A CRITICAL mvesncmou OF TAILORING TECHNIQUES WHICH _- MEGHT BE EFFECTWELY EMPLOYED BY THE HOME SEWER Thesis for the 009m of M. A. mCHIGAN STA-Ta- COLLEGE Mary Ellen Carbon 1953 15" This is to certify that the a * ' thesis entitled A Critical investigation of Tailoring Techniques Which Might be Effectively Employed "71.1 -. .5 . ‘- 4vy4; -, :- ';;_ by the Home Sewer ’ ‘3" " presented by ~ I! ._ . I x . ‘- 1. '3 _'.a- o It ‘1 Mary Ellen Carlson ‘ 77‘ tint... ~,Q , l :51 has been accepted towards fulfillment :54) of the requirements for ‘3 Textiles and :5} M . A . degree tum {55:53: liajor professor a; . ‘ifi; ' (abut/é:;zoaalgay)cz7aho~4z/Aht4a November 17 , 1953 Date ‘ OVERDUE Flagg: 25¢ per day per item RglyRNING LIBRARY MATERIALS: Place in book return to remove charge from circulation records A CRITICAL INVESTIGATION OF TAILORING TECHNIQUES WHICH MIGHT BE EFFECTIVELY EMPLOYED BY THE HOME SEWER BY Mary Ellen gailson A THESIS Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies of Michigan State College of Agriculture and Applied Science in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS Department of Textiles, Clothing, and Related Arts 1953 THESiS \ r; ‘-_ ._ g. ‘n x O ACKNOWLEDGEMENT To Miss Evelyn A. Mansfield for her inspiration, and guidance; to Miss Hazel Strahan.for her interest and encouragement; to Miss Mary Shipley for her assistance in taking photographs; to the fourteen members of the rating panel for their time and interest; and to Mr. Joseph naurer, who donated his dry cleaning services, the author wishes to express her sincere thanks and gratitude. 3, .7300 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PROCEDURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Preliminary Investigation . . . . . . . Construction Methods Used . . . . . . . FINDINGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Analysis of Construction Procedures . . Interpretation of Ratings . . . . . . Resistance to Dry Cleaning and Pressing CONCLUSIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Custom Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . Short-cut Method . . . . . . . . . . . Suggestions for Further Study . . . . . BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . APPENDIX I: Pattern Alteration . . . . . APPENDIX II: Fabric Samples . . . . . . APPENDIX III: Rating Sheets . . . . . . GLOSSARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 56 56 82 119 130 132 136 142 144 145 154 157 163 ( [I'll-I‘ll" fill! lltltl. It‘ll! ll... LIST OF PLATES AND TABLES Plate Page 1. Jacket Inside Construction . . . . . . . . . 15 3. Jacket 1. 2. Jacket 2, Inside Construction . . . . . . . . . 15 5, Inside Construction . . . . . . . . . l7 4 4. Jacket , Inside Construction . . . . . . . . . l7 5. Jacket 5a, Inside Construction . . . . . . . . l9 6. Jacket 5b, Inside Construction . . . . . . . . 19 7. Jacket 3, Interfacing Details . . . . . . . . . 22 8. Jackets 3 and 4, Lapel Detail . . . . . . . . . 22 9. Ratings: Fit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 10. Ratings: Construction Details . . . . . . . . 89 11. Jacket 1, Side View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 12. Jackets 1 and 2, Front View . . . . . . . . . . 95 13. Jacket 2, Side View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 14. Jacket 4, Side View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 15. Jackets 4 and 5, Front View . . . . . . . . . . 94 16. Jacket 3, Side View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 17. Jacket 5a, Side View . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 18. Jacket 5, Front View . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 19. Jacket 5b, Side View . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 20. Alterations on Front . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146 21. Alterations on Back . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 22. Alterations on Sleeve . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151 Table I. Ratings : Fit 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0 O C 85 II. Ratings: Construction Details 88 ll’lr' C O O a It . O ( O a n _ o . O . O . U I . O I O O I U . O D O C I O I o Q I 0 c O I I . O . INTRODUCTION The making of a tailored garment (suit or coat) is generally regarded as a sewing problem requiring more skill than any other type of construction if the results are to look professional. A.fine customsmade suit is the product of a tailor's training and skill. There is precision in the fitting 1 and shaping of such a garment which enables it to give many years of wear and satisfaction. The tailor, who is a skilled craftsman, has learned and developed his techniques over a long period of apprenticeship and practice. The person who sews at home may, with.much patience and skillful handling. employ customstailoring techniques to make her own carefully-tailored suit. Such a suit, well-executed, should fit becomingly and retain its original appearance through wear and cleaning. Directions for making a suit or coat are readily available. Textbooks on the subject, bulletins from various agencies. and pattern directions give detailed instructions. There is, however, a great deal of variation in the methods described. Some are the time-honored custom techniques; others are newer short-cut systems. The latter have been deveIOped for uSe by those women who do not have the time or skill to use custom methods successfully. The woman who sews at home must choose the method which she feels will be best --- or easiest --- for her to use, according to the results she wishes to achieve, the time she can give and her skill. The home economist who teaches tailoring, whether to college students, to extension groups, or others, must select the method most apprOpriate for those she will teach. She should be familiar with the advantages and disadvantages of the various methods. Therefore, she will wish to know how suits made by different methods compare in appearance, including fit, and how well these suits maintain their original appearance through dry cleaning and pressing. The purpose of this study was to examine the different methods by which a suit can be constructed. In doing so, it was hoped that suggestions might be made for the simplification of custom-tailoring techniques. Also, comparisons were sought which might be useful to the home economist teaching tailoring. It was not expected that any gpg method, satisfactory for all purposes, would be found; but rather that the results of the study might indicate when one method should be chosen rather than another for a given situation. Since it was desirable to try out as many different procedures as possible, directions for five methods of 5 tailoring were set up. Either a left or right side of a full-size Jacket was made by each method (with the exception noted below). A preliminary survey of directions for the construction of tailored suits indicated that there were three different and rather well-defined methods, plus others which varied in certain details. It was felt that it would be worthwhile also to include certain factory techniques which could be used to advantage by the home sewer. Thus the five methods decided upon are as follows: 1. A composite of directions given in pattern instruction,sheets. 2. A tailoring method developed by Edna Bryte Bishop. 5. A.custom method, as taught at Michigan State College. 4. A.“miscellaneous” method, made up of directions (from various sources) which differed from those of the above three methods. 5. A.composite of factory techniques not demon- strated by the above four methods. One complete jacket was made by the last method with a variation in the handling of the front interfacing on one half. Thus three complete Jackets were made, using five different methods. The Jackets were constructed to fit the author, so that they might later be modeled for Judging purposes. A pattern (Vogue 7698) was selected which presented typical tailoring problems. All suits were made from this same pattern, which had been correctly fitted, so that any variation in fit would be traceable to the method used and not the pattern. As the suits were constructed, notes were made on problems encountered; and the time required for making each part of the Jacket by the different methods was recorded. When the suits were completed, they were Judged by a panel composed of faculty, extension clothing specialists, students, and three clothes-conscious women who do not sew. A rating scale was used to facilitate Judging and make the scoring as obJective as possible. After the ratings were made, the suits were commercially dry cleaned and pressed five times. After the first, third and fifth cleaning and pressing process, each suit was examined and its appearance noted on a check list to determine whether there were any changes caused by the treatment. The steps in the construction of the Jackets by the different methods are described in Section II: Procedures 5 (pp. 6-55). Evaluations cf problems encountered and time required by the different methods, the ratings of the Jackets and possible interpretations, and the results of dry cleaning are presented in Section III: Findings (pp. 56-129). PROCEDURES Egaliminagy Investigation Before construction was started, a survey was made of textbooks and bulletins on tailoring and of instructions included with suit patterns from four companies. For each step in the construction of a tailored suit, directions from these various sources were recorded. When construction directions were thus compiled, it was apparent that there were three rather distinct methods in which the construction techniques differed. These methods also seemed to differ in the degree of skill required for their use. It was decided to construct one-half of a full size Jacket by each method. Method 1 was derived from commercial pattern in- structions. Since directions given by different companies, or by one company for different patterns, are not the same, a method which was a composite of techniques from various pattern instruction sheets was selected. Suit patterns from Simplicity, McCall's, and Advance were chosen in designs which were similar to Vogue 7698, the pattern .from which the suits were being cut. Techniques were chosen which were not duplicated by the other methods to be used. This method appeared to require the least skill, and the procedures might be described more accurately as dressmaking rather than tailoring techniques. This method might be followed by a home sewer who had no training in tailoring. Method 2 was a short-cut method. Directions for tailored garments given in.QlQphipg_Qgp§§ggg§igp_fl§§th§J (4) deveIOped by Edna Bryte BishOp, were used. Reference was also made to a series of articles on Bishop techniques in the March, April, and may 1955 issues of Practical Home Economigg (5, 6, 7). In cases where the directions from the two Sources differed, directions from the magazine were followed, as being the most recent development. method 5 represented techniques used in custom tailor- ing. Directions followed were those used for the tailoring course at Michigan State College. This method was chosen to represent what is sometimes called hand-tailoring. As such, it is a method which would require a higher degree of skill than Methods 1 and 2. In addition to the three methods above, there were procedures described in other publications which differed in certain details. It seemed desirable to include them in the study. Therefore, directions for these miscellaneous jprocedures were assembled to form what was designated as 8 Method 4. In many instances these were variations of custom techniques. Sources used included: ,Mgdgrn Tailoripg_fpr Women by Frances F. Mauck (10). , Tailorigg for the Family.by Bonnie V. Goodman (8). I How to Tailor a Neman'sfguit, United States Department of Agriculture Home and Garden Bulletin No. 20 (15). Here's How to Tailor, HE 18, Agricultural Extension Service, Iowa State College (1). Observation of construction processes used by seven manufacturers of ladies' suits provided the directions for Method 5, a composite of factory methods. A complete Jacket was constructed by this method with the exception noted below. It was recognized that certain processes done by machine in a factory (e.g., machine blind-stitching) would have to be done by hand and would thus be more time- consuming than the factory process being copied. Factories visited were those of the following manufacturers: Printz- Biederman Company, Cleveland; Eisenberg & Sons, Inc., Chicago; Johnson Garment Company, Chicago; Michael M. Elisberg, Chicago; L. Wald Company, Chicago; Wilson Garment Manufacturing Company, Chicago; and Rothmoor Corporation, Chicago. Procedures followed were, as much as possible, those which differed from the first four methods. In the case of the cutting and handling of the front interfacing it seemed desirable to try two methods. Therefore, the two fronts of Jacket 5 differ in this respect and are designated 5a and 5b. The half-Jackets made by the first four methods were constructed at the same time to facilitate comparison of related procedures. Construction of the factory-method Jacket was delayed until after the others were completed; due to production schedules, it was impossible to arrange factory tours earlier. Vogue pattern 7698 was selected as presenting the three features characteristic of a truly tailored Jacket: tailored collar, two-piece sleeve, normal underarm seam replaced by an underarm section. The design was slightly modified by elimination of the pockets and the vent opening on the sleeves. A size 12 pattern was purchased, which was fitted to the author. After changes were made in the paper pattern, a Jacket was constructed in.muslin and further changes made. Alterations on the back and upper sleeve were necessitated by the author's erect posture which shortens the upper back of the figure. Other changes related to the waistline and length of the Jacket. This altered pattern was used for all Jackets. For a detailed analysis of the alterations made in the paper and muslin patterns, see Appendix I. 10 The fabric chosen for the suits was a worsted of basket-weave construction. It was selected as a fabric that would reapond well to the pressing and shaping procedures of tailoring. Interfacing fabrics available in tailors' supply houses and representative of the quality which would probably be used by most home sewers were selected. Samples of all fabrics used are mounted in Appendix II. In all pressing procedures, the goal was to achieve the best possible results, so that the pressing on all Jackets would appear the same. In doing so, it was hoped to eliminate pressing as a variable which might affect the appearance of the suits. Where construction methods contributed to the difficulty of achieving a good press, this fact was noted so that it might be considered in evaluating the methods. The construction methods used are described step by step in the following sections. Note: When a Jacket is identified by a number, the number refers to the method used. Construction Methods Ugeg Seam Allowances Method 1 (Commercial pattern instrgctions).leacket l was cut with five-eighths inch seam allowances and two inch hems. 11 Method 2 (Short-ggt method): Jacket 2 was cut with five-eighths inch seam allowances and one-and-one-half inch hems. Mrs. BishOp suggests one-half inch seam (a). allowances as allowed by Advance Patterns However, since other patterns provide five-eighths inch, that was the allowance cut. Method 5 (Cgstog methogz.w Jacket 5 was cut with a one-and-one-fourth inch seam allowance at the front under- arm seam, one inch for the back sleeve seam, shoulder and armscye seams, and three-fourths inch for all others. Two-inch hems were allowed. These allowances provided ample room for alteration and were later trimmed to narrower widths. Method 4 ("Miscellaneous" techniggeszg _Jacket 4 was cut the same as Jacket 5. Method 5 (Factory method). Jacket 5 was cut with three-eighths inch seam allowances with the exception of the front underarm seams where the allowance was five- eighths inch. The latter allowance is provided for alteration by the purchaser of a factory-made suit, while the other seams are narrow enough to obviate the need for trimming during construction. (a)Edna Bryte Bishop. Clot Co st ction Met 0 , (1953), p. 6. h 12 Lining Seam Allowances“) The lining was cut with five-eighths inch seam allowances for all Jackets but Jacket 5, for which the seam allowances were the same as for the Jacket. For Jacket 2, the armscye edges of the front and back were cut one inch wider than the Jacket pattern at the shoulder seam, tapering to nothing at the notches. The armscye seam allowance of the sleeve lining for Jacket 5 was increased around the lower half so that it was one-and- one-half inches wide at the true underarm. One inch hems were allowed throughout. Markingw) mgphod 1. Darts, buttonholes, and seamlines were marked with carbon tracing paper. The center front was marked by hand-basting and crossmarks were indicated by notches cut into the seam allowance. Method 2., Darts were marked with carbon tracing paper. Seamlines were not marked. The center front and buttonhole lines were marked on the interfacing and later machine-basted through the wool. Crossmarks were cut as notches into the seam allowance. (a>Refer to pp. 127, 129 for evaluation. (b?Refer to pp. 58, 92-95 for evaluation. 