Page:Newdressmakerwit00butt.djvu/62



OR the amateur tailoring has lost all its terrors. For one thing, modern tailoring is much softer in effect than informer years. The use of canvas has been reduced to a minimum, and haircloth has disappeared. Furthermore the present figure with its straight lines is much easier to fit than the old-time hour-glass figure with the pronounced cures at bust, waist and hip.

And more important still, women are now given help with their tailoring that was never available before. The Deltor shows them exactly how to cut. and cutting is more vital to good tailoring than to almost any other type of costume. The Deltor and Illustrated Instructions also tell them exactly how to cut their interlining and where to place whatever canvas, etc. the coat requires, how to put the coat together, and just where to stitch it. The finish of a tailored garment has to be extremely neat and the subject is handled fully in the Deltor for finishing.

In fact the Deltor shows a woman the way to make a tailored garment just as a first-class tailor would make it. and as it does it with pictures it is perfectly easy for her to follow and understand. Tailored garments are very expensive to buy and the fact that they are put within the reach of the home dressmaker by the Deltor marks a great advance in home sewing.

THE COAT PATTERN. Buy the pattern by the measures given on the pattern envelope. It is only necessary to consider the measures given on the pattern. Be sure that you know exactly what your measures are. Instructions for measuring the figure are given in Chapter 2, pages 10–12.

Before cutting your material you must be sure that the pattern is the right length for you in the waist and sleeve. Directions for measuring the waist and arm are given on pages 19. 20 and 21, Chapter 3, on altering the Length of Patterns. If you are long or short waisted, alter the pattern according to the instructions given on these pages. Directions for altering the length of different types of sleeve patterns are given in this same chapter on pages 20 and 21. If your arm is long or short, alter the pattern according to the instructions given on these pages.

If you are making a long coat, it is also necessary to compare the length of the coat below the waistline with the length you want your coat when finished. If it is necessary to alter the length of the pattern, do so according to the instructions given on the pattern envelope.

If the figure is unusual in any way, the pattern should be altered following the instructions given in Chapter 4, "Altering: Waist Pattern for Figures that Vary from the Average." A trial coat should be made in muslin and altered, following the principles given in Chapter 4.

MATERIALS. With the exception of silk or velvet, coat materials should be thoroughly shrunk or steamed before they are cut. (Chapter 6, Materials, Sponging, Steaming, Cutting, Etc.)