THE DRESSMAKING ART

New Zealand Graphic, Volume VI, Issue 22, 31 May 1890, Page 15

THE DRESSMAKING ART

PRACTICAL LESSORS IN HOW TO CUT AND FIT COWNS. THE FIRST OF A SERIES OF INSTRUCTIVE ARTICLES OX DRESSMAKING. Ifll*E propose giving the fair readers of the WW New Zealand Graphic ->me lessons ” ® in dressmaking, which. we hope, may prove useful to those ladies who. from cboiee or necessity, make their dresses at home. The very latest fashionwill l>e depicted. with explanatory note*. Too frequently the im[«>rtanee of haring plenty of good material for lining and sewing is overlooked. They will devote energy and money to the selection anti purchase of the dress pattern. study the fashion plates and models for fancies, secure ornamentand trimmings with which to finish the gown, and then pick up the linings. Sometimes, of course. good whalebones, in perfect condition, can l>e taken from an old dress, but generally they are not fit to he re-employed. I have had personal experience with customers who. preferring to find the material for a costume, have brought buttons, hooks and eyes, reeds ami whalebones, taken from an old dress- It is needless to say that the antiques were deelined, but the incident is mentioned to show the fevers of economy that often seize womankind. This sort of economy is not economy at all, for the dress

that is made up with flimsy paper cambric, bwdyless drilling and horn bone- is a botch in the majority of cases, for it iimpossible to make the skirt hang, the sleeve set. or the bod ice tit correctly. Cottons excepted, dress fabrics require a foundation to protect them from the strain of wear : silk will split, cloths and woollens stretch, and laces and erepes tear, to prevent which a good lining is essential. Frencn cambric I consider the best lining for a dress that is to be worn a great deal, for the reason that it is light in weight, has a glazy finish that makes it easy to get in and out of it. and more than that, it clings to the figure as no other drilling will bnt silk, ami it has also durability to recommend it. This very excellent fabric can be bjught for 7d or 8d a card, and five and a half yard- is an abundance for the waist and skirt. Paper cambric is little better than tissuepaper for a skirt foundation. If the costume is for theatrical purposes this staff is well enough, but as a foundation for a dress, as a sleeve-lining or a pocket material, it is simply not worth sewing. There is no economy in getting one grade of lining for the body of the waist and an inferior article for the sleeve. Quite as much strain is at the ellow as elsewhere. and if protected bv a good lining the arm will not work out through the goods. Never buy black cambric for a lining, as the dye is more than likely "to soil the underwear. For black transparency or open cloths there are double-face*! silicias. which are black on one side and [-earl or figured cream colour on the other. With lace or grenadine, jet or net. black silk lining - indispensable, and then care should be taken to get a fast black. For light -ilks erepe de chine surahs, mulls ami embroideries. white linen, muslin or law n is a good substitute for silk, and in lining the skirt of any limp material printed cambric, percale silicia or very light calico will be found serviceable. It is a good idea to save silk dresses, as they come in very nicely for facings w hen not sufficient for an entire lining. In getting the necessary -luantitv three and one-half yards is generally an abundance for the skirt, and the exact amount needed for the waist may be determine’! by actual

