held in the left hand be- tween the thumb and first finger. The needle in the right hand is pointed straight F,G- ". ~The bean bag board. through towards the worker as in the picture (Fig. 20), and the needle is passed through the two edges. The end of the thread is drawn carefully, and one- half of an inch allowed to lie on the edge. This is worked over. The needle is pointed with each stitch towards the worker, and the stitches are placed about one-eighth of an inch apart. Be very careful to catch both edges, but do not make your stitches too deep. The overhanding stitch is a strong stitch and is easy to make. It is finished by working backwards from left to right on the edge with three or four of the same stitches. 0 A O , Q - IS CLOTHING AND HEALTH Playing the bean bag game. The boys will surely wish to help prepare the board for the bean bag game. Frank Allen and John Alden made the one used at Pleasant Valley school. Perhaps there is an old box somewhere which can be braced with sticks and made to stand slanting. The bottom of the box will have Courtesy of Mrs. E. J. Esseistya. Fig. 22. — John Alden's little brother trying for a high score. to be cut in holes (see Fig. 21). Each hole can be a different shape and numbered 5, 10, 25, or 50. The object of the game is to see how high a score can be obtained by throwing the bags through the holes. One should stand six feet or more from the board. Each should have ten turns. Some one must keep the score. The boys will have to help saw or whittle to get the holes just right. Do you think you can make both LEARNING TO SEW 31 the bags and the game board? The picture (Fig. 22) shows John Alden's little brother playing the game. EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS 1. Try to make the bean bag board. Perhaps you can think of an easier way. 2. Find five places where the overhanding stitch is used and report at the next lesson. Lesson 6 planning to make an apron The girls of Pleasant Valley school decided to make caps and aprons. They help every day with the preparation of the school lunch. The aprons will keep their dresses clean, so the girls will look neat and tidy. The aprons can also be used at home. Let us too learn how to cut them carefully. The samples which Marjorie Allen brought from the store have been examined and studied carefully. The girls know now the difference in appearance between percales, calicos, ginghams, chambrays, and also how much they cost. Most of the girls have decided to make pink and white, or blue and white, checked aprons of gingham. It costs 12^ cents a yard; and the girls require from two and one-half to three yards, accord- ing to size. They are to make their own pattern for the aprons, as they are so simple. When they make the petticoats for the Fresh Air children, they will learn to use a commercial pattern. Cutting the skirt part. Each girl will need two lengths for the skirt part of the apron, measuring from 32 CLOTHING AND HEALTH the armhole at chest, to the desired length. No pattern is necessary for this skirt part. On each length allow four inches extra for hem. Tear one length, lengthwise; be careful not to tear it crosswise of the material. The two pieces torn down are to be placed one on each side of the whole width, with selvedges together. Planning the pattern for the yoke. Now the yoke pattern is to be made. Miss James helped the Pleas- ant Valley girls with the patterns. You will need a good-sized piece of paper, pencil, and a tapeline. Measure the width of chest from side to side, just at the armhole in front. Look at diagram (Fig. 23); this measure is the bottom of the yoke. Draw a line the length of chest measure across the bot- tom of your paper. Measure up six inches, and draw a line at right angles to each end of the chest line. This is to find the shoulder. Draw a dotted line three inches at right angles to this, as shown in the diagram. Then draw a line three inches to form a third side of the square. Do this for the other shoulder and con- nect the two lines with a line parallel to the chest line. You will have a yoke three inches wide in front. The shoulder lines are too straight; so draw slanting lines just a little towards the outside or armhole side, taking ■i.N. 3 IN. v•--- Fig. 102. — Hemming the patch in place, on the right side. right side. Cut the hole, removing all frayed edges until it is a true square or oblong, measuring from the center where diagonal creases cross. After cutting, make a tiny slanting cut from £ to \ inch at each corner on the diagonal creases of the article, and turn under these cut edges. Pin and baste carefully. Turn to wrong side. Hold to light to see if the patch is the CLOTHING AND HEALTH same width on all sides of the hole. Trim if necessary. Remove pins, flatten, turn edges of the patch by opposites, and baste. The hemming stitch is then used on both the right and wrong sides of the patch to hold the edges. This patch is laundered flat and neat. For next lesson we shall study about the table linen and towels. We know that some of them are linen. Where does linen come from? Do you know whether it is a plant or an animal? There are several reference books on the shelf. See how much you can discover about this secret. EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS 1. Practice making a hemmed patch at home. Mother will surely have a tablecloth or an undergarment or an apron which needs a patch. Try to keep the patch very flat. 2. See how much you can learn about linen before next lesson. Lesson 5 the story of how linen is grown What is the story of our linen materials? Where do they come from? Would you like to know? Mollie's Stark's Uncle John has just come to Pleasant Valley. He is her father's brother and has been in the linen business in Ireland. He told the Girls' League the other evening about flax and about how it is made into cloth. This is the story he told. It has also been printed in the "Pleasant Valley News." Have you read it? 176 CLOTHING AND HEALTH up straight like the wheat and does not branch. When it is planted for its seed, it is not planted so thickly be- cause it must have more room to branch and bear seed. Flaxseed is used for many purposes. Flaxseed, or lin- seed, oil is used for paints and varnishes, and even for food, in some countries. Like cotton seed, the dry cake, or meal, left is a valuable food for cattle. Has mother ever used the oil or the meal for anything at home? The flax plant as it grows is from 20 to 40 inches in height. It has lovely little blue flowers on the stems which branch at the top. Uncle John knew a little girl at Pleasant Valley who thought the flax came from the little brown seed pods on top, just as the cotton comes from the seed pod, or boll. It does not; for the flax fiber is the part of the long stem which grows just inside of the outside woody portion. So, you see flax fibers can be from 20 to 40 inches long, according to the height of the plant. The wonderful part of the story is how the fibers are removed from the long stems. How is flax grown? Flax requires much hand labor in its care while growing. The women and children in Europe weed it and care for it, on their hands and knees. When it is full grown and the flowers have come and gone, the tiny seed pods grow where the flowers have fallen, just like the seed pods your peonies or poppies grow. Before the seeds are quite ripe, and while the stalks are brownish yellow, the flax is ready to be pulled. It is not cut like wheat with the reaper and gathered into bundles, but must be pulled up by 178 CLOTHING AND HEALTH the seeds. Then the flax is bound in bundles for the next process, which is retting. This is really the most important part of all, for it means rotting the outside woody portion of the stem so as to get the flax fiber. This woody portion is of no value. Fig. 105.—This little girl is rippling flax The flax is sometimes by hand at school. Can you see the retted by deW J JUSt left On the ground at night. You know how wet the grass can be early in the morn- ing. So the dew, rain, air, and sunshine decompose Co-/rtesy of Woolman & McGowan, Textiles. Fig. 106. — Flax retting at Courtrai, Belgium. the outside woody bark. This is a very slow process. More often flax is retted in water. The bundles are REPAIRING LINEN 179 placed in crates or boxes, and left for about two weeks under water. If you grow some flax, you can ret it also and remove the fiber. Do you know what takes place when the woody part decomposes? It is called fermentation. What have you learned about fermen- tation? (See Food and Health.) After retting, the flax is spread to dry in the fields and is then ready for the next pro- cess, called breaking. Just think of how many things have been done to the fibers of our linen towels and napkins and dresses, which we use every day. Jane Smith said she never realized before how many hands prepare our cloth- ing and other materials. What is meant by break- ing flax? Breaking means removing the dry wood portion which has been decomposed by the retting. This is sometimes done by means of a hand break. In the picture (Fig. 107) you will see a little girl of Pleasant Valley breaking flax by hand. Sometimes the woody part is broken away by passing the flax between rollers of a machine which is run by power. These power mills are called scutching mills; scutching means cleaning and Courtesy of Speyer Schoot, New York. Fig. 107. — Flax breaking done by hand. i8o CLOTHING AND HEALTH breaking. After this process the flax lies in long bundles of parallel fibers, something like a girl's hair as it is ready to be braided. The flax varies in color; some- times it is gray or of a greenish tint, and some- times pale yellow. If you have a microscope or a glass at school, ex- amine the flax fiber. See how it looks, rough and woody. It also looks some- thing like the silk fibers, straight. It has tiny mark- ings or spots called nodes. Fig. 108.-Flax fibers magnified. yX IS principally Cellu- lose. Do you know what cellulose means? Look it up in the dictionary. So you see that the long fibers are freed from the stem of the flax plant and are ready for the manu- facturer to spin into yarn to be woven into cloth, or to make it into cord, rope, twine, lace, or thread for many useful purposes. Isn't this an interest- ing story? Flax cultivation is one of the most ancient indus- tries. Think how very useful it is, both for fiber and for seed. It has been grown for at least 5000 years in Egypt and in Assyria. Do you re- member reading about the ancient mummies which have Fig. 109. — The mummies of Egypt are found wrapped in linen cloth made from flax long ago. REPAIRING LINEN 181 been found wrapped in linen in the tombs of Egypt? In the Bible, chapter xlii of the book of Genesis, we are told that Pharaoh arrayed Joseph in vestures of fine linen. Do you know of any other Bible references which tell of the use of linen in ancient times? Have you ever heard of the Swiss lake dwellers? Perhaps your teacher will tell you about them, or you can look it up in the encyclopedia. They too used linen long ago, for pieces have been found and are in the museums in Switzerland. Next lesson we shall make a large chart for the school- room, which will tell the story of flax. You may bring anything which you think will help to illustrate that story. We shall also mount on the chart the most common linen materials which we use in our homes. EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS 1. Examine a flax fiber with a microscope or a magnifying glass. What do you see? 2. Look up references which prove the age of flax culture. 3. Perhaps some one near your school has been in the linen business in Ireland. Perhaps he will come to the school and tell the boys and girls about it. Try to find some one. Lesson 6 common linen materials are identified Can we learn to identify at least eight of the common linen materials? To-day we shall study about the different linen ma- terials, and then see what we have to mount on our 182 CLOTHING AND HEALTH school chart. If you prefer, you may make a book of linen materials like the cotton and silk. Let us divide the pieces which have been brought to school into two piles: the thin, and the thicker ones. We have more of the thick ones. Yes, we all know the heavy coarse linen is called Russian crash. We used it for our porch cushions or covers. It comes from 18 to 36 inches in width and costs from 15 cents a yard up to 75 cents sometimes. We know it is used for dresses, and sometimes for toweling and upholstery uses. It is unbleached in color. This wide sample is linen sheeting. Our great-grand- mothers always had linen sheets of flax which they grew, spun, and wove, because long ago cotton was not grown. Some of the Pleasant Valley girls saw these sheets which Grandmother Allen made. Sheeting comes in several widths, and costs about #1 per yard up. Cotton sheeting is cheaper. The one thin one is handkerchief linen. It costs from 60 cents to #2.00 per yard. What kind of a weave is it? What is it used for? The other thin piece is called batiste. It, too, is used for waists and dress linens, and it is fine and sheer. It can be used for handkerchiefs too. It costs about #1.00 per yard up, according to the fineness, and is 1 yard or more wide. Batiste is made of cotton, also, and is then cheaper. The weave of this piece is different. You have a cotton sample of the same weave. Yes, it is called 184 CLOTHING AND HEALTH middle of the 20 inches side and run a cord through for hanging. At one edge down one side place the common linen materials with their names and uses, etc. Let us see what the girls have brought. Here is a bottle of linseed oil. Yes, and some flax seeds. Jane has brought a linen collar. Here is a small china doll wrapped as a mummy. Marjorie's grandmother has sent some flax which she grew and prepared herself, and a piece of an old hand-woven towel which she made when a girl. And here is some hand-spun flax! Notice how rough it looks. We have, also, some cord and twine and some linen thread. Do you know that Paterson, New Jersey, where Marjorie's Cousin Ann works in the silk mill, is also a great center for linen thread manufacture? Thread is made by twisting fine yarns together. The twisting makes them strong. They are then dyed or bleached white. Much of our linen thread is unbleached in color. Why? Suppose we draw a picture of the flax stalk and flower on our chart and fasten some of the school- grown flax to it. All the other things can be arranged and fastened too, by punching holes in the cardboard and tying them on with cord. , What an interesting story it makes. Perhaps the children of the lower classes would like to hear the story told by one of the seventh grade girls some morning. Next lesson you may bring any table linen or towels which are stained; and we shall learn how to remove the stains. 