Needlework and Crafts - Every Woman's Book on the Arts of Plain Sewing, Embroidery, Dressmaking and Home Crafts

NEEDLEWORK AND CRAFTS

PLAIN SEWING

CAN you plain-sew? Or do you? It is taken for granted, somehow, that every woman can hem and seam and gather, but between learning a stitch at school and using it afterwards lies a world of difference, and one does not necessarily follow the other.

Sewing as a school lesson is invariably dull; plain sewing as a modern hand-craft is one of the most fascinating there is. Forget the tedium of those sewing afternoons, and begin again! The stitches are no less interesting and not a whit more difficult than those you use so easily in embroidery, and proficiency in them puts a wealth of lovely lingerie, of hand-sewn clothes for the babies and their bigger brothers and sisters and beautiful things for the home at your command.

CUTTING OUT

Before you begin to sew there is one important thing to do which isn’t always included in sewing instructions, and that is—the cutting out. The way you cut your material will make all the difference to a hem or a seam, and you cannot correct careless cutting by careful sewing.

Your scissors should be really sharp and, for ordinary needlework, of medium size. When cutting out, remember that the pointed blade must be under your material; the broad blade above it. Take long, smooth cuts, and do not be in too great a hurry.

Always cut to a thread when you can; if you can’t follow the thread easily with your eye, it is worth the little extra trouble of drawing one. An edge cut with this accuracy can be turned in evenly and the edge kept exact, so that your stitching will be to a thread as well. And do be careful about curves, however slight. If you are cutting a curved edge by a pattern, when making children’s clothes, for instance, don’t be satisfied with pinning the pattern to the material here and there; pin at short intervals right along the curved edge. You can quite ruin the set of a shaped seam by flattening or bulging the curve slightly here or there.

TACKING

Tacking is one of the most important aids to beautiful needlework, but the stitch is so easy that it doesn’t always receive the respect it deserves. A line of go-as-you-please stitches isn’t tacking; it is just a mess. Tacking is used not only to keep together two layers while they are being joined, but as a guide to even stitchery. As a rule stitches and spaces should be of even length, say about a quarter inch, but if you are tacking up a garment to be tried on it is better to use one long and two quite small stitches alternately; this is firmer. Keep your tacking stitches exactly parallel with the edges, so that they will guide you in sewing; it is most distracting trying to work evenly against a jagged line of tacks.

When tacking, use a small needle and fine thread for thin materials; thicker thread for thicker stuff. When tacking a material that marks easily, like velvet, for example, do your tacking with silk wherever it is likely to show afterwards. It is not necessary on seams, for instance, but should be used when tacking down a folded edge or a hem. Also, instead of pulling out such threads in the usual way, snip the stitches every few inches, and draw out the silk in small lengths.

Always have your knot on the outside. If you are tacking a run-and-felled seam, for instance, the inclination is to leave the knot at the side nearest to you as you tack the two edges together for running. If you do, the knot will be hidden under your felling and you won’t be able to get it out or to get rid properly of the little end of thread attached to it.

HEMMING

This is another easy stitch which is often treated as a Cinderella of stitches, and allowed to look slovenly. But if the cut edge is perfectly straight, and the hem evenly turned in it will be easy to keep the stitching in a straight line as it should be. Turn in a very narrow single turning to begin with, then fold again to the depth desired for the hem. Tack securely just within the folded edge, and parallel with it.

Bring your needle through from the inside of the folded edge, leaving a short end to tuck inside the hem; no knot is needed. The work should be held over the first and middle fingers, kept firm by thumb and third finger. Put the needle through your material just below the folded edge then bring it out again just above the fold, very slightly to the left, pointing the needle towards the middle of your left thumb-nail each time.

Remember that the secret of neat hemming is not that the stitches should be tiny, but that they should be quite regular in size and spacing. Do not try to take invisible stitches—they probably will not be strong enough to hold down the hem if you succeed—but do practise until you get all your stitches the same size. (Fig. 1, right.)

A RUN HEM

A run hem is very useful for fine work; Frenchwomen make more use of this than we do. It is easy, and as the stitches are parallel with the weave of the material they show less than the ordinary hemming stitch does. Prepare your hem in the ordinary way, and then work along the folded edge with tiny running stitches, kept quite even in size and spacing, and exactly parallel with the fold. This hem is good for babies’ frocks and fine lingerie. (Fig. 1, left.) Another type of hem is sewn with tiny, quite vertical stitches instead of slanting. This is frowned upon by orthodox manuals of instruction, but is employed very successfully by many women expert with their needle.

