The elements of modern dressmaking for the amateur and professional dressmaker

Preface

Dressmaking is an art admitting of many degrees of quality, but having one standard of perfection. It is not sufficient that a garment fit smoothly over the figure when standing or in any fixed position, it must comply with every movement, and adjusting itself to every turn and bend of the body, still retain a perfect contour, and be, above all things, perfectly comfortable to the wearer.

To attain this requires, not only a natural liking and aptitude for sewing, a quick eye, and ready decision, but careful and thorough training, and the painstaking which results in profitable experience.

Although all steps of dressmaking are of great importance, and the most careful preparation and completion may be marred by a single fault, still, as in other undertakings, there are places in which the beginner is most likely to err, and to these the author has directed an especially careful notice.

It is her particular aim, in the chapters devoted to " Bodice Making " and " The Gored Skirt," to set forth simply, yet in such a manner as to answer every possible question, those principles which remain unviii Preface.

altered through all changes of fashions. She has endeavored to make clear the meaning of the many changes of method in making-up employed by the modern dressmaker, and to explain the suitability of each method to the special nature of the material selected, or to some particular feature of the styles in vogue.

The manual, therefore, embodies in brief form the methods of making in general use, and which the writer's long experience has taught her to give the best results, whether the student is to follow dressmaking professionally, or to add it as a valuable acquisition to her personal accomplishments and domestic skill.

No one need fear its teachings, as they will in no way conflict with any particular system, nor does it make suggestions confusing with any rudiments the pupil may have already mastered.

It is the author's earnest desire that the dressmaker shall go intelligently about her work, and be spared all the uncertainties of nervousness ; because, having become familiar not only with the rudiments of cutting and fitting, she is also perfectly acquainted with the nature and textures and consequent characteristics of the various fabrics with which she is to deal, and is thus saved from the annoyance of a result contrary to expectation.

Each step is taken with care and precision, from the selection of the material to its completion, and a careful perusal of all parts will, therefore, not only fix the

Preface. ix

principles of dressmaking firmly in the mind, but will enable even the most inexperienced to undertake the cutting and fitting of the outer garments with a reasonable degree of security.

The chapters devoted to the price and weaves of materials are intended to be merely a guide, as prices change not only in localities, but in different sections of the same city; and different materials come and go in the styles so that but an idea of the staples caia be

attempted.

C. M. H.

Chapter I. Bodice Making

PAGH

Points of a Well-cut Bodice — Cutting and Fitting by Measure — The Pattern — Lining — Cutting Out the Material — The Different Kinds of Stuff — The Tracing-Wheel — Pairing the Pieces — Wadding the Fronts — The Office of Wadding — Tacking Out — How to Avoid Wrinkles in Fitting — Stretching : Materials requiring Special Attention — Putting together the Pieces — The Cording — Cutting on the Cross — Seams — Collars — Management of the Sewing-Machine — Needles and Threads — Machining — Removing the Tacking Threads — ' Finishing off the Inside Seams — Binding, Overcasting, and Turning in Edge to Edge — Pressing the Seams— The Use of Sleeve-boards — The Iron — Fastenings — Turnings — High-class and Inferior Modes of Finishing — Button-holes — The Sleeves — Cuffs — The Turnings of the Arm-holes and Sleeves — Setting in the Sleeve — Setting on the Collar — The Belt — Shields — The Watch-Pocket — Sewing on the Buttons — Inside Finishings ^, i

Chapter II. Trying-on

Natural Position of Collar and of the Sleeve Seams on the Body- Run of Seams — Graceful and Ungraceful Lines — Slanting Seams — Straight Seams — Wrinkles — How to Deal with Them— The First Trying-on— The Outlines— The Front— The Sleeve — Uneven Figures — Dispensing with the First Fitting-on — Trying-on Often — Seams Running Awry —

Contents.

paos

Trying-on Difficulties — Long or Short-Waisted Bodices — Alterations on Back or Front — Width Alterations — Back and Chest Too Wide or Too Narrow — Side Too Long or Too Short — Sleeve Misfits — Neck and Collar Defects — Differences in Figures „ ... 51

