or knitted, in which case the use of a darning-egg would give it a baggy appearance. Do not trim off the ragged edges. Cut the underlying piece a trifle larger than the hole, but conforming to it in shape and matching it in color and texture. Baste the piece on the paper first, and then lay the hole over it. Or the torn piece may be stretched over an embroidery hoop and the patch basted to it. Run the darning-needle back and forth (Ill.tion 352), over and under the lapped edges, closely weaving them together, keeping down all the loose ends. Illustration 352 shows the right side of the finished darn, a black thread having been used in the illustration to show the stitches.
Ill. 353. A Cut in Heavy Cloth
Ill. 354. Stoting with a Hair
STOTING is a process of mending much used by tailors, especially on closely woven or very heavy cloth that does not fray. The first illustration, Illustration 353, shows the cut, and in Illustration 354 is shown the position of the needle and thread in the process of stoting. Use either a thread drawn from the cloth, or a hair to do the stoting.
The part to be mended is basted smoothly over a piece of paper. The needle is inserted about half an inch from the torn edge, and run between the threads of the cloth, across the cut, to half an inch on the opposite side, and drawn through. Reinserting it, run the needle back on a somewhat slanting line and continue until the cut has been closed. Then repeat the same process, running the threads in the opposite direction. When pressed, this mending can hardly be noticed, but stoting can only be done over a clean cut or tear. On material that is not thick enough for the needle to pass between the weave, it must be done on the wrong side as lightly as possible.
MENDING TISSUE, or TAILOR'S TISSUE, as it is sometimes called, is a great convenience in cases of awkward rents or tears where patching would be undesirable. It is a semi-transparent substance, resembling the thin rubber used in dress shields. It melts under a hot iron and acts like a glue, holding the torn fibers together.
Ill. 355. A Rent Repaired with Mending Tissue
A TRIANGULAR TEAR should be mended immediately, before the edges have had a chance to fray. The torn part of the garment should be laid, wrong side up, over an ironing-board. Push the torn edges together, bringing them as nearly as possible to their original position.
Ill. 356. A Piece Set In
Lay a square piece of the mending tissue large enough to completely cover it over the tear and a piece of the cloth over the tissue. Baste the cloth piece in position, but do not let the basting threads run through the mending tissue or they can not be easily drawn out. Then run a hot iron over it all several times until the two pieces and the ragged edges are nicely stuck together. Cut away all superfluous material around the edges. Illustration 355 shows a satisfactory result of this method of mending on the right side of the material.