186 CLOTHING AND HEALTH to school to-day. Your teacher will show you how to follow the directions. Coffee and tea stains are the most common on table linen. To remove, wash in lukewarm water, and then dip in a solution of washing soda, and rinse very care- fully until all soda is removed. (Washing soda solu- tion is made of one pound of washing soda to one gallon of water. This can be kept in glass jars and used when occasion demands.) Tea stains are easily re- moved by brushing the spot with glycerine and then washing carefully in warm water to remove the grease. Rubbing the spot with the bowl of a spoon is a good way to put on the glycerine. Fruit stains are also common. An easy way to remove them is to stretch the fabric, if it is white, over a bowl and pour boiling water from a height, through the spot. On white wool or silk, lukewarm water is sometimes all that is necessary; or lukewarm water and a little borax. If the fruit stains are on colored garments, they are difficult to remove on account of removing the color also. If the article is of much value, consult a professional dyer if possible. It is wise to experiment on the material on another part of the garment, as the inside of a hem or facing. Make a similar spot and try to remove with different methods. Often one can discover a way, through experimenting. Rust stains often appear on table linen or white clothing. To remove, wet the spot and apply a few drops of oxalic acid or salts of lemon or cream of tartar REPAIRING LINEN 187 solution, and wash thoroughly. On colored or wool goods of good quality, one must decide whether one prefers the stain or the color removed. Water and lemon juice will generally remove the spot, but may take the color too. Care is necessary for colors. Grass stains are also common. If the stains are fresh, cold water will usually remove them. When on white goods or material which cannot be washed, alcohol may be used. When color will stand it, dyed fabrics which are grass-stained can be washed with water and a little ammonia, followed by warm soap solution and careful rinsing. Here is a garment which has both ink and blood stains on it. Majorie must have cut her finger. Blood stains when fresh are easily removed with lukewarm, not hot water, and a little ammonia. When on colored silk, wash carefully with lukewarm water only. The ink stains are more difficult, because the composition of inks varies. Wash at once in cold water; this often removes some spots. Sour milk or several rinsings in sweet milk may cause the spot to disappear. Then wash in warm water and soap to remove the grease. If this does not remove it, try a paste made of starch, salt, and lemon juice except for colors. If this will not, try Javelle water. This can be obtained at a drug store. Wash the spot in the Javelle water, but rinse very quickly and carefully. Repeat until the spot disappears. These directions are for white ma- terials only. REPAIRING LINEN 189 as we have learned. For the usual grease spots on the family tablecloths, soak the cloth in soda water to remove grease (one cup of soda — the dissolved solu- tion — to a pail of water, see page 186). The processes for washing and ironing. If the stains have been removed from the table linen, it can then be soaked. Soak- ing helps to loosen the dirt when soap is added before the soaking. It is then unnecessary to rub them as much, and so materials are saved from wear. These are the processes forwashing Fig. no. — Mrs. Stark washing out of doors on a warm day. This is the old way. She has just bought a washing machine. and ironing: soaking, washing, rinsing, boiling, rinsing, bluing, starching, hanging, drying, sprinkling, pulling, folding, ironing. CLOTHING AND HEALTH 1. Soaking. Soak the table or bed linens about if hours in cold or lukewarm water. Soap is really not necessary as the linen is not very dirty. All stains should have been previously removed. 2. Washing. Wash with soap on both sides, rubbing on clothes board or in washing machine. Use hot water. 3. Rinsing. Rinse and soap again to be placed in the boiler. The dirt is carried away by this rinsing. 4. Boiling. Put the soaped articles in clear cold water. Boil briskly for five minutes. Add enough soap to keep a suds while boiling; save small pieces for this purpose. Stir clothes and press with a stick. Remove from boiler, after boiling actively for five minutes. Put in clean hot water, then in cold. Rinse once or twice again thoroughly before bluing. 5. Bluing. Make the blue water from some good blue. Do not make it too deep. Test on a small doily. Stir the blue before each article is dipped, so it may not appear streaked on the clothes. If articles are very yellow it may be necessary to let them stand in the blue for a little while. If not yellow, dip two or three times. The next process is starching; but it is not as a rule necessary to starch napkins, tablecloths, or bed linens. 6. Hanging. Hang very straight after stretching. Do not pin at corners. Hang £ of the napkin or tablecloth over the line. 7. Sprinkling. Table linen must be sprinkled evenly. Some- times it can be taken from the line when half dry, and the process of sprinkling omitted. 8. Ironing. Linen should be ironed damp and until dry. This makes the pattern stand out and gives a shine and gloss to the linen. This takes the place of starch. 9. Folding. Iron napkins partly dry on wrong side; then turn to right side, and iron dry. Fold edges evenly. In the lengthwise fold do not fold quite to end, as in the final fold the napkin, hand- kerchief, tablecloth, or sheets will appear uneven at the edges. Fold the tablecloth, or napkins with selvedges together. Table- cloths may be folded with three, or four, long creases. CLOTHING AND HEALTH turns the wheel and the flax in her fingers is fed to the spindle, it is twisted. Spinning of flax is a very old invention. It was once done with just a spindle like the woman has in the picture on page 71 (Fig. 44). This is the secret of how flax spinning is done to-day. The flax is opened at the mill and graded according to color and quality. It is then combed. This process is called hack- ling (Fig. 112). It is sometimes done by hand, and the worker draws the flax over the iron teeth of a comb. The straight- ened fibers are left and are called line; and the combed-out fibers are called tow. This first combing Fig. in.-The flax wheel. process is sometimes called roughing in- stead of hackling. The line is then combed again in a big machine which removes any loose tow. Tow is often put in a carding machine and made into yarn for coarser purposes; but the long straight line is used for the better materials. The line, after it is hackled, is placed on a spread board; and the process is called spreading. You can see in the picture (Fig. 113) that REPAIRING LINEN 193 the bundles of flax yarn are spread and overlapped as they enter the machine. Now you know how the yarn begins to be made of continuous length. The flax comes from this machine in a rope and is something like the cotton rope or roving as it leaves the carding machine; but flax is brown and stiff, not so soft as Courtesy of York St. Milts, Betfast. Fig. 112.— Flax hackling done by machine. cotton. Can you find in the picture (Fig. 113) the cans ready to receive the flax rovings as they come from the spreading machine? They are at the back of the machine. The rovings are then ready to be wound on spools and to be twisted to make them strong. This is done in the same way as the cotton. The spools are put in at the top of the machine; they hold the REPAIRING LINEN 195 put in the big spool holder or skarn in order to prepare the roll of warp threads for the loom. Do you remem- ber how the cotton warp was prepared and how the weaving was done? Uncle John says that in Scotland to-day much of the very fine linen is woven by hand; but we know that linen weaving by machinery has been perfected there and that very beautiful materials are produced on the modern looms with the Jacquard harness as it is called, to produce the wonderful designs. Fine table damask is as beautiful as fine silk. The French, perhaps, make the most beautiful designs for table linen, and the Scotch and Irish come next. (See page 124 for Jacquard loom.) Bleaching linen cloth. Uncle John says there are many things to be done to the linen cloth after it is woven. If we were to go to Ireland, we might ride for miles and see the woven linen cloth spread on the grass in great lengths. This is called crofting or grass bleach- ing. Do you remember how we said grandmother used to bleach her linen? Did she use a chemical? What did the sour milk which she used do to her linen? What did the oxygen do? Chemicals are sometimes used to-day in the early stages before the linen is spread on the grass. Uncle John says that from 20-25 per cent, or about \, of the weight of the linen is lost in bleaching. Linen is sometimes bleached in the thread, but more often after it is woven. Finishing linen cloth for shipping. After linen cloth has been bleached, Uncle John says it is ready to be 196 CLOTHING AND HEALTH finished for shipping to the merchants. It is washed by passing the cloth through a machine called a rub- board. Then it is dried and passed through a beetling machine. This makes the fibers stand out. Then it is pressed between rollers to give it a smooth surface. Cotton is sometimes finished by means of these processes to look like linen and be sold for linen. When this cotton material is washed, the finishing wears off and it does not look like linen. Is such material cheaper or more expensive? Is it honest to sell cotton for linen, and to cheat the buyer? It is all right if the goods are labeled. Next lesson we shall talk about the buying of household linens. One must know many things in order to purchase wisely. Do you see how a knowledge of how things are made will help you, too? EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS 1. Write a story of two hundred words telling how flax is made into cloth. 2. Have an exhibit of articles brought from home, showing different patterns of linen cloth. 3. Perhaps there may be a cord factory near for you to visit. Tow is sometimes used in making twine. Study how cord is made. Lesson 10 a talk about buying linens Have you ever gone shopping with mother? There are some important things to remember when buying table linen or other household materials. What are they? REPAIRING LINEN 197 Marjorie goes with her mother once a year to buy household linens. This is usually in January, when the big shop in town has a sale. Last January, when Marjorie's mother was ill, they had to order by mail. The catalogue from the shop described fully, and Mrs. Allen knew exactly what to ask for; so they managed without going to town. This can be done if one knows how and if the store is a reliable one. These are some of the things Mrs. Allen is teaching Marjorie. Some day she will wish to buy for her own home; or, if her mother is ill again, she can go alone. It is always more satisfactory to see what one is buying. Here are some of the points to be noticed in buying:1. The first important thing to remember is to buy only what one needs. Know the shops one patronizes, if possible, and go or send to only reliable firms. The reliable places are the cheapest in the end. One learns, too, that some things are better at one shop and some at another. Reliable stores often have sales, but as a rule bargains are not cheap. Remember nothing is ever given away. 2. It is wise and cheaper to purchase some new household linen once each year than to wait and have it all wear out at once. 3. Cost is a good guide. Linen is expensive. If too cheap, beware. 4. Linen is sometimes cheapened or adulterated with cotton. If the store keeper sells it for union, it 198 CLOTHING AND HEALTH is honest; if he calls it linen, and you pay linen price, it is dishonest. Ravel and untwist the ends of the warp and filling thread. Cotton will be fuzzy, linen should be long and lustrous. Round threads of linen are best. The linen threads appear pointed at the ends when separated. The all linens made from the tow (you have learned what that is) are cheaper than those made from the line. Why? They will not last quite so well. Wet the linen. Water spreads more rapidly on linen than on cotton. An old-fashioned test was to moisten with the finger. If you have a sample of linen at home for testing, use a drop of olive oil. The oil makes the linen fibers more translucent than the cotton. Why? 5. Another way to know. Linen feels colder than cotton; also it feels heavier when crushed in the hand. 6. Notice the finish. Is it full of starch which can be picked off? If so, after the washing you will have a loosely woven material without starch. It is better to buy a softer linen than one filled stiff with starch which will crack. 