Sleeves.—The worn seams of sleeves may be strengthened by buttonholing over them with darning silk the color of the waist. This comes on spools the same as ordinary sewing silk, but is softer and may be split.
Mending Corsets.—The nicest way to mend a broken corset is to bind where it may be broken with a small piece of chamois skin.
Or, when the waist begins to wear through, it may be mended neatly on the machine. " Hand patches " al ways look clumsy, but strips of cloth may be stitched on it, doubling over the worn places without in the least marring the garment. Stitch the strips the full length of the casings, and they will not only serve their special purpose, but will add months to the wear of the corset.
Mending Gloves.—To mend gloves neatly if they are torn or ripped, first buttonhole stitch around the rent, not so close as in a buttonhole; then over cast, taking up the threads of the buttonhole on the edge and draw the edges carefully together.
Or holes as well as rips in gloves may be mended in the same way also, with this difference: after buttonhol ing around the rent, gradually close up the hole by buttonholing inside of the first row of buttonholing. When the hole finally becomes filled you have a tiny circle of embroidery made with thread to match the gloves. Thus what was an unsightly hole becomes a neat and attractive embroidered spot upon the glove.
Or the gloves may be mended with a piece of court plaster moistened and pasted on the wrong side. Be care ful to cut off the corners of the plas ter and slit its edges in order to make it fit the part of the glove to be mended.
Thread for Mending Gloves. — In stead of mending gloves with silk to match them as is the usual custom, yy try good cotton thread the color of the gloves. You will find it will not be so noticeable as silk thread.
Mending Skirts. — The part of a skirt which needs most constant at tention and repair is, perhaps, the bottom. A skirt may catch on the heels, tearing off the braid and part of the goods, or the edges may be come worn, or the braid itself become frayed.
Skirt Bindings.—There are a num ber of ways to overcome the untidy appearance of a skirt with worn edges.
One good way is, when the edge be comes frayed, to sew skirt protector upon it. The hem is not necessary as the worn edges unite with those of the binding.
Or, when the skirt braid has be come worn on the edge, it may be ripped off and reversed, turning the worn part to the top and the fresh edge to the bottom of the skirt. After pressing your skirt under a damp cloth you will find you have a neat finish, and one braid will thus give the wear of two.
Or the hem may be turned up and stitched down outside instead of on the inside.
Mending Stockings.—A woman may be an adept at mending coats, trou sers, and dresses, and indeed almost every garment worn by her family, and yet be unable to mend stockings so that they will not torment tender feet. It is a great art to be able to mend stockings neatly. There are al most as many ways of filling up the holes as there are colors of stockings, and each one may be more or less comfortable if only a little care is taken in sewing the rent, putting in place the patch, or filling the hole with thread.
To Darn Stockings on a Sewing Machine. — Mending stockings on a sewing machine saves time greatly, but is a very difficult task to perform. One of the simplest ways of doing so is to stretch the stocking tightly over two small embroidery hoops, being careful to have the hole as near the center as possible. Then cut away the ragged edges with sharp scissors. Re move the presser foot of the machine and place the hole under the needle. Then stitch back and forth, as in the case of darning fabrics on the ma chine. If care is taken the darn is much neater and smoother and far more quickly done than any other. Sewing thread may be used, but fine darning cotton is preferable. The hoops may be either metal or common embroidery hoops.
To Mend Stockings by the hole is large, a convenient way is to baste carefully over the hole on the wrong side a piece of coarse net, then darn back and forth, taking your stitches in and out of the net, yet darn as close as ordinarily. The net acts as a stay to the soft darning thread.