5. REPAIRING

Repairing is essentially practical. work. It is as important that a girl should learn how to keep clothes in good order as that she should be able to make them. The work is naturally less attractive than making, as it lacks the flavor of adventure imparted by a piece of fresh new material. Worn garments, also, are less easy and pleasant to handle.

Yet there is pleasure in the freshened ap­pearance of a well-repaired garment, and a good deal of interest may be aroused by the endeavor to make the repair as little noticeable as possible. Theoretical lessons on the methods of darning and patching, in which the pupil works on material obviously new, are necessary before actual garments are darned and patched, but they will not cause a girl to form the habit of keeping her clothes in good order, a habit which tends so largely to create self-respect. It is necessary to show how actual articles can be repaired.

This is the lesson, however, which it is most difficult to arrange. A regular monthly lesson in practical mending would be an excellent plan if one could ensure a suitable and sufficient supply of clean articles requiring the sort of mending the pupils are capable of doing. The disadvantage of this plan is the long period of time between lessons, so that if a piece of work proves too long to be overtaken in one lesson, it cannot be held over to the next. As the chief thing to be learned in practical mending is that each article must be treated on its own merits, it is not of great importance that a class should have sim­ultaneous practice, so long as each girl learns to mend real things when convenient. The problem must be solved in different ways in different schools.

In the first place, it is important to expect a girl who has learned to sew to make some attempt to keep her clothes in order. A poor repair is better than no repair at all. School needlework is not practical if a girl is learning to scallop the edges of a camisole while her dress is fastened by pins, or her pinafore has the hem torn off and not replaced. The garments worn in school may therefore offer occasional opportunity for the practice of repairing, even if one girl should sew a button on another's dress.

If possible, however, garments or other articles should be brought to school for mending. This involves a co-operation between school and home which is to the advantage of each. The teacher might sometimes be able to supply things, but the advantages of mending come home more emphatically to the pupils' minds if they are themselves benefited by their work.

Mending includes far more than darning and patching, which are really rather difficult work, suitable for pupils in senior or supplementary classes. Patching, in particular, need only be attempted when a girl can handle her needle pretty freely, for the easiest patch on a real gar­ment is more difficult than a more exacting piece of work on a small piece of cloth. The follow­ing list of lessons shows how practically every stitch and process learned may be used in repair­ing as well as in making, and the practice of mending encouraged even among quite young pupils.

Note. — Some of the lessons suggested below may appear needless, as there is practically no difference between sewing tape strings, for example, on to an old garment or on to a new one. But there are good reasons for including them. First, every satisfactory repair helps to strengthen the habit of keeping things in good order. Second, there is usually a remnant of old material or previous sewing to be removed before the repair is begun. A careless worker is apt to neglect this fact. Third, repeated practice is necessary to make a girl expert even in such an easy exercise as sewing on a button. Suppose a girl has made a garment re­quiring three buttons. In a practice lesson she learns how to sew on buttons. Then she sews buttons on the garment she has made. But it would take her a long time to make another garment so that she might sew buttons on it. Meanwhile there are probably several garments at home deprived of buttons by rough handling at the laundry and in other ways. These would give the necessary exercise before the details learnt in the practice lesson are forgotten.

1. Large handkerchiefs with hem-stitched borders torn away may be  freshly hemmed as small handkerchiefs for children.
2. New hems may be made and hemmed or decorated on pinafores or other simple garments.
3. Fresh tape strings may be run through bags or garments.
4. Petticoats, pinafores, &c., may be lengthened or repaired by false hems.
5. Tapes or buttons may be sewn on afresh.
6. Articles worn thin may be darned. Darn­ ing of stockings (especially black stockings) should follow darning of easier materials, e.g. woolen underclothing, bed- or table-linen, &c.

7. Trimmings may be removed, and fresh trimmings sewn on.

1. Old garments may be turned into dusters by cutting up and machine stitching the best pieces. This gives excellent machine-stitching
   practice.
2. Buttonholes may be repaired by fresh stitch­ ing (over a new piece of material if necessary).
3. Practice lessons would be given in darning tears, before attempting darning of actual tears on garments.
4. Similarly, lessons would be given in darn­ ing holes in linen, woolen, and lastly in knitted materials, after which real articles may be
   mended.
5. Special lessons would be required on the typical methods of patching, after which easy patching may be done on real garments.
6. Garments worn at seams, gathers, and other awkward places may be patched. This necessitates much unpicking and manipulation of material, and is quite advanced work.
7. Collars, bands, cuffs, &c, which wear out more quickly than the rest of the garment, may be taken off and renewed, or replaced by some
   other method of finishing.

