e skirt may be lengthened by facing
with velvet of the same shade, covering the line of sewing with cord,
braid, or passementerie of the same shade or black. There should be an
underfacing of light-weight crinoline to make the bottom of the skirt
firm and to give strength. The same facing and passementerie may be used
at neck and sleeves.

[Sidenote: Extension Hem and Tucks]

Thin gowns of lawn, dimity, etc., can be lengthened with a faced or
extension hem, the line of sewing to be covered with feather stitch or
any of the fancy stitches of white or colored thread. If the lawn or
dimity has a colored figure, the embroidery silk or cotton may match
this. Under skirts and drawers may be lengthened in the same way or rows
of tucks may be added.

[Sidenote: Waist Repairing]

In waist repairing, the sewing silk should match the material. Set the
patch into the seams when possible and trust to careful pressing. If the
material begins to wear near the end of the bones, cut off the bones an
inch and take in the dart or seam. If the silk wears off around the
hooks and eyes, move them along ever so little. Make a virtue of worn
out seams by taking them in and covering them with fancy stitching. If
the garment is lined, the outside should be carefully basted to the
lining before stitching to take in the seam. It has been said that silk
waists are serviceable as long as the upper parts of the sleeves remain
good.

If garments have not been well cared for from the first and beyond a
certain point, "making over" is poor economy. Never attempt cleaning
and making over old clothes unless the material is good enough to make
it worth while to do the work well.

[Sidenote: Mending Baskets]

The mending basket is an important adjunct of mending and should be well
supplied with darning cotton of all colors and sizes, good English tape,
black and white, of different widths, linen tape, bias tape, different
kinds and sizes of needles,--sewing, darning, shoe, carpet, and tape
needles.

[Sidenote: Use of Tape]

For repairing bands and facings, where buttons have been torn off by
wringer or iron, and for strengthening weak places, tape is invaluable.
It saves the time required to turn in the edges of the cloth and is less
clumsy and bungling.

[Sidenote: Use of Judgment in Mending]

The mender should use good judgment as to the amount of work to be
applied to each garment. She should substitute the machine needle
whenever possibl