15 Method 5. Carbon tracing paper was used to mark darts, buttonholes, and seamlines. Seamlines were then stay- stitched Just outside the carbon marking on all pieces except the front facing and t0p collar, which were not staystitched. The center front and buttonhole lines were marked by machine basting. Crossmarks were marked by machine basting across the seamline. Mgthod 4.. The marking was the same as for Method 5. Method 5. Darts were marked with carbon tracing paper. The seamlines, buttonholes, and center front were not marked. Crossmarks were cut as slits in the seam allowance. First Fitting Jackets 5 and 4 were hand-bested for the first fitting of the wool Jacket. The undercollar was also fitted at this time. Alterations were made on Jackets 1 and 2 to duplicate those made on 5 and 4. No alterations were made on Jacket 5. On Jackets 1, 5, and 4, the darts and back underarm seam were stitched as basted. On Jackets 5 and 4, the front sleeve seams were also stitched. For Jacket 2 the darts and seams were pinned, but not basted. before stitching. On Jacket 5 neither basting nor pinning was used. Crossmarks (a?Refer to pp. 60-61 for evaluation. 14 were matched as the fabric was guided under the presser foot. 0n Jackets 2 and 5 a seam gauge on the machine was used to guide the stitching of seamlines. Pressing of Darts Method 1. All darts were pressed flat in one direction: the waistline and front shoulder darts toward the center front, the back shoulder dart toward the center back, and the underarm dart toward the waistline. The waistline darts were clipped at the waistline. Method 2. All darts were cut and pressed open. The ends of the darts (approximately one-and-one-half inches). which could not safely be cut, were pressed as box pleats. Method . The waistline darts were cut and pressed Open, the ends being handled as box pleats. The other darts were slit at the fold line, but pressed flat in one direction. Method 4‘ The waistline darts were pressed as box pleats along their entire length. Other darts were treated the same as those in.Mbthod 1. Method 5. The treatment of darts was the same as for Method 1, but waistline darts were not clipped. (a)Refer to pp. 59-60, 96-97, 120 for evaluations. 16 Interfacings: Fabrics gp§n9g_;, The front interfacing of hymo was cut by the pattern provided (see plate 1). No back interfacing was used. The collar interfacing, from the undercollar pattern, was of hymo. ggpngg_g, Hymo was used for the front interfacing. Wigan was used for interfacing the collar, the back of Jacket, and the underarm section. A pattern was cut for the front which extended the full length of the armhole to the underarm seam (see plate 2). A back interfacing pattern was cut which was five inches wide at the center back, extended up to the shoulder seam, and curved down around the armsyce seam. Method 5. The front interfacing was cut of hymo Which extended beyond the front underarm seam to the normal under- arm and one inch beyond the shoulder seam. Wigan was used for the back interfacing. It was cut with the straight grain at center back and was also extended to the normal underarm. The collar interfacing used was of tailors' linen canvas. In addition, a reinforcement for the front armscye was made of tailors' felt (see plate 5). (a)Refer to pp. 61-62, 97-98 for evaluations. l7 ‘7‘ "~"‘| Q A‘s—JIL....J o... Jacket 3, Inside Construction ~r‘ r“. " I ‘l—J“b- J ‘1 _' 1 A; U Licsib’ U ‘.I, Inside Construction 18 Method 4. Hymo was used for the front interfacing and the underarm section, cut the same as Jacket 2 (see plate 4). Wigan was used for the back, but unlike the other methods, the center back was placed on true bias (a) The collar with the warp running toward the shoulder. interfacing was cut from.tailors' linen canvas. method 5§., Hymn was used for the front interfacing and was cut from the same pattern used for Jackets 2 and 4, but with the breakline placed on the straight grain (see plate 5). Hymo was also used for interfacing the collar. Interfacings for the back and underarm sections were cut of wigan. Method 5b., The front interfacing of hymo was cut in two sections. The front section was cut with the center front on true bias. A side front section, which extended to the armhole, was cut with the grain matching that of the wool front. A reinforcement for the chest and bust area was also cut of hymo and on the straight grain (see plate 6). Interfacings: Darts(b) Method 1. The shoulder dart on the front interfacing was cut through the center and one edge was then lapped (a)Frances F. Mauck, Modern Tailorigg for Women, (1947 )9 hp. 410 (b)Refer to pp. 62-64, 98 for evaluations. ’. ”1‘”! f: *" r1 . “ Lu T f ' ' 4.1.11.4 :J—ALAQ U Jacket is, Jacket Sb, Inside Construction Inside Construction 20 over the other until the dart lines coincided and the dart stitched on this line. After both the wool front and the front interfacing were pressed, the interfacing was heated to the front, matching notches and edges (see plate 1). Method 2. Darts on the front interfacing were slashed on the marked line on one side, lapped to meet the other line and then stitched once close to the edge and again one-eighth inch from the first stitching. The ends were reinforced with a square of wigan stitched in an X pattern over the end of the dart (see plate 2). Darts in the wigan were slashed and lapped but not stitched. The back and underarm sections of wigan were Joined with a plain seam pressed open. After pressing, the wigan was staystitched to the wool, matching notches and edges. The front inter- facing was not attached until a later step.(a) Methgd 5. The darts on the front interfacing were cut out. One edge was stitched to a strip of bias wigan one inch wide, the other edge matched to it and stitched down. The dart was then reinforced by zig-zag stitching down the length of the dart. Darts in the wigan were slashed. lapped and stitched using the same method as for the dart in the hymo in Method 1, and they were reinforced by zig-zag (a)Bish0p, 92. cit., p. 46. 21 stitching. To further shape the hymo of Jacket 5, a slash was cut through the one inch extension beyond the shoulder seem, the cut edges spread apart one inch and stitched down to a strip of hymo. The felt was staystitched in place to the armhole of the hymo, keeping the stitches one-half inch from the armscye seamline. The edge of the felt was graded and then loosely catchstitched to the hymo. A dart three-eighths inch wide was cut out of the hymo and felt, pointing from the armscye to point of bust. The edges of this dart were closed with a cross-stitch (see plates 5 and 7). In Joining the frent interfacing to Jacket 5 (after pressing). the first step was basting the two layers together at the center front, carefully adJusting one to the other to keep the center front absolutely straight. For the following steps the two layers were handled with the wool uppermost, shaping it over the hand to allow a slight ease in the wool. First the layers were pinned together at the shoulder dart. The wool was then folded back and permanently basted through the dart edge to the hymo. Then the two layers were tailor-basted together at the shoulder, armscye, and free edge of the hymo. At the lower armscye, the wool was eased to the hymo, taking up three-eighths inch ease. The wigan interfacing was tailor- basted to the back of the Jacket at the neckline, shoulder, PC) -\~ .r1_. lusts“: l i c, interIaCLi; (D Details \~ rvjwfi ’3 a. LIX—LA (3 Lapel Details I o Jacket 4 23 armscye, and lower edge of wigan, shaping and easing the wool to the wigan. Methgd 4. Darts in both wigan and hymo were slashed, lapped and stitched in the same manner as on Jacket 1. In addition, they were reinforced by zig-zag stitching along the length of the dart (see plate 4). To shape the wool Jacket, ease at the lower front and back armscye seams and the back shoulder seam was drawn up by pulling the stay- stitching tight in these areas.(a) The hymo was attached to the wool front with three rows of permanent tailor-basting extending from the shoulder to the lower edge of the Jacket, plus two other rows which extended to the free edge of the hymo (see plate 4). This basting was done on the hymo side, 'using stitches that barely caught a yarn of the wool and that were invisible from the right side. The shoulder, armscye, and underarm edges were then basted together inside ‘the seam line. This basting held the ease pulled up by the staystitching at the armscye. The wigan was Joined to the ‘back with a temporary tailor-basting inside the seamline along all edges. 03) (a)Mauck, 2p, git., p. 26. (b)Bonn1e V. Goodman, Tailori for the Fami s (1951). p- 314- 24 Metdod 5., Darts on the interfacing of Jacket 5a were stitched as for Jacket 1. The two front interfacing sections of Jacket 5b were Joined with a plain seam pressed Open. The chest reinforcement was then machine-stitched in place. The wigan for the back of Jacket 5 was staystitched to the wool, one-fourth inch.from the edge. The front interfacings were not attached at this time. Front Edges and Lapels(a) Method ;., There was no special treatment of the front edge; the hymo was simply stitched into the seam when the facing was attached in a later step. Method 2., The front edge of the interfacing was finished with a bias strip of cotton to keep the hymo out of the edge seam. To do this, the strip of bias tape was placed on the hymo with outer edges matching, and pressed to match the shape of the hymo edge. The tape was then stitched to the hymo slightly more than five-eighths inch from.the raw edge. A second row of stitching was placed one-eighth inch inside the first. Then the hymo was trimmed away close to the stitching. The final step was to staystitch the wool front through the bias tape of the (a)Refer to pp. 64-67, 100-105, 120-123 for evaluations. 25 interfacing along the front edge and through the hymo and wool along the neckline, shoulder, armscye and underarm seam. The center front and buttonhole lines were machine- basted through to the wool at this time (see plate 2) (a) Method 5. The first step was padding the lapel area. Starting on a line one-fourth inch from the breakline (on the lapel side), the lapel was filled with padding stitches three-eighths inch long. As the lapel was padded, it was shaped over the hand, so that it took on a definite roll (see plate 8). The second step was taping the breakline. A one-fourth inch cotton edge tape was pinned to the hymo so that one edge was on the breakline and the other on the armscye side of the breakline. The Jacket front was than.fitted to the author, drawing up some ease from the bust by the tape. After fitting, the edges were seedstitched down and the tape further held by a row of short tailor-basting stitches through the center. The tape was cut long enough to extend beyond the neckline seam so that it might later be attached .to the collar (see plate 8). Taping the front edge was the third step. The hymo interfacing was trimmed off one-sixteenth inch inside the (a)Bishop, 9p, cit., pp. 46-47. 26 seamline, from the lower edge of the Jacket up the front edge and across the top of the lapel to the notch point. Edge tape was pinned in place so that one edge extended Just beyond the seam line and the other covered the raw edge of the hymo. The tape was held slightly taut along the lapel edge to tighten the roll and along the lower corner of the Jacket to insure its fitting close to the figure. The tape was attached by seedstitching its inside edge to the hymo. The other edge was basted to the wool and then stitched from the right side on the stayline- marked seamline (see plates 5 and 8). Method d. ,Padding of the lapel and taping of the ' breakline and front edge were done using procedures which varied from those described in Method 5. First, edge tape was centered over the breakline and held in place with three rows of fine tailorbasting. Although the tape was held someWhat taut, there was no attempt to fit in ease. Extra length was allowed at the neckline end of the tape to be fastened to the collar later (see plates 4 and 8). Next the lapel area was filled in and shaped with large padding stitches. In addition, two rows of padding stitches were placed parallel to the breakline, toward the armscye (see plate 8).(a) The tape for the front edge was cut tho . The front facing was applied with the top collar in a later step. ‘ thhog 2. The facing was pinned to the front, matching edges, and stitched down from the interfacing side. Only the front edge and lower corner were stitched at this time; the edge from the point of the lapel to the notch was not stitched. The seam was pressed open and graded to widths of one-eighth inch and one-fourth inch. In the lapel area the facing seam allowance was the wider; below the lapel the seam allowance of the coat was the wider.(b) method . The facing was held even below the lapel, but eased over the breakline and along the lapel. The ease was placed by first pinning the three layers together along (aéRefer to pp. 69, 105-106, 120-125 for evaluations. (b)Bishop, _p_. cit... p. 48. 33 the breakline. Then the lapel was rolled over the hand with the facing uppermost to allow ease for the roll, and other pins were placed one inch from the seamline along the side and t0p of the lapel. Another row of pins Just inside the seamline allowed a puffing of the facing between these last two rows of pins. After basting, the facing was stitched on through the tape on the interfacing side, where the previous stitching indicated the exact seamline. The seam was then pressed open, edges trimmed to one-eighth inch and the facing turned to the wrong side. After edge basting and pressing, the facing Was turned back and invisibly hemmed to the interfacing, one-half inch from the edge. method 4. The facing was applied after the shoulder and underarm seams were stitched. Before the facing was basted to the Jacket, a new seamline was marked on the facing lapel, one-eighth inch outside the original line. The facing was then attached to the front, matching seamlines. The seam was pressed open, trimmed to three-eighths inch on the facing edge and one-fourth inch on the front edge, then turned to the wrong side and again pressed.(a) Eetgog . The facing used was out one-eighth inch larger through the lapel area. The facing was stitched to (a)He;e's How to Tailor, (1950), HE 18, p. 19 34 the front, matching edges. On Jacket 5a, the seam was pressed open, trimmed to three-sixteenths inch, turned, basted and pressed. 0n 5b the edge was trimmed and turned (without having been pressed Open), basted, and pressed flat. (a) Seams Shoulder and front underarm seams were basted, back seam cf the sleeve basted, and the collar padded (see next step) for the second fitting of Jackets 3 and 4. "Alterations made were duplicated on Jackets 1 and 2. Method l. The hymo was included in the shoulder seam when the seams were stitched. Method . Both hymo and wigan went into the shoulder and front underarm seams. method 3. Only wigan went into the shoulder seam. After thisseam was stitched, the wigan seam allowance was trimmed off close to the stitching. The seam was pressed open; and then the hymo was brought over the seam, permanently basted to the seam allowance, and the edge catchstitched down.to the wigan. Neither wigan nor hymo was included in the underarm seam allowances. Instead they were lapped and catchstitched together at the true underarm. (a)Refer to pp. 70, 107 for evaluations. 