Dot patterns a very good investment

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33938, 3 September 1975, Page 7

Dot patterns a very good investment

We hear every day of quicker and easier methods for doing almost everything and no-one can blame us for becoming suspicious of gimmicks. Dot patterns are another invention that immediately rouse our scepticism. Pleasant surprise! They

do work, and are the brainchild of an English engineering draughtsman who decided one day to •extricate hgs wife from the muddle and exasperation she always got herself into when she bought and had to alter patterns.

We tend to associate new-fangled and easy methods with poor quality. A glance at the range of patterns, and the number of them, dispels ideas that they are humdrum. The patterns are very with it, but also include the classic designs that always stay with us. They are kept constantly up to date by the release of supplements every summer and winter season, and specials — such' as children’s wear.

Anyone intending to use dot patterns needs the

recommendation of several average New Zealand mothers and home sewers who have used them successfully — and there are enough of these in Christchurch alone delighted to quell our fears — they do fit, are as simple as the instructions say, are very practical, and can be very sophisticated.

The dot pattern system book costs $16.95. New supplements for it cost $4.50. The book alone, in addition to giving very clear and detailed instructions includes 100 designs, all of which can be combined in 9000 different ways.

For example, you may not like that bodice with that collar, or that sleeve, so choose another sleeve and that other collar, or

that ruffle and no collar — the selection is endless, and a boon for the woman who, having bought the usual pattern has only a very small variety before her, and all in size 14, at a far greater cost. The woman with a hip size 2in larger than her standard pattern size is the person the dot pattern was made for. Any irregularities in the figure are catered for in the very process of drafting from the dot pattern provided. The dot pattern also encourages the inconfident to attempt the traditionally difficult. Coats, ball gowns, or battle jackets, usually the preserve of the professional, come into the average woman’s dining room. Linings are no difficulty. The pattern is simply used in duplicate on the lining material, using the same seam widths, and fitted into the garment. Imagine buying a child’s duffle coat for $2O to $25. Consider the cost saving, in making one for a child between the ages of 8 and 12, for only the cost of the material — $4.50, The men are not excluded. There are patterns for trousers, jackets, shirts, waistcoats, shorts, pyjamas and dressing-gown. Children’s clothing runs through night wear to sailor suits, and pinafores to battle jackets and capes. And always the sewer has an infinite variety of options before her which she can skip through while she has morning coffee.

All she needs then is a quick trip to town for material — no more searching through pattern books for a pattern which is not quite right, or is not available anyway.