15- Small garments may be cut and made from the best parts of old ones. This last is scarcely a lesson in repairing, but it is a very good and interesting lesson in making the best of things. The resulting article may be a surprise to the worker herself, since, although she must form a general plan to begin with, she must afterwards accommodate her design to the exigencies of the material. If a supply of partially used garments were available, this sort of renovation might provide occasion for teaching economy in very poor schools, where garments fit to mend are not procurable, and money for new material is scarce.

Mending must never be done just for the sake of mending, but only to render an article once more usable and respectable.

It is generally easier to mend home-made garments than ready-made ones, partly because they are of better quality and workmanship, and partly because similar mending materials are available. When an article is brought to school for mending, the appropriate mending material should, if possible, be brought along with it. If not, recourse must be had to the school supply of odds and ends, which, it has already been suggested, teacher and pupils might gradually contribute, with a view to giving variety and practical value to the work of making as well as mending.

GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF REPAIRING

Before beginning to mend an article, three things require consideration, viz. (i) the value of the article, (2) the material and thread re­quired, (3) the kind of repair necessary.

1. An article may not be worth mending at all, but only fit to cut up for towels or dusters.

It may be worth only a slight repair to make it "serve another turn". If it is really in good condition, except for a slight damage, it is
worth a good deal of trouble in repairing.

1. Both material and thread should match the article to be mended as nearly as possible in color and texture.

For articles worn thin, slightly used material is better than new. Similar, but rather finer, material may also be used.

For washed articles, washed patching material should be used. Washed material is not so aggressive in color, does not contain dressing, and is already shrunk, if shrinkage is a con­sideration.

If material to match can by no means be procured, it may be worth while to have recourse to contrast. If the damage is in a conspicuous place, an added decoration may serve, e.g. an embroidered or lace motif on underclothing, a band of trimming on a dress or a coat.

Thread also must be carefully matched in order to produce a really good effect. It is most important that the color of the material should be matched exactly, but, if possible, the nature of the material should also be matched.

For darning-threads this is not always easy. Sewing-threads should be well twisted and firm, but for darning, a soft, loosely-twisted thread fills in the worn or empty space more satisfac­torily. For darning cotton materials, a soft embroidery-cotton is best; for linen, a flax thread; and for silk, a silk thread must be used to give the proper brilliance. Mending-wools may be used on dress material with coarse threads. But for flannel or other woven woolens, it is nearly impossible to find a worsted thread that will not drag in darning, so recourse is usually had to either cotton or silk, according to the quality and appearance of the material. But while woolen material may be successfully darned with cotton, it is obvious that cotton may not be darned with wool, even for the sake of correct color, as the treatment which cotton undergoes in the laundry would turn a woolen darn into a piece of felt. For dress materials, where the chief aim is the invisibility of the repair, nothing is more suitable than a few threads drawn out of another piece of the same material. The selvedge threads will usually be found most satisfactory, but even they do not usually last long in the needle. With frequent changes, however, a very successful result can be obtained.

The same care should be taken in choosing threads with which to sew on a patch.
3. In choosing the method of repairing, select the one which produces the best result in the shortest time. It is often much more satisfactory to replace a small portion of a garment by a new piece rather than spend time on laborious darn­ing or patching. A great deal depends on how long an article is likely to outlast repairing.

The following are general rules for darning and patching:— Woolen, linen, and dress materials are darned, whenever possible, but all may be patched if the damage is too extensive for darning.

Cottons, especially underclothing, are usually patched, but cotton sheets, pillow-cases, &c., are often darned at first.

Articles of a more decorative nature, e.g. table-cloths, tea- or tray-cloths, doyleys, should either be darned, or, if worth while, have some decoration added to cover the damage. Crochet motifs are often useful in this way.

Knitted stuffs are always darned, but very fine stockinet underclothing, where large worn places or holes occur, may be more successfully patched with similar material.

These principles and rules will not be taught to pupils all at once or in any formal lesson, but will be the outcome of a number of practical lessons in which the best treatment of different kinds of goods has been discussed. Girls are always keenly interested in the practical side of the matter.

DARNING

The pupils, having been taught the darning stitch first of all as a means of strengthening or decoration, should be able to work it rather finely when the time comes to use it for repairing.
The general rules which must have attention in darning are:

1. Darn all round the worn place as well as over it, so that the darn may not tend to make a larger hole.
2. Darn very loosely, keeping the material stretched, else the darning will pucker and drag the material.
3. Keep the thread very slack at the ends of the rows, leaving actual loops if necessary to allow for drawing in or shrinkage of the darning-thread.
4. All darning is worked on the wrong side of the material, except on lined garments.
5. Press with a hot iron to restore smoothness to the material.
6. A darn with an irregularly-shaped edge is less noticeable and less apt to strain the ma­ terial than one with a very straight edge.

