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Cutting

In cutting goods, economy of material is a consideration never to be lost sight of. Make a close calculation before using the scissors at all, and do not cut any part out until you have discovered the very best way of using the cloth to advantage. It will pay one to be very deliberate and take no step without due consideration. Of course, professional hands become SO en- Of course, professional hands become so entirely familiar with their occupation that it does not demand much thought, but beginners will do well to ponder and plan and calculate closely the very best and most econonomical way of getting a garment out of a given quantity of cloth. Large patterns are desirable for dresses and some other things, but for most garments just enough is the best quantity to have. The extra half yard, or whatever portion is found to be in excess of the right length, is often useless, and with cloth, or other costly material, adds provokingly to the expense of a cloak, sacque, or whatever the garment may be. People who economize very rigidly sometimes argue that buying paper patterns adds too much to the cost of garments to be prudent purchases; but that seems like faulty reasoning in most cases, for the time, strength and labor spent in experimenting, to say nothing of the eventual possible wasting of material, would more than cover the cost of the model. It is an excellent idea for two or three friends to unite and purchase paper patterns together, dividing the expense between them, and selecting medium sizes, which would be readily adapted to their different degrees of slenderness or breadth.

If the dress is being made by a person of no experience, it will be well to cut the pattern out of old material, baste it together and. try it on this not SO much to correct possible defects in the pattern as to guard against the mistakes of inexperience, though even these need not be made if accurate care is used in following the patterns .

In regard to cutting-out to the best advantage, imagine that the reader of this, having, fortunately for herself, finished making her own clothes, is about to make a polonaise for her small daughter or sister. Let her select the pattern she wishes, and, if it is a new one, cut a fac-simile of it in old cloth, baste together and try on, making any slight alteration in waist or shoulder seams that may be needed. Then let her ascertain the width of the material decided on, and calculate as nearly as possible the quantity needed-say it is three yards and a half of twenty-seven inch goods. With a piece of chalk let her mark off upon the carpet a section of that length and width, and lay the different parts of the pattern within its limits, turning and replacing them again and again till they are assuredly arranged to the best possible advantage, and the whole garment made to absorb the smallest amount of cloth that is practicable. Of course the idea must be kept in view of a right and wrong side to the cloth, or an up-and-down to the figure, if there is one; but a little study and thought, after the pieces are placed, will correct any mistake of that kind. Then it is well, before taking up the pattern and brushing the chalk-line from the carpet, to make a rough sketch or outline of the position it occupied upon the floor, and not trust altogether to memory to re-arrange it upon cloth. All this performance seems rather formidable, but if a beginner will take the trouble to go through with it for a few times, she will find it like learning a trade, and a little experience will make her SO trade, and a little experience will make her so thoroughly mistress of it that she will no longer need to be subject to such preliminaries, but will, almost by intuition, lay the pieces of the pattern to the best advantage, and acquire the very desirable accomplishment of cutting well and economically. To possess such an art one should be willing to take a little trouble and make some exertion.

In cutting a dress leave the sleeves and trimming till the last, then parings of gores and other pieces can be used up. Don't be afraid of piecing. of gores and other pieces can be used up. Don't be afraid of piecing.

The sleeves should be whole, if possible, upon the upper parts, but the under parts may be made of patchwork , if upper part is wide. Even where both parts are of equal width care, ingeif necessary, especially where the nuity, and a little practice, make it possible to use up very small pieces when material is scant. The waist also may be pieced more than an ordinary dressmaker, whose time is money, can afford; but if you make your own dresses you can sometimes get one out of a surprisingly scant pattern, if you are patient and ingenious about piecing . The frorts may be faced instead of hemmed, and narrow pieces may be put under the arms without being noticed. If necessary, in a basque or polonaise, all the parts may be joined at the waist. In making over a dress quite short pieces may be used to advantage in this way. It is also possible, when sorely driven by necessity, to piece the fronts from the armsize across, and craftily cover the seam by arranging the trimming to represent a square neek. Not more than an inch, if any, of the seam need be visible between the trimming and the armsize, and that will hardly be observed.