35 Method 4. The interfacings did not go into either shoulder or underarm seam. After the shoulder seam was stitched, the hymo and wigan were cut off at the stitching line and catchstitched to it. The edges of the seam allowance were then catchstitched to the interfacings. This seam was taped by fitting edge tape over the seamline and tailor- basting the edges in place. At the underarm seams, the back interfacing was lapped over the pressed open seam and permanently basted to it. The front interfacing was then lapped over the back and held by catchstitching. Method . The interfacings went into all seams. Collar(a) Method 1. The hymo interfacing was placed on the wrong side of the collar and the two layers machine-stitched together along the roll-line. The stand area of the collar was then filled in with rows of machine stitching parallel to this first row. In the next step the neckline seam of the undercollar and Jacket were Joined. The interfacings of both Jacket front and collar were included in this seam, which was pressed open after being stitched. The upper- collar was then Joined to the neckline of the front facing (a)Refer to pp. 70-75, 107-111, 123-124 for evaluations. 56 and the seam pressed Open. The final step was Joining the uppercollar-facing unit to the undercollar-Jacket unit by matching the outer edges and stitching them together along both the collar and facing edges. The seam was finished by pressing open, trimming to one-fourth inch, turning, basting and pressing flat. ggthod 2._ The seamlines of the bias-cut undercollar and the wigan interfacing were staystitched separately, and the grainline marked in a diamond pattern on the wigan. The undercollar and wigan were then staystitched together one- eighth inch inside the seamline along the outer edges and ends and on the seamline at the neckline. They were also stitched together on the grainline pattern marked on the wigan.(a? Pressing to shape the undercollar was the next step. It was folded so that the outer edge matched the neckline edge at center back and this fold continued forward to the notch point at the front of the collar. The collar was pressed on the wigan side, pressing from the outer edge to the fold, training the collar to a curved shape.(b) (a)Edna Bryte Bishop, Interfacing a Collar, ac cal .Hgme Economics, 51:12, April 1955. (b)Bish0p, Clothing Construction Methods, p. 51. 57 The interfacing was then trimmed away close to the staystitching. The undercollar was next stitched to the top collar along the outer edge and the seam pressed open and graded. The ends were not closed at this time. The undercollar and Jacket were Joined at the neckline, including in the seam both the wigan and hymo interfacings. The tOp collar was seamed to the facings and the neckline seams were then pressed open. Finally the seams at the end of the collar and the top of the lapel from point to notch were closed. After the seams were pressed and graded and the facings turned to the wrong side, the neckline seams were permanently basted together from the inside.(a) method 5. Padding of the interfacing to the under- collar was done before the second fitting, so that its fit might_be checked. The canvas was first machine stitched to the undercollar on the roll-line. The stand and fall were then filled in with padding stitches, parallel to the roll- 1ine on the fall, perpendicular to it on the stand. Shaping was accomplished by pressing, stretching the outer and neckline edges and shrinking the roll-line. Before attaching the undercollar to the Jacket, the neckline seam allowance of the canvas was trimmed off at (a)Ibig., p. 52. 58 the seamline and the wool seam allowance (trimmed to one- fourth inch) turned back, pressed, and catchstitched to the canvas. This edge was then felled to the neckline seamline of the Jacket. To finish the inner neckline, the seam edges of wigan and hymo were catchstitched to the canvas. The tape from the lapel breakline was pinned along the breakline of the collar, fitted and the edges seedstitched to it. The neckline seam was heavily pressed to reduce bulk of shoulder seams and darts entering the neckline. To apply the t0p collar, it was first draped over the undercollar, the breakline marked, and then the collar was shaped by pressing to stretch the outer edge and shrink the inner neckline area. The shaped top collar was pinned over the undercollar, matching breaklines, and the neckline seam of the top collar slip-basted to the facing. The outside seamline of the top collar was traced as a line one-eighth inch outside the seamline marked on the under- collar. Finally, the collar was turned wrong side out, the neckline seam stitched and pressed open and then the seamlines at the outer edge matched and stitched. The canvas was trimmed off at the seamline of the undercollar before this seam was stitched. The seam was pressed open, trimmed to one-eighth inch and the collar turned right side 59 out. After pressing the edge, the front neckline seam allowance on the facing was permanently tacked to the interfacing, and the allowance across the back of the neck catchstitched down to the wigan. Method 4., An undercollar of melton was used. The canvas interfacing was permanently basted to the under- collar on the roll-line. The rest of the collar was padded with the stitches placed parallel to the roll-line on the fall and perpendicular to it on the stand.(a) The stitching of the center back seam was slanted out three-sixteenths inch from the roll-line to the outer edge to provide extra length along the outer edge. The undercollar was then pressed, working from the outer edge and neckline toward the roll-line. In the next step, the neckline seam allowance was cut off. The canvas and melton were staystitched together one- eighth inch from this edge and the canvas trimmed off close to the stitching. The melton edge was then felled to the neckline of the Jacket. The wigan across the back neckline was catchstitched in place to the canvas. The tape brought up from the lapel breakline was cut off one—and-one-half- inches beyond the neckline and tailor-basted over the collar (3)6mith, 9p. git" p. 9. 40 breakline. The neckline and gorgeline seam of the facing was then trimmed to one-fourth inch, turned under and basted. On Jackets 1 and 2, the armholes were not taped nor were they shaped in any way. On Jacket 5, shaping of the armhole was done when the interfacings were attached. On Jacket 4, the hymo and wigan interfacings were trimmed off Just inside the armscye seamline. Edge tape was then basted over the raw edge. One edge was catchstitched to the hymo and the other stitched to the wool on the seamline. For Jacket 5a, edge tape was placed two-and-one-half inches below the shoulder seam, extended down three-and-one-half inches, drawing up one-fOurth inch ease. The same spacing was used front and back. Seam ribbon was used to stay the armscye of Jacket 5b. It extended from shoulder seam to front underarm seam on both the front and back sections. It was stitched over the interfacing on the seamline with no attempt made to draw up ease (see plates 5 and 6). (c) Sleeves method 1. The front and back seams of the sleeve were stitched at the same time, easing the upper sleeve at (a)Refer to pp. 78-79 for evaluation. (b) (°)Refer to pp. 76-80, 115-116, 125-126 for evaluations. Smith, 220 Cit. , p. 140 45 the back seam and stretching it slightly at the front seam. These seams were pressed open and the hem then turned up. The raw edge was catchstitched down and then pressed from the wrong side. A row of machine gathering was placed along the seamline of the sleeve cap. The sleeve was next pinned to the Jacket and the gathering thread drawn.up until the sleeve seamline matched that of the Jacket. This seamline was basted, stitched, and pressed to shrink out the full- ness. The seam allowance was not trimmed, but the upper two-and-one-half inches on either side of the shoulder seam was pressed toward the sleeve. The front interfacing of hymo went into the armscye seam. method 2. The back seam of the sleeve was stitched first, easing in the fullness, and the seam pressed open. A row df staystitching was placed along the armscye seamline, lengthening the stitch over the sleeve cap between the notches to serve as a gathering thread there. The gathering thread was drawn up until the sleeve seam matched the Jacket armscye, after which it was pressed to shrink out fullness. At the lower edge the hem allowance was turned back and blocked to shape by pressing. Then a bias strip of wigan two inches wide was fitted inside the hem and stitched to the wool so that it extended one-half inch beyond the hem 46 allowance. The front seam was stitched next (including the wigan through the hem) and pressed open. The wigan was hemmed to the sleeve, using a concealed hemming stitch. The sleeve was then pinned and stitched to the Jacket. The front and back interfacings of the body of the Jacket went into this seam. The upper portion of the seam was pressed as on Jacket 1. Then a one-and-one-half inch wide strip of cotton sheet wedding was tacked over the sleeve side of the armscye seam, across the sleeve cap from notch to notch.(a) Method 5., The front seam was stitched and pressed, the fullness along the back edge of the upper sleeve shrunk out, and the back seam basted before the second fitting. Necessary alterations were made before this seam.was stitched and pressed. The lower edge was then finished using a bias strip of wigan four inches wide. The wigan was placed against the wrong side of the wool, with its lower edge at the turning line of the hem. Working from the right side ' it was tailor-basted to the wool. The ends were lapped and catchstitched to the front and back sleeve seam and the lower edge catchstitched along the turning line of the sleeve. The hem allowance of the wool was turned back (EDEdna Bryte BishOp, Sleeve Construction, Practical Home Economic , 51:16-17, April 1955. 47 against the wigan, catchstitched to it; and the lower edge was pressed from the right side, shrinking out the fullness on the inside of the hem. The armscye seam of the sleeve was prepared by stitch- ing ease threads on the seam line. Front and back ease threads were separate, ending three-fourths inch from the center top point of the sleeve cap. Pinning the sleeve to the armhole at the crossmarks that had been placed on the seamline during the second fitting, the ease was drawn up until the length of the sleeve matched that of the Jacket armscye. The sleeve cap was pressed to shrink out the ease and then pinned and basted to the Jacket. After being stitched, the seam allowance was trimmed to three-eighths inch and the seam pressed into the sleeve across the upper five inches, as in Jacket 1. On this Jacket, the front interfacing of hymo and the felt reinforcement were not stitched into the seam. Instead they were trimmed to less than the wool seam allowance and permanently basted to it. The wigan of the back interfacing was included in the seam. Mbthog 4.; Front and back sleeve seams were handled the same as they were in Method 5. The lower edge was reinforced with a strip of bias wigan three inches wide placed to extend one-fourth inch beyond the fold-line. 48 The wigan was permanently and invisibly basted to the wool at the fold-line and catchstitched down to the seam allowances at the upper edge. The hem allowance was catchstitched to the wigan and then the hem pressed from the wrong side.(a) Three gathering threads were used to draw up the fullness over the sleeve cap. While this ease was being shrunk out, the gathering thread inside the seamline.was removed, to prevent its marking the wool.(b) Before the sleeve was set into the Jacket, it was lined. First the sleeve seams of the lining were stitched and pressed. The lining was then tacked to the sleeve with a permanent basting Joining the seam allowances at the front and back seams. The lining was turned right side out over the sleeve and the lower edge of the lining turned under forming a fold about one inch from the lower edge of the sleeve. The lining was basted down three-eighths inch above this fold, the fold turned back and the lining slipstitched to the sleeve hem. Next the lining was fastened to the sleeve, with a permanent basting along the upper edge of the wigan reinforcement and a temporary basting at the girth line.(°) (a)uau0k’ J0 th-o, p. 800 (b);_b_j_-_q0. p. 700 (“E-Adm pp. 82-84. 49 In the next step, the sleeve was pinned, basted and stitched to the Jacket. The armscye seam of the Jacket had been taped so no interfacings went into the seam. Seam allowances were trimmed to three-eighths inch and the entire armscye seam was pressed toward the sleeve. To do so, it was necessary to first stretch the seam allowance in the lower curve of the armhole and then pin the armscye seam flat to the.sleeve board for pressing.(a> Method 5. .Strips of bias hymo two inches wide were staystitched to the lower edges of the two sleeve sections, so that one edge of the hymo matched the raw edge of the wool and the other edge was along the turning line of the hem. The back seam was then stitched. To hold in the correct amount of ease along the sleeve cap, a strip of bias wigan three-fourths inch wide was used. Notch points were marked on the wigan by placing it against the armscye seam of the Jacket. The crossmarks on the wigan then were matched to the notches on the sleeve cap and the wigan strip was stitched to the sleeve cap, drawing up the amount of ease indicated by the length of the wigan. Pressing was used to shrink out the sleeve fullness held by the bias strip. The front seam of the sleeve was stitched and pressed. (a)Smith, pp. cit., p. 15. 50 Then the hem was turned up and pressed in place from the right side, but not tacked down. In stitching the sleeve to the Jacket, any excess fullness not held by the wigan strip was prodded into place as the sleeve was fed against the feed dog on the sewing machine. The pressing of the sleeve across the shoulder duplicated that done on Jackets 1 and 5. Shoulder Pads(a) Commercially-made shoulder pads were shaped to the author and then tacked to the Jackets in various ways. On Jacket 1 the pad was tacked down at the corners only. The pad for Jacket 2 was permanently basted to the shoulder and armscye seam allowances and the edges loosely catch- stitched to the Jacket interfacings. On Jacket 5 the shoulder pad was attached by stabstitching through the shoulder and armscye seams and the edges were also loosely tacked to the interfacings. Swing tacks fastened the corners of the shoulder pad to Jacket 4. The shoulder pad in Jacket 5 was tacked in three places to the armscye seam and once to the shoulder seam about one-and-one-half inches from the neck edge of the pad. (a)Refer to pp. 116, 126 for evaluations. 51 Lining(a) For all Jackets, the lengthwise seams and the sleeve seams of the lining were first stitched and pressed open. Additional stitching was done on the linings of some Jackets: For Jacket 1 all darts and the shoulder seam were stitched; for Jacket 2, the waistline dart was stitched; and for Jacket 5 all darts, plus shoulder and armscye seams were stitched. Where the darts were not stitched in, they were basted. The center back pleat was also basted and pressed flat. Method 1. The lining was placed in the Jacket, matching center backs and pinning the two together at the armscye seams. The underarm seam allowances were then loosely basted together. The front edge of the lining was hemmed down over the raw edge of the front facing as was the back neckline to the neckline of the Jacket. The lower edge of the lining was then hemmed to the Jacket hem, turning under five-eighths inch and hemming this edge one-and-one-fourth inches from the lower edge of the Jacket. The sleeve lining was next placed right side out over the Jacket sleeve which had been pulled wrong side out. The lower edge was hemmed down to the sleeve hem. The armhole seam allowance of the (a)Refer to pp. 80-82, 116-119 for evaluations. 