SUBJECT-MATTER

The basting-st.i.tch will be used as a review of work in the second lesson.

PRELIMINARY PLAN

Some time before the lesson, the teacher should discuss with the pupils the kind of material they will be able to provide for their bags and, if the material has to be purchased, she should suggest something that is suitable, washable, and inexpensive. The bag should cost only a few cents. The dimensions of the finished bag should be about 12 by 18 inches.

METHOD OF WORK

The pupils should get out the materials they have brought and determine upon the size and shape of their bags. It will not be necessary to make them uniform. The teacher should help the pupils to use their material to the best advantage. It should be straightened, pulled in place, and measured carefully. When the bags have been cut out, the sides should be basted.

LESSON V: BAGS--Continued

_Sewing up the seams with a running-st.i.tch and a back-st.i.tch._

SUBJECT-MATTER

Running is done by pa.s.sing the needle in and out of the material at regular intervals. Small, even st.i.tches and s.p.a.ces should follow consecutively on both sides of the material. The st.i.tches should be much shorter than those used for basting, the length being determined largely by the kind of cloth used.

When running is combined with a back-st.i.tch, two or more running-st.i.tches and one back-st.i.tch are taken alternately. The back-st.i.tch is a st.i.tch taken backward on the upper side of the cloth, the needle being put back each time into the end of the last st.i.tch and brought out the same distance beyond the last st.i.tch.

PRELIMINARY PLAN

The teacher should be sure that all the pupils are ready to report, having the sides of their bags basted ready for st.i.tching.

METHOD OF WORK

The teacher should first demonstrate the running-st.i.tch with the back-st.i.tch, and the pupils should begin to sew the sides of the bag, using this st.i.tch. They should commence sewing three quarters of an inch from the top of the bag, so that there will be a s.p.a.ce left for slits in the hem through which to run the cord.[A] The seams will doubtless have to be finished outside of the cla.s.s hour, and may be a.s.signed for completion before the next lesson.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Fig._ 6.--Running-st.i.tch with a back-st.i.tch]

[A] The draw-string, or cord, is to be run through the hem from the inside of the bag, and it will be necessary to leave three quarters of an inch of s.p.a.ce at the ends of the seams, to provide slits as outlets for the cord.

LESSON VI: BAGS--Continued

_Overcasting the seams and turning the hem at the top of the bag._

SUBJECT-MATTER

Overcasting is done by taking loose st.i.tches over the raw edge of the cloth, to keep it from ravelling or fraying.

PRELIMINARY PLAN

The teacher should be sure that all the pupils are ready to report, having the sides of their bags neatly sewed with the running-st.i.tch.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Fig._ 7.--Overcasting]

METHOD OF WORK

The teacher should demonstrate the method of overcasting and explain its use. She should have the pupils trim the edges of their seams neatly and overcast them carefully. After the seams have been overcast, she should discuss the depth of the hem that the pupils expect to use and the method of turning and basting it. They should then measure, turn, pin, and baste the hems, using the gauge for determining the depth of the hem. If the bags are deep enough to admit of a heading at the top, a deep hem (about 2-1/2 inches) can be made, and a running-st.i.tch put in one-half inch (or more) above the edge of the hem, to provide a casing, or s.p.a.ce, for the cord. If it is necessary to take a narrow hem, the hem itself can be made to answer as s.p.a.ce for the cord; in this case the hem should be made about one-half inch deep.

LESSON VII: BAGS--Continued

_Hemming the top of the bag and putting in a running-st.i.tch to provide a s.p.a.ce for the cord._

SUBJECT-MATTER

Review of the hemming-st.i.tch and the running-st.i.tch.

PRELIMINARY PLAN

The pupils, having the hems basted, should report to the teacher.

METHOD OF WORK

The teacher should review briefly the method of making the hemming-st.i.tch and the running-st.i.tch, asking the pupils to describe these st.i.tches and to demonstrate them on the large square of canvas before the cla.s.s. The basted hems should then be sewed with the hemming-st.i.tch.

After the hem is finished, the pupils should run a basting thread around the bag, to mark the location of the running-st.i.tch, which is to be half an inch above the hem. They should measure for this carefully. If there is not time to do all the hemming in the cla.s.s period, the hemming-st.i.tch and the running-st.i.tch (which is to provide s.p.a.ce for the draw-string) should be a.s.signed for outside work, and each pupil should bring in her finished hem at a designated time before the next cla.s.s period.

LESSON VIII: BAGS--Continued

_Preparing a cord or other draw-string for the bag. Putting a double draw-string in the bag, so that it can easily be drawn up. Use of the bodkin._

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Fig._ 8.--Bag nearly completed]