The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1906-11-24
TIE SEWING WOMAN.

1 AA@AG Was Ou(C q yOAuS WOm0i
on farm who wanted to be indepen
dent, but had heard that girls wht
have to pay their board and room
| rent and washing in cities have little
left to show for their work /; SO she
sat down to think the matter ovel
carefully. She could sew we'll, il
not scienti6ca1ly-so she decided tc
take course in a good establishment
In the nearest town. When this wa:
accomplished, she blossomed forth a:
a full-fedged sewing woman.
At first she hired room in the
town and got her own suppers and
breakfast, with dinners at a restau'
rant, and charged one dollar per day
for her services. She was employed
mostly to help with school clothes
for children and the common sewing
Lot families, since she had no one tc
Aecommend her, and had to begin al
| the foot of the ladder. Her room
cost two dollars per week, her din
ners one dollar and suppers and
breakfasts one dollar more, so that
she found herself, at the end of the
first month, believing all the doleful
stories she had ever heard about star.
vation wages and hard times for
working girls.
About the third month she went to
the country for week purely to ac-
commodate an old friend with her
sewing, and It was while there that
she saw the golden opportunity with
in her grasp. At the end of the week
she had six dollars, and her board
and lodging had not cost a cent.
True, she had to pay for her room in
town whether she was there or not,
but in the country those things were
free as air to the worker, and the lady
of the house was glad to have little
help without having to drive to town
to dressmaker. Well, it was not
many days before the room in town
was to rent, the gasoline stove and
small outfit Of dishes sent home and
the wise young woman looking for
work in the country. She now has
all she can do, and ismaking money,
besides having better board than in
town, and not compelled to live
alone in cherries back bedroom of
an apartment house.
This little story contains a moral
that many young girls might heed.
Instead of rushing off to town to find
employment, it is we'll to be sure we
are not running away from Our best
chances right at home. Not every
girl can sew well, but most of them
can learn. In these days of fashion
magazines and paper patterns it
would seem that no one need go far
astray in the matter of styles, and
there are few neighborhoods we'll
supplied with dressmakers in the
country. 1t is so much easier for
the busy housekeeper to have help
er in the house than to go to town,
especially in winter, that a good
dressmaker need not lack employment
One young woman who is very skill
full with her needle has her time en-
gagged months ahead, and she hardly
has time to take a vacation even in
hot weather. Some of her friends
urge her to open an establishment in
town and employ help, but she is
wise enough to stay where she IS sure
of steady income and low expenses.
Of course the first thing to have is
a knowledge of dressmaking, but
there are many other things that en-
ter into the makeup of a successful
sewing woman. One busy mother
said she would rather struggle along
alone than to employ certain young
woman who was very clever with her
needle, because she always looked
with disfavor upon making over gar
ments, though paid exactly the same
as for new ones. Every one knows
it is harder to make over than al
first hand, but most mothers have
more or less of this to do every sea-
son for the boys and girls. The
dressmaker could aud would do the
work well, but she had such haugh-
ty way about her that the poor wo-
man would not employ her. Anoth-
er thing the sewing woman should
avoid as she does poison, is gossip,
since few people enjoy being talked
about, and it is vulgar, any way, to
carry doubtful stories. In almost
every home the worker is likely to
see and hear things that are private
property, and she will soon lose hel
her hold upon her patrons if she
talks about their faults and failings.
One of the fine things about the
business is that it requires little cap.
ital. Fashion books, neat clothes,
sharp scissors and well-6tted work
basket are really all the capital re-
quired, aside from dressmakine
knowledge and sound common sense.
By sticking to country patrons the
sewing woman can make money, be
among her home people, and enjoy
life a hundred fold more than by
working in city.-Hilda Richmond
I'm Country Gentleman.
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