A STUDY OF PATTERN CUTS PRODUCED BY CARRY KG TEE FABRIC BEYOND THE STANDARD SEAN POSITIONS A froblem Presented to the Faculty of the College of Home Economics of Michigan State University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts by Tomi Hirama December 1955 TABLE OF CONEENTS I. Introduction........................... II. Review of Literature................... III. Experimental Procedure................. . Preliminary Study...................... nderarm (-4 V V. Extensions beyond the Stanflard Seam of the Blouse..................... VI. Extensions beyond the Standarfl Shoulder 5. €87]...oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ('4 VII. Extensions beyond the Stonflard Arnscye VIII. Extensions beyond the Stanflard Neckline seanOOOOOOOOOO0.0.0.0000...00......O... eSS Ci§jt-in-One.o...tl.OOOCOOOOOOOOO’OO H :4 U *3 X. Summary and Conclusions................ GlossaryOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Literature Cited....................... 1‘. 3 \N uh U1 U1 O‘\ \O h) —4 -u U". I. INTRODUCTION At present,dress designs show a wide variation in 811- houette. The two extremes are the closely fitted basque bodices with balling skirts and garments cut in one piece in so far as it is possible. The latter cuts are necessar- ily less closely fitted types of silhouettes. Multiseamed basque bodices and hip length jackets are fitted at the many seam lines and the grain is easily adjusted within each sec- tion of the pattern. Layouts are also simplified as the many pieces are small and may be wedged together on the fab- ric. On the other hand, cuts with very few obvious seams are simole and smooth in apoearance but often require more yard- age,and fitting by means of concealed seams and darts, com- plicating the pattern making. The object is to avoid obvious seams while attaining a close smooth fit without wrinkles. With the elimination of many of the standard seemlines, the pattern pieces become larger and thus economical layouts are often difficult to plan. In such cases the problem is to discover how "dditional fitting seams or darts might be con- cealed. Planning the grain position in designs cut as far as oossiole in one piece may create a grain problem, for a grain position suitable in one area of the pattern may be poor in the OLheP areas of the same pattern oiece. Authorities generally believe that designs with mYlti- seams often fit oetter, have better grain placement in all pattern parts, cut better, and are e in 0 I do _‘V '"5 to assemble than those limited to very few seams and Q: .J trts. Eowever, designs cut as far as possible in one piece have the advantage of appearing smoother, less cut~up and are especially desired for fabrics with large patterns or distinct grain. The purpose of this study was to try to develop designs with some basic seams eliminated which fit as well as those with basic seams retained, and to test and analyze various cuts to determine when and if it is worthwhile to elimintte these seams. Also,an attemot was made to show that simplicity of effect does not always mean simplicity in cut or construc- tion. This study includes tie analysis of design quality, grain, fit, yardage, construction and limitations encountered. Seams referred to as "standard" or "basic" are those whicn are placed along the silhouette and the natural Joints of the body. They include the shoulder, underarm, armscye, neckline, waist- line and side seams. The designs were limited to those which extend beyond the shoulder, underarm, armscye and neckline seams. Construction analysis was made only of those cuts in which it was particularly important or difficult. II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE The only specific information concerning designs with fabric extended beyond the standard seam lines and their effect on pattern making and layout, fabric economy, grain and fit, and construction, was found in Dress Design by Hill- house and Mansfield. In chapter seven of their book, the authors suggested many sources of design inspiration, one of which was carrying the fabric beyond the normal seam lines or as far as possible without cutting. This particular suggesa tion inspired this study. Eillhouse and Mansfield state that from this source of inspiration, designs with uninterrupted flow of line may be developed and that this is one fundamental of good design. They go on to explain that these designs are more likely to have "uncluttered simplicity...that characterize the most ex- pensive aegidnsnol In regard to simplicity, the Goldsteins also state in Agt in Everyday Life, that success in dress design depends largely on restraint and that simplicity should be the aim with enough emphasis to give the design individu~ 2 ality and distinction. Morton gives an interesting comment lMarion S. Hillhouse, Evelyn A. Mansfield, Dress Design, New York: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1943, o. 310. 2Harriet and Vetta Goldstein, Art in Everyday Life, New York: Macmillan Co., 1940, 3rd ed., p. 159. on simplicity in The Arts of Costume and Personal Appearance. She says that it can be most dull and uninspiring when un- touched by imagination.1 Although designs with fewer seam lines have simplicity, they require the most careful kind of planning to avoid obvious seams and yet retain a smooth fit. Hillhouse and hansfield suggested that small pattern pieces can sometimes be attached to larger sections to eliminate un- necessary seams. But they add that it may simplify cutting, be more economical and enable better grain placement if out with hidden sea-ms.2 The pattern shade, grain placement and character of the fabric influences the silhouette, fit, adaptability to fabric Widths and construction ease or difficulty. In regard to pattern shape and silhouette, Goldstein states that when designing a garment, shape harmony is the most imoortant con- sideration in planning a beautiful and economical structural design. She goes on to say that the silhouette of a dress should bear resemblance to the human figure. In other words, the dress should be made up of shades and sizes beautiful in themselves as well as becoming to the figure. In her opinion the most beautiful dress designs have some lines which fall closely to the contour of the figure but not so closely as to appear uncomfortable.3 Billhouse, Mansfield and Horton con- 1Grace M. Morton, The Arts of Costume and Personal Appearance, “-1.“ New York, John Wiley and Sons Inc., 1953, p. 45. thllhouse and Mansfield, 92. cit. p. 310. 3Goldstein, 99. cit. p. 267. stantly stress the importance of silhouette since it is what is seen from a distance before details are visible and it is the most outstanding characteristic of a costume. A garment must fit correctly to be becoming as well as comfortable. The intricate pattern cuts of present day west- ern cultures require great knowledge, understanding and skill in order to develop comfortable, well-fitting garments. As Rohr points out in his book Pattern Drafting and Grading, present day garments fit more closely and therefore require a greater use of darts and tucks for correct fit over tre curves of the body.1 Erwin discussed the standard grain olacement and stated that except in unusual designs the lengthwise grain should hang straight down on the figure from the neck to the waist, from the armhole to the elbow and from the waistline to the bottom of the skirt and the lengthwise threads should be per- pendicular to the main circumferences on the center lines of the body.2 Although dressmakers agree on these general rules, designers sometimes change the grain to create different effects. Erwin stressed that it is false economy to cut pieces "off grain" whether it be a result of haste, careless- ness or desire to economize on fabric, for this results in fitting and stitching difficulties as well as an unbalanced 1-H. Rohn, Pattern Drafting and Grading, revised edition,~l944u p 0' 2-0 ' QMabel D. irwin, Clothin: for Moderns, New fork: Naomillan Co., 1949, p. 211. appearance and overall dissatisfaction.l Mansfield defined the term "off grain" as "any line on the fabric not parallel to either lengthwise or crosswise grain”. She states "the uneven balance of grain would show in any fabric because of the uneven pull on all fitting lines in the dress. Lack of balance in fabric grain is especially noticeable as the body moves..."2 Hillhouse and Mansfield tell us that the stiffness, soft- ness, bulkiness or clingins quality determine whether to shape the fabric to the curves of the bod by darts, tucks or pleats to give a flat, close fitting effect,or by gathers and flaresto give extension. Fabric design characteristics which influence the economy of the cut are:nao, up and down, right and left of pattern, large repeats in florels or plaids, distinct grain or strioe, border prints and twill. Garments cut from these fabrics usually require more careful planning in layout and more yardage. Various cuts are more adaptable to fabrics with no right or wrong or pattern.3 Erwin states that cutting pieces on the bias 0 ten requires one-third more ya dsge. She adds that some ribbed and striped materials cut to better advantage when some pieces are placed crosswise. She warns however, that such plans must be satisfactory in design lErwin, Qp. cit., p. 161. 2Evelyn A. Mansfield, Clothing Construction, New York: houghton Mifflin Co., 1953, p. 112. 3Eillhouse and Mansfield, 92. cit., p. 281. and durability before deciding to save yardage in this manner.1 The simplicity or complexity of constructing and finish- ing a garment is determined by he skill of the worker, the shaoe of the pattern niece, its grain placement,as well as the yarn and weave structure and fiber content of the fabric used to interpret the design. Although little specific infornation was available, the general information reviewed helped in deternining what limita- tions and problems mi; t be expected in this study. One prob- lem which might occur wten cutting a pattern for any desizn, is that the design may not appear as sketched when out in fabric and olaced on a f‘gure. This is because the pattern shape, amount of flare introduced, fabric texture, body and weight and grain placement all influence the resulting effect. One may also discover that some sketches that seem to be in one piece are impossible to cut or fit because pattern carts overlap When laid flat. Also the grain may not be suitable in all areas of a large pattern piece. lErwin, 92. 01 ., p. 161. III. EXPZE (STEAL PHOCELU. The model A standard half-size Bauman dress form was used to prove each design sketched. Measurements of the half-size form were: bust 19 inches (33), waist 13 3/4 inches (27 1/2), hips 18 3/4 inches (37 1/2). The full size measurements are indicated in parenthesis. The fabric In order to eliminate the variable of texture, medium weight unbleached muslin was chosen to be used throughout the study. Comparisons between designs and cuts could thus be made simply and clecrly. Pencil lined or striped fabric was used to study designs which might be Questionable if cut iron fabrics with a distinctive rib or slub. The sources of desirn }_._._ __.____...__....._.._ ‘fhe desirns use were obtained from: dashion magazines and pattern books, costume design classes at Michigan State University, and original designs. The designs collected were organized Bccording to the four seams eliminated or crossed over: the shoulder, underarm, armscye and neckline se me. The master pattern A master pattern was draped in muslin on the calf-size form according to directions outlined in the text Dress Design, q by Hillhouse and flansfield, then trues up and cut from tagboard. \O The method f pattern making “‘5— The half-size patterns were made by blocking from the master pattern, draiing in muslin directly on the form, or by a combination of these two methods. Tne text Dress Design by hillhouse and Mansfield was used as a basis for cutting all designs used in this study. The layout The grain position for each pattern was established accord- ing to established rules for grain placem nt. lhe paper pat- terns designed from the master pattern were then cut from muslin. The muslin proof was pinned together and tried on the dress form. Construction was not carried beyond this stage. 