In cutting a basque or waist from an untried pattern, cut the lining first, baste it up and try it on; then, if any trifling alterations are necessary, it up and try it on; then , if any trifling alterations are necessary, they can be made, and the goods cut according to the improvements. Cut it as long as the basque is to be, but if it is for a polonaise or redingote, it need be only five or six inches below the waistline. Soft twilled muslin makes the best lining; that which is stiff and unpliable is very objectionable, as it is not only hard to fit , but soon stretches out of shape and leaves the dress goods over it without proper support. Dark linings, even for dark dresses, are now less in use than light. White is much used by dressmakers, but it soils too easily to be altogether unobjectionable. The best color is a pearl, or very light gray.

For calico dresses, even for winter, the waist lining should always be white, as, in washing, the color of a dark lining will run into and cloud the colors of the calico. Both lining and outside of the waist should be cut the straight way of the cloth, and the seams and darts must be creased on the lining exactly by the pattern, which must be pinned evenly upon it. Lay the lining upon the length of the goods, being very particular to have it perfectly straight, and arrange the different pieces in a manner to save as much cloth as possible.

If saving is a great object, facings can be sewed on the edges of both fronts, and no hems turned. By moving the pieces about it will be easy, where there is no up and down, to get the side pieces out between some of the larger parts. In basting the pieces together, after they are secured to the lining, be very particular to match them as the paper pattern indicates, following the creases exactly. To secure greater precision, it is best to mark the creases with a lead pencil.

One can not be too particular about these darts, as they have much to do with the fit of the dress. Having basted the side-bodies evenly to the back, tack the fronts and back together upon the shoulders and under the arms, the darts having been previously basted up by the marks on the pattern. Try on the waist, and, if it is right, sew up the seams on the sewing machine and work the button-hole.

Before cutting these (if the goods ravel very easy) outline each one by a row of machine stitching, leaving only room to cut the button-hole between the lines of stitching, and, in working it, take the stitches deep enough to cover the line, the same as when it is run around by hand. If it does not fit, the amateur dressmaker need not fall into despair, for, probably, a judicious taking in of the seams will make it all right. If the dress is for a person with some peculiarities of figure it will be necessary to study that in fitting; if, for instance, the waist is very tapering, the seams will have to be more deeply sloped than the paper pattern being cut for the average figure will indicate. If the person being fitted has a hollowing back, a plait or dart laid in the middle of the back of the lining will secure a better fit.

Long seams in the back, extending to the shoulder, are more becoming to stout people than side bodies ending at the armsize. If the shoulders project, an allowance can be made by leaving the back longer than the sides. If one shoulder is more prominent than the other, the defect should be skillfully disguised by putting a layer of cotton upon the other side, so that the difference need not be noticed. If the arms are very thin, a sheet of cotton may be put between the outside and the lining of the upper part. Many dressmakers follow this plan, wherever the arm is not too large to admit admit of it, to secure a well fitting sleeve, the short shoulders now worn to dresses requiring some adroitness in putting them in nicely, unless the material is thick like velvet, or is made SO by thick like velvet, or is made so by wadding The next step in making the dress is to finish the sleeves. They should be slipped on the arm while the waist is on, and pinned to the shoulders. Very much depends upon the fit of the sleeves, and, even if cut from the best of patterns, they may wrinkle and set awry unless put into the armhole properly, The latter must not be too tight or cut out too much in the back.

After a basque or polonaise is finished, it should have a strong belt sewed to the back and side seams, upon the inside, to fasten the front, for the double purpose of keeping the waist in place and relieving the strain upon the buttons.