52 sleeve lining was turned under and hemmed against the armscye seam of the Jacket lining. Method 2. The sleeve lining was attached first. With the lining and sleeve wrong side out, the seam allowances were permanently basted together. The lining was then turned right side out over the sleeve and the armscye seam allowance of the lining permanently basted to the armscye seam of the Jacket. After this basting the seam allowances of lining, wool, and interfacings were trimmed to one-fourth inch, from notch to notch at the underarm. One-fourth inch on the lower edge of the sleeve lining was turned under next and hemmed to the machine-stitching on the wool hem. In attaching the lining to the body of the Jacket, the first step was machine-basting the front edge to the free edge of the front facing in a plain seam, pressed toward the lining. The vertical seam allowances were then permanently basted together. (In.making a full Jacket, the procedure would be to continue around the Jacket, tacking seam allowances together. The other front edge of the lining would then have to be hemmed to the facing by hand.) The front shoulder seam allowance was basted in place over the shoulder pad. The seam allowance of the back at the neckline and across the shoulder was turned under and hemmed to the 55 neckline of the Jacket and the front shoulder seam. The lining was then brought up over the armhole end of the shoulder pad; one-fourth inch of the seam allowance was turned under and hemmed to the seam allowance of the sleeve lining. One-fourth inch at the lower edge of the Jacket lining was turned under and hemmed to the machine stitching Joining the wigan reinforcement to the wool hem. The final step was catchstitching the front shoulder dart and center back pleat at waistline and below neckline.::-ing, and three of them had taught courses in tailor- ing. The Jackets were first modeled by the author so that the f it might be Judged. The Judges were then asked to examine the Jackets more closely to rate the appearance 0f construction details. To make the Judging 35 013390131“? as pc>Ssible, the criteria for scoring were listed; and the 84 members of the panel requested to rate each point using the following rating scale: 1 -- not acceptable 2 -- below standard 5 -- average, acceptable 4 -- above average quality 5 -- perfection Appendix III contains the instruction sheet for the JUdges and the sheets listing the criteria for Judging the Jackets. The average rating for each Jacket on each of the Judging points for fit is shown in Table I. Plate 9 shows the I‘atings in graph form. The average rating for each 39.01591: on each of the Judging points for construction details is shown in Table 11. Plate 10 shows these ratings in graph form. As the charts show, the half-Jacket made by Method 1 was <2 consistently rated lower than the others, while the half‘ Jackets for which Methods 5 and 5 were used were consistently high. In general, the low rating of Jacket 1' WElich was made by pattern directions, may be accounted for by the fact that no true tailoring procedures were used On it. Jacket 5 was constructed by custom tailoring methOds and as such, would be expected to rate high. TABLE I RATINGS: FIT Jacket 1 2 5 4 5a 5b 1. Collar: a. fit 3.4.“) 3.9“” 4.2“” 5.8”) 4.2“?) b. covers neckline seam 2.8 2.8 4.8 4.6 5.0 2. Lapel: a. fits close to chest 5.7 5.7 4.1 5.6 4.7 b. firm, rolled; flat 5.6 4.1 4.5 5.6 4.6 corners 5. Shoulders: a. fit, straightness 5.5 5.9 4.0 5.9 4.1 (c) b. no excess fullness 5.1 5.9 4.1 5.5 4.2 5.4 g 4. Back shoulder: 5 a. smooth 4.0 5.9 4.1 4.2 4.8 ' b.umwnmhm 5A5 2%8 Ii9 4J. .44 c. interfacing not apparent 4.6 4.6 4.6 4.6 4.8 5. Bust area 2.5 4.1 4.5 5.5 4.4 4.2 6. Underarm area: a. front 2.5 5.7 4.1 5.5 5.9 4.2 b. back 2.6 5.5 5.6 5.1 5.7 70 WEIiStlil’le 5.2 3.8 308 5.1 4.2 8. Front Opening: (n 5 a. straight 5.5 5.8 4.2 4.0 5.9 48(9) m ‘f b. lower corners 4.1 5.2 4.1 4.1 4.1 4.7(9) ’ 9. Lower edge of Jacket 5.7 5.5 4.2 5.6 4 9(9) ' 10. Sleeves: a. hang 2.7 2.7 4.1 5.2 4.6 k b. sleeve cap 2.8 4.0 4.1 5.8 4.5 0. lower edge 5.8 4.1 4.6 4.0 4.9 11. Lining, interlining 4.4 4.5 4.5 4.6 4.7 aRatings for Jackets 1, 2, 5, 4 are the average of 14 ratings. bRatings for Jacket 5a are the average of 9 ratings. CRatings for Jacket 5b are the average of 7 ratings. dAverage of 6 ratings. 8Average of 8 ratings. 3. RaTL-IGS: FIT Collar: 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 a. fit _._1 _ _ i - . - _._' _ _l /( \3. ,1 // .)' 7 1 '/ l \ ‘ ,/ x r b. covers neckline seam me X. _ _.-,_--_-_.__ -_ -t‘~-\ ' "'x /" 7 Lapel: \ x ‘ fi/ a. fits close to chest _ _ 3,,“ \,»‘ rig“ : "i. b. rim, rolled; flat 1-111,--1.-. _7_ 2-. VJ. corners ; ' ' .~ "' Shoulders: ? : - a. fit, straightness m 1 _ - _ _ 3/3,: _ 4-, I ‘ .‘3 x ,1 x ' 3 y "“ b. no excess fullness 1 /_ {a l x... __ ~\ ‘ )- i ‘ Back shoulder: \x . : ) x A a. smooth m ,- 1.»; ~. I ‘ I" "’0, t '- ,/’ I, I; b. unwrinkled ___ 1 _ _ / [ r ( 252., ~ I \‘K‘; . c. interfacing not '1 _, 3 ‘3 apparent . ’4‘ {a I, I ,/ ’ x /I‘ .I‘ 1 , /’ X K h: l/ of // Bust area ’/ " ' ’ ’ ' Plate 9, 6. Underarm area: a. front b. back 7. Waistline 8. Front Opening: a. straight b. lower corners 9. Lower edge of Jacket .10. Sleeves: a. hang b. sleeve cap 0. lower edge 11. Lining, interlining £21 ~4.-11 Jacket 1 ~4 _._ Jacket 2 silo__ Jacket 3 +4 H. Jacket 4 «.4. Jacket 5a $5 Jacket 5b ”7 (_.J continued 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 . i I ',__ x ,. . A r H l i . V l I /' f i . fl 1 . .,. , // r... ___? ,_. ‘1‘:--.-- -_ J . X' .4"; 3 \ T \ -‘ I . v \ ~ I “ \ k ; \\' VI ; \+ x‘ I . ___... .m- - ..I;\ . ‘1? \) I ’1 l‘ { I ' x if . . I a , I x 5 I I 1 .x ‘ - 41—4—4“ "wt;- - 7 s... / . I /\ 4 It ~~ «- ~ ( ~ I . a w a V I ,., . \ 5' ‘ )- -" \ V -/,:'/ - ‘0 -_ l ,/ / 4V ; / ’/ ’ , I 7 K ,C / r " -” ”us- - -1 .- 1 0 .\ / .I' I I \ _\ i-TH . ‘ ‘4. f F \ \\‘ 0. 4.4- "_; -*_\t ’ u f 't i i \\ i \ I. __i-_l,li_ _. -__ i \ 3 l . . _ i ".\ ’ . .p l \ x ’ ‘ .\ 'w'3 it L t \ HQ 1’ l _ l . . -, 2:0 3.0 410 5:0 TABLE II RATINGS: CONSTRUCTION DETAILS _._—— I Jacket 1 1-12. 5 4 5a 5b 1. Seams 4.2(a> 4.1(a) 4.1(a) 4.5(a) 4.4(b) 2. Darts: w a. front shoulder 5.1 4.2 4.0 0.6 4.1 b. back shoulder 5.5 5.9 5.9 4.2 4.1 c. underarm 5.1 4.2 4.2 5.7 4.0 d. waistline 5.1 4.0 4.2 5.5 5.9 5. Front edge: (c\ a. straight 5.4 5.2 5.8 5.5 5.9 4.4 1 b. flct ed e drawn under 2.9 2.5 4.2 5.6 4.0 4.5 c. wiIl’holg edge 2.8(d) 2.5(d) 4.0(d) 5.6(d) 5.6(03 4.1(89 4. Buttonholes 2.1 5.5 5.1 2.4 4.1 5. Lapel: h a. firmness, roll 2.8 5.1 4.0 4.0 5.9 b. gorgeline seam 2.5 5.6 5.8 5.6 5.9 ‘ 0. front edge 2.8 5.2 4.5 5.5 44.1 6. Collar: a. shaping 2.9 2.7 5.9 5.8 4.1 b. conSpicuousness of padding 2.9 2.6 4.0 5.9 4.4 c. outer edge 2.2 5.1 4.0 4.1 4.2 d. inside of neckline 5.5 2.8 5.8 5.2 4.2 e. firmness 5.6 5.5 4.5 5.9 4.2 f. roll-line at gorgeline 2.5 5.6 4.1 5.7 4.1 7. Front interfacing 2.707) 5.5“) 5.8 5.6 5.9 4.4“” 83 8. Lower edge: a. firmness 5.4 5.1 4.1 5.7 4.2 b. upper edge 5.6 5.4 4.5 5.1 4.5 p c. inside surface 5.2 5.5 5.6 5.1 4.1 ' 9. Armhole 2.7 5.5 5.8 5.9 4.1 10. Sleeve hem: a. firmness 5.5 5.5 4.5 5.8 4.4 b. upper edge 5.8 4.0 4.4 4.1 4.5 0. inside surface 5.9 4.0 4.2 5.4 4.0 aRatings for Jackets 1, 2, 5, 4 are the average of 14 ratings. bRatings for Jacket 5a are the average of 9 ratings. CRatings for Jacket 5b are the average of 8 ratings. dAverage of 15 ratings. eAverage of 7 ratings. fAverage of 12 ratings. 1. 4. RATING § 8 Seams Darts: a. b. C. (1. front shoulder back shoulder underarm waistline Front edge: a. straight b. flat, edge drawn under C. will hold edge Buttonholes Lapel : a. firmness, roll b. gorgeline seam c . front edge I I I I Plat 0, continued 6. Collar: . 2.0 3 0 4.0 5,0 a. shaping , I - - .----.-..' . : I I It; \\ I +I! \ I ‘ 1'? \ b. conspicuousness of I, I -_-- ._I\_-_ - padding l./ is / , / x is / c. outer edge <---\.-7- - - - )IiI _._ _._- I \\ \ / X 4, I I \//‘ X XX 11 ; d. inside of neckline L- ,_____ 4 5,4“ , ___; I g I ‘\ x I I \x, if x _I\ e. firmness . kiln-w.- -....-- . , /"‘ ‘r I 3" , /” I “ / f / I + h f. roll-line at gorgeline r i/’ I). / 735"“— ‘ _ I \ / sf; ‘1‘}? I , / + r/ 7. ant interfacing ‘-_.-_-.L_-_.--_-,-.,)¢_/_--j< a I \ / I f. ‘. 8. Lower edge: . \ I k \\ 3 ‘ \ \. , z ‘1' I. a. firmness L- 4\_l.t.-...._.\L---. g _, . I K x \I i \ \‘< "I . x ~ ‘\ . x‘ \ I > b. upper edge ;-.-.- .x. -\.- -.. ------..-.;.--..---- I + I I "./ + II/ / 7 . «L I» ‘/ ‘9 c. inside surface :.--_-__ --__---___- i.- a” l I ’ '7 O . / S \ I . \ X ‘ e 9- Armhole -/ I is, .1 - -.__ . ‘ I 3r 10. Sleeve hem: . \ I fix. . I _'_ 00" a. firmness __"me\_l_m_éwm_g‘ r g __ \ \ )r .3 I, I \‘ . x ‘3 k ._ . b. upper edge I - - -- ..-_.\. 5 II I ‘ /x’ I I. I a I x I /o/ . I . c. inside surface Lil-W.-- ,»y I {1. . 2I . 3L0 4IO bIO Ks sea _ _._ Jacket 1 a _ Jac et 3 .-._----Jacket 5a - Jacket 2 I. _, .. Jacket 4 52 Jacket 5b 91 The procedures used on Jacket 5 were in many instances similar to those used on Jacket 2, which was generally rated much lower.. However, in considering the high rating on Jacket 5, two factors which might have contributed to this result should be acknowledged: Jacket 5 was made last and thus received a minimum of handling. The resulting good appearance emphasizes the advantage of light, quick handling. Also this Jacket benefited by the skills acquired in constructing the other Jackets. Note: Members of the panel noticed that the author's right shoulder was somewhat lower than the left. This I would affect the fit of the right-half Jackets (1, 4, 5a) on the following points: Sheet I, Fit: 5b. No wrinkles or excess fullness in front of shoulder seam. 5. -Bust area unwrinkled, smoothly rounded with no hollow areas near armhole. 6a. Smooth, unwrinkled front underarm area. 6b. Smooth, unwrinkled back underarm area. 10a. Sleeve hangs smoothly from armhole to wrist, with no deep folds or wrinkles. Jackets 1 and 4 rank low on these points, but the general superiority of Jacket 4 to Jacket 1 is shown by the fact that it ranked higher on the points listed. The ratings of the Jackets were used to indicate the value of the different procedures which made up the five methods. Since the custom tailoring method (5) in general 92 required the most skill, as well as time, for construction, the purposes of the procedures used were examined. Then by checking against the ratings, it was determined whether the results were consistent with the techniques used. A com- parison with other methods was also made in this way. In some instances, the value of a certain procedure was indicated by its rating on several points. In other cases, more than one procedure affected the rating on a specific point. In this event, all procedures concerned were noted. In examining the ratings, it should be kept in mind that careful handling and pressing during construction could result in an initially good appearance, but that defects might ShOW'up as the Jacket was worn and dry cleaned and pressed. The Jackets made for this study were not wear-tested. They were given a series of five dry cleanings and pressings. Changes which occurred during these treat- ments are recorded and discussed in the next section: Results of Dry Cleaning and Pressing (see pp. 119-129). Cutting and marking.(a) Wide seam allowances were provided as a safety measure for alterations on Jackets 5 and 4. Since the pattern had been carefully fitted, (a?Refer to pp. 10-15 for procedures. Jacket 4 Jackets Side View front . '1” n tr .- - _ “Ln” -J ls.- lint-l3 15 .‘ -« r l ‘ ' 1 a... .4 1' a. {-1. — U Vi 81‘! ”If r-rw ’: rims-Lilla lu Jacket 3 oi t: 9 VI (317 '- l7 ELITE-J 18 l instill; Jacket 5a oacke Side View -.~ . TV .7» J— C -- UCLCsuG ‘1 L10 .“l: ,7 T _' , , 04%8 View" .- 'I ..‘ .4 ' ' I .., LLJ;L-L._J .Lu 96 the alterations made after cutting were minor. However, if figure problems made exact fitting difficult or if little pattern fitting had been done, extra seam allowances might be very important. The seam allowances were later trimmed, which was an additional step but not obJectionable since it was quickly and easily done. On Jacket 5 alterations would be limited to the front underarm seams which have five-eighths inch seam allowances since the other allowances were only three-eighths inch. Staylining of the carbon-marked seamlines was a pro- cedure used on Jacket 5 to insure accuracy in the placement of seamlines. Accuracy would be indicated by the overall fit of the Jacket, but no Specific points of the rating could be used as a check on this technique. Igggtg Ia) On Jacket 5, the waistline darts were cut and pressed Open to assure flatness. Other darts were pressed in one direction, but the folded edges were slit to achieve a flat line in pressing. The rating on Sheet II (Construction Details), points 2a, b, c, d: darts, should reflect the effectiveness of these techniques. The waist- line darts of Jacket 5 were rated highest in appearance while those of Jacket 2, which were also pressed Open, (a)Refer to p. 14 for procedures. 97 were second highest. Jacket 5 did not rank so high in the appearance of front shoulder and back shoulder darts. The front shoulder and underarm darts in Jacket 2, which were pressed open, rated highest, indicating that this may be the best means of achieving flat-appearing darts. The front shoulder and underarm darts of Jacket 5 rated higher than those of Jackets l and 2, which had not been slit. Integfacing§.(a) On Jacket 5 the hymo used for the front interfacing was cut so that it extended about three inches below the armscye to the underarm. In addition, felt was used to support the shape of the armscye, chest and bust areas. The interfacings thus used might have affected the ratings on the following points: Sheet I, Fit: 5b. fullness in front of the shoulder seam 5. fit of the bust area 6a. fit of front underarm area. On all of these points, Jacket 5 rated high. In contrast was Jacket 1, which was given a low rating on these points. This might be explained by the shape of its interfacing, which did not extend to the underarm and the absence of the felt reinforcement. The value of the felt interfacing was indicated by the fact that Jacket 5 ranked higher than 2 and 4, even though the cut of the (a)Refer to pp. 15-24 for procedures. 98 interfacings was similar on all three Jackets. (See also, Hgtg, page 91.) A hymo reinforcement was used in method 5b, and the Jacket made by this method rated high on points 5 and 6a. The collar interfacing of Jacket 5 was tailors' canvas. The collar interfacing used might affect the rating on the following point: Sheet II, Construction Details: 6e. firmness of the collar. This rating shows that Jacket 2, which had a wigan inter- facing, and l, which had a hymo interfacing, rated lower than 5 and 4, which had interfacings of tailors' canvas, and 5, which had a hymo interfacing. This would seem to indicate the superiority Of the canvas to wigan, whereas other factors may account for the discrepancy in the ratings of the hymo-interfaced collars, l and 5. The methods used to construct the darts in the inter- facings were designed to make the darts as flat as possible and thereby reduce bulk under the wool darts. No comparison of the effectiveness of the methods is shown in the ratings. In attaching the interfacings to the front of Jacket 5, the wool was eased over the interfacing through the bust and chest. This area was further shaped by the dart cut out of the felt and hymo and the ease taken up in the 99 wool as it was basted to the interfacing along the armscye. Points on which the rating might have been affected by these procedures were the same as those affected by the cut of the interfacings. As noted above, Jacket 5 rated high on all three points. The Jackets which had lower ratings not only did not have the felt reinforcement but were not shaped to the wool as carefully. On Jackets 1 and 2, the edges and notches of the interfacing and wool were merely matched, with no attempt made to shape them. (See also, EQLQ, page 91.) The high rank of Jacket 5a on the fit of bust and underarm areas (deSpite the fact that fit of this Jacket would be affected by the lower right shoulder) might further be explained by the taping of the armscye for the purpose of drawing in ease. In addition, the effectiveness of the shaping of the front interfacings was rated as point 7, Sheet II, (Construction Details). This rating confirmed the above statements. Also, while attaching the interfacing to Jacket 5,. care was taken to keep the center front very straight. This would affect the rating of the Jacket on these points: Sheet I, Fit: 8a. straight edge at front opening Sheet II, Construction Details 5a. straight, firm and smooth front edge The high rating of Jacket 5 on these points appears to indicate that the process was worthwhile. 