especially, whose circumstances compel them to devote the greatest portion of their time to sedentary occupations. If these advantages cannot be obtained, at least the room should be well-ventilated, and furnished with a few cheerful plants, and a well-filled scent-jar. The beneficent Creator intended all his children, in whatever station of life they might be placed, to share in the common bounties of his providence; and when she, who works not for pleasure, but to obtain the means of subsistence, is compelled to seclude herself, for days or weeks together, from the cheering influence of exercise in the open air, it becomes both her duty, and that of those for whom she labors, to secure as much of these advantages, or of the best substitutes for them, as the circumstances of the case will admit.

EXPLANATION OF STITCHES.

627. Hemming.-Turn down the raw edge as evenly as possible. Flatten, and be careful, especially in turning down the corners. Hem from right to left; bring the point of the needle from the chest toward the right hand. Fasten the thread without a knot, and when you finish, sew several stitches close together, and cut off the thread.

628. Mantua-maker's Hem.-You lay the raw edge of one of your pieces a little below that of the other; the upper edge is then turned over the other twice, and felled down as strong as possible.

629. Sewing and Felling.-If you have selvages, join them together, and sew them firmly. If you have raw edges, turn down one of the edges once, and the other double the breadth, and then turn half of it back again. This is for the fell. The two pieces are pinned together, face to face, and seamed together the stitches being in a slanting direction, and just deep enough to hold the separate pieces firmly together. Then flatten the seam with the thumb, turn the work over, and fell it the same as hemming. The thread is fastened by being worked between the pieces, and sewn over.

630. Running.-Take three threads, leave three, and, in order that the work may be kept as firm as possible, back-stitch

occasionally. If you sew selvages, they must be joined evenly together; but if raw edges, one must be turned down once, and the other laid upon it, but a few threads from the top: in this case, it must be felled afterwards.

631. Stitching.-The work must be as even as possible. Turn down a piece to stitch to; draw a thread to stitch upon, twelve or fourteen threads from the edge. Being thus prepared, you take two threads back, and so bring the needle out from under two before. Proceed in this manner to the end of the row; and, in joining a fresh piece of thread, take care to pass the needle between the edges, and so bring it out where the last stitch is finished.

632. Gathering.-You begin by taking the article to be gathered, and dividing it into halves, and then into quarters, putting on pins to make the divisions. The piece to which you are intending to gather it, must be gathered about twelve threads from the top, taking three threads on the needle, and leaving four; and so proceeding alternately until one quarter is gathered. Fasten the thread by twisting it round a pin; stroke the gathers, so that they lie evenly and neatly, with a strong needle or pin. You then proceed as before, until all the gathers are gathered. Then take out the pins, and regulate the gathers of each quarter so as to correspond with those of the piece to which it is to be sewed. The gathers are then to be fastened on, one at a time; and the stitches must be in a slanting direc tion. The part to be gathered must be cut quite even before commencing, or else it will be impossible to make the gathering look well.

633. Double Gathering, or Puffing.-This is sometimes em ployed in setting on frills, and, when executed properly, has a pretty effect. You first gather the top in the usual way; then, having stroked down the gathers, you gather again under the first gathering, and of such a depth as you wish the puffing to be. You then sew on the first gathering to the gown, frock, &c., you design to trim, at a distance corresponding with the width of the puffing, and the second gathering sewed to the edge, so as to form a full hem. You may make a double hem, if you please, by gathering three times instead of only twice; and one of the hems may be straight, while the other is drawn

to one side a little. This requires much exactness in the execution, but, if properly done, it gives a pleasing variety to the work.

634. German Hemming.-Turn down both the raw edges once, taking care so to do it as that both turns may be toward your person; you then lay one below the other, so as that the smooth edge of the nearest does not touch the other, but lies just beneath it. The lower one is then to be hemmed or felled to the piece against which you have laid it, still holding it be fore you. You are next to open your sleeve, or whatever else you have been employed upon, and, laying the upper fold over the lower, fell it down, and the work is done.

635. Binding.-Various kinds of work have binding set on to them, in preference to hemming them, or working them in herring-bone stitch. Flannel is generally bound, sometimes with a thin tape, made for the purpose, and called "flannel binding." It is also common to bind flannel with sarcenet riband. The binding is so put on as to show but little over the edge on the right side, where it is hemmed down neatly; on the other side it is run on with small stitches.

