THE ABCOF DRESS

THE A 1 C OF ORE.
BY

HARRY COLLINS

NEW YORK
MODERN MODES CORPORATION
MCMXXIII
COPYRIGHT 1923 BY THE MODERN MODES CORPORATION

13 0i7

THE CONDE NAST PRESS

GREENWICH, CONN.
TiHE author is under Lasting obligation to those whose
cooperation and experience have done much to aid him in
solving the practical problems discussed in this book.

The appreciation oj his readers and oj the author must

therefore be extended to the Mesdames Collins, Mortensen,
Linker, and Gorton; to Miss Rebekah Miller for her
sketches; to George Marix, who has always aided him in
the creation oj the clothes that have made "Art in Dress"

so vital; and to

THE AUTHORS WIFE,

who, by her representation oj all that is charming, womanly,
and sweet, inspired him to the consciousness oj the op-
portunity to elevate the standard oj good taste in dress

for all women, that their path in the world oj dress might
be illuminated and that they might better express the
latent charm and poise inherent in most women.
 4 Ritz-Carlton Hotel
Mao son Avenue
i A Forty Sixth Street

U"OEO ruE 0'SeCT(0« A M*NAGS.-*ENT OF

the C*OLTOw *iO O'TZ HOTELS LONOO
New Yo R K

4^.^^r/qa./
 AUTHOR'S NOTE
_Z_\_T the risk of being accused of a lack of modesty, the author
begs to direct the reader's attention to page vi on which is

pictured the dress made for Airs. Warren G. Harding and worn
by her at the Inauguration on March 4, 1921.
Remarkable as it may seem, this is the first dress worn by any
"Mistress of the White House" that shows the long waist line;
and though the author hesitates to prophesy, he believes that
this mode will outlast all fads of fashion, and the dress be as
wearable and in as good style at the next inauguration as at the
last, since it is conceived on the principle of correct lines.

The conception of this dress, be it said, was facilitated for the

designer by Mrs. Harding's suggestions as to what was becoming
to her.
So strongly was the American Press influenced by the vogue of
American Dress as sponsored by Mrs. Harding, that request was
—
made for an article on the subject an article which Mrs. Hard-
ing graciously gave the author of this book permission to publish,
as will be seen from the copy of the letter on the preceding page.
PART I
 CONTENTS OF PART I
CHAPTER PAGE
Foreword xiii

Introduction xv

I. Proportional Form 1

II. Suitability of Dress 6

III. Types 11

IV. Dress versus Line 19

V. The Selection and Treatment of Materials 29

VI. Color and Texture 32

 FOREWORD
JLT was the psychological and romantic Hawthorne of the 'wizard hand" '

who wrote, "Woman derives a pleasure, incomprehensible to the other

sex, from the toil of the needle/' And who was it who said, 'A woman is '

always at home with her heart when she is sewing"? It is a way of recog-
—
nizing that a woman's sewing tools her thread, her scissors, her thimble
—
and, above all, her needle are not altogether things of utility. From the
—
time the first needle perhaps of bone, perhaps of wood, but presumably
—
of the former was pushed through leaf or skin, down to the small,
shining, steel stilettos of to-day, woman has woven around her thread and
needle and sewed into her garments the romance, the poetry, and the
dreams of her life. The finely white manicured hands of beauty, the
toil-worn fingers of housewife and mother alike are inspired by the ever-
lasting beauty of life and love. So it was with King Solomon's proverbial
heroine; so it was with the tapestry makers of the times of the Crusade;
with the embroiderers and fine sewing women of those far-off days; so
it was with the fine crafts guilds that grew up during the Middle Ages.

To find oneself truly inspired with the sense of the art that has linked
itself with the needle, you must read William Morris's 'The Water of the '

Wondrous Isles." It is the vogue just now to sneer at things "Mid-

Victorian;" waiving for the moment the claims of critics of that age, please
note that it produced a brief, exquisite renaissance of the romance of the
Arthurian times and of the Middle Ages. Nowhere will this spirit be
found in more purity than in the book just mentioned above. I quote:
"In the middle of March when the birds were singing and the leaves were showing
on the hawthorne/' Birdalone "came across some threads of silks of divers colours . . .

so she took them and her needle up into the wood and fell to broidering.
. . . . .

Still she wrought on at her gown and her smock. . She had broidered the said gown
. .

with roses and lilies and a tall tree springing from amidst the hem of the skirt . . .

and the smock she had sewn daintily at the hems and the bosom with fair knots and
buds."

A tale of another age, another world, but immortally true. We read on

C xiii 3
that after Birdalone had escaped from her witch mistress in the latter's
weird ferry, she came after much wandering and adventure to the "City
of the Five Crafts/' and amid "the going to and fro and the thronging
of the markets" found "the Hall of the Embroiderers," where she was
received courteously by the 'Master of the Craft when he heard there was
'

fine work come to town," and who told her that 'none in such craft might
'

have the freedom of the market save by leave of the Guild's craft," and
to 'bring samples of her work to the Guild hall as soon as she might."
'

And we read further that

"Without more ado they brought her to the House in the Street of the Broiderers
and she was received in the Broiderers Guild, remaining five years in rest and peace in
the City of the Five Crafts," where "with due apprentices they began to gather much
work . . . for of fine broidery little was done in the Five Crafts and none at all could
be put beside their work."

Linking oneself, then, with the beautiful, work of the women of

fine
story and history who have practiced this, the most ancient and the most
dear of all crafts, and realizing the heritage of the sisterhood of artists in
fabrics, one finds herself, subconsciously at first and then more definitely,
growing into a knowledge of this common possession of hers and theirs.

XIV
 INTRODUCTION
JLOUR bookshelf probably holds many excellent books on Costume
Design for students; it may hold excellent treatises on the practical details
of dressmaking. But there is no treatise or book, so far as investigations
show, that teaches the home dressmaker how to understand dressmaking
as it applies to her individual needs; nor is there any literature that teaches
—
her how to become that rare master an original designer.
Briefly and directly, this book is presented to fill or round out a practi-
cal need such as is described above; and for that reason, it will concern
itself not only with the broad, artistic foundations of art in dress, but
with all the intricate details of dressmaking, theory and practice being
constantly interwoven; for only in this way can the home dressmaker
acquire a sound knowledge of the principles of design and of their correct
execution.
That increase of educational material on dress issued by fashion
magazines and pattern companies, together with the growing number of
fashion articles in the newspapers, has had a very beneficial effect on
—
home dressmaking both in reducing mistakes and eliminating haphazard
—
methods is recognized; this book, however, drawn as it is from a wide
experience of many years in actual designing, seeks to illuminate, by the
light of this long training, the general principles of art in dress and their
application.
As some of these principles have already been set forth in articles for
the "Ladies' Home
Journal" (1920-1921) and for the "Modern Priscilla"
(1922-1923), a review has been made of such sections as properly belong
herein.
The reading matter of this book is in itself a dry and uninteresting
subject unless you take material and thread and needle in your hand;
then it becomes beauty and with life!
alive with
—
The creating of clothes is an art an art which aspires to the dignity
of painting or sculpture; and progress in dressmaking is as worthy as
progress in any art, providing your work really expresses individuality
and beauty.
Discontent with life, rightly corrected, makes for progress; dissatis-
faction with one's clothes is often the cause of a mist of regret; but a
perusal of this book with a desire for progress will make for enlightenment,
clearer vision, and a greater peace of mind.
Are we not about to enter an era that will be singularly marked
with an understanding on the part of women of the need for proper digi ty
—
and for the expression of good taste in dress with a desire to have one's
dress correct, one's costume suitable? It would seem to us that such
an era is in its dawning.
It needs only to recall to our readers a probably common experience
to demonstrate the importance of correct dress. How many times have
you looked at some old photograph of yourself in a certain dress and asked
the question, "How could I have worn those clothes?" The judgment of
time may be amusing, but it is also severe. And the obvious thought arises,
'Judgment and criticism alike might have been more favorable had the
dress been made on the right lines — lines that were really my own."
In this simple and humble attempt to bring his readers closer to the
"A B C of Dress," it has been the author's aim to endow them with
the desire for clothes truly expressing themselves and truly in good
taste; to help them make dreams of dress come true; so to direct
their
their efforts that their clothes will become "a thing of beauty and a joy
forever." If he has attained these results, a fresh happiness and content-
ment are his.
It is only say that this book will not accomplish the impossible;
fair to
it will not at first, nor even at second, glance turn the aspirant into a

super-dressmaker, but it will aid and assist the sincere student in a great
measure.
And if she will, in addition, observe on
and study the clothes she sees
the streets, in the shop windows, on the stage, or in the paintings to be
found in our museums, and apply the deductions she draws from such
observational study, she cannot fail to reach a newer and more definite
understanding of the principles of dressmaking and of their application
to herself, with the result that she will comprehend more fully how to plan
her own clothes.

C xvi ]
 CHAPTER I

PROPORTIONAL FORM
JL HE principles of proportion are everywhere present. Beauty not a
is

matter of chance. "Order is Heaven's first law/' "For the world was
built in order, and the atoms march in tune." Through no caprice are
both the lily and the snow crystal drift white; through no whimsicality
are both pointed —always six-pointed —hexagonal in
every detail. And
surely there is design and plan in the white pine that has a sheaf of five
needles while a pitch pine has a sheaf of only three.
By comparing the relative shapes, proportions, and angles of any two
chosen specimens or types, one may determine in each specimen the
factors that make the specimen a design and not a thing of chance. Apply-
ing the same principles of observation, analysis, and deduction to Dress,
one recognizes first the initial need for a study of the proportions of the
human figure and a knowledge of its lines —both fundamental and sub-
sidiary — in order to correlate one's lines properly with the lines of one's
dress.
In ancient times dress was identified with draperies and flowing lines
an artistic covering that followed the natural lines of the human figure
which is the reason why the Greek period has always been recognized as
one of great art, beauty, and purity of line. And to this present day and —
—
forever Grecian lines are an unending and infallible source of inspiration
to which designers may always safely revert.
During the Feudal and Mediaeval centuries, the dresses still clung to
the figure, but you may discern the beginning of the exaggerations and
passing fancies of the centuries, which to this day are known as "style
or mode," to the detriment of line. The queens and their courts, to
emphasize their majesty or their rank and to keep their clothes in harmony
with their palaces and their castles, began to wear damask and brocades,
stiff and heavy, woven by hand with metal threads and weighted down

C 1 3
with bands of Trains reached a great length, out of proportion to the
fur.
height of the wearer. To try to keep a certain harmony, the headdress
kept getting higher and higher, until all human proportion was lost, and
the eternal beauty of the Greek lines was far away.
One exaggeration followed another. The Renaissance brought the
skirts known to this day as the "hoop-skirt" and the "pannier." What
the skirt had in length in the former century, it was now stylish for it to
have in width; the sleeves followed the proportion of the skirt; the collar,
with armature, reached well above the back of the head.
its stiff These
are but few of the exaggerations of those days.
At the time of Louis XIV of France, dresses were big, pompous, over-
loaded with embroideries and jewels. Itwas the wish of the King to have
the most sumptuous court of the world, and clothes had to be kept in
harmony with the magnificences of Versailles.
Tired of so much artificiality, the following years show a timid attempt
at a relative simplicity, until Marie Antoinette reached the greatest
degree of extravagance, creating a new style almost every week and wearing
the pannier skirt that measured eight and ten feet in diameter. And
again to keep a certain proportion to each deformity, wigs and their
load of trimming had to be extended to a height of three or four feet.
The court of Napoleon I made an attempt to return to the lines of the
Roman period in every artistic or decorative way but we see the waist line
too high, the bodice cut too low, and here again the line is not simple or
human. Hats and bonnets were elaborately trimmed and unbecoming.
Artificiality was again the keynote of dress during the following reigns,
and the restoration of 1848 shows the deformity of the crinoline, the
leg-o'mutton sleeve, and the pantalets. The Second Empire, from 1852
to 1870, continued to wear the crinoline, the styles drawing their inspira-
tion from the French eighteenth century. About 1880 we see the bustle

—
and a revival of the leg-o'mutton sleeve passing fancies!
The students of fashion have approached their subject through
precepts and laws laid down by peoples of ancient times, whose acts and
whose modes of living contrast so strangely with ours that it would be
difficult to adapt in any way to our twentieth century the beauty that
was expressed in clothes of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. So
we in America (with few exceptions) work without any accepted body of
C 2 3
dress principles for the dress creations of the present time. And after all,

it is the American dress problem that concerns us.

To-day the life of woman is different. She is active in various fields,

social, sport, or business; she has thrown away much conventionality;

she wants ease and comfort, which is a guarantee that she will keep away
from any cumbersome exaggeration; and with the breaking down of class
distinctions, the simple, logical, practical dress has become universal.
Time was when clothes were symbolic of social status: nobles, judges,
monks, peasants, wore clothes indicative of their social class. To-day
clothes indicate breeding, personality, and intelligent understanding of
line and fabric.
The master key to correct dress is a knowledge of the right lines of
your figure. Every step in the making of a dress should be preceded by
this knowledge. Some women intuitively feel line and are called ' 'naturally
graceful," but this is discouragement on the part of some less
no reason for
gifted individual, as there is the assurance that this faculty of discrimina-
tion may be acquired through study and self-discipline that is, through —
a study of nature and a schooling of one's self in controlling the carriage
of the body.
What we call "chic" is in reality a feeling for line. Some look for this
in the mysterious attributes associated with wealth and social station,
whereas grace and charm are the result of training the body to express
one's mind with sincerity and poise. By giving proper attention to
seemingly slight details of deportment and carriage, one acquires a sense
of line and a poised figure.
To master line, observation of nature is important. A landscape is a
harmony of lines, whether the trees be dwarfed or majestic, the branches
clustered or sweeping, the boughs angular or free. Let us, then, dress as
Nature dresses, adding the touch of art for dignified decoration. William
Morris has well said, 'Every one who adds beauty of raiment to goodness
'

of soul makes goodness doubly dear."

Before line can be mastered, we must also study the native beauty ot
the human form. The human figure is the most beautiful combination of
lines known, its charm in woman receiving special emphasis in the sinuous
line from armpit to ankle. More exquisite, however, than faultless
—
proportions is grace of motion the gods' own gift. A marble statue may
C 3 U
be perfect in form, but cannot be compared to the grace of an elastic,
it

spirited woman, whose every gesture indicates soul.

A woman, though, is not always in motion, so she must be careful
that she is not dressed with that rigidity of line which will give her a 'set"
'

appearance. In our modern times, the activity of the American woman

has changed materially the lines of her figure and has given to her a
foundation for dress unknown since the period of the Greek. Her bust
line has become less prominent, her waist line less marked (which explains
why the line of a dress of foreign origin always has to be altered to fit the
American woman) ; andbecause of these changes in her figure that
it is

in the following chapters our attention is given to the creating of dress

purely American in feeling.

NOTE REGARDING CORSETS

In reality, your waist line is your nose; but fashion
as definite as
decrees that it shift its definite station to any point from the bust to the
knee; therefore, to suit the fashion, we must make the figure, and we
do so rightly and wrongly with a corset. (We are about to speak now to
the woman of ample proportions, because the woman with the boyish
figure needs not to heed any discourse on corsets.)
The proper corset is the proper foundation, the wrong corset the
wrong foundation. Well do the corset makers know this; they are true
prophets and anticipate the changes of style so as to make the right corset
for the coming mode.
In buying a corset, there are three points which merit earnest consider-
ation: comfort, support, and beauty. We will discuss them in the order
named.
1st —
Comfort. The corset should conform to the lines of your figure,
without creating superfluous or unbeautiful lines. It should not be so
high or so tight as to push up the bust or the flesh under shoulder blades
or arms. On the other hand, it should be high enough to give proper
support, and it should not be so low as to catch into the figure instead of
supporting it.

2d — Support.
For a stout woman, the corset must of necessity be of
heavier material, have stronger boning and different lines from that for
: 4 1
the slender figure. The figure should be made as symmetrical as possible
through the proper support, which a properly fitting corset will give.
In a well-made corset, reinforcements are made at points needing
extra support or requiring forming of graceful contours. For instance,
a woman of large abdomen will have a corset with double reinforcements
underneath, lacing and holding in the abdomen, before the corset is
fastened over it.
It would be well for you, before buying your corset, to thoroughly
acquaint yourself with your own figure. Find out if you need reinforce-
ments and where, if you are of large proportions. If you are small and
slender, study to avoid a heavily boned corset which may destroy rather
than mold contours, giving you a square appearance.
—
3d Beauty. The human figure is the most beautiful combination of
lines known in nature and in art. What we should avoid, therefore, is the
disguising of the natural lines, and the modifying of the lines which tend
to disturb the symmetry of the outlines.
Don't, above all things, buy your corset hurriedly at a bargain counter,
haphazard, without a proper fitting. It is a false economy that will only
result in discomfort, a slovenly appearance, and a general puzzlement as
to what is wrong with your figure.

n 5 3
 CHAPTER II

SUITABILITY OF DRESS
JLT axiomatic that there are certain unchanging laws of line and of
is

color. These laws must be applied to each t3 pe, and there cannot and
r

must not be the slightest confusion of one type with another; or to express
it manner, each type must remain thoroughbred.
in a slightly different
To illustrate: The plump, blonde woman cannot appropriately select
the same clothes as her tall, dark sister. So to begin, study your own type
and, without overdoing it, see whether your style leans toward the Orien-
tal, the Mediaeval, the Victorian, etc. Study the tones of your skin, the

color of your hair, your eyes; select a few becoming colors and cling to
—
them. All colors no matter how much you may like to wear them
cannot be becoming to you.
If you do not trust your own judgment and your mirror, look at the
old prints and note how the art masters dressed their models when paint-
ing them for posterity. Perhaps you will meet a woman whose type is
similar to yours, and you may, if you will, note how much the art of dress
adds to her beauty.
Unless you are absolutely certain that you know how to dress your
own type so as to enhance your personality, it would be wisdom to forget
your taste and inclinations and dress in accordance with your type as
shown in these different pictures.
And of course "type," in the full sense of the word, includes the
—
thought of age. Whatever your general line of dress whether severe,
fluffy, or something else —
it can always be adapted to your age. Remem-
ber that dress always expresses your personality; you must apparently
belong to the dress, and the dress must belong to you. Remember also
that your clothes must always be in harmony with your body and also
with your age.
Your figure is of primary importance; keep in mind that you cannot
C 6 3
wear anything and everything. The lines of your dress must be en rapport
with the lines of your body (one must complete and even correct the
other, and a well chosen dress is the clever accomplice that will cunningly
help you to display your type of beauty to the best advantage, and hide
vour defects).
Don't think it necessary to adhere faithfully to any one dress; look
carefully at the frock presented to you and see what help it can be or
what harm it can do to your figure. Is the outline the most flattering to
you? Will the shoulder or armhole make your figure look too broad or
less broad? Is the waist line so placed that your bust will look long
enough in proportion to your lower limbs? Or will your lower limbs look
too short? Does the length of the skirt give you the right proportion and
lend ease and dignity to the costume ensemble as well as to yourself?
Is the neck line becoming to you? Adapt the decrees of fashion to your-
self, for you can only in a small measure accommodate yourself to the

vogue of the hour.

The seasonableness of the dress should also receive careful thought.
It is simple for the woman of moderate means to avoid having dresses
she can wear but a short time only, or dresses which will look out of place
as soon as the season changes. She can, as a matter of general rule, avoid
velvets, or too many velvet frocks in winter, and it is not essential that
she wear muslin or organdie in summer.
—
For your more elaborate clothes those you do not wear every day
it is well to limit your choice to the soft silks, dull or shiny, the crepes,

the failles, the chiffons; and if you are brave enough to defy the seasons
and wear out your clothes before the vogue passes, you will feel satisfied
with the result of such choices as indicated.
Of importance, also, is the occasion on which the dress is to be worn
and the combination of one material with another. A blouse of shiny
satin should not be worn with a cheviot skirt, or heavy broadcloth with
a blouse of filmy crepe de chine; neither should a velvet gown be worn in
the house in the morning nor a calico dress to a formal evening affair.
The right dress in the right place will not only insure approval of your
mode of dress, but will also manifest your breeding and your tact. Out-
side of a shop, a dress is not, in itself, a beautiful thing, only as it is a part
of yourself; and it then becomes beautiful in association with you and
C 7 H
the background, atmosphere, or surroundings in which it is worn. Our
great stage women know this, and in portraying their roles they select
the gown or frock best fitted to convey to the public the personality they
are playing. If you will recall some play you have seen and review men-
tally the gowns worn, let us say, by Madame Nazimova, you will com-
prehend how each costume developed your understanding of the char-
acter and also assisted in interpreting the atmosphere in which each
scene took place.
you were going to a party, would you be very loud? Not likely.
If
Would you be silent? That would hardly be your intention. Just so is it
with your dress. You would prefer to behave in a well-bred manner;
—
so should you dress in the right apparel on every occasion.
And though, at first thought, this might seem to call for a large ward-
robe, second thought would point out that this rule really makes the
situation simpler. Avoid the loud, the extreme, the dress too markedly
seasonal; and with a few clothes, judiciously selected and worn at the
proper time, you will not have to run the gauntlet of criticism or be un-
comfortable because of clothes unsuited to the season.
Now, for a few details. Here is a way to be different and at the same
time express your own personality in your own way. Don't think you are
completely dressed when you have your dress on. There is another outlet
for your good taste and fancy. The right shoes, the right hat, the right
handbag, the right gloves, the right handkerchief or flower (not omitting
the correct jewels or ornaments), are all constructive details in what the
costume expresses, and are the touches which complete or destroy the
artistic effect. Concentration on the details of your dress is like giving it
a background against which its perfection becomes more perfect. And
by a study of such changes in the details as may contribute to a satis-
factory picture, you give a new lease on life to the dress. And here, as in
all matters relating to dress, be careful — —
studiedly careful not to over-
look the fundamental principles of line and color. If your dress is plain,
relieve it with an extra touch; if your dress is elaborate, it is probably
sufficient in itself, so avoid overbalancing or overdoing; if your dress is
somber, your fancy may dictate safely a touch of color in your handbag,
or in your ornaments, providing these details are well combined, and
either contrast or supplement the effect of dress in a harmonious way.

C 8 ]
 If your dress be brilliant, do not add anything to it; do not destroy
the color scheme, if there is any, and remain neutral in the selection of
details. To achieve perfection in these points requires much study and
training, but the result justifies the work; therefore study yourself, with-
out self-indulgence, impersonally and dispassionately, and try colors and
tints; limit your taste and choose a certain number of things only
things which are, self-evidently, your things. And while making the
most of your advantages, remain yourself by making your clothes a part
of your individuality.
"The woman worth while" expresses through her personality an
individuality that should not be smothered by clothes. Her silhouette
always remains the same. It is seldom except through a stretch of years
that a woman's figure changes. Therefore the author is personally opposed
to the waist line being at one time five inches above the waist and at
another time five inches below.
Fashion does not follow any set laws. There are principles oj good taste,
but there are no real laws of fashion. For this truth, we would like to find
further emphasis. Indeed, it should become the slogan of those who
design in America to-day. There are no laws of fashion; there are only
principles of good taste.
We do not maintain that fashions should not change. Were the
weather always the same, we would not appreciate the days of sunshine.
So we believe that for one season, the skirt should be short; for another
season, long; we believe the neck line should be square at one time, at
another round, for the same reason. And we conform to the belief that
one tires of a sleeve that is everlastingly a sleeve. Some seasons it should
be as wide as the kimono worn by the Mikado himself, sometimes as
tight as the wrappings of a mummy. This gives interest and charm to
clothes, but we think the silhouette should remain the same. The founda-
tion of the dress line should always conform to the anatomy and should
always be soft and pliable; the lines of a dress should always be subtle,
but never severe. Subtle lines that only touch the figure are much more
artistic and surely in better taste than the old-fashioned "princesse line"
of which possibly we have all heard.
Fads, such as the trousered dress, should be tabooed. A woman should
always be a woman. She should leave to the other sex that which is
C 9 3
rightfully theirs, and costuming which tends to make a woman less
womanly should never be encouraged.
And while on this phase of dress, let us say therea style for the
is

girl which should remain hers; there is a style for the middle-aged woman

which should be only for her. It is but natural and pardonable that the
woman might wish to look like the girl, the girl like the woman, but in
adapting the desire to the individual, the laws of good taste should be
our a'uide.

