1926—The New-Way Course in Fashionable Clothes-Making
Lesson 35—Skirts
A Study of Skirts
The next six lessons of the course are devoted to a complete study of skirts—their planning, construction and individual uses. There are several different types of skirts, the gored skirt, circular skirt, tailored skirt, box-plaited skirt and others. The first one we will take up is the tailored skirt.
The tailored skirt must be very carefully made. It must hang and fit perfectly. It must be finished with extreme regard for neatness. The bottom must be even, and if pockets are used they must be in the exact proper place. If it is not well made the tailored skirt has no charm or smartness whatever.
As in the case of the tailored blouse, the tailored skirt is most appropriate for business wear. In fact, when these two garments are worn together, with a plain tailored top-coat and a small toque or turban a very fine, neat effect is created. No business woman who prides herself upon being a clever dresser should be without one tailored skirt and several tailored blouses.
There are many beautiful materials which may be used in the making of tailored skirts. Broadcloth, serge, gabardine, tricotine, poiret twill—all are splendid choices. For summer war, linen is appropriate. Every new season brings forth new skirt material novelties, and one can always have a wide variety of patterns and colors to choose from.
The strictly tailored skirt is an important feature in clothes-making. It serves as a foundation upon which a great deal of future work is based. Master this lesson thoroughly—it contains valuable information.
Making the Tailored Skirt
- The tailored skirt—and in fact, all skirts—may be fitted on the dress form and the garment then tried on the person for whom it is intended to verify the fitting and make sure that it is correct. Of course, the tight lining that was fitted on the person must be first placed on the form and padded to fit. Over this a petticoat should be placed; see that it fits smoothly and is just the proper length.
- The first thing to consider when fitting a skirt is the hip line. See that the skirt does not draw at this line but fits perfectly. Otherwise it will fall to the front with every move of the wearer. Be sure that you get this line around the person absolutely correct, before you start to pin the skirt on the belt.
- The skirt should fall straight from the waistline to the hem. This line should not break just below the hips. If the line of the hip is correct, the rest of the skirt can be easily adjusted to fit perfectly. You will find that full skirts can be fitted so that the fulness will fall back into place even when the wearer moves and changes her position.
- Pin the skirt to the belt, lifting or dropping it so that there is no pouch either at the front or back below the waistline. It is not always easy for the beginner to make a perfect tailored skirt at first, but you will find that by lifting the skirt slightly at the center of the back and graduating it to nothing at the sides, any pouchiness can be removed.
- The skirt belt must not be tight. If it is inclined to drop at the waistline make small darts in the belt at the bottom, graduating them to nothing at the top. This will hold the skirt in place; if you find that this does not help, it is because the material is too heavy and in this case it will be necessary to bone the belt with feather bone, placing the bones about four inches apart beginning at the front. Belting already boned can be purchased at a notion counter.
- Keep the seams of the skirt straight and smooth in a firm line and be sure that they do not sag.
- Very often, plackets are inclined to stretch. If the skirt is wool and the placket is stretched, shrink the extra fulness in. But if the skirt is silk or cotton, it will be necessary to rip the placket and take out the fullness. For the correct method of getting the skirt length, consult Lesson 20.
- When you are sure that the placket is smooth and flat, try on the skirt and be sure that it fits perfectly. When the skirt is basted on the belt, it should not be stretched but lay a little full especially from the side front to the back. If you are stout do not use a wide belting but one that is quite narrow, boning it if necessary.
Pressing the Skirt
As the pressing of all skirts is the same, we will give the rules in this lesson and you can refer to them later when you study the making of the various types of skirts and find it necessary to press them. Bear in mind that the pressing of the finished skirt is very important. Often an entirely well-made and well-finished skirt is spoiled by wrong or careless pressing.
In order to press a wool skirt correctly, a damp sponge cloth should be used. However, a damp cloth may not be used on material that has not been sponged before being made up into the skirt. Nor may a damp cloth be used on silk cloth. Do not run the iron over the work as you do when ironing; just move the iron ahead only its own distance.
All parts of the skirt from the top down should be pressed. If it is a gored skirt, it should be pressed from hip to bottom on the ironing board. The side lines from the waist to just below the hip line should be pressed over a tailor's cushion in order to retain the curve in the seam.
Hems should be pressed across the hem line and not along the line of stitching. All pressing should be done on the wrong side of the garment, except in the case of the plaited skirt when it is necessary to keep the line of the plaits straight and even, then turning the skirt to the wrong side to give the plaits a final hard pressing.
Pockets and Trimmings
One hardly expects trimming on a tailored skirt. Yet buttons or braid are entirely permissible—and indeed, they add quite a smart finish. Pockets are also used extensively, and of course, the side seams serve as trimming.
The pocket may be any desired type. One may choose from the patch pocket, the slit or slash pocket, the flap or bound pocket. Each one can be made very attractive if place din the just-right position and at the just-right angle. The stout woman should avoid patch pockets—but she may enjoy any of the others. Bound buttonholes are sometimes used on tailored pockets.
The actual construction of the various types of tailored skirts will be given in the lessons following. The purpose of this lesson was to acquaint you with the general requirements and characteristics of the tailored skirt so that no unessential detail need be incorporated into the step-by-step instructions
Lesson 34 and Lesson 35
Questions
- What kind of seams are used in making the tailored blouse?
- Is the following statement true or false? "Fullness in tailored sleeves should be at the top of the sleeve."
- How are the cuffs made for a tailored blouse?
- From what type of material should the interlining of the collar of the tailored blouse be made?
- What different types of skirts are there?
- What part of the skirt receives first consideration in fitting?
- How may pouchiness in either front or back of a skirt be removed?
- When is it necessary to bone a skirt belt?
- How are hems pressed?
Samples of the following should be sent in for inspection in the envelope provided for the purpose. If samples are not correctly done, corrected work will be returned with full explanation. In the case of COMPLETED GARMENTS, the work will be returned to the student for use. Mail your samples with your answers to Quiz Questions and be sure to put name and address and student number on the outside of the envelope. Don't make your samples larger than 5 inches long and 3 inches wide.
Homework Problems
- Make a sample of a box plait as it occurs in the opening of a shirt waist.
