remake 1919 how to alter ill fitting garments and how to handle try ons

8/19/2019 Remake 1919 How to Alter Ill Fitting Garments and How to Handle Try Ons

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REV. RATSPEED’S

GIGUNDOUS TOME OF

CUTTING & TAILORING

A C

H I D

A S, A T,

D R

A N M

O S T

PRACTICAL INSTRUCTION

How to Alter Ill-Fitting Garments andHow to Handle Try-Ons, Showing Illustrations

How to Avoid Faults From the Beginning

By WM. LEHMANN • 1919


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Pract i ca lInstruction

How to Alter Ill-FittingGarments and How to

H a n d l e T r y - O n s


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P R A C T I C A L I N S T R U C T I O N

•

How to Alter Ill-Fitting Garments andHow to Handle Try-Ons

• Showing Illustrations How to Avoid

Faults From the Beginning

•

PRICE, $5.00

•

By

WM. LEHMANN

CHICAGO


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Cuts and Reading Matter

Copyright, 1919

By

WM. Lehmann, Chicago

U. S. and Canada


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6 PRACTICAL INSTRUCTION

PREFACE

I am convinced that this book, giving correctinstructions how to alter ill-fitting garments, will onlybe consulted if my colleague is confronted with a misfit,

which only leaves him the alternative of a correct andthorough alteration.

“Clothes make the man,” but very often extensivealterations are essential before they fulfill this mission.

I might compare a garment, which needs alteration, with a patient seeking relief in the operating room.Sometimes the cure will be successful, but often hopesare not realized.

The causes which make faults appear are numerousand very different. Right at the start mistakes are made,either by not taking the correct measurements or carelessdrafting of the model, or by not using a dependablesystem, resulting naturally in a faulty cut. If, after tryingon the garment, it is not altered in the right way, it neednot surprise anybody if the ready garment does not fit.

On the other hand, a garment measured and cut correctlymight not fit if the tailoring does not conform with thecut.

The purpose of this book is to show how to makealterations in a successful and very simple manner. Andmy colleagues will judge its value according to the practicaladvantage which they will derive from it. A tailor of many

years’ experience will find nothing particularly new, buta beginner and less experienced tailor will find valuableinstructions regarding the most difficult alterations.It requires a careful study to become an expert in thetailoring line. Very often it is entirely wrong to correct a

fault where it shows. The correction has to be made inan indirect way and in such a case it is very importantto know exactly how the fault originated. Furthermore,this book will show that often an alteration must besucceeded by another one to get the desired result. If theproportion of one part to another is changed, this changemust conform with the other parts, in order that a faultcorrected in one place does not appear at another. Veryoften this is not given due consideration.

The purpose of this book is a double one.

It shall serve not only as an instructor for unavoidablealterations, but also direct the attention of the reader tothe cause of the fault, and will give information which

will avoid mistakes for the future.

In the same sense cases will be explained even thoughan alteration is impossible.

To accomplish this it is necessary to show, byillustrating the ill-fitting garments and how to change thecut, in which way an alteration can be made in a mostsimple and successful manner. Every tailor knows fromexperience that this is very valuable, as through incorrectalterations a garment which otherwise might be saved

will be spoiled entirely.

Therefore, this book should be of especial interestentering an entirely new field; namely, the alteration ofill-fitting garments.

Nevertheless, my instructions can be consulted notonly when the garment is ready, but also after trying onif irregularities should show in the fit.

If the instructions are used accordingly, everycolleague will see its advantage, as it will enable him intime to avoid mistakes and resulting alterations. Everytailor knows from experience what he will save on timeand money.

The book illustrates the most common faults inovercoats, coats, vests and pants.

Certainly it does not exhaust all alterations, which would run into hundreds, even thousands, but which ingeneral can be traced back to certain points and changedaccordingly.

I close with the wish that the possessor of this book will not often have occasion to use it, as the less ill-fittinggarments he has to alter the better it is for him. But Ihope whoever is compelled to use it, will derive greatbenefit from it.


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7

THE CUTTING

This chapter is not supposedto be devoted to a discussion ofmany cutting systems, but shallexplain several simple cutting-rules, which many cutters andtailors do not deem necessaryto take into consideration. Thequestion as to whether thedirect or the indirect cuttingsystems are the best will not bediscussed in this chapter. Thisdispute will probably not bedecided easily, as each expertalways believes his system thebest and infallible on accountof his familiarity with it andhis success in business, whichhe ascribes to the use of it.

Certainly, if you consider itfrom this viewpoint, everyone isright.

In fact, it is immaterial if amodel is produced with the helpof trigonometry, geometry, etc.,or the proportion. The mainthing always is that a correctcut be effected. If, then, the

workmanship is correct (such asthe cut requires), the result willbe a well fitting garment.

Why is it that although nowadaysthe art of cutting is highly developed,always more mistakes occur thanone would think possible to a largedegree it will be found due to the factthat many cutters are attentive only

when cutting, but are superficial inthe shaping and in workmanship.I will explain in the following part,that my assertions are correct.

Every expert knows, that carelessor bad workmanship will spoil thebest cut. Now, one should think,

that the knowledge of this factshould cause each expert or cutterto instruct the tailor in a necessaryand correct way regarding theshaping of the cut, so that no faultsoccur. It is to be regretted, thatthis is not always the case, as manyof my colleagues think they havedone their duty if the piece is cutout. But also, when cutting, oneoften will be careless. For instance,

you see chalkmarks of about ⅜ of

an inch on the separate parts, sothat the tailor sometimes does not

know where to put the stitches forthe outlet ; in front, in the centeror behind the chalk. Notches forthe putting together of the separateparts (Figs. 3, 5 and 6 show samein little cross lines) will be made

very seldom, so that the tailor is ata loss to understand, and will in acase like this, as a rule, baste or sewon the different parts in such a way,that the result will be a good run inthe armhole. If an extra seam in thearmhole is not added, on the modelat the blade and at the front part, theback part will come out of its rightplace compared with the front part.Figures 1 and 2 give very plainly theproof for this assertion. Figures 1and 2, full lines, show the correctlycut separate parts of the model puttogether in such a way. Figure 1shows the seams which have to besewed in, at the blade towards thearmhole and at the front part, at theside seam, also in the armhole. Also

the combination points areespecially marked here withshort cross lines. If onenow sews the parts togetheraccording to these marksback and side parts will movein a horizontal direction and

just as much as the seamsrequired. Side and back parthowever, will retain the sameheight as before (see thedotted lines in Fig. 1). It wilbe different if the previouslydescribed seams, which mustbe added at the front andside part in the armhole, arenot there, and also no markfor the sewing together. In

this case only the run in thearmhole has to be consideredas a standard.

If this is the only markfor the sewing together, theposition of the side part andback part compared with thefront part will be displacedand will extend too deep andtoo wide towards the back.

The dotted lines in Figure2 show the displacement, not onlyof the entire back part but also (asthe combination points have beenplaced as a proof) of the separateparts. A coat put together in such a

way will be about one inch too shortat the top, and consequently willfall down the neck. Besides in thearmhole diameter towards the backit will be too large ; across the backtoo wide ; and below in the waist toolong. It also will be too tight at thisplace.

This will show how little mistakes

when cutting, can cause muchdamage. The combination marksare also of considerable importanceif, when the cutter is rushed, theseparate parts in their end pointsare not correctly marked or cutDespite this, the parts will cometogether in their right position andshould the armhole be uneven, thiscan be equalized easily by utilizingthe outlet. It is self -understood thatthese marks are necessary for putting

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2.


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THE OUTLETS

Even if applying all previous rulescarefully, alterations will always benecessary, as nobody is infallible; not even the most conscientioustailor. Therefore, when tailoringaccording to measure, outlets willalways have to be recommended, asthey will make it possible to correcta faulty garment.

Even if one supposes, that everytailor knows on what places he hasto leave outlets, it will do no harmto give some explanations. First, toexplain the value and the purposeof certain outlets; and second, toprove that the outlets indicated onFigures 3 to 8 (with dotted lines) aresufficient in every case. At the backpart, Figure 3, one will find outlets inthe neckhole, at the center seam, onboth sides of the back skirts and atthe armhole. The outlet at the neckhole will appear too small, but willbe entirely sufficient, for its purposeis only to equalize the neck hole and

a precaution for raveling goods.For setting the collar higher it

only should be used, if necessary,for the regulation of the neck hole,and not more than about one-half inch. To correct a coat whichpulls down at the neck, by settingthe collar about one inch higher isentirely wrong, as this fault has to beremedied in another way. Many willconsider the outlet at the armholeunnecessary, as for an eventual

widening of the back the outlet inthe center seam could be used. Thismay be the case once in a while, butnot always. Furthermore, it shouldbe considered, that the back partmust be corrected again, which wilcause unnecessary work, that shouldbe avoided when altering.