C 10 3
 CHAPTER III

TYPES
JLF our readers will close their eyes and draw a concrete mental picture
of each of the types presented in the following dress problems —
studies
—
which we believe will clarify our theories they will receive much help
from the cases in point in determining how to arrive at an analysis of
their own lines.

A lady, whom we Miss B, sought advice as to the problem of

will call
her figure. She is the typical "average girl," a lover of the outdoors,
interested in modern sports, and endowed with an excellent sense of pro-
portion; yet in her moments of solitude, she broods. She blames Nature
for not having bestowed on her "a smart figure;" she complains, "I think
I have good taste; if only I had a figure!"

Miss B's age is not relevant for our purpose, but it may be said she
is at that period when the charms of girlhood have become mellowed.

Her complexion is fair; her weight about one hundred and thirty-five
pounds; her height, five feet, five inches. Dressmakers call her figureless;
but this seems a fallacy, because you might as easily say that a human
being is characterless. It is true that Miss B's hips are not large; her bust
line not accentuated; it is also true that her neck is a trifle too long, her
limbs an inch or an inch and a half too short; but with that faith which is
born of a knowledge of the dressmaking art, we shall show how she
—
and others may profit even from their limitations. She has now learned
the wisdom of self-knowledge, and being essentially modest, is going to
dress in such a way that her natural limitations will be subdued and her
natural grace —latent in all women —further enhanced.
Miss B, as you will have noted, is a little long-waisted; and for that
reason we must be careful in making her bodice to see that it has a soft-
ness created by either a shirring or slight fullness at the sides under the
arms. She should not wear surplice effects; but she can and may wear a
C n 1
V-neck, providing the space between her neck and the point of the V is
filled in or built up with either lace, tulle, or a tucked fabric and the

vestee so formed brought to a becoming line. We wish to emphasize the

fact, however, that her best neck line is the bateau, or, as some are pleased
to call it, 'the round neck." She can also wear the Dutch neck.
'

Her correct sleeve length and its relation to the waist was a problem
to her, and her dilemma was increased by the shifting decrees of fashion
on this subject and also by the fad of lengthening sleeves. Here, as in other
instances, it was made clear to her that once the principle of line was
grasped, and properly applied, difficulties vanished.
For example, she was much puzzled over the kimono sleeve. She had
been told it was not as becoming to her as the set-in sleeve a conclusion —
which had been reached owing to the fact that the kimono sleeve had been
cut too close to her under arm, giving her a appearance rather than
flat
the so much desired softness. Had this kimono sleeve been cut two or
three inches wider at the sides, a soft effect would have been secured and
a better line created. But even after the mistake was made with the —
—
kimono tight across the chest as a result the adding of a panel, either
front or back, or both front and back, would have given her a most flatter-
ing line.
Her puzzle over the long sleeves was settled in the following manner;
she was taught that the long sleeve should have a certain degree of fullness.
A loose sleeve, be it noted, serves to suppress inartistic details of the arm.
On the other hand, if a short sleeve was Miss B's desire, it was made so as
to achieve at leasttwo inches above the elbow or two inches below thus —
subduing the over-accentuated elbow bone, so that when the arm was
raised or lowered, or the elbow in motion, the beauty of line was still
preserved.
Further regarding the long sleeve, Miss B was told that a much better
line could be obtained, and her hand made to look more slender, if the
sleeve were taken right to the wrist; and in case she desired a sleeve that
was not lengthened to the wrist, the sleeve was cut loose, as a matter of
beauty, so that it fell gracefully any distance between the wrist and the
—
elbow bearing in mind, of course, that the sleeve must always be two
inches below the elbow, as above mentioned.
Another line discussed with Miss B was that of the under arm. This
C 12 3
was a most interesting detail because, whether in a girl of sixteen or a
woman of sixty, the under arm is the most flattering line the human
figure possesses. For this reason, one should never permit this beauty to
be broken up by any ornamentation of the line from shoulder to waist.
The problem of Miss B's skirt length was not a serious one. She was
advised not to wear a skirt draped across her knees as that would cut her
height and give her a dwarfed appearance; further suggestion was made
that the drapery fall below the knee, as this would give her a long line.
When she wanted a tunic or apron, it was brought to a point two inches
above her knees or about three inches from the bottom of her skirt; and
in accordance with the artistic aim of giving as much length to her appear-
ance as possible, she tabooed a belt or girdle more than an inch below
her waist line.

Since her neck was a trifle too long, she did not wear her street frocks
too low. The preferable natural line for her neck is the round or Dutch,
she may experiment with the bateau, but she will do well to be self-
sacrificing and leave the V-shaped neck to her friends whose necks are
shorter and stouter—unless, indeed, she in or builds up as described
fills

in a preceding paragraph.
Miss B —a condition which makes possible for her to wear
is fair it

almost any color, with the understanding, of course, that she selects
appropriate colors for her costume and for the occasion at which it is to be
worn. A later chapter will be given to the subject of colors, and places
and times at which various costumes may be worn.
Miss B has come to the realization that color sense may be developed
from observation of the blues, the pinks, the mauves, and the grays of
the skies, the harmonious blending of sky and earth with the foliage of
the seasons, the gradations of greens in grass, flowers, and leaves. She
has learned that the neutral colors of one bird's feathers, the bright plum-
age of another, have their relation to the color scheme, both of their
immediate background and that of the universe.
For her hat, she will not select colors lighter than her hair, for ex-
perience has shown her that yellow or tan for the blonde type may be
superseded by more flattering colors. She may wear almost any dark
colors, the lighter shades in greens, reds, and the pastel colorings.
Having considered the case of Miss B, I want you now to meet Miss X.
C 13 3
You know her — if you don't know her personally, you are acquainted
with many like her. She is forty or possibly forty -five years of age, tall,
well proportioned (although she feels that she
is quite a few pounds too

heavy) and the scale would probably record from one hundred and sixty-
five to one hundred and seventy pounds. Some people might call her fat
and heavy — let us say she is statuesque and cannot in consequence afford
in her choice of clothes to select fancy effects, broken lines, and bizarre
designs. She must always dress with dignity — which does not mean that
—
her clothes must make her look older than she is with a certain purity of
line, and also with softness. A mistake too popularly accepted and too

often seen is that of dressing the big type of woman in tight clothes.
Have you ever seen a statue fitted tightly into her draperies? And who
has so perfect a body that it is wise to exhibit every curve or every angle
of it? Dress softly, no matter what your figure may be. Under the graceful
folds of the materials —who knows? Perhaps you are too thin, perhaps
too fat —atany rate, you keep everyone guessing; and the softness of
your dress is your best accomplice.
But to return to particulars. Miss X should avoid too much tightness,
also too much fullness. The straight or chemise dress has proved to be
the almost ideal dress for Miss X and women of her type.
Since this is the case, and since, in addition, this type of dress has been
worn few years, let us proceed to analyze its lines in detail.
for a
—
Beginning at the neck line this might be a V-shape, a long oval, a
—
square even a bateau line, providing it is curved down the front and
not quite a straight line between the shoulders (which line would make
Miss X look too broad, short-necked, and too long from the neck to the
waist line).
The armhole of her frock should be cut in the normal place —a trifle

narrower, perhaps, unless she wears a kimono sleeve, though she should
limit this sleeve to her soft material gowns. When her dress is made of
woolen material, heavy silk, or velvet, her best solution will be the set-in
sleeve, or even better, a sleeve mounted on the lining, independent of the
dress, so she may move easily without putting all her dress in motion.
For her waist line, it is always advisable to pull the waist up a little,
so as to get a slightly bloused effect. Don't overlook the fact that Miss X
probably has large hips; consequently, the dress hanging straight down
C 14 1
from her shoulders would make her look larger than she is in reality and
also too tall, whereas an indication of a waist line, a blouse that softened
the figure and maintained a correct proportion between hip and bust,
would mitigate and even flatter the too full lines of her figure. It might
be added that a wide sash, softly draped about the hips, is the best
selection, as this flattens the fullness of the skirt and also gives the appear-
ance of a longer waist line.
Concerning Miss X's skirt, it should be full enough to allow grace of
motion and comfort, and yet narrow enough to obviate cumbersomeness
and detraction from her height. A too full skirt for Miss X would draw
attention to her breadth. Length, of course, would be according to the
—
mode or vogue, without exaggerations Miss X would understand that
the too short skirt would be incongruous with her physique and that a
too long skirt would be too old and uncomfortable.
Now about her sleeves: as always, try to secure softness. As her arm
is really fat, she should avoid the long, tight sleeve. The upper part of
Miss X's sleeve should be rather well fitted, finished with a long, wide or
perhaps slashed cuff (some sort of a bell or pagoda sleeve will hide the
extra embonpoint of her upper arm)
Miss X has given much thought to materials and colors, so she realizes
that too vivid shades, too lustrous satins, make her look larger than she
is and far too conspicuous, and that fancy materials with big figures and

fabrics with stripes running across are not for her. Nor does she wear
the 'disconnected dress"
'
— a skirt of one color, a bodice of another. When
she does wear this combination in a three-piece suit, she has some of the
skirt material introduced into the bodice to soften the tone —a panel front
or back, straps running up like suspenders, etc.
Her selection of clothes about the same as any other type of woman
is

might choose; she does not, however, attempt the strictly tailored suit it —
is more than likely to give her figure a hard, mannish appearance. She finds

more becoming a one-piece serge or light wool material with coat or cape.
No one, nowadays, likes the stiff and heavy satins or brocades of our
grandmothers, and Miss Xavoids them; nor does she wear taffetas. Her
best selections are the soft satins (she avoids the too lustrous or too shiny),
the crepes, the failles, and the soft velvets; and she does not forget the
chiffons, the soft laces, for more elaborate occasions.

C 15 H
 The willowy sister of Miss B is another type of which we ask your
consideration. At first glance, we thought she was in the early twenties;
on closer inspection, we came to the conclusion that her years might have
been subdued by the charm of correct dress and color selection. Her gown
was so fashioned and she seemed so slight that we hazarded the guess she
did not weigh over one hundred and ten pounds; and great was our surprise
to learn that her five feet five and one-half inches of height represented
one hundred and twenty-five pounds of weight.
She was 'a pronounced brunette," with clear complexion, with rather
'

thin arms and neck, and collar bones that would perhaps have marred the
picture, had it not been that these defects were minimized by the correct
cut of the neck line of her dress. She has learned from her sister to keep
in mind the neck line of her frocks — the round, Dutch, and bateau being
most preferred by her.
Being endowed by Nature with a slender form and graceful carriage,
it was not difficult for her to soon learn how the selection of her clothes,

as to both color and design, should be made. While her figure and her
type allowed her more freedom than her less fortunate sister, she did not
go to extremes in either line or color, but dressed always in good taste.
Let us give you an idea of her frocks during the past year.
For a June day, she wore a frock of flowered chiffon with yellow back-
ground against which were placed motifs in different shades of mauve an —
evidence of how carefullv she had studied just what color combinations
she could wear, and what she should avoid. She knows that for her coloring-
reds and half tones, browns, whites and autumn shades, (unless she
happens to be a trifle sallow), as well as hues of mauve, are best.
Generally, the neck line of her frock is the bateau; she is careful that
—
it is not too broad or too long a wise precaution in concealing the defects
of her neck. In the case of the chiffon frock noted above, the waist was
cut rather forming a slight blouse at her waist line; a slightly draped
full,

girdle of self-material, with sash ends at the sides, joined waist and skirt
the latter being draped, in soft, beautiful folds to a point between the
knee and the hem of the dress, and the drapery again brought up to her
waist and adjusted underneath the bow. The sleeve, loose and full, was
caught in prettily at the wrist. A picture leghorn hat completed the
costume.
I 16 3
 In the matter of the length of her Miss B's sister never went to
skirt,
extremes. Her draped skirts were long enough for grace, and her sport
clothes were worn at the proper shorter length of seven or eight inches
from the floor.
For a day in the early fall, too cool for a silk dress, and still too warm
for a topcoat or heavy suit, she wore a chic frock of navy-blue cloth,
decorated with a bit of embroidery in old red and gold. The waist of the
—
frock was so made that it could be worn either closed or open an arrange-
ment made possible by a cut down the center front to the waist line. When
closed the neck line fitted snugly to the throat, the embroidery following
around the line of the opening down the front. A collar of fur finished the
neck. The waist, when worn open, formed revers with a satin vestee in
front. The sleeves were of three-quarter length, bell-shaped, and set in
the dress itself, giving a tailored effect. The embroidery design was
again developed at the bottom of the sleeve, the sleeve being faced back
with the same shade of red as appeared in the embroidery. Knife pleating
had been set in on both sides of this one-piece frock, and a cloth belt,
about two inches in width, with a buckle of old gold, supplied the 'final '

touch" to the details of her costume. A rather large black satin hat
completed the picture.
At a dance on New Year's Eve, she appeared in a vivid shade of ver-
milion velvet, quaintly suggestive of an older fashion in its picturesque
ensemble. The was particularly interesting; its fullness required
skirt
proportionate length, but it was a little shorter in front than in back,
faced up with bright silver lame. Of course, you would anticipate that a
frock of this type would have a tightly fitted bodice; and so it was an —
old-fashioned basque, cut with a bateau neck line, higher in front than in
back; the shoulders were cut so long as to form a pretty cap sleeve, covering
a shoulder bone which otherwise might have been too pronounced. Waist
and skirt were joined by a cord of the velvet, dipping slightly in front.
Two huge vermilion velvet and silver lame bows added a final note of
cavalier times. Above this simplicity of silhouette line and magnificent
color combination, her black hair gleamed in soft, —
deep tones she was
indeed a picture.
For had a three-piece suit of faille crepe in tan and cocoa
spring, she
color combination. Her dress was a simple chemise frock of tan with a
n 17 3
pleated apron front and back, the apron being pleated in sections of the
two shades. A bateau neck line, full-length sleeves gathered tight at the
wrist and set on the lining to allow for freedom of motion, with a narrow
belt of the material, completed the dress. Her coat was of brown, hanging
in a box effect and of the proper length for her height. The sleeve was a
loose bell shape set in a tight armhole. A small collar of self-material
finished the coat and a large hat of brown milan straw and taffeta com-
—
pleted the costume a study in brown.
So much for the types we have presented for your consideration;
perhaps you belong definitely to one of them. At any rate, let us say here
that the ever-changing styles prevent a permanent analysis of what you
mav becomine,lv wear. Still, were we to hold the kev to future costuming,
dress would lose much of its charm.
But whatever the vogue, whatever the season's fabrics, a knowledge
of the laws of line and an understanding of the lines of your figure (which
you may analyze in the manner indicated above) will prevent you
from making mistakes and will enable you to form your decision as to
your correct dress in relation to new modes. And don't, as too many
people do, call these new modes "the decrees of Fashion"; rather consider
them as indications only of what you may do in adapting them to a new
interpretation of your personality.

: is
 CHAPTER IV

DRESS VERSUS LINE

vj)PRING is in the air as we write; the brightness of the sun invigorates;
one beams with energy and hope. Suddenly, one catches a glimpse
fairly
—
of one's self in some mirror and oh, what a shock Forthwith, a decision1

to have a new frock and a hunt through all the magazines and papers
an intensive scanning to find the dress one has in mind.
Some dresses merely cover the body, as some houses only keep out
wind and storm, but beauty should never forsake either clothes or dwell-
ings. One should dress to make one s self more beautiful, and this thought
'

should premeate the work of all dressmakers.

And what have you in mind? Are you thinking of what use you wish
to make of the dress? Will it be your only frock for wear in the street at —
—
luncheon and for dinner? Will it be one of three dresses of the season?
For the purpose of this chapter, we will assume your wardrobe is to
contain three dresses. The manner of selection is indicated below; but it
matters not how rich or how poor you may be, your selection must be
followed by religious precision and adherence to the self-analysis that
should precede the event of a new costume.

SELECTING THE PATTERN

Whether you dwell town or country, you are doubtless of the type
in
"
of woman whose first thought is of the 'womanly " dress. The 'mannish
' '

phase in clothes has perished with the leaves of far-away summers and
we do not believe it ever made much appeal to you, anyway. So for the
street dress, you will naturally select a pattern suitable for your type and
wearable for the occasions which accord with your environment.

SELECTING THE DRESS

The cloth dress serves many purposes —for the spring, to wear without
a coat; for the fall, to wear under a topcoat; for the winter, to wear under
C 19 3
a fur coat. "Simple and well tailored/' if possible, is the Golden Rule for
a dress of this description.
So much for a brief caption of the ensemble of this frock; but what
about its details? The sleeve, for instance? This detail should be given a
great deal of attention; it should fit snugly at the shoulder; it may be long,
tight, or three-quarter length, or it may be loose and cut with a flare below
the elbow, according to the mode.
A frock of this type may be ornamented with braid or stitching in
black or self-color, and it is always becoming to have collar and cuffs of
stitched batiste, heavy thread lace, or linen. Several sets give opportunity
for frequent replacements and give your frock a dainty touch and a
different aspect. If your dress be blue or black, you might have one set
of collar and cuffs in tan, or perhaps in blue or yellow linen.
The skirt should never be too long or too tight, so that you may walk
in comfort. We show you on page 21 a sketch of the "correct silhouette
of a cloth dress," adaptable for either fall or spring wear, in the form of a
bolero frock. The blouse may be of any material preferred or any color,
adopting the lines as shown here, unless you are too short or too stout.

THE SILK DRESS

Select a dark silk (and we advise a trademarked fabric as being the
cheapest in the long run, because the maker of this spends thousands of
dollars in advertising his product and always stands behind the quality
of his materials).
Select, then, a dark silk, either black, blue, or brown. If it is a street
frock, remember dark shades are always wearable and ever in good taste.
Navy blue is better than French blue; dark brown always better than
golden brown; black the most eternally dependable. And speaking of
black, if you will select a pattern of a model youthful in line, the making of
your frock in black will never result in your having an 'old-looking" dress.
'

The waist should be made soft; there should always be fullness over
—
the bust a fullness created by shirring the material at the waist either
under the arm or under the bust, whichever, after trying the different
effects before the mirror, gives you the most flattering lines. 'A flattering '

effect" is one that creates a subtle curve to your bust and a longer length
from shoulder to waist line.

C 20 3
C 21 ]
 The sleeves should always be set on the lining, because this adds the
desired softness across the bust; and they may be long or short, according
to the vogue. If long, they will require a trimming —a bit of embroidery,
a loose cuff, or very tiny silk-covered buttons. Short sleeves may be
finished off with a hem or a cording, but the short sleeve should never
finish right at the elbow; it should be either two inches above or two inches
below, to create the best effect or line.

The neck line is something that the individual must decide for herself.
The majority of women find a bit of white (either chiffon or lace) set on
the lining a soft finish; and it is usually more becoming to the face than the
reflection of the dark material of which the frock is made.
The waist line should be a little below the natural waist line; your
mirror is the best friend to consult as to just the proper distance to give
you the most flattering proportions; if you look all limbs, your waist
line is too high; if you look all waist, that is the proof that your waist line
is too low. Keep trying, however, until your mirror tells you that the
right balance between waist and skirt has been obtained.
A crush belt of the same material as your frock is often used; but the
belt may be varied by the use of ribbon in a contrasting shade. A passe-
menterie girdle, not more than one inch to an inch and a half wide, finished
with a tassel which, when the girdle is tied, reaches below the knee, is a
happy solution of the girdle question.
The skirt length should be as the mode of the hour dictates, but never
extreme, whether the short or the long is the rule of the moment. We may
not, in a book of this character, lay down rules as to what skirt length
would always be correct, because a straight or circular silhouette allows
a shorter skirt than does the draped or narrow silhouette. Here, again,
your mirror is your very best counsellor.

THE CHIFFON DRESS

For both reasons of beauty and the many semi-formal occasions upon
which it may be worn, the chiffon dress is a general favorite. It should
—
be of the color you consider most becoming preferably not of too light
a tone. Black, dark blue, and brown are excellent, but if you must have
lighter colors, there are French blue, gray, tan, or taupe.
The waist should be made with fullness; your slip, or foundation,
C 22 ]
 A CORRECT SILHOUETTE FOR
SILK DRESS SHOWING VARIA-
TIONS FOR THE SAME FROCKS

C 23 ]
should be of crepe de chine or of satin crepe and should reach a little
above the center of the bust and there be joined to net, which will form
the upper or top part ol the waist. This achieves an effect of softness and
transparency.
Seldom, if ever, is a collar used for a chiffon dress; but if you must
have one, should be of very fine soft lace. The neck, however, is usually
it

finished off with a soft piping of the same chiffon as the dress.
The sleeves should be cut so as to fall softly. They may be an inch or
more above the elbow, or several inches below.
—
The skirt must, of course, be soft and full the width depending en-
tirely on whether you are of thin or stout figure. Sometimes it is wise
to have the gathering full over the hips, with very scant front and
back.
The chiffon dress requires very little trimming; tucks four or five inches
wide may trim the skirt (though this would not be good for the stout
fierure).

may be put over the lining with very little fullness;

Again, the chiffon
and over this you may add panels, back and front, or on both sides.
These panels may be finished at the edge with small beads or embroidery
whichever would be most appropriate to the color you have selected and
the occasion upon which you wish to wear the dress.
A point to remember is that it is always wise to have your underskirt
an inch shorter than the chiffon, as this gives a nice, soft finish to
the bottom of your skirt. Your skirt length, by the way, should be
moderate.
The author submits the above nucleus of a wardrobe which, he believes,
will be found satisfactory by the majority of women for most occasions.
He will now go a step further and analyse a mental process which may be
helpful in determining your selection of your own dress.
There are many ways of expressing one's personality, of interpretating
one's own feelings and thoughts. A writer employs words, phrases, and
the ideas they convey as the shape in which to symbol forth his inner
vision. A great actor visualizes his conception of the character his role
portrays; and in this connection, it has been said that Caruso, as soon as
he had donned the costume of the character for which he was cast, no
matter how tired or jaded he might be, immediately found himself as-
suming his part. The designer of clothes uses fabric as her medium, and
c 24
CORRECT SILHOUETTE FOR CHIFFON .FROCK WITH POSSIBILITIES OF CHANGING
THE DRESS BUT NOT THE SILHOUETTE

C 25 ]
by means of and decoration subtly invokes into visibility the
line, color,

mood or personality of the woman.

