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MISC. PUBLICATION 4, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 



In the Tucker survey three questions were asked in re<2;ard to why 

 sewing was done at home. Alore than 80 per cent found it an 

 economy, over 50 per cent sewed because they enjoyed it, and more 

 than 50 j)er cent said they were able to have clothes that pleased 

 them better than ready-made garments. These percentages are 

 based on the total number of reports summarized. Other reasons 

 corresponding to those given in the bureau questionnaire were 

 volunteered. 



DIFFICULTIES WITH HOME SEWING 



A summary of the answers to the queries on difficulties in home 

 sewing is given in Table 7. Only the women who answered the 

 question are counted. The first four difficulties might be classified 

 under "selection" and the last four under "construction." In most 

 cases several difficulties were checked by each person answering. 



Table 7. — Difficulties in home sewing given by women, classified by size of com- 

 munity and by income groups 



According to the summary figures in Table 7, the moat outstand- 

 ing difficulty of all was fitting, and the next greatest problem was 

 that of choosing becoming and practical designs. The difficulty 

 which was found the least number of times was using patterns. 



In general, as the size of the community increases, the percentage 

 of women having difficulties with selection becomes smaller. The 

 percentages of those having difficulties with construction do not 

 vary greatlv. 



Classified by income groups, the percentages of women having 

 difficulties with selection in general become smaller as the income 

 increases, and the percentages having construction difiiculties vary 

 only sfightly and not in a decreasing order. Some of the most 

 outstanding percentages are those in the " Under SI, 000" group. Of 

 these, 45.5 per cent had difiiculty choosing becoming materials, 44.4 

 per cent had difiiculty in choosing becoming and practical designs, 

 and 38.4 per cent found it difficult to choose satisfactory patterns. 