7. Damask by the yard is slightly cheaper than by the cloth. One dollar a yard is a fair price. Table cloths from ^\ to 3 yards are a good size for a family of six. A cloth wears about as long as 1 \ or 2 dozen nap- kins. The price of one dozen napkins about equals the cost of a cloth. Napkins come in three sizes: I, 17-22 inches; \, 23-27 inches; \, 29-31 inches. MAKING OTHER GARMENTS 201 pageant? It is a pleasant way to learn history and to celebrate an interesting local event. Pageants have been held in many parts of the eastern and western states; and in England there have been many pageants. Perhaps you can plan a pageant for your town. While the girls are practicing their dancing and gymnastics, bloomers will be very useful, and the girls have decided to learn to make them. Would you like to learn how? The bloomers will be useful for school gymnastics, too. You can also make a middy blouse and a skirt to wear with them, so as to have the whole outfit. Lesson i the pattern of the bloomers Let us study the pattern which your teacher has brought to school. You have learned to read patterns. You must also calculate how much material to order, and what kind. Let us open the pattern and study its parts. Yes, the long narrow strips are for the belt; some are for the placket facings. Notice if the dots indicate where these are to be placed: on a fold of material or length- wise of the cloth. There is one other piece. It is the leg; so two must be cut. Is it possible to cut two at the same time? How, then, should the material be folded? Notice the perforations. They will help us to know which part of the pattern is to be placed on the warp of the cloth. How wide is the width of the pattern at the widest part? If it is 34 inches, then it will be easy 202 CLOTHING AND HEALTH to calculate how many lengths to buy of cloth 36 inches wide. Measure the length of the pattern and see if it is long enough for you to allow for fullness at the knee so that there is some to blouse over. If not, how will you add to the pattern? This extra length must be allowed in ordering the material. Can you tell how much cloth to order? See if you can calculate. What kind of material will you use? Some of the Pleasant Valley girls wish wool material because it will be warmer for winter wear. Dark blue or black serge is very durable, is washable also, and will shed the dust. Here are some samples. Sateen is also a durable cotton material, but it is not so warm. It is easier for girls to handle in making than wool. Bloomers can also be made from gingham, percale, galatea, or other cotton cloth. Which will you choose? Shall we not write for some samples of these dif- ferent materials? The Pleasant Valley girls wrote and received them in a few days. Perhaps you too are learning how to order by mail when you are too far away from town to go shopping. Try to make all the calculations to-day and to learn all about the pattern. Pin the pieces of the pattern together; also try to hold them up to your figure or the girl next to you. It helps one to learn where the parts lie Fig. 114. — The bloomers and middy blouse. MAKING OTHER GARMENTS 205 Fig. 116. — Wool fibers magnified. like those in the picture (Fig. 117); but where there are many sheep, the ma- chine clippers must be used. These clipping ma- chines can be run by hand or other power. They shear close and save wool. Notice the machine which the man in the picture (Fig. 118) is using; it is just like the one Mr. Allen uses. Frank or John sometimes helps. The coating of wool from one sheep is called a fleece. On the large sheep ranches of the West the fleeces are tied into bundles, and these bundles are put in sacks holding about 400 pounds to be shipped to certain wool-purchasing centers where the buyers examine the wool and buy in quantities. What do you know about the sheep indus- try? Our sheep industry is very important. The western states, Montana, Idaho, Wyom- ing, and Oregon, support about 38 million sheep. That is a large family to shear and feed. Other countries grow sheep for clothing wools, too. Australia, England, South Africa, South America, Spain, and Germany all give much attention to sheep raising. Fig. 117. The hand shears. 2o6 CLOTHING AND HEALTH This industry is very old. We read in the Bible that wool was used long ago and that King David of Israel wrote psalms as he tended his sheep on the hill- Courtesy oj Chicaio Ftexible Shalt Co. Fig. 118. .— Sheep shearing by machinery. side. Abel, the brother of Cain, was a keeper of sheep. Can you find these stories in the Bible? Writers of many ages tell about wool — Pliny, Homer, and Virgil. Alexander too, when he journeyed to India in early days, saw beautiful woolen shawls being made. 208 CLOTHING AND HEALTH porous, and this enables the fiber to take up dye easily. The wool from some sheep farms varies on account of the differences in climate, soil, and breed of sheep. The sheep of southern England produce short and fine wool; while in the north, where it is colder, the wool is stronger and coarser. Wools from Saxony and Silesia are very fine. The English and Australian wools are of several qualities. The long wools come from Lincoln and Leicestershire, and the shorter from Suffolk and Shropshire. Can you find these places on your map of England? The long coarse wools are used for carpets and for knitting, because they are so strong. The short wools used for clothing are about 3 to 4 inches in length. The long wools, about 10 inches in length, are called combing wools and are used for materials which are loosely woven like serges, homespuns, and others. Next lesson we shall study our samples of woolen materials. Bring all the scraps of different kinds which you can contribute. Put them in the surprise box. We shall learn the names of the most common ones. Will you make a sample book for these too? EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS 1. Find on the map the principal countries producing wool. 2. If your teacher has a microscope, compare wool and hair. How do they differ? 3. Why do woolen garments shrink when washed in hot water? 4. Why is wool the most important fiber of commerce? 5. Tell some of the uses of long coarse wools; of the finer wools. *M MAKING OTHER GARMENTS Lesson 3 some of the most common materials made from wool There are many materials made from wool. Let us learn to-day about those which are used most commonly. Perhaps some one in the class will sort the pieces in the surprise box. Mollie Stark sorted those at Pleasant Valley School. Do not sort according to color, but place them in three piles. We have the thick, close materials, which are heavy and firm. Then we have the thin, sheer ones. In the third pile, place the medium weight ones which look strong and are wiry but not so closely woven and firm as those in the first pile. Shall we learn about some of each kind? Let us see what we have in the third pile of wiry, more loosely woven materials. First we have the serges. Here are several pieces. Some are fine with the twilled weave, and others are twilled but the weave is coarser. They are very serviceable and are suitable for bloomers, or for dress fabrics. Here is a sample of a plaid serge. Marjorie Allen had such a dress last winter. It is pos- sible to buy plain colors too. Serges are woven quite wide, from 42 to 54 inches, and cost from 75 cents to #3 per yard. Cheviots are very similar to serges in price and width, but are somewhat heavier in appear- ance. The surface of some is rather rougher than serge, although there are smooth cheviots too. Have some samples of serges been sent from the store? You CLOTHING AND HEALTH must examine these, too, to see if you will select one for your bloomers. This coarse one in the same pile is a homespun, and this is a tweed. They are both rough, wiry, loosely woven, and made of rather coarse yarn. They are rather open in texture and were both in olden times spun and woven by hand, but are now made by machinery. Tweed gets its name from a place in Scotland. These materials are very serviceable, especially for rough wear for suitings, coats, or dress goods. The color or pattern is not always clearly defined, because the yarn of which it is woven is mixed in color. Home- spuns are somewhat cheaper than tweeds. They cost from $1to #3 per yard, and are woven from 42 to 50 inches wide. Tweeds are a little wider, 52 to 54 inches, and cost from $2 to #4 per yard. There are four samples in this pile, not quite so heavy. They are cashmere, challie, albatross, and henrietta. Have you ever heard these names before? They are all common wool materials. They are often used for girls' school dresses, for wrappers, and for baby wear. They are all softer than serges. Cashmere and hen- rietta resemble each other. They both have a twilled weave. Henrietta was originally woven with a silk warp. One can buy silk warp henrietta to-day. Grandmother Stark has one. Is there a sample in your box? Cashmere is also soft, and the finer qualities are made from hair of the cashmere goat. Cashmere is woven 36 to 45 inches in width and can be bought MAKING OTHER GARMENTS 211 for from 75 cents to #1.25 per yard. Henrietta is about the same width and price, except when it has silk warp. Then it is more expensive. Challie and albatross are about the same weight. I am sure you have all had a pretty challie dress sometime. Challies are figured; sometimes the pattern is woven in and sometimes printed. It is made sometimes of a mixture of cotton and wool, or silk and wool; but now challies can be bought in all cotton too as well as in all wool. They come about 30 inches wide and cost from 50 to 75 cents per yard. Albatross is also soft and a fancy weave. It too is used for dress goods and costs about the same as challie, 50 cents to #1 per yard. It is woven from 38 to 45 inches in width. Let us now examine some of the heavy ones in the first pile. Yes, every one knows the name of the heavy fine piece. It is broadcloth and is used for coats and dress goods. There are also some lighter weights of broadcloth with a smooth satiny finish. They are called lady's cloth. A very good broadcloth is expen- sive, and costs about #5 per yard. One can buy it for #1.50, but as a rule it is not very satisfactory under $2 per yard. Broadcloth is closely woven, smooth, and soft in finish. It is from 50 to 58 inches in width. Has any one at your house a dress or coat made from this? Examine it and ask how durable it has been. Father's winter overcoat was perhaps made of melton, or covert cloth. Mr. Allen had such a coat last year. Examine 212 CLOTHING AND HEALTH the samples. They are both heavy. Melton is about the same width as broadcloth, 52 inches, and costs also from $2 to #4 per yard for a good quality. It is used for suits, overcoats, and heavy garments. This is a standard material and is usually dark blue or black. Uniforms are often made from it. Covert cloth is, also, used for overcoats and suits. It is heavy, but differs from the smooth surface of broadcloth. It is a heavy twilled cloth. Felt and flannel are both in this heavy pile, although there are some lightweight flannels. Felt is not woven, but is compressed, so that the wool fibers are matted together in a flat mass. It is made 24 to 50 inches in width and costs from 80 cents to #1.50 per yard. I am sure you all know its use. School pennants are made from it, and so are some table covers. Flannel is woven. It is finished with a soft surface which is slightly napped. What does that mean? It is a rather loosely woven fabric, and is used for many purposes. Can you tell some? Yes, petticoats, baby garments, waists, dressing sacques, shirts for men. It costs from 50 cents to $1 per yard. Sometimes it is made of a combination of cotton and wool, instead of all wool. It varies in width from 27 to 36 inches. Let us examine some of the thin samples. Here is one which it is almost possible to see through. It is called voile and is thin and gauzy, like veiling. This sample near is called nun 5 veiling. It, also, has an open mesh weave, and is a common wool material. CLOTHING AND HEALTH There are still some common wool materials we have not mentioned. Yes, blankets. They are made of cotton as well as of wool, or of a mixture of the two. They cost from $j to #30 per pair if all wool. The combination of cotton and wool can be had for less. Carpets are also made from wool yarn. They are woven so that the yarn stands up in loops, and then these loops are cut as in velvet carpet. In Brussels and ingrain carpets the loops are not cut. Suppose you plan to arrange your sample books with three columns of materials made from wool. You may have four or five columns if you prefer to put the mohairs, alpacas, and brilliantines by themselves, and the blankets and carpets in a separate column. That is the way the Pleasant Valley girls arranged theirs. The first will be the heavy materials; then the medium weight, and then the thin ones. It is easy to sort and label them now that you know their names, uses, and widths. Before very long we shall learn the story of how the wool fiber is made into so many different kinds of cloth. It is treated by different processes in manufacture in order to get a smooth close finish or a loose wiry finish. We shall learn how. I EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS 1. Tell the difference between felt and flannel. 2. Name some heavy wool materials; some of lighter weight. Tell where you have seen them used. MAKING OTHER GARMENTS 215 3. Look up the story of how carpets are made. Perhaps you would like to study about rugs, too. 4. How do serges and broadcloths differ in appearance? 