Chapter III. Fastenings

Standard Fastenings — Fancy and Ornamental Fastenings — Suitability to Material and to Prevailing Fashions in Trimming —Buttons and Button-holes— Cutting and Making of Ordinary Button - holes, Tailors' Button - holes, and Round - ended Button-holes — Arrangement of Fronts for Hooks and Eyelet Holes — Hooks and Made Loops of Silk or Thread — Hooks and Wire Eyes — Lacing — Blind Fastenings— Ornamental or Fancy Fastenings ... .*. ... ... 68

Chapter IV. Bones And Boning

Why Bones are used — Essentials of Good Bones — Whalebone — The Old-fashioned Method of Sewing-in — Bones in the Curved Seams and the Centre Seam of the Back, etc. — Curling-up and its Remedy — Natural and Artificial Substitutes for Whalebone : their Defects — French Horn — Cased Steels and Edge Bones — Antarctic Bone — Feather-bone — Fin-bone, etc. — Different Methods of Attachment to Bodice — Usual Prices - .« ... 79

Chapter V. Linings

Bodice LININGS, Old-fashioned and Modern — Suitability to Figure and to Material — Linings Too Hard or Too Soft — Linen on the Cross — Twilled Silesia — Twilled Lining Silk — Italian Cloth — Sateen— Calico — Silk Bodice-lining — Jaeger Linings. — Skirt Linings— Essential Qualities— The Best Lining — Silk — Alpaca — Russell or Persian Cords — Taffeta — Coloured Linen and Linenette — Silcot— Black Glazed Lining — Sateen — Italian Cloth — The Cutting of Skirt Linings — Beetling — Firm Crinoline Muslins .., 86

Contents. xi

Chapter VI. Stitches

PAGE

Easing — Good Sewing— Difference between Dressmaking and White Work — Value of Slip-Stitching — Choice of Needles, Threads, etc. — The Different Kinds of Tacking — Baisting — Seaming — Stitching — Back-Stitching — Running—Gathering and Gauging — Size of the Gathering Stitch — Biassing — Shirring and Casing — Whipping — Overcasting— Loop-Stitch — Hooks and Eyes — False Hem — French Hem— "Roll" Hem — Invisible or Slip Hemming — Slip-Stitching — Herring-boning— Small and Large Cross-Stitch — Fans of Stitches — Fine-drawing — Darning in Dressmaking — Button-hole Stitch, Ordinary and Tailors' — Stranding for Button-holes ... 95

Chapter VII. The Gored Skirt

Dimensions — Style — Goring — Measures for Skirt-cutting — Cutting Out — Darts, Pleats, and Gathers — Wedging — Joining the Gores — Seams — The Mantua-Maker's Seam— The French or Double Seam — Joining Lace — Bottom Facing and Finishing — The Fall of the Skirt — Figures Requiring Special Measures — Fixing the Facing — Trained Skirts — Pockets and Plackets — Separate, Flat, and Bag Pockets — Sewing in the Pocket — The Skirt Belt — Preparing the Top of the Skirt — Arrangement of the Back Breadth — Finishing the Front of the Waist — Cording and Binding the Waist — Double Belting — Fastening the Skirt to the Bodice — Foundation Skirt — Bottom Braids — Skirt Difficulties — Corpulent Figures *.«.**. 117

Chapter VIII. Wash-dresses

Bodices for Washing — Styles for W 7 ash-dresses — Suitable Linings — Wadding — Cotton for Sewing Preferable to Silk — Facings and Inside Bindings — Buttons to be Preferred to Hooks and Eyes — The Belt — The Skirt and its Lining — How to Provide for Shrinking — Back Gathers and Skirt Belt, etc M ... 159 xii Contents,

Chapter IX. Dress Materials

PAGE

The Making of Woollen Fabrics, Cotton, Linen, Silk, Mohair, and Alpaca — Their Different Qualities — Weaving — Practical Advantages of a Knowledge of Materials — Silks : Twilled, Corded, Patterned, Pile, and Washing, and Mixed Fabrics — Woollens — Cottons — Linen 164

