Sewing Preparation & Hems

( Originally Published 1918 )

Preparation and use of working equipment: Needles, pins, thread, tape-measure, thimble, scissors, box for work. Talk on cleanliness and neatness (care of hands, ect.). Discussion of hemming. Hems folded on sheets of paper.

SUBJECT MATTER

A hem is made by twice turning over the edge of a piece of cloth toward the worker, and then sewing it down. It is used to finish a narrow edge. In turning a narrow hem the first fold must not be so deep as the second, in order that the hem may lie smoothly. If the hem is a wide one, the first fold can be much narrower than the second.

PRELIMINARY PLAN

The teacher should have interested the pupils in the sewing lessons before the first meeting of the class, and each pupil should be asked to bring with her the box in which to keep her materials and such other equipment as is required. If the school is to furnish the equipment, the teacher should be sure that there is an adequate supply on hand.

It will probably be necessary to have the towels to be used in the cooking classes hemmed, and the pupils should Fie interested in doing this work. If some of them wish to hem towels for use in their own homes, it may be desirable to allow them to do so. Flour or meal sacks will answer. It may be well to have each pupil hem a towel for hume use, as well as for school use, in order to impress upon her the desirability of having hemmed dish-towels for daily use. The towels may be planned during this lesson, and the pupils may arrange to bring the material from home, if they are to provide it ; but it will be well for the teacher to have on hand material for one or two towels. Plain paper will answer for the practice folding of the hem in the first lesson.

METHOD OF WORK

The teacher should devote a few minutes to a talk on cleanliness, emphasizing its importance, and the necessity for exercising care in handling the sewing materials. This should be followed by a discussion regarding the care of the hands and the condition in which they should be for the sewing- lesson. Each pupil should inspect her own hands and show them to the teacher.

When all the pupils have their hand in a proper condition for sewing, the teacher should look over their sup-plies with them, give them suggestions as to how they are to keep these, and let them arrange their boxes.

Next, she should tell them what their first work is to be, show them the material for the towels, and discuss with them the hest method of finishing the ends. (See Lesson II.)

Before turning the hem, the pupils should make a gauge from heavy paper, notched to indicate the depth of the hem. A few minutes should be devoted to practice in measuring and turning a hem of the desired depth on a sheet of paper. This should give practice in the double turning necessary first, the narrow turn to dispose of the cut edge; second, the fold to finish the edge.

When the lesson is finished, the boxes should he put away in systematic order, and all scraps should he carefully picked up from the desks and the floor.