Anna M. Cooley

“ Our clothes are important for they help to keep us well. Shall we learn how to choose the materials for them, and how to make some useful articles of clothing? Sewing is an art which all girls should learn. If we know how to sew, we can keep our clothes in order and always be neat and attractive in appearance. We can, also, make acceptable articles and gifts for others. It is useful, too, to know about materials and about their costs and uses; for, when we buy our clothing and household articles ready-made, we should know how to tell whether the material is durable and will wear. ”

“ It is much easier and quicker than working by hand, and so cotton cloth can be made more cheaply. Frank Allen says he saw a loom at the silk factory he visited. If it were not for machines, our clothes would cost much more than they do. Think of all the people who help to give us our cotton clothes, from the planter who sows the seed to the manufacturer whose men prepare and weave it. Have you ever visited a cloth factory and seen the many machines and heard the great [68] buzzing noise which they make? It is a busy place. Some factories make only warp, or filling, yarns. ”

“ Do you know how to choose a hat?
Jane Smith says that some day she expects to be a milliner. Perhaps she will be. Miss James says she can later go to a school and study millinery. This means that Jane will learn not only how to make hats, but about the right lines and colors to use. Jane has a natural deftness of touch and a good idea about copying and designing; so Miss James thinks she will make a good milliner. So often hats are unbecoming because the colors are inharmonious, or the lines out of relation to the face wearing them. Whether one is old or young, one should think about this. ”

“ Miss Willing says the outline of our clothed figures [254] should be pleasing. Have you ever walked to town and seen girls with large hats which were not balanced on their heads, and short skirts and perhaps large muffs? If you watch them as they come towards you down the street, you will see that the whole outline or silhouette against the sky or house is poor; they look top-heavy or, we say, unbalanced. Such a costume is not good. A smaller hat with the short skirt is what is needed in order to have a balanced figure. The outline of the natural human figure is most beautiful. ”

“ By intensity of a color is meant this difference in grayness. Very few people can wear very bright red. Miss James says she must have the "grayed" colors, in dahlia tones of red if she wishes a dark dress of this color, or in old rose if she wishes a dress which will be less somber. This is true of all colors; only red is perhaps the most difficult to use. One learns to use color in its full intensity only for touches here and there on a gown or a hat, which is itself not intense in color. ”

“ The body which is to wear the clean clothing should be washed every day. It may not be possible to take a tub bath or a swim in the river or lake, but one can bathe all over with a bucket of water and a cloth and soap. It pays, for one feels so fresh; and, then, the waste of the body is removed by the washing, and the pores of the skin are kept in good condition. When our skin is in good condition, we do not feel the cold as much as do those who do not bathe frequently.
Do you remember that we said our clothing must help to save some of the body heat? That is how clothing protects. ”

“ Pleasant Valley is your own home town; and, though it has really quite another name, it may still be Pleasant Rivers, or Pleasant Hill, or Pleasant Fields, or Pleasant Plain. Why not? In this wide country of ours there are many forms of natural beauty; and even in the dry sections, where trees are grown with difficulty, there are still the far reaches of the plains and the beautiful effects of cloud, sunrise, [293] and sunset. If our own town is ugly and unhealthy, it is not Nature's fault; for the beauty and home-likeness and the healthfulness of any place depend upon its inhabitants. ”

“ You know clothing helps to keep us warm or cool, if we dress properly. You have learned how necessary it is to preserve an even body temperature. Growing girls must think about this, for no girl is well dressed who does not think about the relation of clothes to health. Is a dress really beautiful if it is unhygienic? Miss Travers told the Mothers' Club that clothing should serve our use in the best way, should be pleasing and artistic, but also comfortable enough to permit freedom. ”

“ We have studied many things about cleanliness, and we all know how much cleanliness of clothing and household linen adds to our comfort. We have learned that sometimes we can wear our underclothes without ironing and that towels can be washed and dried and will smell sweet and clean even if not ironed. Table linen, though, must be washed and boiled and ironed to look well. Our lesson to-day is about how to do this.
The linen, as well as the cotton, are, as you know, vegetable fibers. They are strong and able to resist heat and the friction from rubbing. They have resistance for chemicals also. ”

“ If our day clothing collects waste and should be aired at night, what should be done with the night clothing during the day? Yes, it should be well aired. Have you ever noticed how the air of a room is spoiled by the odor of night clothing and of bed coverings which have not been properly aired? ”

“ There are many people who help in changing the cotton from fiber to cloth. While you are waiting for the cotton material and the pattern, shall we study how cotton cloth is made?
Cotton is used for many things. We learned that cotton is shipped in bales of 500 pounds each from the United States to all parts of the world. The manufacturer receives it at the factory and changes it by many processes into what he wishes to sell. Some manufacturers make only cotton threads of various kinds, for sewing, knitting, and crocheting. Others make cotton cloth of one variety or of several varieties. ”

