Scientific sewing and garment cutting, for use in schools and in the home

Preface

This work on Scientific Sewing and Garment Gutting owes its publication to the constant and increasing demand for information in regard to the system which it explains. This demand has been created by the unqualified success of this form of manual training in the school where it has been taught, substantially as here set forth, for the past six years.

Since it is not a theory reduced to possible practice, but the exposition of a system that has been productive of the most excellent results, it is given to the public in the confident belief that it will serve a useful purpose.

PUBLISHERS' NOTE.

It will be noted in connection with the diagrams presented in this book, that the authors have indicated lines by a single letter. This is for conciseness ; and no confusion need arise if the general scheme of the parallelogram be borne in mind, which in every case has for its base line A, its left-hand side B, the upper line G 7 , and the right-hand side D. Tn the more complex figures arrows are used to designate the direction of the lines.

The publishers are permitted to announce that worked models described in this book may be obtained by addressing Miss Louise M. Heller, 203 South Oakley Avenue, Chicago, Illinois.

Contents

iwi.i:

Clothing and its Uses 12

Color 13

Chapter I. Outfit For Sewing Department

General Description of Outfit 17

Chapter II. First Grade Work

Preliminary Kcmai-ks. — Time occupied by this grade.— The value of correct habits. — Condition of the hands before be^iimin^ to sew. — Correct position . . 21 The First Model. — Material. — Size. — The kind of needle to be used. — The thimble. — Why the thimble is placed on tin- second finger. —The emery.— The length of the thread. — How work is done.— •How the thread is drawn. —-Care «>f

implements and models 23

Hasting. — How basting is done. — How work is held 26

Hie Backstitch. — How it is taken 27

Overhanding. — The doubling of the model.— What the two sides of the model represent. —How the .stitch is taken 2«

Hemming. — The lines and spaces. — A standard of taste 29

The Flannel Stitch. — How it differs from other stitches. — How it is done. — What

it resembles when finished 29

Blanket Stitch.— How the first stitch is taken. — The thread kept under the needle. :;o Second Model.— Material. — Size. — The warp and weft of cloth. — Preparation of

the model. — Width and length of cloth. — Where the work is begun . . . .".l

The Second Design. — Of what it is composed. — How each line is done . . . 33

Third Design. — The flannel stitch and two lines of hemming. — How it is placed :;}

Finishing the Model. — Repeating the design. — The fringe 35

Questions for Review 3G

Wool 38

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER III. SECOND GRADE WORK. page

Preliminary Remarks. — Model for one year's work. — The stitches .... 41

The Model.— -Material. — Size of model. — Preparation of model. — Limit of designs. 42

First Design. — Where placed. — Thread used 43

Second Design. — Of what composed. — Where placed 44

Third Design. — Stitches used. — Lines and spaces 45

Fourth Design. — Spaces and stitches. — Stemstitch 45

Hemstitching. — Drawing the threads. — How the stitch is taken. —Hemming the

edge of the model 46

Joining and Finishing the Model Depth of overhand stitch. — Facing the model. —

Finishing the top of the model. — Putting in the draw-string 47

Flax 50

Thimbles 52

Chapter IV. Third Grade Work

Preliminary Remarks. — Practice with scissors. — Drafting model. — How the case

is formed from the parallelogram. — The linen hem. — Finishing model . . 54 Second Model. — Material. — Drafting and cutting. — How prepared. — Two kinds of

darning. — Use of different darns 58

Third Model. — The knitted darn. — How it is done. — For what it is used .v 62

Cotton 64

Chapter V. Fourth Grade Work

Preliminary Remarks Introduction of the knot. — The apron. — Fancy silk bag . 68

First Model. — Material. — Size and form. — Gathering. — Finishing the puff . . 68

Second Model. — Buttonholes in felt. — Buttonholes in cloth. — Hooks and eyes . 70 Third Model. — The gingham apron. — Drafting and cutting pattern. — Cutting and

making apron 71

The Silk Bag.— Cutting and making 73

Materials and their 3Ianufacture •

Spools 75

Thread, and the Manufacture of Cotton 76

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER VI. WORK OP THE FIFTH GRADE. page

Preliminary Remarks.— The four models of the grade 80

The First Model.— Size and material. — Turning of the hem.— Hemstitching.—

Marking £0

Second Model.— Fancy sewing apron.— Drafting, cutting, and making ... 81 Third Model. — Underdrawers. — Taking the measures. — Drafting the pattern.—

