e o inmers. SCHLESINGER LIBRARY RADCLIFFE COLLEGE From a fund established by Marjorie Kent Coe Class of 1930 in memory of her mother LETITIA MAE KENT bl 11 646.2 F7565 COPYRIGAT, 1909, BY F. M. LUPTON, Publisher COPYRIGHT, 1911, BY THE BUTTERICK PUBLISHING CO. Schlesinger Library COPYRIGHT, 1911, BY DUFFIELD & COMPANY Kent Preface It is an easy matter to interest a little girl in sewing if one approach the subject in the right way. The average mother pays scant attention to her child's play with dolls, not realizing that it is possible to turn the making of the doll's outfit into the most practical of lessons. While a garment for herself might at first only weary and dishearten the little seamstress, the miniature pieces have a peculiar appeal of their own that will cause her to execute the most per- fect kind of work with delight. The wise woman, therefore, will assist with sug- gestions about the suitability of the materials to be used, and aid in the laying on of the patterns, the cutting and the fitting, as well as instruct about the actual sewing. Indeed, with the doll's clothes it is possible to make each article teach some special lesson under the guise of the most fascinating play, while hav- ing mother for a friend and helper will be another incentive to neatness. PREFACE As the making of the small clothes shows how the larger ones are put together, the child that has made a complete outfit for a doll will have, when she awakens to the delight of sewing for herself, definite ideas about how she wants her own. And after all, few things give a woman more satisfaction than the ability to sew. 0. H. F. SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS CHAPTER I Preparing Dolly's Bed O bed! O bed! delicious bed! That heaven upon earth to the weary head! -Hood. Do you really want to learn to sew? Well, al- though you are a twentieth century little girl, your mother must have some good old-fashioned ideas about things a child should be taught, and if you tell her you are ready to begin, I am sure she will help you. Of course the very first thing you will need is a needle and thread. Now, if some well-inten- tioned dear old grandma has not already given you a “ready-made” work-box, filled with heavy red and blue cotton, and scissors that never were intended to cut, here's a chance to start a nice little sensible work-box such as your mother may be glad to run to in a hurry. First, coax one of your devoted uncles to buy you a pair of small, sharp, round-pointed scissors. You will notice that I said to ask your uncle. I SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS That's because he is less likely to think of your hurting yourself and therefore will get a good pair. But do not use them to cut wire! Ask mother to please give you a whole paper of nee- dles for yourself (5's to 10's will be best assort- ment) so you can have any size you need, and then take care of them. THE WORK-BOX Now that you have two things, you will want to keep them together, so suppose you take a pretty candy box and use that for a work-box. Mother probably will not think it necessary to give you a number of spools of thread to start with, but she may not object to your winding off some of both the fine and coarse of her black and white, as well as a little colored silk also; and if you cannot find empty spools enough for the pur- pose, wind on to rolled-up pieces of writing- paper. If you will first fold this paper into strips about two inches wide, your rolls will be all the same size. A thimble, of course, is necessary, for all fine needlewomen use a thimble, but do not let it roll away and get stepped on. It spoils the shape. And just as soon as you begin to sew, you will feel the need of a needle book to hold your loose nee- PREPARING DOLLY'S BED would come in very handy for this purpose, but if you can't get enough, then see if you have plenty of woolen scraps such as flannel, broadcloth, serge, cashmere, etc. It is better to have them all about the same weight, although the more colors the better. But if you can get only cotton, re- member that that was what the nice old-fashioned quilts were made of, and see how many pretty pieces you can find, left from wash-dresses, aprons, shirt waists and such things. If you decide to cut out these sixteen pieces like your pattern all at once, then it would be a good idea to fit them together on a piece of paper the size of the quilt, so you can select and put the right shades together. RUNNING THE PATCHES When the squares are all arranged, choose a needle that is suitable for the material, because a fine needle might break on some stiff, heavy goods, while a big, coarse needle would be difficult to push through fine close cotton weaves. Select a thread, not too long, of a color as near as pos- sible like the goods, and put on your thimble. Lay the right sides of two squares together, and, holding the edges even (or pinning them to keep SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS them straight, if you prefer), run along one side of the blocks with your thread and needle. To do this nicely take a very small stitch on the nee- dle, leave an equal space, and push in for the sec- ond stitch, which you must try to get the same length as the first. You ought to get four or five stitches on your needle at a time, and a little prac- tice (holding pieces with the left