Darning a Thin Place

Work single darning all over and round the thin place in the direction in which the threads are more worn (fig. 1).

Darning a Tear or Rent

1. Single darning at right angles to the tear is usually sufficient.

1. If the tear is frayed, it may be necessary to put in a few rows in the opposite direction.
2. At the edge of the tear lift the material on one side only, in order to avoid fraying out threads. In the next row, the piece that was
   lifted is passed over (fig. 2).
3. Hold the tear firmly between the thumb and finger of the left hand while the darning-thread is being drawn into place.
4. In darning a hedge tear, single darning is worked over each of two tears, and so becomes double darning at the weak corner (fig. 3).
5. If the weak corner shows an actual gap in the material, a few short rows of darning more closely placed in both directions will be
   necessary.

7. If the tear is long, it may be held together by fish-bone stitches in a contrasting colour

before darning (fig. 3). These stitches must afterwards be carefully cut

 Fish-bone stitch closely orked in a suitable color may form the whole repair in a material which is firm and substantial (fig. 4).

1. In darning very closely woven cloth the stitches need not be completely brought through to the right side. This makes an invisible
   darn.
2. A long tear, liable  to break away again from the darning, should have a strip of tape or material placed under it on the wrong side. This strip may be hemmed or herring-boned down, or it may be held down by the darning being worked into it.

Darning a Cut

1. A tear can only happen along the threads of the material, but a cut may occur at any angle, separating both selvedge and weft threads. Darn­
   ing must therefore be worked in both directions.
2. The edges are very liable to fray out badly, so the darn should be worked quickly, and as soon as possible after the accident occurs.
3. The darning is worked along the threads of the cloth, and is therefore not at right angles to the cut.

That would cause the darned space to stretch and bulge out. 4. To avoid stretching and fray­ ing out as much as possible, lift on the needle a few stitches on either side of the cut (fig. 5), and press the left thumb and forefinger firmly upon the cut while the thread is being drawn through into its place.

1. The shape of the darn is variable, but the important point is to have double darning allover the cut place, and single darning a little way round, so that the bulkiness of the darn is gradually reduced (fig. 5).
2. As the cut material is not necessarily worn,

the darn should extend over as small a space as possible.

1. Although not essential to good darning, the shape shown in fig. 6 looks very neat when finished. Mark with the needle point a square to enclose the cut, and begin to darn at one of the corners of the square farther from the end of the cut. Darn along the edge of the square, count the number of stitches lifted, lift as many more in the same line. Work the same number  of stitches in every row of dar ning, increasing and decreasing one at the end of each row, so as to form a rhomboid. For the second set of darning-threads, begin at the same point, but work in the opposite direction.

Darning Holes

1. Only small holes in cloth are darned, large ones require patching.
2. Single darning is worked all round the hole to strengthen the worn material, care be­ing taken not to drag the threads in passing over the hole, else the shape of the garment will be spoiled. For large holes, a wooden darning-ball is very useful for preventing the garment
   from being drawn in.
3. Darning is then worked in the opposite direction, so as to weave a new piece of material into the hole, lifting and passing alternately the threads already placed (fig. 7).

4. The edge of the material round the hole must be kept flat by being alternately lifted and laid down.
Note.—As a preliminary to this rather difficult exercise, double darning as for a hole may be practiced as decora­tion. There would, of course, be no hole at all, only certain spaces marked off to be covered by darning, and the presence of material behind the work would check the tendency to drag the darn.

Darning Knitted Materials

1. The method of darning is, generally speak­ing, the same as for linen or woolen cloth, but,

if the material is not too fine, one stitch of the knitting should be picked up and one passed over, instead of lifting a piece of material (fig. 8).

This lifting of stitches is more easily done if up-loops are lifted in working up rows, and down-loops in working down rows.

1. In darning very fine loom-knitted under­ clothing or cashmere stockings, this lifting of alternate loops is scarcely possible, and indeed
   is not advisable unless the very finest darning-

thread can be used. If ordinary mending-wool is employed, one or two stitches of knitting must be lifted, and several passed over, else a very smooth effect cannot be produced.

1. It is very important to leave loops at the ends of rows, and to darn slackly, if the flexibility of the knitted material is to be preserved.
2. Any free loops at the edge of the hole ought to be picked up before passing over the hole (fig. 9), in order that the work may be as smooth and flat as possible. If the work is being correctly done, there will never be two loops in one row.