SLIP-STITCHED HEM

When you want a hem to be invisible both on the right and the wrong side it should be slip-stitched. Slip-stitching is used a good deal for catching down linings, facings, and so on, but it will not stand very much strain. The hem should be turned in in the usual way, and tacked down not too close to the edge. Pick up just part of a thread or threads in the single material (so that your stitch will not show through on the right side), then slip your needle into the fold of the hem and along inside it to make a long stitch, say about a quarter inch; bring it out through the inner layer of the fold, near the edge but not quite on it, so that it does not show. Pick up a bit of a thread or threads as before, and repeat. Do not pull your stitches too tight, or the hem will pucker. (Fig. 7.)

BLIND HEM

Make a blind hem when you want the stitching to be invisible at the right side, but when the inside isn’t important. Pick up a part thread, as for slip-stitching, and take a stitch in the folded edge of the hem. Pick up your next invisible stitch as far to the left of the first as you can afford to carry your cotton and still keep the hem caught down neatly. This will make a series of long stitches at the wrong side without showing anything at the right side.

FALSE HEM OR FACING

A false hem, more generally known as a facing, is used to neaten an edge along which an ordinary hem would look clumsy; round a neckline, for instance. When there is a very pronounced curve or a special shape to the edge it is better to cut the facing to that shape; scallops, for example, should be faced with a scalloped piece of material. Otherwise it is customary to use a strip of material cut exactly on the bias, about an inch to an inch and a half wide, according to the type of edge and of material. Bias strips will give easily to a slight curve, so that they set more satisfactorily than a straight strip would ever do. Straight strips, however, are used for facing a square or a straight edge.

Tack your strip to the right side of the edge to be faced, raw edges exactly level. Stitch just within these edges Trim the turnings, and if the edge has a decided curve, as on a round neck, snip the turnings here and there so that they will not pucker. Press the facing to the inside, and turn in and fell the lower edge, or slip-stitch it. (Fig. 13 shows the two stages of facing.) Sometimes the facing is turned over so that the join comes just—but only just—below the folded edge.

A facing is sometimes used as a trimming as well as a hem, in which case the process is reversed, the strip being stitched to the wrong side, then brought over to the right side. In this case the join must come at the edge of the fold. Such facings are usually machine-stitched along both edges.

FLANNEL HEM

When the ordinary double hem would be too clumsy on flannel or similar woollen, just a single turning is used, its raw edge herringboned in place. As flannel does not fray, the hem remains perfectly neat. To herringbone a hem, first tack the turning firmly. Work from left to right; bring your needle through from the wrong side of the turning, then take a right-to-left horizontal stitch in the material just below the raw edge of the turning. Take a similar stitch in the turning, to the right of the first stitch, and repeat all the way along. (Fig. 6 shows a flannel seam being herringboned.) This forms a kind of cross-stitch over the raw edge; the stitches may be spaced or close together according to need. Herringbone-stitch is used a great deal in embroidery and in dressmaking.

Sometimes a flannel hem is caught down by feather-stitching worked at the right side. Tack the turning down with running-stitch close to the raw edge, using this stitching as a guide for your embroidery stitch, so that it goes just above and below the raw edge at the wrong side.

A hem on thin flannel or woollen can also be slip-stitched. (Fig. 7.)

RUN-AND-FELLED SEAM

The seam most in use for general sewing is probably the run-and-felled, or flat-felled kind; it is strong and flat and very neat when carefully made. This is the simplest way to make it, although it is not quite the way we learned at school.

Pin your two layers of material together, the edge of the one nearest you being about one-eighth inch below the other. Turn the projecting edge down over the other so that the fold is touching the raw edge of the inner layer, and tack as you go. (Fig. 2.) Now run the two layers together just below the raw edge of the turning, your stitches exactly parallel with it. Then press the tacked fold flat on to the material, tack it down and fell it in place—you use an ordinary hemming stitch for this, of course. (Fig. 3.) It is easier to keep your seam an even width all the way down made like this than when turning in a raw edge to fell, as in the old-fashioned method.