1 F: I") 9‘ C'ltrc‘i “14's! “Ll—H Leg. (0 An analysis of the design quality of the pencil sketch as well as of the muslin proof on the form, was made to deter- mine whether or not there was an improvement over a similar design effect with the standard seem lines retained. The judgment was based on design standards set up by various authorities. Any differences between the sketch and the actual muslin proof were noted. The quality of fit was examined on the three-dimensional figure. The grain was analyzed for distortion and wrinkling, particularly at the point of crossing over the standard seam positions. Since it is an established fact that grain plays an important part in determining the proper fit of a cut and particularly influences design qu lity if fabric with distinct grain is used, various grain positions were tried in order to lO obtain the best effect and fit. The yardage reouirement was analyzed to detect any lim— itations of the cut because of fabric width. Four commonly used fabric widths were tried to determine the adapttbility and economy of the cut. The fabric widths used were 36, 39, 45 and 54 inch. Fabric characteristics such as distinct grain were also Judged by draWing grain lines in pencil on the muslin. Simplification or comolexity of construction of the gar- ment was analyzed but was not included in the discussion except where it was of particular siqnificance. After each analysis was made, corrections or adjustments were made wherever possible to inarove the desi{n and fit. Adaotability to fabric widths and construction was given Sketches were made while the muslin proofs were on the figure to show the final results. “he halfesize patterns were reduced to one-eighth size and difiaramed to show the exact 54 'v tion. The true bias, in addition 1 R *‘S ’ L v.10 {:5 O k) U) )4. pattern sha?e and to the lengthwise grain,is indicated where it is of particular — importance. Diagram la Diagram lb % Basic body bulges —-Joints of the body 11 IV. PRELIMIYARY SEUDY Before experimenting with complex designs it was nec- essary to understand the makeup of the simplest of all cuts, the master oattern,and before attempting to cross over and substitute for or eliminate basic seamlines it was essential to analyze the master pattern to see why seams and darts are placed as they are. V The master pattern has its straight or curved seams placed at the natural joints of the body and its darts pointing to- ward the body bulges so as to produce the best fit possible (see Diagrams la and lb). The master pattern has seams at the following positions which will be considered as standard throughout the study: the shoulder, neckline, armscye, waist- line, underarm and side seams. The standard blouse front has the lengthwise grain placed perpendicular to the waistline at center front. A curved seam is placed (1) at the neckline to fit the curve along neck base, (2) along the top of the shoulder to fit the shoulder curve, (3) around the armscye where the arm joins the trunk of the body, and (4) along the waistline to fit the smallest body circumference. Also seams are placed at the underarm to fit the waist indentation and still allow ease around the bustline, and at the side of the skirt to fit the side hip curve of the body. When draping the master pattern a shoulder and waist- EU \ i E f\. g I i- ’ M/flflw J_\‘ a. Standard Blouse Front x ‘ f ‘2 t [g l‘ l .1 H l g .. __ ___7 l I \; z ; ‘\ I a ' I k ‘ T ' ? ‘~ I L \x I I! .\ ‘ _, ‘ y I ‘ i I _ ckmr c. Standard Sleeve Diagram 2 b. Standard Blouse Back line dart pointing toward the bust was used to fit the bust curve, but the shoulder dart was transferred to form one large waistline dart when the tagboard pattern was cut, in order to simplify its use in designing on the master pattern. The standard blouse back has a 1/4 to 3/3 inch dart or ease along the shoulder seam to fit the curve of the shoulder blade and allow for action when the arms are pulled forward. The dart is sometimes shifted to the neck edge. The back waistline dart is directed toward the shoulder blade to fit this curve and at the same time helps fit the indentation of the waist. The silhouette seams are those which outline the body and include the snoulder, underarm and side seams. These are fre- quently altered when fitting a garment. The sleeve has the lengthwise grain established in line with the shoulder tip down to the elbow. A horizontal dart is directed toward the elbow point from the sleeve underarm seam. This dart lengthens the back of the sleeve so that the elbow can be bent. The bottom of the sleeve is curved to fit the wristline curve. The sleeve underarm seam slants inwardly toward the wrist to fit the girth, elbow and wrist. ihe cap of the sleeve is curved to fit the armscye, and ease is allow- ed in order to shape the cap to fit the shoulder ball. The master pattern is the foundation for all flat pattern designs. The amount of ease allowed in the half and eighth size patterns used in this study corresponded as accurately as possible to that recommended by Hillhouse and Mansfield. / \\ A, u. f f ,2 l i g u», .‘fl - R‘- "'-—v . J‘wv—d-MM’ \ Diagram A _ J m . 4‘ ‘.— 13 V. EXTENSIONS BEYOND THE CTANTAPD UNDERARH SEAfi 0F TEE BLOUSE The standard underarm seam of the blouse is a straight slanting line which falls at the center of the figure from the underarm pit to the waist and it should be inconsoicuous from either front or back.view. Generally it slants slightly forward, because the center of the body at the armpit is usually slightly farther back than it is at the waistline (Diagram A and B)- This position must be changed if, because of poor posture, the shoulders are carried either very far forward or far back.1 As the arm hangs over this seam of the garment, thereby concealing it, there may be little gained by omitting this seam. However,since the underarm seam is a perfectly straight slanting line it would seem that it might be eliminated and the fabric extended beyond the normal seam position without losing an important fitting line. The fact hat the underarm seam is a silhouette seam frequently used in making alterations was not over looked. If it should be omitted in ready-to-wear, cut in standard sizes as it is, the sales of such cuts might be affected. In order to observe the reaction of the grain and fit when fabric is extended beyond the underarm seem, the master blouse front and back were Joined at the underarm and cut in one piece. As the grain position of various areas of the lEillhouse and Mansfield, 99. cit., p. 22. u a... ,. W I a an C Diagr Diagram D l# bodice is altered by dart transfers, the center front and center back were placed on the straight grain with the bodice front darts tried at these various positions: the entire dart retained at the waist, the entire dart at the shoulder (this is not recommended but was done to show the effect on grain) and the dart distributed between the shoulder and waistline. These dart positions were tried for they are sometimes used to interpret bodice front designs. When the center back was placed on straight grain, the underarm fell on a partial bias. The center front also fell on a partial bias when all of the dart was retained at the waistline and became more bias as a greater portion of the dart was shifted to the shoulder. However,it did not become true bias in any case. As more of the dart was shifted to the shoulder, the crosswise grain slanted upward more sharply. l1he front waistline dart mismatched as more of the dart was transferred to the shoulder. (Diagram C). When the center front was placed on straight grain, the underarm seam was almost straight grain when all of the dart was retained at the waistline, but the center back became more bias as the dart was shifted to the shoulder. The crosswise grain rose sharply as it neared center back and rose more sharply when the waistline dart was shifted to the shoulder. When part or all of the waistline dart was shifted to the shoulder the back waistline dart became mismatched (Diagram D). In order to balance the crosswise grain across the chest in both front and back, and to avoid wrinkling at the under- front View .v. . I. ‘ . -_"- back view 15 arm of the bodice front and back caused by an ”off-grain" cut, it is recommended that the lengthwise grain be established perpendicular to the waistline at center front and center back. The six cuts just analyzed show very definitely that since the underarm seam slants inwardly from the armpit to the waistline, it is impossible to keep the grain perpendicular to the waist- line at both center front and center back without an underarm seam. Any alterations of this cut must be made by adjusting the darts or center front or back seams. Alterations made at these points are likely to change the design effect and are also more difficult to make than adjustments at the underarm seam. Therefore, the complete elimination of the underarm seam in a fitted garment is not worth the effort. This experiment indicated that perhaps a more loosely fitted bodice might prove successful, particularly if a sub- stituting seam were placed near the standard underarm seam. These thoughts insoired the creation of an original bolero out. Design 1 A straight hanging bolero was designed with the underarm seam eliminated and the extension beyond the under- arm seam terminated in a seam hidded under a side back pleat. A curved underarm dart shaped the fabric over the bust curve and ended in line with the back bodice hem. Fit and grain_placement The center front was placed on straight grain, and since the bolero was loose fitting, the underarm seam could also be placed on straight grain. The seam under the side back pleat substituted for the underarm side View 4,4,.1A .—A ——-“—*“‘ fl front view Design 2 ‘. f l . .) ‘ 5 III"! I" I ,, ,r f , ‘j 5 Diagram 2 v-For commercial use seam l6 and enabled the grain to be balanced in the separate back piece. To avoid a "cut-up" design the center back was placed on a fold. fhe underarm dart was smooth and unbroken by an underarm seam, and produced an interesting effect from the side view. The underarm extension eliminated the possibility of cutting the sleeve in one piece with the bolero front. The back bodice was not limited in this wsy but should be con- sistent with the front. The possibility of collars cut as extensions was not limited. Adaptability to fabric widths The cut was not limited by the fabric widths. Designji A close fitting bodice resembling a short eton(in front)with a built up neck was produced by carrying the fabric past the underarm to the center back seam. The two diagonal seems which substituted for the normal vertical underarm seam added design interest. Fit and grain placement The grain was established perpendic- ular to the waistline at the upper chest. This made the straight grain fall at the underarm position also. ihe extended strip became bias as it neared the center back and enabled shaping to fit the back waistline. Part of the back and front waist- line darts were transferred as ease along the diagonal seam- lines to help balance the grain across tle buSLline. Very small pattern parts were attached to the bodice side back and side front and eliminated the necessity of additional seaming. As the back blouse pattern extended beyond the underarm seam ‘* fit“..— front View Diagram 3a __——...— I E I [I I <7 A F ‘5 ' F ,‘ 1 if I ‘ \ f a .|\ ' “~'\ ‘1 I l \ ‘ ‘i "- | 1 \ I \ l l I] r I I I ,, g o l 17 it eliminated the possibility of cutting the sleeve with the bodice as in design 1. This unusual and interesting design fitted smoothly, but one important disadvantage was noted. Any necessary alteration was made difficult by the Substitution of the diagonal seams for the normal vertical underarm seam, as all fitting would have to be done at the center front seam, by darting, or along the partially bias diagonal seams cross- ing the underarm. Therefore.it was decided that this cut is suitable only in garments made to fit a specific person. For commercial use a seam should be placed along the normal under- arm position for easier alteration since very little design quality would be lost by the normal seam. Adaptability to fabric widths This cut was not limited by any of the four fabric widths studied. Desisn_2 An unusual halter bodice suitable for striped fabric resulted from exoerimenting with a center front bias cut. The back and front were cut in one piece with no substituting seams near the underarm as in the previous cuts. Fit and grain placement The lengthwise grain was established perpendicular to the waistline at the center front. The entire waistline dart was shifted to the center front in line with the bustline. The gap caused by ease allowed for the bust was removed by slashing to the bustline and overlaooing the parts. This change is necessary for a close fit in all halter and backless dresses (Diagram 3b). The standard underarm position fell on a partial bias, and would call for firm fab- 18 ric to prevent stretching or reinforcement to prevent s; ‘3 ‘q In; H :3 n (D ,...I 3...: O :3 under the arm. The front halter edge and back closing f straight grain and created no problems 0 stretching. The straight grain across the neckline was a disadvantage, but it was felt that the design interest, simplicity of construction, and good fit in other parts of the design outweighed this disadvantage. A second cut was tried in an attempt to improve the grain go at the underarm and neck base. The straight r in was placed HQ at the standard underarm seamline. The neckline fitted more smoothly and the underarm needed no special reinforcement. however, the center front partial bias made a center front seam necessary and this spoiled the design quality. This center front bias seam would pull and wrinkle unbecomingly when fitted as closely as halter bodices should