HOW TO SEW

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 98, 20 January 1938, Page 5

HOW TO SEW

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Ruth Wyeth Spears

' Shell Tucks Trim A Summer, Frock

SHIRTWAIST frock with a handsome touch is about the smartest summer dress to wear for everything but the most formal occasion. The one shown here is made of powder blue silk crepe and is trimmed in the front with shell tucks made with navy blue silk thread.

If you wish to use a plain waist and skirt pattern for a tucked dress of this kind, the tucks may be baste'd in the material before the garment is cut out. For this dress the tucks are onequarter inch deep and are spaced fiveeighth inch apart. There are five tucks at each side of both waist and sklht, and three tucks near the bottom of the sleeves, ft is essential that the tucks be creased exactly on the thread of the goods.

To make the shell tucks shown here, mark dots one-half inch apart along the line where each tuck is to be sewn, as shown in the diagram. A + hread of the material may be drawn as a guide line, as indicated here. Sew the tuck with running stitches up to the first dot, then make three over-and-over stitches over the tuck, drawing it up as shown here. Make running stitches to the next dot and then make three more over-and-over stitches. Continue in this way the full length of the tuck.

In making shell tucks the most decorative effect is always obtained by using thread of a contrasting colour. Mercerised sewing thread in any colour desire'd may be used for cotton materials and silk thread for silks. The space between the groups of over-and-over stitches that form the shells is generally twice the depth of the tuck. Here the tucks are one-quarter inch deep and the distance between the groups of stitches is one-half inch. For trimming children’s clothes or fine underwear, shell tucks are frequently made smaller than this.