6. In darning on knitted material, the second set of darning-threads need not be worked into the material, but only into the first darning-threads (fig. 9). This renders the darn less noticeable on the right side.

Darning on the Right Side of Knitted Material

A superior, but slower method of darning knitted material is to work on the right side, following the pattern of the stitches instead of merely running on the wrong side.

This method should be used on really valuable garments, especially when the damage is in a conspicuous place.

The process is really equivalent to knitting, but is worked with a darning needle, and it is used in three forms: (1) covering a thin place, or Swiss darning, (2) filling in a single row, or grafting, and (3) filling in a hole with stocking-web stitch.

The thread used for such work must exactly match with the original, and the work should be done rather slackly on washed material, as there is no other way of allowing for shrinkage.

Swiss Darning

1. Runthe thread into the material on the wrong side, and bring it out on the right side a little way outside the worn place.

1. The work is done from right to left.
2. From where the needle comes out, it will be seen that two threads of the original knitting come, one sloping to the right, one to the left.

other horizontal stitch, and proceed in the same fashion, the needle being put in always a little to the right of where it came out, and on a higher or lower level.

They may slope either upwards or downwards (fig. 10).

1. Follow the thread sloping towards the right, and take a stitch horizontally, bringing out the needle where the original thread comes out.

1. Follow it back again to the place where the needle was first brought through, take an-
2. Make quite sure that each row of darning contains a number of complete stitches. A complete stitch has two slopes— ٧ or ٨.
3. To pass to the next row (without increasing the number of stitches) slip the needle one bar upwards or downwards instead of making a horizontal stitch. This brings the needle out in the middle of a stitch. Turn the work and begin again.
4. To pass to the next row, and at the same time increase or decrease the length of the row, slip the needle one bar up (or down) and one stitch across (fig. 10).
5. Note that the stitches in neighboring rows interlace each other, so that one row of hori­zontal stitches is worked right into the middle
   of the previous row.

Grafting-

1. Grafting is used as a repair where a single line of knitting has been destroyed. It is also used to join two unfinished edges in knitting, e.g. in closing the toe of a sock or stocking.
2. Run the darning-thread into the wrong side of the material and bring it out a stitch or two to the right of the end of the damaged
   line.
3. Work Swiss darning over the stitches until the beginning of the gap is reached.
4. Then catch together the last loop of solid material and the first free loop.
5. Slip the needle upwards (or downwards) to the right, and take up the last half-loop and the first free loop.
6. Continue working alternately on the upper and lower lines of stitches, working always twice into the same loop. In lifting the loops, slip the needle into the first one from the right side to the   wrong, but into the second one from the wrong side to the right (fig. 11).
7. On reaching the end of the slit, continue Swiss darning over a stitch or two, so as to leave no gap.
8. Darn into the wrong side of the work and cut off the thread. Darn in also the free ends of the original thread of the material.

Filling in a Hole with Stocking-web Stitch

1. The method of working is really the same as in the last two cases, but as several rows have to be worked, it is advisable to prepare a support
   for the loops to be made, otherwise they are apt to slip down, also to differ in size from each other and from the loops of the original knitting.
2. Although not absolutely necessary, it is easier to darn if the ends of the damaged threads are unpicked horizontally to an equal distance,

thus leaving the edges of the hole smooth, with clear loops at either end. The unpicked ends of threads should be darned in on the wrong side.

3. A sort of scaffolding is now built up with thin thread of contrasting color (fig. 12). This thread is run into the material, fixed firmly, and brought out to the right side through the first complete loop. The needle is then put into the half-loop at the other end (from the right side) and brought through the first complete loop (from the wrong side). The process is exactly-similar to grafting, but over a larger space. At the end the thread is fixed firmly. This is called "stranding".
4. The real darning now begins (preferably from the end which has no half-loops).

Swiss darn a stitch or two at the right-hand side, and on a level with the first row of darning to be worked. On arriving at the hole, work as in grafting, except that over the hole the stitches are formed upon a couple of threads of the stranding. The stitches formed must be similar in size to those of the original material (fig. 12).

1. At the end of the row, Swiss darn into one or two stitches, turn the work, and proceed as before, working the stitches on the one hand
   into the newly-formed row, and on the other hand upon the same pairs of lines of strand­ ing. The number of rows so worked will exactly
   correspond to the number originally in the work, and the last row will really be a row of grafting, joining the darn to the original material.
2. Finish by running the darning-thread into the material on the wrong side, and then carefully cut out all the stranding threads.