hand), will enable you to get them quite perfect. Be sure to have a knot in the end of your thread, and when you have sewed across the block and finished the seam, fasten your thread by taking three or four small stitches one on top of the other. Next take two other blocks and stitch them neatly together in the same way, fastening the end of the thread securely when you have gotten through. This done, lay the first set, smoothed out nice and straight, on top of the second, and sew across two blocks before you fasten your thread. Then, when you open out your work, you will find you have one-quarter of the patchwork done. This may be as much as you feel like doing in one day, and if so, pick up all your things, put them carefully away, and go off to play. But be sure not to lose any of the pieces. When you are ready to sew again, do not get PREPARING DOLLY'S BED careless, but take the same care as at first; and when you have finished another set of four, put that away, too. When you have made them all -the four sets of four small blocks-put them together exactly as you did the little one, thus making the whole quilt. PRESSING I came near forgetting to tell you to take your little flatiron and press the seams open on each set of blocks as soon as finished, for if not pressed, your work will be “humpy," and not at all like what a neat seamstress would do. And when the sets of blocks are all sewed together, you must press these last seams, too, nice and flat. Then lay your patchwork on the piece of goods you are going to use for the lining or back, right sides together. Pin or baste to hold perfectly even, and cut it out the right size. Stitch around three sides, every inch or two setting your needle back a stitch to make the sewing firmer. When you have finished the three sides, turn your work right side out, smooth it into shape, and crease on both the front and back edge left open, as much of a seam as you have been taking, and pin these two edges exactly even. Sew very carefully together, taking the tiniest stitches you can, so they will PREPARING DOLLY'S BED For even basting, the stitches should be the same length; but for the more common, uneven basting, take up a stitch as in “running,” skip a space twice as long, take up another short stitch, skip a long space, and so on to the end. HEMMING Then prepare yourself with a fine needle and a fine thread. Starting at the left-hand end of the hem, holding it over your left forefinger, with the folded hem on the upper side so you can see plainly, take a “teenty-weenty" stitch through the sheet, and catch the very edge of the hem as you push the needle out. Pull the thread clear up to the knot, and putting your needle in the sheet again close to the first stitch, take another one of the same length and catch that in the folded hem before you pull it out. There—that's all there is to hemming! And if you do not quite see it in your mind's eye, the little picture will make it plain. The real beauty of hemming is in having the little stitches so fine and even that they scarcely show on the right side; but you will learn that with practice. If your first attempt at it re- sults in work a bit clumsy-looking, do not be dis- couraged, for your second attempt will look bet- SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS ter, and before long you will be able to hem al- most as well as mother. F- BASTING AND HEMMING The basting stitches are the long. The hemming stitches are the short. And if you get in a hurry for your sheets, as housekeepers often do, and do not feel like tak- ing the time to hem them all the way around, you 10 • PREPARING DOLLY'S BED. can run the sides and bottom, using the same stitch you put the blocks together with. This is much faster sewing, and if you take pains, will look very nice, too. CHAPTER II The Sewing Outfit There is always work And tools to work withal, for those who will. -Lowell. As you have already tried running and hem- ming, I am going to suggest that you do a little more practicing on these two stitches by making what the children call a "polybag.” This is a pretty silk bag for carrying your thread, needles, scissors and thimble when you go visiting and take your work. One presented to a child I know was made of a piece of fancy ribbon six inches wide and twenty-seven inches long, al- though any pretty piece of goods cut that shape would do just as well. First fold under each end one-eighth of an inch (basting if necessary to keep in place), and then lap over four inches, like a great wide hem, and baste that. Next, taking a thread the same color, hem each of these ends across, taking the nicest kind of little stitches, so the thread will scarcely show on the right side. Fasten securely when you come to the end, or it 13 SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS will pull apart when you begin to use it. Then run a line of stitches half an inch inside each row of hemming, which will leave a little narrow open- ing or casing, for holding the ribbon when you are ready to draw your bag together. OVER-HANDING When you have each end finished nicely this way, fold the strip together in the middle, and begin right at the fold to over-hand the two edges, by putting the needle through both pieces at once as they are held side by side, pulling it out, and putting in again in very much the same way as when