Textiles and Clothing | Page 2

J. A. KIMBERLY
Vice President of National Household Economics Association.
MRS. JOHN HOODLESS
Government Superintendent of Domestic Science for the province of
Ontario; Founder Ontario Normal School of Domestic Science, now the
MacDonald Institute.
[Illustration: DRESS MAKING IN MEXICO]

CONTENTS
Primitive Methods 3 Weaving 14 Fibers 29 Cotton 29 Wool 37 Flax 43
Silk 53 Modern Methods 59 Weaving 69 Weaves 72 Bleaching and
Dyeing 78 Printing 81 Finishing 83 Cotton Goods 85 Linens 86
Woolens and Worsteds 88 Silks 90 Names of Fabrics 94 Bibliography
on Textiles 103 Hand Sewing 107 Ornamental Stitches 114 Hems 123
Tucks and Seams 128 Plackets 135 Sewing on Bands 138 Fastenings
141 Patching 149 Darning 155 Mitering Embroidery, Joining Lace 158
Machine Sewing 162 Dressmaking 167 Patterns 171 Making
Seven-Gored Skirt 172 Making Shirt Waists 182 Lined Waist 186
Sleeves 194 Collars 198 Seamless Yokes 200 Pressing 201
Construction and Ornament in Dress 203 Ornament of Textiles 212
Color 214 Children's Clothes 216 Care of Clothing 219 Cleaning 221
Repairing 225 Bibliography on Sewing and Dressmaking 229
References: History of Costume; Ornament and Design 234 Program
for Supplemental Study 236 Index 241
[Illustration: "THE THREAD OF LIFE"
Spinning with the Distaff and Spindle. From a Painting.]

TEXTILES AND CLOTHING
[Sidenote: Origin of Textile Arts]
Spinning and weaving are among the earliest arts. In the twisting of
fibers, hairs, grasses, and sinews by rolling them between the thumb
and fingers, palms of the hands, or palms and naked thigh, we have the
original of the spinning wheel and the steam-driven cotton spindle; in
the roughest plaiting we have the first hint of the finest woven cloth.
The need of securing things or otherwise strengthening them then led to
binding, fastening, and sewing. The wattle-work hut with its roof of
interlaced boughs, the skins sewn by fine needles with entrails or
sinews, the matted twigs, grasses, and rushes are all the crude
beginnings of an art which tells of the settled life of to-day.
[Sidenote: Primitive Methods]
Nothing is definitely known of the origin of these arts; all is conjecture.
They doubtless had their beginning long before mention is made of
them in history, but these crafts--spinning and weaving--modified and
complicated by inventions and, in modern times transferred largely
from man to machine, were distinctively woman's employment.
The very primitive type of spinning, where no spindle was used, was to
fasten the strands of goats' hair or wool to a stone which was twirled
round until the yarn was sufficiently twisted when it was wound upon
the stone and the process repeated over and over.
[Illustration: ITALIAN WOMAN SPINNING FLAX
Spindle and Distaff.
From Hull House Museum. (In This Series of Pictures the Spinners and
Weavers Are in Native Costume.)]
[Illustration: RUSSIAN SPINNING

Flax Held on Frame, Leaving Both Hands Free to Manage the Thread
and Spindle.
From Hull House Museum.]
[Sidenote: Spinning with the Spindle]
The next method of twisting yarn was with the spindle, a straight stick
eight to twelve inches long on which the thread was wound after
twisting. At first it had a cleft or split in the top in which the thread was
fixed; later a hook of bone was added to the upper end. The spindle is
yet used by the North American Indians, the Italians, and in the Orient.
The bunch of wool or flax fibers is held in the left hand; with the right
hand the fibers are drawn out several inches and the end fastened
securely in the slit or hook on the top of the spindle. A whirling motion
is given to the spindle on the thigh or any convenient part of the body;
the spindle is then dropped, twisting the yarn, which is wound on the
upper part of the spindle. Another bunch of fibers is drawn out, the
spindle is given another twirl, the yarn is wound on the spindle, and so
on.
[Sidenote: Spindle Whorl]
A spindle containing a quantity of yarn was found to rotate more easily,
steadily and continue longer than an empty one, hence the next
improvement was the addition of a whorl at the bottom of the spindle.
These whorls are discs of wood, stone, clay, or metal which keep the
spindle steady and promote its rotation. The process in effect is
precisely the same as the spinning done by our grandmothers, only the
spinning wheel did the twisting and reduced the time required for the
operation.
[Illustration: SPINNING WITH CRUDE WHEEL AND DISTAFF
Distaff Thrust Into the Belt.]
[Illustration: "GOSSIP" IN THE OLDEN TIMES]

[Illustration: COLONIAL WOOL WHEEL
The Large Wheel Revolved by Hand Thus Turning the Spindle and
Twisting the Yarn, Which Is Then Wound on the Spindle; Intermittent
in Action.]
[Illustration: COLONIAL FLAX WHEEL
Worked by a Foot Treddle; Distaff on the Frame of the Wheel; "Fliers"