The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-02-03
THE REVIVAL OF MENDlNe.
An Art That Has Been Too Long Neg
Iected L. Now Being Cultivated.

! An Art That Has Been Too Long Neg
| lected Is Now Being Cultivated.
As ready made clothing becomes better
| and more moderate iIlpriCe one not infre-
queDtly hears women say, "Oh, it doesn't
pay to mend very much when new hose,
new undergarments, and new gowns are to
be bought so cneaplyW A more frequent
excuse for the neglect of 'the stitch in
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. women who
wear good clothing know that only cheap
material, poorly shaped and made, is sold
at very low prices. and that it does not pay
to mend hose, fine flannel underwear and
other garments, except such as, like the
one boss shay, go TO pieces all at once
Probably the reason is to be found in the
decay of the dne art of mending and of
darning, which once dealt with rents and
holes in way that made it difficult to de-
tect. Things were made ''as good as new"
Since the revival of needlework mending
and darning are once more becoming inter
esting, and instruction in these branches Is
as eagerly sought by those who have not
the talent as a knowledge of the newest
stitch in embroidery. The mending class
may yet become as popular as that in
china painting or cookery, and certainly
presents an opportunity to a woman skilled
in such uses Of her needles.
The we'll stocked work basket contains
many materials for fine mending unknown
to our grandmothers. There are the
braided skeins of fine silks in many colors
and cut in needle lengths that are to be
had for Lose han q nf a nOll9r onH
the skeins of fine thread, in tans, grays,
and other shades, for glove mending. For
stockings there are yarns of cashmere and
of cotton, in colors and in fadeless black,
and Balbriggan 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 a white fax 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 a yard. Cotton
tape of good quality is often less bungling
to set under a spot where a button has
been torn away than a 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 a 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 needle and
thread of medium fneness, as coarse thread
tears the old fabric.
As an incentive to keep the buttons
sewed on her Shoes a little maiden was
given 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 a 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
New York Post.