100 In attaching the back interfacing, the wigan used on Jacket 5 was eased to the wool, drawing up ease at the lower armscye in the process. The appearance of the back shoulder area was rated on these points: Sheet I, Fit: 4a. smooth appearance, allows room for movement 4b. unwrinkled, no hollows near armscye 4c. edges of interfacing not apparent. The rating of Jacket 5 on the first two points was slightly lower than that for Jacket 4, for which the wigan was cut on the bias. The true worth of this method would probably be more apparent in wear, since the reason for the bias cut is to give greater flexibility for movement across the back. This is also the reason why the darts in the wigan are not stitched closed in Method 2. Jacket 1 had no back inter- facing. Again, this lack of interfacing which might permit stretching of the back would not be apparent until after the Jacket was worn. All Jackets were rated high on the third point. Fggnt edges and lapels.$a? The lapel of Jacket 5 was filled with closely-spaced padding stitches, the interfacing being eased to the lapel in the process to give it a definite roll. This technique was Judged by the following criteria: Sheet I, Fit: 2b. firm rolled appearance of lapel; lies flat with no tendency for corners to curl up (3)Refer to pp. 24-28 for procedures. 101 Sheet II, Construction Details: 5a. firmness and quality of roll. Jacket 5 was rated high on both points. It was expected that Jacket 4, which also had a padded lapel (although larger stitches were used), would rank fairly high. Instead, it ranked as low as Method 1 on the first point although on the second point it was rated the same as Method 5. Another process used on Jacket 5 was taping of the breakline of the lapel. In doing so, the Jacket was fitted so that a desirable amount of fullness could be eased under and drawn up by the tape. It might be noted that this procedure would be particularly effective for a full-busted figure, in holding the breakline close to the chest. The effectiveness of the process might be indicated by the rating on these points: Sheet 1, Fit: 23. lapel holds close to chest along breakline 5. fit of bust area The rating of Jacket 5 on these points was high. The breakline of Jacket 4 was also taped, although the tape was not fitted in place. Evidently this taping was not as effective as that on Jacket 5, since Jacket 4 ranked low on both of the above points. It might prevent this bias line from being stretched in wear, but obviously this 102 could not be shown by the ratings. On Jacket 5a the front interfacing was placed with the breakline on the straight grain for this same purpose. In finishing the front edge of Jacket 5 before the facing was attached, the hymo was trimmed off inside the seamline. Edge tape was fitted on since it would add less bulk than the hymo to the seam. Also, the edge of the lapel was drawn slightly tight to help pull the seam under at that point and to help prevent the lapel point from.curling up. The tape was carefully fitted to maintain the straight- ness of the center front.~ Whether these procedures were effective was Judged by the ratings on the following points: Sheet I, Fit: 2b. lapel firm; lies flat with no tendency for corner to curl up Be. front edge straight and close to body Sheet II, Construction Details: 5a. front edge straight, firm and smooth 5b. edge flat, without bulk; seamline even on edge or slightly drawn under 5c. thin front edge on lapel, seam held to under side. Jacket 5 rated high on all points. Comparing Method 5 to the others, the following points were noted: The .front edge of Jacket 4 was taped, but there was no fitting of the tape and more tape went into the seam. On all of the above points, this Jacket was rated below 5, but above Jackets 1 and 2 (with the exception of point 2b where Jacket 2 rated higher). A cotton bias strip was used in 105 place of edge tape on Jacket 2 to reduce bulk. It was rated very low on point 5b, but this rating was probably affected by the seaming of the front facing, which will be noted later. It was rather low on the other points, although superior to Jacket 1 on points 2b, 8a and 5c. On the latter Jacket, there was no special treatment of the front edge, the hymo going into the seam. Seam ribbon 'was used to tape the front edge of Jacket 5a; and on Jacket 5b, the hymo was trimmed off and catchstitched to the seam- line. The resulting thin front seam is reflected in the high ratings of these Jackets on points 5b and 5c. Taping may also serve the purpose of reinforcing the front edge to prevent its stretching, but the ratings do not indicate the comparative effectiveness of the tapes used. Front facing.(a) When the front facing was attached to Jacket 5, the facing was rolled to give ease over the breakline and puffed over the lapel to give ease which would permit the seam being drawn to the under side. (As noted above, the edge tape was drawn tight along this Seam- line for the same purpose.) Again, the straightness of the front edge was carefully checked. The facing was held (3)3efer to pp. 52-54 for procedures. 104 rather tight at the lower corner to hold the Jacket close to the body and to prevent the seam from rolling to the right side. The seam was trimmed to one-eighth inch to reduce bulk. After the seam had been turned and pressed, the facing was caught to the interfacing with a concealed hemming stitch to keep the seam pulled slightly to the ‘under side. The following points were checked to Judge the effective- ness of these steps: Sheet I, Fit: 8a. front edge straight, close to body 8b. lower corners flat without curling outward or under Sheet II, Construction Details: 5a. front edge straight, firm, smooth 5b. front edge flat, without bulk; seamline even on edge or slightly drawn under 5c. seamline apparently would remain even or slightly drawn under 5c. front edge of lapel thin, seam held to under side As may be noted, the above points, except 8b and 5c, ‘were also checked in Judging the effectiveness of the ,procedures used on.the front edge of the interfacing. On.point 8b, Jackets 1, 5, 4, and 5a were all rated the same. Jacket 2 was rated definitely lower. On this Jacket, edges of the facing and Jacket were matched for stitching the front seam, and possibly the facing was somewhat larger theui'the Jacket at the lower corner. The high rating of 105 Jacket 5 on point 5c was expected since it was the only Jacket on which any method of holding the seam in place was used. 0n Jacket 5b, the hymo interfacing was cut with the true bias at the center front, so that it would give with the wool in pressing, and not cause the wool to ripple at the edge seam. This procedure would probably account, in ‘part at least, for the high rating of this Jacket on points 8a, 5a, 5b. However, since it was held to the edge seam by catchstitching, it would not reinforce this edge against stretching. On Jacket 4, extra ease was allowed over the lapel by marking a new seamline on the facing lapel, and on Jacket 5 by cutting the facing larger at the lapel. For this reason, the rank of these Jackets over l and 2, where edges 'were matched, was expected on point 5c. The seam allowances of Jackets 2 and 4 were graded to remove bulk from the seam and prevent press marks. On Jackets 1 and 5 the seams were trimmed but not graded; and 'the seam allowance of Jacket 1 also included the hymo .interfacing. On all Jackets but 5b the seam.was pressed Open before being trimmed and turned. The effectiveness of these procedures would have been better demonstrated ;tf point 5b had been.divided so that the flatness of the 106 seam and its placement had been Judged separately. As it is, Jacket 2 was rated lower than 1, probably because the seam was more visible from the right side, although the seam of Jacket I appeared definitely more bulky to the author. Bgttonhole§.(a) The appearance of the buttonholes was rated under point 7, Sheet II. Construction of button- holes on the basket-weave suit fabric proved to be very difficult. The material showed a tendency to revel easily when cut on the grain or trimmed close to the stitching. The problem was magnified by the strain on the buttonholes as the buttons were pulled through. The buttonholes which ranked highest were those made by the two-strip method (Jacket 5). The wider seam allowance on both edges of the strips apparently prevented these buttonholes from pulling out. Buttonholes made by Methods 2 and 5 were next highest. Tucked strips, applied from the right side, were used on these Jackets. Buttonholes on.Jacket 4, on which the stitching was done from the interfacing side, were rated very low. The patch-method ‘buttonholes of Jacket 1 were rated lowest. (a)Refer to pp. 28-52 for procedures. 107 ‘§§§m§.(a) On Jacket 5, the back interfacing of wigan went into the shoulder seam, but the hymo which interfaced the front was lapped over the seam and the edge tacked to the wigan. Neither interfacing was included in the front and back underarm seams. Instead, the hymo and wigan were lapped and catchstitched together at the underarm. Appearance of seams was ranked under point 1 on Sheet II. Jackets 2 and 5 were rated low on this point, but since all ratings were high, this low rating of Jacket 5 may not be significant. However, Jacket 4, on which neither wigan nor hymo went into any seam rated the highest. Qollar.(b) The interfacing of tailors' canvas was attached to the undercollar of Jacket 5 by a machine stitch to mark and stay the breakline and by hand-padding stitches to impart a roll to the fall. Then the under- collar was pressed to stretch the outer and neckline edges 'while shrinking the breakline. The purpose of this procedure was to make the breakline hug the neck, give an easy fit to the neckline so that it would be comfortable over a blouse, and provide enough length at the outer edge for a smooth fit over the shoulder. The seam allowance at (a)Refer to pp. 54-55 for procedures. (b)Refer to pp. 55-41 for procedures. 108 the neckline of the interfacing was cut off, the wool edge turned back and then the neckline felled to the coat to give a flat seam while retaining the shape imparted by pressing. The tape from the lapel breakline was then fitted and seed- stitched along the collar breakline to further reinforce it. The effectiveness of these procedures might be Judged by the ratings of Jacket 5 on the following points: Sheet I, Fit: la. collar sets up smooth and close to the back and sides of neck lb. collar covers neckline seam in back Sheet II, Construction Details: 6a. shaping of undercollar by padding, pressing 6b. conSpicuousness of stitches used to shape the undercollar 6e. general firmness, ability to return to shape when corner is bent back sharply Jacket 5 was ranked high on all points. The collar of Jacket 4 was given shape by hand-padding of the undercollar and a wider center back seam. That these steps were effective is indicated by the high ratings on the above points. The tape used to reinforce the break- line of the lapel was continued onto the collar in method 4 as it had been in Method 5. The effectiveness of this step would show up after wear, more than in initial ap- pearance. It might be noted that the holding in of the collar breakline by the tape would be more important for a person with a slender neck held slightly forward. 109 On Jacket 2, wigan was used for the undercollar. These two layers were machine-stitched together in a diamond pattern, some puckering being caused by this stitching. The undercollar was then pressed so that the neckline and outer edges met at center back. As was noted on page 71, it was felt that this pressing was very difficult. These factors seem to account for the low rating of the Jacket on points lb, 6a, 6b, 6e. The high placement of the breakline on Jacket 2 apparently pulled the breakline of Jacket 1 (to which it was attached) above the line which had been marked by machine stitching. This resulted in a very low rating for Jacket 1 as well as Jacket 2 on point lb. The fact that the collar of Jacket 1 had not been shaped by pressing probably affected the ease with which the breakline placement could be moved. The very high ratings of the collar of Jacket 5 on all points cannot be explained by construction, since it was handled by methods similar to Jackets 1 and 2. Thus it would seem that the good appearance had been effected by quick and more deft construction. On Jacket 5, the uppercollar was draped over the undercollar to establish the breakline and then steam- pressed to make it smoother fitting inside the neckline and stretched to provide extra length on the outer edge. 110 The neckline of the uppercollar was slip-basted to the facing and then stitched from the wrong side to give a smooth, even seam. One-eighth inch was added to the seam- line at the outer edge to provide ease which would permit the seam along the edge to be drawn to the under side of the collar. Seam allowances of this seem were trimmed to one-eighth inch, the collar turned and the uppercollar was shrunk at the inside of the neckline to give a smoother fit. The effectiveness of these procedures may be indicated by the ratings on the following points: Sheet II, Construction Details: 5b. smooth, inconspicuous gorgeline seam 6c. flat outer edge, seam held to under side 6d. smoothness inside neckline 6f. smooth unbroken quality of roll-line where it crosses gorgeline On all points Jacket 5 was ranked high. The inclusion of hymo in the outer edge seam of the collar on Jacket 1 was probably one reason for the very low rank of this Jacket on point So. Also, the seam allowance had been trimmed to one-fourth inch but not graded. There was no ease allowance in the uppercollar to permit pulling the edge seam to the under side. This may have been accomplished by pressing, however, since the tOp collar was free at the neckline and could be shifted. Hymo from both the undercollar and front interfacing went . 111 into the neckline seam Joining the undercollar to the coat. Neither this seam nor the one Joining the facing to the uppercollar was trimmed very narrow. Since the seams were not tacked together, they were free to “float”. It appears that these facts may account for the bulky gorgeline and thus, the low rating of Jacket 1 on points 5b and Of. The neckline seam of Jacket 2 also included interfacings, but the seams were trimmed rather narrow and were tacked together, resulting in much higher ratings than Jacket 1. Melton was used for the undercollar Of Jacket 4, the purpose being to reduce bulk at seamlines by completely eliminating seam allowances. The effectiveness of using the melton is reflected in the high rating of Jacket 4 on point 6c. Lowe; edge of Jacket.(a) To provide a reinforcement which would prevent stretching of the lower edge of the Jacket as well as give it firmness, a strip of bias wigan was fitted against the lower edge of Jacket 5. It was catchstitched in place at the turning edge of the wool to hold it in place through subsequent pressings. An ease thread was placed one-fourth inch from the raw edge of the hem allowance, drawn up to fit the Jacket, and the (a)Refer to pp. 41-45 for procedures. 