5. Plan to collect materials for the five columns of the chart. Mount with prices and widths. Lesson 4 making a pair of bloomers Let us begin to make the bloomers to-day. First, we shall lay the pattern. Some girls have probably chosen serge for their bloomers, and some have ordered galatea or sateen. The black or the blue are serviceable. Suppose you cut them out to-day. You have studied the pattern which your teacher had. Perhaps some girls will find it necessary to add in length or width. Your teacher ordered the pattern by size, according to age. 14-year size was chosen. Perhaps you must make yours smaller or larger. One pattern can be adapted to the whole class. This you allowed for, in ordering the amount of cloth. Let us place the pattern carefully. Be sure that the perfora- tions which indicate lengthwise of the material are placed on the warp. Can you cut out both legs at the same time? Can you tell where to place the two strips for the bands, and for the placket facings? Which way of the material will the length of band and facings be cut? Pin carefully in place and cut with an even motion. It will perhaps be safer to mark the notches 216 CLOTHING AND HEALTH with a pencil or with a white thread. Girls some- times forget — cut the notches too large and spoil the cloth. Then we shall learn to make a flat felled seam. The two legs are to be sewed up on the right side. Be very careful not to make both legs for the same leg. That is the mistake Marjorie Allen made. Baste the seam \ inch wide. Then stitch close to the basting. i i ABC Fig. 119. — The flat fell, showing the three steps in making: A, the seam stitched; B, one edge cut; C, the turning of the other edge flat, to be basted and stitched. Cut off one edge of this seam to within ^ inch of the stitching, and lay the other edge of seam flat on the cloth for the fell. Turn in the raw edge, baste, and stitch flat. This must be done very carefully, for it is very easy to make a fell which is wrinkled and full instead of flat (see Fig. 119). Join the two legs together at the center with the same flat fell. Be sure to have the two leg seams come together. This is important. MAKING OTHER GARMENTS 221 to break or injure the wool. Perhaps you can bring some dirty wool from your farm to school and wash it. Soft soap is the most harmless. Use a soft water at a low temperature (1200 F.). Can you tell why it must be low? The washing is done in a series of tanks. You can see them in the picture (Fig. 121). The wet wool is swished back and forth by means of wooden forks which carry the wool forward and beat it out. There are rollers for passing the wool from one tank to another. Then the wool must be dried. This is done in a kind of wringing machine called a "hydro extractor." Then it is beaten into a fluffy mass. Then a strange thing happens. Oil in wool is neces- sary in order to help in the spinning and to keep it soft and elastic, so the manufacturer must return some oil to the wool, after having washed it all out. Olive oil is used. If there is any dirt or any burrs left in the wool, they must be removed. A machine called a burr picker is used to beat out the dirt. Then the wool is blended. Do you know that the wool skirt which you are wearing may not be made of all new wool? Wool can be used over and over again. Old wool rags are pulled apart and mixed with new wool. If this did not happen, the manufacturer would have to charge much more than you pay for serge or some woolen materials, as he would have to use all new wool. That is why some wool materials are so ex- CLOTHING AND HEALTH The wide guazy mass is pulled together as it is drawn through a hole at the front of the carder and is de- livered or wound up in the can, just as we learned the cotton was delivered. This wool roving is then wound on spools and is ready for spinning. Do you remember the story of how cotton is drawn out and twisted and wound on spools? Wool too must be spun and made into yarn, before yarn can be woven into cloth. The manufacturer makes woolen yarn and also worsted yarn. Do you know the difference? We shall study in our next lesson about them. EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS 1. Ask your grandmother to tell you about sheep raising on the farm, when she was a girl. 2. Tell why the manufacturer must blend old and new wool. What are the names of some old rags of wool used for this purpose? 3. Tell how carding was done in olden times. How is wool carding done to-day? Why is carding an important process in the manufacture of cloth made from wool? Lesson 6 some facts to remember in purchasing wool clothing Why does the manufacturer use woolen yarn in weaving some materials and worsted yarn for others? If one knows this, it will be a guide in purchasing wool materials. The Pleasant Valley girls know. The difference between woolen and worsted yarns. Before you can answer the question for this lesson, you 226 CLOTHING AND HEALTH fibers arranged so that they will interlock, when put in water of high temperature, and the gelatinous scales are opened up. Woolen yarn is woven into broadcloths and meltons. After the weaving the cloth is put into vats where the temperature opens up the serrations and the scales interlock, and make a close, smooth piece of cloth. This is called fulling. Isn't this in- teresting? Do you see why the manufacturer uses worsted in- stead of woolen yarn for making underwear? If worsted yarn were used for making broad- cloth, there would not be the same close finish. The worsted yarn is combed and the fibers are not in position to interlock as in the woolen yarn (Fig. 124). Can you answer the question now why worsted yarn is used some- times and woolen at others? After the yarn has been spun, it is woven into cloth just as cotton is prepared and woven. Woolen yarn is fuzzy; cloth made from it is woven loosely and then it is put into vats and shrunken or fulled until the cloth is compact, as broadcloth. Worsted yarn when made into cloth is shrunken very little or not at all. It is woven as it will appear. A BFig. 124. — This shows the dif- ference in the slivers of wool and worsted yarn. A is the woolen yarn, well mixed; B is the worsted yarn, well combed. 228 CLOTHING AND HEALTH whether he is to adulterate his wool cloth with cotton or reduce the cost of production by using mungo, shoddy, or flocks. Flocks is put in when the cloth is shrunken or fulled in the vats. The short pieces and dust, or flocks as it is called, are drawn in as the serrations open and the cloth is shrunken. This is all useful to know, for it helps one in pur- chasing materials. Most of us cannot afford to buy cloth made of all new wool, but we should be able to tell whether cloth is made of cotton and wool mixed, or all wool. We will know by price Fig. .26.-This is the teasel Whether the a11 WOo\ IS new which is used to brush the wool or not. No shopkeeper nap of the cloth in finishing. 1 11 11 j 1 These small thistles are ar- Should Sell a COttOn and WOOl ranged in rows in the machine for aH WOol. When We have rollers through which the .. 1111 r cloth passes. our textiles labeled as roods are now labeled, we shall be able to tell. What have you learned to-day which will help you in purchasing wool materials? Woolen and worsted yarns are used also in the manu- facture of carpets, rugs, hosiery, blankets, underwear, and also for knitting purposes. Do you know how to knit? Does any one know at your home? It is a useful and pleasant accomplishment. Shawls, afghans, caps, and sweaters can all be knitted. Miss James taught the Pleasant Valley girls to knit bright scarfs which they wore for tobogganing the next winter. Some girls made them for sale. MAKING OTHER GARMENTS Points about buying woolen garments. Here are a few things to think about which Miss Travers from the State College told the Mothers' Club of Pleasant Valley to remember in buying wool garments or materials. 1. Wool mixed with cotton should not be sold for all wool. It is a cheaper fabric. It wears fairly well, but is not so warm. Pull the fabric apart, untwist the fibers to see if cotton is present. 2. Garments bought ready-made of cotton and wool do not keep their shape as well as all wool garments. 3. Burning a piece of the fabric will help you to identify the fiber. Wool burns slowly, chars, and gives off an odor of burned feathers. Cotton burns quickly with a flame. 4. A good wool material can always be used over again. The inexpensive is not cheap unless you wish something which does not look well or wear well but is cheap. 5. Remember that a close twill weave is more durable than a basket weave. Think about this in buying; for the weave of material affects the wearing quality. EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS 1. How is yarn which is to be used for underwear treated in manufacture? Why? 2. How does this treatment differ from yarn used in the manu- facture of broadcloth? 3. What are some of the things your mother thinks about when she buys a garment made from wool, in order to get good value for her money? 230 CLOTHING AND HEALTH Lesson 7 the clothing budget Have you ever thought how much your clothing costs father and mother every year? Marjorie Allen and Barbara Oakes tried to figure the cost one day. Girls must begin to learn how to spend wisely, for they will very soon have the responsibility of being spenders. If you can make some of your clothing, you will help to reduce the cost. Would you like to learn to make a budget as well as a simple dress skirt to wear over the bloomers? Suppose we study to-day about the clothing budget. Have you ever tried to calculate how much is spent each year for your clothing? If not, suppose you try. Girls who know how to make some articles of clothing can have more for the same amount of money. Sup- pose you send for the material for your dress skirts. It is wise to learn to make a very simple skirt first. Choose a simple pattern. Your teacher will help you. What material will you use? Perhaps you would like a middy blouse later to wear with the skirt. Can you name some suitable cotton materials to use for this purpose? Yes, Indian head, galatea, duck. You have studied about all of these and should have them in your sample books. Such a dress will be suitable for school wear. Talk with your teacher and calculate how much cloth you must buy for your skirt and middy. While you are waiting for the cloth you have ordered, let us study how Marjorie's Cousin Ann, who works at Paterson, manages to plan each year for her clothing. MAKING OTHER GARMENTS 231 Clothing She has such good plans. Do you know that such a plan is called a budget? Would you like to learn to make your clothing budget? Ann earns $10 per week and her room and board cost her #6 per week, so she has #4 for other ex- penses. She puts aside #1.50 each week for clothing, and so has #6 per month or about #75 per year. She lives near her work so does not have daily carfare, and she goes home at the noon hour for a little rest and for lunch. The rest of her money she divides in this way: Each week she tries to save 75 cents or #3 per month. The rest she uses for church and club ex- penses, for gifts, news- papers, or occasionally she buys a new necktie or an extra waist; but usually the #75 supply all her clothing needs. This is how she manages. She plans for more than one year, usually trying to keep three years in mind. Ann also goes to the Girls' Club and has learned to make her waists and some simple dresses. The following is what she bought the first year. Remember she had some clothes to begin with before she started to keep her clothing budget. Your budget will of course be different from this, but this will show how Ann manages with #75. Some things which she Fig. 127. money. - Cousin Ann's division of her How much was for clothing? 232 CLOTHING AND HEALTH needs you may have no use for in your section of the country. Try to plan what you would substitute. This will at least be a working basis for you, and will give you some suggestions for making yours. Marjorie Allen and Barbara Oakes have made their clothing budgets. They have #60 per year for clothing. What do you think they omitted from this list? The things marked * are made at home. Ann's mother helps her; but Ann learned to make clothes at her Sewing Club. First Year 2 union suits (winter) @ #2.00 #4.00 3 union suits (summer) @ .50 1.50 1 flannelette nightdress @ 1.00 1.00 1 flannelette nightdress left over 2 night dresses @ .80 1.60 *3 corset covers @ .50 1.50 2 pairs of corsets @ 2.00 4.00 6 pairs of stockings @ .25 1.50 2 pairs of garters @ .25 5° shoes: 1 high lace @ 3.00 2 pairs low shoes @ 2.50 8.00 1 pair rubbers 75 1 black sateen petticoat 1.00 1 long white petticoat 1.25 2 short white petticoats @ .75 1.50 retrimming last year's best winter hat 1.25 summer hat (new) 4.00 1 straw hat, common wear 75 I umbrella 1.00 *i wool dress skirt 4.00 ^ - MAKING OTHER GARMENTS 233. *3 shirt waists: 2 tailored @ 1.00 *i fancy @ 1.50 $ 3.50 1 winter coat 12.00 1 spring coat (left from last year) 1 pair kid gloves. . 1.50 1 pair wool gloves 50 1 wool dress (winter, bought close of season) 12.00 1 sweater 3.00 *i summer dress 3.00 *i white duck dress skirt 1.00 1 party dress (left over from last year) Gloves, handkerchiefs, neckties, collars received for Christmas. Total #75-6o Notice that in the second year some articles are left over from the year before. This is because Ann has foresight. She is a good manager, and takes care of her clothes too, and plans ahead. Do you? Second Year 2 union suits (left from last year, winter) 2 union suits (left from last year, summer) 1 new union suit summer $ .50 2 flannelette nightgowns (left over) 2 summer nightdresses (left over) 1 new summer nightdress 75 *3 corset covers @ .50 1.50 2 pairs of corsets @ 2.00 4.00 6 pairs of stockings @ .25 1.50 2 pairs of garters @ .25 5° shoes: 1 high laced ©3.00 1 pair low shoes @ 2.50 1 pair low left over, half soled @ .75 1 pair high laced, half soled @ .75 7.00 234 CLOTHING AND HEALTH i pair rubbers $ .75 1 black sateen petticoat 1.00 1 long white petticoat (left over) 2 short white petticoats (left over) 1 new short white petticoat 75 I winter hat 5.00 1 winter hat (left over) common wear I summer hat (retrimmed) i-SO 1 new summer hat (second) 2.00 1 umbrella (left over) *i wool skirt (refreshened) 1.00 *2 shirt waists (plain) @ 1.00 2.00 *i extra white waist @ 1.50 1.50 2 shirt waists (left over) 1 winter coat (left over) 1 spring coat (new) 12.00 1 pair kid gloves 1.00 1 pair wool gloves (left over) 1 wool dress (left over) 1 sweater (left over) *i summer dress (left over, remodeled) 1.00 1 white duck skirt (left over) *i new white duck skirt 1.00 *i party dress 8.00 1 coat suit, bought end of winter season 14.00 2 gingham aprons 1.00 1 gingham house dress (ready-made) 1.50 1 summer dress 4.00 Total #74-75 Try to find below, in the list for third year, the articles left over. Also new articles which will be of service the fourth year. Do you not think it is wise to plan in this way? Marjorie and Barbara have enjoyed making their budgets. ^ MAKING OTHER GARMENTS 235 Third'Year 2 union suits, winter @ 2.00 $ 4.00 2 union suits, summer @ .50 1.00 1 union suit, summer (left over) 2 flannelette nightgowns @ 1.00 2.00 1 new summer nightgown @ .75 75 1 summer nightgown (left over) *3 corset covers @ .50 1.50 2 pairs corsets @ 2.00 4.00 6 pairs of stockings @ .25 1.50 2 pairs garters @ .25 50 shoes: 1 pair high laced ©3.00 1 pair high laced repaired, left over, @ .75 1 pair low shoes (new) @ 2.50 1 pair party slippers (new) @ 2.00 8.25 1 pair rubbers 75 1 black sateen petticoat 1.00 1 long white petticoat 1.25 1 new short white petticoat 75 1 short white petticoat (left over) retrimming last year's winter hat 1.25 1 winter hat (common wear) 1.50 1 summer hat (new) 5.00 1 summer hat (remodeled, common wear) 1.00 1 umbrella 1.00 *i wool sl^irt 4.00 *2 shirt waists (plain) @ 1.00 2.00 *i extra white waist @ 1.00 1.00 2 shirt waists (left over) 1 winter coat (left over 2 years) 1 spring coat (left over one year) 1 pair kid gloves 1.50 1 pair wool gloves 50 236 CLOTHING AND HEALTH *i wool dress (remodeled after 2 winters' wear) $ 3.00 2 white duck skirts (left over) 1 party dress left over (refreshened) 2.50 1 coat suit (left over) 2 gingham aprons (left over) 1 gingham house dress (new) 1.50 1 gingham house dress (left over) 1 summer dress remodeled 1.00 1 new summer dress 4.00 1 raincoat 5.00 1 wool dress (bought towards close of season) 10.00 