be. Therefore, P4) LD this second interpretation was judged less satis ct O ry. Adaptability to fabric widths The cut illustrated is adapt- able to all four fabric widths and can be cut on a center front fold when 39 inch or wider fabric is used. If fitted accurately and reinforced at the underarm, (deaending on the fabric used) this cut would prove successful. De ivn 4 An extension over part of the underarm seam was (.0 carried from side front to the back to produce a continuous girdle. Fit and grain placement The center front was first cut on a strsizht lengthwise fold with the entire waistline dart Design 4 k1 ‘ I, cut 3 cut 1 Diagram A l9 retained at the original position. A slash from the under- arn to the dart allowed tne lower bodice to fell free, and the girdle extension was develooed by using this excess fabric. The girdle appeared skinoy as the excess below the bodice waist was slight. A second cut was made with additional length allowed below the center panel. The girdle was widened sufficiently but did not pull evenly as it was on a partial bias. The girdle could have been cut on true bias, but as the girdle would not pull in the direction intended when out on a true bias, this idea was cast aside. A third cut with a French dart line and a separate side bodice proved to be the most successful of the three as it had two advantages over the previous cuts. There was no need to piece the under section, and the extension could be cut on straight crosswise or lengthwise grain at the center of the girdle. The girdle cut with this grain position pulled evenly to fit the body without wrinkling and distorting the fabric. Adaptability to fabric widths The third pattern cut was not as compact as the two previous cuts)as the girdle net the bodice front at right angles. However, it was adaptable to all of the fabric widths used. 20 CONCLUSIONS No designs were found in pattern books or fashion magazines that extended beyond the standard underarm seam- line, exceot in the case of suits with two seams, one on either side of the usual underarm seam, substituting for the underarm seam, to harmonize with the two piece sleeve gen- erally used in tailored suits. One design with a girdle appeared to cross the underarm seam, and was included in this section. The other original designs shown were created in order to discover the results when the underarm seam is completely or partially eliminated. The following conclu- sions were made. 1. The crossing over of the underarm seam eliminates a very important fitting seam. Fbr this reason commercial pattern companies would be most unlikely to eliminate or substitute for this seam, for their patterns must be adaptable to women of all sizes and figures and must be easy to fit. 2. Extensions beyond the underarm seam eliminate the poss- ibility of cutting sleeves together with the bodice. There- fore, if the underarm seam is crossed, the bodice must have either no sleeve, a cap or partial sleeve detail or a set-in sleeve. 3. Because of grain distortion at the underarm and the ex- tended portion, a bodice front and back should not be Joined entirely at the underarm and cut in one piece. 4. When a close fit is not essential as in a boxy type 21 garment, the underarm seam may be eliminated successfully. A substituting vertical seam near the norhal underarm posi- tion is recommended, for then the grain can be adjusted in the separate section. 4. Diagonal multiseaming may substitute for the vertical underarm seam and produce proper fit, but fitting is made more difficult because of the loss of the standard silhouette seam. 6. The underarm seam may be eliminated successfully in some halter bodices. However, when the grain is established at the center front the bias underarm section may require rein- forcement if the fabric is stretchy or weak. It is better not to establish the grain at the underarm position as the center front bodice then falls on a partial bias and wrinkles and pulls unbecomingly when fitted as closely as halter bodices should be fitted. 7. When a girdle is extended over the waistline and cut to- gether with the bodice, it pulls best when the crosswise or lengthwise grain is established at the center of the girdle extension. A girdle is not an elimination of the underarm seam as the seam is usually retained under the girdle. The girdle is rather an extension over the seam line. 8. Except for novel effects in custom made garments, exten- sions over the underarm seam are usually not recommended. The boxy bolero jacket was both practical and good in design and was the best of the group because it hung straight. Con- struction is affected very little and smooth fit can be m [‘0 achieved in some cases, but corrections in fit would consume much time and require a good deal of understanding of sattern making and skill in making corrections. ill-14 IL" ."I .t/ B Diagram 23 VI. EXTENSIONS BEYOND THE STAEDAED SHOULDER BEAM To obtain the best possible fit over the shoulder curve and shoulder blade, a seam with one-fourth to three-eighths inch of ease along the back shoulder seam is ordinarily placed at the top of the shoulder. hillhouse and Mansfield state that "The standard position of the shoulder seam is from the cord at the base of the ear along the top of the shoulder and out to a point one-fourth inch back of the bone at the tip of the shoulder. The line slants slightly toward the back. It should appear to be directly on top of the shoulder, and should not be visible from either direct front or back when viewed at the shoulder level." Slight variations from the normal position can be made to help minimize faulty posture or a very large bust.l Because the shoulders have an inward or concave curve at the neck and an outward or convex curve at the shoulder tip, (Diagram A) it is important to carefully analyze each out if the fabric is to be extended beyond the normal seam toward the front or back successfully. One must also keep in mind the two planes which must be fitted in this area, the vertical plane of the neck and the horizontal plane of the shoulder, :hen the fabric is extended across the joining of the two planes as in a built-up neckline cut (Diagram A and B). lHillhouse and Mansfield, 92. cit., p. 20. . 1/ r; n1:ll’ll.!.ll. luv .lulll cut 2 l I I .. {liaii 1 Design 1 a// i i 1 Diagram l i cut 1 A ll.’" ‘ (It'll! .ulrt XVII. \\..|\ x. x .\ V x. \\\\\.x\ \ Us. I, \\ a 1‘ 4w ,, \\ \\ 24 In this section of the study, patterns with the shoulder seam both partially and completely eliminated were tested. A critical analysis was made of each design to decide if sub- stitutes for the shoulder seam were effective. Results shown here would of course vary with figure variations and the amount of shoulder padding used, if any is used at all. Design 1 The extension of the back bodice to form a narrow shoulder yoke was an improvement in design over one with a normal shoulder seam so close to the focal point of the design. Fit and grain_placement The center back was placed on a length- wise fold. The shoulder dart and ease was shifted to a neck dart so that the front and back shoulder seam could be joined without losing the ease. The shoulder curve was lost when the two seams were joined, but the normal shoulder seamline fell on a partial bias and was flexible enough to fit the shoulder nice- ly. The mismatched grain at the yoke edge was not considered an important disadvantage, particularly since the shift of part of the waistline dart to the yoke ed:e made the yoke stand away from the shoulder extension between the buttons. This extension over the shoulder limited the possibility of cutting a built-up neck with the bodice. however, a center back seam would provide more excess from which to design some neck details. This extension also limited the possibility of cutting long sleeves with the bodice, as the seam would fall in an awkward position. however, a short cap sleeve was poss- ible as there was no binding at the armhole. Design 2 \ Diagram 2 25 Although this cut fitted the half-size standard form, it would not fit a person with a pronounced hollow at the shoulder without adding a dart at the top of the shoulder. Also,a person with round shoulders would require more ease across the back of the shoulders. A second experiment was made with the yoke edge out on straight grain. This cut was poor for three reasons: 1. the straight grain at the normal shoulder seam position would not mold to fit the shoulder curve, 2. the grain slanted upward at the center back, and 3. all edges of the back bodice fell on a partial bias and would not pull evenly. Adaptability to fabric widths Cut 1 was adaptable to any of the four fabric widths used in the study. Design 2 The shoulder yoke carried across the shoulder toward the back produced an interesting design and was created in order to determine Whether or not a vertical seam could be substituted for a horizontal shoulder seam. Fit and grain placement As in design 1, the extension across the normal shoulder seamline was a partial bias. The transfer of part of the waistline dart to the yoke edge balanced the grain across the bust. When the entire front and back bodice was cut in one piece, the pattern resulted in partial bias back bodice edges which would not fit properly. Also the inner edge of the shoulder would not fit smoothly. To correct these faults a second cut was made with the inner half of the shoulder line retained and only the outer edge of the shoulder seam eliminated. As the outer edge of J j \f'ak l' Design 3 Diagram 3 26 the shoulder is straighter than the inner portion, the ex- tension over this part was satisfactory. It was decided that a vertical seam was not as adequate a substitution as the horizontal seam used in design 1. Adaptability to fabric widths The partial shoulder seal produced a more economical cut and the pattern was adaptable to all fabric widths. It was felt that the design would be particularly smooth and interesting if the sleeve were cut in one piece with the bodice so that there would be no dis- tracting line produced by a set-in sleeve. This additional extension would of course influence the adaptability of the cut to the four fabric widths. Design 3 It was thought that any fitting problems or wrinkles likely to occur by the elimination of the shoulder seam would be made negligible by using diagonal darts which cross the shoulder and radiate toward the bust. Fit and grain placement Almost all of the waistline dart was used at the neckline-shoulder area to create the two darts crossing the shoulder. The partial bias along the dart lines helped fit the darts close to the neck. The fit over the shoulder was not smooth and the fabric stood up and away from the shoulder curve. For this reason this cut was Judged un- satisfactory. A second cut was made with a partial shoulder seam ter- minated at the point where the neckline-shoulder dart crossed the shoulder line. This seam made it possible to shape along {c cut 1 \l Diagr Design A :L cut 2 /// an 4 out 1 27 the shoulder and to balance the grain in the back bodice section. This pattern change produced a successful out. As the excess below the diagonal waistline dart flared gracefully, it inspired a short peplum which was cut as an extension of the bodice front and was seamed at the center back. Adaptability to fabric widths The pattern was very large because of the partial extension over the shoulder and other extensions across the neckline, waistline and side seams. In spite of the large size, the shape was compact and was adapt— able to any of the four fabric widths used. Construction As the neckline-shoulder darts fell on a partial curving bias, reinforcement under the darts is recommended. This out should not be constructed with striped or plaid fabric for the lines would be most distracting. Design 4 The three parallel darts used to fit the shoulder curve formed the center of interest. An attempt was made to substitute the darts for the shoulder seam. They extended from the neckline to the shoulder tip and were produced by slash- ing and spreading from the neck to the shoulder tip. Fit and grain placement The center front was placed on the straight grain and the bodice front and back were Joined at the shoulder. The shoulder curve was fitted by the curved center dart placed along the normal shoulder seam position. Other darts were formed on either side of it. The back dart included the shoulder ease which was transferred to a neck- line dart, but the front dart was primarily decorative. As 28 the darts fell on a partial bias, they did not matcn when closed. In addition to this, other disadvantages were the unbalanced sleeve grain (although there was no center sleeve seam, the unbalanced grain would be evident when worn), and the back bodice seams and darts were partial bias and pulled unevenly. It was decided that this cut would never fit proper— 1y. A second cut was made using a raglan sleeve variation with three lines radiating toward the armscye rather than parallel as in cut 1. The raglan seam separated the bodice into three parts and enabled the balancing of the grain in each section (Diagram 4, cut 2). The shoulder was fitted with a large dart and wedge taken from along the top center of the sleeve, which successfully substituted for the shoulder seam. The back shoulder ease was retained in the dart but some of the cap ease was eliminated. The lines of the raglan sleeve produced design interest very similar to the first cut and at the same time fitted the shoulder curve better. Adaptability to fabric widths Cut 2 was adaptable to all fabric widths since the sleeve center line was placed on straight lengthwise grain rather than almost on straight cross- wise grain. A sleeve might also be cut with a center lengthwise seam. A seam over the shoulder tip is more easily shaped than a dart, and partial bias along the sleeve center falls more softly than a stiffer, straight grain out. When this is done the grain should balance at the seam down the top of the arm o s f. ,1} “ V K g ”1 Design 5 . ‘\ //’ \ < , ‘ \\ ‘ \ \\ 7‘: \g\ a r\ ‘\ I, \~ V J ' x / Ax . e~ F "in—-pu-s- _..