The outlet at the armhole is alsoof advantage, because eventuadeficiencies, which the armholerounding might show, could beadjusted. It is never a disadvantagebut is often of great advantage forseveral alterations. This will beexplained later on.

Outlets shown at the front partFigure 5, are well known to everytailor, therefore it will be unnecessaryto mention them here.

The outlet in front at the breastedge is not necessary except oncoats with revers.

To be safe with other garmentsone has to cut the button stand a

little wider. To add about one to twoinches more in front of the outlet

will only be necessary if the cut is very faulty.

At the side part, Figure 6, outletis only left in the armhole and in the

waist seam. To place an outlet atthe back seam is of no purpose ; it

will only draw. If the seam has beensewed and pressed already and one

would then let out the outlet, the oldseam always would appear again

together the back and front part of coats and overcoats. The sleeve in many cases is neglected, too. The cutter will, instead of cutting out the undersleeve himself, withonly a few exceptions, add a piece of goods and leave thecutting of the undersleeve to the tailor. If the undersleeve

would be marked at the top sleeve, the careful tailor would have a mark how to cut it, but without this he is

compelled to cut the undersleeve according to his own judgment, which will only be correct in a few cases. Thenis it a wonder if such a sleeve does not fit, and in manycases spoils the entire garment ?

With the collar it will be similar. Only a very few tailorsunderstand how to cut a correct fitting collar, thereforethere should be added to each piece a correct andaccurately cut collar model. But this is very seldom done.

Much aggravation, trouble and time could be saved ifthere is a well fitting collar on the garment, as it scarcelycan be believed how many faults an incorrect collar cancause.

Therefore be very careful when cutting the garmentto instruct the tailor in everything which he must knowand make it a standard rule not to permit the tailor to

cut important parts, as he very seldom will possess thenecessary knowledge.

The sacrifice on time is small compared with the faults which are caused by superficial workmanship, so thatevery cutter should not omit to do the necessary workhimself.

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9

Only a very simple Customer would not object to this.If the coat must be made larger, the outlet at the frontpart has to be used. Even if the old seam would showa little, this would not matter very much, as the sleeve

would cover this.

It should be mentioned here, also, that the side partmust be cut as wide as possible, so that the seam does not

appear in a conspicuous way.Every tailor will know how much outlet is necessary for

the skirt. This is plainly shown on Figure 7.

Regarding an eventual addition at the lower edge, seethe directions in connection with the back skirt.

The undersleeve, Figure 8, has only outlet at thefront seam. To place an outlet at the back seam is notrecommended. If one would enlarge a sleeve by lettingout the outlet at the back seam, this seam would turn toofar on top of the arm. However, it is different if the sleeveis enlarged by letting out the outlet at the front seam ofthe undersleeve. In this case the seam will also turn a

little more to the front, but as the undersleeve is alwayscut about 2 to 2½ inches smaller than the topsleeve, thefront seam will lay originally under the arm. If the justdescribed outlet had to be let out entirely, as in exceptionalcases, the seam will not extend over the front center, butalways to the inside, and therefore will not spoil the looksof the sleeve.

The latter instance would be the case if the extension would be made at the back seam. I do not think it has tobe emphasized especially that the turnup shall not be toosmall (on top and undersleeve) and if the sleeve is made

with an open vent, a button stand has to be added to itat the undersleeve. 8 The foregoing explains what kind

of outlets are efficient on coats and overcoats, but oneshould be careful to give these an outlet in the back partat the armhole.

Also a rather large turnup below at the front and backpart would be of advantage.

If the goods is wiry and hard finished, the seams, whichhave an outlet, should be sewed together by hand, notby machine. Otherwise, if let out, the old seam wouldbe visible again. There is no danger of this if the goodsis rough and soft. The pressing of the outlet seams has

to be done very carefully. The same must not be pressedagainst the nap, or too hard. Neither must it be scorchedbecause in none of these cases can the outlet be usedagain, without being noticed.

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8.

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THE JUDGING OF THE FAULTS AND WHAT HAS TO BE DONE TO REMEDY THEM

All alterations must be made very carefully, and above

all it has to be defined first what caused the fault ; eitheran incorrect cut or faulty workmanship. This is not aseasy as usually is supposed. In most cases a fault willnot show at the seat of the trouble, but at an entirelydifferent place.

Therefore an alteration should not be made at theplace where the fault shows, unless one is convincedthat it originated at that place. A garment is not alwaystoo wide or too long where superfluous length or widthappears to be. The same might have originated in beingtoo narrow or too short in another place. Pressure anduncomfortableness, especially in the front part of thearmhole, cannot always be removed by cutting, but more

correctly by letting out at another place. In this caseespecially much damage is done, as many tailors do notknow any other way than cutting out the armhole.

Only the expert will never err. A less skilled tailor willbe deceived by appearance and alter the garment at theplace where it does not seem to fit. Such an alteration,made without experience and in an optimistic way, willalways result in worse faults than before. These causerenewed corrections, which make the fit of the garmentquestionable, although several alterations have beenmade.

Therefore it must be urged again to first define the

cause of a fault before altering. A wrong alteration willspoil the garment entirely.

The faults on a garment show in a different way, andas already mentioned before, very often at an entirelyopposite place. In most cases they show through theappearance of wrinkles or through tightness at severalplaces. The latter is hard to discover, but the pressureand uncomfortableness will be noticed by the customer

when wearing the garment.

Wrinkles which run straight and perpendicular are theresult of a too extensive width. To remove these wrinklesis easy. It cannot always be said that they are faults. Thisis a matter of taste, and a rather wide made garment

can nevertheless be “chic”. The better clientage and thetailors serving them know this very well.

It is more difficult to correct cross wrinkles, and one

has to be very careful when doing away with those of a“too much.” Many an expert has and will be deceived byaltering in too large a degree. As a natural consequencethe fault will show at an opposite place.

The worst faults are bias wrinkles. The cause is mostlyan incorrect proportion of the front and back length. I

will explain this in later chapters.

It is extraordinarily important for a careful tailorto judge those faults correctly which result throughtightness. These are not evident, but are the cause offaults which nearly always show as superfluous width atan opposite place.

Usually these faults originate by clumsy altering afterthe trying on, and can only be removed if outlet is thereand the same is not scorched. The best way will be torip open the part which is uncomfortable and too tight(padding and lining also), and then to look up the cause

All alterations must be done in such a way that thecollar, lapels and the neck hole remain untouched. It isa well known fact that alterations of collar, lapels andneck hole nearly always spoil the shape, and the looks ofthe entire garment will be spoiled. This damage can veryseldom be made good.

I will endeavor to show by the following illustrationsthat it is very important that alterations should be made

wherever possible without touching the collar. Of coursethere are cases where the trouble is due to a faulty collaritself.

After this introduction I will discuss several cases which will be illustrated on skirt coats, coat and overcoain a buttoned condition, which always show the faultsmost plainly.


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11

COATS AND OVERCOATSI. B ACK SHOULDER TOO SHORT.

Figures 9 and 10 show these faults very plainly. Figure9 shows the coat unbuttoned. The collar ts well, butthe front parts separate and drop to the back. The coat,from the back shoulder down, stands off the body andthe skirt laps over. The coat, so to say, does not fit closeto the waist.

When the coat is buttoned, the collar is loose aroundthe neck and it shows wrinkles up from the side of the

waist to the shoulders. (See Fig. 10.) If the coat is pulled

down in order to remove wrinkles, the collar will cometoo low, and the back part will be too short in the neckand too long at the bottom. Consequently the coat willbe all right in the waist but the skirts will drop apart. Infront the coat moves up and stands away from the neckand the skirts cross too much in front. Very often thecoat is too tight across the breast. (See Fig. 11.)

These are the evident faults, but the invisible faultsare there, too. The garment is uncomfortable, which onlythe wearer will notice. It pinches in front of the armholeand shoulder because the front part will be drawn downthrough the back part, and consequently lays too tight onshoulder and arm. If one supposed the necessary outlet

is there and moved up the collar as much as requiredabout one inch; let out the outlet on the skirt and tookoff the unnecessary goods in the front, apparently thefault would be remedied. The garment, however, wouldnot look very good and remain uncomfortable. It willose in looks, not only by the waist seam being too highin front and too low in the back (skirt garments, etc.),but the figure will also have a sloping shoulder effectbecause the shoulder seam will come too much to theback and the back part will be narrower at the neck, bysetting the collar higher about 1¼ to 1½ inches.