Every woman, though, is capable of being her own designer a fasci- —
nating study, and one that will deepen her understanding of lines, their
character, and their interrelation to the wearer's figure and to each other.
Summoning, then, \-our best powers of observation and analysis and
an unwearying resolve to master anew the subject of lines, let us first
determine the design and its relation to the individual. First, there is
the outline or "silhouette" —the ultimate character to be given to the
fabric and the announcement of the artist's powers to weave order and
beauty into the material for the expression of what we are pleased to
term "a dress." Then there are the secondary or subsidiary lines -the —
waist line, the neck line, and the bust. There are, besides, terminal points
— at the hip line, at the top of the limbs, at the end of the knee cap, at the
hem of the skirt, at the edge of the sleeve.
Lines govern the dress, so the dressmaker must master lines, must
grasp their qualities, their character, their relations, their suggestiveness,
as an understanding of them is essential to the intelligent handling of a
fabric.
Lines invite suggestions from ornamental details, whether in em-
broidery, ribbon, or lace. They demand an undivided allegiance to pure
design. They have their individuality blurred or shifted in a mass
refuse to
of decorative details, but embellishment is necessary at times to complete
what might otherwise have been an interrupted line or to disguise some
fault in the human figure.
A design is transient or permanent in proportion to its lines; right
lines endure; wrong lines are short lived. And permanency is not bestowed
by Mistress Luck, but emerges from the correct application of principles
of construction.
Lines converge to make a design; they can be so broken up as to
create confusion. Lines have character; a perpendicular line may be
dignified or severe; a lengthened line may add a cubit to one's stature or
produce a caricature; a shortened line may add softness and charm
or
make one ridiculous.
The term "dividing lines" is used to denote lines which divide the
figure; they are difficult to use, as they tend to destroy the unity of

c 26
thought and feeling in the design; therefore it is advisable to start by
designing straight lines, which are expressed best in the frock sometimes
referred to as "the chemise dress.
As an extreme instance, to dramatize the point as to lines, you may,
in your own mind, draw a parallel between the lines of a schoolhouse
chimney, and the spire of a cathedral. What a difference in purpose, use,
fitness, association, thought!
The lines of one design may fit you like a natural skin; the lines of
another design may be as inappropriate as smoking a cigarette in church.
What is becoming to one woman may be entirely foreign to the figure of
another.
You have seen, we will
assume, a design that interested you, or perhaps
you have imagined a design for which there is no pattern. In either case,
you will do well, before you start to design your own lines, to draw a
mental picture of the finished gown as you will wear it. Your picture
will be much stimulated and will be more "true to life" if you will start
your mental process in front of a mirror. Before your glass determine
the lines of the dress you should wear. There is the question of your hips;
if they are large, select a silhouette that will soften their outline; if the
bust line be accentuated, plan to subdue it. Are your arms thin? Your
sleeves should have a certain degree of fullness; a loose sleeve will hide
the details that are not so pretty. Do you desire a short sleeve?Have it
at least two inches above the elbow or two inches below; then, when your
arm is raised or the elbow is beauty of line is maintained
in motion, the
because by the architecture of your sleeve you have succeeded in softening
the over-emphasized elbow bone.
As a part of your study, you might put on one of your old frocks and
again before the mirror, note every detail. Does your shoulder look broad?
If so, try a fold over the side of the bust —
does this not make you look
narrower and taller? Do you not prefer the narrower shoulder to the
broader one? Is your neck line long enough (and low enough) from
shoulder to shoulder? If your neck is not beautiful, do not build the neck
line of your gown too far away from the throat, and develop the neck
line carefully in its journey from shoulder to shoulder, trying to find the
most becoming lines.
(Should it seem to any of our readers that 'vanity" might be the
C 27 ]
outgrowth of "mirror study," we would say to such a one that at
this
least it prevents much vexation of spirit, which might otherwise disturb
what would have been a happy evening or occasion.)
—
Consider the waist line one of the most important of the secondary
lines. It can make or mar your costume. The fashions of to-day have a

tendency to experiment with the waist line. It is useless to make any

general rules when dealing with particular cases; one rule, however,
outlives all fashions and all seasons and that is, that the lines of the
natural figure must be always followed. Knowledge and mastery of
natural lines will enable you to solve any dress problem and any details
of your costume.
The vogue of the long-waisted dress makes for "beauty if the waist
line be correctly proportioned to the figure of the wearer. The belt of
the dress should be placed slightly below the normal waist line, keeping
the lining, however, at the normal waist line. This might puzzle the
home dressmaker, but one of the tricks practised by the great designers,
in order to make the matronly figure look more youthful, is virtually to
confine such a figure in a lining or foundation which follows the natural
line of the figure. Every line follows precisely the figure, in reference to
curves, et caetera, but the top drapery is where the art of the dressmaker
is best expressed. He
keeps the curves subtle by draping the material
from shoulder to waist line, preferably one to one and a half inches below
the waist line of the lining.
The wide belt would increase the prominence of a bust already large.
The figure of the thin woman, however, would attain proportion by means
of the wide belt; and if she were short in stature, she would do well to
place the belt either slightly below or at the normal waist line, thus dis-
guising her thinness and creating that proportion which adds so much to
the line of a dress.

I 28 ]
 CHAPTER V

THE SELECTION AND TREAT-

MENT OF MATERIALS
JLN choosing materials, one should be influenced by the quality, the
color, the texture, the weight.
Some fabrics are so beautiful in themselves that it is not necessary
to load them down with trimmings. If a suitable piece of cloth is selected,
and be a simple weave and a proper weight for the season's wear, it
if it

will look well and wear well. Good cloth will not fade or shrink quickly.
The texture of cloth is just as important as the color. The fabric may
be suitable in itself, but if the texture, figures and designs are too brilliant,
it will never make a good design for you. Consider the difference of the
texture of chiffon and net from the texture of silks or heavv materials.

The following are the most important items in considering material:

(1) Itshould be adapted to the type of dress and to the season in

which it is to be worn.
(2) Fabrics which are decorative in texture and pattern require very
little trimming.
(3) It should be of good quality to wear well.
(4) Plain materials are suited to almost any type of figure.
(5) The use of plain material for tucks and pleats is to be preferred
to cheap trimming. Trimming made of self-material is preferred
always to cheap or inharmonious trimming or ornaments. Use
trimming only when necessary to add a line or touch and then —
only enough to be becoming; your dress should be so made that
there is no need to use trimming as an excuse for wrong lines.
(6) Very broad stripes or plaids of contrasting colors and hues and
textures should be avoided. Vertical stripes of contrasting tones

C 29 ]
 may, however, be worn by slender persons; also, at discretion,
pattern plaids if the skirt is not short. Stout women should
never wear plaids.

(7) Figured materials with large, conspicuous designs should be

avoided by everyone. Moderately large figured materials may
be worn by tall, slender persons if the colors are subdued. The
short, stout woman requires plain materials or fabrics with small
figures.

Most materials have a right and a wrong side. In double fold materials,
the right side is from becoming shopworn. In
folded inside to protect it

materials where it is difficult to tell the right from the wrong side, the
selvage is usually smoother on the right side than on the wrong side. In
serge or diagonal weaves, the twills run downward from left to right on
the right side of the material.
Almost all the wool materials should be sponged before they are used.
Sponging shrinks the material and if it were not done before the material
is made up, the goods would shrink on the first damp day and ruin the

appearance and possibly the usefulness of the garment. Sponging also

prevents the ordinary spotting from rain, drops of water, etc.
There are certain wool materials such as velours, duvetyn, wool plush,
and materials of similar character that should not be sponged. Very
thin open-meshed materials should be sponged either at the store where
bought or at home. If you are uncertain as to whether your material
should be sponged or not, it is wise to experiment with a small piece of
it first. If it shrinks too much, or changes its color, do not sponge it.
Before sponging your material, cut off the selvage, or clip it at inter-
vals. Lay your material face down on the table. Wet the muslin with
cold water and wring out. Spread out your material, pulling out all the
wrinkles and lay the muslin (also spread out and free from wrinkles)
over it.Fold the other half of the material over the muslin, roll the
material and sponging cloth together in a tight roll and let it lie overnight,
covered with another piece of muslin and some newspapers, so that the
moisture will be retained.
In the morning, unroll the material, pressing it dry on the wrong side
as you unroll it. In sponging material of double width open it out its full
C 30 ]
width and sponge it in the same way, using a double width of muslin for
the shrinking process.
The heavier wash materials of the cotton and linen order should be
shrunk in the same way before they are made up.
Certain wool materials, such as velours and duvetyn, should be steamed
instead of sponged. Use the same table, ironing blanket, and unbleached
muslin as for sponging. Lay the material face down on the blanket. Wet
the muslin and lay it over the material. Hold an iron so that it just
touches the material enough to let the steam go through the material.
Pass it over the muslin, but do not let it rest on it, or it will mark the
material. It must just touch the muslin.
Velvet, velveteen, panne and plush, and a few wool materials
velvet,
like broadcloth have a distinct pile or nap. Except in the case of a kimono
sleeve garment, the nap or pile must run the same way in every part of
the garment. In materials with a such as velvet, velveteen, or plush,
pile,

the material must be cut with the pile running up, so that the nap will
fall out and show the full richness and depth of color. If the pile ran
down, it would flatten and lose its appearance of thickness and depth.
With panne which the pile is purposely flattened, the pile
velvet, in
should run down. One can easily tell which is up and which is down by
running the hand up and down the material.
In kimono sleeve garments that are cut without a seam on the shoulder,
or in one piece, it is impossible to have the nap or pile run the same way
at the front and back. Get the best effect in the front, as the back is less
noticeable. In the pile fabrics, let the pile run up in the front; in broad-
cloth and panne velvet, have the pile run down in the front.

C 31 ]
 CHAPTER VI

COLOR AND TEXTURE

_fL SENSE of color may
be defined as the ability or faculty in a very high
—
degree to distinguishing colors, shades, hues both independently and in
their relation to each other.
Inaudibly, but none the less definitely, color voices our emotions
just as words manifest our feelings; we react to color as we do to speech,
though perhaps not so consciously. Life grows richer in the presence of
color; we experience peace, joy, happiness, under its influence, and suffer
poverty of thought and feeling under its lack.
And as an angry or foolish word may destroy our loveliest and happiest
emotions, so will jarring colors or a discordant note disturb and even
prevent our reaction to the general color scheme. There must be then
harmonious combinations of colors; there must be proportion or balance
in the introduction of contrasting hues or colors, in the gradation of one
tone into another.
Fortunate, indeed, are those who have an eye for color —an almost
instinctive understanding of the correct selection and proper proportion-
ing of colors. But since there is a definite relation between colors, and
since the law of proportion or balance obtains everj^where, the possessor
of a normal color sense need not despair. To such a one we would say
that there are definite ways of developing one's appreciation of color.
Association with colors is the simplest method of intensifying one's innate
color perceptions; but to acquire an understanding of the laws governing
harmonious combinations and a consequent knowledge of how to combine
colors is a better method, as before the power of practical application
may reach its fullest development, there must be theoretical knowledge
and comprehension.
Suppose, for a moment, that the circumstances of your life had brought
—
you into touch with a new city or town an entirely new group or com-
C 32 ]
munity of people. You would, no doubt, find them all strangers at first;
then you would grow to know their names and faces; and after a time
you would become familiar by observation and association with the actual
and potential characteristics of this or that member of the group, with
his family connections, his friends, his general relation to the group and
what tradition and life influenced his actions; and were you giving a
dinner-party or luncheon, you would try to bring together a collection of
those members of the community who were affiliated by character, cir-
cumstances, or thought, so that the occasion might be a happy one.
So with color. You may become well acquainted with each member
of the color group, the shades and hues belonging to this or that color;
you will know what hues result from the combination of one color with
another; the softening or neutralizing effect of tones; and you will grow
to understand color values.
And as there are inyour community initiators and leaders of thought
and action whose thinking and whose activity dominates the group with
which they are amalgamated, so do certain colors dominate and lead the
—
rest the primary colors, as they are termed.
Red, blue, and yellow are the primary colors. For long years (and this
tradition has Nature's rainbow and the weight of great artists' opinions to
strengthen it) purple or violet, indigo, blue, green and yellow and red were
called the primary colors; but science has discovered that red, yellow
and blue can be combined to produce "the secondary colors" as they
are called. Blue and red, for instance, form violet; red, yellow, and blue
make indigo; yellow and blue make green; and orange is a combination of
red and yellow.
All other hues, all other tones (shades and tints) are but members
of the color group, relating to or taking their origin from primary or
secondary color combinations, tones being achieved through the neutral-
izing effect of black for shades and white for tints, or through hues of
another color.
With what a must the first dyer of material have contemplated
thrill

—
the fabric in its new aspect! Here was beauty in a pliable form, and
adapted to everyday needs. The first wonder of coloring materials has
gone; but you of this modern time may know something of that joy if,
when you are about to buy a new costume, you will experiment in fabrics;
n 33 3
and in this experiment of yours, you must bear in mind that a third factor
in color enters the calculation —yourself.
At the risk of reiteration, we repeat once more the essential importance
of a careful study of one's — the color of one's
self one's eyes, the
hair,
tones of one's skin, the impression you wish your personality to
final
convey— should be weighed carefully
all your mental thought when
in
you are selecting the color for your new costume. You want to be
sure that you are purchasing the fabric most becoming to you —
material whose color will enhance the tones of your skin, give you a
happier or sweeter expression, deepen your eyes, or beautify your hair.
A woman who dressed for years in blue discovered one day that she
became subtly beautiful in brown.
Still another factor must be reckoned with —
indeed, two more factors
the light and the background against which your costume will be worn.
The effect of light on color is too well known to deserve more than passing
mention, but we recall it merely as a reminder to our readers of the in-
tensifying effect on color of high light, the subduing effect of dimmer softer
lights. Orange, for instance, becomes yellow under high light, brown
under lower light.
—
And 3 our background a dark red dress on a wintry, snowy day, looks
r

warm and beautiful; but picture the same dark red dress on a sweltering
afternoon in mid- July. Booth Tarkington, perhaps unconsciously,
taught a lesson in backgrounds to the readers of his 'Conquest of Canaan'
'

when he sent Ariel Tabor forth, clad in lavender with overtones of gray,
to the meeting over the bridge with Joe Louden, on a spring day.
When you have begun to understand the part played by light and
background, when you have mastered the combination of colors, the
gradations of tones, you will have reached a point where you can, with
benefit to your color education, study the works of the great masters of
art; you will have reached a stage where you will note, with joy, the eternal
beauty Nature paints all about you. Her skies are endless studies of
—
contrasts and gradations subtle ones; her seas run endlessly in combina-
tions and gradations; her woods, with their everlasting play of distant
lights and shadows, are studies in tones; and her flowers, her brightly or
soberly hued birds, her animals, the color and tones of their fur (think
for a moment of the midnight shining blackness of the leopard, its yellow

C 34 3
eyes —how small the proportion of yellow! —or the polar bear, white-
furred against his background of ice) —they are
masterpieces in colors
all

—
and tones. Consider the flower dear to all, the daisy a combination of
yellow and white; the apple blossom, with its graded pinks against a
background of soft green leaves; consider the tiger lily and the tiny spots
of blackness in its petals ofwith its background of a summer after-
fire,

noon; think of the orchid, running tints from lilac to purple; of the gay
green and yellow parrot; of the exquisite pure red flame of the scarlet
tanager, the Baltimore oriole. Yet these are only a few of the millions of
color combinations in Nature. We
cannot err in following her combina-
tions; and suffice it to say that our American atmosphere is so happy an
accomplice with Nature that we make a mistake seldom, if ever, in so
doing.
Indeed, our greatest artist —Nature—presents her law, two-branched,
very clearly for the combination of colors; the first is gradation, the second
—
contrast gradation being the gradual blending of one tone, color, or hue
into another; contrast being secured through harmonizing the quality and
quantity of one color, tone, or hue, with the proper quality and quantity
of another, or even by the introduction of a third tone, either white,
black, silver, gray or gold, to modify a sharp discordant combination of
colors.
The streets, the shops, thedrawing-rooms of our cities and towns
our theaters (even the movies) teem with color combinations, color
suggestions; watch these, analyze and criticise or praise, as the case may be.
Returning, briefly, for a moment to the study of works of art -a —
method of studying color of which we have temporarily lost sight in our
discussion — we cannot be too emphatic in advising our readers to pursue
this way of acquiring further comprehension of color play and color
handling. Backgrounds have their part, light has its share, in every
production of the masters, whether they are of Italian, Dutch, Japanese
or American nativity. And if an art museum is not easy of access, little
shops have copies of all the beautiful things the artist's brush has done
with colors. Procure or look at some of these; note how colors have been
combined in costumes; how tones have neutralized hues into harmony;
how a touch of brightness or of softness has given life to dull grays, browns,
and greens, relieved brilliancy into subtle beauty. These artists have
c 35 n
mixed their colors after long study and deliberation; you can do no less for
your costume, to make it a picture of harmony and fitness. The secret of
harmony is a proper balance of contrasts and gradations; and there is no
easy way of discovering this secret.
For her who would know the practical combination of hues and tones
as they are practised to-day, there is further enlightenment in our chapter
on "Accessories" —a study of the colors generally assumed to be suitable
for certain types, some favorite combinations, and suggestions as to when
and where colors may
be worn.
One cannot forbear, as one draws near the conclusion of this chapter,
to draw attention to a combination in nature familiar to us in our florists'
—
windows and in our gardens the combination of colors in the flower
called the pansy. Note how the bright yet soft beauty of the yellow pansy
is deepened by the black at its center; it is indeed a beautiful contrast

of hues. Consider how the velvety quality of the black pansy gains by
contrast with the tiny tints at its heart; and above all, consider the purple
—
pansy, with its purple hues, its lavender tints was there ever a more
exquisite combination of purple hues and purple tones? And the combina-
tion of purple and yellow in another type of pansy —
saw you ever
anything more lovely from the inspired hands of the best designers? Do
not, unless you are a rare artist, run the whole gamut of tones and shades
of the more variegated pansies in your costume; but try to select a har-
monious blending of the hues and tones you may find in this, one of our
most exquisitely and variously blended flowers.

TEXTURES
Before closing this chapter, would seem well to make a few remarks
it

on texture, as textural quality appeals in some degree to those aesthetic

emotions which respond to color. To some minds, the appeal of contrasting
textures is far more subtle than the primitive reaction to color; it is,
perhaps the most subtle appeal that fabric makes. The highly civilized
woman whose personality finds its happiest expression in plays of texture
should arrive first, nevertheless, at a decision as to which color harmonizes
with or best interprets her tonal type.
Her next reasoning should be as to which of the various texture com-
—
binations brocades with chiffon or georgette; serge with satin, chiffon
C 36 ]
with crepe de chine; velvet with chiffon; organdy with chiffon or georgette,
et caetera, convey fitness to the occasion and to herself; her costume, for
instance, for a morning's shopping or a day at the would not be
office
chiffon with crepe de chine or velvet with satin; these are for more formal,
elaborate occasions. Nor will shewear brocades with chiffon or georgette,
lest she might suggest a real poverty of wardrobe and an absolute and
painful lack of a sense of the fitness of things.
Great care in the selection of contrasting materials, an analytical
discrimination in colors, a nice sense of fitness and harmony —-these are
absolutely essential to good dressing.

C 37 ]
PART II
 CONTENTS OF PART II
CHAPTER PAGE
Fundamentals of Dressmaking 42

I. The Tools in Your Workshop 43

II. Stitches and Seams 46

III. Making the Lining 74

IV. Cutting Material from Patterns 85

V. Putting the Parts Together —Fitting—Finishing 92

VI. What to Wear and When: a Few Don' ts of Dress 106

VII. Embroidery .113

Conclusion: Accessories . 123

 FUNDAMENTALS OF
DRESSMAKING
JL HE greatest pianist in the world would not know how to make a piano,
the greatest designer how to make a pattern. It follows, therefore, that
you can make a knowing how to use a pattern.
perfect dress without
Bear in mind, however, that when you buy a pattern of standard
make, it is mechanically perfect, made so by those who have spent their
livesdoing just this work; therefore, the selection of the right pattern
should be your only concern.
A complete knowledge of how to lay your pattern and cut the material
—how to sew it together, —
and how to fit it these are the essentials of
dressmaking. And
with these essentials, and nothing more, that
it is

this part of our book concerns itself.

There are few laws of dressmaking that are really fundamental, so
one's chances of success in making a perfect dress are limited only to the
application of skill, taste and common sense. We shall try in this "ABC
of Dressmaking" simply as possible, the few fundamentals
to set forth, as
that are necessary for success, hoping that your path will be made easier
and that the so-called "mystery" of dress-designing and dressmaking
may remain a "mystery" no longer.
In the preparation of the following chapters, the author has been
guided by questions which have been asked of him by students in our
dressmaking classes and questions which have been put to him while on
—
the lecture platform in fact, he has been repeatedly asked, "How may
one secure the proper fit of a dress? How may one set a sleeve in correctly?
How may one arrive at a knowledge of one's proper lines?" et caetera.
Should you, in the perusal of this book, however, find certain points
of interest to you which have not been covered, do not hesitate to write
us, and we shall endeavor to be of service.
1

July, 1923
1
Modern Modes Company, 598 Madison Avenue, New York City.

I 42 2
 CHAPTER I

THE TOOLS IN YOUR WORK SHOP

JO.AVE you ever, as you watched the construction of a neighboring
or adjacent building, noticed the men coming to work with their boxes of
carpenters' tools? Have you ever watched an artist lay out his brushes
and paints? Have you ever noted the busy housekeeper, as she collected
her utensils for the baking of a cake or a pie? If so you can readily con-
clude that it is a poor workman, indeed, who does not instinctively respond
to the thrill that comes when his fingers close about the tools with which
he is to do his work. He may not always be conscious of this response,
but it is always there even when the craftsman's mind is busied with the
work actually to be done.
As a good craftsman, then, select your tools discriminatingly and with all
discretion. Be sure your your needles bright and shiny,
scissors are sharp,
your tape measure accurate, your sewing machine well oiled and clean.
The most precious possession of the home to the author's mind,
—
however, is the sewing machine a trustworthy one which, with its many
attachments for trimming and fancy stitches, can surely be figured as a
worthwhile possession.
The first machine, we suppose, was probably a sad affair; it undoubt-
edly had many ailments, dropped stitches, broke threads and kept the
mind of its operator in a trying condition. But to-day if a well-known
machine becomes a part of the home and can be depended upon to run
—
smoothly and behave well as it should do if it is a standard machine it —
surely should be reckoned with and considered as a part of the necessary
expenses of the household, as much so indeed, as the kitchen table.
Machine work is so much an art to-day that one no longer values a
garment more because it has been "made by hand." In fact, the reverse
is now true, and the ease with which we may learn to run a machine should

count much in its favor.