-.--¢ v.9 __r-F—"' f-,‘ f x L. i L.__,_i._ Diagram 5 I f I,” I, ‘ / I ,‘ / . / " I . ' I H‘ . 3 » I M : . 1 I ’ i ,' l a . l ‘ '. l .' ' : i I‘ I. ,l J ' ' I f . A’ ' 1 ‘ ' ." l 1 I, ’ :. ' _I 1‘ I I ‘ ./ [I . a ‘-\\‘\ : I "‘n‘ . X: g ! cut 2 Diagram 6 a ‘j F '77: \\ '9]. y! \ . // // - \ ,// K I. I“ ’fi \ t \‘\-‘ ’4' 3 . i». i, ’ .‘i i, ‘ l o: \ \‘ ‘. \ \ pr” \ . '_ V,. \ 2 r i E n l x ‘ .' .5 ’_ l "J ,1 '. Ifront View : back view Design 6 a 29 Design R The shoulder ties which were cut as partial exten- sions over the shoulder were the points of emphasis in this design. Garments have more "style" when ties are genuine and are functional in fitting the fabric to the body curves, rather than imitations tacked on. Fit and grain_placement When the center front bodice was placed on a center front fold the line at whicn the extension crossed the shoulder seam was partial bias. The extensions were cut on true bias and pulled evenly and effectively when tied. The ties proved satisfactory for this sleeveless bodice, but might pull inward from the armscye so that sleeves could not be set-in. Adaptability to fabric widths As this was a short extension it was not limited by fabric width. Design 6 A partial shoulder extension used for a smooth strap might reveal fitting problems concealed by a tie as in design 5. Therefore, a dress with shoulder straps, suitable for evening or summer wear was designed fron an illustration in a fashion magazine. Fit and grain placement The first pattern was made with the grain perpendicular to the waistline at side front. Slashes to the shoulder provided diagonal folds across the bust, and made the neckline edge fall on true bias. It was decided that a strap cut on straight grain would fit better as it would not stretch. Therefore, a second cut was made with the grain shifted to the neckline and strso edge, and resulted in a A. 30 better fitting strap as well as a smooth neckline. Another advantage was that no reinforcenent would be required along these edges as in the first bias cut. As the principle objective of this study is to show cuts with fewer seanlines, three additional experiments were made in an effort to produce a less "cut-up" design effect. The ,J same general design was cut with the side nidriif seamlines eliminated. Cut 3, with the straigrt grain along toe strap gs ( and neckline was poor for both the underarm ad dart lines stretched and wrinkled because they were on a oartial bias. Cut 4, with the straight perpendicular to the waistline \ grain at side front fitted the underarm and si C): e section nicely but resulted in a partial bias neckline, which was not satisfactory as.it would not pull evenly. For cut 5 the size of the folds was increased so that the neckline and strao edge was on straight crosswise grain and the lengthwise grain could be eatablished perpendicular to the waistline at side front. fhis increased the shoulder line curve, eliminating the possibility of cutting tne strap as an extension. This was judged the best out although there would be no extension over the shoulder. gdggtabilityto fabric widths Fabric widths did not limit but 5. Designjz Several unusual halter bodices extending across the shoulder and neckline area were tried. Rhythmic effects result- ed from the smooth unseamed line which continued around the neck. Five variations were developed by twisting the strao in different ways. ., -“‘ ,.. . “v on. Design 7 ..r ‘ '. * d s .. .‘ ‘ ‘ i i _ 2 .L’ , ‘ .,‘ .- .‘ I ; - \ I g ‘ I i i j ./‘ \\~, ~ v'ma‘m 31 git and ggain placement The center front was placed on a fold and all of the darting transferred to the upper bodice for fullness under the halter strao. The crosswise grain rose sharply at the underarm and the extension gasped. These faults were corrected by retaining some of the waistline dart as a diagonal underarm dart, which played Up the diagonal strap line by repetition. The strap extension was cut on a true bias and resulted in soft, crushed folds that twisted and clung aroung the neck. Adaptability to fabric widths The strao extension prevented the pattern piece from being compact, but the pattern was adaptable to all fabric widths tested. The cut would vary slightly depending on whether the neck opening was at center back or concealed under the front strap. Qesiqn 8 Other variations of the basic halter bodice arose from experimenting with excess above the bustline and over the shoulder seam position to the back. Fit and grain placement The dart transferred to the shoulder, was slashed and the fabric crossed over to fit the bust curve. As it would be difficult to fit the under curve of the bust without a waistline dart, a small dart was retained at the waistline. The straight grain was established at center front. Since true bias lends itself to beautiful, clinging and comfort- able draping about the neck, this pattern was recut with the halter straps placed on true bias. This made the centerfront also fall on a bias. Views 2, 3 and 4 proved unsuccessful as Design 8 cut 1 ,/ ’/ 4;.— ,/ (.‘OLL RR wfw 4- (1F 17 ‘ vmwz “.4 J:- View Diagram 8b view 5 Design 8 cut 2 Design 9 cut 1 <4 44-7“ __ ~_ l/' .‘ \ -1/ Diagram 9a Design 9 cut 2 T I l 32 the straps were strained when crossed and pulled in the direc- tion intended. However, views 1 and 5 were improved,for the halter draped softly and the underarm line fell on straight grain, which would prevent stretching. The waistline dart was shifted to a diagonal position to harmonize with the design and to keep one edge of the dart on the lengthwise grain. Wrinkling caused by partial bias was avoided by the shift. Darts press better if one edge or the center of the dart is nearly straight grain. Adaptability to fabric widths. The bias cuts required more yardage but were more advantageous in both design and fit. Both cut 1 and 2 were adaptable to all four fabric widths, 1 even when cut on a center front fold. D§§i3n_2 A short cape cut without a shoulder seam produced a "fly-away" circular effect particularly adapted to crisp sheers. Fit and grain_placenent The center front, cut on straight grain. placed a partial bias along the shoulder. Previous experiments showed that bias produces a better fit across the shoulder curve 'than straight grain. If a built-up neck is used, a shoulder dart is a must in order to fit the sharp upward curve of the neck. But for other cuts a dart is not recommended, for it W0U1d appear as a seam and in that case a complete seam might as well be used. This cape cut was successful because of its shortness and looseness. For a longer, closer fitting cape a shoulder seam should be used. A cape variation buckled at the throat was cut with the 33 straight lengthwise grain along the hem edge. This was ad- vantageous as the folds pulled with the grain when buckled. Few neck details were possible as there was little fabric available within the neck area when the front and back were joined at the shoulder. Adaptability_to fabric widths The capes were adaptable to all four fabric widths tested since they were very short. 34 CONCLUSIONS 1. Generally the most successful cuts without shoulder seams were those wnich did not call for precise fit and molding to the shoulder curve. 2. The elimination of the shoulder seam limits the number of neck details possible that are out together with the bodice as well as sleeves out together with the bodice. 3. The entire shoulder seam can be successfully eliminated if a substituting horizontal yokeline is placed very near the Shoulder seam and a partial bias crosses the normal seam po- sition. The grain in the extension is poor if the fabric is extended further, and straight grain will not fit the shoulder curve. 4. Vertical or diagonal seams will not adequately substitute for the horizontal shoulder seam. 5. A raglan sleeve line produces better fit over the shoulder than several darts radiating from the neckline to replace the Shoulder seam. The grain can be better established in all pattern pieces when the bodice front and back are separate, and the raglan sleeve with a shoulder dart is used. A single shoulder dart used with a set-in sleeve is of no value when used to fit the shoulder curve, for it appears as a seam, but is bulkier than a seam and does not press as flat. 6. Better fit was possible when part of the shoulder seam was eliminated rather than the entire shoulder seam. And,too, the straighter outer part of the shoulder seam was more 35 successfully eliminated than the inner portion,because it requires a curved seam to fit the more pronounced curve near the neck, unless a stand-away, unfitted effect is desir- ed, Or a detail is used such as that shown in design 3. 7. Halter straps are clinging and therefore successful when out on a true bias. Straight grain halter straps fit well and are more economical than a bias cut for fabric directly above the shoulder is utilized and the strap does not extend out and away from the remainder of the pattern piece. 8. Partial extensions crossing the outer end of the shoulder create little fitting problem and may be used as a strao or tie. Ties are more graceful when out on a true bias, whereas straps are best when out on straight grain to prevent wrinkl- ing and stretcning since they support the entire bodice. 9. Short, loose fitting capes are successful without a shoulder seam or dart unless the neckline is also crossed over. In this case a dart is required to fit the neck curve. Long, close fitting canes require a seam across the shoulder and down the side of the arm. 10. Designs with originality and rhythmic effect can some- times be produced with Shoulder seams eliminated or substituted for, but since tne seam is very short, unless the design is improved by so doing, the fit will generally be improved by a seam. The shoulder seam should therefore be retained usually for it is inconspicuous and enables exact fit over the shoulder curve 0 i i t ,1 3! I. i I “ .t .’ _~.‘ I fog" -‘ ' ,1 f ‘1 ’ l r \ \ Diagram A front back Diagram C side View front Diag ram B back 36 VII. EXTENSIONS BEYOND THE STANDARD ARMSCYE BEAM The normal armscye or armhole position begins from the juncture of the plane of the shoulder and the plane of the arm, curving slightly inward toward the point where the arm and body join, the narrowest point of the chest, which is perpendicular to a line drawn three inches down from the bit of the neck (Diagram A). The line continues downward and out- ward to the underarm seam and is about one inch below the arm- p1t°l Sufficient width should be allowed across the sh ulder blade for moving the arm forward, when marking the back arm- scye. The narrowest point of the back armscye is a point squared out four inches down from the center back (Diagram B). "To allow the arm to swing forward the curve between 2 and 3 is somewhat higher than the curve on the front armscye between the same two points."2 (Diagram C) Darts or ease must provide shaping for the sleeve at the two main points of articulation, the elbow and shoulder ball. The arm performs a great number of various kinds of movements, which makes the sleeve the most complicated of all pattern shapes. hillhouse and Mansfield tell us that the most suitable and reliable sleeve pattern is a one-piece sleeve with a hori- zontal elbow dart obtained by drafting. From this drafted lHillhouse and Mansfield, 0 . ci —~ ('f o 9. ”U o h) H o 21bid, o. 6. 