Fashion Design Drawing

account of this waste in matching, more material must be allowed for the making of a plaid dress. Care and attention are necessary in making up plaids, for no costume is well put together unless the different portions are carefully matched.

Stripe, check and plaid materials can be used effectively in a circular skirt with a bias seam down the front. (Fig. 182.) A two-piece pattern is suitable for such a skirt, and full directions are given in the pattern instructions showing how to place the pattern on the material in order to obtain a desirable bias.

It is better in cutting a skirt of plaid or stripe, to cut one side first, then, removing the pattern, lay the section just cut upon the material, and carefully match the plaid at all points before cutting the opposite piece. When both sides are joined, the prominent lines in the plaid should have a mitered effect, as shown in Fig. 183.

FIGURES and FLOWERS must also match perfectly. Unless one line of flowers is up and the next down, as usually occurs, one position will have to be selected for the topc Generally the stems of the flowers run downward.

When cutting a garment where several breadths of silk must be joined (a circular skirt, for instance) it is most important that the pattern or figures on the material should be matched Often this can not be done when the breadths are simply joined at the selvages. Cut the front gore first by folding the silk lengthwise through the center (if the skirt has no seam at the front), and laying the front edge of the pattern even with the fold. If there is a decided figure in the silk, fold this front breadth so the figures will balance and not make the skirt look onesided.

Fashion Design Drawing - Cutting Materials Sponging 8.jpg

Lay the paper pattern out on a table; place the front gore upon it and match the figures of the silk at the edge of the second breadth to those at, or near, the edge of the first. It will sometimes be necessary to lap the second breadths considerably over the first, as shown in Fig. 184, in order to find the corresponding figures. Turn under the edge of the second breadth and pin it to the first. The gore may then be cut according to the pattern. Proceed in the same way to join the breadths for both sides of the skirt.

Slip-stitch the breadths together, from the outside by slipping the needle along, inside the fold edge of the upper breadth, and then taking a stitch in the under breadth, as shown in Fig. 185. When the skirt is turned wrong side out, it will be found that the slip-stitching from the right side forms the basting of the seam. Material will give more and match better if the selvages are cut off.

SPONGING is one of the most important steps in both dressmaking and tailoring.

Almost all woolen materials should be carefully sponged before they are used. A few very thin, open-meshed fabrics cannot be sponged on account of the shrinkage, but in most cases the sponging is advisable. If you are in doubt take a small piece of the material and experiment with it. To a certain degree it prevents spotting from rain, etc. For sponging, one must have a large-sized table, an ironing-blanket and a strip of heavy unbleached muslin or drilling one yard wide and two yards long. The ironing-blanket must be laid on the table without a wrinkle. The selvages of the material should be clipped or cut off and the material should be laid face down on the blanket. Wet and wring out the strip of muslin, lay it over the material, and press it with an iron several times. Then remove the muslin and press the material itself until it is dry. Sponge a small portion of the goods at a time and work slowly and carefully.

In sponging material of double width, let it remain folded with the right side turned in during the sponging. If the material is very heavy, it may be turned to the other side and the sponging repeated.

Wash materials of the linen order should be shrunken dipped in water, wrung out and pressed dry before they are made up. Fine mulls, flowered organdies, Swisses, etc., should not be shrunken for they are not as pretty afterwards as they were before.

Fashion Design Drawing - Cutting Materials Sponging 9.jpg