These forms of darning have been described as for plain knitting only.

In working on ribbed knitting, the worker should note and imitate the manner in which the original threads of the knitting wind in and out.

Note.—These last exercises are quite difficult, but interesting. They are suitable only for advanced classes. In order to darn knitted material well, a pupil should understand the construction of the material. This is best learned by undoing slowly a little piece of old knit­ting, observing how the threads travel from side to side. The unpicked thread retains the twist. It is even more instructive to unpick a thread from the middle of a piece than from the free edge. For practice in darning, before real things can be worked upon, woollen stocking web, manufactured by E. J. Arnold & Son, is much superior to the ordinary cotton make. Any old light-coloured knitted material, however, would serve the purpose equally well.

PATCHING

The precise method of arranging a patch must depend on the use of the article being repaired and the material of which it is made. While a merely tidy patch is quite sufficient for under­clothing, a good deal of trouble may be neces­sary to produce a satisfactory repair on dresses or ornamental articles.

There are a few general rules which should be obeyed, and there are a few typical methods of working which should be mastered first of all, but all methods admit of variation in order that a better effect may be obtained in any special piece of work.

General Rules in Patching

1. The patch must always be cut large enough to cover the hole, the worn part around it, and a space around that. A patch is usually fixed with two rows of sewing, and both must rest on a firm piece of material, else the patch will only cause a larger hole.

Note.—Girls should have practice in finding and cutting the necessary patch. Even in theoretical lessons they may have such practice if a fairly large piece of cloth is handed out, the hole being cut so as to leave sufficient whole ma­terial to cut the patch from (fig. i).

Another way would be to hand out two pieces of ma­terial, one with a hole, and another, which may be of any shape, from which to cut the patch. If the class possesses a selection of odd pieces of material, these may be used to make the theoretical lesson as practical as may be. Each girl, having a piece of cloth with a hole in it (not neces­sarily exactly like her neighbor’s), may seek among the odd pieces the kind of material she requires to mend with. While choosing pieces to represent garments, the teacher would, of course, make sure that enough similar material was left to serve as patches.

It is always difficult for girls to realize the size of the patch required as compared with the size of the hole. They usually cut too small a patch. Let them make a careful until the eye becomes trained to necessary distances.

In first attempts at patching, a space may be pencil-marked around the hole to represent the worn part (fig. 1). The patch when finished is to extend at least ½in. be­yond that.

Say the worn part measures 2 in. x 2½in. The size of the patch will be cal­culated as follows:— For a patch re­quiring no turnings, 3 in. X 3½ in. (fig. 1, a). For a patch with small (say ¼in.) turn­ings, 3½ in. x 4 in.
For a patch with large[(say ½in.) turnings, 4 in. X 4½ in. (fig. 1, c). If the patch is cut large enough and properly finished, the pencil-marked worn place will be entirely cut away.
2. The selvedge way should match in patch and garment. If not, the patch may be tight in a place where the garment should be yielding, and  vice versa. This results in a strain which will cause another hole, or at least a bulgy patch.

1. The shape of the patch should, of course, correspond with the shape of the worn or torn part. For simplicity of arrangement, however,
   patches are usually cut (or torn) square or oblong, rather than circular or oval. On the other hand, a circular or oval patch, with its
   yielding edge, would cause less strain on a rather thin garment. When holes occur near seams or hems, the patch may be very irregular in shape.
2. Patches are usually placed on the wrong side of an article, as the piece showing through the hole is smaller than the patch itself. In
   outer garments, however, the patch is usually placed on the right side, and the raw edges on the wrong side are not turned in, but merely
   overcast.
3. It is best to place, pin, and sew down the patch before making any attempt to get rid of the worn part. However ragged the latter may
   be, it still helps to keep the garment in shape, whereas to place a patch correctly on a really large hole is very difficult.
4. The worn part is usually cut right away, leaving only a seam, not more than J in. wide, round the edge of the patch. In some cases, however, as, for example, in a worn sheet, a large patch is put on by way of strengthening a part not yet worn out. In such a case, the
   material may be left double, only actual holes having their edges neatened and sewn down to the patch.

7. Patching, like darning, should be pressed with a hot iron.

Typical Methods of Patching

The three most common, useful, and easily distinguished methods of patching are:—
(a) A patch for woolen underclothing (flannel patch).
This method may be applied to flannel, wincey, and also to heavy flannelette or any other bulky material. It may, with modifica­tions, be used for thick woolen dress materials, but for this purpose it is not the most common method.
(b) A patch for cotton underclothing and all plain articles (cotton patch).
This method is used for all thin materials used for underclothing, and also for linen, e.g. white linen aprons, bed-linen, and sometimes for table-linen.

