The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1892-02-04
LIE REVIVAL OF MENOlNG.
An Art That Has Been Too Long Neg
Iecfed 4. Now Being Cultivated.

Iected l. Now Being Cultivated.
AS ready made clothing becomes better
and more moderate in price one not infre-
guently hears women say, "Oh, it doesn t
pay to mend very much when new hose,
new undcrgarmcnts. and new gowns are to
be bought so >I-.n,iy" \ more frequent
excuse for the neglect OF the stitch i'll
time" is that made by the woman who says
that she likes TO make new garments but
either cannot or does not like to mend.
In regard to the first class, wonlen who
wear good clothing know thai only cheap
material, poorly shaped and made. is sold
at very low prices, and that il docs not pay
to mend hose fns flannel underwear and
other garments except such as, Ike the
one boss shay, 90 to pieces all at Once.
Probably the reason is to be found IN the
decay Of the fine art of EendEg and of
darning, which once dealt with rerts and
holes i'll a way that made il difficult to de
tect. Things were made ''as good rs new"
Since the revival Of needIcwork lnending
and darning are once more becoming inter
esting. and instruction in these branches il,
as eagerly sought by those who have not
the talent us IL knowledge of the newest
stitch in embroidery. The mending class
may yet become as popular as that in
II
presents an opportunity to woman skilled
in such uses of her needles.
The well stocked work basket contains
many materials for fine mending unknown
to our grandmOthers. There are the
braided skeins Of fine silks in many cclOrs
and cut in needle lengths that are to be
had for less than a quarter of a dollar, and
the skcins of fine thread, in tans. grays,
and other shades, for glove mending. lOr
stockings there are yarns of cashmere and
o. cotton, in cOlOrs and in fadelcss black,
and Balbri ggan cotton for unbleached hose,
underwear and towels The latter cotton
comes in skeins of deep cream color, and is
UNFINISHED, so that one or several threads
may be used.
For bleached towels of fine quality and
for table linen there is Il white flax thread
, that comes by the skein. The cashmere
yarn is suitable for mending colOred fan
nels. Rolls of silk tape may also be had
for binding over underwear, or some of the
firm narrow ribbons that are often sold for
from three to five cents yard. Cotton
tape of good quality is often less bungIing
20 set under spot where a button has
been torn away than small patch of
cloth. For lace mending, small ball of
'lace thread is kept in the basket and is
used to initiate the broken stitches of the
lace as closely as possible, the piece of lace
to be mended first being basted on IL dark
leather kept for the purpose, For patching
or putting new parts into ordinary cotton
garments, piece Of lightweight muslin
that has been washed and ironed should be
kept at hand and used with a needle and
thread OF medium fins ness, us coarse thread
tears the old fabric.
As an incentive to keep the buttons
sewed on her shoes, little maiden was
given a japanese boy doll fitted out with
linen thread, buttons, needles, thimble and
scissors. The skein of thread is disposed
of as cue the buttons are kept in small
pocket in his robe, the thimble, like the
card of All Sin, is in one sleeve and the
needles in the other. On a narrow ribbon
about the neck are hung the scissors
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