South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1917-07-22
Stitch In Time Saves Nine"

II e5er there is a place where a
stitch in time Will save nine. it is on
table linen. observes Florence BUch-
anan. in her helpful little book.
Home Crafts OF Today and Yester-
day" But 20 must be taken before
the least hole appears And. in or
der 10 ward of the hole. the linen
that has been IN service for some
time should be carefully examined
against a strong light for thin places.
before IL goes 20 the laundry. II
any do show. these may be reen-
forced by darning before they are
subjected 10 another attack Of the
Iaundress. Darning before the hole
arrives not only saves stitches. but
II also saves the appearance of the
linen. The pattern being unbroken,
Il Is quite an easy matter % follow
the darning needle. and in this way
retain the pattern unmarried by
stitches But. il there is a hole.
there Is nothing 20 be done but lay
foundation stitches in one direction
anc then weave across them.
There are. however, a few points
that apply 20 hole-darning that IL is
worth while TO observe Do not
trim away the fraved edges OF the
hole. leaving a clean outline That
kind Of preparation helps to reveal
the finished darn. Cut away only
the longest threads. Always lay the
threads for the weaving with the
threads Of the fabric and carry
these. and the weaving threads as
well. beyond the hole with small
running stitches. so that they are
anchored in firm material. The
cloth Immediately around a hole IS
sure 20 be weak.
This last point applies TO the
mending OF rents and hedge tears
in linen as well as 10 worn holes.
But. before detailing the methods of
treating these. the general points
that apply 70 all the mending OF
liner must be collected in a group.
For table linens rawlings OF the
same linen are usually the best for
darning. but are not. as a rule. OBJ
tainable. SO the next best thing is
the linen darning floss that can be
got either at the linen counter or in
the embroidery department Of the
shops. II comes in all weights. and
a size 20 correspond with the thread
Of the cloth should be selected. The
needle must be the finest that will
carry the thread. A long-eye
crewel needle can be used much
finer than the ordinary round-eyed
sharps needle. When changing the
direction OF a darn, always leave
~-.,u u.ov d, 49, r,,,o1 ono ~ tho
turn. This allows for shrinisage Of
the darning thread in laundering
and also for give" in the stretch Of
the material. The line Of loops
Should be an irregular one. so that
the strain IS distributed instead of
coming on the same threads the
length Of the darn. An unstartched
piece OF linen is easier TO ply with
the needle. but IL does shift IN an
annoying way unless the portion in
which the darn is 10 be made is
basted on a stiff piece OF paper. This
completes the general methods that
may ne applied TO every form Of
darniuE that is required by house
hold linen.
The hedge tear. that two-sided
rent ~ ncn more frequently beIallS
linen when il is dried among shrubs
or bushes. and the straight tear or
cut. are are two kinds OF darning,
besides the hole. that one most often
has TO mend in household linen.
The hedge tear is the more diff
cult OF the two. start we'll beyond
the beginning OF the rent and darn
back and forth in the material
When the tear is reached with the
darning. draw its edges together. us
ing the fine drawing stitch Con-
tinue the darning beyond the tear on
each side for space of about one
half inch. As the corner is ap-
preached. spread the rows OF darn
ing stitches at their outer ends and
contract them az their inner ends.