37 pattern, unusual sleeve cuts may be blocked.1 Hillhouse and Mansfield have thoroughly discussed sleeves cut-in-one with the bodice with the armscye seam completely or partially eliminated. Therefore, this portion of the study will only be concerned with thejl. types of sleeves which ex- “ tend partially or comvletely over the armscye, 2. grain place- ment, and 5. an analysis of their adaptability to fabric widths. Fit will not be studied as the patterns will be drafted accord- ing to reliable directions given by hillhouse and Mansfield, and armscye and sleeve fit is difficult to judge unless cut in full size and worn. Sleeves out together with the bodice may be classified in two groups, the raglan and the kimono sleeve. The raglan sleeve has the overarm section cut-in-one with the bodice but retains the underarm curve of the set-in sleeve. The raglan may fall in the same manner as the set-in sleeve, deoending on the depth of the armscye. The fit of the two sleeve tyoes differs for the kimono sleeve has both the original overarm and underarm curve eliminated, producing a soft, loose, draped effect around the armscye area. It fits W£€D the arm is ex- tended, whereas the raglan fits much like a standard set-in sleeve. fhat is, it has few drapery lines when the arm is down at the 5“ (39.2 38 A. Raglan Sleeve The raglan sleeve uses a shoulder line dart to hold in a part of the original sleeve cap ease. When the raglan line enters the bodice above the halfway point, one-fourth inch ease should be worked in when joining the sleeve and bodies. For the same sleeve cap height as the master pattern, the blouse shoulder corner should be one-fourth inch above the sleeve cap. The houlder dart is usually transferred to the neck edge with some of the back shoulder ease retained along the raglan shoulder line dart wall.1 The raglan tyoe sleeves included in this study are: l. The typical raglan sleeve with a dart along the normal shoulder seamline (shoulder design 4) or the dart continued into a bias seam down the center of the sleeve. 2. The eoaulet which is cut with a narrow strap extending on top of the shoulder. The seams on either side of the strap substitute for the normal shoulder seam. “herefore, this is an extension over both the shoulder and part of the armscye. 3. The raglan sleeve out with a yoke, which has the lower half of the arnscye controlling the freedom with which the arm can move; therefore the yokeline should not enter the armhole below the center of the armscye.2 4. The drop shoulder which is often used in continuing a yoke or other design line beyond the armscye. As all raglan sleeves retain the lower part of the armscye line, they are partial extensions across the armscye seamline. Ibid, p. 149. bid, p. 156. [OH H Design 1 Diagram 1 39 Design 1 The small portion extended over the armscye was made the center of interest by using the strap or eoaulet to form part of the neckline. It was folded back and buttoned, and through this loop fabric was drawn to give the illusion of a mandarin collar. A broadened shoulder effect resulted from the horizontal design line. The epaulet detail held the point of interest near the face. Fit and grain glacement The lengthwise grain was placed in the center of the sleeve and he epaulet or strap. As only a small portion of the armscye was eliminated, with the remainder of the normal armscye retained, no problems of fit were en- countered. l The raglan sleeve was also tried with a matched bias seam down the center of the sleeve. The advantages of the second out were the smooth, rounder shoulder and softer draoe of the bias sleeve. Adaptability to fabric widths The bias cut required more yard- age than the straight out but both out a and b were adeotable to all fabric widths tried. 22§l5E_2 When a shoulder yoke is the center of interest, an armscye seamline over the too of the shoulder often detracts from it by conflicting with it. The following two raglan sleeves cut with the yoke avoid this distraction. Cut 1 has a raglan Sleeve Joined to a gathered bodice, and cut 2 has fullness along the raglan line and is Joined to a plain b05109- 1.. .,. ,0 {I Eit and grain placement In cut 1 the sleeve center wls lirst ‘x \ \. x ‘ \\‘ \ \\ E i h ‘ v '\ I; 1 \\ I. \K. Design 2 /' EA , J ."’ }‘ .... '2 -. 2'4 . I l x i v \ /, I. ./ I x l V w I A ‘\ ‘ 4O placed on straight lengthwise grain, with the separate lower bodice front and back placed on a straight lengthwise fold. A slash was made to the yokeline to transfer part of the large shoulder dart to the yoke edge. This reduced the dart size and reduced the pouching at the shoulder tip. A very large dart produces a very square shoulder, so for a rounder shoulder a seam should be continued down the sleeve center. With the grain established at the sleeve center, the yoke center front and center back fell on a bias. For this reason the grain was shifted to the center front and this placed a partial bias at the sleeve center. The size of the shoulder dart determined whether the center back fell on the crosswise grain or a partial bias. After comparing these results, a bias center sleeve seam appeared to produce the best result for the grain matched at the center of the sleeve, it produced a smooth, round shoul- der and draped more softly than when the sleeve center was . 1 . ‘U ,‘ established on straight grain, as snown previoasly in design 1. These advantages outweighed the fact that the bias cut requir- ed more yardage. Cut 2 was slashed and spread along the raglan line, and the pattern resulted in a center front yoke more nearly on Strairht grain than in cut 1 when the center sleeve was placed on straight lengthwise grain. It was thought that tne center 'front or center back YOKG might be placed on a f01d’ but this e seam cut on a straight lengthwise fold. A center bias sleev A\ f 5.“ (n 1 f '3"! ...uv q ._,~. \\ \ 1.: :4 \i: t I r I I "x f 4‘ Design 3 a“ 1 ,"‘\> ‘- g" ‘?\\ . . x '."~ h tt Y‘ "i'fig-fl.“ P, ~ ’ \ . ‘ h ‘5 _ ' \ I, " \ K , ,, \ ./ , L' 33‘": ‘\ I x _ \ \ ” J.§-‘f~:—\\ \ \ 3/364 Y \\ Fr 3 \J I l / i \ / “ \-. . / ‘\-u ' 1 .’ V“.H’ i‘ ' .' L ; M I V f v.4 ‘ I ,0. - E 1 /"l \‘r‘vfl .\ / / a“ \.'L -4 X if. - \\ / , ~\\ \ \ l / x i ‘ H at \ V 5 ‘ l 9 \ Rh ‘ ‘- \ ; J l. I \ H - see-a i ~———~\ ____..__._ .- ’4 ‘1] Diagram 3 41 (1.: was not tried as it was evident that the pattern e gas and center front would become partial bias. The straight grain at the sleeve center was advantageous in this cut for it placed the straight grain perpendicular to the waistline at center front and the straight crosswise grain along the yoke edge. Design § The raglan line joined a loose flap similar to an upper bodice yoke, to produce a very soft, smooth and different effect. The elimination of the upper portion of the armscye gave this design continuity without sacrificing a close fitting underarm. Fit and grain placement The bodice was first cut in five pieces, With the bodice front cut with a center front seam on straight grain and the center back on a fold. The center front seam was necessary for the facing of the neck detail extended beyond th (D center front and could not be cut on a fold. A dart along tn (D shoulder and across the armscye fitted the shoulder and arm curve. When th center of the sleeve was cut on straight grain, however, the low neckline edge fell on alnost straight grain and neither rolled softly nor matched the grain sf the bodice flap facin 1' :q A second cut, with the sleeve and flap grain matched, and true bias along the rolled edge and a semi-bias along the Sleeve center, corrected the faults of the previous cut. The seam along the sleeve center also produced a rounder, better fitting shoulder. 15w H 7. In. :J u m... hu~ v. A . . .r. .va .n on" W ugh" a.» on I an 4 AI. - v a I n. v 1 \/ \ . \ ‘ n‘i \ \ \ / 1... _ x / n\ I r x . _ J 35/. \ 1 Pl\ .1 1‘ \e \. \ . 1:: cut 2 v front Design 4 r x - x x; ‘ rillltl K\y \1‘ \‘11‘k\‘ -V.\- . x xi}, /’Irl lx\\ , u- / ti H. I! . M \r u\ I .\ W5“ \ \ t \x \ \ y a . u 1.31)). ‘I : A. ,, r. If . ,.. .Tv .. \ n, u .t . ‘lxl _ v I I ulilvll ‘ t! I ‘IIblltll' llllltll C Diagram 4 back "i; ‘7‘! . 42 Adaptability to fabric widths The bias cut required more yardaqe but was still adaptable to all four fabric widtrs Design 4 The transitional drop houlder line, accenzed by soft gathers placed over the arm, was the center of interest. A drop shoulder may have a shortening effect and may droop. When padded out, it becomes too broadening, Therefore, the drOp should be slight. Fit and grain placement In cut one the center front was placed on straight grain with part of the waistline dart tra sferred to ease along the drop shoulder line. This cut fitted well but the center seam was nought to be distracting. This led to a second out without a center seam. The fa bric was carried as far as possible to form the back_bodice to note the reaction. Because of the grain distortion in the back bodice, this cut was eliminated. A third cut was made with a kimono sleeve. A slash from the design line to the underarm prevented overlapoing of pattern parts. This decreased the angle at which the sleeve underarm met the bodice underarm, and also decrease d the size of the elbow dart. This cut was successful but as some of the folds naturally radiated to the underarm, a fourth cut was made with a raglan sleeve which retained the original underarm seam. The Effect obtained by using a raglan sleeve was similar to the three previous cuts, but was more successful for 1. here was no distracting center se am, 2. the grain could be adjusted in both the front and back bodice as well as in the sleeve and ’ HM. \, n in. )C. I‘l‘ll'it Ii ‘ i‘?.l’.~¢l- f3 ~|I ill, uv \ lulli Diagram D 1.1. .11.“ 't.lf illqlli urn. .v\.JE\tlil. LIIIIOIIIIIIP ‘I I‘.‘ I ¢I I .LJ ....\/. 1 l...\.l. Il'» IIIII up“ .1111.‘ ‘II‘IIIolul‘ilill IIDI..I.I.I O _ 9 field, 920 cit. ' Mans Hillhou. 43 3. the fullne ess radiating to the underarm made seanline inconsoicuo Adaptability‘to fabric widths The raglan cut was the adaotable to the fabric widths tested as the csttern could be wedged together. B. Kimono Sleeves Kimono sleeves usually have a seam down the too of the sleeve in order to balance the grain in th e front and back halves of tie sleeve and also to olrce the cer ter front and back bodice on grain. Therefore, the cents line is moved to a point 5/3 inch os.ck from th: wrist center. Diagonal wrinkles falling from the top of the are tons d the underarm f . so eln are tyoical of this kind of sleeve, and are caused by the elimination of the no 321 lower arn nscye seen. Kinono sleeves W be cut with or without a gusset. For smoother fitting sleeves without excessive wrinkling under t: arm, the angle between the armscye of the blouse and the ernecye of the may be reduced. This ne cessits tes the use of e gusset, a bias diamond sneoed niece, set into the underarm extra ease and length. "Theiever the shale is u risht angle it will be necessar to set in some fo - ., 9 gusset so that fi as are can be raised comfortably without pulling up the waistline." Also the greater tie slope is on the too of th (E: sleeve, the less the sleeve tends to null down from the shoulder line and aws' from the side of tne neck.l lIbid, pp. 162-164. 44 The kimono sleeve types which will be analyzed in this study include: 1. the kimono sleeve without a gusset 2. he kimono sleeve with a gusset (a. diamond shaped, b. straight bodice inset, c. shaded bodice inset) 3. the kimono sleeve with a yoke Short kimono sleeves can also be cut as extensi _\ HS K across the armscye. They are made by extending the Shoulder line out four inches and adding slightly to the bodice width 01" go more accurate method is by using the kimono drafts (D ()4 .Il shortening the length. For the most oart the fabric remaining within the armscye curve is utilized. Therefore the extensions are very practical. As hillhouse an; Mansfield have shown that these extensions can be done successfully, short kimono sleeves will not be included in the study c=ince sleeve fit is La not being analyzed and it is very unlikely that fabric widths would limit short kimono sleeves cut '9 extensions across the armscye. From a sketch illustrated in the book Dress Desian by Hillhouse and Mansfield, 3 comparison was made of the adapt- ability of various kimono sleeve drafts to fabric widths. As the angle between the sleeve underarm and bodice underarm becomes more acute, the pattern becomes narrower. Therefore kimono sleeve draft 1 required the most width and cuts 2, 3 and 4 required less in the order given. The sharper the angle of the sleeve and bodice underarm, tte larger the gus- 54V set must be (Diagram D). .1... / Sign 5 e Design 5 The sleeve was made the center of interest by carrying a gracefully curving line from the bodice front down through the sleeve. This effect was accented by a row of buttons. The design line also helped balance the cross- wise grain across the chest. Fit and arain placement‘ The bodice was first tried with a kimono sleeve without a gusset and a portion of the waistline dart shifted to the design line. The excess between the dart walls was used for the underlap of the sleeve. The design line appeared similar to a French dart line, therefore a second cut was made with the bodice cut into two parts by a French dart. The side section of the second cut was marked With the lengthwise grain perpendicular to the waist in the center of the pattern piece. Since there was little difference in grain position from the first cut, it was felt that cut 1 was more desirable than out 2 for it produced a smoother ‘ v . st and toe excess effect when unbroken by a seen across the bu , t between the dart edges was used advantageously. Adaptability to fabric widths The pattern was very compact O f ‘ I ‘1! __h as it made use of the excess within the dart. The cut 3 adaptable to all four fabric widths when cut with a center front seam. When cut without a center front se n, 45 inc Width fabric was required. A e e was achieved by trans- Design 6 A simple yet unusual uesivn « a deep horizontal dart ferring part of the waistline dart to -° He un— radiatinz from the center of the neckline and across tn ‘ x, t « ~£ ‘ , , “1’ ._ n L \- // ‘1 \ \ u ‘5 \u ‘i. \\ 'i\ . \ . J \ E l _\ a J‘ ‘ 0‘ \ - \ 5 IL .1" , 1 l A_.4~“ (‘ ‘H \ , A’V‘ ‘\ ‘ - ’ '7. I \“ "‘I \‘\ \i ‘\ \. ‘\ \\ ‘ (_¥‘ ‘ \3 A f l V I ,5 \ K i I ( ~-\.