Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1892-08-17
A STITCH IN TINE.

u,
remember it ALL, they do not pay any
attention.
One reason OF the neglect of mending
is that as ready-made linen is nova
days, by virtue of sewing machines and
sweating. very cheap indeed. many go
on the principle of wearing their cloth
ing as long as it will at all hold to-
gether and then buying new. This is
wrong all round. 1t is wrong to en-
courage directly or indirectly all ILL
paid la Dor, and it is very untidy and
uDseemly to wear things which by their
holes and rents show their need of
repair.
In many households, particularly
where there are children, it is a good
plan to have one special day in the
week for mending and darniDg, those
articles requiring repair being CON-
signed, when the need is noticed, to
basket set apart for the purpose.
We will here give few hints as to
placing the ''stich in time," which may
be of use TO some of our readers.
When you are darning linen you
should always make your darn on the
wrong side of the stuff, there being
very few cases when it is better to
make it on the right side. Always be-
gin by making the longitudinal run
ming, to form the warp, taking care
not to draw your threads too tightly
and TO leave loops at each turning, SO
that when the thread shrinks in wash
ing, as 1t is sure to do. it it may not
pull the darn together.
Run your needle in above the worn
part of the article you are dsrning,
taking up one or two threads of the
material and missing the same number,
working straight to a thread. When
You reach the actual hole-supposing
there to be one-carry your cotton
straight across it, taking up alternate
threads beyond and proceeding
as before. Continue making rows back
wards and forwards, taking up in asch
row those threads left in the preceding
one. To make the woof, turn the
work round spd work as before, alter
nately taking up and leaving the warp
threads, where the cotton crosses the
hole. The threads both ways should
lie SO close that, when completed, the
darn should replace the original web.
There is a kind of darn used for
mending rents where the edges fit eI-
actly one into another. To do this you
should not cut of the torn threads of
the material or the rough edges. The
torn part should be tackled upon a
piece of oilcloth, wrong side upper
most, and the edges should be drawn
together by thread run in backwards
and forwards across them. Set your
stitches as evenly together as possible
and let them be regularly inverted, as
in all other Sarns. You should use
very much fner thread than that of
which the material is composed. and
this applies to all darns.
INVISIBLE darns can be made in cloth,
and 1t isa very useful art to know how to
| do it. 1t is rather a tedious process, but
it has satisfactory result when we'll
done.
Take a very fine needle and thread
It with hair Instead of silk or any other
kind of fibre. Red and white hair is
the strongest, and stronger than the
rsvellings Of the material You must,
ere you begin, carefully cleanse the
hair from grease. Pare the edges OF
the rent on the right side with a razor,
taking care to make them quite clean
and even. You cannot do 1t SO vel
with scissors, as they are apt to inter
fere with the nap and to make the darn
more visible. When you have done
| this, 6t the edges together and over
| cast them. Then thread a needle with
a hair and slip it in very little dis.
tance from one edge, and back again,
keeping it pointed towards you,
| through the other, so that neither
needle nor lair can be seen on either
side. Set your stitches rather in 6
slanting direction and let them be lost il
the thickness of the cloth. Always put
| your needle in exactly where 1t came
out, and not let the hair be too tightly
| drawn.
When you have finished your darn
lay the article on a bare table or IRON
ing-board and cover it with damn
is well done, the sharpest eye will bt
unable to detect it.
| PATCHING can be done in several
ways. If the article requiring patch
ing Is not new, you should patch with
a slighter material than that of the
stuff. Always allow for the turning il
and so cut your patch larger than the
hole.
To backstitch and fell in a patel
proceed as follows: Tack in your new
piece SO that the edges overlap the
edges of the hole. You must do tn,
backstitching on the article itself, anC
the hem turned down and made on tn,
patch. Snip the corners with you
scissors to prevent puckerIng, and lie
the backstiching form a right angle a
each corner.
. To top-sew in q patch, you should
irst hem In the edges of both hole anC
patch, and let them be overcast ol
hemmed to prevent 'fraying; after tina
sew the two edges together. You Cal
also turn the edges in and herring
bone them over, putting needle onl,
, through one layer of the stuff
. BESIDES patching and darning, ther,
are various little stitches which, i
/ made in time, save a great deal o
4, trouble in the long run.
When buttons are half pulled out b,
: rough usuage you should put doubl,
piece of cotton or q piece of wide tap,
/ on the wrong side, hem it down anC
: then replace the button.
When you buy ready made clothin,
you should look over the buttons yer,
carefully, as they are often sewn OF
very carelessly, a stitch or two bein.
all that secures them.
Strings often wear half off Jus
where they are sewn on. They shoulc
be ripped off and new strings put on
, or the same ones sewn down higher III
I where not worn.
. The hens down the backs of whit,
a dresses or yokes should be folded dow
; twice, or interlined, SO that ther
should be strong place for button
q tattonhoies, Z CD,