1. A patch for upper garments, dresses, blouses, pinafores, &c. (dress patch).

Patch for Woolen Underclothing

1. Cut the patch to the proper size. Allow no turnings.
2. Lay the patch evenly over the hole on the wrong side of the garment, making the selvedge way match exactly. Arrange one selvedge side first, pin it into place, then smooth the patch upon the garment, and pin the other sides (fig. 2).

1. Tack the patch down and remove the pins.

Herring-bone the patch to the garment, keeping it smooth, and giving attention to the security and symmetry of the corners (fig. 3). Join threads very neatly.

5. Turn to the right side and cut away the worn part, leaving about J in. of double ma terial.

To do this accurately, proceed as follows: Measure in \ in. from the herring-boning, and mark the distance with a line of pins along each

side. Cut from the hole to the lines of pins, then cut along these lines parallel with the herring-boning. When the corner is almost reached, begin cutting along the next side, pass a pinthrough to mark exactly where the corner point is, and then finish the cutting carefully just as far as the pin (fig. 4).

1. When all the worn part is trimmed away, herring-bone down the garment on the patch, again being careful to neaten the corners (fig. 5).
2. It is best to begin sewing in the middle of one side, preferably a selvedge side. On coming round again to the same point, accommodate the stitches a little, so that they may join up invisibly.

Variations of the Woolen Patch

1. When this patch is used for dress material, herring-boning may be used on the wrong side, but would be rather conspicuous on the right side. It may be replaced by short lines of darn-

ing. Darning would be much less noticeable, because the stitches lie in the same direction as the threads of the material, while herring-boning crosses the threads of the cloth (fig. 6). The loops and ends of thread could be made less visible on cloth than they are in the diagram by passing them through to the wrong side.

1. A similar patch may be used for tablelinen, this being much flatter than a patch with the edges folded in. All the edges should be darned down.
2. When loom-knitted material must be patched, instead of being darned, the woolen patch is the one that is employed.

Patch for Cotton

1. Fold in small turnings (not more than ¼in.) on the patch towards the right side,  beginning with the selvedge sides.
2. Place the patch on the wrong side of the garment, pin it evenly, and tack it down.

As a guide to correct placing, fold creases on the garment through the middle of the hole, first selvedge way, then weft way (fig. 7). The exact line of the selvedge threads must be carefully looked for, but it will be sufficient to make the other fold at right angles to the selvedge fold, as weft-way threads are not always quite even.

Fold corresponding creases through the middle of the patch, both selvedge and weft way. When the patch is placed on the garment these lines should coincide (fig. 7).

In patching twilled material, the twill must match as well as the selvedge.

In pinning, avoid the thick folded corners. The pin is apt to push the patch out of posi­tion. If creases have been made, it would be best to pin the patch first at those points,

afterwards inserting more pins as necessary.
3. Hem down the patch, fixing each corner with a diagonal stitch (fig. 8). On coming back to the point where the hemming was begun, a neat, strong finish may be made by hemming over one or two of the first stitches made, before running in the thread.
4. Turn to the right side and cut away the worn part. If this is not very well done, it will be almost impossible to prevent the corners from looking raw.
Measure in ½in. from the hemming, mark

with pins, and fold back a crease along each side of the patch parallel with the hemming. This forms the edge that will afterwards be sewn down.

Cut from the hole to near the crease, then cut along parallel with the crease, allowing small turnings (fig. 9).

Insert pins exactly where the creases cross each other at the corners. Cut each corner right up to the pin. Fold in the small turnings now, and tack down.

5. Top - sew the garment to the patch, strengthening the corners by extra stitches. Three or four stitches can be quite symmetrically

worked into the corner (fig. 10). Finish off by top-sewing over the first few stitches made.

Variations of the Cotton Patch

1. When the material is very thin, or very much worn, hemming is preferable to top-sewing for the sewing of the right side. Top-sewing is better whenever possible, because it is easier to strengthen the weak corners with top-sewing, and because top-sewing appears to draw
   the two pieces of cloth to the same level, while hemming leaves one above the level of the other.
2. In patching coarse linen, the difficulty of managing the corners on the right side is in­ creased by the tendency of the cloth to fray out.
   In order to avoid this difficulty, the patch may be so arranged that the top-sewing is done before any material is cut away. Proceed as follows:

Begin by folding in small turnings on the

Dress Patch

1. Fold in large turnings (about f in. to $ in.) towards the wrong side of the patch. If neces­sary, tack down these folds.
2. Place the patch on the right side of the garment, covering the hole evenly, and having the selvedge way matching. The same arrangement of selvedge and weft way creases suggested for the cotton patch may be used to get the patch into the correct position. If the material is patterned, the creases will not be necessary, but the patch will require careful selection, that the pattern may be matched (fig. 13).

