Selvedge

“ The probability is that the specimen of cloth, without a selvedge, having been stretched over the body for a long period of time, has, in the course of that time lost its nature and when removed it has retained its altered form and gives us the impression of having been woven diagonally. ”

“ Spanish Stripes, Cotton.—A plain-woven all-cotton fabric, sometimes woven from dyed yarns, but oftenest met with as a piece-dyed material woven with a simple one-over and one-under weave. The selvedge is often woven with black warp threads to the width of about 1 inch. The filling weft threads are soft and full, the warp threads are much finer and hard-twisted. ”

“ The firm selvedge is made by the filling thread passing around the warp as the cloth is made. It is this filling thread which will ravel in dish toweling or other material unless a hem is made.
How is the hemming stitch made? This is how Miss James taught the girls of Pleasant Valley to hem:
1. Turn hem of desired width. For the towels, one-fourth inch will be about right when finished. There are two turns because one would ravel. Turn towards the worker. First, turn one-eighth inch to wrong side of material. Second, turn one-fourth inch. Turn and pinch to hold until basted.
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2. ”

“ The back of the fabric shows the bulk of the weft threads, and these, being in the grey, give the back of the cloth a distinctive lighter colour than the face of the cloth. Like all warp-faced twill weave, the back of the cloth shows a plain-weave effect. Denims have generally a white edging forming the selvedge; they range from medium to heavy weight and are largely used in the manufacture of workmen's overalls.
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Derby Rib.—Applied to hosiery having six ribs on the face alternating with three on the back. ”

“ Stockings, Washing the Feet, &c.—Much more of comfort to the feet depends on the stockings than people are aware of; nothing can be worse than a stocking too large or too small, the more common case is its largeness, and when I see a cotton or thread stocking tucked under at the toe, and by the perspiration of the foot and the tread, become quite hard and compact, a hard ridge of a seam pressing on the toes, which show the marks produced by the pressure all over the surface, I wonder how persons can expect comfort. ”

“ After violent exercise undergone by the wearer of a woollen vest and cotton or linen shirt or chemise, while the vest may only feel slightly damp, the other garment is found to be literally wringing wet. Woollen undervests also become sticky and greasy, because, the evaporation of the skin being hindered, it takes on the form of water, and causes the scales of the skin, which when dry drop off, to adhere to the clothes and to the body, thus clogging up the pores of the skin. ”

“ The trunk, especially the abdomen and pelvis, is covered with numerous layers of clothing, an extra amount being caused by the overlapping of the upper and lower garments. Very frequently, the amount of clothing upon these, the most vital parts, is excessive. At the same time, the limbs are sometimes almost in a state of nudity. A single cotton garment, or at most one of thin flannel, is the only protection afforded to the limbs beneath the skirts, which often serve no better purpose than to collect cold air and retain it in contact with the limbs. ”

“ With wool we make mattresses and weave cloth, flannel, serge, in fact all the different fabrics best adapted for protecting us from the cold. It is far and away the most suitable material for clothing; cotton, despite its importance, takes only [273] second place; and silk, with all its fine qualities, is very inferior to wool for actual service. The sheep’s coat, more than anything else, we use for clothing; we cover ourselves with its fleece after converting it by spinning and weaving into magnificent cloth. ”

“ In the system of under-clothing which I advocate, and which is illustrated by the above figure, combinations should be worn next to the skin; or, if the objection to these, which I spoke of on p. 131, is raised, a vest of woven wool, coming well down over the hips, may be worn next the skin, and drawers, either of the same material or of flannel, can be buttoned on to the bodice. The thickness of the material of which this and all the other garments are made can, of course, be varied to suit the temperature of the air. ”

“ It should have sleeves to the wrist; and, so that it may fit closely to the throat, it is best to make it fulled-in to a little shoulder-piece or yoke. Like the other garment, the robe should only reach the feet, or a couple of inches below them.
None of the clothes should be gathered at the waist, but what little weight there is should hang from the shoulders. When, from unusual tenderness of the skin, the woollen material of the vest irritates or induces too much perspiration, spun cotton may be used ”

“ Flocks is put in when the cloth is shrunken or fulled in the vats. The short pieces and dust, or flocks as it is called, are drawn in as the serrations open and the cloth is shrunken.
This is all useful to know, for it helps one in purchasing materials. Most of us cannot afford to buy cloth made of all new wool, but we should be able to tell whether cloth is made of cotton and wool mixed, or all wool. We will know by price whether the all wool is new wool or not. No shopkeeper should sell a cotton and wool for all wool. ”

“ I have already given what seem to me sufficient reasons for maintaining that wool is the natural and most healthy substance out of which to manufacture clothes. Clothes in their action should be merely supplementary to the skin, and care is required to enable them to properly perform the functions demanded of them. They should be light, warm, permit free transpiration, or, in other words, ventilate well; they should exert no pressure on any part, and they should be free from all poisonous particles, whether of dirt or of dye. ”

“ Pants which have too much cloth in the front of the waist will be pulled backward under the buckle-straps, and in so doing the whole back will wrinkle and work downward, and will crawl under the heel at every step, unless made quite short; while walking, each step will draw a wrinkle from the bottom of the inner seam forward and upward to the knee. Many a garment of this kind we see every day upon the streets of every city and town. ”

“ On a vest, I find that all waist allowances may be divided between the side and front with very satisfactory results, but extremes should have a trifle more in front than at the side. On a coat, the most of waist allowances should be at the side, because surplus cloth at the front of a coat will produce too much skirt below, while on a vest it will not show, because the vest is cut off or ends a few inches below the waist. ”

