III Gathering, Sewing on Bands, a Practical Sewing Apron, Hemmed Patches, Gussets and Tucks
Though I know you don’t like making samples, I am going to ask you to make a little apron for a doll, as a model, before we make a real big one.
Get a piece of muslin five by nine inches and a No. 9 sewing needle. Thread it with a piece of No. 70 cotton. Baste an eighth of an inch hem on both of the five-inch sides, and a three-quarter of an inch hem on one of the nine-inch sides.
The basting of the three sides being finished we will now start to gather the fourth side. Thread a No. 8 needle with No. 50 thread. Use a thread a trifle longer than nine inches. Make a good-sized knot in the thread so that the end cannot slip through the material. Start from the right-hand side of the piece and insert the needle on the under side. Let the knot come on top of the narrow hem about one quarter of an inch from the raw edge.
The needle is now in position on the right side of the material. Take up several stitches on the needle before pulling it through (Figure 30). The stitches are nothing more than running stitches. When the running has been worked across the nine inches of the material, take the needle out and make a knot in the thread.
Put a pin, vertically, close to the last stitch. Take up only a few threads of the material on the pin. Draw up the running thread so that you have about three and a half inches of gathering. Wind the thread that extends beyond the gathering over the top and under the point of the pin a number of times, crossing the thread at the middle of the pin so that it forms an eight (Figure 31).
To allow the gathering to fall evenly, it will be necessary to stroke it. Use a No. 2 needle for this purpose. With the right side of the work toward you begin at the left-hand edge. Hold the work between the left thumb and forefinger, keeping the thumb below the gathering thread. Put the point of the No. 2 needle under the gathering thread, holding it obliquely. Press the needle toward the thumb, bringing the little plait under the thumb and drawing the needle downward. Pinch the little plait down lightly with your thumb. Continue in this way, putting the needle under each stitch (Figure 32).
Let us now put a band and strings on our apron. Cut two strips of material ten inches long by two inches wide. These are for the strings. Baste an eighth of an inch hem on the two long sides of each strip. Make a three-quarter of an inch hem on each string.
Over-hand the ends of the broad hem. All the hems that are basted on the strings and the material itself should be hemmed with fine stitches.
Cut another strip two and a half inches wide by five inches long. This is the band. Turn down one eighth of an inch of the material all around the band. Crease the band in half, lengthwise, so that the edges, just folded, are inside.
Find the centre of the gathered material and the centre of the opened band. Holding the wrong side of the apron toward you, pin the middle of the apron to the middle of the band. Pin the gathered side of the apron to the band, three quarters of an inch from each end of it.
Wind the gathering thread around the left-hand pin, drawing the thread up to fit the band. With the point of the needle adjust the gathers so that the fullness is evenly distributed along the band. Holding the gathers toward you, baste with small stitches a little above the gathering thread.
Turn up the band and on the right side of the apron hem the band in it, catching up a gather with each stitch. Some people prefer to stitch along the basting line instead of hemming (Figure 33).
Baste the other side of the band down, and hem as on the right side. Insert the strings in the band. Hem in the same way as on the band, first the right side and then the left side, and now your little apron is completed (Figure 34).
Would you not like to have a sewing apron that you can use as a bag when you are not wearing it? It is such an easy thing to make that after you have one for yourself you will be making them for your friends for Christmas.
Get mother to measure you from the waist to the knees. The material for the apron should be one and a half this measurement. Turn one third of the material back. Baste the double edges together and sew with fine combination stitches.
Turn this piece inside out. Crease back one eighth of an inch edge of this pocket, as it were. Baste a piece of beading over this raw edge right around the back of the apron. Be careful not to sew up the pocket.
The beading on the back must be the same distance from the bottom as the beading in front; that is, we must keep a straight line. Sew on the extreme edges of the beading with fine running stitches, to connect it to the material. Now as the ribbon we are to run in the beading must serve as a draw string, as well as for decoration, it will be necessary to put two pieces in. So get a narrow ribbon about one half the width of the openings in the beading. Each piece of ribbon must be long enough to go once around the apron and enough of the ends left to tie double bows—one for each side. Start one piece of the ribbon at the right-hand side of the apron and the other at the left.
