The most complete exhibit, which included plain sewing, dress-making,
hat-trimming, and fancy work of all kinds, was sent by the Pratt
Institute, in Brooklyn. The useful sewing from that school was above the
standard of excellence, and the art work fully equal to that of the New
York School of Applied Design.
A very interesting part of the exhibit of every American school was the
darning and patching. We hear a good deal about people not learning to sew
properly nowadays, since the sewing-machine has come into such common use,
but the patches and darns shown by the twelve-year-old pupils of our
public schools would put the far-famed patching of our grandmothers to
shame.
There were square patches, with the patterns matched so exquisitely that
you had to feel the edge before you could realize that the patch was
there; three-cornered "jags" darned so perfectly with their own threads
that they were invisible, and every kind of rent and tear and hole was
treated in its own particular way.
The Japanese sent a number of beautiful designs for embroidery, and a case
full of queer little Japanese garments, but unfortunately they, too, were
made of coarse materials, and looked ugly and uninteresting.
Pages:
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41