Tailoring for Women

Gertrude Mason

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Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

Informations

• Publié par: Read Books Ltd.
• Date de parution: 08 janvier 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781528763912
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

TAILORING FOR WOMEN
A TEXT-BOOK FOR THE CLASS-ROOM AND THE HOME ON THE CUTTING AND MAKING OF WOMEN S COATS AND SKIRTS IN PROFESSIONAL STYLE
BY
GERTRUDE MASON
LATELY INSTRUCTOR OF DRESSMAKING, COATMAKING AND TAILORING AT THE BIRMINGHAM COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY
Lately Lecturer Demonstrator in Needlework, Dressmaking, and Tailoring to classes of Teachers under the Ministry of Education, and The Birmingham Education Committee , Tutor and Examiner in Needle Subjects College of Handicraft.
THIRD EDITION
Revised and enlarged with many new illustrations
Copyright 2013 Read Books Ltd.
This book is copyright and may not be reproduced or copied in any way without the express permission of the publisher in writing
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Dressmaking and Tailoring
Dressmaking and Tailoring broadly refers to those who make, repair or alter clothing for a profession. A dressmaker will traditionally make custom clothing for women, ranging from dresses and blouses to full evening gowns (also historically called a mantua-maker or a modiste). Whereas a tailor will do the same, but usually for men s clothing - especially suits. The terms essentially refer to a specific set of hand and machine sewing skills, as well as pressing techniques that are unique to the construction of traditional clothing. This is separate to made to measure , which uses a set of preexisting patterns. Usually, a bespoke tailored suit or dress will be completely original and unique to the customer, and hence such items have been highly desirable since the trade first appeared in the thirteenth century. The Oxford English Dictionary states that the word tailor first came into usage around the 1290s, and undoubtedly by this point, tailoring guilds, as well as those of cloth merchants and weavers were well established across Europe.
As the tailoring profession has evolved, so too have the methods of tailoring. There are a number of distinctive business models which modern tailors may practice, such as local tailoring where the tailor is met locally, and the garment is produced locally too, distance tailoring , where a garment is ordered from an out-of-town tailor, enabling cheaper labour to be used - which, in practice can now be done on a global scale via e-commerce websites, and a travelling tailor , where the man or woman will travel between cities, usually stationing in a luxury hotel to provide the client the same tailoring services they would provide in their local store. These processes are the same for both women s and men s garment making.
Pattern making is a very important part of this profession; the construction of a paper or cardboard template from which the parts of a garment are traced onto fabric before cutting our and assembling. A custom dressmaker (or tailor) frequently employs one of three pattern creation methods; a flat-pattern method which begins with the creation of a sloper or block (a basic pattern for a garment, made to the wearer s measurements), which can then be used to create patterns for many styles of garments, with varying necklines, sleeves, dart placements and so on. Although it is also used for womenswear, the drafting method is more commonly employed in menswear and involves drafting a pattern directly onto pattern paper using a variety of straightedges and curves. Since menswear rarely involves draping, pattern-making is the primary preparation for creating a cut-and-sew woven garment. The third method, the pattern draping method is used when the patternmaker s skill is not matched with the difficulty of the design. It involves creating a muslin mock-up pattern, by pinning fabric directly on a dress form, then transferring the muslin outline and markings onto a paper pattern or using the muslin as the pattern itself.
Dressmaking and tailoring has become a very well respected profession; dressmakers such as Pierre Balmain, Christian Dior, Crist bal Balenciaga and Coco Chanel have gone on to achieve international acclaim and fashion notoriety. Balmain, known for sophistication and elegance, once said that dressmaking is the architecture of movement. Whilst tailors, due to the nature of their profession - catering to men s fashions, have not garnered such levels of individual fame, areas such as Savile Row in the United Kingdom are today seen as the heart of the trade.
Preface
M ORE women and girls are making their own coats and suits to-day than ever before, for they find outstanding advantages in doing so. A woman who makes her own coats is able to choose a style that will express her own individuality and in the size she needs, and also, to select a suitable material in a becoming colour at a price she wishes to pay.
