Page:Every Woman's Encyclopedia Volume 1.djvu/787

 PRACTICAIL 759 LE^£ON.S IN DRESSMAKING Continued from Pagt 637, Part s By M. PRINCE BROWNE E.aminer in Dressmakings Tailoring, French Pattern Modelling, Plain Needlework, and Millinery, of the Ti-achers in Training at the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire, Cardiff ; the London Higher Technical Examination Centres, etc. ; First Class Diploma for Tailoring ; Diploma of Honour for Dressmaking ; Diploma of Merit of the Highest Order for Teaching ; Silver Medallist, London Exhibition, igoo ; Silver Medal, Franco- British Exhibition, igo8 ; Author of '^ Up-to-Daie Dresscutting and Draft ing,^^ also ** The Practical Work of Dressmaking and Tailoring." SIXTH LESSON. A SIMPLE SiCX— continued ■yHE " darts " must be about 5 inches long, and must be most carefully made. Fit one side of the skirt only ; the other side must be made to match when the skirt has been removed from the figure or dress- stand. After the skirt has been fitted correctly on the one side, take a piece of tailor's chalk and make marks on each side of the two darts and a mark across the bottom of each ; remove the pins, and place the skirt flat on the table, right side uppermost. Hold the chalk upright between the thumb and first finger, and perfect the outline of the dart, keeping it to the size denoted by the chalk-marks and to the length shown by the mark across the bottom of the dart. It must be sloped as gradually as possible towards the point, or there will be fulness at the bottom. The most accurate way of marking the darts on to the second side is by " tailor tacking," and, although this is not the method usually adopted by dressmakers, it is by far the most correct and satisfactory way, and if carefully carried out ensures the two sides being exactly alike. Fold the skirt in half — right side out — and place it flat on the table with the side on which the darts are marked uppermost, pin it together along the top, and stick one pin, downwards, in the centre of each dart. Thread a needle with a long length of white tacking cotton — or cotton of a con- trasting colour to the material — double the cotton, but do not make a knot at the end of it. Stick the needle in at the lowest point of one of the darts (see Diagram i) and make a small, running stitch through the two sides of the skirt exactly on the chalk line — leave an end about half an inch long instead of a knot — and make another small running stitch on the chalk line — about half an inch from the first — leaving a loose loop between. Continue these stitches to the top of the dart, and cut off the thread about half an inch beyond the last one. Make another row of these running stitches on the chalk line down the other side of the dart, leaving an end of about half an inch — when making the first stitch — instead of a knot, as shown by the diagram. Tailor tack the second dart in the same way. Unpin the skirt, draw the two sides of it slightly apart, and cut the double tacking threads — which hold them together — with a short, sharp pair of scissors without draw- ing any of the threads out of the material. N.B. — Blunt scissors are apt to catch the threads and pull them out, and with long scissors there is danger of snipping the material. When all the threads have been cut, the darts should appear traced by a line of short double threads on both sides of the skirt exactly to correspond, as shown in Dia- gram 2. N.B. — The seams, corrections, etc., of the two sides of any garment can be made exactly alike by being tailor tacked. Take the skirt off the table, turn it to the wrong side, and form each of the darts by bringing the two lines of tailor tacking exactly together from the top to the point. Pin each dart together, being careful that the pins are on the line of tacking on both sides. Diagram I. Tailor tacking the darts. This is the best method of ensuring the accuracy of the darts Thread a needle with single tacking cotton — white or coloured — make a knot at the end, and tack each dart from the top to the point exactly on the line of tailor tacking. This tacking should be done rather neatly, and most carefully and gradually finished off, so that no fulness may be left at the point of the dart. Before stitching the darts, remove all the short threads of the tailor tacking, as it is very difficult to do so after the machine- stitching has been done. The darts must all be stitched from the top downwards, in order to work the point gradually off to nothing. If worked from the point upwards the first stitch would have to be made on the' material, and a little pleat would thereby be*