Sewing thread

“ The needle and thread should be suitable for the material to be sewed. Glazed thread should never be used in a machine. The best quality of thread and silk should be purchased but only enough for immediate use, as it loses strength with age, chiefly because of the action of the dyes and chemicals. Even white thread may become "tender" from the chemicals used in bleaching it. Sewing silk and cotton should be kept in a closed box to exclude the light and air.
For sewing cotton or linen the best cotton thread should be used. Woolen, silk, and velvet should be stitched with the best machine silk. ”

“ For very fine sewing-thread great care had to be used in drawing the strand of cotton evenly, as well as finely. It was a wearisome task, and great patience had to be exercised, as there was continual snapping of the fine hand-spun thread. From broaches of [55] such spun sewing-thread balls of the cotton were wound from two to three strands double, according as coarse or fine thread was needed. The ball was then placed in a bowl of warm soapsuds and the thread twisted on to a bobbin of corn husks placed on the spindle of the wheel. ”

“ The thread must not be drawn too tight in making the chain, or the thread will break in backing; but still a proper tension must be kept or the sheets will wear loose. The last sheet should be fastened with a double knot round the kettle stitch two or three sections down, and that section must be sewn all along. The next style of sewing, and most generally used throughout the trade, is the ordinary method.
Ordinary Sewing is somewhat different, inasmuch as the thread is not twisted round the cord, as in flexible work, when the cord is outside the section. ”

“ After the design has been selected make a pencil copy of it. It is better to restrict yourself at first to just two colours. [291] Fasten your sewing thread securely to the threads of the material. Use carpet thread for the weaving. Let us suppose that you have selected a pattern that is seven rows of beads deep and you have chosen tan as the background and red and chalk white beads for the decoration:
First row—Thread one red bead, six white, one red, six white. As we will only work a section at a time, let us secure the beads. Slip your thread under the hemstitching. ”

“ Hooks are sometimes caught into loops, but they are made directly on the material instead of sewed on the edge. The strands of thread, however, are not as loose as the buttonloops. The diagram (Figure 75) of the two loops will convey a clear idea of how the threads are spanned and covered.
The last step in sewing is cutting from a given pattern. An old garment that fits well, ripped apart makes an excellent pattern and requires very little fitting. Press the pieces before using them as a pattern. Lay the material so that the selvage runs lengthwise, that is, from head to foot. ”

“ In general a twisted strand of cotton, flax, wool, silk, etc., spun out to considerable length, is called thread. In a specific sense, thread is a compound cord consisting of two or more yarns firmly united by twisting. Thread is used in some kinds of weaving, but its principal use is for sewing, for which purpose it is composed of either silk, cotton, or flax. Thread made of silk is technically known as sewing silk; that made of flax is known as linen thread; while cotton thread intended for sewing is commonly called spool cotton. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Darning, satisfactory for some purposes, may be done quickly on a double thread sewing machine. It is best done in an embroidery ring, first drawing the edges together. Loosen the tension on the presser foot, use fine thread with light tension. Sew back and forth, first along the warp threads and then at right angles along the woof threads. The machine will be sewing backwards part of the time, but if the pressure is light, there will be no difficulty. For large holes, paper may be placed underneath. ”

“ New works consisting of thin single sheets are done in the same way. [Pg 40]
CHAPTER II. Sewing.
Modern books are fastened together by sewing; as a rule thread is used, and always in sewing good books. Thread sewing is very much better than wire stitching. In the first place, thread has not the disadvantage of rusting, to which wire is always subject; secondly, thread does not break the paper in the back, as so frequently happens when cheap paper containing much wood fibre is wire-stitched. The greatest advantage of thread sewing over wire lies in the flexibility of the spun thread ”

“ When we begin to sew we do not wrap the grasses as we wrapped the strands of raffia, but simply use as a sewing thread raffia of a contrasting or blending color. To form the button, wrap the threads three or four times around the root ends of the bunch, fasten tightly, then coil to form the center. Take the needle through the center and over the coil as many times as you think necessary to make the button firm. These stitches are the beginning of the spiral rays which radiate to the edge of the basket. ”

“ Fasten thread by several small stitches.
NOTE.―If thread is too short to finish button-holing, fasten it on wrong side of material. Enter the new thread on wrong side and bring thread through last button-hole purl, or twisted edge.
Aunt Maria gave Mary Frances these directions very slowly, making the little girl do each step as she explained.
[Pg 169]
“My,
that’s the
hardest
thing yet”
“No, not that way, child,” she would say. “Sit up straight; place both feet firmly on the floor; hold your sewing high; do not stoop over. That is the correct position while sewing. ”