Cutting drawers. — Putting together and making 84

Fourth Model. — The tear darn. —How the model is prepared. —How the darning is

done. — Review of all the darning • . 90

How Silk is Made 92

The Manufacture of Silk 94

Chapter VII. Sixth Grade Work

Preliminary Remarks. — Cutting garments without chart. — Little fitting needed. —

Taking the measures and drafting the patterns 96

Child's Underwaist. — Taking the measures. — The parallelogram. — Drafting the

pattern. — Cutting the pattern and the waist 97

Underskirt with Shoulder Straps or Waist.— The measures.— The materials used.—

Putting together and making 103

Hosiery 10<j

Felt 107

Printed Fabrics 108

Chapter VIII. Seventh Grade Work

Preliminary Remarks. — The setting of a patch. — Ease with which perfect work is

accomplished 109

The Gingham Patch. — Size of model. — Cutting and setting of the first patch. —The second patch.— The third patch. — The fourth patch.— The fifth patch.— The sixth patch 109

Child's Dress — The waist and skirt. — The sleeve. — Measures, drafting and cutting.—

Putting together and making 115

Boy's Blouse Waist and Kilt Skirt. — The measures and drafting. —The sleeve.—

The skirt. — Putting together and making 118

8 CONTENTS.

PAGE

Knee Trousers. — The measurements. — Drafting the pattern. Cutting. — Making. —

Pressing and sponging 119

Needles 12f>

Emeky 127

Pins 128

Chapter IX. Eighth Grade Work

Preliminary Remarks. — The graduating dress. — Other work of the grade . . 131

The Linen Patch — Quantity of material. — Preparing the model. — Setting the

patches. — The loop. — The eyelets and initials 132

Infant's Outfit. — The flannel hand. — The shirt. — The pinning blanket. — The flannel skirt. — The camhric skirt. — The wrapper. — The sack. — The dress . . 135

Girl's Waist. — The measures. — Drafting. — Cutting 143

The Sleeve, Skirt, and Review Work. — Drafting and cutting of the sleeve. — The

skirt. — Last work of the grade 148

Spinning and Weaving 150

Introduction

The system of instruction set forth in this hook makes sewing and garment cutting an educational factor identical with manual training. It lias been the primary aim of the authors to lead the pupils to think independently, coordinately, and constructively. To this end the reason for each step in the course of instruction has been set forth explicitly, and the teacher is urged to make these reasons plain to the pupils, that they may work from intelligent conviction, and not mechanically. To fail in this is to defeat the first and most important aim of the S}-stem, which is founded not only upon broad educational principles, but upon mathematical verities.

The entire system is based upon the square and the parallelogram, and in this respect the sewing is coordinate with the garment cutting. The system of cutting, which is without chart or other guide than simple, easily comprehended mathematical principles, is original with Miss Louise M. Heller. For six years Miss Heller has been connected with the department of sewing and garment cutting in the Chicago Jewish Manual Training-School ; and this system, which is now for the first time given to the public, has been thoroughly tested in that institution.

It is Huxley who claims that that person is liberally educated who has been so trained that his body is the ready servant of his will, and does with ease and pleasure all the work which, as a mechanism, it is capable of doing. That the system which is clearly explained in the following pages is a valuable factor in obtaining this result, has been abundantly proved in the school where it has been tested. In this institution it is not the aim of the course to graduate proficient seamstresses, but rather to so educate pupils that they may be able to make the most of themselves in any one of many lines into which opportunity and their capacity may lead them. It is a fact that perfect drafting and the most satisfactory needlework are done with the greatest ease by those pupils who have taken the course of sewing and garment cutting. It is a matter of daily, nay, of hourly, experience in this school that a girl of ten years takes the measures and drafts in five minutes the pattern of a perfectly fitting dress waist for a child. Other garments are drafted and cut with equal ease by the aid of this system.

The counting of threads, the accurate measurements required, the precision in the matter of darning, and all else that pertains to the work of the course, may seem to the superficial observer an unnecessary expenditure of time and effort; but let it be borne in mind that the first aim of the system is to enable the child to see correctly, to use what she sees with facility, and to make her hand the ready servant of her will. More than this, it is easy to demonstrate that, when the habit of executing the commonest task in the best way is established, the work can be done Avith no greater expenditure of time and effort than is employed in doing it in the least skillful manner.

In all lines, the artistic, which until recently has been appropriated by exclusive classes, is now being incorporated into the common everyday life of the people, and the work of the needle should be no exception. Knowledge alone is required to accomplish this ; for the skillful use of common materials, which are among daily necessities, renders the work of the needle truly artistic.

The stories of materials and their uses, which follow the outline of work for each grade, are not a part of the course. They can be used or not at the discretion of the teacher, and must be adapted by her to the pupils she is instructing. All that has been attempted is to give a general idea of the different subjects in a form suited,, as far as possible, to the capacity of the children of the respective grades.