Chapter X. Quantity, Cost, And Price

Average Width of Materials — How to Judge Quantities— Different Modes of Planning Out— Average Quantities for Bodice, Sleeves, Skirt, Collars, etc. — Calculations of Cost — Slow and Quick Workers — No Fixed Standard of Charges — Average Prices for Different Kinds of Dresses — Average Prices of Dress Materials — Inside Finishings for Bodice and okirt ••■ •»• ••• •»• ••• ••• ••• ••■ I02

THE ELEMENTS

OF

MODERN DRESSMAKING,

Chapter I. Bodice Making

Points of a Well-cut Bodice— Cutting and Fitting by Measure — The Pattern —Lining— Cutting out the Material— The Different Kinds of Stuff— The Tracing- Wheel— Pairing the Pieces— Wadding the Fronts — The Office of Wadding- -Baisting— How to Avoid Wrinkles in Fitting — Stretching : Materials requiring Special Attention — Putting Together the Pieces — The Cording — Cutting on the Cross — Seams — Collars — Management of the Sewing-Machine — Needles and Threads— Machining — Removing the Tacking Threads — Finishing the Inside Seams — Binding, Overcasting, and Turning in Edge to Edge — Pressing the Seams — The Use of Sleeve-boards — The Iron — Fastenings — Turnings — High-class and Inferior Modes of Finishing — Button-holes — The Sleeves — Cuffs — The Turnings of Arm-holes and Sleeves — Setting in the Sleeve— Setting on the Collar— the Belt— Shields— The Watch- Pocket — Sewing on the Buttons — Inside Finishings.

The modern bodice exacts from its maker a degree of skill in cutting and manipulation in making probably never before required for any style of garment worn by woman. It must enhance every beautiful line and graceful curve of the figure by well-placed seams, and be close-fitting at all parts, without being tight enough anywhere to interfere with entire freedom of movement in every direction ; — it must cling to the figure like a well-cut glove, not only fitting 8 it perfectly when in repose, but following every movement almost as the skin does ; yet there must not be any appearance of undue closeness or strain to offend the eye, nor must there be any restraint upon the free action of the organs of respiration.

Modern women are far more sensible than their mothers, in that they know how the best effects as regards appearance are obtained by judicious arrangements of lines and curves rather than by "pinching"; and the tightly-laced waist is becoming less and less fashionable. It is a question whether the dressmaker as a dressmaker feels this altogether an improvement, as the waist still has to sit clear and close and without a wrinkle : there are times (and stuffs) when all her skill and thought are needed to ensure this.

The standard modern bodice fastens down the centre of the front and extends some inches below the waist, is usually finished as a peak or point at the front (the point varying from four to six inches long below the waist), and from it rises in a graceful curve over the hips. Some styles run down to a point at the centre of the back also, whilst others have the lower parts of the back cut into various fancy shapes, each of which has its time of favour in popular fancy and then dies away and is seen no more.

The modern bodice has a great many seams, all so placed that they break the width of the body to the eye, at the same time adding to its apparent length, and on the skilful placing and manipulating of these seams much of the grace of the fitting depends, it being quite possible to clothe the body in a garment that fits closely and yet makes it look thick and ill-proportioned, whilst another bodice of thicker material is easier to wear and yet adds to the grace of the wearer's figure instead of detracting from it (see page 52).

At one time it was considered impossible to cut and fit for women by measure, and some of the old slipshod notions of fitting by cutting out a bodice from a pattern "near enough " to do, and then completing the fitting by pinching up here and letting out there have yet (now and again) to be met and combated; but as a rule the modern dressmaker knows the value of fresh-looking work, and takes the utmost care to have her pattern correct in every detail before venturing on the stuff.

The numerous methods of fitting in use require a separate volume for their elucidation; but by whatever method the pattern is produced, the making-up which follows must be done in the same way. A large proportion of the present cutting and fitting is done by measure, the cutter taking a set of measures from the customer and drafting or drawing out a pattern by using the measures according to a certain set of rules called a "system," employing various tools to assist in its production — sometimes a tailor's square, sometimes a chart, sometimes sectional paper.