hemming. Only, if you will look carefully at the illustration you will see that the goods must be held differently. Over-hand up each side until you come to the two hems, which should just ex- actly meet, then fasten very tightly, and sew over and over again to prevent coming apart. When both sides are done, and you turn your work right side out, you will see that you have made a pocket or bag about six inches square, that has a pretty three-inch doubled ruffle on each side. Now thread one yard of quarter-inch ribbon in your bodkin, run it through the opening you left for the purpose clear around the bag, and tie the ends in a little bow. Taking another yard of the 14 THE SEWING OUTFIT, same kind, start that from the opening on the other side of the bag, and carry around in the same way; tie in a like bow. Does this sound UKIWANITIAL 100 OVER-HANDING strange? Well, it is not, for if you do exactly as I have directed, you will find that when you take a bow in each hand and pull, your bag will begin to close up! And if people ask you why this is called a "polybag,” you can tell them prob- ably because it can be used for so many different things, as every one that has studied the meanings of words knows that “poly" stands for “many." Another pretty and very simple bag is made by gathering one edge of a strip of fancy silk twenty-seven inches long by nine inches wide and 15 SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS then over-handing it firmly to a circle of cardboard that measures four inches across, and that is cov- ered with silk. This forms the bottom. Sew the ends together and run double drawstrings of baby ribbon through a casing made at the other edge, to close the bag at the top. Such a bag could be made, though, of any kind A "POLYBAG" of ribbon or even pretty wash goods. Plain cot- ton duck, with your initial or monogram on one side and with a tape for a drawstring, would make 16 SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS are exactly in the middle, and tack right through the center from top to bottom, making a book when folded over that is four inches long by two inches wide. Then, if not too thick, punch a small hole clear through as it is folded, at the top, middle and bottom, and tie in short lengths of baby ribbon to make pretty bows. Slip in an eight-inch length of this ribbon clear across the middle of the broadcloth, on the inside, and tack in several places as well as at the edge, to make places to hold the paper of needles, bodkin, darn- ers, etc. The ends left flying, of course you know, are to tie the book shut when you are through. SEWING APRON Did you ever notice, by the way, that when mother sits down to sew she usually puts on a fresh, white apron? This is to keep the threads and lint from her dress, as well as to keep her sewing nice and clean. So, if you are going to be a thorough little seamstress, you better make yourself a sewing apron right away. Use any kind of thin white goods, or a short length left from one of your summer dresses, if you like colors. Taking a full width of goods that is thirty inches long, crease a one-inch hem along one end, 18 SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS long creases you made at the start, from the bottom to the very edge of the hem, you will find you have four neat little pockets to hold your pencils. Attach a loop of cord or tiny tape to the end of the flap, and sew a button on the center line of the backstitching, in the exact spot to catch the loop. Then you can keep it securely closed. 26 CHAPTER IV Dolly's Drawers By the work one knows the workman. -La Fontaine. Making Dolly's drawers so they would allow her to sit, puzzled me greatly when I was a little girl. Her jointed kid body allowed the legs to bend so much that there was never room enough in the seat, and it took me some time to figure it out for myself, but I finally did it this way: I measured first the length I wanted the gar- ment from the waist-line in front to the knee, and then the inside of the leg from body to knee, and wrote the numbers down; next from the waist in the back to the knee when Dolly was bent in a sit- ting posture. This proved considerably longer than the first. Then I measured from a line taken straight down the middle of the front to a similar straight line down the back, around the hips when she was bent, and I found she was much broader from her side line to the back line than from the side line to the front line. Folding a strip of paper that was deeper than 27 SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS the length of the drawers, I placed the fold at her side line, and creased where the top and bot- tom should come; then opening out, I corrected this roughly indicated mark according to the measurements first set down, and—10—there was a pattern cut to fit. And the following is the queer-shaped piece I had cut! GATHER IN TO BELT тоPEN BACK o Front Seam Fold, GATHER side FOLD HERE FOR BOTTOM HEM. PATTERN FOR ONE LEG OF DRAWERS But it looked so different from most drawer- patterns I had seen, I was not sure I was right until I sewed the seams and tried the garment on. To make the drawers in this way, after they are cut from the pattern, first fold the hems at bot- 28 DOLLY'S DRAWERS tom, and where they are to be open down the mid- dle of the back, and baste. A FRENCH SEAM 29 SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS