Page:The practical designer (Rosenfeld, 1918).djvu/25

19 AUTHORITY ON SYSTEMATICAL DRAFTING There was a question asked, which has never been answered yet and that is—What do we call systematical pattern drafting? If there is such, how can we prove same to a mechanical controlling that every person may learn its full understanding?

Authority on systematical drafting can' be easily proved to those who are in favor of knowing How, Why and When. The systematical production of pattern drafting is to be applied to a system of producing proportions before beginning systematical drafting, and when employing such methods of first producing proportional measurements, we no doubt employ the practical system of pattern drafting. In order to explain its practical use, I shall begin as follows:

Before commencing to draft, it shall be understood by the pattern drafter that we are making use of inches, and every one of the inches we employ in drafting is divided into eight-eighths. It shall therefore be understood that we have eight-eighths to an inch and put these numbers down as follows: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Now let us add—1 and 8 are 9, 2 and 7 are 9, 3 and 6 are 9, 4 and 5 are 9. After these addings we find 4 times 9, for which the total amounts to 36, which immediately serves for the woman's model size, which gives us instruction that we are to use a woman's model size 36. In order not to waste any space, look for full proportions of size 36, which you will find in the proportional tables in the following pages and let us now continue with another important division for drafting. It shall also be understood that in order to produce a systematical outline of pattern drafting, we need to understand that drafting consists of two actions, which means two productions, teaching us that the human form is built in two different manners, called height and width. As I have before described how to obtain the breast, which is the width measurement, I shall therefore show how to obtain the waist length in back, which is the production of the height, and in order to continue in placing such waist length, we need again remember the eight divisions of the inches and at the same time, we need to take the proportional height of the body, which is considered as 5 feet 6 inches, of which the entire instruction or pages are shown in the front part, and also showing how to obtain all measurements according to either height, but in order to describe the eight divisions of an inch, it shall be understood that the height division is also divided into eight equal parts and serves for each and every part of the human form; ⅛ of the total height of the body will serve for head space; 2/8 for the full waist length in back and ⅝ will serve for the full length of skirt in front.

Now we are about ready to know what authority on pattern drafting is, and in order to clearly understand it, it is necessary to know that we need a method of producing all measurements of width and height proportions, and at the same time to comply with the methods which give us a well-understood operation, which is the medium height for practical use according to such height proportion and which is the average width measurement for such as a model size. For such instruction see the front pages or the Grammar of Designing and Garment Cutting and the beginning of this article will fully simplify the entire method herewith described, which will be of great help in considering how to obtain all proportionate measurements by systematical methods for the height and width proportions for all the different sizes.