Page:The Cutter's Practical Guide 1898 Edition Part 1.djvu/41

34 is that garment which has more latitude allowed it in fancy or artistic designs. so that it becomes the duty of every cutter who has the trade at heart to give it his most careful study.

The number of buttons usually put up the front of a youth's vest varies from five to six, six or seven being plenty for the full size garment. The buttons on a vest often form its special feature, and much taste may displayed in the number and kind used.

We now come to deal with trousers, and doing so we feel the immense importance of the subject, and the very great difficulties which stand in the way before we can possibly attain perfection, so much so that we are more than ever convinced a trouser which shall fit without a wrinkle or crease in any of the various positions the legs may assume in conjunction with the body is a practicable impossibility, yet these are the garments many expert, and it is nothing to he surprised at if they are disappointed. To such we hold out no hopes. our endeavours will rather be to place such princi- ples as will enable the intelligent cutter to dis- tinguish what causes produce given effects, and to no apply them as to reduce the defects in trousers to a minimum. It may interest many of the "perfection seeking close" to examine their own body minus the clothing in a looking glass, and by placing themselves in a variety of positions to see how the skin wrinkles and creases and forms folds of surplus length and width; or if they wish some thing easier, let them screw up their hand in such a position as would be done if dipping up water, and then look at its crease and folds, or, still further, look at the knuckles and see the surplus skin form itself in ridges on them; what is the purpose of it all but to allow of certain move- ents? Bend the knuckles or open the palm, there is no surplus material there then; just so is it with trousers, and what is the production of our great Creator would hardly be called a misfit, a flaw, or a blemish, but rather looked upon as an illustra- tion of the perfection of his work, and yet when we apply the same principle to the production of trousers and produce identical effects with material far away less elastic than the skin, the surplus length which allows for variation in position is looked upon by some as a defect. How many tailors are there who are trying every fresh system and all sorts of dodges to get rid of the creases at the back of thighs just directly under the ball oof [sic] the seat? Yet if the maker of the system knows his business he would make a special arrangement in the working of his system which would produce just that surplus length at that part to enable the wearer to sit flown or stoop, and yet this is pro- ductive of these very folds, and we should advise them to relinquish such a "Will o' the wisp" chase, for if they got what they wanted they would find it far from what they expected, and that other and far more serious faults would be apparent at other parts if these were absent.

Again there is no system no perfect in its applica- tion but requires departing from for certain forms of figures, and the method we are about to eluci- date is no exemption. Space, however, will prevent our dealing with any other than the upright well formed figure, so refer our renders to the Federation Prize essay on trousers cutting or the new work on Livery Garments for our views on the deviations necessary for the various abnormalities to be met with in daily practice, such as corpulent and thin waists, knock knees, bow legs, and many other irregularities in form and position. The system as laid down in these, although practically the same in effect, is not exactly the same as in the above work, the reason for the few alterations made will be fully explained when we come to it. Preparatory to this it will he as wall to look at those principles or constituent parts which govern the fit and go