“ The clothing should be loose, comfortable, light and porous. Restrictive clothing is necessarily damaging, for the trunk of the body is continually changing in form and size. Wear porous, cotton or linen underclothing next to the skin. ”

“ Just as it is desirable, in the interests of health, that wool should be used exclusively for clothing during the day, so it is that the surroundings of the body during the night should be of wool, and the bed or mattrass, being, as it is generally supposed to be, stuffed with hair, wool, or feathers, should be cased in woollen material. ”

“ A small leg should also have a trifle curve or spread at the outside seam, over the side of the calf, while the inside is perfectly straight, except what is required for the shoe or boot or style, and a close-fitting pants must also be stretched at the back crease line over the calf. Cutters, and tailors as well, must study the form of the body from neck to ankle, and their ideas must harmonize as to what that form requires. ”

“ By introducing the wool piecemeal, too, scarcely any portion of the skin is left without support on the inside, as is often the case when a ‘made body’ is inserted. This is material; for if there be any want of inside support at a given point, pressure upon that point from the outside will cause the skin to crack. ”

“ Rip the whole pants, every seam of it, cut a new pattern and stretch or shrink all parts of the pants, until they conform to the pattern. It is better to lose the making of the pants than to alter blindly and spoil the whole of it. Pants which have faults contrary to the above description must be altered contrary to the above alteration, all of which must be done by a mechanic who knows his business, and one who feels an interest in the work to be done. ”

“ Woolen Clothing.—Woolen clothing, such as overcoats and fine cloth dresses and suits, is made from the wool cut from sheep. Enough wool can be sheared from two sheep in one year to make an entire suit of clothes. The raw wool is first twisted into threads and then woven by machines into cloth. ”

“ All kind of jackets, coats and skirts for ladies. How to press single and double breasted vests with or without collars, also clerical and fancy vests. How to press trousers.
How to sponge and shrink all kinds of woolen goods for dressmakers and tailors, before making into garments, also for one's use at home.
To prepare a sponge cloth for that purpose, use unbleached cotton four yards long, (or as long as the cloth to be shrunk requires) , boil in soap and water for one hour, rinse in clean water to remove any lint, then it is ready for use. ”

“ In fact, it may be claimed that the waist reduction of the back is wholly imaginary, because the whole part of the body between the arms and waist is a flat surface, and can be fitted with a straight piece of cloth. Considering that the natural position of a garment when on the body runs from the shoulder blade downward and into the hollow of the waist, it must come in contact with the seat below, and must be sprung outward, but differs somewhat according to the nature of the garment—all of which is clearly shown in the diagrams. ”

“ If a vest is to be sewed up clear down over the hips, the bottom must have a width, which corresponds with the hip measure, when sitting down, after it is finished and buttoned up, or 1⁄2 hip and 21⁄2 in., the same as the breast. At the waist, a vest must be treated on the same principle as a pants, that is, it must be made wide and comfortable enough for the waist when a person sits down. At the waist, a vest is shut up all around, and can not give, and provisions must be made for expansion when sitting. ”

“ A material of loose texture confining much air in its interstices is warmer than same amount of clothing material closely woven. Wool or cotton carded and spread out in the shape of a wadding and held, will make a warmer garment than the same quantity spun and woven, and similarly covered. ”

“ Having thus minutely and scientifically examined into the properties of the various clothing materials, it will clearly be seen that the one which possesses the greatest advantages with the least possible disadvantages is wool. Hence it is to be chosen in preference to all other fabrics for wearing next the skin, because it wards off all risk of a chill striking the body. ”

“ The skin, it must be remembered, is elastic, and gives with every movement of the body, hence the material of clothing should also be, as far as possible, elastic. In being elastic, the woven material out of which vests and drawers are now made possesses a great advantage over ordinary flannel; while they stretch to every movement, they fit to the figure sufficiently well to prevent their weighing particularly on any one portion of the body, their weight is distributed equally, like their warmth, all over the body. ”

“ Generally speaking, the best portion of a fleece is from the shoulders and side of the animal. The quality decreases towards the tail end of the sheep, the “britch” being frequently long, strong and irregular. The belly wool is short, worn and dirty, as is also the front of the throat, while on tie head and shins the product is short, stiff and straight, more like hair than wool and is liable to contain grey hairs. ”

“ The felting property of wool is a tendency of the fibres to entangle themselves together, and to form a mass more or less difficult to unravel. By moisture and pressure, the fibres of the wool may become matted or felted together into a species of cloth. The manufacture of felt was the first mode in which wool was applied to clothing, and felt has long been in universal use for hats. ”

“ The scientific design permits the garment to conform to the figure over the hip bones, snug the abdomen and give a gentle upward and backward support reinforcing the abdominal wall. The elastic section in the back permits freedom of movement in standing, sitting or bending. The side lacings are so placed as to avoid the usual operative area; the holding-knots aid in maintaining the support of the garment. The back sections are of sufficient length and so shaped as to give a smooth, pleasing back line and aid in maintaining the anchorage of the garment on the body. ”

“ The name of the nearest agent may be had by sending a card to the Kneipp Linen Warehouse, 2 Milk St., London, E.C. In winter light woollen underwear can be worn over the linen if desired, thus retaining the hygienic advantages of the linen, as well as the warmth of the wool. As the wool does not touch the skin, it will not require frequent washing, and so will not become felted up. ”

“ The dressing, which consists of a sheet of waterproof, gauze, cotton wool, bandaging, and two safety pins, packed first in an extra sheet of waterproof and then in a bag of lining material, is sewn into one of the bottom corners of the jacket of every man who goes on active service, the description card occupying the corresponding corner on the opposite side. ”