The bibs should have been completed before the pupils report for this lesson.

METHOD OF WORK

As soon as the pupils report for the lesson, the teacher should explain the method of attaching the straps to the bib and tell them how to finish the former. As they proceed with their work, she should supervise them carefully and a.s.sign the unfinished portion to be done out of cla.s.s.

LESSON XVI: Ap.r.o.nS OR UNDERGARMENTS--Continued

_Putting the bib and the skirt on the belt._

SUBJECT-MATTER

The middle of the bottom of the bib should be determined, and pinned to the middle of the upper edge of the belt, to which the skirt has already been attached. The belt should be fastened to the wrong side of the bib.

The gathering string of the bib should be drawn up, leaving 2 inches of fulness on each side of the middle. The bib should be pinned, basted, and sewn to the belt. The remaining long edges of the belt should be turned in one quarter of an inch, and the ends one inch. The edges of the other belt piece should be turned in in the same way, and should be pinned over the belt to which the skirt and the bib have been attached (with all the edges turned in), and basted carefully, to keep the edges even. The skirt and the bib should be hemmed to this upper belt, and all the remaining edges should be overhanded.

PRELIMINARY PLAN

The bib and the straps of the ap.r.o.n should be completed before the pupils report for this lesson.

METHOD OF WORK

The teacher should guide the pupils carefully in the various steps necessary in fastening the bib to the belt and in completing the belt.

If the hemming and overhanding is not completed during the cla.s.s hour, they may be a.s.signed as home work.

LESSON XVII: METHODS OF FASTENING GARMENTS

_Sewing b.u.t.tons on the ap.r.o.ns, corset-cover, or other garment._

SUBJECT-MATTER

This lesson should teach neatness in dress, through a consideration of the best methods of fastening garments. The position of the b.u.t.ton is measured by drawing the right end of the band one inch over the left end. The place for the b.u.t.ton should be marked with a pin on the left end of the band. A double thread is fastened on the right side of the band, drawn through one hole of the b.u.t.ton, and back through the other, and then taken through the band close to the first st.i.tch. A pin should be inserted on top of the b.u.t.ton under the first st.i.tch, left there until the b.u.t.ton is firmly fastened in place, and then removed. Before the thread is fastened, it should be wrapped two or three times around the threads holding the b.u.t.ton, between the b.u.t.ton and the cloth, then fastened neatly on the wrong side with a few small st.i.tches one on top of another.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Fig._ 18.--Sewing on b.u.t.tons]

PRELIMINARY PLAN

Each pupil should come to the cla.s.s with her ap.r.o.n as nearly completed as possible, and with three b.u.t.tons to sew on it, for fastening the belt and straps.

METHOD OF WORK

The teacher should discuss the best methods of fastening garments and should demonstrate the method of sewing on b.u.t.tons. The pupils should sew one b.u.t.ton on the left end of the ap.r.o.n band in the middle of the width about 1 inch from the end, and another b.u.t.ton 4 inches from each end of the band, to hold the shoulder straps.

LESSON XVIII: METHODS OF FASTENING GARMENTS--Continued

_b.u.t.ton-holes on practice piece and on ap.r.o.n._

SUBJECT-MATTER

Directions for making the b.u.t.ton-hole.--Measure carefully the position for the b.u.t.ton-hole, lengthwise of the band, so that the end will come one quarter of an inch from the edge of the garment. Mark the length of the b.u.t.ton-hole on the material by putting in two lines of running-st.i.tches at the ends. To cut the b.u.t.ton-hole, insert the point of the scissors at the point marked by the running-st.i.tches nearest the edge of the garment, and cut carefully along the thread of the material to the row of st.i.tches marking the length at the other end.

[Ill.u.s.tration: (_a_) Starting the b.u.t.ton-hole (_b_) The b.u.t.ton-hole st.i.tch (_c_) The finished b.u.t.ton-hole _Fig._ 19.--Working b.u.t.ton-holes]

To make the b.u.t.ton-hole, use a thread of sufficient length to do both the overcasting and the b.u.t.ton-holing. Beginning at the lower right corner, overcast the raw edges with st.i.tches one sixteenth of an inch deep. Do not overcast around the ends of the hole. As soon as the overcasting is done, proceed with the b.u.t.ton-holing without breaking the thread. Hold the b.u.t.ton-hole horizontally over the first finger of the left hand and work from right to left. Insert the point of the needle through the b.u.t.ton-hole (at the back end), bringing the point through, toward you, four or five threads below the edge of the b.u.t.ton-hole.

Bring the doubled thread from the eye of the needle from right to left under and around the point of the needle, draw the needle through, and pull the thread firmly, so that the purl is on the edge. At the end of the b.u.t.ton-hole, near the end of the band, make a fan, by placing from five to seven st.i.tches. The other end of the b.u.t.ton-hole should be finished with a bar made by taking three st.i.tches across the end of the b.u.t.ton-hole, then b.u.t.ton-hole over the bar, taking in the cloth underneath and pulling the purl toward the slit. The thread should be fastened carefully on the under side of the b.u.t.ton-hole.

PRELIMINARY PLAN

For this lesson it is desirable to have small pieces of cotton on hand, to use as practice pieces for the b.u.t.ton-holes.

METHOD OF WORK

The teacher should demonstrate the making of a b.u.t.ton-hole, ill.u.s.trating each step of the process on a large piece of canvas. The pupils should sew two small strips of cotton together and cut a b.u.t.ton-hole one quarter of an inch from the edge, and lengthwise of the material, to work for practice. When the b.u.t.ton-hole has been sufficiently perfected on the practice piece, the pupils should make three in the ap.r.o.n--one in the right end of the band and one in the end of each shoulder strap.

LESSON XIX: A PADDED HOLDER FOR HANDLING HOT DISHES--BINDING

SUBJECT-MATTER

A holder 6 inches square will be satisfactory for handling hot dishes.

It can be made of quilted padding bound with tape, or of two thicknesses of outing flannel covered with percale or denim and bound with tape or braid. If made of the outing flannel and covered, it should be quilted, by st.i.tching from the middle of one side to the middle of the opposite side in both directions, in order to hold the outing flannel and the outside covering together. The tape that is to be used for the binding should be folded through the middle lengthwise; then, a beginning being made at one corner of the padding, the edge should be basted, half on one side and half on the other. Right-angled corners should be formed.

When basted all around, the tape should be sewn on each side with a hemming-st.i.tch.

If the holder is to be suspended from the ap.r.o.n band, a tape of from 27 inches to 36 inches in length should be attached to one corner. The raw edge at one end of the tape should be turned in. The end should be so placed that it overlaps the corner of the holder about half an inch and it should be basted to the holder. The tape should then be secured firmly to the holder, hemmed down on one edge, across the bottom, and up the other edge. The other end of the tape should be finished with a 2-inch loop. The raw edge should be folded over, the tape turned 2 inches down for the loop, and basted in place. This should be hemmed across the end. One quarter of an inch up from the end, the double thickness of tape should be back-st.i.tched together, and the edges of the tape should be overhanded from there to the hemmed end.

PRELIMINARY PLAN