FRENCH SEAM

A French seam—which the French call an English one—is used a great deal on lingerie and for thin or sheer materials, or when you do not want the stitching to show at the right side. It is not suitable for thick materials. (Fig. 130.)

Tack the two layers together with wrong sides facing, and run along about one-eighth inch below the level raw edges. Trim the turnings neatly and fold over your material so that the right sides face; press the join, which must come exactly on the fold. Now if you run the two layers together just below the enclosed turnings you make a neat little case for them. If there is likely to be any particular strain on the seam, make a short back-stitch here and there as you run; that is to say, when you have taken a few running stitches, put your needle back where it went through to start the previous stitch, and bring it out where you did before. This strengthens the seam considerably.

TURNED-IN FRENCH SEAM

It is not always easy to make a French seam where the edge is curved a good deal or for other reasons. In this case try this variation. Run the layers together with right sides facing, making an occasional back-stitch if necessary. Take your stitching about a quarter inch below the raw edges. Then turn in the raw edges of the turnings to face, and run them together close to the folds.

FRENCH FELL SEAM

This is a favourite lingerie and baby-clothes seam, and actually is used in France very much more than the so-called French seam. Run your two layers together with right sides facing, trim down the turning nearest you to a bare one-eighth inch, then turn in the other edge, fold it over the trimmed turning, and fell or run it down along the line of the seam. It stands up from the material as a French seam does, but is softer. (Fig. 4.)

SINGLE SEAM

This is really a dressmaking seam, but it is used for all kinds of joins. You simply tack your two layers together with raw edges level, then stitch, allowing turnings as required. Press open these turnings and neaten their edges; usually this is done by overcasting.

FLANNEL SEAM

This is used for flannel, also for many woollen materials which do not fray easily, and are rather thick for an ordinary flat-felled seam. Place your two layers together with raw edges even, and join them with running-stitch. Trim away the turning nearest to you, leaving just sufficient material to prevent the stitching pulling away. Then press the other turning over flatly, and catch down its edge to the material with herringbone-stitch. (Fig. 6.)

OVERSEWN OR TOP-SEWN SEAM

When two folded edges or two selvedges are to be joined, they should be caught together, just along the edges, by oversewing—also known as top-sewing. Tack them together, and begin at the right-hand end. Bring your needle through from the inside of the layer nearest to you, then put it in again at the other side of the farthest layer, and bring it straight through both layers towards you. Repeat with stitches close together, at right angles to the seam, taking up the same amount of material every time; the needle should go through close to the edge. (Figs. 5a and 5b.)

TO SEAM LACE OR METAL FABRICS

A single seam is best for lace—if possible, a machined seam. Press it open very flat, trim the turnings, and overcast the raw edges with small stitches. Metal fabrics can be treated in the same way. The next best method for metallic tissues is to machine with a very small stitch as a single seam, then to roll the turnings and overcast the roll with small neat stitches. Instead of machine-stitching, small running-stitch with an occasional back-stitch can be used, but it is not quite so good. These joins must be made with great care, and well pressed afterwards.

OVERCASTING

This is simply taking stitches over any raw edge to be neatened, bringing your needle through from the wrong side at the left end, taking the cotton over the edge and putting your needle through again at the wrong side, a little distance to the right. How close your stitches should be depends on the tendency of your material to fray. Do not pull your stitches too tight.

GATHERING

This is a running-stitch used to draw up fulness; regulate the size of the stitches to the size your gathers are to be. The smaller your stitch the finer the gathers, and the more of them. Generally spaces and stitches are of even length, but sometimes the spaces are made twice as long as the stitches. In either case it is essential to keep all the stitches and all the spaces of regular length from start to finish, otherwise your gathers will vary.

The gathers must be stroked into position before they are set into a band or yoke. Draw up your gathers closely, and wind the cotton round a pin to hold it. Hold the gathers with thumb and forefinger of the left hand, and take a needle in your right. Put the needle into the fold of the first gather, right at the top, and stroke downwards with it, keeping the needle almost parallel with the material.

When all the gathers are stroked, unwind the gathering thread and let out the gathers as required. Turn in the edge of the band into which they are to be set, and tack it over them, so that the folded edge just hides the gathering thread. Fell the edge down, picking up a gather-fold with each stitch. (Fig. 8 shows the three stages: the gathering thread, the gathers drawn up, and the left-hand half stroked, and the band felled over the gathers.)