Putting a garment together when it is carefully cut is a much easier task than when the separate pieces are not accurate, and require much measuring and trimming before they can be nicely adjusted to each other. If lining is put into either a part or the whole of an article it must be tacked upon the back of the pieces before they are basted together. Care must be taken in basting not to stretch the seams out of shape. In making up cloth. the seams, after being stitched upon a sewing machine, should be laid upon and pressed down with a heavy hot iron. Each raw edge may then be bound with a narrow ribbon or galloon. This will give a neat finish to the wrong side and and keep the threads from raveling. In very thick cloth the seams, after pressing, should have a galloon laid over them, and hemmed down slightly, not letting the stitches show upon the right side; or, with a cloth with a shaggy face, the seam may be sewed up and finished at the back with a wide fell, which must be pressed flat. Thin materials, such as mohairs, grenadines, etc., if made up without lining, are most neatly finished if the pieces are stitched together on the right side and then turned and sewed again upon the wrong side. This keeps the garment in better shape than the usual running and felling. The next thing upon the programme after putting on whalebone casings, is to face the bottom of the basque. It is then ready for the trimming, which can be put on in accordance with the taste of the designer. Many ladies wear adjustable waist trimmings. A bias band of the material, for instance, with both edges trimmed with gimp or tiny side-plaitings, which goes around the neck and meets or crosses in front, half-way between the throat and belt. This is left off at pleasure, to make room for a dainty fichu of mull or colored silk, or for a becoming little shoulder cape of beads. These very expensive-looking little adjuncts to a dressy toilet can be made at home by ladies who have any leisure to spend in fancy work. Almost every young person has some middle-aged friend who will teach her how to make the bead fringes which, in former days, decorated the square ends of crotcheted silk purses. Those fringes were made of fine steel beads, and the netted heading done with an ordinary sewing needle. The beads now used are cut-jets of a much larger size, and three rows of the fringe are set upon a lace foundation, or even sewed together over a paper pattern, without other foundation than a row of gimp between each fringe, which is concealed by the falling strands of beads. Trimmings for the tabliers of rich dresses are made in a similar manner by some ladies, who also imitate with their own ingenious fingers the gorgeous seventy-five and fifty-dollar fabrics which are sold in modest quantities for trimming.

In cutting a dress from plaid goods, if the check is at all conspicuous, it must be arranged with care, or very ugly effects will be produced. On the be arranged with care, or very ugly effects will be produced. On the waist, particularly, the plaids should match exactly where the fronts meet.

In cutting out goods that are striped , have a whole stripe appear in the center of the front, and have the side-forms in the back present a perfectlymatched appearance. The same attention should be paid to the sleeves, having a care, as in all materials, that the parts above the elbows run with the thread lengthways of the cloth.

If the sleeve pattern is too short, lengthen it equally at both ends; unless this is observed, the set of it will changed.

A round skirt is easily made with an old, well-fitting skirt, or a paper pattern as a guide. The straight side of each gore must be toward the front. as a guide. The straight side of each gore must be toward the front.

The seam in the front is not to be endured, and one in the back is to be avoided, if possible, upon any skirt which is not to be worn beneath a poloall things are possible in the way of piecings and joinings. In making a trained or demi-trained skirt, if it should appear scanty and hoop in the back , make a cut in the edge deep enough to relieve it, and set in a Vshaped gore, which may be concealed by the trimming, or cut shorter slits upon each side and set in gores.

Machine stitching is used upon dresses and trimmings. Even cashmere and silk ruffles are hemmed on the machine instead of being laboriously silk ruffles are hemmed on the machine instead of being laboriously blind-stitched, although the latter mode is not out of date with those who do not mind trouble. It is now acknowledged by the best dressmakers that nothing equals coarse alpaca or brilliantine for a skirt facing. Nearly every color can be matched in it, and it looks well, wears well and sheds the dirt admirably. Braid is now usually put on the back of the skirt and not felled down as formerly. About a third of its width is allowed to project below the skirt, which is thought to hang better than when bound with the braid.

It should be sewed on by hand after the dress is finished, not set in between the facing and outside, as is sometimes done. When it becomes ragged it is a simple matter to rip it off and put on a fresh one.