Volume 1, Chapter 4: Assembling, Fitting .... Part 1

Chapter Four starts out talking about fit, how important it is to fit the garment so it is flattering and that it is done correctly without shortcuts.  Presumably you have already done some adjustments to the pattern so it has wide enough circumference and length.  Basically, the writer feels that it is important to baste the garment together -- darts first, then seams, baste pockets to the garment after seams are sewn to ensure they are positioned in the best place.  She also suggests basting the zipper in first to ensure correct neck fit.   It is better and easier to unpick a basting stitch than a construction stitch.  Correct sewing technique is also important to make your clothes last longer and look good. 

 Page 88 digresses into fashion history-- the evolution of pockets, buttons and buttonholes, pleats, hems and zippers.  Then on page 90 there is a blurb about hemlines and Wall Street-- higher skirts when times are flush and longer when times are tough.  There is a pretty cool picture of skirt lengths through the decades although it seems like even though the 1950's was prosperous, skirts were still longer than the 1940s (due to fabric shortages in the 40's probably but then that contradicts the whole theory).

My take on this is that while there are some great productivity shortcuts that can be employed when sewing garments, it is probably best to use those with tried and true (TNT) patterns that have already been fitted.  You can even trim out the seam allowances to 3/8's inch to eliminate lots of trimming and clipping.  But with a new pattern, it is probably better to follow the advice in the book-- but I like to just baste a muslin together first before I cut my fashion fabric.  Once all your changes have been applied to the paper pattern, you are golden until you have some weight/size changes in which you have to start all over again.  If you are like me and have frequent weight fluctuations, you might want to write the date, your weight and key measurements (bust, hip) on the pattern and save it as you might see that size again.  Sometimes shooting a picture and putting it in the pattern is good too.  The best way to get better at sewing techniques is to practice them.  Which is kind of a pain as I would rather be making something rather than doing drills.  But once you do 10 welt pockets or bound buttonholes, they become less difficult or intimidating.  Yesterday I was at the Salvation Army and looked at a short sleeved top made from the 70's in that thick polyester.  It had bound buttonholes!  Totally unexpected.

The next section in this chapter gives an overview on putting different key garments together-- dress, shirt, women's blouse, skirt, women's pants, men's pants.  The author does not delve into technique here.  This would be a cool exercise to do with the TNT wardrobe sew-alongs, 6-packs, and SWAPs going on this year.  The overviews are basically order of assembly directions.  What is neat is they give little advices for example, on page 97 at Step B for the skirt assembly, it tells you to baste the darts if there are any, baste the seams and try on the skirt.  The next step says "if the waist dart is too short, it will pucker at the tip when tried on and the skirt will have extra fabric at the hip or abdomen.  Correct it by placing a pin 1 1/2 inches above the fullest part of the upper hip or abdomen indicated by an "x" on the drawing (as usual nicely shaded drawings illustrate all the garment construction steps) and tapering the dart to the pin, Re-baste the dart."  The description then goes on to tell you what to do if the dart is too long or if it points in the wrong direction.

The pictures in this chapter of which I have shown 2 of them are very 70's cool.  I love the cream skit and the flip hairdo.  I think today, that would be too much cream and probably too covered up--turtleneck with long-sleeved overshirt?  I would wear a different color jacket but the garment styles are still relevant and would not look out of order today.

The drawings of the different garments for the assembly directions are in 2 tone blue with black stitch lines to illustrate the seam lines similar to the old McCalls two color pattern instructions from the 1970s.  They title the clothing items as "The Classic Dress and show one with bust darts and one with princess seams, "The Classic Shirt" which could be a man's shirt or a woman's shirt but has no collar stand nor bust dart, "The Classic Blouse" which has sleeves gathered at a smaller cuff and bust darts, "The Classic Skirt" which allows for pleats and/or darts and a waistband and zipper also another model with a front closure; "The Classic Women's Pants" with darts, zippers, waistband, no waistband/facing and pockets; "The Classic Men's Pants" with the standard fly, pocket and waistband.

The Classic Techniques (V1): Introduction

1. Introduction to the Classic Techniques
Enduring Styles: Understated and Adaptable

 The introduction discusses fashion and what constitutes a classic look.

Fashion changes constantly reflecting the mercurial nature of society. One can look at a style and name the decade it comes from as it captures the zeitgeist of the time.

I think that is true.  If you look closely, popular culture bears this out.  The clothing on the television series Madmen and Boardwalk Empire not only reveal the culture and spirit of the times they portray but they also inform and inspires today's designers such as Michael Kors and Marc Jacobs.

Michael Kors from fashionsensei.wordpress.com/

Marc Jacobs from bellasugar.com

Broad popular social movements, prosperity, rebelliousness against the government's prohibition and the liberation from the corset informed the fashions of the day in the 1920's where licentiousness and gaity were reflected in film and literature.  Despite the suffragette's fight for the right to vote, women were still very much kept dependent, unable to open bank accounts without their husband's signature and despite the "It Girl" Clara Bow's bobbed hair popularity, the Mary Pickford/Lillian Gish ideal was still popular (long ringlets) depicting women's beauty in appearing like a young girl.