Despite this alteration the pressure at the armholeand at the shoulder will not disappear.

If one will remedy this by cutting out the armhole infront, the garment will be too wide in the back—on theblade—and the fullness will have to be taken in. By doingthis the coat will be too small, mostly across the breast,and the garment would be half spoiled. The altering willnot only cause much work, because the collar has to beripped off and made shorter, but the looks of the lapels

will be spoiled, too.

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If one supposed that by putting the collar higher theback neck increases so considerably, every good tailorshould ask himself the question: “Is it possible that Imade such a mistake when taking the measure of thecustomer that the length of the waist is one inch tooshort?” By being a little thoughtful he would know thatthe alteration, which I just described, cannot be right.Should the fault be due to the fact that the upper backpart is a trifle too short, that does not prove that thelength of the back is too short.

The length is correct, one can see that, because, thefaulty coat shows what is missing at the top is too longat the bottom. That means that the length of the backis not distributed in the right dimensions ; above thebreast line not enough ; below the breast line too much

This mistake happens often because the cutter was notcareful enough and omitted to mark the notches in front

side and back parts. In consequence of this, the partsare not in their right place. I illustrated this in Figure2, in the rst part of this book—The Cutting. This faultcan be altered in the following way : Turn to Figure 12.Rip open the skirt seam from (d) to (c), also the seamunder the arm from (a1) to (b1) and the armhole seamfrom a little before (a1) to (f). The side part has to bemoved upward as much as the collar is too low when thecoat is pulled down smooth. In this case it is one inch,so that the marks (a2) and (b1) of the side body close to(a1) and (b2) of the front part will come together. Aftersewing together front and side part, the armhole will beequalized by taking off the uneven cloth on the side part

or, if by doing this the armhole will be cut out too muchletting out the outlet in the front part. In the waist line,as a rule, only the front part has to be altered by takingaway the protruding part from (b2) to (c). Should, bydoing this, the skirt seam become too hollow and sag ina bad looking way, a part of the outlet below (b1) mustbe let out, about half of the part moved up and the frontpart near (b2) must be shortened only as much as isnecessary. Should the skirt still be too wide in the backthe change will have to be made in the pleat.

By moving up the side part the armhole will be largerand outlet on under arm must be let out in order toenlarge the sleeve. Only in a few cases will one have totake off on the blade. It is understood that the liningand padding must be taken care of at the same time. Imention this, although every tailor will know this.

It is easy to remedy this, using this simple alteration which can be done in a short time and without any dangerCoats and overcoats, when open, show the same faultsas coats with a skirt. But if those are fully buttoned andpulled down in the back, to avoid the sloping wrinklesthe faults will show in a different way. The collar alsois too low in the back, but inasmuch as the coat is notopen on the bottom, the back part cannot move down, istight across the seat and shows horizontal wrinkles in the

waist (see Fig. 13).On an overcoat it will show in a different way. The

vent will spread and the cross wrinkles will disappear toa certain degree.

The alteration has to be made in the same way as thecoat mentioned before, but the moving up of the backpart must be done in the side seam (see Fig. 14). In casethere is enough turnup on the edge of the back part, thisturnup must be let out, which would always be betterthan to shorten the front part across the bottom.

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13

II. FRONT SHOULDERS TOO LONG.

The effect of this is, when the coat is unbuttoned (seeFig. 9), the same as with a too short back shoulder. Herethe buttoned coat shows another figure, because thefront shoulder is proportionately too long. It will fit allright in the back, but the front edge will show up longer,only showing on the breast and lapel. The collar will fitclose and be high enough (see Fig. 15).

To define exactly how much the front shoulder is toolong, make a pleat across the breast from one armhole tothe other, which will define the degree of the alteration.

According to the width of the pleat, the alteration hasto be done in the same way as demonstrated in thepreceding part on Figure 12. In this case the back partis not moved up, only the front is moved down, so theprotruding part at the side of the armhole must not betaken away. However, the outlet in the front part of the

armhole at (a1) must be let out, in order to give thearmhole a good form. Regarding the other alterations, onthe waist line, skirt, sleeve, etc., see description in Part I.

If after this alteration the skirt seam should be toolow in front, this would not matter much, only theunnecessary front length at the bottom of the skirt willhave to be taken away towards the back. This is becausethe front part cannot be shortened in the waist, as thedistance of the button holes would be uneven.

If after this alteration it should develop that the armholeis too low, things will be more critical. If the cloth permitspiecing, without being noticed, the fault will be easily

remedied. But if one is not able to do this, then the frontshoulder must be shortened straight across, as much asnecessary. Certainly the alteration in the back seam ofthe side body and in the waist seam must be omitted. Analteration of this kind will require more work, becausecollar and sleeve have to be removed. If the lapel shallretain its style, other alterations must be made. The neckhole must be made deeper, the lapels shortened, and thecollar must conform with the new neck hole. All this isonly possible if the lapel button hole is not too close tothe gorge, otherwise the lapel must remain unchanged.

One can also make the alteration so that the front part will only be half lowered and the surplus goods will betaken away from the top of the shoulder, although this

will be a more difficult alteration than by only shorteningthe front shoulder. Such a complicated change will only

be recommended when through this the piecing underthe armhole can be omitted and the lapels will remain asbefore.

Coats and overcoats will show the same fault andshould be altered as in Figure 14. The back part remainsunchanged, but the outlet in the armhole of the frontpart at (a1) must be let out. The surplus length in thefront part below must be evenly taken away up to thefront edge, if the location of the pockets permit thisotherwise it is more advantageous to let out the turnupacross at the bottom of the back part.

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14.


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III. B ACK SHOULDER TOO LONG. The following two cases are the

opposite of the previously described. The faults of a back shoulder too long will show on Figure 16. The wholeback seems too full, almost puffed up.

The coat fits good at the collar and atthe waist line, but here often so tightthat cross wrinkles form from the

waist buttons upward to the armhole. The coat spreads apart. However, thecoat fits well in front, but often as acontinuance of the cross wrinkles, asmall wrinkle before the armhole willbe noticed and a slight pressure willresult in front of the armhole.

Very often the puffed back will bemisjudged and what is too much inlength will be taken as too much in

width, because the side and shoulderseams hang away from the body. If theside part is taken in, extending to the

waist button and the shoulder fromthe armhole to the neck hole, then thealteration is made in the wrong place.

Through this wrong alteration thediameter of the armhole has becometoo small, the wrinkle will be enlarged,and the pressure at the front part ofthe armhole will be greater.

As a rule, to remedy this thearmhole will have to be cleared out infront and cut deeper. Consequentlythe breast will be too narrow and thecoat too tight at the breast measure.In most cases this cannot be remediedany more successfully. This can only be

changed if the back part is shortened.

The best way to make sure is tofold a pleat across the back fromone armhole to the other, as wide asnecessary to get the right position ofthe coat. After pinning the pleat onecan see how much is necessary to

shorten the back part.Figure 17 shows plainly how to do

away with this fault without much work.

The alteration has to be made inthe neck hole and on the shoulder.

After the seams (e, f, g, h) are ripped,the back part in the neck hole andat the shoulder has to be cut downcomparing with the pleat. In orderthat the back and the shoulder willretain their original width, the backmust not become smaller, otherwisethe front shoulder at the armhole

would also have to be made smaller. As much as necessary of the outletof the back must be let out in thearmhole.

Here will show for the first timethe advantage of this precaution. Ifthrough this alteration the back partlooks too small at the armhole, thepart which has to be removed must betaken away one-half in the back partand the other half at the front part

shoulder, extending to the neck hole(see the marked lines in Figure 17).

If one wants the width of the backon the armhole to remain as wide asbefore, everything in the front mustbe taken away. In each case the backpart in the neck must stay as wide asbefore.

A similar fault, occurring very oftenon square-shouldered persons, will bementioned here at the same time.

There are little cross wrinkles close

below the collar from one shoulderto the other. See Figure 18 for thisalteration. Inasmuch as the surpluslength will only be noticed abovethe middle of the back, the backshoulder should not be made shorter,but only the back neck extending tothe armhole should be shortenedcomparing with the wrinkles. Alsothe back part in the neck hole mustremain as wide as it was before. If theback part of a coat and overcoat is toolong, cross wrinkles will show at the

middle of the waist ; also by sloping wrinkles from the armhole to the waist. The coat will also be too tightacross the seat. The long overcoat wilpinch below the seat in the knee andthe vent will part. The front parts wilcome too much to the front ; the lower

part of the skirts stand off too far fromthe knees and show too much flare inthe front. (See Figures 19 and 20.)

