Let’s begin by threading your needle. Cut the thread at an angle so that you will have a pointed end so you can easily push it through the needle’s eye.
If you need a knot, form it according to these directions:
1) Hold the end of the thread between the thumb and the
first finger of the right hand. With the left hand, hold the
thread about 2 inches from the end.
2) Bring thread around end of first finger, cross ends and
hold in place with thumb.
3) Roll cut end into center of loop and continue rolling loop
off end of finger.
4) Draw loop into a knot and pull down to the end of the
thread.
To sew we simply push the needle in and out of the material with our thimble.
Practice making small and large stitches and learn to conserve your energy by taking several stitches before pulling the needle all the way out of the material. We end a line of sewing by going over the last stitch two or three times or by taking a small backstitch, as in basting.
Master the art of the thimble and practice holding the needle so that the eye end fits into one of the little depressions in the thimble and you are able to push the needle through the cloth with the side of the thimble.
While the following chapter is designed basically for you to use as a reference point, it will help you considerably if you stop a few minutes and develop at least a little understanding of the various stitches described.
Practice each stitch so that when a piece you are reading requires a particular one, you will not have to stop in the mid dle of doing something else to develop that skill.
The Basting Stitch is a simply a temporary type of stitch used to hold two or more pieces of material together. Begin with a knot, put the needle through the material from the wrong side to the right,
take a tiny backstitch for security, baste as described below, and end off with a tiny backstitch or with two or three small stitches perpendicular to the basting line.