The aim of this book is to help those women and girls who have contemplated making a coat but have hesitated at the undertaking; those who have made a coat but are dissatisfied with its unprofessional appearance, and those ambitious home tailoresses who wish to find simpler ways to accomplishment.
It does not pretend to offer all the technical details a tailor needs for his craft; only such tailor methods that come within the scope of home tailoring are dealt with. The professional look can quite well be given to a coat that is being made at home if the coat is made with all the exactness and care of finish which the tailor employs. The tailor-made coat is always in favour and its superiority in cut, fit, skilful manipulation, and sound internal workmanship over all other garments is never disputed. Now and again some caprice of Fashion gives it a new charm, or experts give it a new expression, but the principles of tailoring which are embodied and illustrated in this book are in themselves stable, however much fashions fluctuate.
In order that this book shall be permanently useful only the cutting of standard types of coats, and the fundamental stitches and processes are dealt with. If these are studied and practised there should be little difficulty in producing any desired effect in the cut and fashion of women s coats.
Many women prefer to buy a stock size coat pattern and adjust it to the requirements of their figure, than to draft one to their own measurements. The home tailoress will find that the illustrations and instructions given in the book will simplify and amplify those of the pattern, so that even a beginner can turn out a coat that she will be proud of. When experienced she will be able to use a stock pattern as a foundation and evolve any design she pleases.
It is a well-known fact that she who adds to a good practical knowledge of tailoring some acquaintance with its theoretical side will soon outdistance anyone who lacks the latter qualification.
G. M ASON .
To the Teacher of Women s Tailoring
A N often-expressed lament of many teachers of dress- and coat-making is that of the absence of a reliable book of instructions on the cutting and making of women s coats in professional style. This book is written at the request of numerous teachers of Dressmaking and Women s Tailoring who have attended the Ministry of Education s refresher courses for teachers in these subjects, in the hope that it may prove helpful to those interested in the teaching of women s tailoring, in Evening Institutes and Technical Colleges.
Women s tailoring is not a secret art, but a handicraft that women and girls can study and practise with advantage. It is proving very popular as more and more women are becoming skilful home dressmakers and they eagerly welcome the chance of learning how to cut and make a long coat or simple suit for themselves that does not bear the dreaded brand of home-made.
The teacher of women s tailoring should be familiar with the principles of some good coat draft and its adaptations to physical needs, personal taste and Fashion. She should be able to explain clearly the construction of materials, and discuss their suitability and characteristics, and how to cut them to the best advantage. She should also be able to demonstrate accurately and clearly by means of blackboard illustrations, or previously-prepared diagrams, teaching apparatus and finished specimens, the difficult points in coat cutting and making. She should also possess a knowledge of the tailor processes, shrinking, stretching, pressing, padding, etc., by which form is introduced into garments; for coats bear the stamp of amateur work unless they receive this manipulation. Her knowledge should enable her to see and remedy defects that may occur in the making of coats by inexperienced workers. Women s tailoring classes should be graded from elementary to advanced, or first and second year. (The instruction given in this book for the various drafts of coats with their essential stitches and processes, is arranged in logical sequence and graded from elementary coat-making to advanced tailoring.) Students should not be admitted to a tailoring class until they have attended at least one whole session for dressmaking. It is impossible to teach tailoring processes to students who are not already familiar with garment cutting and the constructive processes. Proper equipment should be provided in order that the details of the work may be fully demonstrated and practised.
Tailoring Equipment
T HIS may be divided into two sections, requisites and desirable accessories. The necessity for the various items enumerated depends upon the type of coat undertaken, the ambition of the home tailoress, and her finances. Every woman who attempts such important work as home tailoring should try and provide herself with the requisite tools and appliances to ensure results that may be admired by herself and all beholders.
REQUISITE EQUIPMENT
1. A cutting-out table, unpolis