The change will also have to bemade as with coat illustrated inFigures 17 and 18.

16.

17.

18.

19. 20.


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15

IV. FRONT SHOULDERS TOO SHORT.

These faults are very evident inFigure 21.

On the front parts very uglysloping wrinkles show from neck hole

to armhole. This presses in front andunderneath the armhole. The coat istoo tight across the breast, althoughit has the right width, because the

width advances in a wrinkle to thearmhole, and it will show too loosein the waist line. The skirts alsocross each other too much. Also inmost cases the waist seam in front istoo high. The back view is the sameas in Figure 16.

Before one starts altering onthat kind of a coat, it is advisable

to make a thorough examinationto find out if the collar is set on tooshort, because this also will causethe described fault; only in this casethe shoulder is also too long in thearmhole. If the coat fits tight therethen it is a sure sign that the frontshoulder is too short throughout. Ifone will pin a pleat, as is done fora back part which is too long, one

will see exactly how much the frontshoulder must be lengthened.

The proper way would be to letout the outlet in the shoulder, butin this case a new and longer collar

would have to be made.

In many cases there is not enoughgoods for a new top collar andtherefore a new and simple way has

to be found to fix up the coat, asfollows: Rip the under arm seam](a1, b1) the skirt seam from (c) to(d) and the armhole seam t from (i)across (a1) to (e) (see Figure 22),and move up the front part as muchas necessary, meeting (b1) with (b2,a2) with (a1). All there remains to bedone is to cut out or to deepen thearmhole and eventually to enlargethe sleeve.

In the skirt seam leave out theoutlet in the front part, extending

from (b1) to (c). If there is no outleton hand, one is compelled to takethe protruding part off the side to(d). See the marked part in figure.

This will often cause anotherfault, namely, the skirt will flap apartand show too much flare on the side.Figure 23 shows this alteration withpunctured lines.

But first convince yourself if thisalteration is really necessary. Analteration is not necessary unless the

coat showed too much skirt in thepleat before alteration.

A coat or an overcoat with tooshort a front shoulder shows uglycross wrinkles in front; is too tightacross the breast; pinches in thearmhole and is too loose at thebottom. The overcoat will flare infront like in Figure 20. The back

view is like in Figure 19.

A pleat across the back will showhow much altering has to be doneMove the front part in the sideseam upward the same amount, sothat the marks (a2) and (a1) and(b1) and (b2) correspond with eachother. The front part of the blade

which will become deeper throughthis alteration, must be verticallybelow the original, which will makeit necessary to take in the same atthe side seam of the front partOtherwise the garment will be too

wide in this place. The back partmust be shortened below, whateveris necessary. This very simplealtering is shown in Figure 24.

21.

24.

22.

23.


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V. FRONT P ART S AGGING B ACK ON

A CCOUNT OF NOT ENOUGH HEIGHT

OF THE SHOULDER .

Figure 25 shows a very faultycoat. If the coat is unbuttoned thecollar fits closely, but the parts infront sag back very noticeably.

This sagging back is not causedon account of the back part beingtoo short, as the coat fits close in theback. That means the length in theback corresponds with the lengthin front. Consequently the saggingback does not show in the back,but flares are formed, beginning at

the armhole and increasing fartherdown. These flares would showfarther in the back under the arm,if the arms would not prevent this.But if the coat is buttoned, the collarstands off around the neck. Such agarment can be spoiled entirely if itis altered as its appearance indicates.Many will be of the opinion that thisfault can be remedied in the mostsimple and easiest way by shorteningthe strap as much as it seems to be

necessary, and shortening the collar This alteration is not only entirely wrong, but also very dangerous, asby doing this the entire garment canbe spoiled.

The cause of this misfit will haveto be located somewhere else where

it cannot easily be detected, becausethe coat fits smoothly at the armholeat the front shoulder. This is causedby being too anxious to have the coatfit well on the shoulder when tryingon, and was due to too much takingin of the shoulder at the armholeEvery tailor can convince himself ofthe correctness of this illustrationby doing as follows: Rip open theshoulder seams, Figure 26 (1-k)(without taking off the collar), andthe sleeve (m-i) (also the padding

and the lining) . By this the upwardpart of the arm will be open and free

If the coat is then fitted againone will see that the shoulder seamopens at the armhole to the sameextent as the shoulder was taken intoo much. If the sleeve now has theexact width at the sleeve head andis loose enough, which is usually thecase, one will see that the outlet onthe shoulder seam (Figure 27, 11-k)must be let out again. Notice, alsothat now the coat does not sag backand that the collar fits closely whenthe coat is buttoned.

Through this very simple alteringthe fault will be remedied withlittle work and without any dangerFigure 28 will show how, by toomuch taking in of the shoulder seamat the armhole, the whole front partcame out of its right place and hadto sag back. Apparently the coat gottoo wide at the side seam and didnot hug the waist.

This is not the case, on the bodyas mentioned before. The position ofthe back part is right, remains in itsplace and prevents the sagging backof the front part through the arms.

Very often this fault is causedby padding the shoulder point toomuch. Should, however, the shoulderbecome unnaturally high, it isadvisable to remove the superfluouspadding. This refers also to coatsand overcoats.

25.

26.

27.

28.


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17

VI. COLLAR S TANDS OFF AND

COAT H ANGS B ACK IN THE W AIST.

I will now get to the fault which isbrought on by unreasonable alteringand fitting. The main cause of this is

the desire to make the coat smoothand close fitting in the back.

Figure 29 shows that when thecoat is open, the collar will standoff around the neck, drawing thefront parts backwards. Throughthis, ugly wrinkles form lengthwiseat the breast and in front of thearmhole, which pinches and feelsuncomfortable. Across the back thecoat looks stretched and stands offin the waist. If buttoned, which can

scarcely be accomplished becausethe width of the breast was drawnback to the armhole in a wrinkle,the whole front part moves upwards;consequently the lapels show toolong ; the collar will be drawn downstill further in the back and theentire garment looks as if the backpart is too short.

All these irregularities arecaused by too much taking in ofthe side seam. Through this the

blade measure becomes too short,the diameter of the armhole toosmall, and the front parts with thecollar are drawn to the back. Thiscauses the wrinkles in front and thepressure in the armholes, resultingin a misfit coat. The back part has

become too short by too much takingin. A cutter who will not examinethis thoroughly might have a hardtime and make wrong alterations.If one would try to remedy this bycutting out the armhole in front atthe pinching part, remove the widthin the waist by taking it in and setthe collar higher, the result would bea too narrow breast and the wholecoat being too tight. The coat wouldbe a total misfit. This can easily bealtered if the front part has enough

outlet in the underarm seam. Ripout the sleeve from (i) to (e) andthe seams (a-b-d), also loosen thepadding and the lining, so it willgive you more space to work on. Ifthe customer puts on the coat againone will see that the outlet of thefront part must be let out below thearm, extending to the waist seam.

The whole back part and the collardraws up towards the neck ; the ugly

wrinkles on the breast and beforethe armhole disappear, and the

garment will become comfortableand does not pinch any more. Itshall be emphasized that the backpart, too, will move a little higher,more than half of the widened partin the upper part of the armhole.It can only be determined whenfitting, if the outlet belowin the side part must belet out, extending to (d),or if the front part mustbe shortened in the waistseam from (b) to (c).

If there is no outlet at thefront part in the underarmseam, there is nothing elseto be done but to put in anew side part.

The position of the sideand back part discussedbefore will show in Figure30 with marked lines. Asin most cases, the undersleeve is held in and the

necessary widening can be easilyaccomplished ; but if there is notenough width, then the outlet on thefront seam of the under sleeve mustbe let out as much as necessary. Ifsuch is not there, it will be necessaryto piece the under sleeve.

This alteration can be done in ashort time and has the advantage thatthe front part remains untouched.

I will mention here, especiallythat in many cases the cause of afault will be in another place than inthe place where it seems to be. Thiscould often be determined easily ifone could imagine the smooth placeripped. If one has decided, that byopening of the seams in question thefault can be remedied, it will pay totry it, and one will see often that on

the most smooth looking part thegarment is too tight, because theseam will open a trifle and it will beseen that the outlet, if any, must belet out.

This will put the separate piecesof the garment in the right placethrough which the faulty coat canbe brought in shape without alteringin the place where the fault seemsto be, an alteration which is verytedious and doubtful.

What is said before refers also tocoats and overcoats.

29.

30.


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VII. INSUFFICIENT A BDOMEN.