GAUGING

Rows of gathering are often used as trimming, when they are known as gauging or shirring. See that the rows are accurately spaced and stitch below stitch all the way down, so that you have neat columns of stitches and spaces. When drawing up these gathers, pull all the threads at once, instead of finishing them one at a time. When there is a good deal of fulness to be drawn up, as in a child’s full-skirted frock, the gathering is often done with a long stitch and short space alternately.

When gathering is done in dressmaking—to draw up shoulder fulness, for example—two gathering threads are frequently employed, about a quarter inch apart (more or less according to the material used). These gathers are not stroked.

WHIPPING

This is a stitch used for setting trimming or frills on to an edge, or neatening and gathering the top of a frill. Usually the trimming is gathered, but even when plain it should be slightly wider than the edge to which it is whipped, so that it can be eased in to it. When there is any considerable length to be joined it is better to divide both the edge and the trimming into four or more equal parts, and to pin them together at those points. This distributes the fulness evenly, which is important.

Lace is gathered by drawing up the thread which you will find at its straight edge; pull it up gently, a little at a time.

A raw edge is gathered with whipping-stitch. Hold your frill with wrong side facing you, and roll the raw edge towards you with your left thumb; keep the roll as small and as firm as you can. Now go over the roll with a slanting oversewing stitch (Fig. 9a); when you bring the needle through from the other side it should pass just under the roll, and as close to it as possible without catching in it. When the complete edge is rolled and stitched, draw up your thread gently until you have the required fulness. (Fig. 9b.)

When you are whipping lace or a frill to an edge, hold them together with right sides facing, and the rolled edge of material towards you. Join them with a whipping-stitch. Turn back the frill or lace until it is flat with the material, then press the join.

FASTENINGS

BUTTONHOLES

BUTTONHOLES should really be cut with buttonhole scissors, so that you can get your slit the exact length. In any case the scissors must be sharp, and you should make just one cut; if your slit is jagged anywhere, you cannot get a neat buttonhole. When possible, cut to a thread; if you are not very good at judging by eye, rule a faint pencil line to guide you. When you are making several buttonholes, space them out exactly and mark each one before you cut any.

It is often a help to beginners to run a tack-line along each edge of the buttonhole after it is cut. This keeps the two layers evenly together—a buttonhole is usually cut through two thicknesses of material, as on a hem or down the box-pleat of blouse or shirt. When it isn’t, then the single layer must be reinforced by a piece of stuff tacked to its wrong side: when you have worked the buttonhole, you can trim away the superfluous material.

Note that the buttonhole must be strengthened by a strand of your buttonhole thread, held down along the edge. When you draw your thread through from the inner side of the layer nearest to you, ready to begin, leave an end more than twice the length of the buttonhole: this is your strengthening strand, to be held in position along the edge as you stitch.

Hold your buttonhole vertical, and work from the bottom upwards, beginning at the left-hand side. In this way you keep the slit strained lengthwise, whereas you are likely to pull it out of shape if you hold it horizontally, as many people do.

To make the stitch, put your needle through the slit, pointing from right to left, and bring it through the material as far to the left of the raw edge as you want the length of your stitch to be. Now pick up the thread as it comes from the eye of the needle and pass it round and under the point of the needle. Bring your needle through the loop thus formed, then pull your thread over to the right, drawing the loop to the buttonhole edge, where the purl should always be. When you get to the top of that side, either round your corner or work a bar across, turn your buttonhole the other way up, and again work from bottom to top. (Fig. 14a shows these stages.)

A buttonhole that does not get very much strain, as, for instance, in a box-pleat, is generally finished with a bar at either end. A bar like this is worked by taking three strands of cotton across the end of the slit, from the outer edge of the first buttonholing to the outer edge of the other side—which has yet to be worked. Buttonhole the three strands together, keeping your stitches tight and close to one another: do not let your stitches catch in the material under them. (Fig. 14c.) Buttonhole the second edge, and finish with another bar.

When a buttonhole will have to take a fair amount of strain, as on a band or a cuff, carry your buttonhole-stitching round the end that takes this strain; that is, nearest to the outer edge. Keep your stitching close together to get a neat effect; it is so easy to get an untidy broken-toothed-comb appearance.