‘_‘Nl ‘ < Diagram 6 \ Desiqn 3 .J Desiqn 7 .— Diaqram 8 \.\I illislfltnnu. i.‘ 11111.1!“ l Nil \I‘|I‘I|I‘..|tl I| ‘ “ .‘I \an\\‘J \|\|\ \\ w ‘\.\\ m , ~13- alt n 3 ii Elli; . . . , . A‘Illlll‘v ‘ \ m i n . ll...» 46 per chest. Adaptability to fabric width§_ Two cuts were made to determine the difference in fabric width required by a pattern with the center front bodice cut on straight grain and by one with the center front bodice cut on a true bias. The cuts were measur- ed from center front to the wrist line. Both patterns neasured 13% inches wide (half-size) and the difference noted was negligible in the particular cut used. Both cuts were adapt- able to all four fabric widths tested. Cuts 7 and 8 were studied to heln decide what kind of front bodice design with kimono sleeves was most adaptable to fabric Widths without sacrificing fit. Design 7 This design was cut with several darts radiating from the front neckline which focused interest near the face. ggaptebility to fabric widths Slashes were made radiating from the pit of the neck out to the sleeve. underarm and Waistline. The deeper the slashes were spread, the narrower the pattern piece became. However, as the darts would become very bulky if spread too much, the pattern should not be reduced to more than 12 inches half-size bodice width. This 0 £3 6* 2 m (0 rs (l: ’0 cf able to any of the four fabric widths used when out with a center front seam and is adaptable to fabric 48 inches wide or wider when out on a center front fold. Design 8 A kimono sleeve without a gusset was first drafted. Slashes were made and spread along the shoulder, down through the sleeve center to the bodice and sleeve underarm, to pro- 2}; .3115 9"" \\. f4 «‘0 ,1] {a// {k ,. /\> -_ // Jé flu! cl: 9‘.) J I I I I M, $ \ t I! I L / “ / f / * / Diagram 9 ‘ J 47 vide fullness down the sleeve seam. Adaptability to EQPPiCinlthS As this curved the sleeve 4- around toward the side bodice, the fabric width required was decreased. The bodice was adaptable to 45 inch fabric when cut on a center front fold and adaptable to 36 and 39 inch fabric when out with a center front seen. The center front was placed on straight grain in calculating the fabric widths required. These two outs showed that darting or fullness originat- ing from the nooer bodice reduces tne width of the pattern -ece, thus making the pattern more adeotshle to various Design 0 Straight underarm insets from 1% to 2 inches from Isset the original underarm seanline may substitute for s in L4 and is not very consoicuous. A larger side bodice inset, such as the one shown, may also be used for this ouroose and is usually a part of the design line. A seen very much like the normal armscye was retained at the lower half of the arm- scye with the upper portion of the armscye eliminated and the sleeve out together with the bodice front. Adagtability to fabric widths As kimono sleeve draft two or three may be used, the comparat ve fabric widths needed can be judged by referring to these cuts (Diagram D). Design 9 With lantern sleeves was adaptable to any of the four fabric Widths, and can be cut with the fabric folded if 54 inch fab- ric is used. FH— [ Diagram 10 w _. F, o _ pi. u n, {till-.2: oral! I..K;i.llt.tlv .r Design 10 48 Desiqn lO "Comcining a yoke with a kimsno cut offers the J ite fold CS advantage of a smooth hanging sleeve with one tefi at the front and one at the back cf the ernscye and a clean- cut Close fitting shoulder line, because the needed length a the underarm seam can radiate from a coint at the lower yoke edge rsther than from the line of the shoulder sear. It also offers the oeeortunity to increase the overarm sleeve length by lowering the grain slightly at the too center line of tee arm. This, however, increases the difficulty of raising the arm unless the sleeve is quite wide at the too." 1 Adaotability to fabric widths A comparison was made between a kimono sleeve draft not requiring a gusset and a kinono sleeve with a yoke with the underarm length increased by slash- ing from the underarm to the shoulder. When the sleeve was swung us for the additional underarm length, the pattern niece \U became wider from center front to the slveve wrist. Therefore, more fabric width was required for the kimono sleeve cut with a yoke. 49 COI\ CLUSIONS l. Raglan sleeves eliminate the seam across the top of the armscye which is often discordant witn the des 3n used. 2. Raglan sleeves cut with a center bias seam produce a smoother, rounder shoulder and softer draoe. Although it required more yardage tr an a sleeve with a shoulder dart and the sleeve center ole ced on straight grain, it was judged the better of th two. The grain of a bias sleeve cut must (0 for proper fit and effect. 5 match at the sea 3. Re 3lan sleeves cut with a yoke cannot be cut with tne center of the yoke on a fold because of l abric wid n limita- tion. 4. When a droo shoulder line is used and fullness radiates to the underarm, the raglan seam is inconspicuous and is more suitable than a kimono “lee e cons ide ring desi3n effect, grain placement and fabric economy. 9. Kimono sleeves entirely eliminate the armscye seam and J ere useful when an armscye seam int ”fer s with lines of the garment. 6. Fullness added along tie upper bodice reduc Cl.) "3 :3 3 Q '3 (D 513 'u )1 In J ( r (T r...’ (U C" 0 Of the battern and makes the oatt ‘ ' vs 1‘ ru f . ‘ narrower fabric widths and at times enables it to be cut on a center front fold. On the other r nd, fullness radi- ating from the lower bodice or underarm (kimono sleeve With ' a h ‘*‘ 1 .a ern and a yoke, Design 10) increases the Jiotn of toe o tt v 50 J requires wider fabric, a grain shift or additional 39% in if] I 7. Although sleeves cut with the bodice create larger pat- tern nieces than sleeves without toe armscye eliminatefl, they are not ordinarily limited by fabric wiétn. 3. Kimono sleeves cut with gussets are more adaoteble to fabric widths toan if cut without gussetg as the angle between the sleeve underarm anfl the bodice underarm decrees- es and the distance across the oettern is also reducefi. 9. The elimination of the srnscye can result in successful fit (as shown throughout cbeoter 4 of Dress Desirn by hill- house and benefield), but the fit is usually looser than a set-in sleeve, although a raglan sleeve may be mede to fit very much like a set-in sleeve. 51 VIII. EXTENSIONS BEYOND'THE STANDARD NECKLINE SEAM The neckline should generally be considered the most imoortant area of design for it frames the face. It should so be fashionable, becoming nd an integrated oart of the costume. Iillhouse and Mansfield find that "a neckline that curves up against the side of the neck is usually more be— coming than one that stoos abruptly at the base of the neck, since it forms a softer, transitional line. Moreover, it 0 reates an imoression of height...and slenderizes a short heavy neck."l When collars are out together with the bodice, unity is acoieved in both out and strle,for tEe bodice and neckline are in one continuous oiece. A cut up effect is (I‘) avoided and the excess fabric above the -toulder and within the neck area is utilized in creating any number of unusual the oosition of the standard neckline (D Mansfield exolain seem as along the base :f the throat from across the center back vertebra most orominent when the need is tilted forward, and the side slightly above the point where the horizontal clone of the shoulder meets the vertical plane of the NECK to the center front at the pit of the neck." She adds that it should be at least as high at the center back as at the shoulder seam. Because of the two clones involved, the lIbid, p. 256. Diagram B Whe- - .:.-_.__ ._____ -___ .- _*_._ - __. k“ [\3 horizontal shoulder olane and vertical neck olane , no area requires greater precision of fit (Diagrams a and B). "here- fore, draping, rather than flat pattern design ofI'ers the best oooortunity for creating original designs which will fit the neck contour.l The measurements given by Eillhouse and Mansfield for marking the ste nda_rd neckline position for a size 16 dress is three inctes deeo at center front and two and one-half inches wide at shoulde level and one—h 41f incn déeo at center baCI and two end one-belf inc es Wide at t s. houlder level. When designing and finishing either a built-up neckline or a collar cut-in-one with the bodice front, a diagonal slash is necessary at the juncture of the neck and shoulder to aclieve smooth fit. The should (0 r seas of the built-up neckline must curve skaroly onward at the base of the necs 99 s it changes direction. The ease is true OI the collar cut together with the bodice, for although the scam does not usually continue uo t:e side of the neck, the fabric continues uoward and the seen «nrnges direction at the shoulder and nechline juncture en? nay continue iurtner to fore the back neckline. i Llansfield, 0o. c t., 9. Ed. fi.” {UH Hillhouse and Hansfield, '0. Ci ., o. 13. C); a progression of designs will be stu est built-uo neckline to B. the shawl collar and other collars ending in a deep "v“, and C. the hign roll coll rs cut-in-oo with toe bolice. Princisal terms used in reference to various ‘1 .45 pix") f ) {0 1‘3 :5 (D l) the neckline and collers will be one Hilltouse and L-lo.nsfield.l Stand--nei7ht of the collur roll, usually the amount the collar rises “cove the basic neckline to which it to tre roll-line. RD 0 H H O '1 H». O H )4 I I C" C'. *3 :3 (J. :3 s H H ,4. {3 (D O H) c+ “a \D O J H H p "5 m H O {:3 i j; C’ I ) t0 C+ C) Q L) 3) o H \J \D (I) s: u‘“ H (-9- l C Q f5: (D O 7-? H H 23 (D ; 3 2‘5 L )1 {-40 C+ ('0 <‘. \D "3 r'“ V7 (-r- H. U L) H) 'Bne built-us neckline is the sicolest design fabric is cerried beyond the standard neckline. . ‘ :_ f. -fi. A r A' r x and ienvficld eyolein tre c' n-e DoCGC“lj in t e S C: v t V V I oerts US‘ is attecsed is necklin 57191"? pattern ween cutting a built—up neckline...” he size of f4. gttly increased end Lpa basic neckline must be sl 1 W m ('3 enwt wise thr 0' (D (I) rv‘ '4‘ M C" (5) OJ U) Q C CD C'i C" ( l H (I (1 I: a ‘ ‘A‘,x'\ 1:30 Lure 2:1. .2") 0) Li. ied from A. the simol- Eillnouse C.) (I) \II t..- i. u. II _, [ILIJI’ l...§..a\n.lvv.n.v..'lf|ai. v.1. .~ IVA l l: I 31) I! 1‘. 1. ul. \I‘ \ front _. Diagram C n‘h\.l ti, .nl’l"tl':l. .ll’vt(ul I. I "i 3/14.; iii . D y 3 Diagram Design 1 Diagram 2 to the neckline ratner tnen slightly stretched away from it." And to revise the blouse back, some of tne waistline dart t): (.4. k.) CL 5 (7‘ O 7:.” r—J Ho :3 (l: {.11 in "5 (If :31 L 1 H O k X 7) '7" in k‘h Ci (0 C" L\ (D oust be trensferre lengthwise grain slightly to proVide a fittilg line at the back of neck. (Diagrams C and D)1 Desizn l The curved dart oleced below the standard neckline (.11 position was tne focal point of tne design on repeated the curve of the built-uo neckline. For greater eccentustion a corded seen or a slot wit: s contrasting tie could be intro— duced. Part of tie waistline dart was used to form the loose fold at the end of tne curved dart which was directed toward the bust ooint. The built-uo neckline gave an effect of additional height. This would be oerticulerly (D evid nt if dark colored fabric were used to sharolv define 0 the ~ilnouette. L Fit and grein glecsnsgt The curvec dert was decorative end also relied belsnce the grein ecrose the bust, but did not helo fit the neck curve since it was oleced below the neck base. All the fit in; wes done tnrourk climbing and curving he shoulder seem. Successful fit was also denendent uoon 3 fine fabric could be stretched at the standard H n' neckline position. Flexibility, of course, is iniluenced by grain bosition. When the center front was olsced on streisht irein, the neckline automatically became a flexible bios \ Design 3 \- ‘|‘.‘¢l l \\ I\ \. \\ \\ \- i» ll“ \ . . x .\ \4 . 4» F ,1 .- .‘_ L '~' .v‘“ . \ . u . 4d .. \ L I . . . s w i l i . LN...