Figure 31 shows a common fault. When the coat is buttoned, wrinkles will develop from the armhole to thestomach, which by movements willdraw upward ; the breast will be too

wide ; the lapels and collar will be toolong ; and the collar will lay too deepin the back. If the coat is opened atthe lower button, until the wrinklesdisappear, so that it fits closely inthe neck and on the breast, it willdroop back at the bottom and standoff the body in the side, even if theright width of the waist is there. Butif it is too tight in the waist, it willalso be too smooth in the sides.

These signs will show that thecoat has not enough goods in front

of the abdomen. The following illustration will

show how to remedy this.

If sufficient outlet is there, theproper change can be made whentrying on, providing the front edgingis not yet finished and buttonholesnot made.

For this purpose cut a new coatmodel out of the original and add toit the missing part in the abdomen:that means half as much as the parts

drop apart when the lower buttonsare opened. Also take off as muchon the side, providing that thegarment has the right width in the

waist without the front addition.

But if too tight in the waist, lessmust be taken away in the side.

See Figure 32 —.—.—.—. lines. Then place, as in Figure 33, whichis now in right position and whichis here marked with broken lines,at the original, which is marked infull lines, and you will see whereand how much altering has to bedone at the certain points. The neckpoint (k) must be placed more tothe front, the shoulder extending tothe armhole must be shortened andmade smaller in the armhole at (1).

The neck hole at (n) will be deeper

and in order to regain the right frontlength the outlet in the waist at (c)must be let out, but at (b) as muchmust be taken away as was added atthe armhole at (a) on top. What islost at the edge of the breast mustbe replaced, extending from (a) to(b). The armhole in front and belowremains unchanged. Then the trifle,about a quarter of an inch, which iscut out, need not be considered.

In this way the front part willbe righted without much work andthe necessary abdomen will beproduced.

The change will be more difficult ifthe coat is finished. The fault can beremedied, but the work will be moredifficult and require more time. Thecoat has to be ripped almost entirelyapart if front part has to be turned inorder to get more abdomen.

The alteration cannot be made,as illustrated before, and not quiteas correct, because nothing on the

front edge can be taken away onaccount of the button holes. In the

waist seam nothing can be let out.

To find out how to alter the frontpart, one should use the original andthe altered model, but place themon top of each other like Figure 34shows.

In this way at (k) on the shouldernothing will be wasted and at thefront waist at (c) only little wouldhave to be let out.

For certain previously mentionedreasons the breast edge on the frontpart at the waist seam must remainuntouched; the altering may onlytake place in the neck hole, on theshoulder and in the armhole, onthe side and in the back part of the

waist line seam, like Figure 35, withbroken lines showing.

The front part, by turning itin this way, becomes somewhatsmaller in the neck hole at (n), butextending upward and downwardthe same becomes a trifle wider

This does not matter much, as thelapels only become slimmer, but onthe waistline resetting of the buttons

will be necessary. It will not alwaysbe necessary to make the neck holedeeper. This is only possible, if the

upper button hole is far enoughfrom the gorge.

In case the coat should not havethe sufficient length in front, which

will happen very seldom, the skirtin the back has to be shortenedextending to the front.

The armhole is the most difficultpart to change. One will see onFigs. 34 and 35 that it has to comehigher, about Y\ inch. It has tobe pieced from (i) to (a). This can

easily be changed if the goods aresuitable and the work done well, sothat the customer does not noticeit. Otherwise only the outlet in theback of the armhole can be let outas shown in Figure 35, with—.—.—lines. The under sleeve will have tobe cut out a little.

Should, however, the armholebecome too deep, which only canhappen if it was too low before, onlyentirely new front parts will save thecoat.

Coats and overcoats show thisfault very seldom. Should occasionarise, the front part will have tobe turned the same as the coatHowever, the alteration will only besuccessful if the surplus roundingon the front edge can be cut awayas otherwise the same would slopedown. This is only possible whenfitting, or on the ready madegarments with fly fronts.

31.


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19

31.

32.

33.

34.

35.


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VIII. CROSS W RINKLES IN THE

B ACK , S TARTING AT THE A RMHOLE.

It is a fact that small trifles causemuch aggravation, but by studyingthem carefully it is very easy tochange them.

Figures 36 and 37, showingcross wrinkles, which begin at thearmhole up to the highest point onthe shoulder or also running to the

center of the back. As a rule they only show on coats

and overcoats, rarely or not at allon skirt coats—mostly on square-shouldered or persons with a roundback.

A little explanation will benecessary to show the cause of thisfault.

Square shoulders and a roundback are heightenings on a humanbody. To give those bodies a goodfitting garment, the workmanshipmust help along, the edges must be

worked in more or less, either bycutting out the surplus goods, or byusing (v), or if this is not possible,the parts must be worked in.

The rounding of the back nowcoming in question, there will bea necessary shortening mostlyextending to the armhole. On skirtgarments this will be accomplishedby cutting, as the bent form of theside seams of the back part and the

side part and the position of bothto each other already producesthe effect of a V at the armholeand besides the concerning parttouches the most protruding parton the back shoulder, so that theforming produced in the garmentcorresponds with that on the body.

Things are different with coatand overcoat. In these the backpart is cut considerably wider, andconsequently the side seam is fartherremoved from the highest part. Theside seams are also straighter, as onskirt coats. A shortening extendingto the armhole can probably be

accomplished, although by doingthis the produced forming will notbe in the right place ; that meansnot where it should be.

To conform the two, the shapingof the back part is necessary

which will have to be enlarged the

wider the same is cut, and it will benecessary in a higher degree by veryprotruding shoulder blades or a veryround back.

In shaping, the back part (Figure38, marked points) must be workedin as much as necessary in each case

The developed width can be put inthe right place by pressing it there.

Now the back part, mostly atthe upper side seam, will be held in

well, but one must hold in same alittle more in the armhole and in thelower part in the shoulder seam ason the skirt coat. Consequently theready-made garment shows theseillustrated faults. Now I will showthe described faults. If the wrinkle isshort, only extending to the highestpart of the shoulder blade, then thefault will not cause much troubleRip out the armhole seam a littleunder the blade until a little overthe shoulder seam, and same frombelow, about 1½ inches from the

neck. Then the back part in the lower

half shoulder seam must be heldin one-half to two-thirds of the

width of the wrinkle ; the balancein the armhole and the resulting

36. 37.

38. 39.


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21

width must be pressed in where therounding on the back shows.

But in case such is veryprotruding and consequently the

wrinkle very large, so that thesame cannot be removed entirelyby working in the two previously

mentioned places and no close-fitting armhole can be reached,there is nothing else to be donethan padding it a little more. It isrecommended in this case, becausethe rounding will look smaller.

If the back part has outlet in thearmhole it must be let out from theshoulder seam, running downward(Fig. 39) the marked line (e-f), sothat the shoulder will not becometoo narrow. If there is no outlet,or the front part of the shoulder is

very wide, the extending part can betaken away. Certainly the paddingand the lining must be sewed inaccordingly.

If a wrinkle ends in the middle ofthe back (Fig. 37), the change mustbe made in another way. Here thecause is a very round back.

Here the highest part is in thecenter of the back and therefore theback part in the center seam mustbe rounded. The form of the upper

back part must be changed entirely.If in such a case (when the garment

is put on and before lining and paddingare loosened) the back part (Fig.39) from (e) to (f ) and (g) to (h) is

ripped and is held on to the body insuch a way that the wrinkle at thearmhole disappears, so it will byitself move up from the shoulder and

will stand off in the neck hole andin the middle of the back, a fold willdevelop, beginning at the neck hole

and extending to the highest part ofthe rounding.

This wrinkle has to be pinneddown. Then lay the back part at theshoulder seam under the front part,in the neck hole under the collar,and also pin it down on these places.Now mark where and how much hasto be taken off in the back part ; alsothe part of the fold which has to betaken off in the center of the back.It is recommended to make crossmarks on the shoulder, on the places

and in what degree the back part hasto be held in. The armhole seam willbe regulated, as illustrated before.

When the back part is marked andtwo seams are added, if the upperlaying parts are marked raw-edged,then it will be formed like Figure 40,broken lines.

In case the wrinkle at the armholeis not very large or the back partis too tight, so the fault can beremedied by letting out a littlemore in the center seam, the backextending up and down from thehigher point, see the dotted lineon Figure 41. By doing this thegarment will fit closer at the armholeand will be more comfortable. If the

back part is cut without center seamthe wrinkle in the neck hole cannotbe done away with by sewing. Figure42, with broken lines, will show”how the change has to be made.

