Rural School Leaflet 1397 



should fall in the direction in which the threads of the material are woven, 

 and thus show less. 



The material should be held horizontally in the left hand with the edges 

 h'ing along the first finger. The thumb and the first finger should keep 

 the material in place. In each stitch the needle shoidd point to the 

 chest. A knot may be used but is not so neat as slipping the thread through 

 the folded edge at the beginning, and catching it in the first few stitches 

 to make it secure. The stitches should be several threads deep, and 

 should not be crowded in order that a flat seam may result. When opened 

 the hem should lie perfectly flat, and the stitches shoiild be scarcely visible. 



15. Napkin ring 



Miss Titsworth has prepared the material on making a linen napkin 

 ring. Special attention in this clasi, will be given to the buttonhole and 

 to the way the button is sewed on. 



Use two pieces of linen large enough to make an oblong two and one- 

 quarter by seven and one-quarter inches and allow at least a half inch 

 margin around the oblong. One end should be cut square, and the other 

 should be a rounded point. Before marldng and cutting the linen make a 

 paper pattern. 



The linen may be new or a part of an old white tablecloth. The pieces 

 for the napkin ring should be cut so that the long tlireads run with the 

 length of the piece. Baste the two pieces together firmly. With a small 

 thread spool mark even scallops around the edges of the oblong, and 

 embroider them using a mediiun- sized embroidery floss. The stitch used 

 is called einbroider}^ buttonhole, and is worked from left to right with the 

 thread from the work carried under the needle from left to right — the 

 reverse of the true buttonhole. The stitches may be padded or worked 

 flat, but, for the napkin ring, it is just as well to work them flat and close 

 together. 



One-half inch from the pointed end, work a buttonhole; one inch from 

 the square end, sew on a small button (page 1395). Press the napkin ring 

 flat, and send it unlaundered; therefore try to keep it as clean as possible. 



16. Bird calendar 



The bird calendar should be an actual record that has been kept in the 

 school of the migration of the birds either in the spring or the fall, and, in 

 general, should show the name of the bird, the date on which it was seen, 

 the place where it was seen, and the name of the person who made the 

 observation. The calendar may be illustrated artistically if desired. 

 Several very attractive ones were received last year. More consideration 

 will be given, however, to the amount of actual study that is evidenced, 

 than to the artistic character of the calendar. 



17. Weather record 

 Many schools are in the habit of keeping weather records during the 

 year, and have de\dsed a number of original schemes for doing this. The 



