Show woman s world u rick pick i your lour 7 kind i ot of jp mending then set out to perfect it by ertta haley W WHETHER HETHER you do a lot ot of sewing or not you can cant t esca escape e the daily and weekly mending jobs b th that at inevitably will fall upon you most women dislike mending because its what they term a dull job ob but there are ways of making it interesting I 1 never lil ed mending until I 1 changed ray my ideas about it said a woman to me mp recently it seems that she had done such intricate sewing in her time that mending was a comedown down tor for her but when she decided that she would learn to mend so no one suspected that a patch up job had been done this tested her ingenuity to such an ex tent that the task became an inter esting one I 1 tried this myself and found it could be a fascinating job it if you are mending men mens s socks try to weave in the stitches so you would rit suspect they were ther and see tor for yourself how interesting this can be or suppose youve torn the pocket on your best apron why not remove the pocket weave or patch the ma tenal in a very subtle way and make a larger pocket of a flower design have your best gloves slipped a seame seam you have a chance to match your weaving skill to the stitch al ready used in the gloves you see it can be fun machine made sweaters can be mended always pace around your lem something in the manner of an engineer before you mend some thing really important there are many types of mending jobs abs all re quiring different materials and tech liques it is sometimes difficult to match the stitches used in machine made ua make de curative patches sweaters but the darning tactics can be hidden easily with attracts attract li e decorative embroidery the first thing to do Is to cut a piece from the bottom of the sweater unravel it and use for darn ing the hole the cut edge of the sweater should be overcast it the darn is too obvious make an at embroidery stitch or design over it to disguise the darn scat sprays of flowers or daisy stitch are easy to use and effective for covering darns spots of embroidery are good especially when the elbows of the sweater have been mended when you mend the part of the sweater from which you cut make certain that you catch every stitch to prevent unraveling stretch the edge as you work so that you can be sure of catching the stitches use bands effectively to disguise darning on dark fabrics of dresses espe c ally if they are woolen you fre can work a darn so that it e for fo outer garments does not show however on lights lighte fabrics on linens or silks or it is not possible to disguise the darning in this case consider using bands as a decorative measure to hide the darning it if a wide circular skirt for ex ample has small tears and darns you might add contrasting bands several rows to go around the skir to cover these these add a love y decorative touch how to mend sheets towels it if your sheets have torn hems hen add contrasting bands of fast colo colored r ed percale to top or bottom or both your sheets will be more attractive and colorful than when they were new small tears and holes can be I 1 darned or patched so they are fairly inconspicuous use small stars or flower sprays to cover them large Largel holes will need a patching job overcast a split sheet join oin the outside edges and overcast by hand so sor that the seams will be flat sheets which are too worn to be mended may be cut down for tow night and day t this smart swart spun r rayon yon dress is a black and white surprise it its s perfect for dancing on a summer s evening unbutton the yoke and you have a sun dress the smooth and lustrous quality of the abisco rayon fabric will make the dress an important addition to the ward robe els napkins small tablecloths or doilies torn towels can be cut down to hand towels or guest size towels these may be made attractive by using an of a small hand or a pair ot of lips to indicate their use for towels worn beyond repair save the good pieces and use for service as washcloths or pot holders these can be decorated ap abely with contrasting trimmings initials or whatever you like make garment patches practical decorative if youngsters have worn their overalls at the knees make decora tive padded animals and place these on the knees over the sturdy patch you have made to save the garment if you have tears on a dress or an apron where you can place a pocket make this of the same or contrasting material that matches something else on the garment th tb s may be ruffled pockets flowers or other decorative items or you can hide patches on some parts of a dress with a button trimming if it looks nice decorative patches are applied with a catch stitch or by hem on the right side of the garment tears and permanent spots som t mes can be covered with appi appl que or sequin trimming or bands or lace if they come in the right place glove mending Is an art there s nothing so disastrous as injuring a good pair of gloves but the situation can be remedied with care R aped seams should be overcast bt carefully with a cotton thread ex acely the same shade as the pair of gloves if it the seams are on the fingers do not take stitches too close to the edge or they will rip again soon tears on the cuffs can be hidden with contrasting trimming such as bands or lace on cloth gloves do not use knots in mending gloves the threads should be left long enough to tie carefully be smart crisp sheers especially the won der fully cool fine cottons are a fashion all their own for summer adding enthusiasm to the accey tance of these fabrics is the corn com of the charm of the past with the ultra smartness of the modern shown here is a model of exquisitely fine egyptian cot ton organdie dramatized with the skillful use of embroidered bands in a manner reminiscent of the turn of the century |