“ ./ \,_~___.._ Diagram 2 m3 —' Diaera U'l KIT curve. The height of the built-no neckline increases the difficulty of fitting the neckline area, for the neckline curve becones smaller as it is extended uo beyond the neck base. Therefore,the neckline was built uo only slightly. A second cut was attenoted with the design line raised to the standard neckline level. The advantages of tkis over at the the first cut were;l. the nertial seen beginnin l‘ K} shoulder and ending before reaching the center front served as a functionel fitting line for the neck curve, 2. e closer, smoother fit resulted as the fitting of the neck curve was distributed between two seams, the partial neckline seen end the curved shoulder seam, and 5. wits Re addition of the partial seam the neckline could b; built no higher tian in h) H) tne irst cut and could even be extended to form a wing collar. ( De.ign 2 Another built-up neckline was cut with a ovrtiel yoke line out of which gathers radiated toward the shoulders. The gathers gave this design a soft, transitional soiearance and centered interest at tne neck. This partial yoke carried out the mein ouroose of this exoerimental work by cutting tre whole blouse front in one niece. u; it and Grain olacenent The design was first tried with the center front on strai (Q it grein. Slashes were made to the shoulder seam to produce fullnese along the yoke edge. When the slashed pieces were swung around to avoid crossing the O i 1' center front, thy ~tendard neckline oosition autonatically fell on a true bias. Since the center front could be cut on ._‘ 56 a fold, there was unity in design. The true bias across the neckline heloed to fit the neck curve. Phe gathers lear ,3 the center front were not flexible, however, as they fell on the straight lengthwise grain, conosred with the remaining flexible bias gathered edge. These gathers along the uooer edge of the yoke were above the bust so they did not helo to mold the bodice over the bust, although they did disguise any tendency to wrinkle around the neck base. Adaptability to fabric widths This cut was not extravagant as excess directly above the neckline was used for the gathered yoke. It was not limited in any way by fabric width. The center front could be cut on a fold regardless of whicn of q the four fabric widths was used. Desien 3 A similar cut was attempted with tie getters oleced at the lower edge of the yoke to note the difference in fit between he two cuts when the ethers were oleced at the no Opoosite edge of the yoke. F t and grain olacement The transfer of pert of the waist- line dert to the yoke edge made the getters fall on a partial bias, oroducing soft folds. Several disadvantages in the out were noted with this design modificationtl. tn chline (I) n . it) fell on straignt grain and caused wrinkles at the neck ass, 2. the shoulder seam, underarm and waistline seams fell on a semi-bias, and 3. the crosswise grain slanted downward from the shoulder to the center front. To correct these problems, the side section was cut cut 1 cut 1 Diagram Design A cut 2 cut 2 57 separately with the grain perpendicular to the waistline at the center of the side section. This made the true bias fall at the neckline curve and produced snooth fit around the neck base. The addition of the seat was neither conspicuous nor altered the design effect. This design could also be cut with the grain perpendicular to the waistline at side front and with a bias center front seas. However, a seen at the normal side dart position is less conspicuous and at the same time helps fit the bust curve. Desion 4 From the simple built-up neckline the experiment D UPC‘Q'I‘G S S (D d to l partially built-up neckline conbined with a partial neckline seam. This particular design had a center front portion which followed the standard neckline for a short distance and et had the side and back neckline built-no above y . U) the neck base. Irregular li 213‘ e like this are more becoming than a single plain line at the neck base. The dart to the neck molded the fabric around the bust and directed the attention toward the face. Fit and er in placement The cut was first tried with the center front on the straight grain and all of the waistline dart transferred to the neckline der and yoke fullness. The excess between the two edges of the nec4 (1’ y. "5 O C. O O r+ (L (D Signs pbowsvfiil‘iitlins O )4.) collars cut I \ onto t1. front bodice, beqinnin: with the s;awl tyoe collar which extends across the neckline ind ends in a low ”v“ below the neck base at center front “his is one of the simplest and most standard varieties. To produce a good fit it requires less darting or stretcning at the neck base than the big $1 1A h ’ close fitting collars. However, a creséent dart at the side of the neck base improves the fit of the shawl collar and this appears as a standard fitting procedure on patterns and ready- to-wear cut on collars. The dart is hidden by the collar roll and a smooth facing covers it. (Diagram 5, cut 1) _Qesign S A more unusual shawl collar variation with 9 parti'l sean was cut with part of the waistline dart transferred to the ¢ l l} J simulated oo diet near the shoulder. The dart nsde a oertisl seen along the uooer neckline necessary. It reolsced the crescent dart an id served as a fittine seem. ”fhe shoulder dart swung the shoulder section be ck just enough to provide sear allow-nce for the oartiil necrline seam. 'To cut the collar the fabric above the neckline was used olus the fabric beyond the center front. All collars cut onto the blouse require a blouse center front seem in order to have extra Width beyond the center front to use in des iining tloe collar. With the center front placed on straight engthwise grain, the neckline autonatica lly fell on a oertial biss and bro- A sinilsr effect could have been obtsined duced a soft roll. by using a se per te true biss fold. however, 9 shawl collar cut with the front bodice avoids a thick seem at the juncture V of the collar and blouse, and appeared smoother and softer at neck base. Desian_§ In this design a modified shawl collar and lower bodice were cut tozether. The curving yoke which stood away entered the armscye from the under edge, formed a pocket and ‘ *- - v. at the underarm. A smooth effect was ootsined by cutting the with the uoper bodice. As the yoke exten- a kinono draft was requir— sleeve tozether Sion formed the smooth undernocket, ed although the sketch aopeared as if a re sglan sleeve might be used. -*1 itus se Fit and grain olecement The yoke was cut Wlbfl the lengtnzi \ . A u. ‘ ." :”- *'* "e was grain oeroendicular to the bustline. Ine shawl COlL r \. t‘illnl/ ll} «(oligl I< Jul/.1 I], (a I ll ’1. ' 71 \ 3 l» \I 7. Us" 1|... 3. \N‘” I ‘ \Iu. .7kkfi‘ . d. I] . I .. A ~I’v‘5 r... .. f r . .r . .../. \\ /fl . 7 /l , \.. Diagram 6 6O draped with a crescent dart along the base of neck. The collar and lower bodice section were cut with the grain Q: identical to the drape collar, and part of the waistline dart was shifted to the yoke edge to encourage it to stand away. The neckline fitted smoothly but the loser bodice sean lines were partially bias. Firm interfacing would be re- quired to keen the stitching from breaking and to prevent stretching. A second cut was made w oh the lower bodice center front on rain. This inoroved the fit of the lower bodice m traight (Y4 but the colla was not as flexible as the nrevious cut, for the front and back neckline fell almost on straight grain. However, since the neckline ended in a deeo "v", no undesirable wrinkles resulted and the effect was smooth and flowing. 9 t. Therefore, the second cut was judged the more successful of the It was then thought that firm reversible fabric might be used to cut the entire bodice in one niece. This olan was Unsuccessful since a grain oosition could not be established which produced good fit in all areas of the bodice. figaptabilityto fabric gidths This cut is not adaotable to 36 inch fabric when out with the grain olacenent chosen as best. C. The Stand-up Collar and its Variations 'fhe stsndnuo collar differs from the shawl coller in he it rolls to a higher point on center frort rather than rolling down into a deep "v" below the nit of the neck. The stand of 61 the collar is higher and it fits more closely all around the neck curve. Therefore, more sescing or deeos r do rting is required to shade the collar to fit the neckline without (‘0 wrinkling. All collars of this tyoe must be designed dir ctly ern for cut- -on coll? rs cf on the form as there is no has er pet Fron hillhouse and Mansfield we learn several rules concerning collars cut-in-one with the bodice front. lnev tell us that J to obtain a collar with a petal like under curl along the style line, the outside edge of tne collar should be smoothed, and the height of the fold line reduced if necessary. The can :r (D back line from the outside ed-e of t) collar to the fold a line slants more when tie outside edge is lengthened. To produce a higher roll, more of the fabric is dropped below the basic neckline of the form at the back. Uth:r iuoort nt rules discussed in their text are that the center beck seen should not be made a Straight line un s 33P”€3 as such when -. nether it should slope in from the \D H3 \) '3 -5 it is draoed on t: neccline see n to tre fold line and out again to the ozos de lows extra (:3: ('1’ (0 Ho E+ ‘7 LS L. C9 r—J ed:e (Diagram 7a). This inprof , ltsi a edge of the collar with a rolling effect. H (D {3 ( H d r O o d (I) O (D The nec liline s (D .n nay have a slij t convex curve near the center back which produces close fit alon: the fold line and Orevents the center back from standing away from the neon. For a collar with a roll of three-fourths to one-inch, the U) anzle forned by the shoulder seam and neckline seam whould be a right angle. If the angle is less the stand is lower.1 .4 lEillhouse and ’f-Iansfield, 92. 211;” {3. see. / back cut 1 in l 5 1' | \ I I ' ‘... 2 ‘y ." 1 I M-\ K» 2‘ (fl ' {‘5 \\ ’ , ‘\\ J ‘ ..... Design 8 0"" ' ""~m..—r Diagram 8 cut 62 Design 7 lhe first coller cut ioqetrer with the bodice hid slight stenfl and the style line was firewn with a curve. The SEC?n5 collar was cut with tre fe bric extended erther and the style line was oleced on straiqht crosswise gr ‘ain. The sailor collar formed, was buttoned do wn ont o U e becr bodice This collar formed a very high roll ens he height increased when the corners were broucct to tre front bodice at tne shoulder. Fit An elipticsl cert was fitted alone tne basic 9 .J, enc buttoned neckline from the shouléer and teoered to nothing before rescning center front. the roll height is determines by t:-e angle the nechine end shoulfier meet. The greater the and at which tne back neck sesn and the shoulder seen, the bignz' stsnf of the collar (D193re m 7, :nqle 390 is great Desiqn 3 Another collar cut with the be sic as was t' portion of t%e center front olsced on s 3 rti9l bis discover the resultizsg grain effect across ‘ cer ter front was llfiCéd on streisht srein end tre A» .. A o .1 Li- A . c- ._+ r. n dert was DPJJSLGF so to one center iront seem. in .‘ transfer made the uooer self of the bodice center on a oertiel bias. It swung toe uooer bodice beck maticslly orovided extrs febric from which 8 cents overlso end collar was cut the nec_< s to lin Ihe waistline is dhrt front fall , and auto- r front Eit and grain olscement fhe true bias at the neck base olus the elioticcl de.rt m de the fetric cling to the ne,~ cut was also economical because the fabric within t1- l- , l , hillrouse and Mansfield, uo. cit., p. :65. * e neckline area was utilized. ‘Io conoare tne result when the center front is cut on true bias with tnst when cut on straight srein or ocrtial bias, tne muslin oroof was cut witn the center front on a true bias. Definite cccnqes in fit were noted. The bzck nec”line as well as tne front neckline, was ol'ced on str ig‘t Grain. fine fcoric ”‘097P?5 stiff 'nd nersh about the neC' 0n} would not cling es in the previous two cute. Design 9 Another variation of tie collar cut-in-one with the bodice was tried with a oartial extension over the neckline. The rolled coll r originated from a dart radiating toward the Fit ”rd grain olscenent Since the collir did not continue {round to tre center front, a crescent dart :t neck base was not necessary to fit it. Part of the waistline dort nos trrnsferrec to the n:ckline edge to b'lcnce tre drain ccross tie bustline “nd at the s"ne tine “rovide excess from which tee C3llar detail could be designed. ibis exces‘ was used to drone o turn-over collar and when tze neckline €“Pt was closed, fitted closelv to the ‘I Lesion 10 This neckline :ted by rolling the 3 Collar cut-in-One beyond the neckline in a way sinil-r to near tle center front. Toe fabric was extended 0 far as possible and was caught into the yoke seen and continued further to form a raglan sleeve. Design 10 0 1 m a F J... 3. .1 D Fit and grain glacenent The center front was cut on straight grain as this oroved to be tke best grain oosition for a collar extension which is to fit closely around the neck bese. Part of the waistline dart was shifted to fullness along tne shoulder yoke to belence the grain across the bustline. An elipticsl dart was draoed at the neck base to avoid wrinklinq. ‘fhe neckline and yoVe underfscing were draoeu from tne excess fabric beyond tne neck bsse of tre bodice front. A r Glen sleeve was drafted onto the yoke oettern, and the grain was establisned oeroendiculsr to the waistline at the yo.. Since the grain of the yoke and facing did not match, a second cut wee ncde witn the yoke and f cing grain natcting. lhis cut was judged the better of tte two because the netching grain let the two layers null evenly. ‘ Adaotability to fabric widths Tne cut snown was sdsotsble to La -‘ all four fabric widths. 