Sewing needle

“ Now you are ready to commence to work the buttonhole. Thread a sewing needle with white cotton (say No. 40) , make a knot, and just to fasten your thread to your work put your needle in on the wrong side just below the running stitches, at the inner end of the buttonhole, picking up one thickness of material only, and bring it out on the right side of your work between the edges of the buttonhole.
MAKING A BUTTONHOLE.
Buttonholes are always worked on the right side of the work, and are worked from left to right. ”

“ Besides ordinary needles for hand sewing, many varieties are made for use in sewing machines, and in their production automatic machinery is largely utilized. Those used for sewing leather have points of various special forms (twist, chisel, wedge, diamond, &c.) instead of the round point of the ordinary needle, and sometimes have a hook in place of an eye. Knitting needles are long slender rods, usually of steel but sometimes of bone or other material, having neither hooks nor eyes. Crochet needles are provided with a hook. Hooked needles again are employed in knitting and stockinet machines ”

“ Round-eyed and ‘egg-eyed’ sewing-needles, crewel and embroidery, large-sized chenille, and occasionally a curved (so-called ‘circular’) needle, are required.
Pins should be fine and as sharp as needles. Very nice little pins may be made from fine needles by warming the eye and sticking a little sealing-wax on it for a knob; but beware of leaving steel pins in any part of the work, as they rust very quickly and make an ‘iron-mould’ stain. Indeed, it is safer to use pins for temporary fastenings only, and to put in a few stitches wherever required for more than a day or two ”

“ Use 12 stitches to the inch for the type of sewing you will be doing. Have your leader show you how to adjust the length of the stitch.
When you have finished sewing, raise the needle as far as it will go. Raise the presser foot and pull the fabric back about 4 inches from the needle. Cut the thread with your scissors or on the cutting knife on the side of the needle-bar.
Use a cloth gauge
A cloth gauge placed to the right of the needle will aid you in making straight seams. Place a strip of colored scotch tape, band aid, or adhesive tape to the right of the needle if you do not have a gauge. ”

“ Narrow hems do not need to be tacked, but wide ones, where the first turning should only be just wide enough to prevent the edge from fraying, ought always to be. In hemming you insert the needle and thread directed in a slanting position towards you, just below the edge of the hem, and push it out two threads above, and so on to the end, setting the stitches, two or three threads apart, in a continuous straight line. ”

“ The way this is accomplished is by bringing the needle up from the back, crossing the gold thread over with the sewing-silk and sending the needle down again through the exact spot it came out at. The gold being held rather loose and the silk pulled tight, it will carry it down through the stuff just below the surface—the needle employed should be rather thicker than for sewing. In the sampler all the edges are covered with two or three threads sewn down closely over them, but in the detailed examples I have left them bare to show the working better. ”

“ Top or over-sewing stitch (fig. 11) .—This stitch is used for joining selvedges together. To keep the two pieces even, it is better, either to tack or pin them together first. Insert the needle, from right to left, under the first thread of the selvedge, and through both edges, and sew from right to left, setting your stitches not more than three threads apart. The thread must not be drawn too tightly, so that when the seam is finished and flattened with the thimble, the selvedges may lie, side by side. ”

“ To ensure the hem being straight, a thread may be drawn to mark the line for the second turning, but it is not a good plan, especially in shirt-making, as the edge of the stuff, too apt in any case, to cut and fray, is, thereby, still further weakened. Hems in woollen materials, which will not take a bend, can only be laid and tacked, bit by bit. In making, what are called rolled hems, the needle must be slipped in, so as only to pierce the first turning, in order that the stitches may not be visible on the outside. ”

“ Have you noticed that thread is very fond of tying itself into a bow; but this can be prevented by threading the needle before you cut the thread off the spool, making your knot at the end you cut.
Rough measures may be said to be one inch across a 25 cent piece, and a yard from nose to thumb as far as you can reach. Needle-work is good for all of us; it rests and calms the mind. You can think peacefully over all the worries of Europe whilst you are stitching. Sewing generally solves all the toughest problems, chiefly other people's. ”

“ In sewing, the point of the needle is entered and drawn through in a direction towards the body, and not from it or towards one side, as with our sempstresses. They sew the deer-skins with a “round seam,” and the water-tight boots and shoes are “stitched.” The latter is performed in a very adroit and efficacious manner, by putting the needle only half through the substance of one part of the seal-skin, so as to leave no hole for admitting the water. ”

“ The spring is mounted on a small steel shaft made by breaking up an ordinary sewing-needle. Make the piece one-half of an inch long. It must have very sharp points at both ends. The ends may be pointed by grinding.
Fig. 103.—Arrangement of the Needle and Pointer. Bore a small hole just large enough to receive the needle through the center of the spring. Insert the needle in the hole and fasten it in the center by two small circular pieces of wood which fit tightly on the needle. A little glue or sealing-wax will serve to help make everything firm. ”

“ For gathering, the cloth is held in the same manner as for running. The needle, ordinarily, need not be taken out of the work, the stitches being pushed back over the eye as they are made; but for running long skirt seams in delicate material which would crinkle at the line of sewing and roughen the seam, the needle should be drawn through and the line of sewing smoothed on the thread at each needleful of stitches. ”

“ To fasten on, in hemming, turn the needle backwards with the point up, take one stitch, and stroke and work the end of the thread in, underneath the turning. To fasten on, in back-stitching or running, make one stitch with the new thread, then take both ends and lay them down together to the left, and work over them, so that they wind in, and out of the next few stitches. ”