If you find buttonholing difficult, first mark the slot, and then take a line of running-stitch round it. Pad your buttonhole by running a couple of threads over this running-stitch, then work your buttonholing in the way already described, the purl edges meeting but not quite touching down the centre. There must be room to let a very small pair of scissors cut between them—or better still, a very sharp penknife. After this slit is cut, press the buttonhole thoroughly from the wrong side.

Mind you, this method won’t give the finished appearance of the orthodox buttonhole, but it is efficient, and does very well for children’s undies and rompers.

BUTTONHOLED LOOPS

On babies’ clothes, and where a buttonhole would be awkward, a buttonholed loop is frequently used. You would start this by looping three strands of embroidery thread as a foundation. Put your needle in at the folded edge, pass it along inside this and bring it out at one edge of your loop; leave an end of the thread inside the hem. Take the needle back to the other end of the loop and put it into the fold again, bringing it out at the same place as before, and drawing it until you have a loop of the required size. Repeat until you have three strands. (Fig. 14b.) Buttonhole these strands together, drawing your stitches tight and keeping them very close, until you have a firm, stiff loop. (Fig. 14b, centre.) Another method is to bind the strands together with an oversewing stitch, which makes a loop like fine, very strong cord. (Fig. 14c, right.)

BUTTONHOLED BARS

Buttonholed strands are also used as eyes for hooks. Pass your strands across in the same way, but keep them flat to the surface of the material. As before, the needle passes between the layers of the material on which you work. The strands may be buttonholed or oversewn, as you prefer; the great thing is to get in all the stitches you can, so that there will be no weakening spaces between them. (Fig. 14c.) Do not let them overlap.

Bars worked in this fashion, but longer, are often used for slipping a belt or sash through.

SEWING ON BUTTONS

The first rule to remember when sewing on buttons is that you must leave room between the button and the material it is sewn to for the thickness of the buttonhole—the amount of room naturally depends on the buttonhole. So give your button a shank of appropriate length. When sewing buttons on thin fabrics hold a pin across the button and take your stitches over it. Draw out the pin, and gently pull the button away from the material, then pass your cotton firmly round and round the strands until you have made a firm little stalk. For a longer strand, use a match-stick instead of a pin; you’ll need this on boys’ clothes, coats, and so on.

Never sew a button to single material, no matter how tiny it is. Sew a patch to the wrong side of the material big enough to strengthen the surrounding stuff as well as where the stitches actually come. Where it is a matter of a row of buttons, catch a strip of linen tape to the back: if you sew this down firmly at either end, a few stitches here and there down the edges of the tape will be enough to hold it.

On heavy coats, or where there is a big button and a big strain on it, sew through to a small button at the wrong side of the material. The pull will then be on this button, not on the fabric.

Use strong cotton for sewing on buttons; for boys’ and men’s clothes linen thread is best.

When sewing on buttons with shanks, let the flat way of the shank be parallel with the bottom hem of the garment, and the stitches parallel with centre front or back. On washing frocks, shank buttons may be slipped through eyelets, and secured with small split rings at the back. (You can usually get these at a wireless accessories shop in less clumsy sizes than those sold specially for buttons.)

LINK BUTTONS

Link buttons come in handy for fastening cuffs, neck plackets, and so on. Join two buttons together with five or six strands of buttonhole-silk, then buttonhole the strands together, as for a buttonholed bar. (Fig. 14c.) You can make the length of the strand what you wish. Or a strip of material may be stitched into a narrow fold, and the buttons stitched one to either end.

COVERED BUTTONS

If you want buttons to match your frock, or in a particular colour to suit it, get wooden moulds of the desired size and cover them yourself. Cut a circle for each button of such a size that when the raw edges are drawn up at the back of the button they won’t come right to the centre. Work round the raw edge with overcasting stitch, taken well into the stuff, and gently pull this up (with the button inside its cover, of course) until the button is tightly and smoothly enclosed. Take a few stitches backwards and forwards across the little open space in the centre. If the button is to be used for an actual fastening, the back of the cover should be faced with a little circle of the material, or, in the case of thick fabric, with lining.

When using a very thin material, cover your button mould first with a thin layer of cotton-wool, otherwise the material will soon wear through.