Clara Bow from starletshowcase.blogspot.com

Lillian Gish from commons.wikimedia.org

The television series Mad Men reflects the early 1960's in which women, while not corseted, are quite tightly upholstered in girdles and brassieres.  Society's fashion and beauty ideals looked to the elegance of  Jacqueline Kennedy and the vulnerable sexiness of Marilyn Monroe.  The series displays the changes that occur as the country appears to transition from a childhood to a more cynical and limit-testing adolescence after the assassination of President Kennedy.  The girdles come off, the hemlines rise as they did in the 1920's and women demand more equal rights.  In a journey of independence from Sex and The Single Girl to The Feminine Mystique half the population wakes up and their clothes reflect this awakening.

Jackie Kennedy from fashionblogcommclass.blogspot.com

Marilyn Monroe from entertainment.howstuffworks.com

Back to the book... The signature of a  Classic is the quality of  having permanence of shape and proportion that have endured over time.

What makes a Classic design?
1. Simplicity and adaptability.
2. Excellence in cut and proportion to maintain an essential shape.
3. Conservative color-- neutrals--black, white, grey, beige, navy.
4. Fabric--quality; inconspicuous and soft.  Think flannel, gabardine, plain weaves, thick weaves, jersey knits.  Subdued textures and pattern: herringbone, small check, subdued polka dot, pinstripes.

The Mother of the Classic Look in Modern Fashion:  Coco Chanel.   Her signatures looks were synonymous with comfort, function and minimal decorative touches.  Read more about her here:  http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/chnl/hd_chnl.htm

Coco Chanel from counterfeitchic.com

She made tanning popular too, which might also make her the Melanoma Momma as well.

Roots of the classic clothing are found in antiquities-- the skirt, the shirt/chemise, the tunic/sheath--over the years these basic garments were reinvented over and over again.

Evolution of the tunic from Ancient Egypt to Today.

fashion-era.com,  bible-researcher.com, cwrl.utexas.edu, web.mohistory.org, womansday.com

Simple designs demand quality of materials and construction to achieve a classic garment, one that stands out; that makes the difference between fashion from "just clothes." There are subtle differences in design and construction the maker institutes that causes the wearer to emphasize their best qualities and downplay unflattering features.  They make adjustments in hem, pleats or neckline that give the efffect of elegance rather than dumpiness.

The ingredients for producing a classic garment are:
1. The design of the pattern.
2. Fabric thickness and texture.
3. Fabric pattern and print scale and color.
4. Quality of construction.

While we might feel that our control extends only to #4-- quality of construction; the home sewer truly has control of it all.  In the fashion world, there are many people who work as a team to produce a collection. There is the designer who creates a design, hands it to a patternmaker who drapes or fabricates a pattern based upon the interpretation of the design.  There there is a sewer who zips a muslin together puts it on the fit model which is inspected once again by the designer who may make changes and that is repeated to their satisfaction until the final pattern is agreed upon.  The samples are made, it is shown by salesmen or showcase and orders are made, it is graded and then cut, then stitched by machine operators, sent to be pressed and then sent to the retail stores.

Here we are, one person in our sewing room. There are hundreds of pattern designs available for our selection.  We have infinite and unlimited ability to make changes to these patterns.  We choose what fiber and type fabric to use, what colors, what prints, what reinforcement materials.  Then we fit our fit model-- whether is ourselves, our children or maybe even a customer.  We do the cutting, marking, sewing, pressing and the decorative details.  We choose the buttons, the zipper, the braid, the embroidery, what buttonhole type.  So yes, you are a one woman industry.

While many people are intimidated by sewing, it is really probably easier than they think. Sewing is very logical.  Every elements of constructing a garment has a rationale that is easy to determine.  Darts clearly function to attractively fit fabric over the curves of a body.    For example, the armscye in which the shoulder is eased and the underarm curves are trimmed allow for the free movement of your arms and shoulders.  The logic of sewing construction in relation to movement and form makes fitting understandable as you work backward from which seam is causing an issue once you determine what that seam is supposed to accomplish.

This first volume provides explanation of classic techniques that are used with every garment from setting a zipper, sewing a successful curved seam, to setting a waistband.

The classic shapes include with variations: The Blouse/Dress; the Skirt, the Pant and the Coat/Dress/Jacket.

Photo credits: Michael Kors design photp
Marc Jacobs image
Clara Bow photo
 Lillian Gish photo
Jackie Kennedy pic
Marilyn Monroe photo
Coco Chanel photo
Egyptian tunic
Blue tunic
lace 1800s dress
1920's dress
pink sheath dress