The back part has to be cut awayabout one-half to two-thirds of the

40 wrinkle (at the armhole) at (f) eventually it must be let out a littlein the outlet at the armhole andthrough this formed rounding mustbe drawn in closely. The remainingis to be worked in at the armholeand the width caused on both placesmust be diverted to the center of theback.

If it is not possible, in case theback is very rounded, to work inboth places sufficiently to have aclose fitting at the armhole, padding

will remedy this.Before altering in this way, tis

advisable to examine thoroughlyas to whether the fault in questionhas not another cause, because veryoften these wrinkles are caused bylining not properly sewed in.

Therefore it is always advisable toloosen lining and padding, and afterthis to try on the garment. Then itcan be judged surely how to alterthis, and in many cases one will find

that only the lining caused this fault As previously said, both faults veryseldom show on skirt garments, butif they ever should show, the changehas to be made as illustrated.

40. 41. 42.


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IX. O VERCOAT SHOWING TOO FLAT AND TOO N ARROW A RMHOLE AND COLLAR NOT CLOSE FITTING.

The preceding faults willshow on coats and overcoats,but the following faults willonly show on overcoats, onaccount of their peculiarity astop coats.

Many colleagues will havehad the experience that anovercoat, when the customertries it on, will not move up; that is, it will not fit closeto the neck and will showa wrinkle across the back,under the arms, towardsthe front armhole (Fig. 43).

This will give the impressionthat the overcoat is too tightacross the back. If drawn upby force, which will only bepossible by pulling down thelower garment, it will be highenough, fit at the neck and fit

good in general. But if the customer moves around forawhile the collar of the lower garment will show above.

This fault is often misjudged and not correctly altered,if one attributes the fault to the overcoat.

Despite the too deep laying collar, the back part is nottoo short, as proven by the cross wrinkle in the back.

That it is not too narrow is proven by the fact that theovercoat has the right position in the waist and seat.

This fault will show more when another garment is worn

under the overcoat than while trying on.If after this the overcoat will fit well in all parts, then

this is a sure sign that the fault is not on the same, but onthe coat underneath, because on the latter the armholesare too deep and cut out too much. When the overcoat ispulled up so far that it lays high enough in the neck, thearmhole will come higher than that of the garment wornbelow. If the customer, when walking, will throw his armsback and forward the result will be that, inasmuch as theovercoat has the right deepness in the armhole, the coat

will be pushed up above the collar of the overcoat untilthe armholes are evened up.

The right way would be to alter the garment under theovercoat, but as this would cause much more trouble,there will be nothing else left but to alter the overcoatby deepening the armholes accordingly (see Figs. 44 and45, i-e).

This can be done by examining the wrinkle under the arm.

Across the back the same is often larger, but if one would deepen it accordingly the result would be that thearmhole would be cut out deeper than actually necessary.

This would have no bad consequences in regard to the fitof the overcoat.

This will remedy the fault. The overcoat is easily put

on and will at once go up high enough in the neck, andthe collar will lay smoothly. The wrinkle will disappear.

The sleeve must be changed, too, by cutting out theundersleeve corresponding to the armhole. If by thisalteration the sleeve should become too short, the outletat the bottom must be let out as much as necessary.

Now I will call your attention to a fault which is oftenin the overcoat itself. It is not necessary to use muchpadding on an overcoat, because the coat over which theovercoat is worn, as a rule, is already padded enough.

If the overcoat is very much padded, it will be too tighton the shoulder and can be pulled up only with difficultyeven if the deepness in the armholes conforms. Then thecollar will stand off around the neck, as if the same weretoo long. Under the collar seam small cross wrinkles

will show. In this case, as shown with + + + + lines onFigures 44 and 45, the shoulder of the overcoat from (1)to (k) must be let out or the superfluous padding must

be removed.It is necessary to make both previously described

alterations if both faults—the cross wrinkle and thestanding off of the collar—show.

43.

44.

45.


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23

X. F AULTY SKIRT.

The necessary requirements for a modern, elegant skirtare : Correct aplomb, a good formed waist seam and a closefit over the hips and seat, without wrinkles.

This can only be expected if the skirt is drafted directfrom the front and side part according to the waist line andby considering the width of the seat. To construct same

by itself (that is without directly using those parts) is notonly wrong, but very uncertain, because its waist line would

very seldom conform with the front part. Faults will result, which, if not seen when trying on and altered, will alwaysbe difficult to change when the garment is ready. I will

not describe how to draft the skirt. I will only show howfrequent faults can be altered.

To demonstrate this I will use the double-breasted Prince Albert, because the same, when buttoned, will show thefaults on the skirts most evidently. The changes are marked

with broken lines on the figures.

The faults most easily to correct are the lapping over andthe separating of the skirt in the back part or on the frontedge, granted that otherwise the same fit faultlessly. In thefirst case the surplus on the skirt pleat has to be taken awayin the pleat or from the front edge. In case the skirt separatesin front or in the back, the missing goods must be replacedby letting out the skirt pleats ; that is, the front edge.

Very often one sees skirt coats showing both faults. Theyseparate in the back, but in the front they lap over. Despite thisthe right width is there, as no tightness or ugly wrinkles appear

If there is plenty outlet in the skirt pleat, so that thesame can be let out as much as necessary, the fault can

be easily corrected, only the surplus in the front has to betaken away. If there is not enough outlet in the skirt pleatsnothing else can be done but to rip the skirt and to bringit up in the back as much as necessary. Consequently theskirt will be too short in the back and too long in front, sothat it must be shortened from here, extending to the pleat

This alteration shows on Figure 46.

Should the skirts lap over in the back, but separate infront, and in case there is not sufficient outlet available infront, they must be moved up in front accordingly.

To equalize the length the lower edge from the pleat tothe front must be shortened as much as necessary. Figure

47 makes this alteration clear. The shortening has to bedone also at the back skirt.

In both cases it is necessary that the waist seam of theskirt will have the exact form as before. The V has to becut deeper accordingly. Very often one will notice that welfitting skirts show a cross wrinkle above the hips. The causeof this fault is too much rounding in the waist seam of theskirt compared with the front part.

This pronounced rounding has to be taken away, more orless, according to the size of the cross wrinkle. See Figure 48.

In case the skirts flare too much on the sides and separatein the pleat, although they fall correctly in front, the skirthas to be lifted up at the back, from the pleat where theflare starts. By doing this the flare on the side disappearsand will be diverted to the back, thereby replacing themissing part previously mentioned. Should the pleat on theflare show too much width, it certainly must be taken awayIn case the skirts are correct in the back, although theyseparate in front, and flares on the sides are also there, anopposite alteration is necessary. The skirt beginning at theflare has to be moved up to the front as much as necessary.See Figure 50. If by doing this the skirt laps too much overin front, the front edges have to be corrected.

Regarding shortening and regulation of the lower edge Irefer to Figures 46 and 47.

46.

47.

48.


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It may happen that thesetwo described faults show atthe same time. In this casethe flares on the side arelarger and the skirts separatein the back and in front. Thenthe alteration has to be done

as shown in Figure 51. Theskirt has to be moved up infront and in the back as muchas necessary. Through thisalteration the coat will losesome of its original length.

The very evident faultsshown on Figure 52 are alsocaused by an ill-fitting skirt.

The same is too tight abovethe hips and the seat, which

will be very evident throughcross-wrinkles, beginning at

the waist buttons. Also in many cases similar cross-wrinkles will show in front. Inasmuch as the skirt, on account of beingtoo narrow, cannot come down over the hips, the front partabove same will press together, resulting in small cross-

wrinkles, but the skirt in the back and very often in front willseparate. Large hips and a large seat produce this fault veryoften, which is caused by insufficient V’s being provided forin the waist seam of the skirt.

Many tailors do not think these necessary and believe theycan accomplish the necessary rounding for hips and seat byholding in on the places in question, or by first shaping theskirt with irons above the hip and in the pleat. This is onlypossible if the hips are not very protruding and the seat issmall. It is not advisable if same are larger, because the largerrounding that results must be taken care of more extensively

which can only be accomplished with much work and if thegoods are very soft.

But even with these the fullness will come back if thegarment is worn for some time, and small wrinkles wilappear in the skirt which do not beautify the garment.

Now the alteration on Figure 52 will be described.

The skirt must have the right width over the hip and seat which has to be facilitated by letting out the pleat, even riskingpiecing the skirt. If this cannot be risked because the piecingshows too much, nothing else is left but to cut an entirelynew skirt, if the customer will not stand for a shortening ofthe whole coat from 1 to 2 inches. By shortening this way

which must be done in the waistline, the fault in many cases will be averted without making a new skirt. Through lettingout the pleat, the waist line in the skirt will become longerthan that of the part above, but the excess must not be heldin. It has to be removed by V’s in order to bring the necessary

width for hips and seat in the right place.