“ In each case the pulling up commenced with the rise of the needle, and the tightening operation subjected the thread to all the friction of rubbing its way through both needle eye and fabric. Now, an ideal take-up should not commence to act until the needle has ascended above the fabric, and one of the most important steps toward perfection in sewing machines was undoubtedly attained when such a device was actually invented. ”

“ Sewing cotton No. 100 or 150 and a special needle are the only requirements for this work. The needles can be bought from any art needlework shop for five cents each. It is like a large-sized carpet needle with a small eye. A carpet needle can be substituted if it is not possible to obtain the regular needle in your locality. Tie one end of the thread to the eye of the needle. While practising this stitch it will be necessary to make guide lines. On each side of the design line make a row of dots an eighth of an inch apart. ”

“ For sewing skins they make their own thread by stripping fibers from a piece of dried sinew, but use nowadays steel needles and common brass thimbles. They do not sew as a white woman does, but wear the thimble on the forefinger and thrust the needle through from left to right. ”

“ The operation is practically the same as that of tanning sealskins. The hair is, of course, left on the skin. When the skins are finally dry and worked to the required pliability, they are cut into shape for the various articles of apparel. The thread used in sewing is simply a strip of sinew of the proper size. The fibers are separated by splitting off a sufficient amount, and with the finger nail the strip is freed from all knots or smaller strands which would prevent drawing through the needle holes. ”

“ Open hemmed double-seam. GATHERING (fig. 18) .--Gathers are made with running-stitches of perfectly equal length; take up and leave three or four threads, alternately, and instead of holding the stuff fast with your thumb, push it on to the needle as you go, and draw up your thread after every four or five stitches. ”

“ The woman settled contentedly to the bit of work in her hands. The rhythm of the needle passing in and out through the black cloth seemed to tranquillize her, and her face became quiet. "I like to sew," she said, smoothing the braid under her fingers. "I used to sew when Marian was home. We used to spend hours together, and even when she was off with the young people, I always felt she might come back any minute and take up her work by the other window. . . . I have scarcely touched a needle since she went—" She broke off, gazing before her. Then she went on sewing, her needle moving swiftly. ”

“ Only one stitch can be made at a time, and the needle must be put in, exactly at the point where it was drawn out to form the preceding back-stitch, and brought out as many threads further on as were covered by the last back-stitch. The beauty of stitching depends on the uniform length of the stitches, and the straightness of the line formed, to ensure which it is necessary to count the threads for each stitch, and to draw a thread to mark the line. ”

“ COUCHING, SHADOW WORK AND TURKISH STITCH
HOW TO STAMP DESIGNS The more one does of fancy work the more fascinating it becomes. Every new piece presents an opportunity for new stitches and colours.
We have talked a lot in the first chapters of this book as to the different implements necessary for sewing and by now I am sure you have a well-equipped sewing box or basket. Now it will be necessary to add considerably to your work box for embroidery.
The crewel needle which I mentioned in the ninth chapter is the most important implement. ”

“ Possibly there may arise needle experts who, upon microscopic examination and scientific test, will refer all specimens to positive date and peculiar function, and by so doing let in floods of light upon ancient customs and habits. It is idle [8] to speculate upon a condition which does not yet exist, for, happily, needles for actual hand sewing are yet in sufficient demand to allow us to indulge in their purchase quite ungrudgingly. ”

“ Outlining makes one think of plain sewing. There are two kinds of outlining, rough (Figure 97) and smooth, the difference being in how the thread is thrown. To make the rough outline, fasten the thread as directed in chain-stitching and on the line take a stitch about an eighth of an inch. Then work from left to right. Let the thread fall under the needle and be sure to keep it this way. A smooth outline is made by throwing the thread over the needle instead of under it ”

“ With the thumb and forefinger of the left hand, roll the edge over towards you, into a very tight thin roll, insert the needle on the inside of the roll next the thumb, and bring it out on the outside next the forefinger, at very regular distances, and draw up the thread slightly, from time to time, to form the gathers. ”

“ The method of hand-sewing is of necessity slow and intermittent, seeing that only a definite length of thread is used, which passes its full extent through the cloth at every stitch, thus causing the working arm, human or otherwise, to travel a great length for every stitch made, and demanding frequent renewals of thread.
The foundation of machine-sewing was laid by the invention of a double-pointed needle, with the eye in the centre, patented by Charles F. Weisenthal in 1755, with the object of avoiding the necessity for inverting the needle in sewing or embroidering. ”

“ The introduction of the positive take-up, the first forms of which appeared in 1872, not only simplifies the movements of the shuttle or hook, but for the first time renders the making of the lock stitch possible, while the needle has a direct up and down motion. Thus, we find that in most of the swiftest sewing machines, the needle bar is actuated by a simple crank pin or eccentric, there being no loop dip or pause in its motion. ”

“ To make this ruche perky, catch the material to the cord, along the back of the cordings, tacking it to the cordings. The sewing should be made by putting the needle in the material a little to one side of the tuck sewing, catching the cord and bringing it out on the opposite side. Take these stitches from one-quarter to one-half an inch apart. Very soft materials require less tacking than those having more weight and body. ”

“ Begin at the left hand end of a piece of canvas. Put needle in from under side. Pull thread through.
2. Two threads over, put needle in downward and up through the hole next to the left, holding work over forefinger of left hand. Pull through.
3. Work from you, and always drop the thread on the same side of the needle.
“Now, try it on muslin. You’ll need an embroidery needle, because the large eye makes way for the heavy cotton.” ”

“ When hand sewing is employed the pieces to be sewn together are placed between a pair of jaws, the holding edges of which are serrated with fine saw-teeth, and the sewer by passing the needle forwards and backwards between each of these teeth secures neat uniform stitching. ”