PRESENT TRENDS IN HOME SEWINO 11 



The next highest percentage shown in Table 7 is the 37.1 per cent in 

 the $3,000 to S3, 999 group who reported difTiculty in fitting. 



The Tucker survey reported the following difliculties, the per- 

 centages being based on the total number of schedules summarized. 



Difficulty reported: Percent 



Altering patterns 52. 2 



Choosing becoming designs 51. 1 



Fitting 50. 3 



Choosing satisfactory patterns 49. 3 



Choosing suitable materials 4G. 4 



Finishing 45. 



Using patterns 35. 3 



Cutting 10. 



Preparing material for cutting 7. 4 



In the Tucker survey, when asked for other difficulties, 136 women 

 named "fitting sleeves," and 22 said that the most trouble they had 

 was m fitting. This reaffirms the statement that fitting is one of 

 the outstanding diflBculties women have in home sewing. 



SEWING MACHINES OWNED AND ATTACHMENTS USED 



The percentage of women who o\\Tied sewing machines and the 

 proportion who used attachments are given in Table 8. In some 

 cases the kind of power used was not given; in others it was stated 

 that the machine was operated by both foot and motor power. Be- 

 cause many of the women not owning a sewhig machine said they 

 used certain attachments, the percentages using attachments are 

 based on the total number of reports summarized in each group. 

 The percentage of women who said they did not own a sewing ma- 

 chine can be obtained by subtracting the sum of the percentage 

 owning a machine and the percentage of those not answerini: from 100. 



The summary shows that practically 90 per cent of all reporting 

 had sewing machines and that 13 per cent of all reporting operated 

 their machines by motor power. Practically 40 per cent did not 

 answer the question on attachments. The hemmer and the rufTler 

 were used more than any other attachments. The braider was used 

 the least of the four attachments listed in the table. All others were 

 mentioned by so few that it seemed inadvisable to tabulate them. 



The percentage of women owning sewing machines decreases as the 

 size of the community increases. The percentage having foot-power 

 machines decreases and the i)ert;cntagc having motor-power machines 

 increases with the increased size of the community. The highest 

 percentage (25.4) having motor-|)ower machines lived in communities 

 of from 5,000 to 10, ()()() po|)ulati()n. 



More than one-third of all conununity groui)s failed to answer the 

 question concerning the use of attachments. This may signify that 

 a large number of these women did not use them. The percentage 

 using the attachments named is slightly higher in the rural com- 

 munities and in (•(»inmuuities under 5,000 than in the two larger 

 community groups. 



