Ashland tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1876-1919, 1913-03-20
Obe
Home Maker
EDITED BY
ALICE f.. TALCOTT.
Teaching GirIs to Sew.
ALICE F. TALCOTT.
(M. S. in Pacific Homestead.l

ard company puts out. l paid bls
price for it, but was told by the
agent who sold it to me that i
would last all my life. He was
right, too. Such a machine. rightly
taken care of, will last person as
long as they live. My mother had
a machine of the same make. which
she used for over forty years. and
which was still in good running or
der when she was called to her rest
in the better world
The agent said before leaving the
house: DO not encourage your
neighbors to sew on your machine
as it is hard on a machine to be run
by many different people" l said
"Yes, sir, l understand" as politely
as / could to him but to myself
said: The machine is mine to do
with as | please, and l shall invite
my neighbors to use it and see what
a perfect machine it is" 1t was so
light running, So noiseless and had
all up-to-date adjustments. 1t was
a pleasure to sew en- it.
That was ten years ago. Now
when ] sit down to sew on the ma
chine it is with fear and trembling
that the thread will break or, possi-
bly,, as often happens, the needle, or
that the thread viii, be looped on one
side of the seam, or that more than
one-half the stitches will be skipped.
To sum up the whole list of difficult
ties, the machine is hopelessly worn
out.
| should have stated earlier in my
story that l have four girls, and
when the machine was purchased
these girls were small. The Oldest
had learned to sew straight seams on
the old machine, and used the new
machine from the start. The young
est began as soon as her tiptoes
would reach the tread, to sew dol
dresses on the machine. To be sure
the dresses were not extra elaborate
at first. They were usually cut in
one piece, and were sleeveless, thus
all the sewing that they needed was
a seam on each shoulder When the
sleeve was added. it was a straight
piece of the material sewed in the
armhole, and was joined together al
the shoulder seam was sewed up.
These were rather simple begin
nings, but she was encouraged ant
shown and allowed to use the ma
chine whenever she wished, and now
a schoolgirl beginning her teens, sh,
can cut and make her school dresses
The other girls have done as well
They not only make their owl
clothes, but they help with the gen
eral family sewing. Had they beeI
refused the use of the machine whel
they were small and wished to learl
to sew, they might never hav
learned. The machine would hav
been saved the hard wear, bu
enough money might have been pait
out in dressmakers' bills to hav
purchased several machines.
/ consider that the machine ha
lasted quite as long as the agent pre-
dicted. 1t has lasted for ten years
and has lasted the four girls for tel
years, making fifty years in all; and
considering that a child is mucl
more careless than a grown person
thus causing harder wear on tn
machine, it has had more wear OIL
it than grown person would Civ,
in fifty years
And so | do not lament that tn,
machine is worn out. since my girl
have not only learned to sew, bu
have also learned to take an inter
est and like to sew Neither do
think, as some have suggested, tha
cheaper machine would have don
as well for my girls to learn to sey
on. 1t is very probable that
would have taken several cheap ma
chimes to have lasted through tn
years when they we're learning.
cheaper machine would not hay
given the same satisfactory results
and the girls might have formed
distaste, not to say disgust, for sew
ing If they had been obliged I
tinker with machine always out
repair.
| would advise mothers to allo
their small daughters to use the ne
machine. regardless OF It's cos
What is the value OF a machine cor
pared to the knowledge the chi
will gain If its deSire to sew Is e
couraged from the making Of 4
first simple doll dress on throul
the years until her own clothes a
attempted?
Some mothers are afraid to
their small daughters sew on the II
chine before they have learned
sew by hand. They reason that
the child begins to sew on the n