Page:The cutters' practical guide to the cutting of ladies' garments.djvu/38

30 order to avoid this foul material at back of the arm, it will be necessary to clear out the undersleeve as shown by dotted lines W, whilst a little may be taken off the top of the hindarm of undersleeve and stretched up. In all these defects the (juantity or extent of the alteration must be decided by the degree to which the defect appears. There are many other defects to which sleeves are liable, but those touched upon are perhaps the most important ones.

To the inexperienced Ladies 1 Cutter, Dolman Capes, and the like garments, are probably a greater source of anxiety than any other styles; and yet, if the principles on which they are cut are but once grasped, they are as easy to cut as the implest garment worn. We rind young men can better grasp these by cutting one out, baisting it together, and trying it on a figure of the same breast measure as the pattern is cut for. We seldom cut them out by system, that is, by drawing-lines and angles, for they are generally worn as part of a garment, and as such must necessarily be made to harmonize with the parts it has to be worn with: hence we iu variably use the parts of the pattern they will be worn in connection with, such as the forepart, sidebody, and sleeve to draft them out by. This will be best understood by following the arrangement we will describe.

The body part of these may be cut exactly the same as the Ulster, with one exception, viz., the sideseam running into the scye point of shoulder, instead of about 2 inches below; the scye may be made close fitting, and sleeves added in the usual way if so desired.

The more general plan of cutting the body part is illustrated by diagram 53, the dotted lines representing the ordinary Ulster as described in a preceding section. The scye is lower from C G and I, and the back carried to shoulder point. (The sleeve pitches at B and C should be carefully marked as a guide for the wing in making), but a reference to diagram 53 will make this perfectly plain, without further detailed instruction from us. The only further remark we need make is with reference to the shoulder. If the wing or cape is made to come over the shoulder as in the Russian Cloak, the shoulder of the under part may be considerably narrowed, say to 2 inches at P, but of course this must not be done with such garments as are illustrated on figures 33 and 36, where the Dolman wing takes more the form of the sleeve. Sometimes in very thick materials, or for the sake of economy, the sidebody is not extended right through, being merely made about 4 inches deep at the waist, the forepart being also arranged in harmony; but our readers will readily understand that, though it is not indicated on the diagram. We will now proceed to deal with the various styles of Dolman, and begin with

The Duchess Dolman,

This is a style which has taken well with the better class of society, the only objection to it being the difficulty in lifting the arms, but this is a defect apparent in many—we may say most—styles of Dolmans. In appearance it bears a certain resemblance to the Russian Circular Cloak, with this great difference, the wing is finished at a level with the waist, instead of extending right through to the shoulder; but this will be best understood by a reference to figure 33, which, brings out the special features very clearly, so we will turn our attention to the cutting, and as we have fully described the body part, we will proceed with

First take the sidebody and sleeve, and lay them down as shown by the dotted lines of diagram 54, the hindarm of sleeve and top of sidebody joining as at A, then notice there is at least 3 inches space at L, and mark round from C to B, B being as far from A ae A is from B in diagram 53. Now continue from B to I, and J, by the back of the sidebody, though it is just as well to fill it in at I ½ inch, so avoiding the decided hollow at I; continue across to K as far as taste may dictate, now put the finger on the sleeve at C, and swing round the sleeve till it is level with the waist, making C the pivot, and marking C to F by the forearm of sleeve, and connecting F to K as shown. In order to avoid getting the seam just on the top, some cutters add on about 2 inches from C to D, and take the same amount off the undersleeve which is outlined by E G H F, and is cut by the scye of diagram 53 from E to G, and the remainder by taste.

The popularity of these garments during the past few years has raised them to a position of importance in Ladies' Garments, and as they combine both warmth and comfort, it is more than likely they will continue