'rne following original collar and neckline design- were srouoed toretner to show variations of the shawl collir and stand-up collsr which can be created by sinoly using the imagination, by accidental slasoing or by nerely exoerimentin; with excess fabric above left over from other cuts. f bric scraos and shsoes \‘D Desizn ll Ibis design, sinilar to the stand-no collar :ut '\ ‘r A Q ‘71 fl. ‘8 .' lint-J1.- ending in a deep "v", eliminated to: necessity o- r e ‘ +. as 091 neck base dart. Instead of carrying tne extension U3 toe ' " i n der center back, it was terminated at Lne snoulder line. In or . ‘ ‘ ’ .i ( " i " '1 ‘\~ *- ' x. no ‘*:“ \ 5*. \\ ‘.\ fl ;_ "’44.. _/' ’ , , ~~,\ sf! we back Design 11 d ,j \\ 1‘ \._' “““ \\ \ __ / .. t \ s View 1 // View h.) Desisn 12 \.-- Diagram 11 / x /’ ’ Q "I r ! 4; l I I I" i f i , :l I I ‘r r . f .’ I _/ i J i r . a ‘. ‘ f “ ' r-v‘. n- ‘- Diagram 12 Design 13 ’ 3 Design 14 fl \_\/ \ Diagram 14 65 to produce a oleasing effect with strioed fabric, the back and front were cut with matching grain along the collar seam, so that the strioes chevroned. To keeo toe grain matched on both side (a? of the seat, and to keeo the seat in line with the shoulder seat, it was necessary to allow the back neckline to fall into a does "v" similar to the front neckline. Design 12 It was thought that a vertical dart might help to fit the neckline curve; therefore, part of the waistline dart was shifted to the neck base. The back of the neckline was forced by carrying the bias excess around to the center é. back. The neckline dart was carried to the tio of the collar \ but recuired slashing through the center of the dart in order to avoid bulkiness and wrinkling. The slash could also be sed as a button slot. Design 1: A collar resembling a shawl collar was turned under to form a oetal-like roll which ended in a deep v . No darting or seaming was required to fit it to the neckline. W ( When cut in Stpiged fabric the effect was interesting and showed row a softly rolled collar counteracts the bareness of a oloin, collarless low neckline. __esiqn 14 A neckline with toe side and back neckline built-up was combined with a square low front neckline which formed a OT‘ 80ft roll. The diagonal slasi to the corner of the neckline Provided the fabric used in draping tne lower portion of the rolled detail. This slash, and the utilization of the fabric > ”M Design 15 HIM/“f" ' .dfi.‘ . / .4" \‘ f, \V / / . // .— ,/" I} .. .~" L“ / ./ 4/. f / /'l \ ’,/ ,3/17' ,- / I / . // l’/ \ _.-// I K Diagram 15 \‘ . \m’ 66 below the neckline area made it necessary to cut the lower bodice front separately. The illustration shows the interest- ing effect created when strioed fabric is used. De ('0 ion l: The facing of the netal like ooints of this neck detl ( 11 were formed by continuing both the bodice front and raglan sections. No additional darting or seating was requir- ed to fit the neckline as it was intended to fit loosely. ‘) ( lh- roll should be encouraged by ouffing or easins the '1 too facin: of the collar when joining it to the undercollar. 67 CONCLUSIONS 1. Extensions beyond the neckline s (1) am insoired the most original and host numerous designs of all the extensions beyond the normal seam oositions. Bhis won because collars thod (D cut witn the bodice must be draoed, and by using this n of designing, unusually interesting details can result from ) I exoerinentin; fr ely ind using ones imagination. \I I Necklines and collars are imoortant design locations since they frame the face and neck, and focus interest there. 3. Cut-on collars and built-up necklines invariably helo to e "cut-uo look" by avoiding unnecessary joints. add to tne grace and flow of line of the co s turn e . 4. If the center front is olsced on straight grain, as is usually done, toe neckline curve is hiss enough to permit stretching and smoothing to fit the neck. 5. In order to serve to fit the collar closely at neck base, dart or a partial seam should either an eliotlcal neckliie fall alone the normal neckline oosition. to a deeo “v" it requires Because the shawl collar rolls inc , stretching to fit the neck base than a Cl) less darting an collar which fits at the normal center front necx base. - ‘1 a 9 nor es fit b however, a crescent dart is invisible uni in. ov y V ' ~~ *‘o 7' c oa‘ iii] A tekins out excess fabric along the heel bale th-t o lo 63 otnerwise wrinkle. 7. Shawl collars may be extended to form the comolete lower bodice, but fabric extended this far reouires more olenning in order to produce a oattern with the grain estsolisned in such a way that good fit results in el? osrts of tne large oiece. 8 Cut-on collars fastened at neck bese require an elioticel dert at neck begs for close it. If tre cents front is cut on 9 true bids, t’e strCiInu 4r'in 9t tie neckline prevents a close fit. Tnei;:ore, ior closest fit at neck 0 so, tie 1‘. - P '7’. "I" V" ‘, 4 ‘- -. j— ‘ r . - center iront muSt as cut on straitnt grsin. O Built-u? neckliges end collers cut site the bodice that J 0 I O .h ‘ q .‘ O ‘. ' '. ‘ ‘- A V I" '-. , _ are combined Winn s osrtill neckline seem flch tne 2\V1HL3;9 of fitting without reouiring an elioticel dart at neck base. 10. Exc fabric above and within tne neckline and nest UT) (0 (N 0 center front nay be used to cut unusual necklines as well as bodice yokes. ll. Necklines cut witn tne bodice are econonicel,ss Fabric often discarded is utilized. \‘l‘ .. . 3|I[.|lfl. [. VIA I| ll. (r9! I.‘ ll"! . \.. \x \ .~ F :.,. 4 .1". . -. I x i y V. .g. if!!! itbltnrlttlu . . . a -. lu‘l‘l‘llullk .\ \‘H. I). ..f‘ll.§o’v|! .111. . i- \ ..3-.....- l 33 - - i a. 3.. 1.- - fl \ P .l‘n".\uol1.rl ’.I0‘: Infini. . . . \. . .4:- 1 l 1., . . . 5'1"! . . \. \(H L1. 1 - I . .339...(\lln.1¥.(1l4l..l. Jill; .. z z . .. \ .../ l . l . n \ LIA/l v . .. 1 xx fig...) ‘ 3. - A. - i - 00 l e - .- -- on :s .- 1-. l 4. (5):) W w . 4 . ~ .I' a I... l \ «— ... l \4 \u I} .. \n I i . ....\\ N I' no .- i Xi Diagren l 69 IX. DIESS CUE-IN-CHZ O U ,__a (D \ {“7 (l U) t4. H :3 [1-4 l“ {'5 is dress out in one piece as far as pos. was fitted by darting at the center front waistline. Toe tabs were crossed over and bittoned t) tne waistline, rekinr this area tne center of interest. Fit and greinaqlacenen This design was cut several ways to detersine just now much of tee dress could be successfully cut in one oiece. lne oress was first cut wits slight ilsre joined at the waistline so that one-half of the entire dress front was cut in one oiece. As the bodice end skirt waist- nt r Uront to oroduce tie H 3"“ 71 CD (1.. $1) '3 (+ U) 3 '3 (D '0 (.J r-+ (+- (D Q, C" O ( «D O (l‘ (D I desired effect, the waistline and center front bodice fell on a partial bias. The bodice swung back and orovided excess from wnics i coll r wss cut. its neckline wvs bias enough to orovide good fit. Ihe waistline curve wen lost and because of this, tne sligot excess created folds across the waistline as tne febric was stretched to fit the curve. Adsotebility to fabric widths This cut was edsotable to all four febric widths used and could be cut with the center front on a fold wien 39 incn or wider fabric is as . A second cut was tried with the bodice center front rather than the skirt center front olaced on strsirit grein. The sleeve end skirt back wes also cut with the bodice and 4 Design 1 \. . \ M . . \. x i 2 \ r4 , \ iii r \I\.\\\.\.I. - it‘\' u ,r _ r .\ r .7 r. r r. / .f/ 3 ‘ 3"; f 1‘ \ .r . . .pfpf/ . wk. 9 l l 11! .. I’ll”! I. .i.s\\In. .. a 3 3‘ L , 113...! i t a a. . .. 3K 1 . su .! {Diagram la \- 7O skirt front. This cut was unsuccessful because of several disadva.nta ages: 1. the neckline and waistline curves fell on straight grain and toe - ric would not lend itself to :9: stretching and shaoin3 to fit the body curves, 2. the excess below the bodice could not be utilized advantageously, 3. the -l I.“ in side, center back.and center front seams fell n a part 0 bias, and 4. little excess remained at the ne ck re3ion and thus limited the possibility of cutting a collar with the bodice. The same cut was tried with the grain shifted to the normal side seam oosition. In this way slisht flare could be introduced under both center front and center back ssirt oleets. Both the neckline en. waistline fell on a partial bias and fitted nicely. To prevent overlaooing of parts, the sleeve was limited to a QJOPt len3 t: with the cuff cut as an extension. The waistline tab effect might be repeated on the sleeve or collar but not in both olaces as the detail would aooesr overused. The nec kline fit of t: is cut was not as smooth as that of cut 1. This cut was not adaotable to 36 inch abric, and must be cut singly when wider fabric widths are used. Cut 4 had the skirt terninated at side back and this made it oossible to cut a full-length sleeve Losether with the dress. This cut was adaptable to all four fabric widths but as in cut 3, the pattern oarts must be cut s ngly. It was thought that the grain miqiit be established oarallel to the dart ed3e , but by studying the cut it was evident that the grain of the skirt would be distorted, therefore his cut was not tried in muslin. gm ( 9' It was concluded th 71 for the best grain olocement in all areas of tzis dress "cut-in-one“, the lenstowise grain e.— should be esteblished at the skirt center front or with (D H ’4- ght flare at the center front. This grain placement resulted in smooth neckline and bust fit without distorting t? (1) grain in the skirt. 72 SU IZIARY 1-1.D C‘JIICLUSIOI‘IS _" Carrying fabric beyond the norms 1 sea nlines 01 the bodice is an inspirin3 source of design. AlthOU3h many cuts were unsuccessful, a greater number of those attemoted W81". \0 (D uccessful. The successful designs would especially appeal to those who enjoy and prefer gsrments with distinctive simplicity, for these cuts usually resulted in uncluttered smoothness of desi3n end strikin3 details not normally found except on custom tailored or high fashion garments. 4 Fit equally ple asing cs tnat achieved by seeming at the stendaM positions cs n be produced with some of the stondsrd seamlines eliminated. It is true that this elimination or substitution complicates the cutting Oi tne pattern, one selection of the grain placement and et tines even tie con- LJJ struction of the garment. But with s _ded experience in f.) (D pattern makin3 end 3% rme nt construction, one is oette r to find solutions for these problems. H Specific and deta led conclusions concerning extensions beyond the standard seams of the blouse were drawn at the end of each section. However, some of the qener al conclusions will be summ~rized nere. Of the four sea unlines crossed over, tr :e extensions beyond the neck ine proved to be the ricrest source of 73 design inspiration. Because there are no drafts for collars and necklines cut onto the bodice, by dracin3 the fabric in various ways, one sees many different oossibilities. ’Phis experimentation with fabric within and above the neck area proved many times the imoortance of a true bias or a oartial bias and a crescent dart at the neck base in order to encourage the fabric to cling closely to the neck. 'rhe armscye was also successfully crossed over. However, as sleeves must be carefully and accurately drafted to achieve perfect fit, this realization limited the desire to experiment freely (particularly since the cuts in this study were tested in half-size). The most significant result in this portion of the Study was that a sleeve cut onto the bodice, which is cut with a biis or semi-bias center sleeve seen, forms a softer, rounder shoulder and a more softly droning sleeve than one with straight grain down the center of the sleeve ans a dart to fit the shoulder. Sleeve ertensions were limited by fabric width more than any of the other t ree extension tyoes. The shoulder seen can be re laced by a nortial seen or (D a horizontal seas near the standard should r seen, but fully substitute 0) vertical or diagonal seams will not succes for it. Shoulder extensions should be bias or semi-bias at the point where it crosses the normal shoulder seam in O‘ S i d t conoound shoulder curve. Ihese .0 order to fit the slight 1 extensions limi the necklines and collars cut with ('1‘ (O Q :3 (1‘ O f-h 74 the bodice. A few underarn extensions were successful. Dissondl or horizontal seems near the standard underarm position may aibstitute successfully for the underarm seam, but . WC QC) V v A: L, (f reolacenents conolicate fitting :0 nd alterations. It is not ordinarily r (0 commended that the underarm seam be omitted since it is usually covered by the arm on C): because it is a conven ent fitting location. Loose fitting garments are more successful than closely fitted bodices, for the straight 3rain can be established at the underarm to nrevent stretc