N.B.—For girls' first practice, the simplest possible pattern, e.g. a stripe or often-repeated spot, should be selected.
If the material is without pattern, and will not retain a crease, it is necessary to judge carefully by the eye in order to have the patch lying in the right direction.

1. Top-sew the patch and the garment together, strengthening the corners by  means of extra :stitches (fig. 13). :Flatten out the ^sewing. I4. Turn to :the wrong side, :and cut from :the hole towards ;the corners of the patch, until ;the folded-in :edges of the :patch are :reached.

Lest a pupil should cut too much at first, she should hold up the work to the light, and insert a pin at each corner to mark the point at which to stop cutting (fig. 14).
5. Fold back the flaps of worn material along the line of the edge of the patch, and cut them away.

6. A double raw edge is now left all round the hole, and these edges must be overcast together with blanket stitch, not catching hold of the outer portion of the garment (fig. 15).

This method of patching shows only one row of sewing on the outside of the garment, and is therefore much less noticeable than the method used in cotton patching.

Variations in the Dress Patch

1. The method described above is the strongest and quickest way of working this patch, but for thick material more flatness is desirable.

Cut away the worn material as before, and then cut diagonally right up to the corners of the top-sewing, so that the little flaps of the garment edge may be folded back flatly (fig. 16).

This is obviously not so strong at the corners, but the patch, instead of lying on top of the garment, now appears sunk to the same level, which greatly improves its ap­pearance.

The work may be further improved by cutting away carefully part of the turned-in folds of the

patch at the corners. Cut diagonally to the corners, so that the folds do not overlap each other, but just meet (fig. 16). All the raw edges are now overcast separately.

2. The patch may be machine stitched into place, so that no sewing at all appears on the right side. This can only be attempted by ex­perienced workers, since all the cutting and trimming already described must be done before the machine sewing can be done.
3. A method which can be used only with very solidly woven materials is to insert the patch (fig.i7).

The damaged part is cut away very evenly, and a patch is cut to match, not only in pattern and direction of the threads, but also in size. This patch, being cut exactly to fit the hole, is darned into place all the way round.

Patches in Difficult Positions

A hole often occurs so near to a hem, seam, or gathers that it cannot be well patched without some unpicking, and a very irregularly shaped patch may be required.
1. Pick out enough of the sewing to allow freedom of handling. It is not a waste of time to unpick a good deal, for the patch cannot be properly managed unless it can be smoothed out flat. The original sewing can be very quickly replaced.

2. Be sure the patch is large enough, allowing especially for turnings of seams or hems. 3. Place the patch carefully, matching the selvedge (fig. 18), and tack it firmly. Sew it down.
Shape the patch to match the original garment, leaving turnings. Use the worn part as a guide to the shape.

Cut away the worn part as much as possible, so that there may be no unnecessary bulk at hems and seams. Sew the patch the second time (fig. 19).

6.- Sew up the seam, hem, or gathers exactly as before (figs. 19 and 20).
7. When a garment wears at the side seam, two patches will often be necessary, one on each side of the seam. The patches need not be alike either in size or shape, although it sometimes looks neater if the two patches cross the seam at the same point. Unless the seam is along the threads of the material, one patch cannot satis­factorily be made to serve, for if the selvedge is correctly matched on one side of the seam, it cannot be right on the other side.

8. A tear often occurs at the bottom of a placket hole, or where a patch pocket is joined to a garment. The mending should be done as described above, the pocket or placket being partially unpicked to allow the patch to be placed (figs. 21 and 22). But as a tear is due to strain, precautions should, if possible, be taken to prevent the same accident happening again; for ex­ample, the placket should be made a little longer, so that the garment may be put on more easily, and the position of the pocket may be changed so that the end of the line of sewing may rest on double instead of single material.

9. The above arrange­ment occupies a good deal of time, but secures the correct arrangement of the patch. In the case of a garment already well worn, some modification of method may be made to save time, taking care, as far as pos­sible, to have selvedge way matching in patch and gar­ment. For instance, near a seam or  hem, the patch may be arranged correctly, and its edge folded in upon the seam or hem without previous unpicking. This is quicker, but bulkier. Knickers frequently wear out at the junction of the leg and body seams, where, to be exact, a good deal of unpicking and four separate patches would be required. Where the garment is not worth so much trouble, a large square patch may be cut, with its edges on the crossway. This patch should be laid on the garment with the straight thread along the seams, which are

strong and fairly tight, and the crossway edges stretched to fit the shaped portions of the gar­ment. This method could only be used if a comparatively small part is worn, since even the crossway of the material would soon cease to stretch enough for the expanding shape.