C 43 ]
 A list isgiven below of the "things" you will need, and also a few
little guideboards of direction relating to these same things.
A Sewing Box or Basket (all your smaller tools, thread, etc., may be
kept in this).
Thimble (of silver or celluloid).
Scissors and shears.
Fine pins (about 1 inch long, with sharp points).
Needles (two kinds, one for sewing, one for basting. Sizes 7 to 9 are
a good selection for sewing. For basting, use milliners' needles
same
in the sizes).
An Emery Bag (for smoothing needles).
Pincushion (one in which needles and pins may be easily inserted).
Tailor's chalks in various colors.
Basting Cotton (use regular cotton, white. Colored cotton is some-
times used to mark alterations after a fitting. Tan, light blue, or
yellow are also good for basting. Very fine materials should be
basted with a fine sewing silk).
Thread.
—
Tape Measure (smooth ends brass-clipped ends are not so accurate).
A sewing machine of a standard make.
Dress form or figure.
The last item is so important as to merit a paragraph of its own. The
dress form or figure is used in the fitting of your garments. This is pur-
chasable in any size to fit the figure, and can generally be bought at any
department store; if the store does not happen to have one on hand, it
will procure one for you in a short time. It is well to buy your form in a
hemp color, being careful to secure one in a standard type and of the very
latest manufacture. Some women prefer an adjustable form, that is,
one capable of being raised or lowered at will; others prefer a non-adjust-
able form. Be careful to get one that is small enough; the bust measure
may be right, and the rest of the form too large; neck, bust and hip
measures should all be taken into consideration. Too large a form is
can be made to serve by making larger.
useless; the smaller
These forms are of a composition which will permit the insertion of
pins for draping and handling of material.
For the further enlightenment of the home dressmaker, it may be
C 44 ]
mentioned that there are also forms of a special type which permit the
making of different size dresses on one form through an expanding and
contracting mechanism. There are also forms with a special framework
attached for use in hanging skirts.
— —
Aside from all the above scissors, pins, needles, form the next most
— —
important article perhaps the most important is the one which is
known as "the Pattern." It is the originating point on which everything
else swings for weal or woe.
So as a cardinal motto in the use of the pattern, select the one which
after careful study seems best to fit your personal needs, and be sure it is
a standard one.
Our educational world of to-day, broad and complete as it is, must
recognize the value of educating our girls to compete along lines of con-
struction with their brothers. It is a curious survival of instincts that
compels the girl in her infancy to play with her doll, while her brother
plays with blocks and occupies himself with constructing play buildings.
He may, while she is playing with her doll, even build for her a doll's
house. While sister curls her dolly's hair, he chooses to solve puzzles for
her amusement. She may once in a while rush in with truly feminine
intuition and solve an intricate point, but for the most part she is content
that brother should construct. Bearing in mind this trait of the girl, we
reach an explanation of women's difficulty in correctly untangling the
parts of a pattern and knowing how to put them together, whereas the
building blocks and puzzles, if pored over in her youth, might have devel-
oped a constructive bias which would have rendered the putting together
of the pattern parts an easier matter.

C 45 ]
 CHAPTER II

STITCHES AND SEAMS

JtWEN as the painter prepares his canvas for the expression of what
may be acclaimed a masterpiece, so should you prepare the foundation
of your dressmaking. As the painter knows his colors, so must you know
your stitches; as the artist practises his knowledge of balance, so should
you practise your knowledge of seams, because stitches and seams are
just as imperatively factors in the construction of your dress as are colors
in the painter's picture. Let us, then, give our attention to this all-

important subject.
The basis, the foundation, of dressmaking, so far as assembling
all

the various parts or pieces is concerned, is stitches and seams. It is more

than essential that our student bring to this part of the work great patience
and an ardent desire to master details, if she wishes her dress, when fin-
ished, to have a really smart appearance. That seams must be properly
sewed and stitches neat are basic axioms in the art of making a dress.

THE BASTING STITCH

To many people, particularly to those who are anxious to achieve
so-called "effects/' the basting stitch seems almost a humorous item.
Did you ever hear a woman say, "I never baste?" A
few great designers
use pins, perhaps, but they are masters in their art; and they are much
more likely to use pins only when developing a costume conception with
the material draped on a form.
It is literally true that the importance of the basting stitch cannot be
overestimated; the wrong basting of a garment may ruin your material
and your dress.
A No. 8 needle or a millinery needle (which is a long-pointed affair)
is often used in basting, and there is a special cotton, No. 40 and No. 50

r 46 ]
thread being favored. Be careful, though, when basting silk to use silk
thread, as cotton may mark the material.
Once again we repeat that no matter how simple your dress, correct
basting is necessary. If you will take heed of this truth and memorize
carefully the suggestions that follow, you will save yourself much time,
and it may be that you will save material as well.
Before basting your parts together, carefully match all the notches
of your pattern, as noted elsewhere in this book. Then pin the parts
together before you start to baste. Baste from one half to three quarters
of an inch below the line on which you intend to sew, or one inch from
the edge of the material, so that the basting stitches will not be sewed in
with the stitches which ultimately keep the parts firmly together. And
when you are about to remove the basting threads, do not pull the entire
thread out at one drawing, as in so doing you may mark your dress.
Rather should you cut the basting thread at intervals of three or
four inches; and when you do begin to pull out, begin at the knotted
end.
When you baste a straight and a bias edge together, hold the bias edge
toward you; in this manner, you can better adjust the extra fullness to
your straight edge and prevent too much fullness in any one place; you
also lessen the possibility of stretching the bias too much.
When basting under-arm seams, start at the waist line and baste
toward the top. Baste down from the waist line. Baste shoulder seams
from the neck line toward the armseye. Side-front seams should be
basted from the bust line to the shoulder, then down from bust line to
waist line. Side-back seams should be basted up the shoulder-blade line
to the shoulder seam, then down from the shoulder blades to the waist
line. Baste sleeve up.
Skirts should be basted from the waist line down. The one exception
to this rule is that obtaining in closely fitted skirts, which are basted from
up to the waist line and down from the hip line.
the hip line
Make your thread about twenty-five inches long, single (it may seem
ridiculous to make a point of this seeming triviality, but too long a thread
will, nevertheless, cause trouble by twisting, tangling or knotting, thereby
not only distracting your attention, but making your basting line less
sure), and then proceed to baste, after having knotted the long end of

C 47 ]
your thread, which should be about three quarters of the length of the
thread with a small, neat knot.
A word, however, as to the kinds of basting; there is even basting,
uneven basting, and tailor basting. Let us start with the one most used
and most familiar. Look carefullv at illustration No. 1

EVEN BASTING-.

^Ti^TT- ',
\ < W 'l>\ *'

No. 1

Our artist has made this sketch for you in black and white, so that you
mav have no doubt as to what the even basting stitch reallv is.

The even basting stitch is used to hold edges together. Begin at the
upper left hand of the edges you wish to bring together. Push needle
through material, take a straight short stitch, and so proceed, pushing
the needle in and out. Keep the stitches even and in a straight line. A
straight even line of basting is in itself an inspiration.
Now consider the uneven baste, as in the sketch below: No. 2
Take a short stitch, then a long one; then another short and another long,
until the basting is finished. Do not take the stitches too long; otherwise
the necessary firmness is not achieved. Experience will soon guide you
as to the best length of stitch.
When you come to the end of your material, fasten your basting by
two back stitches, or with a loop, so that the thread will not pull out.

REGULAR TAILOR BASTING

This basting is used for cloth material. Put cloth on double and have
the thread double, about twenty-seven inches in length. Baste through
the cloth on the double, having each stitch loose —not firm. Then lift

one edge of the material and cut through the center of each basting
stitch, thus leaving an exact marking for seams. In this way you secure
absolute evenness on both sides.

Mil,,, >,,)!„.. ,„.. )),.,!, ),,„ I,. /„, ),/,.)„.

No. 3

Another way is to use chalked double thread so as to mark both sides

alike. For this your thread may be shorter. This method is used to advan-
tage in the case of all thin materials, and is much favored for marking
by the efficient dressmaker. It may be used also for wool materials. See
sketch No. 4.
There is also a tracing wheel, the use of which facilitates seam work,
but as directions for use are furnished with these, a description is not
necessary for the purpose of this book.

THE RUNNING STITCH

This stitch is used for shirring, tucking, gathering, and sometimes for
seams, if they do not require firm sewing.
C 49 3
To make this stitch, begin at the upper right of your edges, which you
have basted together as previously instructed. Take several short stitches
(you who like the nice little stitches will be in your element now) with the
point of the needle, holding the stitches on the needle as you take them;
then pull the thread through the material, and follow the line of basting
(if 3^ou are sewing two edges together) until the completion of your work.

. ..nxV^VWV^ x. .

No. 4

Gathering is another version of the running stitch. When you come

to the end of your material, remove the needle and gently pull the thread
till the material is gathered to the required fullness (see illustration 5).

,L__ ,:)>>w,>^

RUUT* IN O ST ITCH -

GATH ER.IMO-
No. 5

When several rows of gathering are used, it is called shirring. If you

wind your thread over a pin at the starting point of each row, you will
hold the gathering firm. Each row should be firm each row should be —
C 50 3
directly under the row above, for it is truly workmanlike to have your
rows straight and even.
Use strong thread for shirring. This stitch, by the way, is often used
as a trimming and makes a very delightful decoration for little girls'
dresses. See the accompanying sketch of a shirred dress for a little child.

fins swir*mNO.

No. 6

COARSE AND FINE SHIRRING

In fine shirring, an edge is turned back to the top of the first row of
shirring as illustrated. On thin material, it is well to insure an absolutely
true line, which may be done by pulling through the material a thread
on the grain. Two or three rows are all that is necessary for line shirring,
unless the shirring is to be used as a trimming, in which case as much as
three or four inches of shirring may be made, each row one-quarter inch
apart. Shirring may be defined as evenly spaced, fine stitching gathered.
Coarse shirring is made in the same way as fine shirring, the only
difference being in the gathering, which is made more coarse. Shirring is

C 51 ]
graded by the size of the stitch —the smaller the stitch, the finer the
shirring.
THE BACK STITCH
This stitch is Frequently it is used in place of
a very useful one.
machine stitching by the woman who likes "everything made by hand."
Begin at the right hand, take a short, straight stitch, then put the needle
back to where you began your stitch, insert and pull through the same
length beyond the stitch. It is superfluous to say that the stitches should
be straight and even. See illustration No. 8.

No. 7

THE COMBINATION STITCH

This a running stitch combined with the back stitch. It is accom-
is

plished in the following manner: take several running stitches, then one
back stitch, and proceed in this way. This stitch is used to secure firmness
when the running stitch will not accomplish this purpose to one's entire
satisfaction. See illustration No. 9.

C 52 H
 No. 10

fsi an •!„: i, ,~im

i 'kV V 'mI
1- ,

8ACX STITCH .

No. 8

COMBINATION BAt< AND RUNNINO- i

ji, .., .1,. *..

my., hi
'''*" »•'> |Lia la '"- htiiifclu

No. 11

V
gV v ...tn. .*">, '
-- , ^ . — .

g 4f

No. 9

I 53 ]
 OVERCASTING
This stitch is generally used for overcasting seams or raw edges, to
keep the material from fraying. Hold your material in your left hand;
fasten thread with back stitch or knot (for a trial) ; start with your needle
from the under side of the material, put your needle through, bring the
thread over the top of the material, then start needle from under side
again, and continue in the same fashion. Do not pull the stitches too
tight, and make them deep enough, so that they will not pull out of the
material. Illustration No. 10.
OVERHANDING
This a stitch often used on very fine material. It is used to sew two
is

folded edges together. For the beginner, it is wise to baste the two edges
together, then proceed as in overcasting, placing the needle in from the
back, pulling it through, and bringing thread over the top of the material.
Continue as in illustration 11. Take even stitches and do not pull the
thread tight. The stitches must be small enough to hold the edges of the
material firmly.
SEAMS
When one has reached the moment where one may begin the seam,
one has arrived at a thrilling stage. Your cutting has been done; you
have mastered stitches by practice; and you are ready to put together the
various parts.

No. 12

The plain seam is the simplest; baste the two edges of the material
together as indicated above under "Basting, "then sew with back stitch or
by machine. Make your seam deep enough, so that the material will not
fray.
THE TURNED-IN SEAM
First, make a plain seam as above. Then turn in the edges toward
each other; baste edges together, then overcast as in illustration 13.

C 54 3
 FRENCH SEAM
Again make a plain seam on right side of material, just far enough in
to hide the raw edge. Then fold the seam in, using the stitches on the
seam as edge, and stitch again, this time on the wrong side of the material,
deep enough to cover the raw edges of the first seam.

FELLED SEAM
Make seam on wrong side of the material. Trim one side of the
plain
material close to the seam, and fold the wide edge in towards the cut edge.
Then lay the work flat on the table and hem the turned-in edge. This
seam, when finished, should be flat as in illustration 14

TURNCO )N SEAM
z-

ijmjIiiii J"||"|i' rjnwT «• v m\w\ IKU ^"''

No. 13

This seam is used for under-arm or skirt seams.

Now put the needle through the material, then take a small, straight
stitch on the turned-in edge (the needle pointing to the left) and continue
along the entire edge. The stitches must be kept even so that the right
side may show the rows of small, straight stitches —the stitches of a true
craftsman.

ROLLED SEAM
The Roll Seam is used when materials ravel or when a narrow joining
is required. Have the edges even, baste together, then roll edges over,
and overhand with small, close stitches. Bring the stitches from under
the roll; that is, put needle in back of material. Illustration No. 15.

C 55 ]
^viidNfr Side

FELL SEAM
FRENCH SEAM.
No. 14

ROLLED SEAM.

WHiPPjNCr,
No. 16

C 56 3
 WHIPPING
This is a form of stitching used on edges. Turn the edge down very
slightly, and apply running stitching. Then roll the top down over the
edge about one sixteenth of an inch and overhand with fine stitches. Use
a very small needle. This form of stitching is used for chiffon edges,
thin silks, and fine lace edges. Illustration No. 16.

OPEN RUNNING SEAM

The edges of the material are stitched together, in the usual manner,
about an inch from the edge. Then the two edges are pressed back

V„ |„
u/,... «... i,.,,luf,r In, i It., lin i.ii Hi i ii,

))i iii i iiii i i m '

U i
|I"»i ' THtprl im i "| ' mi mi .mn um^nu

OPE-N RUNNING- SEAM

nnjpprpif

OP^N OOU.NO SEA^J.

No. 17 No. 18

and down to the wrong side of the material, as in the illustration. The
raw edge on each side of the seam is then turned slightly back in a tiny
fold which is kept in place by a running stitch. See illustration No. 17.
Another excellent plan for obviating the raw edges of a seam is the
device shown above, a piece of narrow ribbon binding being placed over
the raw edges and held in place by means of a single running stitch in
the manner indicated:
INVISIBLE SLIP STITCH
A very valuable stitch to know is the slip stitch. This is used for
turned-in edges when one does not wish the stitches to show.
Fold your hem to the desired depth; then baste. Fasten the thread
under the fold of the hem when you start; bring your needle out through
C 57 3
the crease of the fold at the under edge of the hem, taking up only one or
two threads of the material, then slip the needle along the inside of the
folded edge, bringing out a short distance from where you began. Then
it

take a very small stitch into the material, then a long stitch along the
inside of the folded edge, and so on, until work is completed.

HEMMING
Hemming is the form of stitch employed for fastening the hem of a
garment to the material. The hem is made in this manner: First turn back

No. 19 No. 20 No. 21

on the wrong side of the material a tiny fold sufficient to insure a perfectly
smooth, straight edge. This smooth, straight edge will be the top of your
hem, when your work is finished, so turn back another fold to the depth
desired in the manner shown in the illustration. No. 19. Hems ma3' be
anywhere from two to seven inches in depth, according to material.
Having made the second fold as indicated, take the material in your
left hand; insert your needle just below the edge of your first fold or top

of the hem; push upward slightly to the left and catch with a tiny stitch

C 58 3
the edge of your hem to the material; proceed in this manner, taking very
small, neat stitches.

TAPED OR TAILORED HEM

Whena skirt or dress of heavy wool or cloth material is hemmed, the
turning under of the raw edge renders the hem thick and clumsy; the
method usually employed, therefore, for hemming materials of this type
is on the edge of the material and then sew the outer
to stitch binding
edge of the binding to your material, forming the hem. No. 20.

BIAS-FACIH&

No. 22

FRENCH FOLD
In many French fold is used in place of the hem. For
dresses, the
instance, a serge dress may have a French fold of satin; a lace or chiffon
dress may have a satin or crepe fold. These folds may be of any width
desired, but the narrower French fold gives a smarter appearance. After
cutting the required number of bias strips, sew them together, press the
seams flat, and then stitch the edges of the binding to the edge of your
material on the right side; roll the binding over the edges to the wrong
t 59 3
side, turn in the raw edge of the binding and slip stitch to the material so
as to cover the first stitching on the right side. Illustration No. 21.

FACING
Facings are of three kinds — and bias. They must be
straight, fitted,
cut on the same grain of the goods as the material you wish to face.
A straight facing is made from a piece of goods cut straight across the
grain.
FITTED FACING
;>,l.k

-I I I I nul l I I » H l < ''

f^lO-ttT SIDE Ri&HT SID&

n

|ii ii' 1
1 rrm "in mill i. i i i
1

No. 23

For a bias facing, take the goods on the straight grain and fold diago-
nally to make the bias. In other words, fold your material so that the
lengthwise grain and the cross grain are at right angles to each other.
Then cut the desired depth of facing, the diagonal line serving as a refer-
ence guide in maintaining the line, and you will have a perfectly true bias.
The advantage of the bias facing lies in its power of being stretched to
circle a curve or go around a point. Illustration No. 22.
For a. fitted facing, lay that part of the garment which is to be faced
on your material, being careful that the grain of the goods and the grain
of the garment part are identical. Cut your facing, first tracing the

t 60 ]
outline of the garment where necessary. Then, having shaped your facing,
you may cut to the desired depth.
For example, let us suppose you need a five-inch facing. Measure off
with a tape measure the desired width of your goods, allowing for seams.
Lay your facing on the right side of the material, edge to edge, and then
baste. Stitch the basted parts together, then turn over the facing on the
wrong side of the material and baste again, edge to edge; finally, hem the

11 him |di ii jiwi )]))) )i

» '
[\w\ piwiiwiiini hid
i
iii 'H n i p |
ii' »

BINDINCr.

No. 24

top of your facing neatly, so that the stitches will not show through.
This method will secure for you a very neat facing and a workmanlike
edge. Illustration No. 23.

BIAS BINDINGS

A bias binding is cut on the

can be same grain as a bias facing. It
made any width from one-eighth inch to one-half inch or even one inch.
Lay the binding on the right side of the material, as for bias facing,
and stitch, taking care to keep the edges very straight. Then turn the
binding down toward the wrong side of the material, double the desired
C 61 ]
width of the binding; fold on the half and hem lightly on the original
stitching, so that your stitching will not show through on the right side
of the material.
For instance, if you wish to make a binding one-quarter inch wide,
cut your binding one inch wide. Lay your edges together, as described
above, and stitch; then turn the raw edge of your binding down to one-
half inch wide and fold again on the half. Then hem lightly on your origi-
nal stitching, and you will find you have a one-quarter inch binding.
Illustration No. 24.

PIPING.

No. 25

PIPING

Take a bias three quarters of an inch wide, and stitch as a regular

seam, having your bias on the right side of your material, and then hem
on the other side not lower than your first sewing.
A piping can be made flat or with a cord. It isused to finish the edges
of a dress and, as a rule, is of a contrasting color. The material should be
soft enough to lend itself easily to the corners and curves of the dress,
such as neck line, armholes, et caetera. See illustration No. 25.
C 62 ]
 MITERED AND SQUARE CORNERS
One of the difficult parts of finishing a garment is the making of the
hem at the corners.
The narrow hem may be turned in at the corners, but for the deep
hem, there would be too much material; therefore, the accumulation must
be cut away and the corners turned. To accomplish this, it is necessary
to miter (see sketch 27).
Trimmings may be mitered so that the joinings can hardly be seen.
This form of joining may be used for turning square corners (see illustra-
tion) on collars, for lingerie, and in fact for any form of decoration where a
corner is needed.
In the case of mitering a corner for embroidery, take piece of embroid-
ery between thumb and finger of right hand. Fold the embroidery to
form diagonal or bias in the same manner shown in illustration No. 26.
The same design of embroidery pattern should appear on each side of the
diagonal. Now turn material over to the wrong side and sew first with a
running stitch along the line of the crease. Cut off the waste material
close to the running stitch so as to avoid bulkiness, and whip or overhand
raw edges closely together. Press with a hot iron on the wrong side; turn
over to the right side, and you will find the embroidery properly mitered
and corner squared.
Lace presents two angles of discussion in regard to the square corner.
Suppose, for instance, you wish to miter a piece of lace having scallops;
proceed in the same manner as for embroidery, but be sure that you
jold on the center of the scatlop, so as to match the two halves of the scallop
together. In the case of a large scallop, care must be taken to use the
center of two scallops.
Turn the lace over on the wrong side, sew along the crease with run-
ning stitch, as for embroidery, cut off waste, and overhand or whip the
raw edges firmly together.
—
another angle of the art of mitering presents itself the applique-
Still

ing of lace on a mitered corner so neatly that the joining may not be
detected.
If you have any heavy lace, such as point-de-Venise, or applique lace
of any kind, you may join the corners as follows:
First, take a stiff piece of paper and draw a diagonal or bias line

C 63 ]
similar to the one formed in folding embroidery or lace; place your lace
on the paper, and fold precisely as already described along the pencil
line. Now cut out your lace along the crease as nearly as possible to the

pencil line, cutting in and out to save your design. From the pieces that
you have cut off, and leaves and applique those
secure various flowers
to your corner in such a manner that the pattern is filled out and the
seams rendered invisible.
There are two kinds of square corners. Let us take the case of the
square neck corner.
There is a little knack in getting the corners of a square corner.
It is a good idea first to trace your square either with chalk or basting

MITERED CORNER OF LACE OR EMBROIDERY

No. 26 No. 27

thread on the grain of the material, for both the up and down lines of
your square and for the meeting line, which, of course, comes across the
grain.
Now, before cutting, begin to bind with a piece of binding or a tiny
cording, as your fancy pleases; lay the binding on your tracing line, edge
to edge, on the right side of the material, and apply the binding to the
material with a small running stitch. When you come to the corner, cut
out your square, using care not to cut to the very corner. Lay your work
flat on the table; gather up with your left hand a small fold of the binding,

right at the point where the two lines meet, so that the top of the fold
will run true with the tracing line, meeting the line on which you have

C 64 ]
been running your stitch; then, with your right hand, turn the binding
backward on the tiny fold until a little triangle is formed; fasten the point
of this triangle firmly to your material, just as if you were continuing your
running stitch; take the binding in your left hand and manipulate this
round your corner to form a square, keeping the edge of the binding true
to your tracing edge. When you have finished running the binding on,
RKrHT SlPE WRONCr SIO[
RIG-KT S|D£
I

—
3
L
—

v- - - -\

YKH&D PINISHPO
-

RlOHT S/De VMR.ON&. SIDE RlCrrtT SIOB.

No. 28

you may cut along your tracing line; then turn the binding on the wrong
side of the material and tack lightly. A little practice will soon enable you
to become an adept in producing a real square corner. See illustration
No. 28.
Another form of square corner is that used in the square edges of
coats, tunics, wraps, and so forth, as per illustration 27. It is formed in
this way
C 65 3
 We suppose that you are squaring the corners of your coat. First
will
turn your side and bottom hems in to the desired depth, both being the
same width. Again, lay your work flat on the table. Turn back the bottom
hem and cut out one thickness on the inside the depth of the hem as
indicated. hem back to its original position, and on the single
Fold the
thickness of material that you now have, begin to fold in and down toward
the opposite corner, so that you will achieve the point of the triangle at
that corner; turn the hem back and cut off more material, leaving plenty
of edge for turning in; adjust \T our triangle or diagonal line once more,
and you will have achieved your square corner.

IVSIOE

01AT5 IDI

PLACKET
No. 29

PLACKETS
This is one of the points in which it is exceedingly difficult for the
home dressmaker to excel. Its position, for one thing, is important. It
should not be any longer than necessary. If you are making a plain gown,
you may hide the placket under a panel or sash, though it should usually
be hidden under a fullness, or under a pleat or trimming. If it is on a seam,
it is not so hard to make. The placket should be faced with a straight
little piece of the material. Ten inches is generally a good length for a
placket. Cut as indicated on the pattern. If a placket has to be cut right
into the material where there is no seam, take a straight piece of thin
C 66 ]
material about one and one-half inches wide (silk, ribbon, or tape) ; cut
your placket, lay the tape on the right side of the material and stitch all
around it; then turn as for binding over the raw edge, allowing one-half
inch, and stitch down on either side. The right side is for the hooks
with the binding turned down, and the left side is for the eyes, the little
binding forming flap or fly. Snaps may be used instead of hooks and
eves, if desired. Illustration No. 29.