112 ease then shrunk out by pressing. The wigan and wool hem allowances were stitched together and the wigan then tacked at the seams. The ratings which would indicate the effectiveness of these procedures are: Sheet I, Fit: 9. lower edge of Jacket firm smooth along turned edge; lies flat; upper edge of ham allowance invisible Sheet II, Construction Details: 8a. firmness of turned edge and hem allowance 8b. inconSpicuous upper edge 8c. smooth unwrinkled hem allowance inside Jacket Ratings of Jacket 5 were high on all of these points. Bias wigan was also used in Jacket 2. The procedure used differed in that the hem allowance was shrunk first and then the wigan blocked to match the hem allowance, before being placed under it. Apparently the procedure was not successful in avoiding stretching during pressing, since Jacket 2 was rated lowest of the Jackets on points 9 and 8a and next to the lowest on 8b. In Method 1, no reinforcement was used for the hem allowance, the upper edge being merely catchstitched in place and then shrunk. The fairly low rating of Jacket 1 on all points indicates that this was not a satisfactory method. The hem of Jacket 4 was also catchstitched at the upper edge, but edge tape was attached at the turning 115 edge, as a reinforcement. Judging by the relatively low ratings of this Jacket on the above points, this method was not very successful. Cotton flannelette, cut on the bias, was used to reinforce the hem of Jacket 5. The fullness of the wool hem allowance was eased to the flannelette and then shrunk out. High ratings on the above points indicates that the flannelette may be a good choice for a reinforcement. §1§§33§,(a) For Jacket 5, the front sleeve seam was stitched and the ease shrunk out of the back seam before that seam was basted for the second Jacket fitting. This fitting permitted alterations to be made on the back seam. After the back seam was stitched, the lower edge of the sleeve was reinforced with wigan. A bias strip four inches wide was used, and it was basted in place from the right side to keep it slightly smaller than the wool and to permit drawing in of the lower edge. The wigan was held by catchstitching it to the turning edge and the front seam (where the raw edges were lapped). The upper edge was also tacked to the back seam. The hem allowance was turned back against the wigan and pressed from the right (a)Refer to pp. 44-50 for procedures. 114 side to keep it from being made fuller than the right side. The upper edge was then catchstitched to the wool. Criteria for Judging the sleeve hem were as follows: Sheet I, Fit: lOc. lower edge of sleeve firm along turned edge; upper edge of hem allowance invisible Sheet II, Construction Details: 10a. firmness of turned edge and of sleeve hem allowance 10b. inconspicuous upper edge of hem 10c. smooth unwrinkled hem allowance inside sleeve Jacket 5 was high on all points. There was no reinforcement at the lower edge of the sleeve in Jacket 1, wigan two inches wide in Jacket 2, wigan three inches wide in 4, and hymo in 5. Jacket 1 was rated lowest on points 10c (Sheet I), 10a and 10b (Sheet II) whereas Jackets 2 and 4 both ranked below 5 and-5. This would seem to indicate that some interfacing is necessary and that hymo or a wide strip of wigan (carefully shaped) will give the best finish. Jackets 1 and 4, on which the hem allowance had been pressed from the wrong side, ranked lowest on point 10c (Sheet II). On Jacket 5, fullness was shrunk out of the sleeve cap by drawing up ease threads until the seamline matched that of the wool and then pressing to shrink out fullness. In basting the sleeve to the Jacket, several crossmarks which had been placed during the second fitting were matched to correctly place the fullness. The seam was stitched from 115 the Jacket side to give an evenly curved seamline. The hymo and felt of the front interfacing did not go into the seam but were graded and tacked to the finished seam allowance. The seam was pressed with no direction and then the upper two-and-one-half inches on either side of the shoulder seam was pressed toward the sleeve. The sleeve was Judged by the following points: Sheet I, Fit: 10a. sleeve hangs smoothly from armhole to wrist, no deep folds or wrinkles 10b. armhole seamline smooth, without wavering, and with no evidence of fullness on sleeve Sheet II, ggfistruction Details: 9. smoothness of seamline and seam allowance over sleeve cap On all points, Jacket 5 was high. Jacket 1 ranked low on point 10a, which might have been caused in part by the lower right shoulder. It was rated-lower than Jacket 4, however, for which there was the same figure problem. Thus, the fact that little effort was taken to fit or place ease (other than by the notches) was probably largely reaponsible for the low rating. The low rating of Jacket 2 on this point could probably be traced to the fact that the sleeve was not basted, but merely pinned, for stitching. Ease on the sleeve cap of Jacket 1 was not shrunk out until after the sleeve had been stitched to the Jacket, which probably accounts for its low rating on point 10b. 116 The high rating of Jacket 2 on this point was expected, since sheet wedding and the lining seam allowance had been tacked to the seamline to pad out any fullness. Wigan was used to hold in the ease of Jacket 5 and it, too, added some padding to the seam over the sleeve cap. Unlike the other Jackets, the entire armscye seam of Jacket 4 was pressed into the sleeve. No difference in the appearance, which could be Judged by the ratings, resulted from the procedure. Shoglder pads. the shoulder and armscye seams of Jacket 5. This procedure (a) Shoulder pads were stabstitched to is intended not only to hold the pads securely, but also to keep the armscye seam a smooth, even line. Ratings of the armhole seam (10b, Sheet I, and 9, Sheet II) primarily reflect the methods used to Join the sleeve to the Jacket. As noted above, Jacket 5 rated high on these points. Whether the placement of the shoulder pad would help to retain this appearance would not be apparent until after the Jacket was worn. Linigg.(b) The lining for Jacket 5 was prepared by stitching and presSing the lengthwise seams of the body (a)Refer to p. 50 for procedures. (b)Refer to pp. 51-55 for procedures. 117 and sleeve sections. Darts were basted, but not stitched so that they might later be altered, if necessary. The sleeve lining was attached first, by tacking to the wool seam allowances and hemming down the lower edge. A loose basting was used for the tacking and a fold allowed at the hem to provide ease through the sleeve and prevent the lining from restricting action of the arm. The body lining was then matched to the Jacket, tacking it loosely at the seams to allow ease while still keeping it from shifting out of place. The front edge was basted in place, allowing slight ease over the bust.‘ The shoulder seam.was then hemmed down. It had not been stitched since it was desirable to fit it in place across the shoulder pad. The sleeve lining was next hemmed to the Jacket lining at the armscye seam. Care was taken to keep the armscye seem at the under— arm.upright, tacking the lining first on the sleeve side and then on the Jacket side at the underarm. This precaution was taken, since if this seam is bent, it distorts the underarm fit of the Jacket. The Jacket was pinned above the lower edge before hemming to hold the ease as it had been placed instead of being pulled down into the hem. None of the ratings apply directly to the lining. However, ratings on the following points may have been 118 influenced by lining procedures: Sheet I, Fit: 6a. smooth, unwrinkled front underarm area 6b. smooth, unwrinkled back underarm area 7. waistline sets well to figure These points were influenced by other construction procedures, but the fact that Jacket 5 rates high on all three would seem to indicate that the lining did not alter any of the previous careful shaping. Method 1 was ranked lowest on all points. On this Jacket, no Special steps were taken to protect the lower armscye seam. This fact probably added to other poor methods in causing a sub-standard fit at the underarm. 0n Jacket 2 the armscye seam was trimmed to one-fourth inch before the lining armscye seam was stitched. On Jacket 4, the wool armscye seam was stretched and pressed flat into the seam, so that no special precautions were necessary for the lining armscye seam. The rank of Jackets 2 and 4 above Jacket 1 and below Jacket 5 on points 6a and 6b would seem to indicate the general value of all procedures used to shape the underarm area. On Jacket 2, unlike the other Jackets, the Jacket lining was hemmed to the sleeve lining at the armscye. The lining was brought up over the pad and tacked at the wool armscye seamline. The lining seam allowances thus 119 placed added to the sheet wedding tacked to the seam to give the sleeve cap of this Jacket a somewhat padded appearance. However, the very small seam allowance at the underarm appeared to pull on the body lining, par- ticularly where it was tacked at the back underarm seam. This was reSponsible for a wrinkle in the wool at this point. Resistance to Dry Cleaning and Pressing After the test Jackets had been rated, they were dry cleaned and pressed five times by a commercial cleaning establishment. Stoddard solvent was used for the dry cleaning process, with no moisture added. There were four cycles in the cleaning process: soap, rinse, filter, and "Vitex" (a trademarked solution containing lubricating oils). The last cycle was followed by extraction of the solvent, and finally the garments were tumbler dried at 140° F. For pressing, the Jackets were placed on an inflated form and live steam blown through them. The sleeves were similarly pressed. The collar, lapels, front edges, and lower edges of the Jackets were finished by machine pressing in which steam, heat and pressure were applied followed by suction which dried out the moisture. 120 The Jackets were examined after the first, third and fifth cleanings to note whether any changes in appearance had occurred during cleaning and pressing. After the fifth cleaning, the linings were loosened to permit closer examination of seams, interfacing edges, and hem reinforce- ments. Qgg§§,(a) On Jacket 1, examination of the darts after cleaning and pressing showed that press marks were visible over the folded edges of all darts. On Jacket 2, all darts were very flat, with no press marks visible. 0n Jacket 5, the appearance of the darts was good. Oh Jacket 4, the waistline darts, which had been pressed as box pleats, became flatter during cleaning and pressing, but those places where the stitching was not straight became more apparent. Press marks showed over the folded edges of the other darts which had been pressed flat. The darts on Jacket 5, Which had been pressed in one direction without cutting, showed some evidences of press marks on the right side. Front edges.(b) On Jacket 1, the enclosed seam allowances at the lower corner were very evident. This may be explained (3)8ee p. 14 for procedures. (b)See pp. 24-28, 52-54 for procedures. 121 by the following facts: hymo, a Springy fabric resistant to flat pressing, was included in the seam, thereby adding bulk; the allowances were trimmed to one-fourth inch, but were not graded; and the seamline is a convex curve, causing the seam allowances to be full when turned back. The seam at the front edge showed on the right side in several places after the five cleanings. It might be noted that where the seam allowance lies between the interfacing and the facing, there is a tendency for the seam to be pushed to the coat side. Thus the seam may be visible below the lapel and not apparent along the edge of the lapel although there is no difference in the Joining of the seam in the two areas. On Jacket 2, along the front edge of the Jacket, the seamline and facing were visible from the top button down around the lower corner. Although the seam had showed in places before cleaning, it became progressively worse. This seam was not held to the underside in any way (except by the buttonholes). Ekamination indicated that the hymo had been trimmed so close to the seam that it appeared to prevent the seam from being pressed under. The seamline along the edge of the lapel was drawn well to the under side, even though no ease had been provided in the facing. The hymo which caused the edge of the facing to show below 122 the lapel may also have been responsible for the seam to be drawn under around the lapel, since on the lapel the facing is on the upper side. On Jacket 5, the seam on the front edge did not show from the right side. This was expected since the facing had been invisibly tacked down to hold the seam in place. On Jacket 4, the front edge seam was flat but press marks were apparent at the lower corner. Evidently this was due to the fullness of the rather wide seam allowances (three-eighths and one-fourth inch) in this curved edge. The seam at the front edge of Jacket 5 shifted during the cleanings. On Jacket 5a, this seam, which showed before cleaning, was not as apparent after three cleanings, and then showed again after five cleanings. On Jacket 5b, which had a good original appearance, the seam began to show after one cleaning, and after five the seam showed all along the edge. Also on Jacket 5b, the front edge before cleaning was very straight. After five cleanings it had a definitely bowed appearance. This edge was in no way reinforced, the hymo being catchstitched down at the seamline. On Jacket 5a the hymo had pulled away from the seam ribbon at the lower corner. This may be explained by the fact that the hymo, which was attached to the ribbon 125 by only one row of stitching, had been trimmed very close to the stitching line. (a) Buttonholgs. The buttonhole seam allowances, although not tacked down on Jackets 1, 2 and 5 showed no evidences of curling or wrinkling. The edges where the hymo had been cut out under the bottom buttonhole of Jacket 1 did not show evidence of raveling or curling. Edges of the strips used for the buttonholes of Jacket 5 were out- lined by press marks. Collar.(b) On Jacket 1, after five cleanings, the seam at the outer edge of the collar had begun to show on the right side. No ease had been provided to turn this seam to the under side. Thus, although the seam had been pressed to the under side, there was nothing to hold it there. The gorgeline seam appeared bulky and press marks indicated the edges of its seam allowances. The width of the seam allowance (three-eighths inch), the inclusion of collar and front interfacings of hymo in the neckline seam of the undercollar and Jacket, and the fact that the neck- line seams were not tacked together would explain the appearance of the gorgeline seam. (3)533 pp. 28-52 for procedures. (b)See pp. 55-41 for procedures. 124 On Jacket 2, the puckering on the undercollar which had been evident along the staystitching lines was not removed in cleaning and pressing. On Jacket 4, the outer edge of the collar showed a tendency to shift, with the uppercollar being drawn farther to the under side. The fullness in the uppercollar (provided for ease over the breakline) together with the fact that the melton and canvas evidently did not provide a firm edge, were apparently reSponsible for this shifting. The gorge- line seam, which had appeared bulky before cleaning and pressing, improved in appearance. Lower edge of Jackgt. On Jacket 1, after the fifth cleaning, the corner of the shoulder pad had come loose where it had been tacked to the shoulder seam. On Jacket 5, the shoulder pad had not shifted or pulled out, but the edges had been bent back, causing a fold which made the edge of the shoulder pad more apparent on the right side. (a)See p. 50 for procedures. 127 Lining.(a) The seam allowances of the lining had raveled badly on all Jackets, but this appeared particularly serious in Jacket 5 where the lining had been cut with only a three-eighths inch seam allowance. Recommendatiqgg. The dry cleaning and pressing treat- ments showed results which were, in general, expected because of the construction procedures used. Since the test Jackets were not worn between dry cleanings, the combined effects of wear and cleaning were not tested. Other results might be evident after wear. However, examination of the Jackets after dry cleaning and pressing did indicate that the original appearance of the Jackets was maintained better by certain construction procedures than others. For example, the process of invisibly tacking the facing to the interfacing about one- half inch from the front edge, as in Method 5, apparently was very successful in preventing the seam along the front edge from showing on the right side. In this same method, the enclosed seam allowances were trimmed to one-eighth inch. Not only did this make for a flat edge, but it also seemed to prevent press marks from showing at the front edge and lower corner. As indicated by the appearance of (a)See p. 12 for procedures. 