A word about perfect systems of cutting, which will do away with any necessity for trying-on, may not be out of place : every dressmaker hopes to find one, and learns system after system in the vain endeavour. If such a thing were possible, tailors would have discovered it before this ; the costliness of the material they work upon, and the difficulty of making alterations upon firm cloth, as compared with soft dress materials, would ensure their straining every nerve to master knowledge so very desirable and essential ; and the really marvellous fitting without trying-on which is done by many dressmakers as well as tailors would seem to declare that the knowledge has been mastered ; but those same tailors and dressmakers know that the risk of alteration being required has always to be faced, in spite of careful measuring, ot a pattern bodice at hand to compare with, and of the most minute care having been taken with every step of the work from first to last. It is well for less experienced workers to be very careful and painstaking, and not to expect too much from the cutting only. Perfect cutting must be followed by perfect making-up if everything is to be perfect throughout, and such perfection cannot be ensured as a matter of course b a to every worker, be she clever and experienced or altogether otherwise, simply by the cutting-out.

The pattern gives one half of the bodice, from the centre of the back to the centre of the front, and whether drafted, moulded, or bought from a pattern-modeller, consists of a certain number of pieces — namely, the back, the curved side-piece, the straight or under-arm side-piece, the front, the upper sleeve, the under sleeve, and the neckband or collar.

Two pieces of stuff and lining are cut for each one of the pieces of the bodice pattern, and as these must be cut from the material in such a way that the right sides of all shall be outside and yet each piece shall be in its proper place, various rules for placing them on the stuff and lining before cutting out have been formulated, to assist in giving certainty to the inexperienced and timid, and to economise time and material in the work. It must be remembered that, by whatever system produced, the pattern comes out simply a bodice pattern, with the usual backs, fronts, etc., and that the same rules for making-up apply, with very few exceptions — to be afterwards noted — to all patterns.

The paper pattern to cut from may be with or without turnings. If the latter, it should either be drafted to slightly closer width measures or the fitting-lines cut entirely away, as the width of the wheel in tracing outside a pattern makes a difference, very slight on each seam, but amounting to a very distinct enlargement of size when the bodice is put together. This does not apply to the darts, which should not be cut out in any case unless the lining is one that cannot be traced by wheel or stiletto. In the frontispiece is shown the shape of each piece of the bodice pattern as usually cut, and the names usually given to the parts. Certain lines are common to all systems, and certain marks in addition to the outlines are necessary to join the whole together satisfactorily. These marks are : — The waist-line on all pieces j some mark to indicate that side of straight side-piece which is to be afterwards joined to the front (two small lines are shown on Plate) ; some guide for the position of the wadding in the front, shown by dotted lines ; a mark on the arm-hole curve to show where the inside seam of the sleeve should be placed ; the pleat or dart to shorten-up the centre of front edge ; some guide to regulate the position of the sleeve-head fulness, the elbows and joining-points of both upper and under sleeve, and such design lines on the pattern itself as will be needed to show where the trimmings are to be placed — as yoke-lines, vest-lines, etc.

The selection of linings and material is treated of under "Linings" (page 86), and "Materials" (page 164), and the manner of estimating the quantity required under the head " Quantity, Cost, and Price " (page 182).

Presuming that the selection has been satisfactorily made, the work proceeds without interruption.

Lining is always sold doubled, and on this the pieces of the pattern should be placed with all the waist-lines, except that of the front, straight across with the weft thread ; that of the front should be allowed to take its natural slope, and each part of the sleeve placed with the back seam from top to elbow straight down the selvedge way of the lining, to throw the lower ends on the cross (which makes a closer fit to the lower part of the arm). Each piece should be pinned down previously to cutting out, care being taken to put the pins between the fitting-lines, and not across them, that in the after wheeling-out they may not need removing.

The front itself should be laid about two inches back from the selvedge of the lining, and, in cutting out, the turnings outside the front should not be shaped, but left with the selvedge.* The same rule of not shaping-out applies to the back centre seam. With these exceptions each piece should be cut out with a fair inch of turnings outside each outline, making, of course, such differences as may be required for the fancy basque at the back of the bodice, if such backs are fashionable.

