rent and stitches may be lost in the hairy surface of the cloth.
Scissors do not cut so closely, and are liable moreover, to disturb the
nap, and render the darn more visible. When this is done, fit the edges
exactly together, and overcast them. Then thread a needle with a hair by
the root, and slip it in, 2 or 3 m/m. from the one edge and back again
pointed towards you, through the other, so that, neither needle nor
hair, are visible on either side. The stitches should be set slightly
slanting and must be quite lost in the thickness of the cloth. The
needle must always be put in, exactly at the place where it came out,
and the hair not be too tightly drawn.

When the darn is finished, lay the article on a bare table, or
ironing-board, cover it with a damp cloth, and iron it. The sharpest eye
will fail to detect a rent, when carefully darned in this manner.

PATCHING.--As we have already said, when the defective part is past
darning, it must be cut out, and a new piece of stuff inserted in its
place. If the garment be no longer new, it should be patched with a
slighter material than that of which it was originally made. The patch
should be of the same shape, and cut the same way of the stuff, as the
piece it is to replace, it should also be, just so much larger, as to
allow for the turnings in, and can either be top-sewn, or else, run and
felled in.

BACK-STITCHING AND FELLING IN A PATCH (fig. 52).--Tack in the new
piece, so that its edges over-lap the edges of the hole. The
back-stitching must be done on the article itself, as this renders it
easier to do the corners neatly. The hem is turned down on to the patch.
Make a little snip at the corners with your scissors to prevent
puckering. The back-stitching should form a right angle at each corner.

[Illustration: FIG. 52. BACK-STITCHING AND FELLING IN A PATCH.]

TOP-SEWING IN A PATCH (fig. 53).--To do this, the edges of the hole
and of the patch, must first be turned in, and either overcast or
hemmed, to prevent their fraying, after which, sew the two edges
together. The raw edges may also be turned in with herring-boning as in
fig. 39, putting the needle, only through one layer of stuff.

[Illustration: FIG. 53. TOP-SEWING IN A PATCH.]

DRAWING IN A PATCH (fig. 54).--Take a square piece of the original
stuff, 5 or 6 c/m. larger each way, than the hole it is to fill, draw
out threads on all the four sides, till the piece exactly matches the
hole, and tack it in