FRENCH SEAM Lay the two short, front edges together, with the hems on the inside, and sew with a running stitch very close to the edge. Trim the edges even, near to the sewing, then fold over the other way, exactly on the stitching and sew up once more, now using the combination backstitch. You will then have what is called a French seam, and it not only makes your sewing stronger, but it folds in and covers the raw edges. Fold and crease one leg at the dotted side line, and then with the hems inside, stitch the two rounded edges together, from the hem at the bot- tom to the notch, and fasten securely. Gather along the edge of the back piece separately as far as the back hem, draw it up to fit the front, and stitch the two pieces together back to the notch. After doing the other leg the same way, trim off close to the sewing, turn the garment inside out, crease on the stitching for another French seam, and stitch this time straight around from one bottom hem to the other. Now you will see you have left no raw edges. But you need a belt, so cut a strip one inch wide, and one inch longer than the waist measure, and fold under each end one-quarter of an inch to strengthen for the button and button-hole. 30 DOLLY'S DRAWERS After gathering the top of the drawers from the notch near the side, to the back hem, and pinning the center of the belt to the center of the drawers (at the front), on the outside, draw up to fit the JER TO BELT GATHER FRONT SEAM HEM A SINGLE LEG belt, and sew all the way around. Stitch care- fully, then crease a tiny fold along the other side, turn the belt exactly in the middle and hem down on the wrong side. Then after hemming the hems, and adding the buttons and button-holes, Miss Dolly will have a garment that will allow her to sit down. 31 CHAPTER V Some Simple Trimmigns Be plain in dress, and sober in your diet; In short, my deary, kiss me and be quiet. -Lady Montagu. In making nice underwear for Dolly (or your- self), you will want some simple, pretty trimming, so first I am going to show you how to make ruffling. Take a straight, narrow piece of paper one third longer than the edge where the ruffle is to go, fold over one side the width you want for a hem, and then cut the strip the width that you want the ruffle. With a pattern of this kind you will be pretty sure to make no mistake when you cut out the goods. Fold the hem and baste it to keep it straight, then either hem or run. GATHERING Next take a long thread, put through your nee- dle and knot the two ends together. A double thread always holds gathers much better than a single, and also is stronger. Take running stitches twice as long on the underside as they are 33 SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS on top, along the raw edge of your strip, and when you have come to the end, tie a knot in the thread. Then put in a second row exactly the same way, one-quarter of an inch from the first, and you will find that with the two gathering threads your “puckers" can easily be evenly distri- buted. They will not slip like they would on a single thread, either. When your ruffle is all ready to be applied, pin it in place on the garment, draw up the two strings so as to make it the exact length, and put in some more pins to hold it until you can get it basted. Cover the raw edge with finishing braid or a tiny folded bias band, and hem down. SHIRRING Shirring is easy, too, and is done like ruffling, only you put in as many rows of gathering threads as you want, and then draw them all up to fit, and adjust the fullness the way you like. For in- stance, in making a nice white dress for Dolly, the waist could be cut fuller than usual, and shirred around the neck, with three or four threads, while the full skirt could have five or six rows around the hips. Just try this some time and see how pretty it looks. Shirring, however, is not so suitable for underwear. 34 SOME SIMPLE TRIMMINGS -- 中国民间中的可行 ​PUTTING ON A RUFFLE 35 CHAPTER VI Dolly's Skirt Her feet beneath her petticoat Like little mice stole in and out, As if they feared the light. -Sir John Suckling. Now that you girls have had several different kinds of plain sewing, I am sure you will be ready to try some of the fancy stitches; and as doll chil- dren, like real, are always needing new under- wear, suppose this time you try making a skirt. I want you to learn to cut your own patterns, too, which is another reason why I choose this simple garment. Then you can make it as dainty as you please with handwork. CUTTING THE SKIRT PATTERN First cut a strip of paper as wide as from the belt to the bottom of Dolly's dress, with a folded hem as deep as you desire. If the skirt is to be of flannel, cut the pattern strip just wide enough to set well, which ought to be about three times her 39 SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS waist measure. A thin, white skirt, however, will have to be fuller. When you have the right width and length, cut out the garment after laying the paper pattern straight on the goods, sew the seam from half way down the back to the bottom, half an inch in from the edge, and trim off close to the sewing. Then overcast the raw edges along this seam. OVERCASTING Overcasting is done like over-handing, except that the stitches are longer and taken farther apart. It is done along the raw edges, to keep the