1 pair winter arctics 2.00 Total #75-00 EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS Plan a clothing budget with mother's help, and see how yours will differ from the above. Perhaps mother spends less for your clothes or more. Mrs. Allen says that Marjorie is learning to pur- chase so wisely that next year she may buy all of her own clothes. Of course, Mrs. Allen will always be willing to help when Marjorie needs her. Lesson 8 planning to make a dress skirt of cotton material Let us begin to make our dress skirts. Open the pattern carefully and examine it. How did you order it, by age or by waist measure? The pattern books usually say order by age for a girl unless she is large or small for her age ; then order by waist measure. Notice how many pieces you have. Notice whether some are to be cut on a lengthwise fold: perhaps, the 238 CLOTHING AND HEALTH Study your pattern. Notice all the notches; also just where the pattern is to be placed on the warp threads. This is very necessary. Take your tape- line and measure the skirt length; compare with your own measures. Your teacher will show you how to take your skirt measure, at front, hips, and back, from the waist line to the desired length (see page 50). You have learned how. Pin the tapeline about the waist and measure from it. If your pattern is too long, it will be wise to double it over at the center to reduce the length. If too short, add a few inches at the bottom in cutting your cloth. Remember you must allow for the hem according to desired width (see page 50 for changing patterns). Now lay the pieces economically. Remember the wide end of the gore usually cuts to best advantage at the end of the cloth. Pin and cut out after your teacher has approved. The pattern usually allows from f to 1 inch for seams. Notice how much. Match the notches, pin, baste, and then try on. If too loose or too tight, it is possible to stitch inside or outside of the bastings and so to alter. The seams can be finished by overcasting the rough edges (see Fig. 28). If your pattern calls for an opening or placket at one side of the front, it will be appropriate to make a hem running lengthwise of the skirt as a finish at the placket, and the skirt will not be seamed with a simple seam at that place. Turn to the wrong side one inch CLOTHING AND HEALTH Lesson 9 clothing in relation to health Do you know that clothes help to keep us well? The Pleasant Valley girls learned how, and we are to study, too. Well people are usually happy people and they can do many more things for themselves and for others than sick people. Have you ever thought about this? All people wish to be well, but many are not because they forget that it is absolutely necessary to think each day about keeping well. There are many things which help to accomplish this. One cannot wait until the end of the month or year to think about keeping well, but must do so every day, as you have learned. Exer- cise and good habits, sleep, proper food, recreation, and proper clothing all have a share. Clothes are more important than people think. Ill health is often the result of lack of thought in the protection of the body. Let us study how clothes affect health. You know clothing helps to keep us warm or cool, if we dress properly. You have learned how necessary it is to preserve an even body temperature. Growing girls must think about this, for no girl is well dressed who does not think about the relation of clothes to health. Is a dress really beautiful if it is unhygienic? Miss Travers told the Mothers' Club that clothing should serve our use in the best way, should be pleasing and artistic, but also comfortable enough to permit freedom. Did you ever feel sorry for the poor Chinese women MAKING OTHER GARMENTS 241 who squeeze their feet? Many American women squeeze their waists as well as their feet. This pre- vents proper circulation of the blood and causes many complaints, loss of hair, and serious troubles, because the circulatory system cannot carry nourishment to the many parts of the body. Perhaps you have noticed some girls wear very thin stockings, low shoes, and low-necked dresses; really very scant clothing in cold weather. Is this a good practice, do you think? Why not? Heat and energy are generated by the body. We have learned that it is a machine. Food, water, exercise, rest, keep it going. Heat and energy are the result and are needed if the machine is to run well. If the heat is all carried away quickly because the surfaces of the body are exposed to the cold, then there is a waste of the energy which should go to provide for the necessary workings of the body. Why do we wear clothing? The principal reason is that the body may be protected from the cold and that the temperature of the body may be kept constant. It protects also from sharp, hard objects and briers and stones which might injure the feet. Many people think only of the decoration. This does affect our choice of clothes too, but should not be the prime con- sideration. Miss Travers told the girls of Pleasant Fig. 129. — Shoes are important. Why? 242 CLOTHING AND HEALTH Valley to keep these things in mind in choosing clothes: Some things to remember in choosing wearing apparel. 1. Adapt your clothing to your work. One cannot do garden and house work in stiff collars and unsuitable clothing. 2. The condition of health will affect choice. Strong, well people do not need the same kind of clothing as sick or delicate people. 5. Age makes a difference; young people are more vigorous than old people. Babies feel the heat or cold more than adults. 4. Clothing should be chosen in relation to climate and tem- perature; in winter, one should prevent an undue loss of heat, in summer, clothing should not interfere with loss of heat. Some important things about wearing clothing. 1. Wet clothing is very dangerous and should be removed at once. If this is not possible, exercise, keep moving, until there is opportunity for a rubdown and change. John Alden always runs when he gets his clothes very wet. 2. The clothing worn next to the skin should be changed twice a week. The body gives off impurities which are absorbed by the clothing. This change is necessary if one wishes to keep well. 3. Clothing worn at night should be aired during the day, not shut up in a closet or folded and placed under a pillow. 4. Clothing worn during the day should be aired at night. This is necessary for health. The same underwear should never be worn day and night both. How do you air your clothes? (Fig. 56.) Many mothers do not change baby's shirt at night and wonder why he cannot sleep and is so cross. Sometimes this irritability is due to this very cause. MAKING OTHER GARMENTS 5. Outer garments should be rather closely woven, so that the wind cannot penetrate and carry the heat away too rapidly. 6. Heavy garments are a great burden. One wearing them is not free to act or work. Next lesson we will study about selecting our clothes, shoes, underwear, and other garments with reference to health. EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS 1. Write on the blackboard some important things to remem- ber in choosing wearing apparel. 2. Tell some important things to remember in wearing clothing. Lesson 10 more health problems in choosing clothes Clothes help to keep us well. Let us study about the wise selection and use of them. Buying shoes. When Barbara Oakes goes to buy a pair of shoes what do you suppose she thinks about besides the fact that they are pretty and that she likes or dislikes them? She remembers that they should fit her feet. She thinks about these things: 1. They should suit her purpose, be adapted to her use. 2. They should fit the instep and heel snugly. 3. They should be straight on the inside line. 4. The heel should be broad enough to balance the body well. 244 CLOTHING AND HEALTH 5. The soles should be strong enough to walk, and thick enough so dampness cannot strike through. 6. There should be plenty of room for the toes to move. (See Fig. 129). 7. They should be long and wide enough for com- fort. Tight shoes are a strain on the body. Many girls have "fallen arch." This affects the whole nervous system and makes them ill. Many are suffering and do not know the cause. Barbara Oakes was ill for a long time before her mother or the doctor knew why. It is not necessary to wear an arch sup- porter or an orthopedic shoe, if one has normal feet; and one can have normal feet if the above things are remembered. Some girls choose foolish footwear, and later have much discomfort and are unable to walk. Very great care must be taken to keep the feet dry. It is cheaper to buy a pair of rubbers than to pay a doctor; and rubbers save shoes and keep the wet from rotting the thread of the shoes. Many women forget that it is dangerous for a woman to get her feet wet. Selecting clothing that is healthful. Stockings should be chosen in relation to climate. It is unwise to wear thin, transparent stockings on a cold day. If possible have two weights and select according to weather. Corsets are important. They may seriously affect health if not worn correctly. They should fit snugly over the hips but allow freedom at the waist line. For young girls corset waists are very satisfactory. Great care should be taken, however, when the first corset is MAKING OTHER GARMENTS 245 selected. Jane Smith says her mother tried several for her before getting exactly the right one. The corset should leave no marks on the body. The danger is that, unless well fitted, a corset interferes with circu- lation. Lacing causes all kinds of troubles. It deforms the body and makes it hour glass in shape, in- stead of free and beautiful like Miss James' picture of the Venus de Milo (Fig. 130). When tight bands or corsets interfere with circulation, the blood supply for the brain and the other organs is shut off, and consequently these organs are not nourished. Most girls wish to pre- serve the graceful waist line with which nature has endowed them. Do you? Fat easily accumulates around the waist, but plenty of ex- ercise, gardening, sweeping, walking, climbing, will prevent this. Buy a corset which supports your organs, one which does not press down- wards; and arrange the garters so that they will not be too tight and interfere with the circulation. Underwear affects health. Do you remember that we discovered the reason why one should be particular about the kind of underwear worn? We learned that ill health and fatigue are often caused by weight of Fig. 130. — Notice the beautiful lines on the figure of Venus de Milo. 246 CLOTHING AND HEALTH clothing or by tight clothing causing lack of circulation or by clothing which prevents the skin from being venti- lated. Textile materials and temperature of the body are closely related. We should learn to know which materials to select. Each person feels the need differ- ently. Old people and little babies feel the heat or cold more than other people. Grandmother Stark usually feels cold and wears a shawl about her shoulders. Underwear must be chosen in relation to climatic con- ditions and also for conditions under which one wears them, for indoor or outdoor work. Each must study her health, the climate, her age, and occupation, and plan accordingly for the best kind. Underwear should be chosen which can be easily cleansed, also that which will permit plenty of air next to the skin. These properties of materials, as we call them, must be studied. The body, as we know, loses heat and water every day. Some materials conduct heat more rapidly than others; and some absorb and retain, while others elim- inate, moisture more readily. Absorption and elim- ination differ with different fabrics. Linen is quicker than other fabrics to eliminate moisture. Wool on a dry body of a person who does not exercise freely feels warm and continues so as long as the skin does not give off more moisture than the wool can take up. If the body continues then to give off moisture, the heat of the body cannot escape and one does not feel comfortable. If a current of air or a draught occurs, MAKING OTHER GARMENTS 247 the heat will be conducted quickly and the bodily tem- perature reduced too quickly. So underwear must not only prevent too great loss of heat by conduction, but must be so constructed as to conserve heat when it is needed. Heat is eliminated when materials conduct it. Porosity of materials prevents too great elimination. The air in the meshes or pores prevents this, as a still layer of air does not conduct heat readily. A loosely woven or knitted shawl is warmer under certain con- ditions than one which is firmer. Two lightweight garments are better than one heavy one because of the air space between. Wool is warm, but irritating to many people. It is not as cleanly as some fabrics, for it absorbs the body excretions and is not easily laundered. As it shrinks with use, it has fewer air spaces between the meshes. Any loosely woven or knitted underwear with air spaces is more hygienic than the closely woven. Cotton garments are often woven loosely and so treated in manufacture that they absorb easily. Silk is very pleasing but costly. Silk and wool combined are also excellent, but expensive. The great argument for wool or for wool and cotton is that evaporation is slow unless moisture and draught are present, and so the bodily temperature is not apt to be reduced so unduly as through cotton or linen; in other words, one is not so apt to take cold. Union suits form an even layer over the whole body 248 CLOTHING AND HEALTH and are considered more hygienic than the double layer of vest and drawers at the abdomen. EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS 1. What underwear do you think is the best kind for you to wear considering your age, work, climate, health? 