Textiles and Clothing by Kate Heintz Watson (good books for 7th graders txt) đź“•
[Illustration: FLY SHUTTLE HAND LOOM.
The Pulling of the Reed Automatically Throws the Shuttle Back and Forth and Works the Harness, Making a Shed at the Proper Time.]
[Sidenote: Primitive Fabrics]
No textiles of primitive people were ever woven in "pieces" or "bolts" of yards and yards in length to be cut into garments. The cloth was made of the size and shape to serve the particular purpose for which it was designed. The mat, robe, or blanket had tribal outlines and proportions and was made according to the materials and the use of common forms that prevailed among the tribes. The designs were alway
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The plain or shirt waist pattern will do duty for many garments—corset cover, night dress, dressing jacket, etc. The upper part of the waist will answer for yoke pattern of different shapes.
SEAMLESS YOKESTo make a pattern for a seamless yoke baste together the shoulder seams of the fitted waist pattern, place the upper part of the pattern on cambric or stiff paper, with the front of waist on straight edge or fold of paper, trace the shape of the neck yoke any desired depth below the neck line. The lower edge can be cut in any shape, the neck either high or low, round or square. This perfectly fitted yoke pattern can be used for a foundation for lace, velvet, ribbon, net, or any thin material. The circular yoke made of lace and ribbon or bias strips can be made to open in front or back. The strips of inserting and ribbon should be basted on the paper pattern and joined by fancy stitches or over sewed. The parts next the neck will need to be held fuller than the outside curve of the inserting.
All yokes to be worn under the gown should be made on a well-fitted lining. Never trust to pinning, basting, or hooking the yoke to the waist.
The finish of collar, cuffs, girdle and placket are hallmarks of good dressmaking. Well finished ends and corners, the careful adjustment of fastenings, shields carefully fitted to the arm's eye and caught smoothly to the lining—all these are little things that count for more than money spent in expensive ornament.
PRESSINGThe success of the finish of every garment depends upon the pressing, whether the material be heavy or light, cotton or wool. Garments are always pressed on the wrong side, when being made. The iron used should neither be too hot nor too heavy and the work should be done on a perfectly smooth, well-covered board. For pressing black or dark cloth, the cover of the board should be dark and free from lint, while a perfectly clean light cover should be substituted when white or light goods are to be pressed.
The whole face of an iron should never be put down on a seam or any part of a waist, but the side or point should be used, care being taken not to stretch a curved seam. A small rolling pin, a broom stick, a chair rocker, or any rounded stick well covered can be used for pressing curved seams or sleeves. This lessens the danger of marking the seams on the right side. These are only makeshifts; a regular half round sleeve bound should be obtained if much work is to be done.
In pressing, the iron should never be shoved or pushed, as in ironing. Only heavy materials require great strength. It is possible to press too much as well as too little. Whatever the material, pressing is work that requires to be done carefully and slowly. Allow the iron to touch only the center of the seam, the edges of the seam will not then be outlined upon the goods. Piled goods require infinite care. Uncut velvet, crape, etc., should never be pressed with the iron flat on the seam. The seam should be opened carefully and over the rounded surface of the board, covered with very soft cotton flannel into which the pile can sink without being flattened. Run the iron with the pile, or the iron may be placed on the side or flat end and the seams drawn slowly along the edge of the iron the same way the pile runs—only the edge of the iron touching the edge of the seam. Corded seams should be pressed in the same way to avoid flattening the cord.
Very heavy cloths and chinchilla should have a small stream of water carried along the seam, followed by the iron; or the seam may be dampened by a soft cloth—very wet. This is the "wet pressing" used by tailors, which is adapted to the requirements of materials used by them, such as serge, tweeds, etc. Pressing on the right side under a damp cloth is apt to give marks if the cloth gets too dry or if the iron is too hot, but is necessary on finished wool garments.
Silk scorches easily and should be pressed very carefully with a cool iron, light in weight.
Some light colors fade or change in pressing. Try a piece of the goods before pressing the garment. If the color does not come back when cold or when exposed to the light, do not use a hot iron on the garment.
CONSTRUCTION AND ORNAMENT FOR DRESSMany of the principles governing architecture and art apply equally as well to art in dress. Both in architecture and dress, construction should be decorated—decoration should never be purposely constructed. It is by the ornament of a building that one can judge more truly of the creative power which the artist has brought to bear upon his work. The general proportion may be good, the mouldings accurate, but the instant ornament is attempted, the architect or the dressmaker reveals how much of an artist he is. To put ornament in the right place—where it serves a purpose—is indeed difficult; to render that ornament at the same time an added beauty and an expression of the desired unity is far more difficult.