* Unless a paper pattern is used ; the seam may then be allowed,

The material should next be cut out. This, like the lining, should always be doubled where it is possible to cut it so, as the two pieces can then be cut together, and thus the risk of cutting two pieces of material for the same side of the dress may be avoided. If the material is double-width, it is already folded face to face or back to back ; but if it is single-width, the pattern should be laid out on the wrong side, the piece cut off, and moved down the length to bring it as if folded face to face, and the pieces cut double.

It is not advisable to begin dressmaking on a striped or plaid material, and velvet is difficult to manage in several respects ; the details will therefore be given as for a plain self-coloured serge or cloth, where there is no pattern or pile to perplex and to complicate matters, though there is often a slight " ply " or nap on cloth, which must be considered and remembered in the cutting out. The pieces of lining should be placed on the stuff with the pattern still pinned to them, and the material cut out round the lining. In placing a pattern on lining or material, the lengthway of each piece must be placed the same way as the selvedge ; in other words, the length of the piece must not be laid across the lining or stuff. On the material it is also much the best not to place any piece reversed, but (even with reversible stuffs) to keep the upper end of every piece to the one end of the cloth, or one piece of the dress may sheen differently from the others when it comes into wear. This rule is not so imperative with the lining, but it is well to observe it wherever it is possible to do so.

Stripes, plaids, and fancy designs all need careful matching, varying with the design ; velvets and plushes must be cut with the pile to smooth upwards. Diagonals and even twills look better if all the pieces are cut to face the same way, and both cloth and satin have a slight nap or ply which should smooth downwards.

When cutting out good woollen stuffs, the scissors should be kept slightly outside the margin of the linings, as such

Bodice Making. j

stuffs draw up slightly under the scissors as they are being cut, and some small allowance should be made for this.

Tracing the fitting-lines of the pattern through the doubled lining only — the stuff being put quite aside — comes next in order of working. This is now almost entirely done by tracing-wheel, which is far more expeditious than the old plan of pricking holes half an inch apart with stiletto or scissors-point. Respecting the management of the wheel, a few words of caution are necessary. Tracing should be done slowly, going along with an occasional " backward and forward " movement of the hand, that the perforations may be clear and distinct below. In wheeling out the waist-line the wheel should be put down below it, and in wheeling out the length-lines it is necessary to remember that the waist is the smallest part of the pattern. In tracing the long body-lines there is always the inclination to turn the wheel before arriving at the waist, and thus make the pieces both slack and short-waisted. Beginners should be very careful indeed in this respect, or they will increase the waist size of a dress three or four inches by this small inattention only. In tracing each piece it is best to begin with the waist-line first, then to cross the hip curve, and come up the "spring" or hip-lines to the waist, but not to continue up to the top of the seam in one run. It is better to stop at the waist-line, and raise the wheel, and then put it down again inside the fitting-line, and continue on to the end of the seam. This plan ensures the waist coming out the right size. At all other parts the tracing should be on the fitting-lines themselves, neither inside nor outside, and the only reason for lifting the wheel at the waist is to avoid turning it there, which would add a quarter of an inch of extra size to every seam.

The next step is the pairing of the pieces. Each piece of the pattern is removed after the tracing has been done, and each two pieces of the lining and each two pieces of material of the same shape are paired for baisting. The two pieces of material should be placed face down on the table, and on each one its own proper piece of lining, face up. Some care about this is worth taking, as inattention here results, perhaps, in the preparation of both sets of lining and stuff for one side of the bodice, with the annoying result that the workers have to undo and do again a full half of their work.