2. Write a composition of two hundred words about the best kind of corsets to wear, and why. 3. What important things will you consider the next time you buy a pair of shoes? REVIEW PROBLEMS I. Begin to keep your clothing budget. Ask mother to permit you to plan it. Do not stop at the end of the year; keep on for at least four years. II. In what ways are you definitely planning each day to keep well? How do clothes help? III. What facts learned at school can you give mother about wool, which will help in buying your new winter coat. IV. Plan a school exhibit of all the work done during the year. Your teacher will make suggestions about the refreshments and invitations as well as plans for mounting the work. CLOTHING AND HEALTH thought, too, as well as time; but Ann knows that it pays. Have you, too, thought about these things? One must also know what is suitable and appropriate for various occasions, and how to choose becoming colors in materials or hats and gowns if one buys them ready-made. This is really a study in buying, too, and of knowing how materials are made and can be tested. All these things were discussed by Miss James and the Pleasant Valley girls. They were always very glad when Miss Travers came to help too. Lesson i what it means to be well dressed The Pleasant Valley girls have decided that it is worth while learning about suitable and attractive dress. They are anxious to begin this study. Suppose we learn some of the things one must think about and study in order to be properly and attractively dressed. One does not have to be expensively dressed in order to be attractively and well dressed. Much de- pends on appropriateness. It is not appropriate for a girl to wear jewelry, thin stockings, low fancy slippers, lace waists, feather hats, to work or to school. How much more attractive and appropriate is a plain, neat shirt waist and cloth skirt, a plain necktie and a simple hat, and plain boots or ties. One should not dress as if one were going to a party when one goes to work or to school. Do you understand what appropriateness CHOOSING AND WEARING CLOTHES 251 means? It means wearing the suitable kind of clothing for every occasion. It is our duty to be as well dressed as possible, for our friends' sakes as well as for our own; but a well-dressed girl is never conspicuous. Clothes which would be appropriate in a large city for a recep- tion might be very inappropriate in a small town. Our daily clothes should be adapted to our uses, whether in country or city. Would you wear your party dress for gardening or for tennis or skating?Criticize your own gar- ments. Try to have them neat and clean, for this makes one more self-re- specting. Try to have your clothes convenient, neat, graceful, beautiful, allowing for free move- ments of the body. Choose FlG- 131-Which of these girls looks . ready to do her work r something which is not overdecorated but which will emphasize your charm and personality. Young girls do not need jewelry or much decoration on clothes, for youth is always charm- ing in itself. Some girls try to copy every "latest style." Do you? One should not unless it is a style which will suit one. Cousin Ann heard a talk at the Young CHOOSING AND WEARING CLOTHES 253 sidered in choosing color. Stooped or narrow shoulders, if they cannot be corrected, can be made to look less nar- row by the plan of the gown. Stout figures can be made to look less stout. So by choosing the right colors and correct decoration and right lines, one can often improve one's appearance. Miss Willing says to understand about this is to have what the speaker at the Young Women's Christian Association called "artistic apprecia- tion." One should cultivate artistic appreciation for good furnishings as well as for appropriate dress. Miss Willing told the girls another evening about color and good lines, for they are all so anxious to learn. They never even imagined before that any one ever thought about such things. Marjorie Allen and the other girls at Pleasant Valley School are very glad Cousin Ann told them too. The costume should be the background as it were. Miss Willing says to remember always that a really artistic costume is one which makes us say "what a lovely girl!" rather than "what a lovely gown she is wearing." A costume should not be so strong in color or design that one thinks only of that. Do you re- member how in some rooms we feel the pattern of the wall paper or of the carpet. When one does, the design is poor; the wall is the background. Our clothes should make the wearers' good qualities stand out. They should be subordinate, Miss Willing says. Do you understand that word? Miss Willing says the outline of our clothed figures 254 CLOTHING AND HEALTH should be pleasing. Have you ever walked to town and seen girls with large hats which were not balanced on their heads, and short skirts and perhaps large muffs? If you watch them as they come towards you down the street, you will see that the whole outline or silhouette against the sky or house is poor; they look top-heavy or, we say, unbalanced. Such a costume is not good. A smaller hat with the short skirt is what is needed in order to have a balanced figure. The out- line of the natural human figure is most beautiful. Look at the lovely figure of the Grecian woman (Fig. 132); see how the lines follow her figure. Costumes which make ugly lumps, as bustles and large muffs, and other ugly shapes are not well balanced. An artistic dress shows good taste. Do you remember your talks in your art class about the spaces in a design, and the relation of one to the other. This is true in dresses too. Tucks, buttons, seams, bands of trimming all mark off spaces on our bodies (Fig. 133). In order to have a really artistic dress, there must be a plan about the arrangement of spaces. A short, stout girl with bands of trimming running around her skirt and with lines of trimming running up and down the Fig. 132. — Notice the lovely folds of the Grecian costume. 258 CLOTHING AND HEALTH have lost half or more than half of their strength, are more interesting and becoming for large figures for a whole dress. Yellow is nearest light, and in combination with red gives the oranges from which we get browns of all kinds and degrees, rich and warm in effect. Try mix- ing these colors in your paint box. Green combines yellow and blue. It is a light, cheerful, and calm color, always restful and soothing. The yellow-greens are perhaps more cheerful; that is, when more yellow than blue is used. When more blue is introduced, the greens are more soothing and cool. Violet is red and blue mixed; a cool and exciting color, which can be very intense or very subdued. Choosing color for a dress. Do you think the Pleas- ant Valley girls will think before choosing their new gowns whether it is for school, or for a best dress, for a party or for the house? Even apron material can be chosen which will make the wearer look unattractive. Why not look pretty and clean when one is at work too? Miss Willing says that quiet color in dress is an evi- dence of good taste. In combining colors in dress one must aim to obtain the right balance in color. Miss Willing says, in planning the color scheme for a costume, think about the dominant or most prominent color and endeavor to bring the others into harmony with it. Harmony is the result of colors being brought together. Touches of black help to bring colors together and so harmonize them. Miss Willing gave several other " CHOOSING AND WEARING CLOTHES 259 suggestions for harmony. Cousin Ann put them down in her notebook and sent them to Marjorie. 1. When one wishes to use contrasting colors, as yellow and violet, one can get pleasing harmony by using a large quantity of one color and a small amount of the other. This subordinate relationship of one color to the other gives harmony; the more grayed the tone of the large mass of color, the greater the intensity of color in contrast that can be used. 2. In combining colors of weak intensity for harmony, a harmony of costume of one mode, that is one color used in different values, is safe but is not always so interesting as the contrasting colors. 3. To emphasize a color, a touch of the same may be added to some part of the costume. Blue eyes seem even more blue with a blue necktie around the shirt waist collar. 4. Another way to make a good harmony is to use complemen- tary colors. Red and blue; green, violet, and yellow; green and plum; blue and orange; purple and yellow-green. One should be used intense, and the other in a gray tone. For example, in com- bining color with hair, greens, particularly gray greens, are very pleasing with auburn hair. Barbara Oakes discovered that fact with her auburn hair. Violet tends to make yellow hair look more golden, so care must be taken to have a gray violet so the gold color in the hair will not be overpowered. "Red" hair is made to look brighter when a blue costume is worn. So you see one can avoid unfortunate combinations if one studies the strength of the color of the hair in relation to the colors to be used. Learning to combine colors. Miss James had many samples of gauzy chiffons which the girls learned to handle and to combine so as to get artistic results, for combinations of complementary and contrasting colors CHOOSING AND WEARING CLOTHES 261 Studying lines of a costume. Miss James says the best way to get an effect of height is to place the longest possible vertical lines through the center of the figure with no points of emphasis as trimming on the outer parts (Fig. 135). For a slim figure, when one wishes to appear stout, the outline of the figure should be empha- sized at the outer sides of sleeves or shoulders or skirts, by such arrange- ment of trimming that the eye is carried across the figure (Fig. 136). Miss Willing and the girls had a good laugh about the use of large plaids and broad stripes for stout people. Plaids or squares certainly tend to em- phasize stoutness, as do bold designs or conspicuous color combinations. So many things to remember — line, value, color; all-important, if one is to be attractively dressed. Miss James has decided to permit the girls to work out the color combinations at school for their new spring dresses. The subject of the costume makes coior jn choosing hats is equally impor- the figure appear T . . . . larger. tant. Let us study next lesson about it. Fig. 135. — Vertical lines through the center of the costume make the figure ap- pear thinner. Fig. 136.— Notice how the emphasis on the outside of CHOOSING AND WEARING CLOTHES 263 about their hair and hats. She said that so many wo- men and girls forget to take care of their hair. It should be washed once a month in hot water with cas- tile soap and perhaps with the white of an egg, and then thoroughly rinsed. The comb and brush should be washed once a week. Marjorie Allen's mother has beautiful hair, and she says she does as Miss Travers told the girls; and also she brushes her hair carefully to remove dust, every night before going to bed, and braids her hair in two braids for the night. This is a very good way to care for one's hair. Have you ever noticed how some girls nearly lose all their hair because they burn it or dry it up with the curling irons? One should be very careful always to test the irons on a paper. Burned hair is not beautiful. So often girls forget that the becomingness of a hat will depend on the way the hair is taken care of or dressed. Large bows, out of proportion to the size of the head, are very poor taste. A bow as well as a hat should suit the face in line as well as color, and a bow which stands way out in conspicuous angles is not good in line, as it is not apt to conform to the lines of the face and of the head wearing it. Have you noticed this? Fig. 137. — Which arrangement of hair and bow do you think most appropriate for school wear? 264 CLOTHING AND HEALTH Perhaps you can try to rearrange some of the bows the girls are wearing to school so they will be in better taste. Cleanliness of the head and hair, and a clean, clear complexion, which comes from proper food and good digestion as well as from cleanliness, are the best back- grounds for a hat. Any girl who has this charm of cleanliness can with thought choose a hat which will be becoming. Hats, also, emphasize the defects as well as the good points of the wearer; so neatness and a becoming way of arranging the hair will help very much. Perhaps some of the girls would like to learn to make hats, too. The hat is the most difficult article of the whole wardrobe to select. Most girls and women wear hats that are too small and that stand on the top of the head instead of fitting it. Good taste, Miss James says, in choosing hats means the very thing we have studied about: artistic appreciation, a knowledge of line and color and form as well as appropriateness. Think about the shape and the lines of a hat. Hats should be chosen or planned, if one is making them, in relation to the whole figure. Do you stand up or sit down before the mirror in selecting a hat? Try standing up so you can see your whole figure and the relation of the hat to the whole. You can tell then if the hat is too large or too small, whether it overbal- ances the figure, or if the silhouette will be pleasing. Marjorie Allen says since she has learned about these things she is surprised to notice how few people have thought of this question of the silhouette. Sometimes, CHOOSING AND WEARING CLOTHES 265 the milliners are to blame too, for they do not always know this secret. Marjorie says her new winter hat does not please her because of the silhouette. Miss Travers told the girls to think especially about lines. The round-faced girl whose nose turns up a little will look best in a hat that is slightly tilted in front or with a rolling brim at the side or front. Barbara Oakes says she discovered that for herself. She had two hats which rolled in that way; and she liked them better and was more comfortable in them than in others. She also learned through experience that she did not look well in narrow hats that bend over the face. Miss Travers says it is true when one's face is full and the nose retrousse, that such a shape is not apt to be becoming. Miss James says she noticed that long, thin faces look longer and thinner in high pointed trimmings. Fig. 138.—One can select a hat which will make a good silhouette when one sees the whole figure before a mirror. What kind of trimming, then, would you recommend for a long, thin face? For long faces, a brim worn slightly forward will cast a shadow and so tend to shorten the length of the face; and brims that are rolling and wide, coun- teract the effect of the long, thin face. Do you see CHOOSING AND WEARING CLOTHES 267 cause they are not worn properly. Sometimes the wearer forgets and pushes the hat back or to one side; and then its lines do not conform to the outline of hair and head and face. Study how to wear your hats. Large hats are often difficult to wear because of correct balance. Which way looks better? If you would like to try to make a simple summer hat, perhaps you can buy a frame, and with your teacher's help learn to change and adapt it to your face. It is easy to learn to sew straw on a frame and to trim with a bow or flowers. Simple trimming for young girls is always the most pleasing; flowers, wings, quills, and simple bows are the most suitable. 