Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-03-22

When sewing dressed or glazed cot
ton materials by machine, II Will De
found that the needle will work easily
and smoothly If wax or soap is rubbed
on the part to be sewed. 1t is often
necessary to sew pieces of oilcloth to-
gether, but it is troublesome to stitch
this material on the machine. To over
come this difficulty, sprinkle talcunl
powder on the line to be stitched and
smooth with the finger. The oilcloth
will then feed through the machine
quite easily.
To hem napkins by hand, you will
find it very helpful to first take the
needle out of the sewing machine and
run the napkin through the narrow
henmer, which will fold the hem evenly
in uniform size without stitching It,
Then fold the hem back and sew by
hand as you would sew on lace. the
hem will be neat and the stitches Will
not show as much as when done IN
the usual way. The tucker attachment
on the sewing machine is great con-
venience when you wish to make hand
run tucks In baby clothes or under
wear. After attaching the tucker TO
the machine, place the goods as II the
tucks were to be sewed on the machine.
but remove the thread, both upper ana
clearly defined crease to show the line
of the tucks, and the holes made by
the machine needle will be so regular
that the stitches you then sew by
hand will be very even.
If mothers will face all openings OF
Children's under garments with mario"
white tape, they will n6L tear down:
This saves much mending. To mend
holes in woven underwear or big noieS
in the knees of children stockings,
first haste a piece of strong net over
the hole, then darn in the usual way.
The repair will be stronger and neater
by following this method.
Beautiful buttonholes may be mace
in any material, no matter now tnn
1t is. If the buttonholes are first marked
and the outlines stitched around on
the machine. 1t makes the working OF
any buttonhole much easier ana great
Iv adds to its durability. To repair
worn buttonholes. sew small piece OF
matching cloth or linen tape over each
side of the old buttonhole, stitcnng
ii down fatty all around. Then cut
and make a new buttonhole right over
the worn one.
Save the Pieces.
IF YOU are shortening your curtains,
do net throw away the pieces cut on.
From these ends you may make pretty
dresser or table runners. Make the
runner or cover the correct size, hem
and finish with lace or other trim
ming. In addition to using up the
pieces, you will have the satisfaction
of knowing that your coverings match
vo,,r curtains. If the material is sheer,
cut a piece of prettily figured wall
paper to exactly fit underneath the
cover and the result will be very at
tractive.
When cutting articles of wolfe or
other thin, daintily colored material,
cut off the selvage with just enough
of the goods to make narrow hem.
then you will have the finest kind OF
material to make shoulder straps Tor
lingerie and slips. These Selvage
straps will outwear several ribbon
lingerie straps. When buying material
for a cotton dress, allow enough 10
make a kitchen apron to match. the
apron when worn over the dress is
not noticeable at all and saves laundry
bills.
Discarded colored felt hats can be
made use Of effectively to make at
tractive boutonnieres for a tailored
dress or coat. A simple one should
be tried first. One used on a black
broadcloth suit was made from white
felt hat in the form of triple daisy,
with a black Jet button forming the
center. Old dark felt hats may be cut
into various sizes to use under flower
pots. Shapes to at the legs Of furniture
and stands may be cut and glued on
to protect the floor from scratches.
Most people consign worn-out rain
coats to the waste basket, thinking
their days of usefulness are over, put
one can make number Of very useful
articles out of discarded raincoat.
The best parts may be made into an
apron with bib to wear on wash days
and when giving the baby bath. A
bathing cap may be made from another
part. Odd strips may be joined TO-
gether to make bags to hold articles
that must be kept dry. The bright
colored and checked raincoats are espe-
cially useful for the purpose. The soft,
bright-colored rubber aprons that are
partly worn out may be cut up and the
good parts used to make bibs for chill
dren. Bind the bibs with brightly col