SMOCKING
This is a very pretty and quaint trimming which breathes of an older
world and is still always new. Smocking must be made on both the
lengthwise and cross grain of the material. Otherwise it doesnot have
the desired effect.
With a pencilmake little dots about one-half inch apart to the desired
size of the smocking. You will need about double the amount of material;
for instance, five-inch smocking will require about ten inches of material.
C 67
~2
 Now, you want a band of smocking that is five inches wide and five
if

inches long, you would need ten inches in width. The length does not
vary. Pick up with your needle your first row of dots. Catch your first
two dots together, leave a space, then catch the next two dots, and so
proceed, leaving space and catching dots.
On the second line of dots, you alternate: leave the first dot, space,
catch up the next two dots, space; catch up the next two dots. On your
third row, do as on your first; on your fourth, as on your second, and so on.
Illustration No. 30.
CORDINGS
Cording is another very pretty trimming. It must be made, however,
with great care, because the least little deviation from the straight lines
COIXDIN&-.

spoils the effect. A good idea is to start with a pulled thread. Gauge as
for tucking. Have whatever width desired. Place your
fine cording of
cord under the material and use a running stitch as for tucking. Run
your stitch close to the cording, exercising great care not to catch the
cording. Aleasure from edge to edge as in tucks; three-quarters or one-
half inch between makes an attractive band of cording.
An attractive trimming is made by drawing up the cording slightly as
for shirring. Illustration No. 31.

BOUND BUTTONHOLES
A bound buttonhold serves two purposes: the first, a useful one,
since it holds the button; the second, a decorative, since it makes a
trimming.
C 68 ]
 To make a bound buttonhole, care must be taken that it is put on
the right grain of the material, size and distance between each buttonhole
carefully measured, as shown in the sketch.
First, mark with chalk the desired size of the buttonhole, and, if
preferred with colored thread in addition. They must be placed at an
even space from the edge of the garment, as well as in relation to each
other.
60U.ND,

RlfrHT SIDE WRONG- SIDE.

No. 32
Right side when finished Wrong side when finished
3 steps to take in the making indicated below

The center of the buttonhole having been traced as outlined in the

preceding paragraph, place a piece of material of a size larger than the
desired buttonhole on the right side of your garment. The center of this
piece of material placed exactly on the same line as the center of the
is

buttonhole. Baste on the buttonhole, mark, and stitch all around or at

a distance of one-sixteenth inch from the center of the buttonhole, forming
littlesquare corners at the edges, as indicated in the illustration. For
the buttonhole, cut through the tracing, turn a little square of material
in on the wrong side to form the binding on the right side, as shown.

I! 69 ]
Stitch lightly near the edge on the wrong side to keep the binding firm,
and catch lightly on the outer edge of the square, sewing the corners
firmly on the wrong side. Press with a hot iron, and the finished bound
buttonhole will appear as shown. Illustration No. 32.

WORKED BUTTONHOLES
First chalk out on your garments the size of buttonholes required;
measure the space between each buttonhole to secure accurate distance
between. You may mark with thread if your wish. Then cut along the
line of thread or chalk. With needle and twist, start from the right-hand
corner and overhand, this being a stitch similar to overcasting, all around

No. 33

the buttonhole, making the corners nicely; then buttonhole stitch all

around the buttonhole.

Buttonhole stitches are made in the following manner: put the needle
through with an upward motion and draw the thread over the needle
to form a loop at the top of the buttonhole; fasten firmly, but not tightly,
and proceed as shown in the illustration. Note the finish of the stitch on
the inner edge of the buttonhole at the corner. Illustration No. 33.

TUCKS
Tucks, when used as trimming, are adaptable to either thin or heavy
materials. If you wish to tuck chiffons, organdy, or any thin material,
always pull a thread across the material for your initial tuck.
Pin tucks are charming. In making these, take up the smallest amount
of material — —
one-sixteenth inch, if possible and use a running stitch
C 70 ]
with a fine needle and No. 100 cotton. A space of one-quarter inch between
the edge of each tuck is generally good gauging. From initial tuck measure
one-quarter inch; indicate by mark exact point; then make one-sixteenth
inch tuck, proceeding in this manner you will find that a one-eighth space
is left between each tuck, the problem of even spacing being thus taken
care of.

Clusters of pin tucks are indeed pretty with either plain space between
clusters of lace or ribbon insertion, as your fancy dictates. For larger tucks

c rrA uK.. M*I\K ING.

H
P/N TUCKS-
No. 34

LARG-E TUCKS
No. 35

space accordingly. Great care must be taken, however, that all tucks
be made perfectly straight on the grain, or their beauty will be spoiled.
When tucking heavier material, such as silk, cloth, serge, et caetera.
it is necessary to baste the tucks, being careful to use the straight grain.
Measure accurately the desired tuck and space, using tape, or rule and
chalk. Mark your tuck, baste and stitch by machine. Illustration No. 34.
To make a two-inch band of tucks as a border on a skirt, with one-inch
space between tucks, chalk a line for the first row of tucking two inches
C 71 H
from the edge; allow a turn-in of one-quarter inch, which forms the hem
as well as the tuck. Chalk out as many tucks as you wish to make, seven
inches apart. Next, pick up the chalked edge; use a two-inch marker of
cardboard and baste your tuck, turning it downward toward your hem
tuck, and you will find a one-inch space between tucks. Illustration No. 35.
It may be mentioned that, in chalking out your tucks, you should
scale your second tuck from the bottom of the hem, and so on, up the
skirt.
For larger tucks, the proportions must necessarily be larger; if you
want five-inch tucks, chalk the first tuck five inches from the edge, allow-
ing for turning-in, as before, to make the hem. Then, if you want two
inches between tucks, take the next chalked line twelve inches from the
bottom of the hem; turn the tucks downward as before, and you will
have five-inch tucks with two-inch spaces.
—
Caution Be careful when cutting your lengths to allow for the
length of the garment plus tucks. For instance, each two-inch tuck has
to have four inches; each five-inch tuck, ten inches, added to the length
of the material.
ORGAN PIPES
This form of trimming is a first cousin to fluting. It can be made in
firm materials only, such as taffeta, satin, twill, serge, et caetera; in fact,
any fabric that is firm. (For illustration see Coarse Shirring, page 52.)
Turn the material double the depth that you want, on the wrong side,
chalk straight lines across the material three-eighths or one-half inch
apart. Next chalk lines lengthwise one inch apart across the first set of
lines.

Then, with double twist, take stitches one inch long across the material
on your chalked lines. Each stitch must be one Inch long, and you must
follow straight on the chalked lines. Pull your threads together as closely
as you can, because the organ pipes must set close to one another. When
finished, tie your threads to hold the pipes in place and when you sew
them on, catch only to the wrong side of your organ piping.

PLEATS
While the subjects of pleats does not really come within the range of
this book, the wide interest at the moment in the pleated skirt, the one

C 72 ]
best suited for sports wear, has induced the author to include a discussion
of it in these pages.
have your pleats made by machine, as the steam tends to
If possible,
keep the pleats in better and more firmly than does hand pleating. Always
allow three times the size of the pleat desired. For a one-inch pleat, allow
three inches of material; for a two-inch pleat, six inches; three-inch pleat,
nine inches.
you wish
If to make a say for 40-inch hip measure with a one-
skirt,

inch pleat, you will need 40 x 3 inches or 120 inches of material three —
lengths of 40-inch material.
Before pleating, make your hem straight on the cross grain of your
goods, hemming by hand or machine; if the material does not tear across,
pull a thread before making the hem, as it must be perfectly straight in
order to pleat well.
After the pleating is finished, put the on a form and gradually lay
skirt
your pleats from the hip line
in to the waist line (a distance of about 9
inches) to fit your waist line.
Next, make your skirt the proper length. Sew the tape on the wrong
side at the hip line, catching each pleat to the tape, so as to keep the pleat
in place. Have a band of belting ready; turn down the top edge of the
skirt and sew against the top edge of the belting.
A little note as to the plaid skirt may interest our readers in connec-
tion with the study of lines I Plaids, because of their tendency to disturb
the natural lines of the body, are best worn pleated. In this manner
coherency and firmness are secured for the scattered design of the plaid.

t 73 ]
 CHAPTER III

MAKING THE LINING

JLN dressmaking, as in every other field of endeavor, it is well to know
every labor-saving device and to safeguard, wherever possible, against
the making of mistakes. We should, therefore, select the dress form which
will be the foundation of all our work. If the figure to be fitted be our own,
we shall eliminate the possibility of ripping and refitting by the purchase
of a standard form, smaller than our actual size. We should place thereon
a lining from one of our old well-fitting frocks; padding either with tissue
paper or with cotton, we should mold the bust line with care, so that it
may really duplicate our own figure; and if we carry out this part of our
program correctly, we are assured that our home dressmaking is starting
in accordance with true accuracy.
"Safety first" is the axiom supreme of dressmaking; therefore we
would further advise that, before you cut into your material, you try the
pattern which you have selected on your dress form. You can make the
—
necessary changes in the pattern a device which will not only eliminate
possible later cutting, but also create your own individual pattern to
place on your material when you start to cut.
The first step in the making of a dress is the making of the lining.
If you are, for example, size 14, 16, or 18, your case is not a difficult one;
you may even use what is termed a "soft lining." A soft lining is one
—
with only two seams in fact, it is merely a soft slip, gathered a little at
the waist and finished at the top with a little net, or straps over the
shoulders.
But if 3'ou are larger than size 18, a close-fitted lining will be required,
even though you are going to drape the material softly on the lining in
order to make the dress model. A pattern of a close fitted lining can always
be bought in any size desired, but it should be cut in a firm fabric that
does not stretch. In such a pattern are notches showing the waist line;
c 74
these notches should be carefully traced on the and when making
lining;
alterations or adjustment, it is most important that these tracing marks
be kept at your waist and adjustments, if necessar\% should be made
line,

at either the under-arm seam or the shoulder seam; that is, if the lining
be a trifle longer from the waist line to your shoulder than your actual
figure, the adjustment may come at the shoulder seam, because if this
plan not precisely followed, you would find your waist line either drop-
is

ping or pulling up out of proportion to the natural line. If, however, the
length be very marked, it would be better to take a tuck across your
pattern before cutting the lining.
You may, with materials which stretch easily, cut the material on
the cross grain (the material for lining) instead of lengthwise, eliminating
thus not only the possibility of the lining being stretched out of shape,
but also of the seams pulling out under strain.
In order to keep the figure in place, the lining is cut in sections or parts,
this form of lining being usually referred to as the '
'French lining/' The
center front, side back, and center back should be cut ordinarily on the
straight grain of the material, to insure comfort for the wearer. The lining
may open either in front or in back,depending entirely on the style of
dress selected. There should be a fitting with the parts basted together —
preliminary fitting, we might call it; and after the lining is completed,
and the hooks and eyes in place, it should again be taken from the form,
tried on your figure once more, and final adjustments made, a process
which we will explain more fully later in this chapter. To secure the
proper results, it is necessary that the fitting be done over a well-formed,
well-fitting corset. Our readers know very well that an old corset has
often lost its shape. The lining should be well pulled down over the figure,
the waist line properly adjusted, and the center-back seam pinned in place,
so as to insure accurate adjustment. Have someone do this for you, if
possible; if not, the adjusting may be done by yourself, in front of a mirror,
where you may discover which seams may be taken in and which let
out.
After cutting the lining, baste the shoulder and under-arm seams
together, making proper allowance for seam, according to the directions
on the pattern. Then try on the lining to see how it fits; bring the two
closing edges together in a proper manner and pin with great care, starting

C 75 ]
at the waist line with the Smooth the lining carefully to your
first pin.

figure; ascertain the correct waist line by placing the tape measure around
the waist and moving this up and down, from one place to another, until
you are positive that you have the correct waist line for yourself. Pin
in accordance with the tracing marks on your pattern —
you will remember
that we mentioned this earlier in the chapter; in the tracing marks indi-
cating the waist on the pattern should be pinned at your waist line. In
other words, the waist line of the lining should be at the natural waist
line.

Now that waist and center back seam have been pinned to secure the
lining in place, you may give yourself up to a study of the fit.
Are the armholes too tight? Cut very carefully at the side front;
three-eighths inch is deep enough, but be careful not to make the armholes
too large.
Does the neck seem too high or too tight? Exercise discretion don't —
cut out too much; the three eighths of an inch above recommended will
serve in this instance; cut less if possible.
Does the lining seem to draw to one side at the waist line? In that
case, see if your waist line is even all around; possibly the waist line at the
back of the lining is higher or lower than is the waist line of the lining in
front.
Do the shoulder seams appear too loose? With pins, mark how much
they must be taken in to insure proper fit; be careful not to pull up the
waist line in making this adjustment of shoulder seams. If the seams
appear to be too tight, then you will have to rip out your bastings
though you may be able to indicate by pins at your first fitting about how
much higher the shoulder seams will have to be placed, or how much
material let down. But be very sure that both shoulders are alike.
Are there wrinkles in front between the shoulder and the neck? This
is hardly a fault of the lining; rather would we say that the pattern makers

are at variance with the natural hollow of the neck in their calculations.
In order to remedy the trouble, take out your pins and basting threads
at the shoulder seam and draw or pull the lining toward the back from
the center of the shoulder to the waist. A too long-waisted lining may be
the reason for the wrinkles which sometimes appear at the back near the
neck, or the shoulders may have been sloped too much. Rip out the
C 76 1
bastings; draw the lining up on the figure, smooth out the wrinkles, and
pin together once more on a line that will insure a smooth fit.
Be careful not to fit the lining in too closely at the under-arm, and do
not slope in too much at the waist line. If you are wearing the proper
corset, the lining will follow a straight outline under the arm to the
waist.
seems too tight across the bust, rip the
If the lining under seam and
let out as much material as required, remembering that both sides must
be alike. Should one of your shoulders be higher than the other, both
sides must be fitted.
If the seam bulges over the bust, pin until you secure the correct line;
then, when you remove the lining, take in darts as needed, pinning when
the alteration isDarts are little folds of the material which start
correct.
from mere nothings and develop into the required size to fit the lining
properly.
Pin your alterations as you proceed. Remove the lining, mark the
all

lines of pins with tailor's chalk on both sides of the new seam; then baste
through or between the chalk marks, taking out the pins as you baste.
Two problems sometimes encountered in the first fitting of a lining is
the adjustment of patterns to rounded shoulders and full bust. With
care and patience, these difficulties may be removed by the application
of either of the following methods
—
Method A If the shoulders or bust are but slightly rounded or full,
as the case may be, cut a little wider across the pattern to allow for more
of the lining being taken up.
Method B—If,
however, the bust be very full, slash the pattern across
the bust within one and one-half inches of the armhole, but before doing
this try the pattern on the figure. After slashing, adjust the pattern to
the waist line correctly, leaving the proper space open at the bust. Now
slipunder the slash across the chest a piece of tissue paper previously cut
with reference to this purpose; pin this piece of paper to the pattern at
both edges of the slash, and work out the width of the insertion required
to give the correct bust pattern. The same method may be used for round
shoulders.
—
Method C Another method, similar to the above in principle though
somewhat more detailed, is the following:
C 77 3
 Cut a piece of the lining material six or seven inches wide and of a
length that will reach across the bust to the under-arm seams. Pin this
to your camisole or slip now put the lining on pin the fronts carefully,
; ;

and enough to insure accuracy of fit; do not for the moment worry about
the wrinkles which will start to form from the bust to the under-arm sleeve
causing a draw, for these are the things we are going to adjust with the
aid of the small piece of lining pinned underneath. Have some friend cut
the lining straight across the bust to the side front seam; then straight
upward in a slanting or slightly diagonal linetoward the armhole, this
line to terminate an inch or one and one-half inches from the armhole
edge at a point near where the under-arm sleeve begins. Also cut the
material underneath for the front opening.
The lining, when cut in this fashion, separates and drops into its proper
position on the bust. Pin the edges of the slash to the lining underneath.
Remove the lining, carefully baste the edges of the slash to the piece
underneath, and try on the lining once more.
Then take the lining apart, catting through the material underneath on
a line with the seams; take each part of the lining and the corresponding
piece of the pattern and correct the pattern to correspond with the lining,
so that it is exactly similar; slash the pattern in exactly the same manner
that you have slashed the lining, and make adjustments on the pattern
with tissue paper, to correspond with the lining pieces inserted.
The same method may be used for round shoulders. For our reader's
benefit, we will briefly detail this step also.
Put a piece of the lining material about four or five inches across the
shoulders. Put on the lining, and if wrinkles run up from the under-arm
to the side back seam and the lining stands out across the back near the
waist line, proceed as follows:
Slash the lining across the shoulders between the side back seams;
then downward from the seams in a straight, slightly slanting line to
within three eighths of an inch of the under-arm seam. The lining drops
to proper position when separated. Have someone pin the edges of the
underneath lining to your lining. Take off the lining and baste the new
pieces in carefully; try on once more to insure correct fit; then proceed as
before (in the case of the too full bust) to adjust the paper pattern,
pasting the tissue underneath.
C 78 ]
 It is only for very round shoulders or very full bust that alterations
such as the above are necessary.
If the pattern seems too long, make a fold halfway between the waist
line and armhole, of the depth required to relieve the unnecessary length.
The woman with the small bust also has her problem. She, too,
should slash her pattern or lining in the same manner as the woman of
too full bust; but she should not insert material underneath; when she
puts on her lining, she will find the lining will drop in wrinkles below the
belt; so she should slash at some point as for a full bust and lap the slashed
edges until the lining is smoothly comfortable on the figure but not tight
or close. Pin the edges of the slash, remove the lining, baste the alterations,
and try on once more. When has been reached, take the lining
a perfect fit

apart and make corrections in the paper pattern in the same manner.
Sometimes, even to-day, we find the woman of square shoulders, or
very erect bearing. In this case, follow the same method as for round
shoulders, so far as slashing is concerned. No under piece is needed.
Lap the slash across the shoulders, being judicious in the amount of lap-
ping. Baste; try on the lining, rip apart and make the proper corrections
in the pattern. If there is any unevenness at the seam edges caused by
the lapping, trim off and even the seams.
For square shoulders, adjustment is made also at the shoulder seams.
Start near the neck to remove wrinkles, sloping off the alteration toward
the shoulder. If this lifting of the shoulder seam causes the neck line
to be too high, slash the neck edge here and there until it is correctly
adjusted. The sloping shoulder is also corrected from the shoulder seam,
though the process is slightly reversed, more lift being taken at the shoul-
—
der than at the neck in other words, the alteration is sloped off from the
shoulder to the neck.
Now, again try on the lining to make sure that your alterations are
correct; and if, upon this trial, you find the lining correct, you may remove
and stitch the seams, outside the bastings, so that the lining may not be
made smaller. You may make a French seam or you may stitch your
seams together on the wrong side and make a fell seam (see chapter on
"Stitches and Seams").
The fullness at the waist line may be taken care of by three small
"dart pleats" set each side of the center front toward the under-arm.
C 79 ]
There may
be also three dart pleats each side of the center back, in the
direction of the under-arm. The darts should not be made toward the
center. As you will perceive, thisplan leaves a smooth, plain space at
the sides. If the lining is still a little large at the waist line, gather,
distributing the fullness so that it falls in straight lines; do not allow your
fullness to be distributed unevenly; leave your thread until you have
ascertained the correct fit, and then move your fullness about until it is
perfectly even and straight. It is a good idea to place most of this fullness
at the center back and on each side of the under-arm seams, leaving a
smooth space directly under the under-arm. This paragraph applies to
the soft lining only, however.
In regard to the sewing on of hooks and eyes, your pattern allowed you
a hem on each of the closing sides. Turn the raw edge under and stitch.
If the edge is selvage, the hem is not necessary. Now stitch tape about
three eighths of an inch wide on the underside of the hem to make a firm
foundation for your fasteners.
The lining should lap overfrom left to right; sew the hooks on the right
side, therefore, and the eyes on the left. On the right, or hook side, the
tape foundation just mentioned may be stitched to both edges of the hem,
but on the left, or eye side, only the inner edge of the tape should be sewed
to the hem, because the eyes are sewed between the hem of the lining and
the outer edge of the tape, with the rounded part of the eye projecting just
a little from the hem's fold. The hooks, on the contrary, are sewed a
little back from the fold of the hem.

Before putting on the tape, however, it is well to machine or back

stitch on each side of the closing one eighth of an inch back from the edge
and again three eighths of an inch back from the first stitchings. Then
put on your tape and you have a firm edge and foundation for your
fasteners.
Pin the closing edges of the lining together, taking care that neck and
waist lines are even. Now put your tape measure along one side and, by
means of pins placed crosswise, plan out the exact position of each hook
and eye, always remembering that they must be parallel to each other,
or exactly opposite, in order to insure even closing.
When sewing on the hooks, separate the two rings at the back as much
as is wise, so that the hook may lie flatter when sewed down. Place the

[ so n
hook well inside the closing edge, sew each ring firmly and then over the
bill. Sew each eye through the two rings and again just at the closing
edge. Remember that they should always project just a trifle beyond
the closing edge for easy fastening. Sometimes, in the case of a very
stout woman, it has been found advisable to sew hooks and eyes on
alternately to insure the firmness of the fastening, but for most people
the hooks and eyes sewed on together will do very well.
To finish the armhole edges of the lining, hem all around with a very
narrow hem, but do not pull on the armhole or stretch it out of shape.
You may, if you wish, turn the edge under on the wrong side and face
—
with a very narrow bias facing perhaps three quarters of an inch wide,
with both edges turned under about one quarter of an inch. Tape three
eighths of an inch wide is also used for facing.
The neck edge may also be hemmed very narrowly; should this make
the neck too low, turn the edge under to the wrong side about one eighth
of an inch and face with self-material. You may use a one-half inch bias
facing, or you may seam the facing to the neck edge on the right side;
then turn it over the underside and hem down, as for a binding. Tape
may also be used if you wish.
Very dainty frocks may be hemmed at the neck or arms with a narrow
edging of very fine lace which may be overcast to the edges or stitched on
flat, preferably by machine.
You are now ready to adjust the belting. Unless you are very long-
waisted, belting from one and one-half inches to two inches deep will
probably be satisfactory to you. When fitting the lining, you might try
strips of the material to see what width of belting you will require. Cut
the belting the same size as this lining belt, allowing one-half inch at each
end for the hem. Put the belt around the waist line and fasten it properly;
adjust the lining to it, fastening it in place with pins set straight and
close together. The gathers of any fullness should set straight and even
on the belting; dart pleats must be kept in a straight up-and-down
line.

When the belting has been properly adjusted, turn the raw edge of
the lining under about one-half inch at the bottom; baste on to the belt,
then stitch strongly and firmly. Make a second row of stitching about
one-half inch above the first row of stitching. It is not necessary that the

C 81 ]
lining come bottom edge of the belt; rather let it remain where it
to the
appears to set right on your figure.
A careful following of the above plan should give you the foundation
for a good dress.
For sheer frocks of such material as georgette or chiffon, a net lining
may be used and also a camisole lining of China silk or some thin material,
taking a straight piece from the waist line up to above the bust (or as high
as may be required) and putting straps over the shoulders. This lining
may be opened front or back or under the arm.
Use one- or two-inch belting, place the belt at the waist line, and fit to
measure. Then hold in the fullness of the camisole or soft lining to the
size of the belt. Remove the lining and try on before sewing to make sure
that it is all right.