270 CLOTHING AND HEALTH 3. Baste seams of sleeve and underarm all in one long seam on right side. Match at armhole. Make flat fell, turning the fell towards the front (see page 216). 4. Hem the bottom of the middy with one inch hem. 5. Finish the neck next. Prepare the collar with its facing according to the notches of the pattern and directions. Sew; turn to right side. If the collar is to be decorated with finishing braid, this decorating should be done before the collar and facing are sewed together. Attach collar to middy, right of center collar to right of the center back of middy. The seam will then fall on the inside towards the neck and will be concealed by the facing which should be turned in and sewed over the seam. Patterns for middies vary, and other methods of attaching collar may be suggested. A loose ribbon or scarf of silk can be tied under the collar to form a sailor's knot. 6. Then finish the sleeve. The sleeve may be finished with a half inch hem and rolled as many are worn, or a cufF can be attached which will be of the same width as the sleeve or just to fit the wrist. In the latter case, the fullness of the sleeve must be gathered to fit. The girls of Pleasant Valley School made sleeves of three quarter length, and attached a turned-up cuff of same width as sleeve. This cuff was made double: the two pieces sewed together, turned, and attached to the sleeve with the seam, on the outside of sleeve. The facing, then, concealed the seam and, when the cuff was Fig. 140. —Eyelets were turned up, was entirely concealed, made by some girls in Thjs makes a very neat finish inside the tront 01 their middy waists. the sleeve. 272 CLOTHING AND HEALTH What a help the Pleasant Valley girls will be when the dressmaker comes to their homes. They are not old enough to take full responsibility, but they will surely be able to assist after the dressmaker has planned. This will help their mothers, too. Mrs. Allen, Mrs. Stark, and Mrs. Oakes have already discovered how many good suggestions their daughters have to give. It is sometimes wise to buy things ready-made. In our grandmothers' day this was impossible. Grand- mother Stark used to stitch all Grandfather Stark's shirts by hand and make his overalls. To-day one can buy good serviceable garments like overalls, rompers, shirts, etc., at moderate prices, ready-made. Just what should be made at home should be determined by the mother, and will depend on her time and duties at home. Some mothers can so organize their house- hold work that they have time for some sewing too, and they enjoy the change of work. It pays to make certain garments because the workmanship is often better and one can choose one's own materials. This means that the life of the garment is apt to be longer. This is economy if one has the time and strength; but it never pays if one sacrifices other things like fresh air, exercise, some relaxation, for the sake of saving a little money. What should you consider in buying ready-made garments? Miss Travers says it never pays to buy flimsy materials, cheap lace edging, or insertions which are poorly put together and will tear. One can instead CLOTHING AND HEALTH reduction, if one can wait. Winter garments are reduced in January or February, and summer goods in July or August. It often pays to wait. In planning one's wardrobe, one can think about this. January is often a good time to buy household linens or other furnish- ings at a reduction. 6. The use of garments should guide one in making a selection. It is necessary to study one's whole ward- robe and to know what is needed. A girl engaged in business will need an entirely different wardrobe from one who spends most of her time at home helping mother. The first step, then, in economy is to know one's needs and to purchase accordingly. Is the gar- ment needed and suitable for the occasion? Remember about appropriateness, and buy garments which will render the service needed. One does not wear silk dresses for housework. 7. Sometimes undergarments are made in sweat- shops under very undesirable conditions for health. The garments are cheap because made by poorly paid workers under very unsanitary conditions. Do you wish to wear such garments? As long as women buy the cheap kind made at the sacrifice of human life, this sweatshop system will continue. One can buy inex- pensive underwear made under sanitary conditions. It is labeled with a tag of the Consumers' League. This is an organization which is trying to better the condi- tions in workrooms and shops in which clothing is made and to improve wages and working hours. This League 276 CLOTHING AND HEALTH time, until they are worn out. If materials are good, one can often have one's clothes remade, by combina- tion with a little new material of a contrasting kind. A knowledge of textile materials and values will always help in selecting either ready-made clothing or materials. 10. Remember you must know about the things you wish to purchase. Clerks as a rule know very little Fig. 142. — It takes much thought to learn to buy intelligently. about the goods they sell. If you know, you can make the dollars earned buy more than if you were ignorant. What should you think about in buying materials? Here are some of the hints for purchasing wool and silk materials or garments which Miss Travers gave the Pleasant Valley girls. Talk them over with your teacher. See if you agree. 1. Garments made of wool and cotton mixed do not keep their shape as well as all wool. If one can afford CHOOSING AND WEARING CLOTHES 277 only wool and cotton, the salesman should tell one in purchasing about their composition. The mixture should be cheaper. It is often sold for all wool at a higher price. If one untwists the fibers of the material, it is possible to detect cotton. Try at school on some ravelings of garment seams or other materials. The burning test will help one to decide. We shall learn some tests in our next lesson. 2. Remember wool is an expensive fiber. Do not expect to get all wool for little money. 3. Remember the weave affects wearing quality. A close twill weave is often more durable than a basket weave. Do you remember your lessons about silk; how it is grown and made by the little worm, and how it is manufactured or spun into thread or woven into silk cloth? In buying silk one must remember about its manufacture. 1. Silk is seldom pure. It is apt to be weighted. If the silk feels heavy in the hand, it does not always mean that it is a good piece of material and will wear; it may be weighted with tin; up to 30 per cent of tin is not harmful. A softer, pliable silk is not apt to be so weighted, and will wear better. Soft silks so woven as to pull at the seams are not economical. Close weaves are better than loosely woven ones for wearing. 2. Fray some of the threads of the cloth you wish to buy. Is it possible to break either the warp or woof CHOOSING AND WEARING CLOTHES 279 to buy intelligently that they decided to learn to judge materials and to study about adulterations. How are clothing materials adulterated? Miss James told the girls that there are a number of ways of adulterating materials, and that most women shoppers are so indifferent that manufacturers have been able to adulterate the materials of everyday use. This increases the cost of living, for materials do not wear so long. Miss James says that textiles should be labeled so we may know what we are buying. Some kind of adulterations are honest if the goods are so marked; but, when sold for something they are not, the buyers are fooled. The tests help one to know whether materi- als are adulterated or not. Let us learn first some of the methods generally used in adulterating, and then some of the simple tests. Weighting is one method of adulterating. This means that something else has been used beside the material. In cotton and linen material, sizing or starch is pressed in with the rolling in finishing. After washing, this material will be found to be very open in mesh instead of smooth. Notice some of the smooth linen table cloths before they are laundered. Afterwards you will notice they look quite coarse and have lost their smooth- ness. Sometimes glue or clay or gums are used instead of starch. Silk is often weighted in the finishing process with sugar and some with dyes and metals. This is because silk has a property which enables it to absorb a great 28o CLOTHING AND HEALTH deal of moisture without changing its quality. The manufacturer can buy salts and dyes for less than silk, and so he often uses a large per cent of dye or metal in place of the gum washed out of the silk in manufacture. One can seldom find to-day silks like our grandmothers used to use. This is because people wish cheap silks; the manufacturer can- not produce silks for little money, as the raw fiber is so high; and so he uses other things with silk to weight it. Materials are also adulterated by combination with other materials. Did you ever buy a handkerchief marked "pure linen" and discover it was a mixture of cotton and linen? Cotton is also used to adulterate woolen mate- rials, and sometimes silk materials; "pure silk" so called, is often artificial silk. Adulteration is also practiced when made-over materials or waste is used to cheapen the cost. We learned about this in studying about wool. Wool materials should be labeled so that the purchaser will know. It is not fair to pay the price for an all-new wool material if shoddy and mungo and flocks, which are all old wool and waste, have been used. The per cent of new wool should be told and the price made accordingly. Fig. 143. — One can sometimes test ma- terials by burning. CHOOSING AND WEARING CLOTHES 281 Silk is sometimes sold as reeled silk when waste from cocoons which is called spun silk has been used for the woof or filling thread. In finishing of materials, adulteration is sometimes practiced. In press- ing cotton or linen, a luster is given to the surface. Cotton can be made to appear like silk or like linen, and is often sold for those fibers. Cotton can be napped in fin- ishing and made to look woolly as in blankets or outing flannel, but it is still only cotton. How can clothing material be tested? These are the sim- ple tests which the Pleasant Valley girls learned: For sizing. This is easy to identify. Pick at the surface with your nail, and the starch or sizing will easily come off. Hang a wet piece in the air and see how the gloss looks then. This sizing often conceals defects in the cloth. Fig. 144. — The microscope reveals many things. 282 CLOTHING AND HEALTH jWk, The test for fading more slowly. When heavily weighted, the flame does not burn readily and the form of the silk will remain. The vegetable fibers, cotton and linen, burn quickly and with a flame. Tests with microscope. You have all seen the ap- pearance of the fibers under the microscope. This re- veals many things, and the These can be seen if the mate- rial is thin, by holding it against the light. Burning tests. The girls unraveled the fibers which Miss James gave them and tested wool, silk, cotton, and linen. They tried both warp and filling threads. They burned them with a taper. The animal threads (which are they ?) burned slowly, charred, and smelled like burned feathers. Silk burns to an ash, except when weighted. Then it burns very = '1 Hi - L LI H III Fig. 146. — The test for shrinkage. CHOOSING AND WEARING CLOTHES 283 unraveled fibers are easily identified. The microscope is the only sure test for telling cotton and linen fibers. One can sometimes discover shoddy mixed with the all- wool fiber because of the color. Shoddy is sometimes made of old colored woolen rags. Tests for fading. Pin a piece of cloth on a board with thumb tacks. Cover half with cardboard or heavy paper. Expose to the rays of sun for several days. Remove paper and notice difference. A piece can also be exposed near bright light, but not in sun's rays, to see the effect under ordinary wear. Marjorie Allen tested a piece of cashmere she was considering for a dress and decided not to buy it, for it faded quickly near the bright i:~U». Fig. 147. — The test for strength. Tests for strength. Try to break either warp or woof threads. Place the two thumbs together and press down on the cloth which should be held firmly in the hands. Try both sets of threads. Sometimes a weak warp or woof can be discovered. Tests for shrinkage. Barbara Oakes had a white cot- ton dress last year which never seemed to stop shrinking. Sometimes we can test materials for shrinkage. Measure width and length of sample to be tested. Wash it in hot water and soap. Dry and measure again. Is it nar- rower and shorter? In planning for cotton or woolen garments allowance should be made for shrinkage. CHOOSING AND WEARING CLOTHES 285 of caustic potash. The animal fibers will dissolve, the cotton will remain. Of what use would this test be? 3. Moisten samples of cotton and of wool with Millon's reagent. Place in porcelain dishes and heat gently. The animal fibers will become red; the vegetable are unchanged. 4. Material made of cotton and linen and sold for all linen can be tested. Place fringed sample in a porcelain dish. Heat gently in 50 per cent solution of caustic potash for two minutes. Remove with glass rod and dry between blotting papers. The linen will be dark yellow in color and the cotton white or light yellow. So we have learned a few tests of different kinds. There are many more. When you go to high school you can learn about others. The Pleasant Valley girls enjoyed making these tests with Miss James' help. Perhaps you may be able to try them with your teacher. EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS 1. Try the above chemical tests with your teacher's help. 2. Try some of the other tests for adulterations. 