OTHER REPAIRS

Band or Cuff Worn at the Edge

The simplest repair is to slit up the edge of the band along its whole length, turn both its edges to the inside, tack, and stitch along close to the edge. If the band must not be narrowed in this way, a line of blanket or buttonhole stitch may be worked over the worn edge, i.e. if the garment is not worth a new band.

Band Worn Out at the Ends

Fig. 1

If aband becomes worn out because the fastening has been too tight, open up the ends of the band, unpicking the garment a little way. Join on new and longer pieces to the ends of the band by means of single seams, and sew the gar­ment into the band again (fig. 1). If the garment is full, spread out the fullness a little to fill the band. Make new fastenings.

Woolen Underclothing Worn Because of Shrinkage

Woolen undergarments sometimes wear out at armhole or leg seams because they have become tight owing to shrinkage. In such a case, instead of arranging the patch so as to restore the original shape of the garment exactly, the patch may be allowed to form a sort of gusset at the strained part, so as to prevent further damage and to allow more comfort to the wearer.

Mending Gloves

Woolen gloves are darned in the same way as stockings. Thread gloves are also closely darned with fine thread to match the color Split seams in kid, suede, or leather gloves may usually be mended by buttonhole stitching, unless stitching is more in keeping with the original sewing of the glove. When the skin itself is split, buttonhole stitch each edge separately, and then catch together the two lines of buttonholing with top-sewing or buttonhole stitch.

Small holes in suede gloves may be darned closely with exactly-matching cotton thread, or filled in with blanket stitches worked in rows, the stitches of one row being worked into those of the previous row.

For larger holes, patches may be placed on the wrong side, and closely sewn down on the right side, the wrong-side edges being simply left free. In patching a split caused by tightness, let the patch form a slightly gusset-shaped piece.

Re-footing Cashmere Stockings

When cashmere stockings can no longer be darned satisfactorily, they may be refooted by sewing in fresh pieces to replace the heels, soles, and toes. The new sections are cut from the leg portions of another worn pair of stockings.

1. The worn stocking is cut half-way across just above the heel, then down the sides of the foot, separating the sole from the upper portion,
   and across the toe (fig. 2). A cut is also made, from a to a, as long as the depth of the heel, thus forming a new heel which must have its sides joined together by a seam at the sole (fig. 3, bb). This shortens the leg a little, and therefore probably widens the ankle.
2. The new sole is cut from the pattern of the old sole. Double turnings must be allowed all round to make up for the lack of any turning

Old stocking foot cut so as to remove the v«ry worn parts, and prepare for the addition of the new section. By cutting: from a to a, a seam across the back of the heel can be avoided.

on the remaining portion of the original stocking. There is no need to cut a piece for the upper toe. It is only necessary to round off the end of

the upper foot to match the new sole (fig. 3). 3. The new portion is joined (after the heel is Fig. 3 Remainder of old stocking foot reshaped at heel and toe, and new section (cut with turnings) ready to be joined: bb seam to complete the heel. sewn up) to the original stocking by a single seam on the wrong side. The turnings must be flattened out and herring-boned lightly down on each side to prevent rucking.

4. In order to avoid shortening and widening the stocking leg, a slightly different method may be pursued. The cut act in fig. 2 may be omitted, and the whole of the cut-away por­tions (heel, sole, and upper toe) replaced by new ones. This necessitates, however, two new seams not required by the last method, one just above the heel, and one across the upper part of the toe.

As the legs of stockings are often in very good condition when the feet become useless, they may be used to make complete stockings for children. The whole pattern of an old but well-fitting stocking would be cut as in |fig. 3, but this time a cut would have to be made right up the back of the leg. The method of joining would be the same as is described above, the back leg seam being made first.

When the feet of hand-knitted stockings wear out, they are usually cut off at the ankle and knitted afresh. It is possible to cut out the heel and knit it in again, grafting it to the remainder of the foot, but this is only worth while if the damage to the heel is not very extensive.

Children's stockings often wear out or become torn at the knees. If the knitting is plain, the top may be cut off, the loops lifted, and the top re-knitted upwards. This cannot be done in a ribbed stocking, but a new top may be grafted to an unravelled row of the original leg.

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