It may seem that, as the utmost precision is required at every step, from the beginning to the end of the course, the creative faculty in the child is not sufficiently encouraged ; but let it be remembered that when principles are thoroughly mastered, the worker is made free. The small squares of the canvas of the first models represent the regular stitch ; and having mastered this, the pupil is enabled to work with ease along correct lines. It is one thing to create, and quite another thing to produce, that which is of value ; and it is only when those principles which exist in the nature of things are recognized and obeyed that real excellence is achieved.

It is true that the child is required to do certain given tasks in a certain way ; but she has no set pattern, and really designs each model without assistance save direction from the teacher. The working out of the different designs in this way establishes in the pupil's mind that most valuable of possessions, a correct ideal.

It will be observed that there is no sewing up and down through cards perforated in formal designs, for this kind of work is of very little practical value ; it is mechanical, and in doing it the child acquires habits which must be overcome later.

It is an axiom of modern pedagogics that no portion of that fine and complex instrument, the human body, should be neglected ; and, keeping this in mind, the authors have taken many things into account in putting forth their system. Throughout the course the appeal is made, not to the pupil's memory, but to her understanding. Although but forty minutes twice a week are devoted to the work, it has been found that this course invariably stimulates the reasoning faculties, and brings into action powers of the mind previously dormant.

While Scientific Sewing avid Garment Cutting is arranged as a text-book for schools, it is also a valuable manual for the home circle. Whether used as a guide in cutting and making garments for children, or in teaching children to sew, or as a handbook containing much useful and interesting general information, it is one that every mother of a family will find of value.

CLOTHING AND ITS USES.

There is no authentic history of the beginning of sewing, neither is there any detailed account of the various stages of clothing, although it is certain that the skins of beasts take precedence of all other material as wearing apparel. Skins furnished the winter garb of the Briton, and supplied the covering of the wild tribesmen that followed the hosts of Xerxes in his expeditions against Hellas. From those remote times until the present, the skins of animals have been used in various ways by all classes and conditions of men for garments.

The garments of skins worn by people in very cold countries are made to fit snugly ; for not only must the cold be kept out, but the natural warmth of the body must be retained. The human body is like a stove with a fire in it; it constantly generates heat, and in climates where it is very cold it is important to conserve this heat. On the other hand, in very warm countries it is desirable to wear clothing which permits the heat of the body to escape. For this reason loose, flowing garments of linen, silk, or cotton are worn in tropical lands, as the wide trousers of the Turks and Persians, and the unconfined robes worn by other people of Central and Southern Asia.

In countries where it is either very warm or very cold most of the time, the same form of garment is worn year after year. Where the temperature is constantly changing, as in the temperate zone, the style of clothing is also subject to frequent change ; and these varying modes constitute what is called " fashion."

While the primary use of clothes is to afford protection from the heat and cold, they should be made and worn with a view to pleasing the eye. It is essential, therefore, that they be carefully cut and neatly made, and they should be kept clean and in good order.

If for no other reason than because so much time and skill are represented in our clothing, we should take good care of it. Each garment we wear represents the work of several wonderful machines and a great deal of skillful labor. There are no more important industries than those which are connected with the making of clothes. In the article on spinning* and weaving are illustrations showing some of the machinery which has been invented for weaving cloth. The other articles on the various materials of the sewing room give further data showing how much of the work of the world is devoted to the manufacture of clothing.

COLOR.

Color is an important subject. The author will onty attempt to present a few facts in regard to it, which are expressly relevant to the topics treated in this manual.

Beauty in the outer world is of two kinds, harmony of form, and harmony of color. These qualities when combined enhance each other and should always be associated. A perfectly formed garment is far from beautiful if the colors are discordant. The most perfect coloring cannot render a badly proportioned garment attractive. Therefore, although the child may be able, through the system set forth in this book, to cut and make perfectly fitting clothing, if harmony of color is disregarded, her work will be seriously defective. More than this, a study of color is one of the best means for cultivating the perceptive faculties.

Starting with the three primary colors, yellow, red, and blue, the relative value of each should be explained. Yellow makes a quicker impression on the eye than either of the other primary colors. Red is the most perfect color, because it has an equal relation to light and shade. Blue is the most nearly related to shade, and is much slower in reaching the eye than either red or yellow.