3. Tell four ways in which materials are adulterated. Lesson 7 how pattern is made in cloth Barbara said she never could quite see how pattern is made in cloth. There seem to be so many different kinds of patterns. Miss James explained about this. She said there are several ways of making patterns. Some are printed; others woven; some embroidered. Have you discovered this? Patterns are often woven. Do you remember, when you studied about linen, you learned that the Jacquard 286 CLOTHING AND HEALTH loom has a series of cards above it which are able to control the pattern? Wonderful silks and beautiful velvets and brocades as well as damask table linen are made in this way by weaving. Patterns of stripes and plaids are also made by the loom in weaving. Sometimes the warp or the filling threads are colored; and this color forms patterns in stripes or squares. See if you have any pieces in your surprise box in which pattern is made by colored threads of warp or woof. Try to find some woven patterns made by the Jac- quard loom in silk or linen. Think of all the beautiful ribbons, silks, tablecloth damasks, towels, and nap- kins; all such patterns are woven by the loom. Plain patterns like basket weave, twill, diagonal, satin weave, are also made by weaving. See if you can work out some of these patterns on your school loom. Some patterns are printed. On the plain woven material, patterns are printed by means of rollers on which the pattern has been stamped. The colors are put on by this roller. The picture shows the machine. Did you ever have a calico apron or dress of percale or cambric on which the pattern showed on one side only? Many ribbons are printed with a pattern, but sometimes patterns are put on both sides of the cloth. Again, printing is sometimes done on the warp threads before the filling thread is woven in. This makes a dull effect in pattern. Miss James had a piece of ribbon which was so printed. When it was ravelled out a little, the printed warp could be seen. CHOOSING AND WEARING CLOTHES 287 Did you ever see a foulard silk dress with white spots? Do you know how they are made? There are two Courtesy of Cheney Bros. Printing cloth by machinery. Fig. 149. methods. One is called " resist," and the other " dis- charge." The first method, " resist," is easy to under- 288 CLOTHING AND HEALTH stand. The material is printed before it is dyed. The spots are printed with a chemical which resists the dye when it is put in the dye bath. So the cloth comes out of the dye with white spots where the chemical was stamped. The "discharge" method is just the opposite. The cloth is dyed blue or black or whatever the color is to be, and then it is passed between rollers something like your wringing machine and the color is taken out in spots by chemicals. Sometimes, when the chemicals are too strong or cheap, they eat the cloth. Jane Al- den's cousin had a dress from which the white spots fell out, leaving holes. Patterns are sometimes printed on cloth by means of wood blocks or stencils. Perhaps you can do some printing on plain cloth. You can make a stencil pat- tern. Cut out the design in it and paint through the holes, or cut a design from a piece of wood, dip it in color, and print the cloth. Lovely materials are made by hand in this way. Miss James has a beautiful English piece of Morris block printing which she values highly. Many patterns are embroidered. Look in the piece box. Sometimes embroidered designs are worked on cloth by hand, but many are made by machine. Miss James has a scarf which came from India. It is em- broidered in gold with little bits of glass sewed on the right side, and held by the embroidery. This is all hand work. Miss James has a waist with little spots of white embroidered in silk. This is done by machine CHOOSING AND WEARING CLOTHES 289 on a loom. Find some piece of material embroidered by machine. So Barbara Oakes now understands about the pat- terns. Miss James had some books to show the girls, too. They looked up in the encyclopedia about print- ing of materials and about the other things they wished to know about patterns. Barbara says to her the most wonderful thing is the way in which the warp threads of the loom can be controlled by the Jacquard pattern cards and other devices. The shed of the warp as it is raised for each filling thread is governed by the de- vices, and a different set of threads bobs up for each shuttle throw. EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS 1. Mount on strips of cardboard, samples of material made: a. By weaving, plain, stripes, diagonal, etc. b. By printing, resist, discharge, machine, block, stencil; c. By embroidery. 2. Look up in the encyclopedia or other books the subject of cotton printing. 3. Try to find pictures of modern looms and more primitive ones in which pattern is controlled by the harness which raises the warp threads and makes the so-called shed. REVIEW PROBLEMS I. Look over the fashion pages of your magazines at home and find: 1. A young woman suitably dressed for business. 2. A girl dressed for outdoor sports. 3. A girl in a party gown. Tell why you think each is "well dressed." If not, why? u 290 CLOTHING AND HEALTH II. What textile tests would you suggest when buying a silk dress. Mrs. Stark expects to have one next summer. How will she be able to judge if it will wear? III. Can you make another middy at home. Perhaps you are so expert you can take an order for one. THE ELLEN H. RICHARDS HOUSE 293 and sunset. If our own town is ugly and unhealthy, it is not Nature's fault; for the beauty and home- likeness and the healthfulness of any place depend upon its inhabitants. Even the simplest and plainest village or countryside has one kind of beauty if it is kept per- fectly clean, and it costs but little money in many places to plant trees and shrubs and keep the grass green. You must see, however, that it is something more than beauty in the things about us that we have been studying together. You boys and girls in your school are to be the men and women who will make the homes and the town the best possible places for successful and happy living. Do you realize what it means to be citizens of a great commonwealth like this of our United States? Do you understand the meaning of the word "commonwealth "? It is a good old word that means a land where all the people share everything alike and work together for the good of all. We cannot succeed in doing this unless we begin in our home and in our home town. More and more must our country stand for democracy for ourselves and for the whole world, and you must bring to the problems of the future, bodies strong and clean, and strong hearts and minds. INDEX Adulteration: by combination, 280. by weighting, 279. in finishing, 281. Albatross, 210. Alpaca, 213. Ammonium phosphate for outing flannel, 9- Aniline dyes, 134. Apparel: choosing, 242. Apron: attaching the yoke, 37-39. basting skirt part, 33. cutting skirt part, 31. cutting yoke part, 33. gathering top of, 36. hemming sides and bottom, 36. material for, 7. planning pattern for yoke, 32. planning to make, 31-33. sewing seams of, 34-36. the sewing, 127, 128. useful, 129. "Artistic appreciation " in dress, 254-255. Attaching an apron yoke, 38. Basting: corset cover, 106. gores of petticoat, 104. hemmed patch, 173. skirt of apron, 33. stitch, 20. Bathing, 91. Bean bags, making, 29. Bean bag board, 29. Bean bag game, 29, 30. Bias bands, to finish, 99. Bias strip, cutting and placing, 24-25. Birdseye, 62, 183. Blankets, 214. Blanket stitch: how to make, 138. uses of, 44, 138, 141. Bleaching linen cloth, 195. Bloomers: bands for, 217. making, 215-217. material to use for, 202. pattern for, 201. Bluing, 190. Bobbin, 67, 68. Boiling linen, 190. Brilliantine, 213. Broadcloth, 211. Brocaded satin, 124. Brushing clothes, 157. Bunting, 213, Butchers' linen, 183. Button, sewing on, 45. Buttonhole: fan and bar ends, 43. finishing, 44. overcasting, 41, 42. placing, 40. practice in making, 39. stitch, 42, 43. turning corner, 43. Buying:garments, 271-278. materials, 276-278. points about, 197-199. 295 296 INDEX Calico, 7. Cambric, 60. Canton flannel, 8. Carding: by hand, 76-77. cotton, 72, 74. wool, 222-224. Caring for clothes, 155-174. Carpets, 214. Cashmere, 210. Catch stitch, how to make, 150-152. Chain stitch, 119. Challis, 210. Chambray, 7. Cheesecloth, use of, 9. Cheviot, 209. Chiffon, 125. China silk, 125. Chintz, use of, 9. Cleanliness of body, 89-92. Cloth: how made, 74-76, 132-137, 191-196, 218-224. how pattern is made in, 285. Clothes: appropriate, 251. brushing, 157. care of, 155-163. choosing and wearing, 249, 250. removing stains and spots from, 158. things to learn about caring for, 156. why important, 3. Clothespin bag, 149-152. Clothing: budget, 230-236. color for, 256-259. expense of for a year, 230. for body at night, 89-92. helps save body heat, 91. important things about wearing, 242. night, aired during day, 90. points about buying, 229. ready-made, 271-272. relation to health, 240-248. selecting healthful, 244. Clothing (Continued) several layers of, warmer than one thick layer, 92. things to think about in choosing, 242. what to do with, at night, 89. what to remember, in purchasing wool, 224-229. why air at night, 89. why changed at night, 90-92. why we wear, 241. Clothing budget, 230-236. Cluny lace, 93. Cocoons, grown for silk, 109-114. Colored silks, 133. Colors: choice of, 256-260. for clothing, 256. for a hat, 266. "grayed," 256-257. intensity of, 257. learning to combine, 259-260. to bring out one's characteristics, 256-258. Commercial pattern, how to use, 46-53. Consumer's League, 275. Corsets, 245. Corset cover: how to make, 106. material for, 106. nainsook for, 105. Corticelli cocoons, 113. Costume: a background, 253. a work of art, 252. artistic, 254-255. studying lines of, 261. Cotton: baled and shipped, 16. carding, 72, 74. fibers, 7, 14. how grown, 12. how spun, 74, 75. loom for weaving, 66. picking, 13. seeds taken from fiber, I 298 INDEX Flax: (Continued) rippling and retting, 177-179. rippling by hand, 178. rovings, 193. seeds, 184. what is the, plant, 175. wheel, 76, 192. where grown, 175. Flocks, 228. Folding table linen, 190. Foulard silk, 123. Free-hand pattern, 46. French seam: how to make, 87-88. use of, 86-88. Galatea, 62. Garments: buying, 271, 278. criticize your own, 251. points to consider in buying ready- made, 272-276. Gauge, for hem, 36. "German Val," 94-97. Gifts: aprons, 129. bag, 127. clothespin bag, 149-152. darning-case, 117. guest towel, 146. needle book, 117. pin-case, 116, 117. sewing apron, 127. sewing-case, 118. spool-case, 117. useful cases, 130. Gingham, 7, 10. Grenadine, 213. Guest towel, 146. Hair, care of, 262-264. Hamburg edging, 101, 103. Handkerchief, linen, 182. Handmade garments, 57-58. Hanging table linen, 190. Hat becoming, 266-267. color, 266. how to wear, 267. selecting, 262. shape and lines of, 264-265. trimming for, 267. Health: clothing in relation to, 240-248. underwear effects, 245-247. Heels, 162. Hem: gauge for, 36. making on nightdress, 88. turning around neck of nightdress, 98. Hemmed patch, how to make, 171, 174. Hemming stitch: for hemmed patch, 171. how made, 19-22. why useful, 19. Hemstitch: different from hemming stitch, 147. how to make, 147-148. Henrietta, 210. Herringbone stitch, 150. Herringbone weave, 149. Holder: finishing, 27. planning, cutting, and basting, 24. Homespun, 210. Huckaback, 62, 183. Indian head, 61. Ironing, 189, 190. Jacquard Loom, 124. Javelle water, 187. Kimono night dress, 64. Knitting machine, 167. Lace:cluny, 93. German Val, 94, 96. kinds of, 93, 96. INDEX 299 Lace (Continued) made by hand, 96. names and retail prices of, 94-95. other ways to finish instead of using, 97. sewing on, 97-99. torchon, 93, 95. Valenciennes, 94, 97. Lady's cloth, 211. "Latest style," 251. Lawn, 61. Linen: bleaching, cloth, 195. finishing, cloth for shipping, 195. kinds of, 182-184. manufacture of, 191-196. weaving, 194. where grown, 175. (See Flax.) Linen canvas, 183. Linen laces, 93, 96. Linen materials: .adulteration in, 280. how identified, 181-182. kinds of, 182-183. Linen sheeting, 182. Linens: how to wash and iron, 188-190. points to be noticed in buying, 196-199. Linseed oil, 184. Loom: for weaving cotton, 66-68. hand, 67, 70, 71. "in days gone by," 68. in factory, 69. Jacquard, 124. primitive, 68, 71. Luna moth, m. Materials: adulterated, 279, 280. buying, 276-278. for apron, 31. for bloomers, 202. for underwear, 101, 106. from cotton, 7-10. Materials (Continued) from wool, 209-214. linen, 182-184. silk, 123-126. weighted, 279. Measurements: how to take, 49-50. Melton, 211. Middy blouse, how to make, 268-271. Mohair, 213. Moire silk, 125. Mull, 61. Muslin, 59. Nainsook, 59. Nightdress: cutting, 78. french-seam, 86-89. making hem of, 88. material for, 63. placing pattern, 78. trimming, 98. Nun's veiling, 212. Organzine, 133. Outing flannel, 9. Outline stitch, 121. Overcasting buttonhole, 41, 42. Overhanding stitch, 28-30. Pageant, 200. Parts of sewing machine, 80-83. Patch (See Hemmed patch). Pattern: embroidered, 288. for bloomers, 201. for petticoat, 102. how made in cloth, 285. how woven, 285. laying for bloomers, 215. laying nightdress, 79. opening and reading, 47-48. opening and studying, 201. printed, 286. sending for, 47. Spinning (Continued) primitive, 71. Spinning: cotton, 72-77. flax, 191-194. silk (See silk throwing). wool, 225-228. Spinning wheel: for flax, 75. for wool, 74. Sprinkling linen, 190. Stains: blood, 187. coffee, 186. fruit, 186. grass, 187. how removed, 185. ink, 187. tea, 186. when to be removed, 185. Stitches for decorating, 118-120. (See Embroidery stitches.) Stitching stitch: making, 25-26. other uses of, 27. use of, 23. Stockinet, 167. Stockings: darning, 167-169. how made, 167. kind to buy, 170. sewing rips in, 170. Studying lines, 261. Studying values, 255, 257, 259. Suits, pressing, 157. Table runner, 139. Taffeta, 122. Tears, learning to darn, 163-166. Textiles: for apron, 7, 8. weighted, 279. Textile sample books, 8. Textile surprise book, 10. Textile surprise box, opening, 58. INDEX 301Textile test: burning, 282. chemical, 284. for combination, 280. for fading, 283. for finishing, 281. for shrinkage, 284. for sizing, 281. for strength, 283. with microscope, 282. Threading and running a machine, 84- 86. Ticking, 10, 149. Torchon lace, 93, 95. Toweling, material for, 6. Towels, material for, 6-7. "Tram", 133. Tweed, 210. Underwear: cotton material for, 101. relation to health, 245-247. Uses of lace, 93-97. Valenciennes lace, 94, 96. Velvet, 125. Voile, 212. Warp thread, 67-68. Washing and ironing, the process for, 189-190. Weaving: by hand, with simple loom, 67. cotton, 69. in modern factory, 69. Japanese girl, 69-70, 136. linen, 194. patterns in cloth, 285. silk, 124, 136-137. wool, 226-228. Well-dressed, what it means to be, 250- 255. White petticoat, 101-102. Wool: blended, 221.