For larger alterations I might recommend making a paperpattern first, to make the changes on same, and to cut thefaulty skirt accordingly.

49.

50.

51.

53.

52.


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25

XI. F AULTS AT THE A RMHOLE AND SLEEVE.

To the good points ofa garment there has tobe also a comfortableand good fitting sleeve asmuch as one can make itpossible. To make this is

one of the hardest tasksof the tailor, as in manycases the customermakes demands whichcannot be fulfilled.

There are mainly twofaults for which the tailoralways will be blamed.First, wrinkles showingin the back of the undersleeve when the arm isheld down (Fig. 54).Second, when stretchingout the sleeve shows

wrinkles and becomes alittle shorter. (Figs. 55and 56.)

To make a sleeve without the first mentioned wrinkleis not very difficult. It only has to be formed to the back,as the lines show from (e) to (f), and from (a) to (e) inFigure 58. But by stretching out the arm one would be

very uncomfortable because of the shortness between thefull and the marked line. This length must be there inorder to facilitate the movement of the arm to the front.

Where the sleeve has to be very comfortable, as on

outing and on driving coats, more length must be addedon the top and under sleeve from “e” to “f“ and from “e” to“b” across “a,” as shown on Figure 57, with + + + + lines.Certainly you cannot figure on a good looking sleeve.

The faults, which will show after the setting in of thesleeves, must logically be looked for at the armhole orsleeve. It is necessary to illustrate this.

Scant armholes are uncomfortable, but it is the samecase with too large ones, because the sleeve on these is

very seldom cut, or can be cut, so that it would replacethe missing in the armhole. This means especially thearmholes which are cut out too much below or in the back

on the side part. These have to be avoided especially. Inboth cases, in the first more than in the latter, the coat,

when sitting down, will not only be pushed up and whenlifting the arm wall be pulled up in the waist, but the sleevealso will be tight and uncomfortable in several places. It isalso dangerous to cut out the armhole too much in front.

By this the coat will be too tight across the breast and will pull away from the body by moving the arms. If thesleeve is not cut very wide and full in front, the coat willkeep its bad appearance.

Very important is the forming of the sleeve inconnection with the width and height of top sleeve andthe cut out of the undersleeve. It is not the purpose ofthis book to demonstrate cutting systems, therefore thefollowing demonstration will be reserved for points whichmust be observed when cutting. The circumference ofthe armhole is necessary for the width of the sleeve, thelength, diameter of the ready armhole for the height ofthe top sleeve and the cut out of the under sleeve. Shouldthe armhole be changed later in its circumference or itsform, it is evident that the sleeve also must be changedaccordingly.

The top sleeve will be influenced through the widthof the front part shoulder. At present a small width ofthe shoulder is modern andthe sleeve positions are madeaccordingly. In this case ahigher top sleeve is required.If the shoulder is wider, thesame must be more flattened.

Also in case the shoulderis artificially heightened,the head of the top sleevemust be made higher. Nextto the correct and oblong

form of the sleeve, it is veryimportant how the sleeve isset in, as the appearance andthe comfortable fitting of theentire garment depends verymuch on the correct positionof the sleeves in the armhole.

Therefore, the definitionof the points of the armhole,

where the front and backmiddle of the sleeve have tobe placed, is very important.

54.

55.

56.

57.


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First define the top sleeve notch. One will find the sameby placing the sleeve on the front part, as in Figure 58, sothat the hollow part of the under sleeve conforms to thatof the armhole. The front center of the sleeve (b) shouldmeet the front armhole and the entire sleeve should hanga little to the front. When the front middle of the armhole(c) is marked, then divide these into half and receive thenotch on the back part through point (d). Through thissimple manipulation one will find the correct notches forthe sleeve, which only can be depended on if armholeand sleeve conform in width and height.

This only refers to a normal figure, but if the figureis stooping it will be necessary to place the sleeve infront about ¼ to ½ inch higher, and in the back deeperaccordingly. In the opposite case, if the figure is erectthe sleeve must be put deeper in front and higher in theback. One will see, when the arm hangs down, whetherthe sleeve is correct and without fault.

If the sleeve is too deep in front and set in too high in

the back, cross-wrinkles will show at the armhole and atthe elbow joint, and it will lay too tight at the wrist joint.Figure 59.

If the sleeve is too high in front and too deep in theback, diagonal wrinkles will show in the front and in theback, as on Figure 60, and it will lay too tight on the backof the wrist joint.

Anybody can see at a glance how to make thesealterations.

If the sleeve fits correctly in front and back, despitethis, faults might show which can only be traced toan incorrect cutting of the sleeve. Figure 61 will show

common faults of this kind. The unsightly diagona wrinkles, which show on the upper arm, and the bendingin of the shoulder, are the cause of a too flat sleeve headIf this is to be remedied, the entire sleeve has to be takenout and changed according to the marked lines in Figure62, by taking off from the sleeve head at points (e) and(b) to (f), and deepening the undersleeve as much as islost in height at (b) and (e).

The front and the back notch of the sleeve will bein the same place and below at the wrist same must belengthened as much as was taken away at (e) and (b).

63.62.

60.59. 61.

58.


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Figure 63 also shows a very common fault. Theundersleeve is not sufficiently cut out in front, consequentlyit will be too long in front, and this surplus length will formugly and uncomfortable cross wrinkles, which will extendin a diagonal direction at the top sleeve. Figure 64, brokenlines, will show how to change this.

The undersleeve at (a) has to be deepened as much as

necessary, gradually extending to both sides. The opposite case is less frequent and the undersleeve

is cut out too much at (a). Then the top sleeve will be toolong and cross wrinkles will show the whole length (seeFig. 65).

This has to be changed according to Figure 66. Afterripping out the entire sleeve, more or less has to be takenaway at the top sleeve from (e) over (f ) to (b) accordingto the size of the wrinkles and the undersleeve must bechanged accordingly, but so that nothing is lost at (a).For the setting in of the sleeve the original points in thearmhole have to be taken as a standard, consequently alengthening of the sleeve is necessary at the wrist joint. Atoo high head on a top sleeve shows wrinkles as on Figure67. This can be remedied by flattening the head on the topsleeve at (f) to (e) and (b). (See Fig. 68.)

In closing this chapter I call your attention to look very carefully if the tailor put in the sleeve properly. Forinstance, a displacing of the sleeve parts when sewingtogether will cause the sleeve to become twisted and showugly wrinkles, although set in correctly. Also a too narrowor too short cut lining, or a lining displaced by incorrectfelling, might cause a bad fitting sleeve.

65.64.

66. 68.67.


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XII. F AULTS C AUSED THROUGH THE COLLAR BEING CUT INCORRECTLY OR H ANDLED IN A W RONG W AY .

The collar, although in size andlooks the most unimportant partof the coat, nevertheless plays animportant role. It is, in many cases,the main cause if a garment does notfit.

The collar is the soul of the coat. This seemingly bold assertion is fully justified. Only with a well-fittingcollar can one accomplish a good-fitting coat. On the other hand,through a faulty one, even if thecoat fits well otherwise, the rightposition of all parts to each other

will not be correct, resulting alwaysin considerable faults.

Perhaps, on account of itsinsignificance, the cutter will not

pay enough attention to it, and willleave the work to the tailor, who veryseldom understands the right way ofcutting a collar. To instruct a tailorhow a collar is cut in each case, orto add a correct collar model to eachcoat, is often neglected as beingunimportant. This will not take upas much time as usually is supposed,but would save the cutter and thetailor much time and trouble, andsimplify the task. Often, if things donot come out right, alterations must

be made, which consume hoursof work. Therefore the additionof a correctly cut collar model isrecommended the more, because

when cutting not only the length ofthe lapels and the form of the neckhole, but also the carriage and theshoulder form of the respectivecustomer might be taken intoconsideration.

But how are things really? Thereare many shops which boast only ofone or two collar models, and these

are used for cutting the collar foreach coat. Therefore, when handlingthings in this way, a correct cut collarcan be accomplished very seldom.

But not only through a faulty cutof the collar, but also by handling itin a wrong way (even in case it is cutcorrectly) an otherwise well-fittinggarment will be brought out oforder. This will be caused less oftenintentionally than by carelessnessand inexperience of the tailor.