The secondary colors, orange, green, and purple, are formed from the primary colors. Orange, which is particularly strong and aggressive, is formed from red and yellow, the two strongest of the primary colors. Green is formed of yellow, which is most closely allied to light, and blue, which is the nearest to shadow, of the three primary colors. It is the most neutral and the softest of the three secondary colors, and, of all decided tints, is the most agreeable to the eye. It is a demonstration of infinite wisdom that the vegetable world is clothed in green ; since it counteracts the intense reflection of the sun's rays, and refreshes the eye by its soft and soothing influence. Purple is a union of blue and red, and is a rich and somber color. It was greatly valued by the Romans. A border of purple on their white garments denoted rank. Purple was Csesar's color. It was made from the Tyrian shellfish, and was really a very ugly hue as compared to the beautiful, rich purple of the present day ; but a little touch of it signified so much to the Roman that he valued it highly, and the shellfish of which it was made became an important commercial commodity.

With advanced classes it is desirable to explain the solar or prismatic spectrum, and how its discovery by Sir Isaac Newton established the scientific theory of color. He made the discovery by making an opening, a third of an inch in diameter, in the window shutter of a darkened room, behind which he placed a prism so that a ray of the sun's light might enter and leave it at equal angles. In this way it was found that the ray of light was refracted in an oblong form, and was composed of seven different colors of great brilliancy, — violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red. These colors, when imperceptibly blended together, form what is known as white light.

In arranging color harmony, the first step is to fix on some particular tone or key. If, for instance, a cool green, or gray, or blue which as we have seen is the most quiet and shadowy of the primary colors, is to prevail, the general tone of all the colors must be cool and subdued. If, on the other hand red, orange, brown, yellow, or a warm tint of green be used as the key or prevailing color, the tone of all the colors used with it must be warm. Having decided upon the scheme of color, whether brilliant or subdued, warm or cool, light or dark, let it be remembered that all the beauty of nature's coloring arises from contrast, and that there can he no pleasing combination of tints without variety. Still, the contrasts must not be violent, neither must variety include those combinations which are at variance with the general color scheme or keynote.

In arranging a variety of tints in such a way as to present a pleasing and harmonious whole, there are certain strong colors which must always be used with discretion. This is true of red, which is so positive and obtrusive that it must be very carefully managed and toned. The same is true of yellow, which is much more beautiful in small quantities than in masses. Black, which is the absence of the three primary colors, must also be used with discrimination. It can be used in large quantities only in cool and somber schemes of color. There is really nothing in the whole chromatic series of color more difficult to manage successfully than black and its contrasting hue white. In using black, it should be surrounded and mellowed by deep hues, while white should be introduced by a gradation of the lightest tints ; this, in each instance, prevents a harsh and unpleasant effect. It should be borne in mind that white and black are not colors, but modifiers of color. White stands at the beginning and black at the end of the chromatic scale of colors, but neither the one nor the other is of it.

Some idea of the primary colors should be given the pupils while they are at work upon the first model. If some of the models are done in }-ellow, others in red, and still others in blue, it will be easy for the teacher to impress upon the children which are the primary colors. In the second model, the three secondary colors maybe combined. If it is not possible to get these colors in Saxony yarn, as sometimes happens, the pupils should be taught what the primary and secondary colors are, and should bring to the classroom examples of as many of these colors as possible. Flowers should be brought in their season, that the different color mixtures in them may be studied. It is also desirable to discuss colors in the different fabrics of their clothes, and in such bits of finely colored silk or ribbon as it may be possible to show them.

To lead the children to think about color, and to be interested in its various relations of contrast and harmony as found in nature, is to put them in the way of arriving at correct conclusions. To enable the teacher to do this is all that has been attempted in this brief outline of first principles. While it would be futile, in this connection, to give the rules which govern the numerous differentiations of color, the following includes certain principles which are simple and basic. By uniting two primary colors, the nature of both is altered, and a compound color is the result. As there are but three primary colors in the scale, the two which are united form a contrast to the remaining primary color. Therefore, to reduce the intensity of a primary color, mix with it a certain portion of the color produced by the union of the other two primaries. A simple or primary color thus modified retains, to a certain extent, its nature and characteristic qualities, although subdued and modified sufficiently to render it more capable of harmony with other colors. Illustrations of the results of these combinations may be found in the feathers of birds, in the tints of the human face, eyes, and hair, and in the vegetable kingdom.

SCIENTIFIC SEWING and GARMENT CUTTING.

Chapter I. Outfit For Sewing Department

While it is absolutely necessary that the outfit for a sewing department be complete, it may be very simple and inexpensive. The one described is of this character. It is adequate for a class of from thirtyfive to forty children. As a rule, less than an hour twice a week is devoted to sewing, therefore this outfit is sufficient for the accommodation of between one hundred and two hundred pupils.