goods from fraying. Finish separately the two edges left to form ATPORT DOLLY'S SKIRT 40 DOLLY'S SKIRT the placket by hemming very neatly up to the top, and then press all the sewing with a warm iron. FEATHERSTITCHING : If you want to featherstitch the bottom hem, fold it carefully, and run it with a fine basting thread to hold firmly in place. Take a needleful of some pretty embroidery silk, and start your featherstitching at the center back seam, holding the skirt right side out, with the hem to the left. Bringing your needle to the upper or outside, where the edge of the hem is marked by the bast- ing thread, throw the silk to the left, set your nee- dles as shown in the picture, and pull through. Draw the thread just tight enough to lie smoothly, then throw the silk to the right, set your needle in the same way again, only at the opposite angle, for the point must always be toward the middle as marked by the basting; take the same length stitch as before, and pull through smoothly again. Now, this is very easy if you will pay close atten- tion to the directions and to the little picture; and you will find it very easy, rapid, and fascinating work, too. Continue around the hem, throwing the thread each time in the opposite direction from the last, left-right-left-right, etc., and you will soon find that you are getting beautifully even stitches. 41 SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS After you have mastered this perfectly, try tak- ing two stitches on each side, and the result will be even prettier. Next run a double row of gathers around the FEATHERSTITCHING remaining raw edge, at the top of the skirt, draw up to fit Dolly's waist, and fasten securely. If your child happens to be rather large around her waist (for some children are quite chubby), you may not want so many gathers over her little stomach, so push all the fullness you can to the 42 DOLLY'S SKIRT back, and lay the rest in two flat little plaits each side of the front. Cut a strip of fine muslin long and wide enough for a band, and put on the same way as I told you for the pretty apron. Sew a tiny button from an old glove on one end, and make a neat buttonhole in the other. And to make particularly nice, overcast on a piece of narrow lace at the bottom of the hem. BLANKET STITCH For a plain flannel underskirt, however, turn a half inch fold at the bottom, and baste. Take a needleful of fine worsted or embroidery silk, and, starting from the left, hold the thread down with your thumb while you set the needle in one-quarter of an inch back from the edge, and bring it out from under the edge (and over the thread held down), so as to form a loop a little like the but- tonhole stitch. The next time set the needle not quite so far in, and continue to alternate with long and short stitches. You may want to make a fine white skirt, how- ever, so get a piece left over from your own or mother's summer dress, and that you can trim differently. After cutting the fine, thin goods, and folding 43 SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS the hem, before your fasten it pull a thread where the very top of the hem comes, which will prob- ably be in one to two inches from the edge. It may be a little hard to get out this first thread, but a needle will help, and, never minding how often it breaks, just start again. Then after BLANKET STITCH you have drawn one thread all the way around, so as to get the line straight, take out enough more-eight, ten or twelve, to make the width space you want for hemstitching, and baste the folded hem along this line of drawnwork. HEMSTITCHING Now, however, you sew with fine white cotton, and for very sheer material take a fine needle and 44 SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS though it takes practice, of course, to do it nicely. But the advantage of mastering hemstitching is that after you once learn to do it well, you can use it for all sorts of pretty things for yourself, such as dainty handkerchiefs, collars, etc. The reason I suggest making these little ar- ticles is that you may have easy things to start with, and yet something worth while when nicely finished. But always take pains. Get your stitches straight and even, and do each piece of work as well as if you knew that every one that saw it was going to judge you by your handiwork. Then the first thing you know, you will find your- self a good, capable little seamstress. 46 CHAPTER VII The Fine White Dress She loves me when she cuts an’ sews My little cloak an' Sund'y clothes. -James Whitcomb Riley. Dolly probably needs a nice, white dress, so prepare to take her measurements for the pat- tern. You can most likely get a piece of fine ma- terial from mother's scrap-bag, though you may have to press it out smooth before going to work. CUTTING TO MEASURE First lay Dolly flat on the table, with her arms out straight, and measure from one elbow to the other, across her body, and write the figures down. Measure next from her neck under the ear to be- low her knees, with allowance for hem extra, and write that down. Measure across her knees as far each side as you wish the skirt to extend, - and you will probably find that this measurement is the same as the space between the elbows. Now take a piece of paper twice as long as the length from neck to hem, and the same width as SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS