Embroidery
Media
Part of Philippine Craftsman
- Title
- Embroidery
- Language
- English
- Source
- The Philippine Craftsman Volume V (Issue No. 7) January 1917
- Year
- 1917
- Rights
-
- Fulltext
- 490 THE PHILIPPINE CRAFTSMAN institute, to complete at least one of the more difficult or two of the easier baskets of Bureau of Education design. EMBROIDERY, By G. Glenn Lyman, Principal, Industrial Department, Philippine Normal School. The success of embroidery classes at division normal institutes depends upon the thoroughness with which preparations are made before the date of opening. One of the first things to be considered when planning for the work is the rooms that are to be occupied. Those selected should be well ventilated and lighted; but the direct rays of the sun should not enter. Other industrial work ought not to be carried on where embroidery classes are in session. The equipment provided must be suitable. Ordinary school desks are not to be used unless it is absolutely impossible to secure better seats. Chairs or stools should be of different heights to suit individual workers. The following should be provided: Rigid racks on which to rest the work, and substantial embroidery frames for large articles; at least one large table for stamping designs, and a case with drawers in which to store supplies and finished work; several washbasins with plenty of clean water and ivory soap; a can of talcum powder for pre venting excessive perspiration of the hands; a flatiron and a small tub for laundering. A sewing machine is a requisite where garments are to be made up. Each teacher assigned to embroidery should be definitely in formed several months previous to the time of the institute as to just what supplies she will be expected to bring. Ordinarily she should furnish a standard embroidery frame made of smooth straight pieces of wood other than bamboo, crossed at the corners and joined with half-lap joints; four sticks for fastening work in the frame, these being long enough to rest against the sides of the frames; a tape measure preferably graduated in both metric and English scales; a thimble that fits; a pair of sharp-pointed embroidery scissors; an emery bag; a stiletto; an individual towel; and a notebook. Materials should be furnished by the province or purchased with funds obtained from fees. The most unsatisfactory method is to require teachers to supply them. The goods and equipment needed will depend upon the number of teachers enrolled, the designs and articles prescribed for the division, and the general advancement of the class. Needles, embroidery thread, and material for samplers, ought generally to be supplied by the METHODS OE TEACHING AT NORMAL INSTITUTES 491 institute. Other necessary articles may be obtained by the teachers themselves. In many cases it will be found advisable to keep a small quantity of standard embroidery materials for sale. The goods for samplers should be purchased early and hem stitched some time beforehand. The most competent embroidery teacher in the division should be placed in charge of the work at the normal institute. She ought by all means to attend the vacation assembly at Manila in order to be thoroughly conversant with everything new in styles, methods, and interpretation of Bureau of Education designs. She should be given enough assistants so that there will not be more than ten girls working in any one group. The methods of instruction will depend upon the degree of skill that the teachers have previously acquired, the difficulty of the articles to be made, and the output expected by the General Office. If a majority of those enrolled are beginners, ordinary classroom methods will be best; but if experienced, they may be assigned to work on designs which are to be taught during the coming school year. Enough should be done on each article to impress a correct idea of all stitches used. The materials should be those prescribed by the Bureau of Education, and every piece started ought to be finished later, so that it may be used as an example. One or two model classes conducted by successful teachers of embroidery for a few periods each day, will help materially in preparing new teachers for good work in their own schools. Particular attention should be given to order, system, neatness, discipline and correct methods of instruction. In embroidery classes the chairs or stools and racks should be of such height that pupils will find it inconvenient to get their eyes too close to their work while maintaining a comfortable position. The supplies and individual equipment should be uniform. Pupils should pass and be seated, and materials should be given out and collected in an orderly manner. Time will be saved if work is distributed before the class enters the room. Girls at the same assignments should be seated together. At the close of the period all embroidery should be covered on both sides with clean paper, and put away. Needles and pins ought to be carefully removed from the work and placed in the binding before frames are collected. These should be carefully piled on tables or suspended from hooks when the class is not in session. Neatness is of the utmost importance. Just before the begin ning of a session each pupil should wash and wipe her hands 492 THE PHILIPPINE CRAFTSMAN quickly and quietly and hang up the towel. The work must be kept clean, and bits of thread, cloth, and paper, should be de posited in wastebaskets and not thrown on the floor. Unless pupils are required to keep the embroidery room tidy at all times, a splendid opportunity to encourage orderly habits is lost. Discipline is just as necessary in industrial as in academic work; but because of the difference in the character of the instruction, it is not advisable to maintain exactly the same standard of deportment in an embroidery class as obtains in a well ordered academic class. The pupils should be allowed to relax and even to talk or sing softly so long as they keep busy. This does not mean that they may be permitted to become noisy, leave seats without permission, neglect work, or interfere with their companions. Before giving any instruction, the teacher should see that all supplies are on hand; that the work is properly laid out; that each girl has the individual equipment required; that the pupils’ hands are clean; and that the class is attentive. Models should be placed where they may be readily inspected by all, and the teacher should encourage pupils to bring their work to her whenever they meet with difficulties. The instructor must ever be on the alert to correct mistakes. When starting a new exer cise, especially in elementary work, it will often be found advis able to let the more apt pupils assist those who are backward. Sometimes if difficult exercises and motifs are partially worked out on coarse cloth with colored thread of two or three times the size required in the perforation, the girls will learn more quickly than with only finished motifs to serve as models. Designs ought to be transferred under the immediate supervision of the teacher, and bluing should be used instead of stamping com pounds containing wax or tallow. Much work is ruined through carelessness in stamping, and this should be guarded against. Teachers of embroidery both at institutes and in regular school work, should understand that careful planning must be followed up with painstaking effort; that attention to detail is essential; and that success depends upon their ability to apply to em broidery the pedagogical principles that underlie all instruction. PLAIN SEWING. By Miss Myrtle Cook, Teacher of Sewing, Philippine Normal School. Many girls who take up teaching come from schools that do not offer special courses in housekeeping, and for this reason