128 the front edge seam of Jacket 1, hymo should not go into enclosed seams of this type. Since there was no shifting of buttonhole seam allowances on Jackets 1, 2 and 5, tacking these allowances down, as on Jackets 5 and 4, may be an unnecessary step. Grading of the seam allowances of the strips used for the buttonholes in Method 5 would probably prevent them from being so apparent on the right side. The need for some type Of reinforcement between hem allowance and Jacket is shown by the visibility of the upper edge of the hem on the right side of Jackets 1 and 4. Although the pressing after the first cleaning was evidently too harsh, it appeared that the flannelette used in Jacket 5 resisted press marks better than the wigan in Jackets 2 and 5. However, if flannelette is used, it should be held in place by either tacking it to the seam allowances or hemming it down with an invisible hemming stitch (as in Method 2) to prevent shifting of the fold-line of the hem. It would also seem wise to tack it down at the lower edge. All methods but number 1 were apparently successful in holding the shoulder pad in place. However, it is probably wise to also loosely catch the edges of the pad to the interfacing in order to prevent the edges from being bent as in Jacket 5. 129 The cleaning plant foreman stated that one problem often found in home-tailored suits was skimpy linings. These became evident after cleaning, which causes some shrinking of the lining fabric. To provide adequate fullness, it might be wise to stitch all lining seams Just outside the marked seamlines. CONCLUSIONS Procedures to be used in tailoring cannot be entirely standardized since the results achieved are determined by many variables, including the sewer's skill in construction, pressing and fitting, and the pattern design and fabric used. These factors, together with the results desired both in appearance and serviceability and the time available for the construction, should be considered when deciding on the most suitable method. As has been noted, the fundamental difference between custom and short-cut methods is the degree of shaping which is accomplished by a custom method. In this reapect, a truly professional appearance can only be attained by custom method procedures. These would include: 1. Shaping of the Jacket to the interfacings. 2. Shaping of the front edge, by taping, to hold the lower corner close to the body and prevent the edge and corner of the lapel from curling outward. on O Shaping of the lapel roll by padding; holding the breakline of the lapel close to the body by taping. 4. Shaping of the collar by padding and pressing so that it hugs the neck at the breakline and fits comfortably at the neckline. 151 5. Provision of ease in the facing to allow for roll at the breakline of the lapel; shaping of top collar to fit smoothly inside neckline. Because of the time, skill, and training required to achieve good results from the above procedures, they may have to be eliminated when a short-cut method is chosen. If these procedures are omitted, then the short-cut procedures chosen to replace them should give results as nearly as possible like those listed. With the elimination of such shaping, careful fitting of the pattern and of the garment seems especially essential to good appearance. Other procedures used in a custom method which require less skill or time may be incorporated in a short-cut method. For example: 1. Provision of ease on the top surface of lapel and collar to allow for turning the edge seam to the under side. 2. Keeping interfacings of hymo out of those seams where hymo would be pressed back on itself, to insure flat seamlines. 5. Reinforcement of the lower edges of Jacket and sleeve with a strip of bias fabric; careful blocking of hem allowance to remove excess fullness. 152 4. Trimming of enclosed seam allowances (front edge of Jacket, outer edge of collar) to one-eighth inch. 5. Invisible tacking of hams and scams along the front edge to prevent their shifting out of place. 6. Careful drawing up of ease in the sleeve to match the Jacket armscye; shrinking of ease before sleeve is attached to the Jacket. This study of five different methods of constructing a tailored suit Jacket indicated that certain suggestions might be made for the modification of the custom and short- cut methods studied to give results consistent with the goals outlined above. These suggestions are based on the time and skill required for cOnstruction, the resulting appearance, including fit, and the resistance to changes in dry cleaning and pressing. Custom Method Observations of the skill and time required to construct a tailored Jacket by a custom method confirmed the belief that this method is the most time-consuming and requires the most skillful handling. However, analyses of the purposes of using the various steps and the ratings accorded 133 to the Jacket made by the custom method indicated that the method produces a Jacket which is superior in most reapects. Nevertheless, this study indicated that the method might be modified in some ways to reduce the time needed, to make a process easier, or to give better results. For example, for attaching the front facing, a variation of the procedure used in method 4 (see p. 33)might be considered. To provide a uniform amount of ease for the lapel the wrong side of the facing would first be pinned to the interfacing side of the Jacket front along the breakline and down the front, one inch from the edge. Then the lapel would be rolled back into its normal position and the facing pinned again on the other side of the breakline. Carbon tracing paper would then be placed against the wrong side of the facing and the seamline of the Jacket traced onto the facing. The facing would be unpinned and a new seamline marked one-eighth inch outside the traced line from the notch point to that point where the breakline crosses the front seamline. The facing could then be basted and stitched to the Jacket as usual. matching the newly established line to the seamline of the Jacket would guarantee a definite and even amount of ease to allow the seam along the edge of the lapel to roll to the under side. These variations in Method 4 were suggested to provide 134 ease over the roll-line as well as at the outer edge. Also, tightening of the lapel edge by the previous taping on Jacket 3 (see p. 26) alters the seamline, so that the original seamline of the facing could not be used as it was in Method 4. Using melton for the undercollar as in Method 4 is another custom procedure (see p. 39). The high ratings of the collar of Jacket 4 seemed to indicate that this method might be successfully used if the melton can be obtained in a color to match the suit fabric. When melton is used for the undercollar some suggestions might be made to prevent the shifting of the outer edge of the collar (which showed up in dry cleaning). First the trimmed outside edge of the canvas collar interfacing might be catchstitched to the wool uppercollar before the latter is trimmed and inserted between the canvas and melton. Then it would seem better to trim the melton only one-sixteenth inch from the edge instead of three-sixteenths inch as was done in Method 4, so that the melton could give added support to the edge of the collar. Since in method 4 it was difficult to get a flat gorgeline seam by slipstitching the uppercollar to the neckline of the facing, this problem might be met by first basting the neckline edge of the facing (seam allowance turned under) 135 to the neckline seam Joining the undercollar and Jacket. Another solution would be to finish the neckline seam as in Method 3 (first slip-basting,then machine-stitching and pressing from the wrong side) before finishing the outer edge of the collar. The method by which the bottom edge of the Jacket was finished in Jacket 3 (see p. 42) gave a good finish, as indicated by the ratings. However, the resistance to press marks of the flannelette used in Jacket 5, as shown by checking after dry cleaning and pressing, suggests that the use of flannelette instead of wigan in Method 3 might be successful. The use of bias wigan to hold sleeve cap ease in Method 5 (see p. 49) seemed to have some merit. It might be incorporated into Method 3, but should be revised to provide greater accuracy in placing fullness. This might be accomplished by marking crossmarks on the wigan to correSpond to those marked on the Jacket and then easing the sleeve to the wigan to match crossmarks. In Method 3 the necessary additional crossmarks were placed during the second fitting. Keeping the front interfacing of hymo out of the arm- scye seam (see p. 47) appeared unnecessary. One reason 136 for not including hymo in seams is that it does not press flat easily. However the armscye seam is pressed flat only over the top of the sleeve cap and then it is pressed toward the sleeve so there is no need to crease the hymo. Allowing the hymo to go into the seam would simplify trans- ferring of crossmarks to the wrong side of the Jacket and also to the unfitted half. It would also make stitching of the armscye seam easier. It would still be necessary to keep the felt out of the seam since it would add too much bulk, but being soft, the felt would probably be easy to hold out of the way for marking and stitching. 'Short-cut Method The sewer who desires to use a method which requires less time or skill than the custom method might construct a satisfactory suit by using a composite of certain short- cut procedures. The appearance of such a suit would depend to a large extent on careful fitting and pressing. Fitting would be especially important since the suit would not have the benefit of the shaping processes of the custom method. The fitting process should include construction of a muslin Jacket unless the sewer has had experience with the pattern previously. This step takes time, but is useful in cutting down alterations of the wool Jacket. To insure 137 accuracy in construction, staystitching to mark seamlines seems a worthwhile procedure. Two fittings of the wool Jacket should also be planned. This would necessitate basting of seams, but the woman who is skillful in handling fabric could accurately machine-baste straight seams such as those at the underarm and on the sleeves. Stitching seams on the stayline mark would give greater accuracy than using a seam guide. Construction methods used might include the following steps: Qggtg. The darts should either be cut and pressed open or pressed in one direction, slitting the folded edge before pressing, depending on the width of darts and bulk of the fabric. Interfacings. The pattern for interfacings should be taken from the Jacket pattern, shaping the front and back interfacings to extend below the armscye to the underarm. Hymo might be used for the uppercollar when tailors' canvas is not available. In making darts in the hymo front inter- .facing, the procedure used in Method 2 should be easy and give good results (see p. 20). That is, the dart was cut .along the line marked on one side, this edge lapped to the other side of the dart and stitched in place. Reinforcement of the dart end with a square of wigan also seemed wise. 138 A.hymo reinforcement for the chest and bust area might be cut as was the one used in Method 5b and machine-stitched in place (see p. 18). Eront edge ofiacket. To reduce bulk in the seam along the front edge of the coat, the interfacing might be finished with cotton bias tape, as in Method 2 (see p. 24). The suggestions for modifying the procedure noted on page 65 should make it easier and more accurate to use. That is, a line would be marked along the front edge of the hymo interfacing three-fourths inch from the raw edge. Then cotton bias tape would be placed on the other side of the hymo, matching the outer edges, and blocked to fit it. The bias tape should extend across the top of the lapel from point to notch to reduce bulk in that seam. Next the bias and hymo would be stitched together on the marked line and again one-eighth inch inside the line. The outer edge of the hymo would then be trimmed off close to the stitching. Marking the line for stitching inside the seamline would insure adequate trimming of the hymo. USing this method, the bias tape edge of the inter- facing is stitched to the Jacket at the front edge. The armscye edges might also be staystitched together since this seam is not pressed Open. At the front neckline, shoulder and underarm it would seem wise to tailor-haste 139 the interfacing to the Jacket about one inch from the seams. Then after stitching and pressing the wool seams, the edges of the interfacing would be lapped over and tacked to the wool seam allowance. This procedure is suggested since hymo adds to the time necessary to press Open the seams in which it is included. The back interfacing of wigan might be staystitched to the wool at the neckline, shoulder, and armscye seams since it presses flat easily. Facing. To provide ease at the edge seam of the lapel facing, the procedure of marking a new seamline one-eighth inch outside the original (Method 4, page 33) might be used. Seamlines of facing and front could then be matched although care should be taken to keep the facing slightly smaller at the lower corner. Before turning, the seam allowances should be trimmed to one-eighth inch. A custom method which required little extra time and gave worthwhile results was the step of tacking the facing to the interfacing one-half inch from the edge (using a concealed hemming stitch) to prevent the edge seam from showing on the right side (see p. 33). Taping the armhole to draw in ease, as in Method 5a (see p. 44), appeared to be rather easy and a successful means of shaping this area. This taping might be done before the front and back units were Joined, for ease in handling. 140 Collar. In constructing the collar on this Jacket, rows of machine-stitching might be used to reinforce the stand of the undercollar (See Method 1, p. 35). Stay- stitching the undercollar and its interfacing together one-eighth inch inside the seamline at the outer edges and ends (Method 2) would permit trimming the hymo away from those seams and also at the neckline where it would be held by the machine stitching on the stand. A process which might be used for attaching the collar would be a combination of Methods 1 and 2 (see pp. 35-37). A trial fitting of the collar (during the first fitting) would indicate whether the breakline needed shrinking. This would be done by pressing. Then the neckline seam of the undercollar would be stitched to the Jacket and that of the uppercollar stitched to the facings. These seams would be pressed open, trimmed to one-fourth inch, and then pinned together with right sides of the Jacket and facing units together. The seam at the outer edge and ends of the uppercollar could be checked against the undercollar for accuracy and a new one marked if necessary. Then a new line would be marked one-eighth inch outside the seamline to provide ease on the uppercollar. Next this line would be matched to that of the undercollar and the two stitched together at the outer edge and ends of the collar. Finally, 141 the seam at the tOp of the lapel from the outer edge to the notch would be stitched. The seams would be pressed open and trimmed to one-eighth inch before turning. The two neckline seams should be tacked together from the inside after the facing and collar are turned to the right side. Lower edge. To finish the lower edge of the Jacket, MethOd 5 using flannelette (see p. 43) should give good results. However, the flannelette should be tacked down at the upper edge, possibly using a concealed hemming stitch. Sleeve. Wigan or hymo might be used for the lower edge of the sleeve using Method 2 (see p. 45). .Using this method, it might be best to stitch the front seam first so that alterations could be made on the back seam if shown necessary during the second fitting. Ease would be shrunk out of the back seam over the elbow before basting the back seam. It would seem that placing additional crossmarks on the sleeve and Jacket (as in Method 3) would make Joining the sleeve to the Jacket easier and certainly more accurate. Ease threads on the sleeve cap would then be drawn up until the armscye seam matched that of the Jacket and the fullness shrunk out. Finally if few alterations are necessary in the wool, so that the pattern is still accurate, Joining the lining 142 to the Jacket by machine stitching, as in Method 5 (see p. 51), would be the quickest method. With basting-as a guide, this method need not be too difficult. Suggestions for Further Study As was stated earlier, the procedures to be used in tailoring cannot be entirely standardized since the results achieved are determined by many variables. For this study the pattern design and fabric used were held constant, and the fitting and pressing were standardized as much as possible while the methods used were varied. A.more complete understanding of tailoring might be gained by an investigation of the suitability of different methods for the various types of fabric from which tailored garments might be made. Another study might determine the relationship between different designs and the methods best suited to their construction. Because of the size of the problem, other aSpects of this study which were earlier considered had to be eliminated. One of these was a comparison of methods used by manufacturers of different price lines of suits. It was felt that this investigation would help the consumer understand price differences as related to methods, in addition to helping 143 the home sewer evaluate the results of her work in comparison with what she might purchase at various price levels. This would, however, necessitate an intensive survey of suits available in the retail market plus observations of numerous suit manufacturing Operations. It is believed that the studies described above would aid the person making her own suit to choose the design, fabric, and method best suited to her own capabilities and limitations; it would also aid consumers in selecting tailored garments best suited to their needs, in terms of cost, serviceability, and aesthetic satisfaction. l. 2. 