All decoration should be planned to enrich—not to assert. All jewelry or ornament should form a note in the general harmony of color—a decorative touch to add beauty and to be subordinated to the object decorated. It should serve the purpose of seeming to strengthen the whole or to protect the parts receiving most wear. Ornament is everywhere attempted. We see ornament at every turn—good and bad alike—in our homes, on clothes, linen, and kitchen utensils. Carlyle tells us that "The first want of barbarous man is decoration." We have no record of when this need was felt first. Primitive man after supplying his actual needs, seemed to develop a longing for the beautiful, so he ornamented his own body, scratched rude patterns on his tools and weapons and gradually developed the artistic sense. This love of ornament dates back to the beginnings of the human race and there are no records of a race or a period devoid of it.
We see gowns totally lacking in good results because too much has been attempted. The wearer has not considered the effect as a whole, but has gratified her liking for a multiplicity of ornaments and color which, perhaps would be good in themselves, if applied separately, but which becomes an incongruous mixture when brought together on one garment.
Garments which seem to have required great effort in the making and which appear complex in construction should be avoided, for the effect is not pleasing. The gown should set off the wearer, not the wearer the gown.
To avoid committing errors against good taste it is essential first to consider the use of any garment and see if it answers the purpose for which it was designed. If any part appears meaningless, this is a sure indication that it is wanting in grace and beauty. The ornament should harmonize with the materials, use, and construction of the object to which it is applied. The color must be massed with effect and detailed with care.
There can be no ornamentation equal to that which is worked into the material, such as embroidery. The design should be appropriate in form and color and always conventional. Flowers are used most frequently for embroidery and passementerie and the simple, single flowers are the most effective, such as the daisy, the wild rose, and the flowers of the lily family. These simple flowers are the best because they radiate from a central point, have strong forms and decided proportions, can be most fully expressed in a few stitches requiring the fewest shades of color, and are admirably adapted for amateur workers.
Old Indian stuffs, jewelry, and enamels are rich in suggestions of conventionalized flowers. The simple, single flowers are repeated constantly, the daisy appearing to be the favorite in these beautiful ornaments. The most beautiful of all conventional flower work, jewel studded, is found in samples of work of the fifteenth century. They simply suggest the forms of nature. The repetition of the same flower in all its aspects is more pleasing and less tiresome to the eye than a variety of flowers or figures.
We find upon analysis that the simple forms are the basis of all decorative art work. Geometrical designs and arabesques are the most difficult, requiring the most exacting and careful work. Narrow bands, braided, outlined, or chain-stitched in simple designs are effective, easily done, and wear well. Braids and any of these stitches may be combined, making durable and effective trimming for sleeves and neck. These simple designs are also appropriate for children's frocks. The French knots are ornamental and durable. All embroidery and passementerie should be rich, close, and continuous. It should not be cut up into pieces and sewed on where it does not serve, or appear to serve, a purpose.
There is very little passementerie that is at all suitable for forming edges, as it is not sufficiently substantial, but when it can be found firm and of the right shade it is one of the most beautiful ornaments to edge neck and sleeves. It may be allowed to extend beyond the dress material, so that the flesh tints may show through the design, thus gradually softening the outline. Often a narrow passementerie can be found with one strong edge and a good border can be made by joining the two. This cannot be done where the pattern is united by a band running through the center of the ornament.
A band of velvet or cloth embroidered in outline stitch and French knots of same shade as the garment is a satisfactory edge. Except for yokes, the knots should always be held together with the outline edge.
The rich silk braids and passementeries are made of silk wound or woven over cotton and should be used only on dresses which are not intended for hard wear. Such trimmings are, of course, inappropriate on serges and homespuns and soon become shabby if given much rough service.
Laces, like all trimmings, have defined limits within which they should be used, though they are often worn indiscriminately. Machine made laces, often good in make and design, are now very common, but the best machine-made laces are not cheap in price.
Handsome lace should be applied rather plainly, as the pattern is often lost in the gathers. Fine laces are out of harmony with heavy or coarse materials. When lace is desired for flounces that with running patterns which neither advance nor retreat, except in the folds which may be made, will be found most pleasing. Distinct objects, such as baskets, crowns, vases, etc., which suggest weight, are unsuitable patterns for so light a fabric as lace.
Attention to details is essential in the placing of these decorations, as in the selection or making of them. The worker should take into consideration the shape and size of the bands or pieces of trimming and should note carefully the chief characteristics of the design and above all the junction of leaves, flowers, arabesques, especially in the finishing of
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