“COME around early this afternoon and bring your fancy-work; we will have a nice, cosey time; all the girls will be there, and we can read that last new book.” Such is the familiar and welcome invitation given and received, from time to time, by most young girls, and they find quiet but real recreation in these informal meetings, where, while listening to a friend read aloud, they believe it much easier to keep their minds on the subject if their hands are employed with dainty needle-work. Then, too, sewing is a real pleasure when one becomes interested in the work, and anyone who thoroughly understands plain sewing can with ease learn fancy stitches of all kinds, for good old-fashioned =Plain Sewing= is the foundation—the A B C—of all the more elaborate drawn work, embroideries, and some of the laces. As a rule we think OVERHANDING comes first on the list of plain stitches; this is exactly the same as sewing over and over. Hold the two edges of the material firmly together between the first finger and thumb of the left hand, while with the right hand you take the stitches very close together and as near the edge as possible, sewing from right to left (Fig. 292). It is well to keep the edge nearest to you a little tighter than the outer edge, to prevent its puckering. Always baste the seam before sewing, and when the seam is finished open it and flatten out the stitches (Fig. 293), so that the edges of the material will not overlap, but just meet together and lie smooth and flat. [Illustration: Fig. 292.—Overhanding; or Sewing over and over.] [Illustration: Fig. 293—Overhanding. The seam opened with stitches flattened out.] OVERCASTING is the same as overhanding, except the stitches slant, are farther apart, taken down deeper in the material, and the seam is not opened. HEMMING. First turn in the raw edge four or five threads, according to the kind of goods to be hemmed, then turn it down again to the desired width; this done, baste the hem down evenly and neatly—it must be of the same width throughout—hold the sewing over the first finger of your left hand, and have the stitches small, even, and very near the edge of the hem (Fig. 294). [Illustration: Fig. 294.—Hemming.] RUNNING. Pass the needle in and out of the material in a straight line (Fig. 295), making all the stitches the same size. We believe the rule is to take up two threads and leave two; but the length of the stitch should be regulated by the kind of material used. [Illustration: Fig. 295.—Running.] BASTING is to take long stitches in the same manner as running. GATHERING does not differ much from running; the stitches are taken on the needle in the same manner, but in this case two threads are taken up and four left; the line should be kept perfectly straight.