Fashion Design Drawing

that it will be almost impossible to pull them out. In stitching side-back seams always have tne back next the feed of the machine and the side-back next the presser-foot, and hold the parts well up at each end of the presser-foot. Otherwise the side-back seams are liable to pucker or pull when being sewed.

In making seams in which one portion is fulled on to another, place the full portion next the feed, or downward, because if it is placed next the presser-foot, the latter is liable to shove the fulness out of place. Notch the seams at the waistline and two or three times above and below it, enough to allow them to lie flat when pressed. Bind the seams neatly with ribbon seam-binding run on loosely, and press them open. Some dressmakers prefer to overcast the seams, and most of the imported French dresses are finished in that way, but it does not present as neat a finish and takes a great deal of time, as the overcasting must be done closely and carefully.

Many linings, especially those of taffeta, are simply pinked. Fig. 234 shows a seam edge bound, another overcast, and a third notched and ready to bind. It also shows the notching necessary to make the side seam lie flat when it is pressed open.

When no hem is allowed at the closing edge of the lining, it is necessary to face it. Cut two pieces of the lining material in the same outline as the front or back wherever the opening comes and two inches wide. Baste one on the outside of each front or back, stitch a seamed edge, and turn the facing over toward the inside. Place a row of stitching one-eighth of an inch inside the edge and another far enough inside the first to allow a whalebone or featherbone to be slipped in.

If a hem is allowed at the closing edge, turn it over toward the inside of the lining and make the two rows of machine-stitching form a casing for the bone. If the waist has a back closing, the hem or closing line is usually indicated by a notch at the neck and another at the bottom of the pattern. Fold a line from one of these notches to the other, keeping the hem an equal width, and with a thread of different color from the lining run a basting along the edge of the fold. Later this will be turned over for the closing.

Make a stay for the hooks and eyes from an extra strip of taffeta or thin lining, two inches wide. Fold lengthwise through the center and place it on the inside of the lining, with its fold at the basting-thread which marks the closing. Turn over both thicknesses and baste very carefully. Then stitch with one row of stitching an eighth of an inch back from the edge, and another row about three-eighths of an inch inside of that. The method is shown in Fig. 234. Pin the fronts together with the waistlines even. Place a tape-measure along the front edge, and with pins mark carefully the position for the hooks and eyes at every inch point, beginning one inch below the neck.

Fashion Design Drawing - Lined Waists 1.jpg

Whalebone can be bought in strips one yard long. About three yards are required to bone a waist. Get a medium-weight quality and let the whalebone soak in tepid water to soften it so the needle can be passed through it. Do not use hot water, as it will make the bone brittle.

Round the ends of the bone and shave them for half an inch to make the ends thinner, using a dull knife or the blade of the. scissors. Slip a bone into the casing at each side of the closing, allowing it to reach within an inch of the top of the first dart, and sew through the lining and bone near the top to hold it in place.

The seams should then be boned. Whalebone or the uncovered featherbone should be slipped into a bone-casing. Mark on each seam the point where the bone is to start. From five inches above the waistline is the rule, to one-quarter of an inch above the fin-

Fashion Design Drawing - Lined Waists 2.jpg

ished edge of the waist. Procure a piece of single bone-casing or Prussian binding, as it is called. This may be had in several colors, but black or white is to be preferred. Double over one end an inch and over-hand the edges together to make a little pocket. Do not sew this pocket fast to the seam, but begin three-quarters of an inch down from its fold and sew the casing on with a running stitch. (Fig. 235.)

Sew both edges, holding the casing somewhat full and keeping it over the middle of the seam.