HANDICRAFT FOR GIRLS BY IDABELLE MCGLAUFLIN

Supervisor of the Girls' Handwork in the Denver Public Schools
 

A Tentative Course IN Needlework, Basketry, Designing, Paper and Card-Board
Construction, Textile Fibers and Fabrics and Home Decoration and Care, Designed for Use in Schools and Homes

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Published by THE MANUAL ARTS PRESS, PEORIA, ILLINOIS
 

Copyright Idabelle McGlauflin 1910
 

CHAPTER I.— Suggestions to Teachers. General Directions for Pupils of Sewing Classes.

Drills for Beginners.
 

CHAPTER II—Course of Instruction 11 First Year—Third Grade. Detailed Description of Exercises.
 

CHAPTER III.—Course of Instruction 19 Second Year—Fourth Grade. Detailed Description of Exercises.
 

CHAPTER IV.—Course of Instruction 28 Third Year—Fifth Grade. Detailed Description of Exercises.
 

CHAPTER V.—Course of Instruction 39 Fourth Year—Sixth Grade. Detailed Description of Exercises.
 

CHAPTER VI.—Course of Instruction 50 Fifth Year—Seventh Grade. Detailed Description of Exercises.
 

CHAPTER VII.—Description of Stitches 62 Stitches Used in Plain Sewing. Ornamental Stitches. Miscellaneous.
 

CHAPTER VIII.—Textile Fibers and Fabrics 90 Silk. Cotton. Flax. Wool.
 

CHAPTER IX.—Dress and Its Relation to Art 98
 

CHAPTER X.—Paper, Cloth and Cardboard Construction 101
 

CHAPTER XI.—Home Furnishing, Decoration and Care 112
 

CHAPTER XII.—Basketry 114 General Directions for making the Coil Basket. The Sewed Baskets.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

The exercises in this five-year course are based upon an estimated time of one hour per week in the first two years, and one and one-half hours in the last three, the school year consisting of thirty-eight weeks.

All materials, with the exception of that used for the full-sized garments and some of the Christmas gifts, are supposed to be furnished by the Board of Education. In many instances the pupils are allowed the privilege of supplying themselves with a better grade of material if they wish. In every case a substitute is given for the full-sized garment if the home cannot furnish the material. All supplies can be purchased by the class collectively or individually, if the Board of Education so desires.

Every exercise in handicraft should embody an educational principle, making sure the training of the judgment, the eye, or the memory, and tending to develop skill, patience, accuracy, perseverance, dexterity or artistic appreciation.

CHAPTER I. SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS.

The teacher's preparation for the lesson consists in doing each exercise before presenting the lesson to the class. It will take some of your time to do so, but it will save hours of time and much worry in the end, and you will thus discover how best to present the difficult points of the lesson. A well finished piece gives to the child a complete mental picture of what she is undertaking, and acts as an inspiration; she will work quicker, easier, and better because of it. This impulse and a clear demonstration of the method of doing, will enable her to work far more independently of the teacher than would otherwise be possible, and will give more satisfactory results.

What are designated as "electives" in this book are designed to meet the needs of classes or individuals doing the work a second time or of teachers who find the regular work too difficult.

Large classes can be handled with less wasted energy by dividing the class into groups that are doing the same work. This saves endless repetition and enables the teacher to give better general supervision. This is the most vulnerable point in class work. A teacher may work laboriously and still waste her own and the children's time by too close an adherence to the individual method of instruction. Those children whose turn comes toward the end of the line will have lost much of the value of the lesson. Children require constant supervision. It is not teaching to examine the work when finished and order it ripped out. The fault is then with the teacher and not with the child. Each successive step should be inspected and corrected before the next one is taken. I would go still farther and have every pupil, even in the advanced grades, submit a sample of her work on every stitch to be used in each exercise. Children are always eager to begin a new piece, and if required to practice until the result is satisfactory will very soon do good work. You then have this to refer to and can hold them to their best.

There is absolutely no value in poor, careless, puttering work. Unless the child has a high ideal and strives to reach it, the time of the lesson is wasted. Encourage self-criticism. Work should be done to one's own satisfaction whether it is to be seen by others or not.

Do not allow pupils to take their work home unless it is some required practice work. It is not the object to cover a certain amount of ground, but to inculcate high standards of excellence and some technical skill. They cannot accomplish this by themselves. I would prefer that classes do not complete the entire course rather than have good work sacrificed to quantity. There is a difference between careful, painstaking effort, and the puttering away of valuable time.

Avoid delay in distributing supplies.

Be sure that every member of the class understands clearly the object of the lesson.

Do not encourage waste by a too liberal supply of material.

Too much stress cannot be laid upon the careful preparation of the cloth to be used. Trim all edges neatly before hemming, facing, gathering, etc. Do not allow children to sew without basting. The time required for careful basting is well spent.

It is not expected that the various pupils of the class will advance with the same degree of proficiency. Some will require a much longer time on an exercise than others. As it is greatly to the advantage of the class in the end, and saves time and tiresome repetition to give each new exercise or stitch as a class lesson, the average pupils should regulate the time for taking up new work. A teacher of resources will find ways and means of bringing up the work of slow pupils, and profitable 'busy work' for those who work more rapidly. For the former, a little extra time each day—not as a punishment, but as an opportunity to catch up—would be all that is necessary. For the latter, there is a great variety of interesting, useful work.

It is a pedagogic truism that every teacher, consciously or unconsciously, imparts to her class her own inclinations. An enthusiastic class indicates an ardent interest on the part of the teacher, and a distaste for work and a lack of zeal on the part of the pupils are equally indicative of the teacher's attitude. Bear in mind that an unprepared teacher or a poorly presented lesson can make almost any exercise difficult and distasteful to the class. Do not blame pupils for poor work for which you are yourself responsible.

GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR PUPILS OF SEWING CLASSES.

1. Be sure that the hands are clean.

2. Always sit erect—well back in the seat—with the light coming over the left shoulder, both feet upon the floor, because the body will not become as tired, the hand will not shade the work and it is easier to see the stitches. Do not fasten the work to the knee, because a stooping position easily becomes a habit.

3. Place the thimble upon the second finger of the right hand. Either the side or end of the thimble can be used. Never sew without one.

4. Measure the thread either from shoulder to shoulder or from the end of the finger to the elbow. A long thread becomes soiled and worn before being used up and is more liable to knot.

5. Wind the thread once around the forefinger and break from the spool, because the broken thread twists more easily to a point than when cut. Cut the thread from the work when finished to avoid drawing the stitches or breaking at the wrong place.

6. Thread the needle from the end that hangs from the spool. In this way you are working with the twist of the thread and there is less danger of knotting and kinking.

7. Do not wet the thread in the mouth. Roll the end of the thread between the thumb and forefinger and place through the eye of the needle.

8. To tie a knot wind the thread around the forefinger once and a little over, and twist by rubbing the finger down the side of the thumb. With the nail of the second finger bring the...