Fashion Design Drawing

After the material has been thoroughly freshened washed, pressed or dyed lay it out on the new pattern and see if it requires piecing. If necessary, piece the lining so that it will set comfortably. It should be easy across the bust and shoulders, and snug, but not tight, over the waist and hips. In piecing, cut the patches on the same grain of the material as the original garment. Never piece at the neck or armhole with a bias or straight piece of material. Lay the new fabric on the old, following the grain of the latter. Hem the piece down neatly, and cut the garment over by the new pattern.

Put the Lining on, and then drape the outside over it after you have cut it according to your pattern. By using fancy trimming-pieces, collars, yokes, plastrons, etc., you can almost always remodel a waist so that the piecing will never show. Lace or net for yokes, chemisettes, etc., can be dyed the color of the dress either at home or at a regular dyeing establishment. Lace can be dipped in tea to give it a rich cream color that can be made lighter or darker according to the strength of the tea.

REMODELING A SKIRT is an easy matter if the new pattern is narrower than the old skirt. In that case it is only a question of recutting; but if the pattern calls for more material than you have in the skirt itself, you will have to do some piecing. Braided bands covering the skirt seams are an excellent way of increasing the width of a skirt. Or you can raise the skirt at the waistline, refit it, and add to it at the bottom by a band or a fold. Or it may be pieced at the bottom and the line of piecing covered by wide braid, bias bands, etc.

Linen or Pique Skirts can often be lengthened by bands of embroidery insertion or by bias bands of the material. These skirts are very apt to shrink around the hips. They should be ripped from their belts, raised and refitted. They will have to be lengthened.

Coats should be remodeled by an up-to-date pattern. If they require piecing, try to let it come at a seam and cover it with a stitched or braided band. Quite frequently it is easier to cut a coat suit down for one of the daughters of the house than to remodel it for the mother. But do not use a material that is old and somber for a child, without relieving it by a trimming that is bright and youthful-looking. A black-and-white pin-checked wool or a dark serge is apt to make a dull frock for a little girl, but if it is trimmed with bands of contrasting material in a suitable color it becomes childish-looking and pretty.

In making over half-worn garments into presentable and at the same time durable clothes for boys, such as suits, reefers, and overcoats, a tailored finish is the first requirement. It means neat work, even stitching and careful pressing. For the pressing you will need heavy irons, evenly heated, and a piece of unbleached muslin that can be dampened and laid over your work.

In ripping apart the old coat or suit that is to be remodeled for your little son, notice carefully all the small devices of interlining, canvas and stitching that the tailor used in making the garment. You can repeat many of them in your own work. If you use the old canvas and find that it has grown limp, you can restiffen it by dampening it thoroughly and ironing it with a heavy iron thoroughly heated. Full directions for making boys' trousers are given in Chapter XXIII, "Boys' Suits," and Chapter XX, "Pockets." Chapter XXII, on "Coats and Jackets," will give you all the necessary information you will want for finishing the jackets or overcoats.