The evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1907-1908, 1907-07-30
HOW SEWING CAN
BE MADE HEALTHFUL

Sewing, as women usually sew, is inturi-
GUS to the health and to the appearance.
1t makes the shoulders round, the chest
hollow, the complexion muddy, and, fur
thermore, causes Indigestion and headache.
But there is no reason why this should be
so. There is a right way to sew and "a
wrong way, and she who pursues the right
way arises from her machine after a days
work greatly benefited. She may be weary,
but her WEAKNESS Is that derived from
healthful work. like the weariness which
follows a game of tennis, for instance.
Correct sewing is governed by a few sim
pie rules, which. II followed out, make the
plying of needle and thread an exercise
which deepens the chest, improves the
carriage, strengthens the back and shout
oers' clears the complexion and ~brightens
the eyes.
In the first place, the sewing room should
be well ventilated. The air in 1t should be
as fresh and pure as the air out of doors
Three operations will go on In the sewing
room, viz. cutting, the seamstress standing
at the table; stitching, seated at a machine:
sewing, with the material In the Ian. In
cutting. the manner In which the seam
stress bends over the table Is everything.
In order that she may bend ovef CORRECTLY
she should first take for two or three min,
utes the following simple, easy and bene-
fetal exercise:
stand perfectly erect, the heels together.
the chin and abdomen in, the chest ont. the
back straight. Slowly filling the lungs with
ar, raise the arms, held stiff. from the
sides outward, until the hands meet over
the head, and at the time the hands meet
tne lungs should be filled to their fullest
extent with air. Slowly exhalinR the air
lower the arms to the sides again. Repent
TINS movement twenty times.
RMS exercise strajghtens the back. devel-
ops the lungs and gives to the body the
precise poise that 1t should have. The
seamstress having through 1t acquired the
proper bodily poise can then set to work at
ner cutting table, taking care to bend over
only from the hips The chest is expanded,
the back, neck and knees are straight, and
the abdomen held In. Hence the longer
the seamstress bends over the table the
more good she does to herself. insurinr a
graceful carriage and strengthening tho
muscles. She should, all through her work.
breathe with long, deep breaths.
In sitting to sew with the material on the
lap, a rockingham should never be used.
A rocking chair throws the body out of
balance by pitching it backward at an I'M
natural angle. In 1t the muscles of the
front OF the body-the muscles of the chest
ana d~iaphragm-are contracted, the chest
Is made hollow, the ribs are pulled down
and the back is rounded.
chair with a straight back, OF a stool.
should be used, and the body should be
held In the same erect position that the
cutting table requires-chin and abdomen
In, back straight, chest out. OF course II
Is necessary, when sewing on the lap, to
bend forward, but the bending should he
done from the hips-the back should not be
rounded. Sewing at the machine. properly
conducted, is an admirable exercise. Let
the seamstress cit erect. bending only al
the hips, and the rapid pedallng will be
beneficial as a healthful e1ercise.-woman's
Life,