After pairing, the next step is to wad the fronts.* For this good cotton-wool should be used, and the best quality is the most satisfactory. White should be used for very light dresses, and black or slate for dark ones. The length of cotton-wool should be opened out fully, that there may be wool at one side and the skin at the other, and a piece cut from it the size and shape of the wadding-space on the pattern. The skin side should be laid down on the lining, and (from the right side) secured down with minute catch-stitches put about two or three inches apart. For catch-stitches the needle is put through from the back, and then put back through the same place two or three times (of course, through both the lining and wool), and then fastened off securely. This prevents the wadding from moving, as it sometimes does in home-made dresses where this precaution has not been taken. Then, with a small pair of scissors (the ends of the blades held about an inch apart), the edges of the wadding all round the wadding-lines should oe thinned away, picking the top away and leaving nothing but the skin round that part which runs by the arm-hole, and pulling and fluffing it softly down at the other edges, not to leave a hard ridge to show when the dress is in wear. The one thickness of good white wadding is sufficient for an average figure. The darker wools are never so good in quality as the white, so with them a little more may be heaped on ; but it must be carefully borne in mind that it more than one layer of wool is used, each succeeding layer should be shorter and narrower than the one below, and

* If wadding is desired ; but many women will not permit the slightest addition to their figures. Should it be used, however, great care must be taken.

all the edges carefully " thinned " into it. The skin should also be removed from all but the first layer.

Some workers prefer the wool against the lining and skin against the outside stuff; in this case it should be thinned off before being put into place. For very loosely woven cloths (such as hop-sacks) it is advisable to cover the wadding with a piece of the outside stuff to prevent its working through. With washing-dresses and those of transparent materials the wadding is not put between stuff and lining, but is made separately between two shaped pieces of sarcenet and tacked round the arm-hole after the dress is entirely finished, in much the same way as dress-shields are put in. Many high-class dressmakers wad all dresses in this way, and many wearers prefer it to the other. Tailors wad the lining and secure it down with several rows of machine-stitching, following the shape of the arm-hole.

That the use of wadding in dress bodices is to fill up the natural hollows of the figure is not well understood, and many avoid its use altogether, under the impression that it is a first step down the path where truth ends and falsehood begins. This, however, is not the case. The wadding has a definite office, and, rightly used, it is infinitely preferable to the wrinkles that will certainly form down from the shoulder unless the bodice is made uncomfortably narrow in the chest, which is bad equally for health and appearance. Manipulation of the material alone, which can be resorted to for all other hollows, must be cautiously used down the front of the shoulder, or it will seriously interfere with the organs of respiration by contracting the chest, in addition to drawing the figure over and establishing a habit of stooping. The chest should have free scope, and in figures which are very hollow down the centre of the shoulder two or even three thicknesses of wool may be used with advantage to ensure this, and yet keep the outside material smooth. Each succeeding layer, however, should be shorter and narrower than the last, and the wadding itself should be kept strictly io The Elements op Modern Dressmaking.

within the bounds naturally assigned to it by the formation of the figure, and not allowed to spread outside them.

The hollows of the figure are down the front of each shoulder and round and under each arm, where the rise of the bust falls away; and here the wadding is needed, though a few well-developed figures show no hollow at the shoulder, and only require slight filling-up round and under the front of the arm.

On the frontispiece both wadding-lines (marked h for hollow figures and f for full ones) are clearly shown. The h lines run as high as the turn of the neck, and here the wool must be carefully thinned away, or it will show thick and full on the slope of the shoulders : good fitting and making would endeavour to avoid this, and to keep the pretty natural curve there, which is accomplished by stretching, as explained below.

The space to be wadded is from two to two and a half inches wide across the top (in the centre of the shoulder), and the wadding should be kept from touching the neck curve or upper part of the arm-hole near the shoulder-joint, which is always bent a little forward in hollow figures, and is really one of the limits of the chest hollows. The f lines only touch the arm-hole curve at about four inches above the level of the arm-hole depth, and sweep round to the under-arm seam at a depth of about an inch and a half.

After the pairing comes the bcisting., Each piece of lining is already laid on its own piece of material, and fastened to it with a couple of pins ; it is next to be tacked down to it (using thin baisting-cotton, generally white or pink) in the pricked outlines. Inch stitches may be used on the long, straight lines, but smaller ones are necessary round the curves. All the stitches, both under and over, should be of equal length, and all the marks which were traced should be tacked out, except, of course, the wadding-lines, which have been already used.