C 82 ]
 HOW TO TAKE MEASUREMENTS
1 —Collar Measurement A to A
Measure the neck around the bottom.
2 —Chest Measurement B to B
Take the measure close up under the arms by passing the tape around the body above the bust.
3 —Size of Bust C to D
Place the end of the tape in the center of the back and measure across the broadest part of the back
under the arm and over the fullest part of the bust to the center of the front. Just one half of the
figure should be measured.

4 —Waist Measurement E to E
Pass the tape closely around the actual waist, beginning at the center of the back.
5 —Hip Measurement F to F
Pass the tape all around the figure seven inches below the waist line, taking the actual size of the
hips at this point.

6 —Length of Waist in Front A to G

Place the end of the tape at the center of the neck in front and measure down to the waist.

7— Width of Back H to I
Measure across the back from H to I.

8—Length of Waist in Back J to E

Place the tape in the center of the back where the collar joins the waist, and measure to the waist
line in the back.

9—Length of Shoulder L to M
Place the end of the tape at the collar line and measure to the end of the shoulder.

10—Length of Sleeves N to O
Place the end of the tape where the arm joins the body in the front and measure to the wrist.

11 —Sleeve Measure around Muscle of Upper Arm P to P

Measure from P to P.

12 —Wrist Measurement R to R
Place the tape around the wrist.

13 —Size of Armhole M to M.
Pass the tape around the arm. Be sure that it is close under the arm, but do not draw it too tightly.

14—Length of Skirt in Front G to S

Measure from the center of the front at the waist line, straight to the floor, starting from G and
thence to S.

15—Length of Skirt on Side T to V

Measure from the waist line at the side over the fullest part of the hips, straight to the floor.

16—Length of Skirt in Back E to W

Measure from the center of the back at the waist line, straight to the floor.

In case you should order a dress by mail, or a pattern cut specially to

your measurements, sketch and chart will show you how professional
measurements are taken.
C 83 ]
 w Ej

C 84 ]
 CHAPTER IV

CUTTING MATERIAL FROM

PATTERNS
JljEFORE cutting, it is you study the layout of your
essential that
pattern, because a layout of the pattern in the manner shown on standard
patterns achieves economy and proper cut. If you will follow this plan
faithfully, satisfactory results are assured.
"Cutting on a straight line" is only another way of saying that your
pattern must be kept perfectly straight on the material. And let us say
to you, at this moment, that the greatest mistakes are often made in
cutting, with a result akin to that which happens if the foundation of a
building be improperly laid; in the latter instance, not any skill of archi-
tect nor any cunning decorative work will hide the sorry truth. In the
— —
former case that of cutting out wrongly no elaborate design, no
wonderful embroidery, nor any other thing, can hide or disguise the
imperfect lines.
To make your own dress is indeed a responsibility. And more clearly
to grasp a sense of that responsibility, you should know the principles of
dress construction, and realize that these principles are accessible and
simple in their application. In furtherance of this thought, we will briefly
discuss the "fundamental principles" which are applicable to the subject
of dress construction.
There are three axioms of the art of design (familiar to art students)
which are applicable to the making of a dress. The first axiom is that of
Coherence; the second that of Line, and the third that of Motion.
Axiom 1. The axiom of Coherence demands that a dress, in its
entirety, illustrate balance and proportion in mass, detail, and color.
This, the most comprehensive of the principles of art available in dress,
calls for a feeling for form and architecture such as we find in a beautiful
building.
C 85 3
 Axiom 2. The second axiom, Line, demands that the dress follow the
natural lines of the human figure. It is interesting to note that the prin-
and that its basis is derived from the
ciple of line is sovereign in all the arts
manifestations of nature. John Burroughs was filled with an intellectual
rapture before the order and the harmony of the work of nature as
revealed in line, as taught to him in a lifelong study of trees and flowers.
It was impressed upon him that each tree, each flower, is true in line and in
proportion to its own
The human figure is a beautiful combination
nature.
—
of lines its charm in woman, as previously noted, being emphasized in
the sinuous line from armpit to ankle. The Greeks translated this line
into a permanent expression of beauty, but they likewise realized that
grace of Motion (Axiom 3) is a finer quality than faultless proportions. A
marble statue is sufficient unto its own beauty, but no one will compare it
to a living, graceful woman whose every gesture indicates vitality and
consciousness.
Axiom 5. This brings us to our third axion, Motion. A dress is intended
not onlv to decorate the bodv, but also to enable the wearer to move with
freedom and ease in the plastic rhythm that expresses life and personality.
If a dress impedes or distorts motion; if a dress is littered with encum-
brances, as in the days of the French kings and Marie Antionette; if a dress
throws the figure off the axis of symmetry; it cannot hope to be a work of
art.
The above are the three fundamental principles which the home dress-
maker, or the woman
purchasing a dress, must accept without reservation
before selecting a frock in which she will be considered "well dressed."
As a guide, that one may not be lost in the mazes of fashion, one must
remember in buying patterns:
should be of the right size; but remember that a
First, that the pattern
larger size is better than one too small, because if you have a 36-inch bust
and a 38-inch hip line, it is much easier to fit your 38-inch pattern to
your 36-inch bust than vice versa.
Second, that the style should be suitable to you and to the occasion for
—
which it is required a subject which is discussed under the chapters
"Suitability of Dress" and "What to Wear and When."
Third, that the style and general effect should be in harmony with the
material, because the general effect of the dress depends largely on the
[ 86 ]
proper selection of fabric. If straight lines or soft drapery are desired, the
softest kinds of fabrics must be used. Taffeta or any character of stiff

silkwould give you a bouffant effect in — fact, except for a very youthful
dance frock, a ''grandmother's dress, '
or something similar, taffeta
should never be used, as it gives you a rigidity of line that detracts from
that axiom of motion which you desire to follow.
It is a good idea, if the material be thin, to use a kimono waist, which
may, as before stated in this book, be broken with panel front and back in
accordance with requirements.
A little talk about the one-piece gown, which is so much with us to-day,
may not be amiss at this point. If our readers find this an uninteresting
subject, they are at liberty to skip this part of the chapter.
The type of one-piece dress for the beginner is the slip-over or
kimono mode. There are no fastenings, no placket to worry about, only a
few snaps on the shoulders. And the model being kimono, there are no
separate sleeves to harass the beginner. Sleeves, as we have already said,
and as the ambitious beginner will find out, are not easy; the dauntless
souls,however, will not be discouraged by this.
In the case of the kimono model, the pattern will tell you what to do.
—
There are just two seams shoulder and under-arm seams. Lay your
pattern length- wise on the fold of the material; be careful about notches
and their subsequent placing together.
Equally important with the proper selection of a pattern is a study of
the "grain" of the material. There are two grains the up-and-down —
and the cross grain. The up-and-down runs on a line with the selvage; the
other is the cross grain. Should you have difficulty in locating the grain
in a material (say, for instance, chiffon), pull a thread, because the chiffon
or georgette is woven on a horizontal line. This rule for pulling a thread
obtains for all materials except wool or novelty goods. And when the
thread will not serve the purpose of locating the grain, try tearing the
material.
It is imperative that you determine the grain of your material before
you cut; so BE CAREFUL. A dress should always be cut with the
straight up-and-down grain in the center front, and you should follow one
grain through the cutting and making of a dress.
all

The grain of your dress is determined by the material you use; for
t 87 1
instance in twills, canton crepe, you always cut with the
faille, et castera,

grain; for velvets, cut against the grain, for practical reasons and for
beauty. It will wear longer, item one; it will mark less easily, item two;
and item three, in the interests of beauty-, you will find the contrasts in
shades thus obtained very delightful. \ ou would not, however, desire the
contrasting shades in silks and twills.
It is also a good idea to fold your material lengthwise, and after you
have ascertained the grain, make a layout of the pattern on the goods.
A layout of this kind will give you an excellent idea of the relation the
different parts of the pattern will bear to the material when you actually
beein to cut.

--•'

5mV ALTE.RA1 'OK '*•

T_ No. 58
No. 56 Nc.

Before cutting, there are preliminary ways of arriving at a knowledge

of one's own personal requirements when making a dress. Even though
you may have selected a pattern of the proper size, it must often be
altered before vou cut the material.
A woman of large bust, for instance, will find that a dart taken cross-
wise under-arm toward bust (see sketch No. 36) will prevent the front
from standing out at the waist line.
Still another case might be that of the woman of large abdomen,

who will do well, in extreme instances, to purchase the pattern the size of
the hip and then make alterations as required in the rest of the pattern.
For the more modified abdomen, however, it is possible to drop the center
of a two-piece skirt from three quarters to one inch in front, lifting up the
same amount on the sides. Allow a trifle larger at the side, according to
need, and ease the front slightly when putting on the band, and there will
be no chance of 'hiking." See illustration No. 37.
'

Regarding the fitting of a sleeve, let us consider two possibilities which

—
might arise the one, that your pattern sleeve might be too large, the other,
that it might be too small.
In the first case, lay your pattern flat on the table and make a pleat
through the center of the sleeve. Try on before cutting, so as to be sure
that you have the correct size. If, on the other hand, the sleeve be too
small, cut down through the center of the sleeve pattern and insert the
required width. The sketch No. 38 will show how this is done, but great
care should be taken if good results are to be secured.
If the sleeve pattern be too long from the shoulder to the elbow, try
a pleat in the pattern; if too short, ascertain how much insertion of tissue
paper on the pattern will make sleeve the required length. Should the
sleeve pattern be too long from the elbow to the wrist, remedy the trouble
with a pleat in the proper manner; if too short, insert tissue paper by
slashing the pattern and pasting a slip of tissue to make the pattern the
necessary length.
It is well toremember, when cutting the sleeve, that it is a good idea
for the top part of the sleeve to be longer than the under part. You

—
might start with five inches or a little less of extra length your judgment
will soon teach you just what length you require. In this way, you will
avoid the possibility of wrinkles on your shoulder or even just a little
below the shoulder.
It might be well at first to spend the time —
because later judgment
willconvince you of the practicability of this suggestion in carrying —
out a plan followed by some beginners who desire that even amateur
frocks maybe perfect.
Cut the pattern first in some inexpensive material cheesecloth, —
unbleached muslin, or even calico. Put this on your dummy form, or
cover a stock figure with an old lining from one of your best fitting dresses.
Study the fit and the possibilities of improvements and alterations — in

C 89 ]
short, have a preliminary rehearsal before you begin to create the fabric
into your ideal dress.
Then, after you have fitted the inexpensive material to your dummy
figure and made all changes, as just described above and precisely as if
the inexpensive material were the fabric of your dress, you may place the
adapted cheesecloth or muslin on your material, providing you have not
stretched or pulled it too much, and follow closely the chart supplied by
the pattern. Some beginners prefer to make alterations on the tissue
pattern and cut material from this.
Before cutting the outside material, read the directions on the pattern
carefully; you will find that by following the notches in the pattern when
putting the seams together, as directed, your task will be made easier.
Indeed, you might put the parts together on the figure and mark with
chalk in such fashion as AA or B
B; so if, as often happens, a cuff piece
looks like a collar, or a front panel like an under-arm, the marking done
by you will help in putting the pieces together when they are ready for
basting and sewing.
You have now experimented on your figure with the muslin or cheese-
cloth, which, for convenience' sake, we "the pattern." Remember
will call
always that you must guard against stretching this out of shape or making
it larger. In laying or placing this on the straight of your material, in
accordance with your chart, as noted above, fold your goods lengthwise
to allow a double fold for cutting two similar parts or pieces at once.
The lengthwise grain of the material runs with the selvage, therefore lay
the pattern so that the direction of each piece runs parallel with the
selvage. Then pin the pattern to the material, piece by piece, exercising
great care to have the entire layout and its various parts straight and true,
both in direction and in their relation to the grain, or up-and-down
threads of the fabric.

CUTTING TWO PARTS OF A PATTERN AT THE SAME TIME

If possible, the two corresponding garment should
sides or pieces of a
be cut at the same time, to avoid the possibility of cutting the same piece
twice. Exceptions to this general rule are noted below, but generally
the two side pieces of a dress may be cut at one time on a double fold of
the material and the front and back pieces in a similar manner.

C 90 ]
 If your supply of material is scanty, however, you may be compelled
economize on your goods; if your fabric
to cut the pieces singly so as to
has a very emphatic up and down, the pieces may have to be cut out
separately both for appearance and for utility. And when one side front
is made in a different manner from the other side front, you will have to

cut on the open goods and not on the fold.

Having pinned your pattern to the material in the manner noted and
made sure that it is perfectly straight, and that you are following the
grain correctly, you may begin to cut. Be sure to follow the notches or
marks that are on the pattern and put the parts together in accordance
with these notches and marks, for, by following this method, you will
make no mistake.
Suppose, for instance, your pattern shows that these marks (we
speak now of the original tissue-paper pattern) must be followed; indicate
the marks on the pattern you use for cutting and use a knot to indicate
the place of the circle.

You might have This it is well to cut after you

a notch like this V.
have finished cutting the material, before you unpin your pattern, as it is
better to cut notches at one time than when you are cutting your garment
as a whole.
Before taking the pins out of the material, mark the waist line with
basting thread at the center front and back. And it is also recommended
that, in taking the pins out of the material, preliminary to basting the
parts together, the collar, cuffs, and sleeves —
in a word, the details of the
—
main part of the pattern be left pinned to the material until one is ready
to baste them to the waist, which should have been previously fitted and
adjusted. To put it in another fashion, it is well to have your waist
nearly completed before you consider taking up the subject of the various
parts which are to be added to it; and if these be left pinned to the pattern
as above stated, you will find it easier to review the pieces before you
start to put them on your dress.

t 91 ]
 CHAPTER V

PUTTING PARTS TOGETHER

FITTING-FINISHING
jL HE first step in putting the parts together, after having cut out material
as outlined in a previous chapter, is the tracing of the outlines of all seams,
either with basting or with chalk, before removing the pattern from the
material.
The second step, after taking the pattern off the material, is to pin the
pieces of 3T our dress together —
the skirt and waist being kept separate
until vour initial trving on. Trace the center line down the back of the
waist and also down the back of the skirt; a mark indicating the center of
the skirt in front will also prove helpful to the beginner.
Be sure, when you are pinning the parts together, to jolio w the notches
carejully.
The third step, after you have pinned the parts together, is to baste as
follows
Shoulder seams
Under-arm seams
Seams on skirt
Seam of right sleeve

The three preliminary steps having been accomplished, you maj^ turn
your attention to But before proceeding to this
fitting. operation, we think
it well to clarify your understanding of the methods of fitting over the
different kinds of linings.

FITTING

Suppose, for instance, that you have selected the plain waist or
1.

"French lining" described in the chapter on "Making a Lining." In this

case, you will put the lining on your own figure; then put on the skirt of

I 92 ]
your dress, attaching the skirt to the belting in the proper manner with
pins. See illustration No. 39. Then put on the waist. Join to lining at
shoulder by means of pins —one at each shoulder, —or in the back of the
neck, if the latter joining is called for by the type of dress. It may be
said here that, in general practice, the dress should be joined to the
lining at the back of the neck or tacked at the shoulders —whichever
seems best suited to the character of the frock in process. A one-piece or
tailored frock, for instance, should be tacked at the shoulders.
2. Suppose, however, that you are the type of woman who is so

fortunate as to find a straight or soft lining suitable for most of your frocks.
In this case, your procedure will be slightly different. Put on the soft
lining; at the normal waist line, place a belting three or perhaps three and
one-half inches wide, adjusting carefully, as you will attach the skirt to
thisby means of pins. Then put on the waist, as in Case 1.
The present vogue of long-waisted dresses, hanging from the shoulders,
does not require that the belting be retained after the dress is fitted; you
may, therefore, if you desire, eliminate this belting when you are finishing
the dress, or at the time when you are sewing the skirt to the lining a —
step which will be explained later in this chapter.
Sometimes even belting is not used in fitting; "bone casing," some-
thing like a narrow piece of tape, is used instead.
Having put the dress on the lining and basted it together, stand in
front of the mirror and proceed with the fitting! Pin for all necessary
alterations.
Many home dressmakers fit the entire dress at one time, but this pro-
cedure is against all the rules of professional dressmaking. Always fit the
right side of the skirt and the waist at the same time. Adjust the waist at
the point desired below the normal waist line (illustration No. 40) pin in ;

place, try on the sleeve. Take off the lining and dress pinned together.
Next, remove the lining carefully, so as not to disturb the alterations.
Where pins have been inserted to show alterations, trace with chalk or
basting thread in the following manner:
Lay the dress flat on a table; on the other side oj the material from that in
which pins were inserted to show alterations, mark with chalk or basting in
accordance with the pins (which show through), until your entire right side
is corrected to accord with the alterations. Then take the left side of your

C 93 ]
FIT SK.IR.T TO BELT
AT NORMAL WA\ST L) N £.

MARK Hferte-

LENGTH OF VvAlVT
DESIRED

CH-ALK-OR
PINS

wRon&Sioe MEASURE UP PROM FLOOR

OF SKIRT DESIRED LENGTH

0ASTEDAND HFWMEO
No. 39 Xo. 40

C 94 3
dress and correct from the right side just altered, unless, of course, a fitting
isneeded for both sides. This, however, is not often necessary.
Again put on the lining; slip the corrected dress over it, pin at belting
and shoulder to the lining, and once again make necessary adjustments and
alterations. Continue until the dress is correct and ready to finish.

FINISHING
For the convenience of the beginner, we have divided the finishing
process into steps as follows:

Step —Seams
1

Step 2 —Neck Line

Step 3 —Length of Sleeve and Mounting of Same
Step 4 —Getting Length and Hemming of Skirt
Step 5 —Waist
Step 6 —Pressing

Step 1. Your under-arm, shoulder, and skirt seams, as soon as the

major alterations have been completed, may be sewed together. Press
open; pink, overcast, or bind, if the dress be of woolen. If you bind, each
side of the seam must be bound. Velvets should have binding ribbon on
edges and hem also, as the turned-in edge, in this case, would make a ridge.
Taffeta binding is excellent for seams.
Seams of silk dresses you may either overcast, pink, or leave. You
might in some cases use the French seam. For dresses of very thin material
such as chiffon or georgette, French seam.
roll, picot, or
Step 2. Put the dress on once more. Have both sleeves basted in. Fit
the neck. See to it that your sleeves fit properly. Then face or bind the
neck line, unless your dress has a collar. In the latter case, you will find
directions on the pattern. (See chapter on "Stitches and Seams" for
facings and bindings.)
Step 3. Length of sleeve and mounting of same. The next task is to set
in your sleeves. If you are using a set-in sleeve, the treatment will be as
follows
Just as the pendulum of a clock must balance in order to secure correct
time, so must the sleeve swing correctly in order properly to give balance
to the dress; so while it is not so important as to how the sleeve fits the
t 95 ]
arm (see the chapter on "Cutting Materials from Pattern"), the manner
in which the sleeve is set into the armhole is of the utmost importance.
A little chat about the sleeve, therefore, may not be amiss. Two or
three suggestions regarding the mounting or putting-in of a sleeve, if
carefully followed, may make this eternal bete noire a little less black and
a little less "beastly."
Method A— Imagine a line drawn from the first three fingers straight
up the outstretched arm to the point where it joins the shoulder (see
illustration No. 41).

No. 41

The simplest way put your dress, with

of attaching the sleeve is to
under-arm and shoulder seam properly adjusted, on your form; then
begin to pin in the sleeves, using care that the grain of the material runs
parallelwith the imaginary line you have drawn from fingers to shoulder.
Start from the shoulder point, pinning first toward the front until
you reach the under-arm seam; then from the shoulder back to the
under-arm seam, in the same manner as in front.
The reason for starting an economical one;
at the shoulder point is

supposing you were to start at the curve of the under-arm seam and after
working up to the shoulder, discover that your material was too short,
there would be no remedy for this predicament; but if, on the other hand,
you had started at the shoulder point and worked down, as above described,
C 96 1
any superfluous fullness you might have could be fitted into the under-arm
as you joined the sleeve to the waist.
In putting in our modern one-piece sleeve —whether bell, tight, short
or long, make and waist meet under arm.
sure that the seams of both sleeve
—
Method B Consider your shoulder, as this is the axis on which the
sleeve swings. In putting in, or mounting, the sleeve, it is an almost
canonical law that you follow the line oj shoulder. Join the top of the sleeve
to the top of the shoulder, then go straight down the shoulder to the front;
return to the shoulder and go down the back, as noted under 'Method A,"'

to the under-arm where the curve begins.

There remains only the hand edge. This may be taken care of in the
manner indicated on the pattern. First, however, determine the length
of the sleeve with chalk or pins.
Step 4. Getting length and hemming skirt. Skirt alterations may be
divided into two classes, hip alteration and belt alteration.
The hip is the first point of importance, so we will make our first

alterations there; if the hip fit too loosely or be too large, then take in at
the seams; if the fit at the hip be too tight, let out the seams.
Now for the waist line. The hip must be right first; then, if the waist
line be too large, ease the material into the belting.
The same rule obtains in the case of the soft lining. If it be too full
and you wish to obviate as much material as possible, you might make
little darts from the hip to the waist line on each side of the skirt, or, if

you prefer, you may take your material in on the back seam.
Put the dress on once more. Now, to determine the desired distance
of the lower edge of the skirt from the floor, take a yardstick and go all
round the skirt, pinning at the desired distance. Some friend will do this
for you, or you might on the form and with yard-
try putting your dress
stick and pins indicate the lower edge wanted. See illustration No. 40.
Take off the dress and, with a piece of cardboard representing the
narrowest distance between pins and edge of skirt, measure off all round
the skirt, making the bottom of the same equidistant from pins all the
way round. Allow one-quarter inch for turn-in at hem, provided you are
not going to use the tailor's hem. If you are making a regular hem,
overcast or slip stitch to skirt. (See chapter on "Stitches and Seams" for
direction in sewing hem.)

C 97 ]
 For the skirt or slip of chiffon gowns, finish the bottom with a fold of
lace; cut away the material, leaving the bottom transparent; the fold of
lace should be from three to five inches deep.
Join the skirt to the belting, leaving the raw edge of skirt on the
outside. Sew the skirt to the lining along the hem line at the bottom,
provided the waist lining has been finished with a hem or overcasting.
Baste the skirt into proper position on the belting and backstitch firmly
into place.
Attach the waist permanently to the skirt. Baste into proper position
on the skirt, if the waist line be long; then turn under the bottom of the
waist and sew so that the bottom of the waist covers up the seam attaching
the skirt to the lining.
It may be noted here that lining of the same color is preferable in the
case of dresses of soft or thin material. The may
be used to form a
lining
bust band and skirt, the two pieces being joined together slightly below
the waist line. The dress skirt, basted together, is joined in manner noted
earlier in this chapter and basted to the lining at waist line preparatory
to fitting and stitching.
Then drape the bodice, also basted together, on the form; see that the
neck line is correct; fasten theshoulder lightly to the lining, shir the bottom
of the waist with two rows of shirring, pin to the bottom of the bust band,
adjusting the fullness correctly and evenly on both sides, and baste to
the lining. Have the girdle ready, place the center of the girdle at the
edge of the bust band, and make proper adjustment at the waist line.

Try on the sleeve to insure proper fit.