measurement -that i-_ twice the length fr*.m the neck t*> the l<elt. allowing a few inches for the p**int hack and front, and twice the length of the sleeve. In colour light grey i~ generally -ervieeable. although, everything considered. it i- -ate to nave the lining- the -ame -hade as the dress material—black excepted. For facing the bottom of the skirt a piece of cno.-l.ar crinoline and a piece of alpaca or the dress material are required. three fourths <>f a yard of each. Don't u-e canvas, nor hair cloth m>r buckram. for they are too stiff, no beat x and nou-servieeable. The~e facings need not le more than four inches wide. Alpaca is used only a- an economy to save a fabric which may be !••• heavy ortoo expensive to use. <m all soft woollens, cashmeres, ehallies. merin>>~ and serges a -trip of the material makes a neat facing over the crinoline. It is well to buy braid- by the box and renew them a.- they wear out. and right here, incidentally, it is a great saving to the dress to have a long [ettieoat. one that reaches to the bottom of the skirt. Something must get the wear and -oil of the street, the slice polish and the friction of walking. It w.mid -eem that the cost of laundering white mn-lin would be smaller than the repairs of a dress. After the facings are pat on the -kirt press the seams riat. baste the edges together thickly ami -titch on the braid. Then roll it over and fell with strong thread or twist, rememler ing to cut two r’s an inch wide and two long in the middle of the front breadth, six inches apart. This gives what a tailor would call a spring to the skirt and prevents it from drawing across the feet in walking. With a good braid, a good facing over the crinoline and the habitual Use of long pettie*«ls any ordinary skirt that clears the onvund will stand an entire season of wear without getting shabby. Parenthetically eternal vigilance is the price of neatness, and if the busy woman will keep an eye on the braid anil patch breaks as soon as they occur the task of renewing the whole binding ean lie deferred. Then. too. a whisk is invaluable for removing the dust that lodges in the seams and binding and weights and wears away the goods. A little silk is almost indispensable. in tini-hing a dress waist. It is needed to face the cuffs, the bottom of the basque. and line the collar, which will be clumsy and generally ' scratchy' with any other material. For this pur |>ose a silk -ale t- a blessing : any colour, figure or quality will answer and it is not difficult to find very available remnants. Buy everything on the bias but the lining proper and the dress material, as facings and silks for trimming cut to better advantage. Whalebone is a mo-t important item and the least considered. It is money wasted to buy cheap bones. Tin. w ire and steel have jdl been tried. They will not answer, for if they do not rust or cut through the bodice. they lack elasticity and cannot be made to bend to the lines of the figure. Short bones which come in casings are not desirable. They cannot be relied upon. Some are genuine, but in a dozen they are few ami far between. The safest and best purchase is the 36-inch bone. You will do well to examine the long shaving and >ee that it is not split and that it is elastic. Horn frequently masquerades as whale, but the fraud is readily detected by bending. Genuine w hale can be tied in a knot without injury, whereas a little twisting will break the horn. You will need three long bones, for every seam in the waist must be tilled, ami with hooks and eyes the fronts need whaling to keep the bodice from wrinkling. To the home Mressmaker this may seem quite an item, but it is the price of a straight, -nug fit. Instead of • leading your basque. bone it. For easing get galloon binding and stieh it on the seam so that it will lay in wrinkles. Unless you are an expert don't try t<> make casings out of lining, otherwise you wirl have clumsy seams. This is an era of hooks and eyes, few button- being used. Various patenthave been made, but the old-fashioned hook and eye still hang- on. and with plenty of -ewing and placed alternately—that is. tir-t a hook and then an eye along l-*-th -ides, instead of hooks on one -ide ami eyes on the other—the basque will stay closed a- securely a- with buttons. It i- advisable to use the medium size. If desired, eves can '*■ button-hole stitched writh twist the colour of the •Ires.-. And now for cotton and thread, silk and twi-t. Seams that are stitched with -ilk wear longest and fall in. a- it were, as all cotton or half-silk stitching never does. With fine -ilk and a fine needle the machine seams, if well-pressed, are almost invisible, surely inconspicuous. For economy we recommend the purchase of tw o large spools of machine -ilk. black and stone colour. the former for all dark colours, and the other for everything but white ami opera tent-. Get good cotton for basting; thread for sewing on buttons, hooks and eyes, elastic, tape and belting : two or three small -t- ols of twist for tacking the drapery, and a bit of wax to keep the sewing-silk from untw-isting. Don't forget a yard of lelting. with a couple of ig hookand eye-, to put in-ide the waist to take the strain off the front of the basque. Make your hangers out of the galloon binding. These hanger- go in the armboles and ••:: <>p|«~ite sides of the -kirt land. They don't always go in the homemade dress, by the way. but they should, gs a guard again-t ‘eloset wrinkle-. Don’t wear -hiehls unless you are oblige*! t<>. If com polled to do so. renew them frequently, and never wear a shield a day after the faintest odour i-detected. Cheap cotton black ami -tockinet shield- are detestable, a- they ah-orb the perspiration, and the <s>mbine>i odour of rubber and bodily exhalation i- unbearable. The silk shield is fat from perfect. Ordinarily a dre-s doe- not require thi- pro lector. Personal neatne— with frequent airing of the lining will render it unnecessary. Apropos of the-übject. while free [erspiration is the >e-t indication of bodily health, a sponging of the arm- and shoulder- ju-t before dressing will afford -ome relief. Make a toilet vinegar of water and cologne or v ingin milk bv dropping a teaspoonful of tincture •>f benzoin in a cup <>t water. If not remedial the-*e are clean -ring lotion-.

Befere cum? . _•*-!* drink it if it is all w«a4 The l-e*t plan i* wring a sheet oat in dean . fete *pread the cloth on it and roll them together Thi* w i*‘ prevent any shrinkage of the dre*.* even in rainy wear he i \o dre** «-.%n well made without a pre** heard iron. iHmp lire seam* and |»re*.* them flat. In ir« •’ off a dre** use a piece of cambric t«» prevent gl««** The iron mu*t not touch the cloth. Seam* of the wai*t i -.y ’• UHind with ribbon or turned in ami top-ewed Ho- v” thr -earn* in the *kirt out of sight, that i*. next !•» ’ •

And now for tin? purchase and project of the dress Ik - fore buying interrogate yourself a little. What kind of a dress do yon want? Do you intend towear it or *ave it ? Is it to be a composite affair. a *ort ot visiting. k--:g;_. shopping and house dress all in one. or a di*tinctive ■ '>•*’::: cdesigned for a -ingle purp»«*e ? Are you buying it for this sea.*on or to make over tuyears hence ? These an? question* worthy of condderation. Take the advice of a thoughtful firm and diy ■ dress, make it as well as you know how . put it • :i and wea: it out- Better one serviceable, neatly made dre** in a year than three ap«»l«*gies. You get a dre** and have it street *uit and evening toilet, anti there i- no u-e trying. If you want a street suit, by all mean* make it a -treet *uit and walk in it. shop in it. travel in it. call in it. wear it to church and t«» the theatre, but don’t in the name of ;*-*:hetic culture put a panel of brocade in the -kin •-r a ve*t of -ilk gauze in the bodice. Such treatment i* prep»r-ten»u-. It make- a mongrel of an otherwise bleat •->•*€ rime. To be didactic, a study of textures will pay the student. It is all nonsense to buy cheap stuff*. Thev do not |*ay. Thev never look nice. They wear ju-t as long a* a **i fabric, but they are shoddy at the start and -Roddy to the end. A cotton handkerchief will la.-t as long a* . linen hemstitch and so will a cotton towel, but <>ne ha* to take the shower of tkiff with economy. and the violence done t«> taste and the loss of personal coin fort vastly outweigh, the gain in money. Don't buy velvet or satin unless you can afford it. If y<»u get a cot ton back the warp will -tare at you day an-1 night. The frequency of special sale* makes it possible for a '..-man to get a very excellent dre** partem now and then at a reasonable price. In woollens of forty-two inches you wi’l need right yardtor a dre** : six and a halt yard* of fifty •Suir-im h cloth will make a walking gown, and fourteen yard* of chai lie width are needed. A silk drees requires fnu sixteen t« eighte* yank, ae».s»rding to the width of the fabric.