636. Braiding.-Silk braid looks pretty, and is used for a variety of purposes. In putting it on, it is best to sew it with silk drawn out of the braid, as it is a better match, and the stitches will be less perceived.

637. Marking. It is of essential importance that clothes should be marked and numbered. This is often done with ink; but as some persons like to mark with silk, we shall describe the stitch. Two threads are to be taken each way of the cloth, and the needle must be passed three ways, in order that the stitch may be complete. The first is aslant from the person, toward the right hand; the second is downward toward you; and the third is the reverse of the first—that is, aslant from you, toward the left hand. The needle is to be brought out at the corner of the stitch nearest to that you are about to make. The shapes of the letters or figures can be learned from an inspection of any common sampler.

638. Piping. This is much used in ornamenting children's and other dresses. It is made by enclosing a card of the proper

thickness in a strip of silk cut crosswise, and must be put on as evenly as possible.

639. Plaiting. The plaits must be as even as it is possible to place them one against another. In double plaiting, they lie both ways, and meet in the middle.

640. To keep Thread, Sewing-silk, &c.-In making up linen, thread is much preferable to cotton. Sewing-silk should be folded up neatly in wash-leather, and colored threads and cotton in paper, as the air and light are likely to injure them. Buttons, hooks and eyes, and all metal implements, when not in use, should be kept folded up, as exposure to the air not only tarnishes them, but is likely to injure them in a variety of ways.

INSTRUCTIONS IN THE PREPARATION OF HOUSE-LINEN.

641. Bedroom Linen.-This includes quilts, blankets, sheets, pillow-covers, towels, table-covers and pincushion-covers.

642. Quilts. These are of various sizes and qualities, in accordance with the purposes to which they are applied. They are generally made of the outside material and the liningwadding or flannel being laid between--and stitched in diamonds or other devices. The stitches must pass through the whole, and the edges of the quilt are to be secured by a braiding or binding proper for the purpose. They are best done in a frame.

643. Blankets. These are generally bought, ready-prepared for use. It is sometimes necessary to work over the edges at the end, which should be done with scarlet worsted, in a very wide kind of button-hole stitch.

-644. Sheets.-These are made of fine linen, coarse linen, and cotton-sheeting. Linen sheets are best for summer, and many prefer them at all seasons. If the sheeting is not sufficiently wide for the bed, two lengths must be sewed together. The seam up the middle must be sewed as neatly as possible, and the ends may be either hemmed or seamed; the latter is the preferable method. Sheets and all bedroom linen should be marked and numbered; to add the date of the year is also an advantage.

645. Pillow-cases.-These are made of fine or coarse linen, and sometimes of cotton cloth. The material should be of such a width as to correspond with the length of the pillow. One yard and three nails, doubled and seamed up, is the proper size. One end is seamed up, and the other hemmed with a broad hem, and furnished with strings or buttons as is deemed most convenient. We think the preferable way of making pillow covers is to procure a material of a sufficient width, when doubled, to admit the pillow. The selvages are then sewed together, and the ends seamed and hemmed as before directed. Bolster covers are made in nearly the same manner, only that a round patch is let into one end, and a tape for a slot is run into the other.

646. Towels. Towels are made of diaper or huckaback, of a quality adapted to the uses to which they are applicable. They should be one yard long and about ten or twelve nails wide. The best are bought single, and are fringed at the ends. Others are neatly hemmed, and sometimes have a tape-loop attached to them, by which they can be suspended against a wall.

647. Dressing Table Covers.-These may be made of any material that is proper for the purpose. Fine diaper generally, but sometimes dimity and muslin are employed, or the table is covered with a kind of Marseilles quilting, which is prepared expressly for the purpose. Sometimes the covers are merely hemmed round, but they look much neater if fringed, or bordered with a moderately full frill. Sometimes a worked border is set on. All depends upon taste and fancy. A neat and genteel appearance, in accordance with the furniture of the apartment, should be especially regarded.

648. Pincushion Covers.-A large pincushion, having two eovers belonging to it, should belong to each toilet table. The covers are merely a bag into which the cushion is slipped. They may be either worked or plain; always of white muslin or linen cambric; and should have small tassels at each corner, and a frill or fringe all round.

649. Table Linen.-This department of plain needlework comprises table-cloths, dinner-napkins, and large and small tray napkins.