The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-02-23
Mending Day.

day each week for mending day; its du-
ties should be as religiously performed as
her daily devotions Which day it shall be
depends upon the time of getting the
clothes in the wash. If that hard work is
done at home it should be as early in the
week as practicable; the flannels should be
washed out and dried quickly, so as to
shrink as little as possible, and to allow
plenty of time to air them, for nothing is
more rInious to the health than damp flan-
nels.
If the clothes are all in by Thursday even
ing, then Friday would be a nice opportu-
nifty to lay out every garment and put it
through rigorous examination. 1t is well
TO have special stocking basket, in which
all the stockings and socks are placed
for inspection. 1t should be furnished with
suitable needles, darning cottons of all col
ors to suit the fancy hosiery, pair of scis-
sors, etc, so that it may be picked up at
any of those odd moments which so often
come to housekeeper when she is not
ready to settle down to work which needs
cutting out or planning. After the holes
are mended, thin places should be neatly
darned, for then they present strong even
surface which is more comfortable than the
hole when drawn together later
The garments which need menGing should
be placed in another basket Every button
should be examined, and if they are pull
ling out by the roots, as children'S buttons
always do, double bit of cotton, or mate
rial like the garment, can be hemmed on
the wrong side, the edges of the hole
hemmed down on it and the button replaced,
concealing the hole entirely. 1t looks much
better than setting the button higher or
lower to gain a fresh foundation.
Strings have a way of wearing half off
just where they are Sewed on. They should
be cut, the old place ripped off and new
sewing taken up, or else new strings.
Little Sits in under-clothing should have
a strong piece of material laid under, much
larger than the slit; when that is darned
down with a few neat stitches it will hold
much longer than if it is lust run up.''
Boys clothing should be furnished with
good strong pockets, for the joys of little
chaps first pantaloons pales before ''lots of
pockets, to hold just everything"
Little girls enjoy pockets, too; a moder-
ate sized one, in the seam of q calico or
bingham dress, holds her handkerchief,
thimble, and other necessary things which
would otherwise be lying around and lost.
l find that child's habit of neatness de-
ponds largely upon the condition of the
clothing put upon her from infancy. If she
is accustomed to whole clean clothes she
Will enjoy them, then find them necessity
then learn and live to keep them so.
The poor little children who dive into
bureau drawers, pulling out buttonless
bodices, torn aprons and ragged dresses,
which they strew about the room until they
find some wearable garments, are greatly
to be pitied; nor are they to blame if they
grow into untidy men and women. 1t is
never wise to buy just enough material for
a child's Dress with nothing left for mend
ing. The elbows always rub out first and
ii there is enough to make new underside
N a e hal no TO
much logger.
If there is wide sash like the dress it
can be used later on for new sleeves, and
it will be all washed alike" for nearly all
cOlored goods will fade in time A friend
of mine is the happy possessor of four boys.
When they were little fellows she used al
ways to get suits for two of them alike;
the younger always got through with his
trousers first, aud then she took them to
mend the underside of the jacket sleeves.
A neat patch Of the same material is not
very unsightly for rough and tumble wear;
far less so than the frayed out holes which
the little men try in vain to hide "when
company comes" If there is enough ma
terial the worn sleeves or trousers leg may
be cut straight across and pieced; if the
goods are checked or figured, when the
seams arepressed, the piecings are scarcely
discernable; it looks oh so much better
than the square window like patch through
time
Woven underwear has a tendency to
'drop into holes.' If these are noted in
time it is easy to catch up the broken thread
and prevent it from spreading into large
hole which might need a patch The silky
bindings which give these garments
pretty finish are not durable; so soon as
they begin to give away it is advisable to
replace them with stronger tape, which
will keep the necks from stretching out of
shape or tearing down at the shoulder.
Gentlemen's outer garments are more
difficult to repair neatly. The braid will
wear off the coat or vest and the tailor will
charge pretty penny to replace it, 1t can
be done at home, with time and patience:
practice will produce skill. have never
succeeded wei with a machine binder, be-
cause the edges of a coat vary greatly in
thickness, but haste the braid silk coat
binding) on, and stitch one side with the
machine and hem the other down by hand.
When pressed it looks quite well. If the
coat is black or dark, it is best to lay a thin
piece of dark goods over the part to be
pressed; IL the iron is put directly on the
goods it leaves sleek, shiny look which
cannot be removed.
A few stitches in the worn ends of vest
button holes, and new buttons, have
wonderfully renovating effect. A worn
lining inside a coat skirt gives coat very
forlorn look. A good thick satteen, of color
suited to the coat, when basted in and
hemmed neat around the edges, taking care
to have it just fit well without drawing or
bagging, will make ones husband very
happy.
Now we come to some of those blessed
little ounces of prevention which are worth
so many pounds of cure. There are many