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ARNING is a simple remedy for many cases of prevention as well as cure. A few general directions will apply to darning in all its various phases. Neatness and the careful selection of materials most appropriate for the work are the chief requirements for successful darning. Whether the material to be darned is cotton, silk or wool the darning thread should correspond in thickness and color to the thread in the fabric, and the needle should be neither too coarse nor too fine.

FOR REENFORC1NG worn places before the hole has come through, particular care should be taken to make the work as inconspicuous as possible. A thread or raveling of the material will do better than one of sewing silk, as the latter, no matter how well matched in color, will be sure to have a luster that will bring the stitches into prominence. The drawn thread need not be long; short ones can be worked in just as well.

Baste the part to be mended over a piece of medium stiff, glazed paper, or table oilcloth. Use a needle as fine as the thread will permit. Darn back and forth with as fine stitches as possible, following the grain of the goods and keeping the threads loose so that they will not draw. (Ill. 347.) The ends of the threads are not fastened, but are clipped off close to the garment when the work is finished.

A RUNNING DARN is used when the garment is worn too thin to be mended satisfactorily by reenforcing. Insert the needle a short distance from the edge of the worn or thin part, and parallel with the thread of the weave. Run it under a few threads and over a few, to the opposite side of the worn place. (Ill. 348.) Returning, run the needle over the threads that were taken up, and under those over which it passed in the first row. Continue the process until the whole thin surface has been given a new body. In Illustration 348, white thread was used in order to show the stitches.

When the part to be mended requires still more body than can be given by the running darn, a piece of the material may be laid on the wrong side, and while applying the running darn, this piece is occasionally caught up by the needle to hold the piece securely in position.

A WOVEN DARN is necessary when a hole has been worn through the material. The threads in this case are woven both lengthwise and crosswise with the weave of the garment. (Ill. 349.) Baste the part with the hole over a piece of paper or table oilcloth taking care not to draw it out of shape nor to let it bag. Do not trim off the frayed or worn edges. The unevenness around the edge, which these frayed ends create in the process of darning,