| Show Mending Day Every housewife should set apart one day each week for mending day its duties du-ties should be as religiously performed asher as-her daily devotions Which day it shall be depends upon the time of getting the clothes in the wash If that hard work is done at home it should be as early in the week as practicable the flannels should be washed out and dried quickly so as to shrink as little as possible and to allow plenty of time to air them for nothing is more runious to the health than damp flannels flan-nels If the clothes are all in by Thursday evening even-ing then Friday would be a nice opportunity opportu-nity to lay out every garment and put it through a rigorous examination It is well to have a special stocking basket in whichi all the stockings and socks are placed for inspection It should be furnished with suitable needles darning cottons of all colors col-ors to suit the fancy hosiery a pair of scissors scis-sors etc1 so that it may be picked up at any of those odd moments which so often come to a housekeeper when she is not ready to settle down to work which needs cutting out or planning After the holes are mended thin places should be neatly darned for then they present a strong even surface which is more comfortable than the hole when drawn together later The garments which need mending should be placed in another basket Every button should be examined and if they are pulling pul-ling out by the roots as childrens buttons always do a double bit of cotton or material mate-rial like the garment cau be hemmed on the wrong side the edges of the hole hemmed down on it and the button repjaced concealing the hole entirely It looks much better than setting the button higher or lower to gain a fresh foundation Strings have a way of wearing half Off just where they are sewed on They should be cut the old place ripped off and a new sewing taken up or else new strings Little slits in underclothing should have a strong piece of material laid under much larger than the slit when that is darned down with a few neat stitches it will hold much longer than if it is jnst run up Boys clothing should be furnished with good strong pockets for the joys of a little chaps first pantaloons pales before lots of pockets to hold just everthing Little girls enjoy pockets too a moderate moder-ate sized one in the seam of a calico or gingham dress holds her handkerchief thimble and other necessary things which would otherwise be lying around and lost I find that a childs habit of neatness depends de-pends largely upon the condition of the clothing putupon her from infancy If she is accustomed to whole clean clothes she will enjoy them then find them a necessity then learn and live to keep them so The poor little children who dive into bureau drawer pulling out buttonless bodices torn aprons and ragged dresses which they strew about the room until they find some wearable garments are greatly to be pitied nor arc they to blame if they grow into untidy men and women It is never wise to buy just enough material for a childs dress with nothing left for mending mend-ing The elbows always rub out first and if there is enough to make a new underside to the sleeves jt helps the dress to wear much longer If there is a wide sash like the dress it can be used later on for new sleeves and it will be all washed alike for nearly all colored goods will fade in time A friend of mine is the happy possessor of four boys When they were little fellows she used always al-ways to get suits for two of them alike the younger always got through with his trousers first and then she took them to mend the underside of the jacket sleeves A neat patch of the same material is not very unsightly for rough and tumble wear far less so than the frayed out holes which the little men try in vain to hide when company comes If there is enough material ma-terial the worn sleeves or trousers leg may r be cut straight across and pieced if the goods are checked or figured when the seams are pressed the piecings are scarcely discernable it looks oh 1 so much better than the square window like patch through which the new cloth grins at the ravage of timeWoven Woven underwear has a tendency to drop into holes If these are noted in time it is easy to catch up the broken thread and prevent it from spreading into a large hole which might need a patch The silky bindings which give these garments a pretty finish are not durable so soon as they begin to give away it is advisable to replace them with stronger tape which will keep the necks from stretching out of shape or tearing down at the shoulder Gentlemens outer garments are more difficult to repair neatly The braid will wear off the coat or vest and the tailor will charge a pretty penny to replace it It can be done at home with time and patience practice will produce skill I have never succeeded well with a machine binder because be-cause the edges of a coat vary greatly in thickness but I baste the braid silk coat binding on and stitch one side with the machine and hem the other down by hand When pressed it looks quite well If the coat is black or dark it is best to lay a thin piece of dark goods over the part to be pressed If the iron is put directly on the goods it leaves a sleek shiny look which cannot be removed A few stitches in the worn ends of vest buttonholes and new buttons have a wonderfully renovating effect A worn lining inside a coat skirt gives a coat a very forlorn look A good thick satteen of color suited to the coat when basted in and hemmed neat around the edges taking care to have it just fit well without drawing or bagging will > make ones husband very happy Now we come to some of those blessed little ounces of prevention which are worth so many pounds of cure There are many t little tricks or devices which will prevent or defer the wear and tear which come to us by degrees We find that boys shirt waists always wca first at the belt where the trousers fasten For the next set we make a strong belt of double jeans which we place under the percale or linen when the buttons are sewed firmly on and the threads fastened itis hard for the boys to get through with them The hems down the backs of white dresses or yokes should be folded down twice or interlined soas to make a strong place for buttons and buJton hole The bindings of drawers or underBodies under-Bodies often pull out leaving a buttonhole torn open which not easy to mend neatly When the binding is first stitched on before be-fore hemming down a bit of cloth can be interlaid it must be tacked slightly to the side of the binding to prevent it from rump hug in the wash and so there are three piles of material for each button and buttonhole button-hole This is less clumsy than making the whole belt three thicknesses Relll made clothing whether upper or undergarments should have all the buttons sewed on more securely before they are worn Those on underclothing are usually held by a stitch of promise and they are lost the first time they are laundried Those on childrens suits are difficult to match and a new suit soon loses its jaunty freshness if fastened with odd buttons These little things may seem at first glance to be of unnecessary trouble but in the end it is a great saving of time and appearance ap-pearance The small patch pieces and cunning little envelopes of extra buttons which sometimes come tucked away in the pockets are a joy to every mothers heart It is not granted to us all to be specially talented we may not be able to paint wonderful pictures or write books whose fame is worldwide we may not bo able to render Beethovens symphonies with grace and skill but every woman who has a little common sense and good will can learn to mend clothes and keep her family in neat respectability It will be something if when our tired hands are folded it will be said of us by those who miss our loving care She hath done what she could |