“ To keep Thread, Sewing-silk, &c.—In making up linen, thread is much preferable to cotton. Sewing-silk should be folded up neatly in wash-leather, and colored threads and cotton in paper, as the air and light are likely to injure them. Buttons, hooks and eyes, and all metal implements, when not in use, should be kept folded up, as exposure to the air not only tarnishes them, but is likely to injure them in a variety of ways. ”

“ Take two threads of the same size, one cotton and the other linen, make a loop of each thread with one inside the other, saw back and forth, and the [Pg 85] cotton will always cut the linen thread. Furthermore, linen thread deteriorates in quality unless very carefully stored. The publishers soon discovered these facts, and since tensile strength is not an important attribute in a thread that is being used in a book sewing-machine, they use a cotton thread with thoroughly satisfactory results. ”

“ TAILORS' TACKS are used in cutting out garments to mark seams, perforations, etc. They are used to give a clean exact line for the sewing. When laying out the pattern on the material cut the pieces, and then with a double thread mark all the perforations as directed in the pattern instructions. Baste through both thicknesses of the cloth, alternating one long and one short stitch. Leave the long stitches loose enough to form a loop under which a finger can be passed. ”

“ Sewing [1] with us is invariably begun with the last sheet at the right, working on to the left, and reversing the process with the following sheet, and so to the end, so that the thread one way passes from and the other to the worker. With all other sheets, excepting the end sections, the thread is inserted at the kettle stitch and brought out at the next cord, round the cord, and inserted at the same hole, to be brought out again at the next cord, and so on till the thread comes out at the other kettle stitch and is inserted in the next sheet to go through the same process. ”

“ 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. ”

“ How to sew on a button How to make a pocket How to shine your shoes How to thread a needle How to thread a sewing machine How to make a scarf How to make washcloth slippers How to make a mitered corner How to make a hem How to make gathers How to make a sash for an apron How to make a skirt band How to make a hemmed placket
Because everything you use for sewing is small, you will need to make your samples large. Use contrasting thread, large stitches, and make large buttons so the audience can see what you are doing. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The next section (i. e. the fly-leaves) is then laid on and the process repeated, except that the sewing proceeds from the far end to the near end. When the thread is brought out of the kettle stitch of the second section the end of the thread left projecting from the first section is securely tied to it, and the sewer proceeds with the third section. This will be the first signature of the book. On reaching the last sawcut at the far end in the third section the needle is put between the second and first sections carrying the thread down in such a way as to form a buttonhole stitch. ”

“ All thread sewing is now done by machinery and is really satisfactory. Only the very smallest job shops sew their books by hand.
The principle of sewing is to fasten each sheet to several cords or bands by means of a long thread running right along the inside of the sheet. These cords give the book its hold to the cover; therefore the more cords used, the more firmly is the book secured to its cover. There are now two methods of fastening the sheets on the cords ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ With a needle make a hole through the center of the fold, and another near each end of the fold (from one-half an inch to an inch and a half from the end) according to the size of the booklet, as shown in Plate III. With thread or raffia sew through the center hole, from the inside out, back to the inside through an end hole, outside through the center hole, inside through the other end hole, and tie the ends in a square knot (see illustration, Plate IV) near the center of the fold. Other equally satisfactory methods of sewing may be worked out. ”

“ Passing, which is made of flat strips of gold or silver twisted tightly over pure silk; a firm, hard thread is the result, resembling wire, which can be obtained in various thicknesses, generally sold on reels. This is sewn down, almost always two threads at a time, with fine, strong sewing-silk. ”

“ The seam so made is firm and elastic, but easily undone, for if at any point a thread is broken the whole of the sewing can be readily run out backwards by pulling the thread, just as in crochet work. To a certain extent this imperfection in the chain-stitch machine is overcome in the Wilcox & Gibbs machine, in which each loop, by means of a rotating hook, is twisted half a revolution after it has passed through its predecessor. ”

“ This cycle would, for hand work, be immeasurably more complicated and difficult than ordinary sewing, but it consists of operations mechanically easy of performance in swift and accurately timed sequence, and as the whole of the thread in use has no longer to be passed from one side of the fabric to the other as each stitch is made, it has brought with it the all-important advantage of our being able to work with a continuous thread. ”