Modern Pattern Design by Harriet Pepin

1942—Modern Pattern Design by Harriet Pepin Chapter 1—Pattern Designing Description of Equipment As the doctor, sculptor or artist should understand the purpose of various tools and equipment common to his profession, it is equally important that the patternmaker understands the purpose for which his equipment has been designed. Most of the following articles may be purchased at art supply houses, tailor's supply firms or at the notion departments in retail stores: 1. Triangle: The transparent right triangle is useful in pattern making to "square" a corner. The two smaller points will serve to establish a true bias from a vertical or horizontal line. Diagrams in problems which follow illustrate how this is done. In the study of geometry we learn that a triangle must total 180 degrees. This right triangle has two 45 degree angles and one 90 degree angle. 2. Tracing Wheel: This clever instrument saves hours of needless labor of thread marking. It is used to transfer lines or symbols from one pattern to another or from the final pattern to the muslin or fabric. When the test muslins are being made by the designer, ordinary pencil carbon may be used. When actual garments are being cut, white carbon or chalk boards are used. These markings can be easily removed later. 3. Carbon Boards: A suitable carbon board can be made by purchasing a 24 × 36 sheet of pencil carbon from an art supply house. This should be laid, face upward, upon a similar size piece of heavy cardboard or ply board. Then a length of cheese cloth is laid over and securely fastened to the back of the board with gum tape or thumb tacks. The cheese cloth keeps the carbon paper from tearing or wrinkling and will prolong its usefulness. A chalk board is made by purchasing powdered chalk, moistening it with water and "painting" several coats upon compo, paper surfaced board. This is then covered with cheese cloth. If white carbon is used, the board would be made in the same manner as a muslin carbon board. 4. Pins: Various sizes of dressmakers' pins may be purchased by the pound at the tailor's supply houses or notion departments of stores. The designer should have various sizes on hand for varying weights of fabrics. 5. Pencils: A medium hard lead pencil, a rather soft lead pencil and an eraser should be in your tool kit. A red and blue crayon pencil is also useful for establishing lines of design and for correcting muslins. The blue is usually used for establishing the line and the red is used for all corrections during a fitting of the muslin. Some designers use various colors of tailor's chalk for the same purpose. Black "graphite" is sometimes used instead of lead pencil. These flat pieces may be sharpened by rubbing across sandpaper. 6. Shears: Eight inch paper shears should be kept for cutting light weight paper. Heavy, professional weight shears are used for cardboard patterns. The fabric shears are kept for cutting muslin and will become dull if used for cutting paper. 7. Transparent Ruler: This special ruler is found at art supply stores. It is divided into one- eighth inch squares. As so many measurements in pattern making are based upon eighths of an inch, this ruler comes into use conveniently. It is also valuable when establishing seam allowances on final patterns. 8. Curve: The Dietzgen #17 transparent curve is especially valuable for shaping edges of curved collars, armscyes and necklines. Additional types of these curves are also valuable to have at the patternmaking table. They may be purchased at most art supply stores. 9. Muslin: An unstarched, unbleached muslin is used for muslin proofs for most garments. This may be purchased by the bolt at a saving. The weight and texture varies with garments being designed. 10. Pattern Paper: A white, tough paper, such as that used in bakeries may be used for preliminary patterns in manufacturing plants and for even the final patterns in custom studios. This comes by the roll in varying widths at paper supply houses. It is best to use paper not too deeply colored because pencil marks do not show up as well. About a 150 lb. weight cardboard, purchased in sheets or rolls, is used for blocks and the final pattern "markers" in most firms. Such patterns would be used repeatedly. 11. Square: The tailor's square is purchased at tailor supply houses. It is most useful when drafting the basic block patterns from measurements. It has varying units of measurement, such as fifths, sixths, thirds, as well as the normal measurements of an inch found in an ordinary ruler. 12. Tapeline: It is wise to purchase a good tapeline. Cheaper ones may stretch or shrink. Some are even inaccurately marked. It is also wise to check all your measuring instruments before starting to work out the problems presented in this text. As the flexible tapeline is used to measure a figure or a model form and the square and ruler are used to locate similar measurements when completing the pattern, discrepancies would lead to disappointing results. 13. Curved Stick: This tool is constantly in use by tailors, and it proves useful at the dress designer's table when establishing curves of revers, or when adding flares to gored skirt sections. It is marked for inches and fractional parts of an inch as a ruler would be. Model Forms Some sort of a model form is needed in the designing room. Standard size forms in various sizes are used by designers in manufacturing plants. Custom dressmakers may have several model forms and then pad them up according to the measurements of certain customers. The small scale form is used in many schools to save time and muslin. As long as it is ideally proportioned, it is quite satisfactory for the student who is still studying methods for making patterns. Advanced students who are actually making patterns from which garments are to be cut would naturally need a full size model form. Forms made to personal measurements are particularly useful to hobbyists. However, when one has a carefully fitted foundation block pattern, the model form need not also represent actual personal measurements. It may merely be used as a guide. A professional, standard size model form represents the SIZE of the finished garment, not the dimensions of the woman who may wear that size. Dress form measurements are garment measurements. It is a "mold" for a shapely dress. If we say, "I wear a size 16," we actually mean that the size 16 dress, made from measurements taken from a size 16 dress form, will fit in such manner as to provide freedom of movement and a trim, smart fit. Twenty women might line up—all of whom might find a standard size 16 dress to fit them comfortably with no apparent need for alterations. But, if you were to carefully measure each of these women, probably none of them would have measurements identical to the standard size 16 model form. Each of them might comfortably wear a size 16 dress, and, in fact, be somewhat flattered by so doing, as the garment would conceal some bad contour lines of the body. Garment manufacturers purchase new model forms frequently. As years go by, the basic silhouette changes with fashion. Corset manufacturers are creating new silhouettes which mold the figures of women. For example—the silhouette of the "gay nineties" looks not at all like the ideal figure of today. During and shortly after the first world war the "boyish" figure was in vogue. Breasts were confined in brassiéres which flattened the figure. With the return of the fitted garments we have entered upon the "up-lift" era, with the slender waistline and hips, and the brassiéres support and emphasize the breasts. Hence, the designer depends upon the model form manufacturers to produce new forms which reproduce the "modern" silhouette. When a new form is purchased it is measured carefully and an entire new set of basic block patterns are made. All new dress designs will then reveal the latest ideal figure measurements. There are also special model forms for special types of garments. Dress forms may be purchased in children's sizes, juniors', misses', women's, and stout sizes. Special sizes, called "half sizes" in stores, are also available for the dress industry. Then there are coat and suit forms. A special suspended form is available for slack and bathing suit designers. The designer purchases the model form which is suited to the type of garment which he designs. If a wide variety of garments are created in a single studio, then a wide variety of special forms must be kept on hand. In this modern day, a plastic material is being used to successfully produce "replica" models of individuals. Hobbyists find these models convenient means to designing their own wardrobes. These forms may be quickly draped with muslin and then this muslin may be used as the basis for making a cardboard personal sloper. Prepare the muslin as shown at right to provide for the neck curve and then smooth it gently over the front and back as indicated in the Figs. 1 and 2. The arrows indicate how the muslin should be worked into position. The excess fabric is folded into position to form a basic waistline dart. When the back and front have been draped carefully, with the grain of the fabric placed as indicated, use a red pencil and mark the seams on each section.

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