between the elbows. Fold in half crossways, and then again lengthways, trim out the small open- ing for the neck at the corner coming in the center OPE NING DOWN OACK CATHER HEM PATTERN FOR EMBROIDERED DRESS of the paper, and shape out, on the long side show- ing the four edges, to fit under the arms, as shown in the picture. (I think you usually cut paper- doll dresses this way, don't you?) Then round off 48 THE FINE WHITE DRESS the bottom as indicated, or your dress will sag at the sides. Next lay this pattern against Dolly, and see if you have cut it right. If not, take another piece of paper and try it again; and keep on trying until you are satisfied that it is the way it ought to be. Thus you will prevent any mistake in cut- ting your goods. MAKING THE DRESS When the pattern is all ready, lay it very care- fully on the material, getting the crease down the front of the paper on the straight of the cloth. You will see by looking at the illustration that we are to have a dainty low - necked, short - sleeved dress, so when the goods is cut, first sew the under-arm seams. Put a fly-fastening down the back, or, if you find Dolly is narrower across the back than she is across the front, you will be able to turn narrow hems that will allow for tiny buttons and button- DOLLY IN HER holes. Take a half-inch strip NEW DRESS .: 49 SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS of the material cut on the bias, lay it on the right side of the dress and stitch around the neck-open- ing, being very careful not to stretch either the neck or the band. Then when you have creased a tiny fold along the other side of the strip, turn exactly on the line of sewing and hem down on the wrong side just like an ordinary hem. BACKSTITCHING Sometimes when you are working on such a -Bet BACKSTITCHING thing as the seams of a waist you will find that your sewing ought to be particularly strong and firm, so then instead of the simple running stitch like you used in the patchwork, you must try; backstitching. To backstitch means to take one stitch under- neath, and then set the needle back on top nearly to the previous stitch. It is slower sewing, of course, but much better for any place that is sub- 50 THE FINE WHITE DRESS ject to a strain. When finished, it looks like the running stitch on the top side, but has a line of close double stitches on the under side. Hem the bottom of the dress and the edges of the loose, open sleeves. Run two rows of gather- ing threads about one-third the way up from the bottom of the dress and draw it in slightly, to fit the body around the hips (or below, as you prefer), and cover with a belt, a sash, or embroid- ery "beading" run with a narrow ribbon. 51 CHAPTER VIII Different kinds of Fastenings Cut and come again. -Crabbe. Hooks and eyes are put on in places where we do not want any fastenings to show, and like everything else there is a right way to sew them on. If you prefer hooks to buttons down the back of Dolly's dress, for instance, crease the hems after folding them wide enough to cover your hooks. Then mark the places, at regular intervals, where the hooks are to go, make a tiny hole in this hem with the point of your scissors and push the point of the hook through FROM THE UNDER- SIDE. Holding carefully in place with your thumb and forefinger, so it will not slip crooked, sew the hook, over and over, to the loose hem (for that is not to be stitched down until the hooks are all on), through the two little round eyes, and take a couple of extra stitches at the other end to hold the hook steady. Then when every one is tightly 58 SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS sewed in place, lay the hem nice and smooth, and hem that down, and you will find that none of the SEWING ON HOOKS stitches fastening the hooks and eyes show at all on the right side. Measure and mark the places on the hem on 54 SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS they will scarcely show, and leave only the metal bar exposed. The picture will show you exactly what I mean, however. If you want a nice finishing,—the kind that does not show,—down the back of Dolly's dress (or on your own blouse waist in case you are am- bitious enough to try that) suppose you put on a fly-fastening. FLY-FASTENING Cut two strips the length of the opening, and a little more than double the width necessary for the buttonholes. Lay one along one edge of the garment on the upper or outside, stitch with a running stitch, turn a tiny fold along the other edge of the strip, and then crease it exactly in the center, so that the “fiy," pressed flat, covers the raw edge, on the under side. Hem neatly, catching the stitches so they do not show through and put the buttons on this strip. Fold a tiny hem on the other side of the gar- ment, fold the other strip exactly through the center, and after turning its two raw edges to- gether, inside, so they do not show, lay the strip with the other edge along the edge of the hem, and stitch the two edges AS ONE, to the dress. In this attached strip work the buttonholes. 