3. 4. 9. 10. ll. 12. l3. 14. 144 BIBLIOGRAPHY Anon. Here's How to Tailor. Ames, Iowa: Agricultural Extension Service, Iowa State College, HE 18, November 1950, 23 pp. Tailored Garmentg. Scranton, Pennsylvania: Women's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences, 1937, 121 pp. Anderson, Minnie A. ,ant and Suit Making. Minneapolis: Burgess Publishing Company, 1943, 37 pp. Bishop, Edna Bryte. Clothing_0on§tructign Methods, New York: J. C. Penney Company, Inc., 1953, 63 pp. When You USe Interfacings. Practical Home_ Economics. 31 (March 1953): pp. 18-19. Interfacing a Collar.l Practical Home Economicg. 31 (April 1953): p. 12. (Sleeve Construction. Practical Home Economics. 31 (May 1953): pp. 16-17. Goodman, Bonnie v. Tailoringfor the Family. New York: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1951, 408 pp. Liberty, J. E. Practical Tailoring. London: Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons, LTD., 1947, 182 pp. Mauck, Frances F. Modern Tailoring_for Women. New York: The MacMillan Company, 1947, 174 pp. Poulen, Clarence. Tailoring Suits the Professional, W 1. Peoria: Charles A. Bennett Company, Inc., 1952, 192 pp. Strickland, Gertrude. A Tailoginganual. Minneapolis: Burgess Publishing Company, 1944, 65 pp. Smith, Margaret. How to Tailgr a Woman‘s Spit, Bureau of Human Nutrition and Home Economics, United States Department of Agriculture, Home and Garden Bulletin 20, 1952, 52 pp. Wilson, J. King. The Art of Cuttipgiand Fitting. London: Crosby Lockwood and Son, Ltd., 1948, 82 pp. 145 APPENDIX I Pattern Alterations The following pages show the original pattern and the alterations made. It may be noted that the changes affect the balance of the front and back of the Jacket body and sleeve. That is, the upper sleeve and back shoulder areas required alterations because of the author's posture which shortens the upper back of the figure. Only on the sleeve were changes in circumference made. PLATE 20 p I / . ' f \ I f \ f ’ ‘ l . I u f | l ‘ f ' f a P/ .‘ i ‘ " “ a_____, , \ .’ ' ‘7 ' \ \ r“ \ 3 \ } , ' fl ‘ -l ; I I a ! .1: a. I] J 1’ Y J I. 3 f F ; ‘1 2 . 1 i I. . I I' . "5 1 i f '1‘ “( " n ' i I ‘ z .H s l b o ‘ ‘ g I! ‘ 1' (l /1 'O I", .’ .1 . I I ' I l -. _ __ _._. _. l.__ _._ __’ .. ._ _ x/f ," . - . ‘— ~..__.--__... v/ Frog; Alterations ”___..- outline of original pattern _. -.. _.. outline of altered pattern 147 Alterations on Front (Plate 20) 1. Problem: lower curve of front armscye too high Alteration procedure: a. new armscye seam to deepen curve three-eighths inch (point a) b. armscye seam of underarm section lowered to correspond (see plate 21, point J) 2. Problem: lower edge of Jacket front too full ' Alteration procedure: waistline darts lengthened (point b) 3. Problem: waistline too short Alteration procedure: a. pattern indented at waistline one-half inch lower on front, underarm and back (see also plate 21) 4. Problem: Jacket too long Alteration procedure: a. length removed at lower edge, shortening one- and-one-half inch at center front to two inches at center back (see also plate 21) 5. Problem: shoulder seam too straight to fit curve in shoulder Alteration procedure: a. curve shoulder seam near neckline (point c) b. curve shoulder seam of back to correSpond (see plate 21, point i) pm I“ L PLATE 2]. w \\ I" U 1 '.(\ \‘_\ I ' y} ’1] I“ I : r‘Il I! I: L I, 4’ ‘ [I ’ L 8. I I Cr ~ I *7 ‘4 _, I _ - 1 \ I \ - I I I 1 I J;/:;) I I I , 5 h I : I I; ’ LT‘ -\ '2 x ‘1. u I t I I l I I ‘ I I I ’ I g ‘I :— : '17... 1 "."“'g I I ' I I I t I I I ‘ I 7‘ I (f ' I ' IJ I I \ Q I I I I ' L+__._ , ___ ___.__ , .3 ‘ ' -___‘ , I ' ‘ -—.1 E g I I , : I I I I I I I L. I w —- _._-i-.__....-_.-. ___... “_ ~____ I ~ .»_._..‘ .-...._ (back) Alteratiogg (underarm) - l outline of original pattern _.i-__ outline of altered pattern 'gjffi’ lapped alteration darts l. 2. Problem: 149 Alterations on Back (Plate 21) Erect back which shortens the figure at the upper back, causing extra length to lie in a horizontal fold extending to the armscye Alteration procedure: 8.. b. Co Problem: excess at back of armscye pinned out in an alteration dart (one-fourth inch deep) extending to point a beyond shoulder dart. dart thus pinned out transferred by slashing to it from points b and c to provide one-eighth inch ease along shoulder seam at each point, and lapping shoulder dart three-sixteenths inch (point d) armscye of upper sleeve altered to match Jacket by using a correSponding alteration dart (see plate 22, point a) rather prominent shoulder blade, necessitating extra length and width at that point and center back Alteration procedures: 8.. pattern slashed and spread from points e to f Spreading three-sixteenths inch at center back and one-fourth inch at point of shoulder blade; ease at back underarm seam divided among three slashes 150 b. width added by increasing center back one- fourth inch at point e slanting to nothing at neck and waistline 3. Problem: back and figure short from shoulder blade to waistline Alteration procedure: a. (pattern slashed and lapped one-fourth inch at point a b. corresponding length removed from underarm section by alteration dart at point h, lapping one-fourth inch at back underarm seam to nothing at front underarm seam. PLATE 22 .\ ”I, t" ‘9'- ' ‘J— ~ ~ ‘ I‘ a ‘ " \ ' 5:: " I— -- _ .3 a' ._ 3 2.! I "P - (II/1‘ ‘ .‘ t . I / ‘~. _ I q "I " ; L. : ~. . . " V k ' " . __~ .. _ 4,: 4- " L I ”1,. . L I '1‘: I “ ’ I Q11- * - I I 1‘ , i ‘ ‘ ~ ‘ . ' . 1 , C ; ‘N I - - _» -‘ 7 m w ,_ " . ‘ ‘ ’rer/Jllra‘r—I a \‘ II I ‘ :‘ .' ‘ I .p ,, I -, 7. f \I ‘ r’ , I I . r 'I ‘ I I I . ’ h ' I 1.: ‘ -e _ ' J I V |\ u _ ‘ . I _ .k "t hf “‘7 ' “‘3 “ '7 w ' "- f I ‘ - I . " so "' <, I A. J -’/ ‘ ‘ ‘ .- - 19' "‘ '- ' ’_____ _ f ‘ “ I ll ' I I .( I I ; ,’ ‘ L / . / I A,“ I ‘. . I J/ .- I" J ’1, (under sleeve) Alteragiogg ”_iii_outline of original pattern -ii-i.outline of altered pattern usiuzrlapped alteration darts (upper sleeve) 152 Alterations on Sleeve (Plate 22) 1. Problem: Erect posture places highest point of shoulder behind shoulder seamline, causing diagonal wrinkles in pattern from the back of sleeve cap to front of sleeve Alteration procedure: a. length added to upper sleeve cap at point b 2. Problem: back of sleeve too long above elbow Alteration procedure: a. excess pinned into alteration dart on upper sleeve, from three-eighths inch at point c to nothing at point d b. underarm section altered to correspond, by dart at point e 5. Problem: sleeve too long below elbow Alteration procedure a. pattern slashed and lapped one-half inch at point t, across undersleeve; and at point g across upper sleeve 4. Problem: not enough ease over elbow Alteration procedure: a. pattern slashed and spread to add one-eighth inch at three points on back of upper sleeve (point h) to nothing at front of sleeve 153 5. Problem: excess ease in sleeve cap Alteration procedure: a. pattern slashed and lapped one-eighth inch at back of sleeve cap (point i) and three- sixteenths inch at front of sleeve cap (point J) 6. Problem: back of undersleeve section too full Alteration procedure: a. slash and lap one-fourth inch in alteration dart at point k APPENDIX II Fabrics Used APPEIDIX II Fabrics Used Suit fabric LininS K‘FFF:K‘IIH'I‘1RIiIInN—w-fi'l ‘ ‘ . . _ _ .7 ‘ . \«unhl N. -. \ -‘V .~\ ~~...-.- ‘ " Ln; - ~u9h‘d" ‘ “A - "“4... -I— . vhf-«9a,. I...4_.,._: yup. ““1 I“. Inf-SH“)... ;. mm Yakima. “55 re ‘ ,. .i... . . \ c ..‘ \I-;-:Ih.I-II’ "..".. 4:5“- -uu-u-n-un. nun-“‘h ‘-:£-"*""“““ :‘ih .iu‘k.:-..}3‘\:‘L‘f‘ . .- ‘I'.“—~:‘I-~1 51“...“m \‘h\‘\*\ \x‘gl‘y‘l ‘ “’L"'L‘,.‘“\‘_"\‘_‘ ‘ 3“: ,. .‘awn‘.‘----.1\.---~.-nquA :‘i'f I“ E“ N n _ .‘ ~.. \ x . ‘M““"‘?“.‘-“"‘-~C1 .;:---'uh‘ r‘rfiéxv“ frfihuha. . \_<.'.-”"‘,"*.'. 53-73:}; in): hiikii‘ rm 'mnlmqntcr-fi "‘-'-'<~~:;-V*“"‘"‘“II~‘-- an I' ‘ ‘L . K“ 1..-”? _ .- 3,... .. .. ~. ‘I:\:. {0 ‘&\\§\\: £381.?qu s 1 L :Ewr‘“. N». _mg \‘i‘. f \w x ‘83: .x— ~ ~ »;.~_ .. "M\.' “‘5 ;I.\m14~..|fl.\r.‘.\ ‘:\\::"\‘;~w s..‘ - ~ A“ x i \ . . _ e v. . ..-w f':\;\" "1" :5? iii. . 2km: - fins-mm ‘ \.‘-‘.,.“.‘.-‘ h-‘~ ‘-'..“.'- h L , _ \~‘ ‘ “A1;q.i‘~-.I....‘. ‘ - ‘- ~ «1.. ‘~.‘.‘..‘ _ ‘ I. . " I». I. 033.. un-E‘né \. was. s‘.~‘.\.\~.‘mm\‘.\‘.‘. 'at‘, x? : VrX \“ . _ i‘.x\“‘fi \~.‘.‘t-\ .‘< 3. \- a; “Yttri' .~'~\N. n‘. €323: 'L“ \na.1:z,‘.\ nfik‘I‘Id‘NE-Afikubh Eats- . r~ \ 'L. LF‘QS‘ ~1 ‘ "10": .A-fi‘ ~:‘~;: 2W \‘x‘- \ «1‘s ~ \ ?~'.‘.. .nua..Ln.x.I.\.\-u‘|.u-Iu:\ 3,“: ah: mu. ih.\iI-lh.s.‘-i av" 'i’uJ-L 1: an “xxx .WX .irfix‘fin. “mun-.5; "1 :‘7~"~L -. “_._-u. .~~-3-§-n|--.--“ ,‘.°‘~‘---~--;.u\'\‘\n“:1* —. ". W_~ .a-Iah“-n.hllu .35.:“§: *fi“.‘a-qlu.1ln4K1—:A--‘oA1--‘ — ‘~-‘ . I.-.-.‘- Tailors' felt Flannelette t 1 a t t l 1 § e ! 'z i 1 E l ! i K Tailors' canvas Lelton LQ;e tare APPENDIX III Rating Sheets 158 Ewan]; an; JACKETS -- JUDGING Introduction: Each half of the three suits you are to Judge was constructed by a different method, so you will be asked to Judge each half separately. All were constructed from the same fitted and altered pattern. Also, it was intended that the pressing (inasmuch as possible) be alike. Therefore any variations in fit or appearance should be the result of the different methods of construction. (However, the center back seam has been merely machine basted to Join the two halves, and as such it should not be considered in Judging.) In Judging the suits, you are to use a rating scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1. not acceptable 2. below standard 5. average, acceptable 4. above average quality 5. perfection Please score each suit, in the spaces provided on the rating sheet, according to the criteria for scoring which are listed on sheets I and II. Space is provided for additional comments which you may wish to make. The suits will be modeled, to give you an opportunity to Judge fit. Afterwards, you may examine the suits more closely to score on the points listed on Sheet II. For classification purposes, will you please fill in the following information: Name: For students and non-professional home economists: Training in clothing construction: (please check) High School College Singer 4-H Extension Other (please name) Have you had any instruction in tailoring? If so, in which of the above fields of instruction? For teachers and Extension Specialists: Have you taught clothing construction? Have you ever taught tailoring? If so, in which of the above fields of instruction? l. 3. 4. 9. ' 159 5mm I -- FIT Collar: a. sets up smooth and close to the back and sides of neck. b. covers neckline seam across back. Lapel: a. lapel and neckline hold close to chest from Joining of collar and lapel to top button. b. firm, rolled appearance; lies flat with no tendency for corners to curl up. Shoulders: a. smooth, sets well to body from neck end to armhole end; seamline appears straight from side view. b. no wrinkles or excess fullness in front of shoulder seam. Back shoulder: a. easy enough to allow movement of arms, but smooth in appearance. b. unwrinkled, smoothly rounded with no hollow areas near armhole. c. edges of interfacing not apparent. Bust area: unwrinkled, smoothly rounded with no hollow areas near armhole. Underarm area: a. smooth, unwrinkled front b. smooth, unwrinkled back Waistline: sets well to figure. Front opening: a. front edge hangs straight (perpendicular to the floor) and close to body. b. lower corners hang flat, with facing perfectly adjusted to prevent noticeable curling outward or under. Lower edge of Jacket: firm, smooth along turned edge; lies flat; upper edge of hem allowance invisible. 160 10. Sleeves: a. sleeve hangs smoothly from armhole to wrist, no deep folds or wrinkles. b. sleeve cap: armhole seamline smooth, without ' wavering, and with no evidence of fullness on sleeve cap. c. lower edge firm along turned edge and upper edge of hem allowance invisible. ll. Lining, interlining: in no way visible from right side (as shown by edges, seams, wrinkles). l. 4. 5. 6. 7. 161 SHEET II -- CONSTRUCTION DETAILS Shoulder and underarm seams: flat, inconspicuous. (Note especially the underarm and shoulder seams where seams of interfacings are also Joined.) Darts: flat, inconSpicuous a. front shoulder dart b. back shoulder dart c. underarm dart d. waistline dart Front edge: a. straight, firm and smooth from tOp buttonhole to hem. b. edge flat, without bulk; seamline even on edge or drawn slightly to under side. c. does examination indicate that seamline will remain even or slightly drawn under through wear? Buttonholes: general appearance, right side. Lapel: a. firmness and quality of roll. b. smooth, inconSpicuous gorgeline seam (Joining collar and lapel). (Check seamline and seam allowance.) c. front edge: quality of line; thinness of edge; seam held to under side, not visible. Collar: a. shaping by undercollar padding and pressing. (Note: dark colored thread used for photography; consider that matching thread had been.used.) b. conspicuousness of stitches used to shape the undercollar. c. flat outer edge; seam held to under side. d. smoothness inside neckline, when held in curved position as when worn. e. general firmness and ability to return to shape when corner is bent back sharply. f. smooth unbroken quality of roll-line where it crosses collar and lapel Joining. Front interfacing: shaping to give firm support to wool body of coat. (Same interfacing fabric used in all Jackets, but pattern for interfacing and application varied. 8. 10. 162 Lower edge of Jacket: (beyond front facing) a. b. c. firmness of turning edge (indicating resistance to stretching), as well as firmness through hem allowance. , inconSpicuous upper edge. ' ‘ smooth unwrinkled hem allowance inside Jacket. Armhole: smoothness over sleeve cap. (Check seamline and seam allowance.) Hem of sleeve: a. b. c. firmness of turning edge (indicating resistance to stretching), as well as firmness through hem allowance. inconspicuous upper edge. smooth unwrinkled hem allowance inside sleeve. 16$ GLOSSARY Breakline: line on which lapel turns to right side and continues as the roll-line of collar Fall of collar: area from roll-line to outer edge Gorgeline: seamline where collar Joins facing, extending from notch to breakline Inside of seamline: on the garment side of the seamline away from the raw edge Notch: point at which front collar ends Outside of seamline: toward raw edge from seamline Stand of collar: area from roll-line to neckline . |. ‘1." I'll. {‘I (I It'll-fir.- I‘ullI’I-Ill'l‘ it! 1...! \ it‘ll ' _S‘ .J. 18 mar-39 - . l\,\ 5. 36 6! \\\ We] ~12 3...?“ ’. am: . _ EIEGE , M "I7'13li'fli'il'i‘WLliiTiT