Our discussion of the manner of making dresses of soft or thin material
and the type of lining suited to frocks of delicate material has led us to
digress from the point of finishing. Indeed, there are so many points to
be discussed in a chapter of this type that we hope our readers will, for
the sake of the practical information given, overlook any tendency to
ramble from the subject in hand.
There still remains the matter of putting on the hooks and eyes or
snappers. If the opening of your dress be on the bias, sew a piece of tape
on each side of the opening. If a placket is provided by the pattern, look
up directions for the same on the pattern; also note discussion of placket
in the chapter on "Stitches and Seams."
n 98 3
 Put the dress on once more. Mark the place for hooks and eyes, with
either basting or chalk, on each side of the opening. You may, if you like,
use pins to indicate the position of hook and corresponding eye.
Then take off the dress and put on the hooks and eyes, being careful
to hook the eye, not to eye the hook.
Press the dress.
In finishing, exercise every bit of good workmanship that you possess;
great care is absolutely essential, because your gown will not only look
better, it will also wear longer, if you finish it in a craftsmanlike manner,
or as the architects say in their building specifications "in a neat and
workmanlike manner." Think, for instance, of how careful work on the
hanging panels of a gown of serge or twill will emphasize the "tailored
finish" effect. The panels should have a turn-in of at least two inches at
the sides, and four inches at the bottom. A thin silk binding should
be stitched on, covering the edge of the turned-in part, and hemmed
lightly on the other side. The corners should be mitered, bound, and the
bottom finished in the same manner.
When pressing, always use a damp cloth, pressing on the wrong side.
Ii you do press on the right side, use a dry and then a damp cloth on top

of the dry one to prevent gloss or shine.

Velvet gowns, when completed, should be steamed. This can be done
over the spout of a kettle. And when pressing seams on velvets, use a
velvet board, pressing on the wrong side.

DRAPERY
We cannot conclude chapter without a brief reference to one of
this
the most interesting and most difficult ways of making a dress that of —
draping. Draping is indeed an art which requires care and skill, dis-
criminating study of what is becoming to the individual, and masterly
manipulation of material, great care being taken to use the grain of
material correctly.
The Too Thin Woman, the Stout Woman, even the Short Woman,
are everlastingly devoted to the drape.
Why not? It is supremely graceful in itself when properly done; it
adds grace and charm to the figure, a subtle elusive touch to the woman
who wears it; it softens and disguises the too abundant curve, it hides
C 99 ]
 TAILORED DRESS SILK DRESS
WHON& sipe WRONG- S/DP-

OPEN sound seAr<i 0P6N RUKNINO. SPAM O JpUARC N££fc FACING

80 UNO SCAN)

French And f&ll SEAM'S used in une-e.st.ie

No. 42

THE INSIDE OF A DRESS SHOWING HOW THE DIFFERENT STITCHES AND

SEAMS ARE USED

C 100 3
thinness; its lineage is ancient and honorable; Egypt felt its influence;

Greece realized to the beauty, properly balanced against mass and

full its

space. Of all the designer's many methods of stimulating interest in a

—
costume whether by fold, ribbon, pleat, tuck or embroidery, surely the
drape yields to none in gracility of line and curve.
The amateur will be wise to select for her first attempt in draping some
design which may be easily executed, and to choose materials which drape
easily. She might experiment initially with such simple fabrics as un-
bleached muslin, or even cheesecloth or net; these are not hard to drape;
and the practice will be excellent.
For materials such as chiffons, net, veilings, silks, she will find that
she will need more goods for draping purposes than for heavier materials,
such as velvets, metal brocades, et csetera.
She must also carefully study her figure before the draping is attempted
and use discretion in selecting the drape best fitted to her type. For the
slender figure, full draperies on skirts are becoming; for women of large
proportions, less fullness is drawn in slightly
advisable. Draperies on skirts
at the foot give the figure the appearance of being taller and thinner.
For the tall, slender figure, the straight lines are more becoming.
The pieces of material must be of exactly the right shape and size,
the direction of the lines as true as truth itself; the correct grain of the
material must absolutely be maintained, or the costume will be ruined;
whether you work on the straight grain or the bias of the material, an
unerring following of the grain is imperative, for a slight variation in
grain results in uneven fullness on one side or the other of the costume,
and the folds will not take the same lines.
There are several kinds of drapery. For our first case, we will select a
shoulder and waist drape, that is, drape hanging from either shoulder or
waist line. (In the latter case, you will have to make your waist sepa-
rately. Pull the material up on either one or both sides to the waist line,
fitting it in to the figure. This is the simplest kind of drape.)
For form of drapery, two lengths of material are required. Sew up
this
the side seams; indicate the center by a chalk mark on the straight grain
of the material; place your goods on your form or figure, and keep this
chalked center exactly in the center of the figure.
If the material hangs from the shoulder, as shown in the picture, a

t 101 3
 1

'

>4i /

No. 45

No. 44

SHOULDER AVD WAIST DRAPED DRESS

C 102 1
horizontal slash or cut may be made on either one or both sides of the
material at the waist line, or a little below if a long waist is desired (see
illustration No. 43).
Consider the material from the waist down; hold the material easily
in your fingers, pull up the bottom edge of the slash underneath the top
slash and attach to either the lining or the belting; if the material is not
wide enough, more material can be added from the waist down on either
one or both sides to satisfy one's own judgment as to what is required
to obtain a truly artistic drape. Superfluous material may be cut away.
When you have upper
finished draping below the sash, consider the
part of the waist. As a matter of fact, the top should be done first. Get
the desired neck line, whether Jenny, Dutch, V, or square. Cut the
superfluous material away from the shoulder, after the shoulder seams
have been completed, as in the illustration. If desired more material
may be added to form a sleeve as shown and the waist draped in the
manner illustrated.
To drape hang the foundation slip, be careful about the grain in the
or
bust band and hip line, for on the foundation depends largely the success
of your gown.
For the bust band, swing the grain of the material on the bust line,
following the bust measure on your chart, also on the hip line for the skirt.
This will make your slip tilt well to back, following lines of form front
and side.
For the skirt, drape one width across the figure, keeping the center
of the goods on the center front; the other half width forms a panel in
the back, allowing for a three-inch pleat on either side for sitting room.
Join your bust band and skirt top together; fasten in the center back
on the side, and put two little straps over the shoulders. Turn up the
hem to the correct length and, presto! your slip is finished. See illustration
No. 45.
For a beginner, a drapery made to cover this slip can be made of two
lengths of material 36-inches wide. Measure the desired lengths from the
shoulder to the edge of the skirt. Turn an edge on the right side of the
lengths three quarters of an inch all around your material and stitch
around the edge as you would a narrow tuck. Turn back your material;
—
double in an edge, turn over this tuck which forms a little binding all
—
around the drapery hem lightly on the wrong side; tack your pieces
C 103 ]
together at the shoulders to form a bateau neck line; tack further down
on the shoulders if you wish to cover your arms; then you may direct
your attention to below the waist line. Sew pieces together five or six
inches from the edge on both sides, and you will have a dress with jabots
on the sides complete. A pretty girdle of similar material, or a ribbon,
finishes the rather long waist line. See illustration No. 44.
Another kind of drape may be made as follows

M0t"

Simple, plain foundation is made

then an extra piece of material
first;

forming a band, either narrow or wide, can be draped on this foundation

as in illustration No. 46.
The band may be draped in one continuous piecefrom the shoulder to
the waist, falling easily from the waist to anywhere below the knee, then
again brought up to the waist, either to the side front, side back, or directly
on the side, following the waist from the selected point into a sash knot.
To make slip use two and one-quarter to two and one-half yards of
material, 36 or 40-inches in width —one and one-half widths for the
skirt, the other half of the width forming the cover of the bust band.
C 105 3
 CHAPTER VI

WHAT TO WEAR AND WHEN,

A FEW DON'TS OF DRESS
JrSYCHOLOGY teaches us that the reactions of an individual to situa-
tions are governed fundamentally by inheritance and environment. As a
direct inheritance, he has, in common with everyone else, an invisible
assortment of instincts, primitive ones; as a less direct inheritance, an
equally invisible assortment of thoughts, emotions, and tastes which are
the result of training or origin; and he is alternately governed by his
environment or controls it, in accordance with these inheritances.
With this philosophical thought in mind, it would be an interesting
journey to trace the history of the growth in the human mind of the theory
that certain occasions demand a certain type of dress; we could probably
amuse ourselves with considerable speculation on the subject; but for the
moment there does not seem to be a pleasingly concise solution for that
clear-cut, universal, and prompt reaction which every woman and a great
—
many men make to an invitation to some function or other "What shall
I wear?" We might humorously assert that this reaction in some of its
degrees is almost as elemental as an instinctive process.
Leaving the thought with the reader for what it may be worth, let us
proceed with the answer to the query that has been put, "What shall I
wear !
The scope of this book does not permit an exhaustive resume of the
costume suited to every occasion; but the innate good taste of every
woman and every girl is their guide; and a general rule may be laid down
to the effect that the costume should — in fabric, make, and detail (and
by detail we mean such accessories as ornaments, shoes, stockings, et
caetera), studiedly harmonize with your personality and with the occasion,
as well as with the rule, both written and unwritten, of good taste. In
I 106 3
other words, on every occasion analyze both the situation and your cos-
tume and let them be in accord with good taste and with you.
Remember that there is always individuality of dress and resonsibility
of dress, and that it therefore behooves you to dress in a manner that
truly expresses —
your individuality not glaringly or loudly, in which case
your dress might be invidiously termed "individual" but in a manner—
that bespeaks your knowledge of what you should wear and when.
It is this responsibility that each individual must shoulder for her-
self.

Clothes never were as becoming to the American woman as they are

to-day; she needs only to give a thought to her dress in order to give
little

satisfaction to herself and to others. The day has passed when all women
accepted the last word of fashion as true clothes propaganda, whether
the vogue was becoming or not. The crimes that were committed in the
—
world of dress then even the crimes which are being allowed to-day
are being slowly driven back by the oncoming waves of good taste and
studied knowledge as to the proper manner of expressing one's self in
one's clothes. Education in the principles of correct line and color, a
study of detail and accessories, the application of artistic principles to
daily life, are destroying the former allegiance to Fashion's dictates.
Let us now discuss a few specific instances of answers to the query,
'
'What shall I wear?"
We will suppose, for instance, that you have been invited to a wedding.
Your costume will depend largely upon the time of day the ceremony
takes place, whether in the morning, afternoon or evening, and also upon
the time of year and the place.
In June, for example, you might wear a chiffon frock, either plain or
—
embellished with embroidery the type of dress known as the afternoon
or dinner dress. Slippers should be of satin, in harmony with the costume,
and the stockings may either match the slippers or be of the shade known
as "nude" — a tone much in vogue at present and which can be worn
with almost any color. If the wedding takes place in the afternoon, you
will need a hat; if in the evening, no hat is necessary, and your frock of
chiffon will be more elaborate, both in embellishment and in cut. For a
noon wedding, a hat of sheer transparent material, harmonizing with the
costume, is in very good taste. A wrap for your frock may be of either
C 107 ]
cloth or silk; indeed, one's regular wrap may be pressed into service, as
you will take it off in the reception room.
If, however, the wedding is taking place at that time of the year when
the flying of the snow may be expected, the dress, naturally, would be of
a little heavier texture. The sleeves should be about elbow length. The
neck line remains the same. Gloves are worn above the elbow, and satin
slippers in a becoming color.
In case you are invited to a reception of the usual informal character,
it necessarily follows that the dress should be informal also. So you will
wear any dress in your wardrobe that is not severely tailored, a dress
—
uniting both beauty and style a harmony of curves and lines without —
high collar or long, tight sleeves, or stiffness, as in cloth, a dress typifying
informalitv. There should be in such a frock an artistic carelessness of
dress that is not rigid, either in line, fit, or texture.
It not good taste for this informal dress to be in one of the high
is

colors; nor is it necessary that it be one of the street shades; it should be

a happy medium in either French blue, any of the range of soft browns,
grays, or black.
The same type worn with propriety at a church fair,
of dress might be
a theater, or a luncheon or dinner. A hat is customarily worn with an
informal frock of this type. In fact, the only time a hat is not worn is
when the costume is decollete.
A costume of this type is never tailored or rigid; it should be of a subtle
carelessness, and the hat should correspond. It may be made either of
soft straw, tulle, or any fabric, and should not be too large. A tightly
fitting turban should never be worn with a costume of this kind.
It might be well for the young girl who is going to her first party, and
who has spent considerable time on the thought of how she will look, to
remember that all ornaments such as glass beads, studded hair combs,
bracelets, et caetera, shouldbe eliminated in favor of a simple dress
indeed, simplicity should be the rule of her costume. It is absolutely
essential that her hair be dressed in a simple, girlish manner; that her
dress be neither too short nor too long; in the ensemble, the lines and
curves of her dress should be subtle, never too tight, accentuating the
figure. Do not be one of those 'whose great aim and desire is to attract
'

attention." Jean Worth, the great French dressmaker, said in speaking

C 108 ]
of woman's dress, "... advise the canonization of simplicity rather
than crude straining after effect."
Pretty satin slippers and stockings to harmonize with her costume
will be chosen by the young girl —
either white, black, or matching the
costume tones.
When you are in the country, sport clothes are appropriate —particu-
larly if you are young. rough weaves, all are
Jerseys, tweeds, cloths of
good. For town, however, your suit or dress should not be of the sports
type unless you are off for a country trip, and then the early morning or
late afternoon appearance in sports costume on the street is permissible.
The business woman will do well to avoid buying sports costumes to wear
to work.
If you are of the type of girl who spends week-ends with friends in
the country often enough to make it worth while, investment in a sports
costume is practicable. If you have but one dinner dress, have a pretty
one, with stockings and slippers of a harmonizing hue; the black dress, so
often recommended, if beautifully and simply made, is serviceable for
most occasions. In fact, any informal dress of a pretty, simple type will
do quite well. Hats should, of course, harmonize with the costume.
For morning wear, your frock, according to season, may be of simple
wash materials, or a one-piece frock of silk or wool.
When traveling, wear a simple, smart, neat costume —a one-piece
dress of either silk or cloth, according to time of year, semi-tailored, with
coat to match, or cape, becoming to you and the vogue permits.
if it is
A veil may be worn if desired; shoes should harmonize with the costume,
the leather shoe being preferred by many people for wear with twills and
cloths. The heels may be of medium height and size, or low, if one prefers
and one looks well in low shoes. Wear a rather heavy glove if it is spring
or winter, in black, tan, or a color to match your dress; silk, lisle, or cotton
in summer. Your bag, if you like, may harmonize with either shoes or hat.

CARE OF THE CLOTHES

To the end that after having selected a pretty and becoming frock,
it may look well and 'wear well,"
'
it is be taken
essential that proper care
of the dress when it is removed after having been worn. Your shoes, your
coats, your dress, all should be given attention. Do not neglect any of the

c 109 n
accessories ofyour costume. Don't throw your clothes down on chairs;
brush and put them carefully away on hangers. Further, if you can do so,
place them in a bag of some inexpensive material; light frocks should of
course be hung in a bag of light color. Mend little rips or runs, repair
trimming or lace collar whenever necessary. Brush your hat when you
wear it. Smooth out your gloves, and put them away in a box or case;
keep your belts and girdles in a separate box, neatly folded, not anywhere
in the bureau drawer. Carefully shake your veil, fold, and put away in a
case when you take it off. Clean your shoes and put them away on trees
or stuff the toes with soft paper.
To emphasize what may be accomplished by the exercise of persistent
good taste in the acquiring of a fitting wardrobe for all occasions, we
cannot forbear, in closing this division of our chapter, to quote to you the
words of one of France's greatest artists in dress. He exclaims!
I tell you that one of the best dressed women in Paris buys only three toilettes a
year. But these three are perfect in taste, in fit, in materials. They are made of the
choicest fabrics of their kind, with rare skill, and they accord marvelously with the
wearer. Then, too, this woman knows to a nicety how to put her dresses on; how to
add, just where it is wanted, a corsage knot of blossoms, a piece of real old lace, or a
suitable jewel.

And in connection with attention to details, he says:

To show the care in detail that was lavished upon the dress, let me say that the
very pattern of the brooch was designed and woven in such a manner that the symmetry
of the wearer's figure was enhanced by it.

If the author has indicated clearly, without confusing the reader with
excessive detail, the two great rules of costume for '
'What to Wear and
When" —namely (a) suitability to the occasion and (b) suitability to the
wearer — and it is which rule is the most weighty he has
hard to tell —
achieved his aim and rests content. For with these two rules in mind,
good taste and knowledge on the part of the reader will complete the rest.
As our next step in developing this central thought of suitability, we
shall take up some of the "don'ts" of dress.

A FEW DON'TS OF DRESS

The public —and now, for the first time in this book, we are talking
to men, because we feel that most of them firmly believe as did a business
[ no ]
man who remarked to the author, '

'Why, I could dress women better

than they dress themselves." He was a quiet, unpretentious man as
a rule, but we observed that like all mankind, he noted the follies of

womenkind not as individuals, but en masse.

After all, glaring errors are not so frequent; seldom do we find a woman
dressed in decidedly poor taste. They are the exception rather than the
rule. It is in the details of a costume generally that the fault lies, rather
than in the costume itself.
We left our sentence hanging in mid-air to pursue the sympathy of the
business man with problems of design; what we were about to say was, the
public is harassedly resigned to all the things women do which they should
not do. The short skirt of a few years ago gave place to the longer one, not
because clerical brothers exhorted against it, not because societies vigorously
protested, but simply because fashion's logic demanded a longer skirt.
There is a ridiculous long skirt, if the man who says much against the
short skirt and speaks purringly of "long lines" will but stop to consider.
And the moral of these truths is just simply, Don t go to extremes.
It is wellenough to be a la mode; don't overdo it.
The above rule is of the all-sufficient, all-embracing type. Having
secured the ear of man, however, we descend to particulars and invite
his pet grievances on the subject of dress, for many of these cover our
"don'ts" of dress to women.
There is the matter of big hats, for instance; they shouldn't be worn
on the street or in street cars, or with every costume. At a smart restaur-
ant, in a hotel dining-room at the proper hour, or at an afternoon social
function, nobody will admire the big hat in black or in dark colors more
than the man who has loudly inveighed against it when worn for business
or on the street. And if his wife happens to have been so kind as to give
in to his pleadings for "a small hat" her auditory senses are likely to
prove forerunners to a wave of indignation when the tactless creature
asks, 'Why don't you get a hat like that?" Even then, if his wife is a
'

dainty little creature, we would detain her long enough to whisper,

"Don't get a large, top-heavy hat."
Don't wear unbecoming because they are in fashion. The
colors, just
greens that come to greet each spring cannot be worn by many women
even youth will do well to discriminate.
C HI 3
 Don't wear the wrong shoes with the wrong costume; it is as ridiculous
for a woman to wear low-heeled sport shoes with a dainty frock as it is
for a man to wear tennis shoes with a dinner suit. And in elementary
justice to man, we never heard of his doing such a thing. If you want to
live out of doors, well and good; it is an excellent thing; dress for the
outdoors occasion; but for the love of good taste, don't bring out-
doors and its equipment into the reception room. Rarely indeed is one
called from the farm to the reception room of the large city so immedi-
ately that the question of correct dress becomes a matter of instant
moment.
Don't wear elaborate clothes when simplicity is the rule; this is really
the reverse of the above case. We recall a walk taken two years ago at an
outdoor lunch in the country: one girl appeared in sensible, low shoes
and enjoyed herself; another wore high French heels and spoiled the day
for herself and very nearly for the party.
Don't wear conspicuous stripes and plaids. Give ear, Man, for this
time you are included in our condemnation, since we occasionally find
milady's brother or husband overstepping bounds in this particular. We
remember with joy how one of the best bred men we know wore at a
summer camp a lumberman's shirt in red and black; fortunately, he was of
the type that could wear the combination, but a smile would go all round
the group when he and the shirt appeared together.
If you are a short, stout woman, don't wear big hats with dusty
feathers! This occurrence is rare, but it does happen.
Don't wear long, vertical lines, if you are of the folded silk umbrella
type. And if you are large at hip, don't wear skirts that are narrow at hem,
as they accentuate size of hip and trunk.
Don't, if you are past your youth, make the mistake of wearing a too
youthful frock. If you must err, wear the clothes suited to the elderly
woman; much better that someone should tell you that you are wearing
clothes too old for you than someone should exclaim, 'Look at that old
'

woman trying to look like a girl." The lines of youth, the lines of age, are
and wise women of good taste realize this.
different,
—
And if your arms are not pretty we mean the scrawny, thin arm that
always looks cold and bony, even on summer's warmest day don't try to —
wear short sleeves in the day time, particularly in the street.
C 112 3
 CHAPTER VII

EMBROIDERY
Jl HE decorative beauty of embroidery not only relieves the plain surface
of the material or fabric, it also gives to one's costume new meaning and
interest.
Just as the veins or lines in leaf and flower intensify their color or form,
so should embroidery intensify and develop into new beauty the line or
color of one's gown and embroidery, whether simple or elaborate,
or frock;
should relate just as naturally to the material on which it is placed as the
tree branches relate to their background of blue sky. One should comple-
ment the other with the same harmonious flow of beauty and fitness.
Embroidery is the "fine art" of sewing; it links itself with lace, with fine
fabrics, with dainty costumes. As in sewing, its perfection may be ruined
by careless or ignorant inattention to stitches. Even the matter of the
needles used has its importance; threads or silks have their essential share;
and there must be in the soul of the craftsman who would achieve beautiful
embroidery a sense of exquisite, careful beauty, and in her fingers a feeling
for fine detail, in her soul a serene patience.
Beginning, then, with her needle, we would give a brief resume of these
as follows:
First, there is the embroidery needle, used for all kinds of silk embroid-
ery. It has a characteristically long eye; for the about the length
rest, it is
of an ordinary needle. Then there is the needle for sewing on beads; the
crochet needle for crocheting beads on the material; there is the lame
—
needle a needle about the size of a pin, with two holes close together at
the top (lame by the way, is a kind of wire tinsel). One threads first
through the top eye or hole and then carries the lame through the second
hole —
a device which holds the lame flat and prevents it from twisting and
—
tangling a thing which the wicked lame is prone to do.
The making of one's own embroidery design is a fascinating project.
t 113 ]
Whether you buy a "transfer pattern" as it is called, or are an inspired
artist who is fain to make your own embroidery pattern, the way is one of
patient delight. If you are clever at drawing, make your design on a sheet
of paper. Place your material, right side up, below this paper, inserting a
sheet of carbon, between the paper and the material, and with a pencil
trace heavily so that an outline of your design appears on your goods.
Still another way is to make your design on a piece of perforated paper,

and then after your design is completed, use the perforating machine or a
pin, completing the pattern in this way. Lay the design on the material
and stamp with stamping powder.
Another way of stamping material is to use a transfer pattern and apply
the design to the material by the use of a hot iron on the transfer pattern.
Having stamped the material you wish to embroider, place the fabric
in your embroidery frame. An embroidery frame is made of four pieces of
wood, with tape at the edge of all four sticks, so that the side sticks may be
adjusted in accordance with the size of embroidery. Clamps are used to
keep the frame tightly together while the embroidery is made. The
embroidery frame is necessary in order to hold your material properly in
place, and for your ease in studying your design as you make 3 our stitches.
r

There remains one other needle, which so far we have not noted, the
punch needle. This needle has a sharp, triangular point with a round
head, long eye, and is about twice the size of most embroidery needles.
It is used, as you probably surmise, for punch work, the triangular point
being used to punch the hole or to thrust the material aside, preparatory
to drawing the holes together with the thread.
Punch work is used mostly for trimming collars, cuffs and yokes and
makes a little fancy effect which is very pleasing. It may also be used
to decorate a border.