56 DIFFERENT KINDS OF FASTENINGS FLY-FASTENING, RIGHT SIDE FLY-FASTENING, LEFT SIDE STUDYING OUT A PATTERN EMBROIDERY STITCHES will take, fill in the scallops with a few lengthwise stitches, for padding, so the edge will be firm and strong, and then take short buttonhole stitches, at right angle to the others, beginning at the right hand end. You will find this very quick work, and pretty, too. MAKING EYELETS For the little eyelets, pierce a hole as large as you want with a stiletto,—or a common crochet- needle, if you can find nothing else. Run a row of fine stitches around this opening, and then overhand it, holding the edge of the hole away from you all the time as you work around. Take small, close stitches, and draw the thread each time as tight as possible without puckering the goods. When you have been all the way around, fasten your thread on the underside, and clip off. FRENCH KNOTS When mothers, big and little, get to putting nice handwork on their children's clothes, they nearly always want to use pretty French knots. These look rather hard to make, but really they are as easy as any other fancy stitches; and they fit in where nothing else does as well, along the edges of hems and between tucks and insertion. 63 SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS So, when you are ready to make Dolly some- thing new, take a double thread of heavy silk or embroidery cotton, knot the end, and start the needle through from the underside exactly at the point where you want the first French knot to come. Then, after pulling the thread straight towards you, place your thumb directly over the spot of the knot, wrap the thread once around your thumb to make a loop, then slip it off and after laying flat, stick your needle back right where the thread first came out and push the needle point through and out again where you want the next knot to come. But before drawing the needle out again, catch hold of the thread within an inch of the loop and pull the thread up close around the needle, to make a small knot. Then pull the needle until the thread is drawn up nice and smooth, and you will find yourself ready to make another. This carries the thread along on the underside, from one knot to an- other, so you do not have to fasten or cut off each time. There are several different ways of making French knots, but this seems to me to be the simplest. SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS arms out straight from her body, and see what she measures from one wrist to the other, add- ing one inch at each hand to be turned back for the facing, and two inches more which will be needed for the box plait in the back of the coat and the hems down the front opening. These extra four inches are about right for a doll six- teen inches long, but more would be needed for a larger, and less for a smaller one. But add this extra length to the exact distance between her wrists, and write it down on your paper. Measure next from her neck (under her little ear) down as long as you want her coat to come when it is finished, add one inch for a hem at the bottom, and write that number down, too. Then, if you want a fashionably large hat, see how wide she is across the shoulders, and put that figure down as the diameter of the hat brim, and make the circle for the crown the same size. A third circle nearly as big, cut out, afterwards, like the picture, will form the collar. CUTTING THE PATTERN After getting these figures, take a good sized piece of newspaper, fold it first lengthwise and then crosswise. Then measure from the folded corner lengthwise as many inches as you have 66 THE COAT AND HAT creasing the hems, pinning the plait, and turn- ing back the hand facings, and see if you have the right proportions. If not, cut another pat- tern with the needed changes. This will take a little experimenting, to get exactly as it should be. But it will prevent mistakes later. Cut out, then, the other pieces like the pictures, but accord- to your own measurements. Next lay your patterns, just like the map, on your goods, being sure to get them the proper way of the material, up and down. If you have one whole length that mother or auntie has been able to spare you so much the better, but you can use scraps if you have to. Should it happen that you cannot find about the house a single thing suitable, take the ten cents that you would otherwise spend for candy, and buy as much as you need of pretty striped tennis flannel. A blue and white would make a dainty coat, and one that would wash, too. MAKING THE COAT When your pieces are all cut out, sew with a running stitch up the sleeve (under the arm), and down the body. Stitch along the dotted lines where you pinned the plait for the back, open out flat and press as a box-plait. Turn 69 THE COAT AND HAT to mark for the crown, then sew the two brims together around the outside edge, turn and press. Cut the circle for the crown, run a double thread around the outside edge after marking the exact center line through the middle (to meet the nicks in the brim), and draw up small enough to just fit the head opening of the brim when you slip both brims and crown holes over your fingers. Place the marks on the brim to the line through the crown, so you can divide the gathers evenly on each side, and U *** ....... then holding the brim against the gathered crown, with your fingers through the opening in DOLLY'S NEW coat each, sew together, taking AND HAT a backstitch now and then. Fasten securely, then pat down the crown, Tam o'Shanter style, nice and flat, trim around with a pretty piece of ribbon, and see if you cannot find some nice chicken quills for a finishing