HOOKS AND EYES

A buttonhole stitch is firmest for sewing these in place, taking an extra stitch or two across the shank of the hook. Bars, as shown in Fig. 14c, are often used in place of metal eyes. Place your hooks and eyes, in the case of a placket, for instance, so that when closed the two edges to be fastened meet tidily. Hooks and eyes, like buttons, must be sewn to double material; when the stitching must not show through, tack an interlining strip to the inner fold of the hem. Slip a strip of postcard inside the hem while stitching, to avoid catching in the front layer.

PRESS-STUDS

Mark the positions for your press-studs, and first sew on all the halves with the little hump. They should be attached to the upper half of any opening. Then press them on the opposite edge; the mark each makes will show where the second half should be sewn. Although press-studs do not show from the right side, it is as important to space them correctly as to space your buttons.

ZIP FASTENERS

These are hemmed in position along the edges of their tapes, working from the top. Avoid stitching too close to the metal of the zip. These fastenings can be bought in various lengths.

PLAIN-SEWING TRIMMINGS

BINDS

WHEN a bind is to finish a curved edge, such as a neck-line, it must be cut on the cross. (And please note that on the slant isn’t at all the same thing!) Take your binding material and trim one cut end quite straight; if possible, draw a thread, or run a coloured tack-line exactly along a thread, and cut with this as your guide. Fold this straight end over until it lies accurately level with the selvedge: press the diagonal fold firmly and cut along the crease. Now, to cut on the bias isn’t easy when you want to make long strips, so try this tip: fold the material in halves, then quarters, keeping the cut edges level. Fold as often as you like, provided you do not make the layers too thick to be cut through easily and straightly. This will give you quite a short length to cut, keeping exactly parallel with the cut edge.

The width of your strip depends on the width you want your finished bind to be. For a single bind, allow twice the width of the bind, with an extra half-inch to allow for quarter-inch turnings on each edge. (A very narrow bind would need narrower turnings.) A single bind is used for thickish materials or very firm weaves; on lingerie and delicate materials like silk, muslin, georgette, and so on, it is better to use a double bind. In this case cut your strip four times the finished width, with turnings extra.

There is a trick about joining your bias bind strips and it is an important one. The join must come on the straight of the material; you must not simply join the slanting ends together, or the bind will never set.

Put your strips together at an angle. (Fig. 12a makes this clear.) Stitch them together so that there is a tiny triangle sticking out at the top and bottom, otherwise your strip won’t be level when you straighten the angle. Having made the join, pull your strip out into a straight line, open the seam turnings, and press them quite flat. (Fig. 12a.)

A SINGLE BIND

Tack and stitch one edge of your strip to the right side of the edge to be bound, both raw edges level. Trim the turnings, fold the bind over them, turn in the inner edge, and fell it down inside. Keep your stitches along the line of the first stitching, so that they will not show through at the right side. Some people find it easier to press this inner edge turning with an iron before stitching on the strip; others prefer to turn it in as they fell. Do whichever you find simpler yourself: the great thing is to keep the bind exactly the same width all the way along. (Fig. 12b.)

A DOUBLE BIND

Press the strip in half, lengthwise, and stretch the bind slightly as you do so, to take the spring out of it. Stitch the double strip to the right side, the three raw edges level; trim the turnings, and fold the bind over them, felling down the doubled edge inside.

A STRAIGHT BIND

A straight edge can be bound with a straight strip of material just as described for a bias bind; you can also use ribbon or braid, and these need no turnings at the edge. Simply press your ribbon in half lengthwise, slip it over the raw edge, tack, and stitch. If you are machining your bind, one stitching should catch down both edges.

A SIMULATED BIND

You can get the effect of a bind without using a separate strip if you allow a turning on your edge the width a bind would be. Press back this turning to the right side of the material, then machine or hand-run one-eighth inch within the fold. Now bring back the turning to the wrong side of the material, turn in the raw edge, and fell it along the line of stitching.

This bind can be used round a skirt hem, on the wrist edge of sleeves, and on practically any straight or nearly straight edge.

To BIND SCALLOPING

Stitch your bind to the right side in the usual way, but stretch it well at each point. When you turn the bind to the wrong side and fell it down, make a tiny mitre or pleat at each