The Sunday herald and weekly national intelligencer., 1891-11-22
IN THE SEWING GLASSES.
HOW PUBLIC SCHOOL GIRLS ARE
TAUGHT A USEFUL ART.
First Lesson, in Cutting, Blasting and
Fitting-why Objections to the Man
ual Training Schools are Not valid.
Notes From the Glass Rooms.

Some objection has been raised to the estab-
lishment of manual training schools In Wash
ington as well as in other cities on the ground
that they might invade the province of the
trade unions and turn out 80 many carpenters,
blacksmiths, and other craftsmen that tho
market would become overstocked and wages
be depressed. The advocates Of manual train
ing, however, point out that these objections
are not well-founded, because the instruction
given in the public schools is merely of an
elementary character, not going far enou gh
to make the pupils masters of the tr AIDES. At
the same time the training the pupils get Is
regarded as of unquestionable value in devel-
oping the powers of the hand as well as Of
the mind, turning their faculties in useful di
rectons, and teaching them habits Of close
observation and intelligent effort. The great
majority of the pupils will not pursuein after
life the crafts whose rudiments they learned
in the manual training schools, but it is felt
that in anything they may undertake there
can be no doubt they will go at it all the better
equipped for the training they received. And
those who wish to follow for livelihood the
crafts they began to learn in school will do so
all the more advantageously because Of the
early start they got.
This seems especially true OF two branches
taught to girls-cookng and sewing These
are the two things which two-thirds of the
girls will find most useful In after life. eff I
did not think so," said sewing teacher to
HERALD representative, 81 should hardly
think it worth while to teach either branch in
a school-room. Every woman knows Of what
immense value knowledge of either is to
her, and | take solid pleasure in feeling that
my instruction in the sewing class is going
to help many of these bright girls over some
Of lifes hard places"
The sewing schools are in Charge of Mrs. e.
c. Weaver principal. She has eight as
sistants-Mrs. M. w. Cate, Mrs. A. Norris,
Miss Stanton, Mrs. Davidson, and Miss Gra-
ham, all Washington women. Mrs. Weaver
has had charge of the work from the first In
PRODUCTION OF sewing schools five years ago.
She plans and supervises the whole sy STEM
She has busy life but she manages to visit
all the schools once month and some of them
oftener, as for instance, the Wallach Building
on Mondays and Tuesdays. There she pays
special attention to cutting and fitting, the
highest grade of work attempted this year.
The Sixth grade is the highest grade In the
sewing schools and the Third grade includes
the smallest children.
The tools used are a dressmakers folding
table which is placed before each little
seamstress; square and circle rule, lap
board, thimbles, needles, pins, thread, and
cloth cut into strips for beginners, and papers
for drawing patterns on for the pupils Of the
Sixth grade, who are learning how to cut and
ut dresses and undergarments
This year some variations have been intro
duced by Mrs. Weaver into the system as che
has visited similar schools in the Northern
States and found some things there which she
thinks superior to the methods formerly In
use here. For instance, last year the girls of
the Sixth grade had the privilege OF selecting
the garments to make for the exhibit at the
close of the school year. In this years. course
the plan will be to have all the pupils in the
same grade doing the same kind of work and
at the close of the working season the ex-
hibit Will be to compare the progress made
by the pupils of the different schools. Silesia
for Innings will be furnished for the dress
making department. which is an addition to
the system this year, but for the specimens OF
underwear each pupil will furnish her own
material and have the completed garment.
The teaching begins on strips of cotton, and
basting is the first lesson. From that the pu-
Pill proceeds to back-stitching, hemming, fell
ing, oVer-casting and button-hole making. The
teachers in this department Of training, as
teachers In other lines OF manual work, feel
that one hour in week is too limited time
to accomplish very great results. Indeed the
dressmaking cannot be taught on the ''self-
adjusting tailor SYSTEM" IN that time. 1t
seems almost a pity that the Seventh and
hour week in this department in addition
to the hour a week In the cooking schools.
The principal thinks that eventually this extra
hour may be given to training these older
home industry.
There is called meeting of sewing school
teachers in the Franklin Building once
month when the principal, Mrs. Weaver,
plans for the next months step in teaching
and gives preliminary instruction to her as
sistants.
During the sewing lesson In the Wallach
Building on Capitol Hill the other day, Mrs.
Cate, teacher, there were eighteen little tables
and as many little women sitting behind them.
The young workers were busy taking down
measures and drawing the outline of dress
sleeve, They were apparently very much in
terested and were allowed to compare work
and even give each other hints "When 1t
comes to cutting garment for themselves"
said Miss Cate, ''a girl stands before that glass
and one of her companions fits the garment
on to her while she has the privilege of making
suggestions and critising the work. Ofcourse,
there is great difference in the aptitude OF
pupils. Some girls like to sew and some
don't.n
School Notes.
Professor e. b. Warman closed his series OF