Page:The cutters' practical guide to the cutting of ladies' garments.djvu/62

54 as long as the seams runs exactly over the prominence or depression, all that is necessary will he to provide for them by suppressions, &c.; but as soon as the seams run to the one side or the other, then manipulation will be necessary, as for instance in the sideseams: if the back is cut very wide and straight, then the back must be fulled on to the sidebody; but if narrow and hollow, then the sidebody must be fulled on, so that the pocket, as it were, for the prominence, is located in the right place. But if the cutter once realises that the human figure has its points of depression and prominence, and that the garment he is cutting has to fit that, and not to lie flat and smooth on a board, then he will realise the importance of the form of fit.

May then claim his attention. Fashion must be consulted, but if he would be an artist tailor he must tone down fashion follies by the application of art rules. If the' garment is loose and baggy, vertical lines may be introduced to take away the shortening tendency of the amplitude of width. This may be either done by the use of striped material, the position of the seams or the method of ornamentation. The multiplication of seams makes the various parts narrower, and so introduces length, and our readers will And ladies are quite aware of this phase of the subject, and will expect the cutter by this means to modify or tone down any defect that may exist in their figure. Always avoid sharp angles; let your lines run with graceful sweeps; there are scarcely any sharp angles in the outline of the human figure, all are softened down, and instead of a sharp angle there is a graceful curve: and if we remember the aims of art are to elevate, to enable, to beautify, we shall realize that in nature we have our copy, and that it should be our aim to present nature in its most ideal forms; and this it will he found can only be done by the avoidance of angles and the introduction of curves. Study Hogarth's line of beauty, infuse it in the outline of your garments, and you will soon be a master of art of improving the form of style. It will at once be apparent that it would be out of keeping to dress an elderly person up as a young one, or a peasant as a king, so we will leave this phase of the subject, and hasten on to a study of that all important one

Under this heading we must take a brief glance at (1) the combination of various shades or hues, so that each shall assist the other; (2) the effects and suitability of the various colours for different complexions: and (3) the artistic effect of checks and stripes. Colour depends on light. In the dark all colours are the same and we know the single ray of white light is composed of all colours, and is easily divisable by the prism into red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, and indigo. These seven were looked upon by Sir Isaac Newton as primary colours, or colours of the first importance: but specialists in this branch, such as Sir David Brewster, now look upon red, yellow, and blue as the only primaries, contending that the others are produced by the mixture of these in some form or other, and that these three stand out as the elements of colour. White and black are not colours themselves, but represent light and darkness, whilst a mixture of the two forms the neutral tint we call grey. Every colour has its complementary, this is composed of the remaining portions of the three primaries not used in its formation; thus the complementary of red is green; of yellow, purple: of blue, orange. The green, purple, and orange being the mixture of the other two primaries required to make white light. To produce harmony in colour or complete satisfaction to the eye, the presence of all three primaries is required, either alone or a combination: and when so used they each add to the intensity of the other; thus red appears much redder when placed on green, and so on. But it is not necessary to combine them just in those forms, half shades or tertiary colours produce a less glaring effect: they are produced by a mixture of the three primaries in different quantities. Citrine, russet, and olive are the three most important tertiaries. In citrine there is a predominance of yellow, hence it harmonises well with purple or violet. In olive there is an extra quantity of blue, it harmonises well with orange; and russet, which is largely composed of red, harmonises well with green, or proper proportions of olive and citrine. The complementary arrangement as above described, says "Chevruel," is of the first importance. In Diagram 127 the complementary colours are arranged opposite each other, thus blue and orange, red and green, and so on: the triangle shows the three primaries, whilst between each point is illustrated the combination of the primaries to produce binaries: thus equal portions of yellow and blue produces green; a preponderance of yellow gives a yellowish green, and so on. Combinations of the same colour on different shades is called the harmony of analogy, and often produces some very pretty effects, as in the combination of Oxford and Cambridge blues; but when two tones of the same colour are placed side by side in this way, the dark one will appear darker, and the light one lighter. When locking at a bright colour on a black ground, there is a tendency for the eye to surround it with its complementary, and thus often make the black suffer. Bet us now examine the suitability of the different