touch. Then you will have a stylish little outfit; and you can do the work well, if you try. CHAPTER XI A Dainty Mending Outfit If there's a hole in a your coats, I rede ye tent it; A chiel's amang ye takin' notes, And, faith, he'll prent it. -Burns. Are you supplied, by the way, with a mending outfit? Every seamstress needs a work-bag, well fitted with the things she is likely to use. Just the other day I saw a tiny sewing kit, which was the cutest thing imaginable! It was made of pink silk belting, held in shape by satin- covered cardboard sides. It was three inches long by two inches wide, just the dimensions of its little embroidery scissors, and less than one inch high, exactly the height, in fact, of its small aluminum thimble. But the finest thing about it was that it contained a complete mending outfit. There was a double fold of fine white flannel, an inch by an inch and a half, on one side of which were as- sorted needles, and on the other side a dozen small safety-pins. A tiny silk button-bag, an inch and 173 'S EWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS a half square, held a few pearl buttons of differ- ent sizes and a dozen assorted hooks and eyes, both black and white. Attached to one corner with a few strong stitches was a tiny emery. Loose in the bottom were six tiny cards, half an inch square, each wrapped with a few yards of thread (coarse and fine black and white cotton, black silk and black darning cotton). There was also a bodkin, a darning-needle, a roll of, perhaps, half a yard of narrow tape, and a ball of wax. Several large safety-pins completed the equipment. This little sewing kit was carried by one of my friends on all her travels, because it could be slipped into even the smallest hand-bag. It pro- vided always for the button suddenly missing from glove or underwear, the rip or rent in a gar- ment, the mysterious hole in a stocking. If you should care to make one for yourself, I will tell you how to do it, but it would make a lovely pres- ent for you to give to mother or sister or your dearest friend. A DAINTY MENDING OUTFIT First lay your small embroidery scissors on a piece of paper and mark off their length. Then cut an oblong from the paper half an inch longer 174 A DAINTY MENDING OUTFIT SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS the thread close, without puckering, and come back the same way. Do not get those stitches too close together the first time you go around, as you might un- consciously “full” one side more than the other, but when you have reached the other end, turn and come back the same way, now putting your stitches in between the first set. Also take them a little deeper, so they will catch more of the material and make the sewing hold better. The second time around, if you will notice, you will see you have left a little hole at the sharp corner (in the middle), so put in a few extra stitches there, spread out fan shape to strengthen that particular place. After you have learned to do well all the dif- ferent things we have talked about, do you not think it will be lovely to surprise mother by tell- ing her you are going to begin to darn your own stockings? That would be such a help, and she would know then you had obtained real, practical good out of your sewing lessons. But let me tell you first that if you want to make this work very light, never put on a stocking with a hole in it. No matter if you have worn it but a day, mend it before wearing again, and then you will find that the holes are never large. 78 SEWING FOR LITTLE GIRLS be sure to go into the firm goods and make the darned place strong. Stockings mended in this way will be smooth and flat, not hurting the feet, and they will last much longer than if loosely “basket-stitched.” And if you repair each tiny hole as soon as it comes, your work will not take much time, either. PATCHING Patching means putting on a piece to cover a hole or a worn place. This piece ought always to be of the same kind of goods, and laid on exactly the same way of the material. First cut a square a little larger than the part you want covered, crease an eighth of an inch fold all around, place exactly in the right spot on the wrong side of the goods, and pin carefully at each corner until you can get properly basted. Then hem with the tiniest kind of stitches, using a fine thread of the right color. PATCH, ON UNDERSIDE Next turn to the right side, cut away the rough or worn edges, leaving a hole either round or square, as you prefer. If round, you will have to make little, even snips all around the circle in order to allow you to turn under the edge, and 80 A CHAT ON MENDING then hem down with stitches that can scarcely be seen. Usually, however, a square hole shows less, so if you decide on that, cut from the center toward each corner of the patch but to within not less . SQUARE PATCH WAONG SIDE. than a quarter of an inch, snip off the worn part up nearly but not quite to these points, turn under the raw edges evenly in a perfect line with the first hemming of the patch, and hem down. PATCH, RIGHT SIDE When it is all nicely done, press with a hot iron, to make the work smooth and flat. 81 ACHAT ON MENDING girl who thinks it too much trouble to take “a stitch in time,” and who makes anything do for ordinary occasions; but keep yourself attractive by always being dainty and neat. THE END 83