A QUICKLY AND EASILY MADE NIGHTGOWN

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 81, Issue 3, 15 September 1950, Page 281

A QUICKLY AND EASILY MADE NIGHTGOWN

A QUICKLY and easily made nightgown for summer wear which is attractive enough for holiday visiting will appeal to the woman who loves dainty underwear but has little time to spare for making complicated styles with much hand finishing. In this article Eva Topping, Rural Sociologist, Department of Agriculture, Auckland, gives a nightgown pattern, easy to copy and quick to make, which may be varied at will to give several pretty styles.

A LIGHTWEIGHT material makes this type of garment; triple ninon, lingerie sheers, lawn, muslins, voiles, and fine rayons are all suitable. For yoke and trimmings the choice includes piece lace, cotton net, wide lace insertion, embroidered muslin, headings, lace edgings, and ribbon. The nightgown illustrated takes about 3yds. of material, the exact amount depending on the height of the wearer. Measure the length from the bust line to the floor and add 3in.; double this length (for back and front) and add about an extra |yd. for turnings, casing, and bindings. Thus, if the measurement is 41in., the length required is 41in. plus 3in. doubled, making 2in. less than 21yds., so 3yds. leaves ample material for the binding and turnings. The yoke requires fyd. of sin.-wide and |yd. of 2|in.wide insertion, or |yd. of 36in. wide or fyd. of 24in.-wide piece lace. Other materials needed are 2yds. of double satin ribbon and 1 reel of silk substitute to match the ground colour of the material. Cutting the Material Cut two pieces, one for the back and one for the front, to the required length— is, the measurement from the bust line to the floor plus sin., which gives the necessary depth to the bodice (3in. above the bust line) and an extra 2in. for turnings. Then cut two lin. strips across the full width of the material for the casing at the waistline. Reserve the remainder of the material for bindings. The yokes are two pieces sin. wide by 14in. long, with the short sides shaped slightly as shown in the bottom diagram on the next page.

The shoulder straps are 2Jin. wide and about 9in. long, but the exact length will be adjusted on the .figure. The short edges probably will need to be sloped slightly. Making up the Nightgown 1. Stitch the side seams, leaving the top edges open 3in. for the armhole. The seam may be a flat fell or french seam, or with fine materials time can be saved by making a mock' french or upright fell seam, which needs only one row of stitching.

2. Measure the length from hem to waistline and mark the material straight across the width. Join the two lin. strips, turn Jin. along the length on each side, and stitch the strip on the wrong side of the material to make the slot for the waist tie. 3. Gather the top edges of the bodice with three rows of stitching, starting |in. from the edge and leaving jin. between rows. The gathering can be: done on a sewing machine; stitch on the right side of the material, having lengthened the stitch and loosened the tension. Fasten one end of the under thread, take the other end, and pull up the thread to the required length (14in.). Fasten off firmly and distribute the fullness evenly. ; 4. Pin the yoke pieces in place on the back and front with the wrong sides together. Tack and then stitch seams on the first line of gathering; trim as close to the edge as is safe, press the material, turn it to the wrong side, and stitch again on the second row of gathering. 5. Bind the top edges of the yokes, back and front. Stitch the binding on the right side, trim the seam, press the binding over to the wrong , side, and hand hem or catch stitch it in place. 6. Bind the inside edges of the shoulder straps, then try on the nightgown so that the straps may be

adjusted to the figure to lie flat over the shoulder and at the back and front. 7. When their positions have been decided, stitch the straps in place by hand. Turn a narrow hem and stitch on the same line as the ‘ lower edge of the binding on the wrong side. Hem the top of the yoke binding on to the straps on the right side. 8. Bind the armhole, ends of yokes, and outer edges of shoulder straps in one operation., . , . ' 9. Make two slits fin. long and lin. apart at the centre front of the waistline over the casing. Buttonhole stitch the slits,, taking the stitches through the casing also on the inner side and through the single top layer of material only on the outer. Thread ribbon through the casing for the waist tie. 10. Make a narrow hem at the foot of the nightgown. When the making up has been completed press all seams and bindings and: the nightgown will be ready to wear. • ■ To vary the style self material can be used for the yoke, finished with bindings in plain colour to repeat one of the colours in the pattern, or the binding may be of self material with narrow lace edging round shoulder straps, yoke, and armholes. Allow an extra {yd. of material for the yoke. Another variation could .be obtained by using cotton net for the yoke with an edging of lace insertion and. binding. Other adaptations of the pattern will occur, to the needlewoman. Cutting the Bindings Here is a method of cutting bias binding from a narrow piece of material which produces one continuous length of binding with , all the seams running in one direction and on the same side:— . Trim the piece of material to : a rectangle. Fold it on the true cross and pencil or press in with a warm iron lines parallel to the fold. Number the lines as shown in the diagram, noting that the top line has no mark at its left-hand end and the bottom line none at its right-hand end. Make a mark jin. in from the edge at each number. Fold the material into • a tube, leaving the lines on the outside, and having the mark at 1 coincide with that at 2, that at 3 with that at 4, and so on down the length of the material. Pin the material in position at each pair of marks. Baste down the edges and stitch them carefully so that the matched lines do not slip. Trim the seam as narrow as possible and press it open. Begin cutting along the first pencilled line at one end of this tube and continue until the other end is reached, making a continuous length of binding. This is a quicker and neater method than joining each strip separately.