The low, folding sewing table, with one side laid off in inches and parts of inches, is used as a desk. The cost of these tables is not more than sixty cents each. Four pupils can use one table.

The chairs should be of different heights, in order that the children may all be able to rest their feet on the floor.

The case in which the work and materials are kept (which Sewing Case.

is illustrated), is simply a series of nine shelves, arranged between two standards four and one-half feet high, placed against the wall. Arranged in tiers of seven on each shelf, are strong pasteboard boxes, furnished

SCIENTIFIC SEWING AND GARMENT CUTTING.

with small brass rings, so that they can be drawn out with ease. Each box is twelve inches long by eight wide, and is five inches deep. On the front part, beneath the ring, is pasted a slip of paper bearing the name of the pupil whose work is placed in the box. On the top of this case is a tier of six wooden boxes in which the various wools, threads, strips of canvas, and other small things used in the department, are kept.

The little models of the first and second grades are kept in two or three large boxes, the name of the pupil being written on a slip of paper, and pinned to each model. When the pupil reaches the third grade, she is given a separate box for her work. The scissors case is a piece of cloth sixteen inches long and eleven wide, on which is stitched a strip that, after it is hemmed across its length on one side, is seven inches wide and eighteen long. This piece is divided into twelve parts, and after being basted, is stitched down the width so that twelve little pockets are formed. The fullness which forms these pockets is laid in plaits along the bottom of the case. The bottom and sides are bound with an inch-wide strip which, when finished, forms a half-inch binding. The top of the case is hemmed, and finished with three linen-tape loops.

The spool cases can be made by the teacher. This case is simply a piece of morocco, oilcloth, stiff brown linen, or any substantial material desired ; in size eight and one-half inches long, four inches wide at one end, and three at the other. Cut the edges into seven shallow scallops a trifle smaller at the narrow than at the wider end. Baste in the center of this piece a strip of cardboard eight and one-half inches long, two and one-fourth inches at one end, and one and three-eighths at the other. Cut a silk lining, baste carefully, and bind about the edges with

Spool Case.

OUTFIT FOR SEWING DEPARTMENT. 19

black tape. Put an eyelet in the center of each scallop on both sides ; these may be worked, or metal ones may be used. Double a black silk or linen lacing, and, beginning at the large end with a spool of thirty-six white thread, put it through one eyelet, then the spool, and then the other eyelet, bringing up the sides of the case to the spool. Next put in a spool of No. 40 thread in the same way ; continue to put in each time a finer thread until the case is filled, then tie at the end. The spools revolve on the lacing, and the thread is kept clean, and prevented from tangling.

There should be a swinging blackboard in the sewing room, one side of which is laid off in inch squares, to be used by the teacher in the drafting. Blackboard demonstrations are very essential, and a board laid off in this way makes the objective lessons perfectly clear.

There should be a large table for the teacher's use, and a smooth board fifteen feet long and about two feet wide to lay on two of the small tables to form a cutting table for the pupils. This board has been found to be a most satisfactory arrangement ; as it is the right height, the pupils can get around it easily, and it can be laid against the side of the room when it is not in use, and be quite out of the way.

There should be thimbles and needles, tape measures and rulers. The needles should always be of the best. The best thimble for ordinary use is of aluminium, as it is light, does not discolor the finger, and always looks bright and attractive. A large assortment of thimbles should be provided, as in every instance the thimble should fit the finger perfectly.

There are four kinds of canvas used, so arranged that the pupil is gradually brought from doing perfect work on very coarse materials to doing the same work on garment fabrics. The first material is the double-threaded Penelope canvas, which does not strain the unaccustomed eyes of the child. As this is not used in large quantities, a small amount is all that is required.

The next material is Java canvas, also double-threaded, and a trifle more closely woven than the tirst. of which more is required, as the model is larger. The next canvas required is Xo. 1 Ada canvas, which is used for the darning. About the same amount of this is needed as of the Java canvas. More than double the amount of Xo. i! Ada canvas is needed than of Xo. 1. as the model of this is the largest of the canvas models.

The first garment fabric used is a quarter-inch checked domestic gingham, either brown or blue. Unbleached cotton cloth is not used in this course, as it has been found that it is not only the most difficult material for children to work on successfully, but it soils easily, and. at best, is unattractive when Finished.

The materials used in the advanced grades are good Lonsdale muslin, cambric, coarse and tine linen, and a good quality of flannel. There should be two cupboards in which to keep these materials and the partly finished garments. A few yards of cheap calico should be provided to lay under the materials as they are placed on the shelves, and to bringup over them, that they may be kept in perfect condition.