To prove this statement, thefollowing explanations will bedevoted to the faults which willresult through incorrect cutting,

wrong handling and faulty settingon of the collar. The causes will be

defined and the alterations, whichin each single case have to be made,

will be illustrated as thoroughly aspossible.

I will remark right away that itis not my intention to teach collarconstruction. This belongs to aninstruction in. cutting. The followingexplanations will be restricted to,calling your attention to severalpoints which have to be consideredcarefully when cutting and handlingthe collar. In the chapter, “The

Judging of the Faults and What Hasto be Done to Remedy Them,” Iillustrated rules commonly referringto this. The same refer also to thefaults which are caused through thecollar in particular.

Small irregularities, caused byfaulty handling, like a collar toohollow in front, or too long, or ifthe latter stands higher on the sidesthan in the back, will be noticed onthe collar itself, and can easily be

changed there, supposing that ingeneral the coat fits well.

Things will be different if largerfaults resulted from an ill-fittingcollar. In this case the collar willalways look well, but on other placescross wrinkles, surplus width anddiscomfort will appear. Supposingthe coat, when trying on, appearscorrect on those faulty places. Theinexperienced will be confronted

with a riddle, the solution of which will appear to him very difficult,

although it should not take him very long to find out that the causeof the ill-fitting must lay entirelysomewhere else.

One can only avoid these faults bybeing very careful when preparingand ‘handling the collar, and givingthe tailor the necessary and exactinstructions and seeing to it thatthe same will be followed correctly.If this is not done, similar fault willalways happen again, despite all

precautions. The same are mostlythe result of the carelessness andinexperience of the tailor, who wilspoil the garment entirely withoutany bad intention. Everybody

will easily understand that these

inconveniences, in most cases, arethe result of a superficial try on

When trying on, one will not lookafter the collar carefully, and veryoften any collar, which is just athand will be basted on, whether itfits in the neck hole of the coat ornot. Therefore I will give some hintsreferring to the fitting, but whichonly concern the collar.

If, like many colleagues areaccustomed to, a perfect readyundercollar will be basted on whenfitting, this can only be of advantageif same is handled with the rightcare. If, however, out of habit, thecollar is basted on without thoughtand the tailor does not care whetherit fits well or not, he will be easilydeceived.

An under collar, only cut out ofcanvas and only superficially shaped

will not accomplish its purpose, butit will always be good to put it ononly temporarily, But to rip it off

after the garment is put on. Such acollar only prevents the seams fromopening when the coat is tried onBut in this case the shoulder seamsshall only be basted to the neck holethe eventual outlet in the neck holemust remain open. Also the canvasmust be cut in on several places, asfar as the outlet goes, in order toavoid any tightness around the neckHow a garment fits on the neck canbe judged better without a collar, as afaulty collar is of great disadvantage

to the coat.If, then, such a try on is pinned

in all remaining parts and the neckhole correctly marked (the best way

would be to stretch the collar on thecustomer), fasten the completelyfinished and shaped undercollar atthe neck hole as it should be doneon the ready-made coat. Smalirregularities at the collar can beremedied at the same time. If thetrying on is done in this way, one is


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able to judge the causes of the various faults more safelyand can avoid many alterations entirely.

Now before approaching the right theme I will remarkthat I take it for granted the coat fits well withoutthe faulty collar. First I will illustrate the small faults,

which show direct on the collar and which are causedby incorrect cutting. Figure 69, full lines, shows a collarcut correctly according to the neck hole. On this thecenter seam must run accurately, in a right angle to thecollar stand. If the latter will be stretched from below cto the center seam on each side so much that it can belaid round the same way, as shown in Figure 70-a, this

will be entirely sufcient. This will amount to about ½to 2 inches, according to the formation of the shoulder,

which has to be considered when making the collar. Thecollar must be stretched only on the outside edge ; morefor square shoulders ; for sloping less than for normalones ; but this stretching must only be extended to thepoint where the collar stand begins, which is illustrated

clearly in Figure 70-a. The breakline must notbe pressed in (when the figure is normal), as theneck does not become narrow upwards, but isformed cylindrically, so that a shortening of thebreakline is not only unnecessary, but entirelycontrary to any rule. For persons who stoop thecollar can be ‘pressed in a little more in the back

Notwithstanding this, many tailors will press allcollars too much in the breakline, on account of which the outer edge also must be stretched a good dealso that a form like Figure 70-b results.

Through such an excessive and faulty handled collarthe entire coat will be deformed and faults will resultas illustrated on Figures 80, 81 and 82. I will refer tothis later on. A similar bad habit of many tailors is thehollowing out of the back seam at (k), regardless if sameis done as on Figure 71 or as on Figure 72. Throughthis the breakline becomes shortened, but the result

will be entirely different than expected. In both casesthe breakline will show a deepening in the center, which

cannot be removed, either by setting or by pressing ithigher. Only if the center seam of the collar is cut in aright angle to the collar-stand (see the full line m, k, 1)this fault will be remedied. On Figure 69 one will seemarked a little lengthening of the collar from (k) to (m)but this very small addition must only be put on at theouter edge, and only in case of heavy goods, which donot give and which have to be used for the undercollar.

The intention to make the collar close fitting at the backof the neck is a good one, but the result will be that sameis very often cut in the center seam in such a way that thecollar stand, extending from (1) to (k) will be shortenedbut the breakline beginning at (k) will be widened to (m)(see alteration on Figure 73). Such a collar will only havethe right height on the sides, but will lay too low in theback. This fault cannot be remedied, either by pressingor by setting the collar higher, but only by bringing thecenter seam in a right angle to the breakline, like the fullines on Figure 73 show. The opposite : the collar willshow an elevation in the center seam and will be up toohigh in the neck, will appear if the center seam is cut inthe opposite way, like the marked lines in Figure 73. Now

what is the cause of these signs ? As already mentionedon another age, the neck is formed like a cylinder, andextends, with the exception of a slight enlargement at

the connection with the shoulder, straight upwards alaround. As on a well-fitting collar, the breakline mustsurround the neck in the back part and on the sides ineven height. The same must extend in a right angle tothe center seam of the neck, also to the center seam ofthe collar. If the center seam of the collar runs to thebreakline obtuse or acute angled, so the breakline, whichalways must have its place in a right angle to the centerof the collar, will find its place by itself and will lay higheror deeper, according to the direction of the center seamFigure 73 shows the changed break lines as a result of afaulty cutting of the collar, above and below of the rightbreakline c to k.

69.

71.

72.

73.

70-B

70- A .


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Figure 74 shows a very commonfault.

Here the breakline of the collardoes not extend in the same direction

with the breakline of the lapel. Thecollar has not the right run, as thetailor says. The cause of this fault is

a collar which does not fit in the neckhole. It has, as commonly expressed,not enough collar stand. The loweredge of the collar stand has been cuttoo straight at the place in question,compared with the rounding of theneck hole. If such a too flat formedcollar is put in the more hollow neckhole, the breakline will be too longin front.

Usually the tailor knows only one way to alter this : by ironing in thebreakline excessively to get rid of the

surplus length. Just then the hollow’part will result. How can this fault beremedied? Simply by replacing themissing goods above the breakline inanother way. To form the neck holebetter at the faulty place will hardlybe possible, because this place veryseldom has an outlet ; thereforenothing else is left but to placethe collar correctly. If the oldone is wide enough in front itcan be used again, if one doesnot prefer to make an entirelynew one, which naturally takesmore time 75. and work.

As already mentioned before,the hollow part, which thebreakline of the collar shows infront, results in not enough collarstand. That means, not wide enoughat the place in question.

The collar, Figure 75, marked with large, full lines, is the incorrectcut, and to this had to be added atthe lower edge what was too hollow

in the breakline, as is illustrated onthe figure by a thin line. Nobody

would think of piecing the collaron this place, therefore we mustlook for another way to replace themissing goods in order to have a

well fitting collar, without makingan entirely new one. To understand

without difficulty how to arrangethis, we will have to cut a model ofthe altered collar and lay same onthe original (non-fitting) collar, as

the broken lines on Figure 75 show.If the collar is changed exactly likethis model, it has to be cut away infront at (g), extending a little abovethe line below (c), also at the lapel at(m), extending to the front as far asthe little crossed point.

In front at the lapel the missinggoods has to be pieced in case the

collar on this place should notremain wide enough ; also in thecenter of the back from (m) to (1)and from (1) to the front. But to doall this would be just as troublesomeas the construction of a new collar.

Therefore we must try to simplifythe alteration, and I will give thedirections, as follows :

The cutting of the lower edgeat (g) is absolutely necessary; thepiecing in fr

remake 1919 how to alter ill fitting garments and how to handle try ons

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