CHAIN STITCH
This stitch may be used in different ways for outlining, for padding,
for stems, leaves, and petals.
To make this stitch, start at the top of the stamped line. Knot your
thread, insertyour needle on the wrong side of the material, bring through
to the right side; insert the needle one eighth or one sixteenth of an inch
to the left of first stitch and bring through from the wrong side about
[ 114 H
one quarter of an inch below the throw the thread under your
first stitch;

needle, in the manner indicated in our sketch, just as if you were about to
make a buttonhole stitch; bring your loop into position on the stamped
line; again insert your needle, about one eighth of an inch from the
point where you first brought your needle through the material (point the
needle toward you); and take a stitch the desired length inside the first
stitch; throw the thread under the needle as before, bring the loop into
position; and so proceed. See sketch No. 47.

THE OUTLINE OF BACK STITCH

—
This stitch forms a raised line the heaviness of which depends
on the thread used. It serves for outlining your design and also for out-
lining stems and in its simpler forms is made in the following manner.
Make a knot in your thread, bring the needle through to the right side
of the material, and make a running stitch about one eighth of an inch
long. Start your second stitch about one eighth of an inch below the
first, at a point about midway in the stitch; hold the needle toward you,
keeping the thread to the left, so that the thread will come on the stamped
line; draw up the thread; take another running stitch; insert the needle
slightly below at the center point of the stitch just made, holding the
thread at the left; draw up the thread and bring to position on the stamped
line. Then take another running stitch, et caetera. When a very heavy
thread is used, this stitch becomes the "rope stitch."
Note also that the appearance of the outline stitch may be varied
slightly if the thread be held to the right, in making the second or 'back '

stitch" of the series. Illustration No. 48.

THE FEATHER STITCH

A delightfully dainty stitch, full of interest, and frequently used to
open or decorate seams. It is made as follows:
Knot the thread, bring the needle through to the right side of material;
insert the needle slightly to the right of first stitch; take up about one
eighth of an inch of the material and, as you draw the thread through,
throw the thread under the needle to form a loop, holding the needle
slightly toward you. Draw the thread in a straight line to a position one
quarter of an inch below the starting-point and on line with it.
I 115 3
 Feather stitching sometimes used in place of a
is hem to hold tucks
in place. Illustration No. 49.

BUTTONHOLE STITCH OR BAR

The buttonhole stitch —
may be made very close one stitch almost on
another, or the stitches may be farther apart, according to one's desire.
It is a good idea to pad a with one or two running stitches the
little

length of the bar, before starting on the buttonhole stitch, if one wishes
close work, however.
Insert the needle in the material at a point in line with your running
stitch and work the buttonhole stitch as illustrated, throwing the thread

\ x
\
V \

Chain Stitch OUTLINE STITCH FEATHER STITCH-.

No. 47 No. 48 No. 49

under the needle to form a loop. Hold the thread toward you in making
this loop, so as to hold the loop in position at the edge. Illustration No. 50.

SMOCKING
See the chapter on "Stitches and Seams." Embroidery smocking is

done in precisely the same manner as described in this chapter.

HERRINGBONE STITCH
Both this stitch and the feather stitch described may be used to open
or decorate seams.
To make the herringbone stitch, bring the needle through to the right
C H6 3
side of the material. Hold your thread away from you in a slantingly
diagonal direction to the left. Insert the needle one-half inch away from
the original point, take up one-eighth inch of the material, with the
needle pointing toward you, that is, to the left; hold the thread with the
left hand so as to throw the thread under the needle for the loop; cross
the thread in the manner indicated, point the needle toward the left and
take up one-eighth inch of the material, this time on a line with your
original stitch or starting point, but about one-half inch below it; hold
the thread under the left thumb to form a loop in the thread. Your first
herringbone stitch is made. Proceed as before until your stamped out-
line is complete. Illustration No. 51.

Buttonhole, stitch or oai^

FRENCH KNOTS
HERRING-BONE

No. 50 No. 51 No. 52

FRENCH KNOTS
As a drop of consolation to the would-be embroiderer who has
little

struggled valiantly with the intricacies of feather, herringbone, long and

short stitches, let us say that the French knot is easier to make, very
pretty, and usable in many kinds of decorations.
Knot
the thread, bring the needle through to the right side of the
material, hold the needle in your right hand, and the thread between the
thumb and forefinger of your left; wind the thread around the needle, as
few or as many times as you
wish, according to the size of the knot desired
hold the thread firmly in place on the needle with the left thumb and fore-
finger; insert the needle at a point very close to the point through which
it has just been thrust, and pull the knot down to the material. Bring
C H7 ]
the needle from the wrong to the right side of the material at the place
where you wish the next knot to be. Illustration No. 52.

THE RUNNING STITCH

(Sometimes called the "darning stitch/' also shadow stitch)
Knot the thread, bring the needle through to the right side of the
material. Take up on the needle one-eighth inch of material; leave a
space of about one-quarter inch for running stitch; again take up on the
needle about one-eighth inch of material, leave one-quarter inch space,
and proceed thus until the first row is completed. For the second row,
take up one-eighth inch of material half way between the first stitch,
leave one-quarter inch space for the running stitch, and proceed in this

DARJMING- OR RUNNINCr STITC

SEED STITCH LON0r*ND SHORT stitch

No. 53 No. 54

alternate fashion. The third row is like the first; the fourth line similar
to the second, and so
See illustration No. 53.
on.
This stitch is used for all kinds of embroidery. Flower petals may be
filled in with it, made a little smaller, when it becomes the "seed stitch."

THE LONG AND SHORT STITCH

This stitch is often used for working leaf petals and is also used for
shading and for scallops, to make an edging solid.
In making the scallop edge, start from the end of the scallop nearest
to you, or whichever you prefer. If you make scallops from left to right,
hold the thread to the left of the needle so as not to form a loop; if you
work from right to left, keep the thread to the right of your needle. The
length of your stitches depends, of course, upon how deep you wish to
make the edge of the scallop. We will suppose, for instance, that you
C 118 1
wish to make your first long stitch one-half inch deep; it makes no differ-
ence whether you start on the scallop and work inward, or at a point
one-half inch from the edge and work outward: Bring your first stitch
straight up; your second stitch you start exactly on a line with your
first, but you make this stitch half the length of the first stitch, or one-

quarter inch long. Proceed with alternate lengths.

In the case of the leaf, bring the needle through from the wrong to
the right side of the material, take the first long stitch at the tip of the
petal or extreme point of the center of the leaf; proceed to the right with
alternating long and short stitches, working in from the edge of the leaf,

until one half of the petal is completed; then start again at the tip and
work the left half of the petal in the same manner. Illustration No. 54.

CROSS STITCH

Insert the needle from the wrong to the right side of the material.
Begin in the lower left-hand corner of the design. Take a stitch of the
desired length, slightly to the right of the first stitch, and make several
slanting stitches, the same distance apart, and in the same direction as
the first slanting stitch, that is, from left to right (see illustrationNo. 55),
making the In making your last stitch
stitches even. bring your needle
out at a point on the line with the other stitches, then make slanting
stitches in the opposite direction, taking care that they cross your first
set of slanting stitches in the manner indicated on the sketch.

COUCHING STITCH
Use two threads of the required thickness; the thread which is to be
couched is heavier than the thread used for couching.
Place the thread which couched on the stamped line; take the
is to be
thread of lighter weight and by means of a stitch taken over the heavier
thread, fasten the latter into place or position, being careful to hold the
thread straight. Gold and silver thread, cord, worsted, and gold braid
or twist are very often used for couching, being fastened into place by
lighter threads. Our illustration will show you how the cord is held in
place. See illustration No. 56.

t H9 3
 LOOP STITCH
(Used for making the "Lazy Daisy")
Draw the thread through at the center of the daisy, insert the needle
at the same point; hold the thread form a loop when bringing the
so as to
needle back to the right side of the material at a point half an inch away
from the center. Put the needle through the loop and pull the thread
firmly, but not tightly, take a little stitch to hold the top of the loop in
place, and lol you have formed one of the petals of your "lazy Daisy;"
bring the thread through to the center of the daisy on the wrong side of

CROSt) STiTt-ft.

COUCHIHC STITCH

No. 55 No. 56

the material when taking the little stitch to hold the loop in place, and
proceed to make your second petal in the same manner. Illustration
No. 57.
PUNCH WORK
This form of embroidery is generally applied to coarse linen or linen
with a loose weave. A punch needle and linen thread are also required,
and it is well for the beginner to have a stamped outline of the dots
required, similar to that appearing in our illustration:
Knot the thread and bring the needle to the right side of the material
at the first dot of the second row, beginning the work in the left-hand
corner. Pull the thread through from the first dot in the second row to
C 120 3
the dot in the first row and back to the second dot in the second row;
first

then to the second dot in the first row, from thence to the third dot in
the second row to the third dot in the first row, and so on. Return for
the third row by bringing the needle up at the last dot in the third row.
It is well to complete any other embroidery work in your design before
beginning the punch work. Illustration No. 58.

EWI8R0IDERU STITCH

LOOP snrtH
OR. PUNCH WORl\
LAZy DAIS'
1
No. 57 No. 58 No. 59

To-day, however, crocheting is more in favor than the above method,

that is, using the crochet needle for various embroidery stitches.

EMBROIDERY STITCHES
In making this shape of the petal or leaf is followed, the
stitch, the
stitches tending toward the center of the flower or leaf. This rule obtains
even where a petal has a distinct center vein; in such petals, start your
stitches toward the center from the outer edge or margin, slanting the
stitches slightly until the bottom of one half of the petal is reached; then

V :
\V
o
No. 60 No. 61
C 121 H
work the other half in the same manner, proceeding from the tip of the
leaf. The parallel veined leaf is embroidered from the tip of the leaf down
to the stem. The stitch is worked in the following manner:
Start at the outer edge, proceed to the center vein with one long stitch,
slightly slanted; then start from the outer edge with the second stitch
and bring to the vein once more, and so on, until one half of the leaf is
finished, and bringing the stitch back to the outer edge of the leaf on the
wrong side of the material, using the same length of stitch as will appear on
the other side of the material. In other words, work the stitch over from
the outer edge of the vein and back on the wrong side of the material
to the outer edge once more. See illustration No. 59.

BEADING
Our shows two ways of beading. Sketch 60 shows you how
illustration
to sew beads on singly, back stitching for heavy or large beads to hold
each bead in place. Running stitch is sufficient for most beads. If you
prefer, you may string your beads on the special thread for beads and then
couch the beads down with a stitch between each bead. Our illustration
(No. 61) pictures the beading of a design, the beads being fastened to the
material in the same manner, that is, either by couching or back stitching
or running stitch.
CROCHETED CHAIN STITCH
It is well to use a crochet needle for this. You have to procure a
will
special crochet needle, known as the '
'crochet beading needle." Use a
stamped design.
Hold cotton or silk loosely in left hand underneath the material.
Work of this type should be done in an embroidery frame.
Punch a hole with the needle from the right side of the material,
catch the thread underneath and draw it up through the hole to the right
side, to form a loop. Now take an extra stitch very close to the first stitch,

catching the silk or cotton from underneath as in the first stitch. This
second small stitch holds the loop in place.
For the next long stitch stamped on the design, take up the cotton
from underneath, and then take a short stitch, catching the cotton from
underneath as before. The length of your long stitch will be regulated
by the stitches on your design. Continue in this fashion, one long and
one short stitch, until the outline is completed.
C 122 ]
 CONCLUSION

ACCESSORIES
JL 00 often, after planning a new does one believe that one's
frock,
costume is complete, whereas, in reality, one's task is only half done.
One should study those touches that are necessary to complete its
still

beauty, for it is only by harmonizing details in hat, shoes, hose, gloves,

— —
and bag in a word, the accessories of a costume that one may achieve
the much desired chic in dress. It is not a question so much of straining
after effect as it is a realization that one wrong detail may throw the entire
costume out of its true relation to the occasion and to fitness.
A tea gown of chiffon or lace on the street; a formal hat with fine lace
worn with a street costume, instead of a sport or tailored hat; a 'Cinderella'

slipper" with shimmering buckles worn with a walking costume, are all
details that destroy and disturb the harmonious a costume in
effect of
its entirety. In each case, the occasion or the fitness of the accessory has
been disregarded. The tea gown, worn rightly in the intimacy of one's
home, would complete the harmony of a beautiful moment in the day;
the pretty slipper, worn with the right frock, would complete the harmony
of a suitable dress, as would also the formal hat. The 'eternal fitness of
'

things" to each other is as essential in dress as in life and art.

Having illustrated our point with the above examples, we proceed to
a practical discussion of the accessories of dress and begin with the most
important complementary feature of the frock the hat. —
The correct hat is as essential as the correct frock, and by the 'correct '

hat," we mean one matching your gown or suit or one harmonizing with
it: correct fabric (according to season and costume), correct size, correct
line, correct color —these are all to be considered when deciding about
your hat.
To illustrate the above, let us suppose for a moment that you have
planned a chiffon frock. For this you will require a silk hat, or if the
frock is for evening and dinner wear, a lace or tulle hat.

C 123 3
 For a street dress of silk, one's hat should be of some such material as
crepe satin, straw or velvet, according to season. For the serge or tailored
frock or suit, the hat should always be simple; it may be of silk, straw, or
velvet, but it must be simple —no fussy trimming. A ribbon bow, a smart
buckle, or just a pin such as those in vogue at the moment, is all that good
taste demands.
If you do not look well in small hats, when you are planning a hat
for your tailored frock or suit, try one of medium size. With a large hat,
you will never achieve the smart tailored effect you so much desire.
On the other hand, the large hat achieves a beautiful effect when worn
with the proper frock at a restaurant, garden party, or some other proper
informal costume.
Now, as remember always that the hat frames your face.
to line:
Ask yourself if the hat you are trying on has the proper shape and lines

to bring out the best in your features. Is the "frame" for your face so
small that your face looks large? Or is the hat so big that your face
becomes merely a something small on which the hat has been erroneously
placed? Be careful to see that the crown does not extend beyond the
line of the forehead in front, or beyond the hair in back. Take care that
the crown is not too wide or too high; the height of any hat, generally
speaking, should not be more than three-quarters the length of the face.
A hat with a brim is always more flattering than one without. The
turban, while smart, has a tendency to bring out all the defects. It also
necessitates a perfect coiffure, and the straight line across the forehead
accentuates the lines of the face.
A woman with a short, thick neck should never wear a hat with a
broad brim. Our reader needs only to recall in mental vision the picture
of such a one, with the brim almost touching the shoulder in back and
hiding the neck and hair to recognize the truth of this rule. For this type,
a toque or a narrow-brimmed hat is best. With these small hats a veil is
very often worn, and softens in great measure the line of the hat, making
it more becoming.
It may
not be amiss at this point to discuss briefly the matter of veils,
leaving our next thought — —
that of color for later amplification. The
time at which veils may be worn is important. What we term a "face
veil" should be worn only when one is wearing a tailored frock and only

C 124 H
in the day time. should be carefully selected in regard to color and tex-
It
ture so that the veil may prove a beautifier rather than a disfigurement.
A delicate-skinned, exquisite-featured woman will look well in a thin
mesh veil, while a woman of high coloring and large features will often
look very smart in a figured veil. however,
In choosing the figured veil,

great care should be taken not to have the pattern too large or too heavy,
as the design in this case may come in just the wrong place, say just at
the top of the nose, completely covering the mouth, and thereby causing
a very ugly effect.
A very pretty method of trimming a simple hat is to drape it with a
lace or chiffon veil —the plain mesh of the lace veil may fall over the face
and the fancy part may hang off the hat.
The question as to the color of one's hat is a paramount consideration
in choosing one's accessories for a costume. A safe rule is always to
match color of hat and costume. Black may be worn by many women,
but discretion should be used. It is important that the color blend nicely
with your hair, your eyes, and your complexion.
The matter of what shades may be worn next to one's face should
receive considerable study. your eyes are blue, for instance, you may
If
select a facing of blue for your hat, which will make your eyes deeper and
darker. The brown-eyed woman similarly may find a certain shade of
brown very becoming to her eyes; and who will ever forget the beauty of
black eyes set in a proper background?
Someone has suggested that when lines are too noticeable in the face,
it would be well to choose soft, dark facings against whose background
the lines would be softened and subdued. Be very careful in the matter
of facings; literally, they are a frame for your face, and you should study
the frame most carefully.

SHOES AND HOSIERY

Shoes and hosiery are "tremendous trifles" in the final effect of a
costume. They are next in importance to hats in securing harmony in
one's costume.
Our reader, weassume, has been at great pains to select a becoming
will
frock, paying great attention to material, color, et csetera. She has given
even more time and attention to her hat, realizing its importance. Her
C 125 3
shoes and stockings, not selected with the utmost care, may spoil the
if

whole effect of her costume.

For example, picture a young lady wearing a beautiful lace or chiffon
frock, with a medium size hat (preferably with a brim) either of taffeta,
— —
velvet or straw depending entirely on the season and then, to complete
the picture, can you imagine our young lady wearing dark brown walking
shoes and brown stockings? We exaggerate to bring to you a realization
of the thought, care, and attention which should be given to these finishing
details of your costume. You will at once perceive that the young lady
of our picture has spoiled her costume by wearing the wrong shoes and
stockings; a satin slipper with matching or harmonizing hose, would
have given to the portrait a delicate nuance that would have completed
and perfected its harmony.
It is equally improper to wear satin slippers, however, with a walking
dress or suit. A conservative taste in shoes is always the "best taste"
and "conservative taste" means that the harmony is so complete that
attention is not particularly attracted to the young lady's shoes and
stockings.
Frequently women make the great mistake of wearing shoes that
match the gown when black shoes would really look much better, though
often the stocking may match the dress or even be in harmony, as in the
case of wearing beige stockings and black shoes with a brown or blue dress.
In this instance, it would be advisable to wear a black hat, if it is becoming;
a brown or blue hat would also look well, according to costume. If you
do wear a black hat, it should be all black, and in the case of the brown
dress, it might have a brown trimming, but no other color should be used.
The wearing of too many colors in one's costume is also a frequent
error. Picture a navy-blue serge dress trimmed in red with black stockings
and black shoes, and a navy-blue hat trimmed with French blue; you will
at once recognize the lack of congruity in your color picture. With such a
—
costume a simple blue hat would have been much better or even a black
hat. The red trimming was quite enough color for the entire costume.
Returning to our discussion of shoes, no standing rule may be laid
down beyond that street shoes should be worn with street costumes, and
only street costumes! Evening slippers should be worn only with evening
dress. Many are the styles of shoes that may be worn with the afternoon

C 126 ]
or informal dress. With silk frocks, wear black patent leather slippers, or
suede if you wish. The low-heeled suede should be worn only with the
tailored suit or dress, or perhaps with a proper sports costume. Black
patent leather slippers may also be worn with dark chiffon afternoon and
dinner dresses. With light chiffon dresses and dance frocks in bright
colors, it is much better taste to wear flesh-color stockings and slippers than
to wear slippers and stockings to match, except, of course, for a white
dress, when only slippers of white should be worn.
The woman of good taste never goes to extremes in selecting her shoes.
Here, above all other details of costume, it is well to be conservative. A
good motto to follow is, 'Keep your feet inconspicuous."
'

There remains in our study of costume accessories the details of gloves,

bag, jewels, handkerchiefs, et caetera. Undeniably, the complete touch to
a costume is often given by some accessory that supplies and carries to
—
perfection a charming perfection —
the tout ensemble of the costume.
In selecting accessories, it is very important that the appropriate one be
selected, for if the right one may achieve perfection, the wrong one may
conversely destroy or pervert the most charming effect.
— —
Study your gown your hat your shoes your hose and then — —
— — —
consider gloves bag handkerchief jewels. Often a string of beads of
just the right color will bring out the right tone in your gown and add to
its chic. Do not, however, wear too many jewels; even fine jewelry may

lose its charm when used to excess.

The subject of gloves is not an extensive one, but it merits attention
just the same. White gloves, long or short, according to your sleeve
length, are always in good taste. It is economy and good taste to wear the
brown or gray glove, whichever harmonizes with your costume. A great
many women follow the French plan and wear a black glove with dark
costumes.
A nice black bag (preferably silk) is always smart, and will suit any
costume. In addition to its serviceability and smartness, it also has the
—one of the marks of good
virtue of inconspicuosity taste.
Colored handkerchiefs are a fad— a we fad, good
regret to say, not in
taste. A white handkerchief with a colored border may be used, but an all
white handkerchief is best. They are dainty things and come in varying
sizes. The glove handkerchief is generally used for evening. It may be a
C 127 1
lace- trimmed trifle, or broidered and edged with net. The latter by the
way, are easily made at home, by hand. Just hem (roll hem is preferable) a
sheer four-inch square of linen; buy the net footing and overcast this on
your square around the edges. The corners may be shirred in. If this is
done carefully, you will have a charming handkerchief.
In considering all these details of dress, select with two ideas in mind,
good taste and smartness. Close study is necessary, but the subject is a
fascinating one and you can best work it out yourself. Do not let anyone
persuade you, unless it be a very artistic person, indeed, to take something
with which you do not feel completely satisfied.
You will soon find that results justify all the time spent in achieving
them, and you will fall into the habit of taking care of details, so that each
time you plan a new costume, it will be easier for you to select what will
make your costume individual, beautiful and chic.

A LITTLE TALK ABOUT COLORS

The subject of becoming colors is one of endless interest to women.
We have not room in this book to discuss lengthily this interesting topic;
we have, however, selected certain well-known types and analyzed the
color situation in regard to them, but the truth remains that every woman
is own artist and should studv the colors of each season in relation to
her
her own color of hair, eyes, and skin, and make her own decision after
much comparing.
No. 1 —The blonde with blue eyes, pale face, and light hair.
This type may wear practically any color, though the
soft shades
are more becoming. Wear dark shades during the day, pastel
shades at night.
This type of woman prefers delicate frocks with dainty trim-
mings, such as fine laces, pastel flowers, et caetera; for evening
wear, she will select whites, grays, mauves; all pastel shades (ex-
cept perhaps yellow) are good.

No. 2 —The blonde with brown eyes, rosy cheeks; blonde with brown eyes
and pale complexion.
The blonde with the brown eyes and rosy cheeks could wear
the same shades as her sister of the pale coloring, but will probably

C 128
-}
 avoid all shades of pink, red, even pinkish mauve in a
cerise, or —
word, all colors which would accentuate the pink of her cheeks.
The blonde with the brown eyes and the pale complexion
should select shades a little stronger than the other blondes, as
shades too soft or delicate would emphasize her colorlessness.
For day wear, the shades are practically the same, though she
should avoid the tans and light browns, and the medium greens.
For evening, she should avoid yellows and pale greens.
No. 3 —The brown-eyed, drab-haired type of woman with sallow com-
plexion, and the brown-eyed medium-haired woman with a good
complexion.
The first-mentioned type should avoid light pastel shades. She
should select decided colors, such as bright blues, reds, jade, deep
turquoise, in a word colors neither light nor dark, and strong
enough.
The second type —the brown-eyed woman with a good complex-
ion may wear practically any color, according to age, taste, and
occasion. Being not an extreme type herself, she will do well to
avoid extremes.
No. 4 —The brunette with fair skin and blue eyes; the brunette with olive
skin and brown eyes.
The brunette with fair skin may wear all colors; the brunette
with the olive skin and with brown eyes, of the Oriental type,
may wear strong colors, but she will avoid pastel shades, greens
and yellows, unless it is a strong emerald, or apple green and
canary yellow. For day wear, she should avoid beige and tans.
No. 5 —The red-haired woman with brown or blue eyes.
Red-haired women be always at their best in black or dark
will
blue for street wear, unless they select in silk or velvet a very
golden shade of brown. For afternoon and evening wear, all
greens, including jade, are probably the best, also black, gold
tissue with touch of strong color, and all shades of gold, copper
and orange to blend with her hair.

t 129 1