“ If only new wool were used, there would not be enough raised in the world to clothe everybody. The wool manufacturer, therefore, blends, or mixes, the wool before it is sent to the carding machine. In blending he knows just what color, style, and grade of material he wishes to produce, and he grades accordingly. Cheapness is one of the principal reasons for blending. Sometimes cotton or jute are mixed in, if the manufacturer wishes to produce a very cheap material which is not all wool. ”

“ The corset should leave no marks on the body. The danger is that, unless well fitted, a corset interferes with circulation. Lacing causes all kinds of troubles. It deforms the body and makes it hour glass in shape, instead of free and beautiful like Miss James' picture of the Venus de Milo (Fig. 130) . When tight bands or corsets interfere with circulation, the blood supply for the brain and the other organs is shut off, and consequently these organs are not nourished. Most girls wish to preserve the graceful waist line with which nature has endowed them. ”

“ The way of dressing one's hair may make it difficult to choose a hat. If the person with the long, thin face also draws back her hair sharply at the sides, her face will look longer and it will be more difficult to choose a hat for such a face. If the hair is worn very fluffy when one has a very round, full face, then the face is apt to look fuller. So you see hairdressing is very important to study too, if a girl is to look her best and choose the most becoming hats.
Color, too, should be kept in mind. ”

“ Miss Travers says it never pays to buy flimsy materials, cheap lace edging, or insertions which are poorly put together and will tear. One can instead [273] purchase ready-made garments which are plain. It is not always possible to afford the time to make dainty, fine, handmade underwear, which soon wears out; but one can often spare the time to construct a few pairs of more durable drawers, and corset covers, by machine for everyday wear, when one realizes how much greater will be the life of the garment. ”

“ Some sheep give a better quality of wool than others. The Merino wool is the very finest. The camel furnishes a beautiful soft fiber. Then, there is the angora goat of Asia Minor, which provides us with mohair. This is a lovely soft fiber resembling silk. Can you find this country on your map? Look for Peru and for Chili. The sheep there furnish the alpaca and llama wools.
Some wool fibers are long, and some are quite short. The length of fiber, or staple as it is called, varies. An average length is 7 or 8 inches. How does this compare with the silk or linen fiber? Is it as long as cotton? ”

“ Did you find it very difficult to turn the narrow hem around the neck of your nightdress? Jane Smith almost cried; but Miss James helped her a little. It is always more difficult to turn a hem on a curved edge than on a straight edge. If the turns have both been made the same width and if the basting stitches are small, there will be no difficulty. ”

“ Look in the attic or in the piece bag to see if there are any scraps of silk. If you are making a gift for mother, I am sure grandmother will help you to find something. Giving is much fun when one can make the gift a surprise. Grandmother Allen and Grandmother Stark are helping the Pleasant Valley girls with their surprises. It is not the cost of a gift which counts, but the loving thought which one puts into it. A surprise birthday pudding or cake, a surprise apron or work bag, are all things into which we can put loving thought. ”

“ What material is best for toweling? As soon as all the samples arrived at Pleasant Valley, Marjorie took them to school, and Miss James spent an hour with the girls studying the materials. The toweling samples were examined first. What a difference in them! Some are smooth and feel cold and look almost shiny, and others feel soft and look more fuzzy on the surface. Do you know why? It is because some are woven of linen fibers made from the flax plant, and others from cotton which comes from the cotton plant. Which do you think are made from cotton? ”

“ In weaving there are two threads. What are they? In knitting there is only one thread; just like grandmother's knitting of the stocking round and round as the tiny loops are formed. Have you ever torn your stocking in a loop and had it run right down the whole leg of the stocking? Barbara Oakes had this experience. That shows how the tiny loops are made. If one catches the loop, the raveling is prevented.
This is how we shall darn our stockings. Use single or double darning thread, according to the fineness of the stocking, and a darning needle. ”

“ Our clothing helps to prevent the heat of the body from escaping too rapidly. We should plan to wear light clothing in summer and heavier in winter, or to adapt our clothing to the weather. This is only good sense. In summer we have cool days, and in winter warm ones. People whose habits of living keep them indoors a great deal should be clothed lightly for a warm house and, when going out, should protect themselves with extra clothing. The boy or girl who walks to school rapidly does not require as much clothing as one who rides. ”

“ Perhaps we can clean our school coats or some wool garments brought from home.
Brushing clothes. Many people who live in large cities do not have gardens and yards where they can hang their clothes and brush them. Often brushing and cleaning must be done on the roofs of houses. How glad we should be for space and a chance to keep clean. The Pleasant Valley girls have studied about this. Do you know that it costs to keep clean? It takes time and energy and much thought. People who live in the country can keep clean more easily than city people. ”

“ It is not appropriate for a girl to wear jewelry, thin stockings, low fancy slippers, lace waists, feather hats, to work or to school. How much more attractive and appropriate is a plain, neat shirt waist and cloth skirt, a plain necktie and a simple hat, and plain boots or ties. One should not dress as if one were going to a party when one goes to work or to school. ”