The top of the apron or single piece is finished with a piece of beading which is sewed on, as on the pocket. A ribbon long enough to go around your waist and to tie a bow in the back is run through the beading (Figure 35).
When the apron is not being worn your work can be placed in the large pocket and the single section folded within the pocket. The ribbons are then drawn up tight and “bravo!” you have a work bag fit for a queen (Figure 36).
There are so many kinds of rents or holes that may happen to your clothes that it is worth the while to know how to mend the various kinds. There is an old adage that says, “Waste makes want,” and we would spend a small fortune in clothes if every time a wee hole made its appearance we discarded the garment.
If it is a circular hole in a dress or underbody, as often happens, under the arms, we will use the square patch. Cut a piece of the same kind of material, three inches square, or larger if necessary. Turn a fold of one eighth of an inch on the four edges of this square. Crease it lengthwise and crosswise.
Crease the material on which the patch is to be laid lengthwise and crosswise through the tear. Pin the small piece or patch on the wrong side of the large piece, or garment, so that the creases run in the same direction. The warp must run the same way in both pieces. One sixteenth of an inch from the edges run a basting thread. Hem the four sides on the patch to the material (Figure 37).
On the garment side make a crease half an inch wide, from the hemming, on the four sides. Four little squares will be formed in the corners. Crease along the diagonal of each square. Place a pin one eighth of an inch from each corner, within the patch (Figure 38). Cut the garment from the centre of the tear to the pins. Repeat this on each side, cutting along the crease which you made, one half inch from the hemming.
Turn in one eighth of an inch and baste. Hem all around (Figure 39).
In patching material such as checked or striped ginghams, percales, or other materials, the stripes or the checks must match so that the patch is not too apparent (Figure 40).
Have you ever noticed how the slit or placket of a petticoat or side opening of drawers is finished? A piece of material is put in of an odd shape to strengthen the openings. This is called a gusset. Suppose that you were making a petticoat. Join the skirt up the back from the bottom, but leave eight inches open at the top. This top opening is the placket. But let us take a small piece of material and practise making the back of a skirt. We will put a hem and a few tucks at the bottom of the material first.
Make a measuring card of a straight strip with an eighth, three eighths, and three quarters of an inch notches.
Crease and fold a wide hem (three quarters of an inch), using the measuring card as a guide.
Over-hand each end of the hem. Now baste along the hem. The over-handing must be done before the basting. Now hem this wide hem.
Again, using the cardboard measure, on the right side of the model fold a crease three quarters of an inch above the hem. Begin at the right-hand side to crease and baste (Figure 41).
With a fine, even, running stitch, an eighth of an inch below the crease, make the tuck (Figure 42). Measure every few stitches to keep the seam straight.
If a second tuck is desired, measure from the tuck instead of the hem.
Now we are ready for the slit which is in the centre top. On the wrong side start at the top with an eighth of an inch hem, but decrease it to almost nothing right to the bottom (Figure 43). Fold the other side in the same manner. In hemming the two sides, start at the top.
Now let us practise making gussets on a piece of paper. Cut a piece of paper three inches square. Fold it from corner to corner and cut (Figure 44). Turn the straight or short edges of the paper one eighth of an inch and fold along the two shorter edges (Figure 45).
Hold the paper with the straight edge down, measure it from the two points one quarter of an inch. Now cut a piece of material the size of the paper and fold like model.
Cut off the two points one quarter inch from each corner on the thread of the goods (Figure 46). Turn these two straight ends and the bias edge of paper one eighth of an inch (Figure 47). Turn point of paper down one eighth of an inch from bias hem and crease (Figure 48).
Now cut the muslin gusset and fold just like the paper one.
Hold the model or skirt with right side toward you, and turn up point of gusset. Holding the wrong side of the skirt toward you, twist left side of gusset to left side of placket and over-hand to creased line, half way up the gusset (Figure 49).
Over-hand right side. Turn bias edge of gusset over to right side, pin, having straight edges parallel to warp and woof threads and then hem (Figure 50).
Gather the top of the skirt and put on a band on each side of opening about the same width as the one used on the apron (Figure 51).