Basic Sewing Honor

Household Arts

Requirements

  1. Describe the proper use of the following:
    • Tape measure
    • Scissors
    • Needles of various sizes and types
    • Chalk

    Answer: 1) Measuring tape: used to measure the body and the fabric; it is flexible and graduated in centimeters, allowing measurements to be taken on curves. 2) Scissors: used for cutting; the sewing scissors are reserved for fabric only (so as not to lose their cutting edge), and a smaller pair of scissors is used to cut threads and finishings. 3) Needles of various sizes and types: used to sew by hand or on the machine — the finer ones for light fabrics and the thicker ones for heavy fabrics, choosing the type according to the work. 4) Chalk (tailor's chalk): used to mark the cutting and sewing lines on the fabric, since its marks come off easily afterward. — Each tool has its use: measuring (tape), cutting (scissors), joining (needle), and marking (chalk) — the basis of sewing.

  2. Familiarize yourself with a sewing machine. Identify:
    • Thread take-up lever
    • Presser foot
    • Presser foot lifter
    • Bobbin feeder
    • Feed dog
    • Stitch regulator or tensioner
  3. Demonstrate how to thread the machine and make it run correctly.
  4. Hem a tablecloth or sheet, with the stitches well made and even.
  5. Know how to sew on buttons, make buttonholes, sew on hooks and eyes, do a blind-stitch hem, and baste.
  6. State the meaning of:
    • Hem
    • Bias
    • Grain direction
    • Cut on the bias
    • Gusset

    Answer: 1) Selvage (selvedge): the firm, already finished lateral edge of the fabric, which does not fray. 2) Bias: a strip of fabric cut on the diagonal (at 45 degrees to the grain), very stretchy, used to finish edges and curves. 3) Grain direction: the direction in which the threads of the fabric run (warp and weft); the cutting of the pieces must respect this direction. 4) On the bias: that which is cut on the diagonal in relation to the grain of the fabric, that is, in the direction of the bias. 5) Gusset: a piece of fabric, usually triangular, added to a garment to give it more width or ease. — These terms guide cutting and finishing — respecting the grain direction and using the bias makes the garment well made.

  7. Know how to darn (mend) correctly.

    Answer: Darning is mending a hole or tear by remaking the weave of the fabric with needle and thread: you stretch the area (you can use a darning egg), run the thread from one side to the other covering the hole in the direction of the warp, and then interweave it in the direction of the weft, imitating the original fabric, with small, firm stitches, without pulling too tight (so as not to pucker). — Darning is 'rebuilding' the fabric over the hole, interweaving the thread as if it were the original weave.

  8. Do one of the following:
    • Apron
    • Pair of pillowcases
    • Cloth bag