1950 - Art of Cutting and Fitting - A Practical Manual - Wilson.pdf

8/19/2019 1950 - Art of Cutting and Fitting - A Practical Manual - Wilson.pdf

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REV. RATSPEED’SBIG BOOK OF TAILORING


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THE ART OF CUTTING AND FITTING:

A Practical Manual

J. King Wilson—

1950


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Jhe r t ofND

GPractical anual

£ .

J KING rW LSONWinner of The Tallo I ,G O L TR P Y 195 -


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CONTENTS

FOR EW ORD vqC H . .

1 P E R H A P S Y O U ' V E L O S T F I V E Y EARS ? I

11 So You W N T TO BECOME C U T r E R 3

U I M E A S U R I N G : H A V E You GOT IT T A P E D ? 6

I V K E E PING YOUR BALAN CE 9

V . CULTIVATE AN E Y E FOR F I GU RES 1 5

V I LET 'S LOOK AT SOME LEGS 2 2

V I I F O R T H O SE WHO SUFFER FROM BAD FITS 2 8

VIII . CUT AND COME AGAIN 34

IX. POINTS ABOUT PANTS 41

X. G O L DEN T I P S 48

XI. SUITING STRANG E C U ST O MER S 53

XII. CARCASE AND CAMO UF LAGE 60

XIII . BEST Bm ND T U C KER 64

XIV. T L LY Ho 66

XV. ALMOST A N A F T E RT H O U G H T 68

X V L L E T ' S J O I N THE LADIES 7 0

XVII. PADOLOGY 77

XVIII . THE CUST0r.fER I S ALWAYS R lO H T 81

I NDEX

v


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CHAPTER II .

so YOU WANT TO BECOME A CUTTERI ASS UME (since .you have troubled to read thi s far ) that

that is your ambition. So I am going to talk to you aboutthe art of cutting and fittin g (as di stinct from th e scienceof producing a paper pattern). My observations areprimarily intended for th e you ng tailor who , by m eans ofa tutor or the co n scientiou s s tudy of the va riou s s tandardworks on cutting, has equipped him se lf with sufficientknowledge to be able to produ ce a pattern by the m ethod

known as a system of cutting.You, as an aspirant to cutting fame, have actually

four different job s to learn, and you will do well to regardthem as four se parate bran che s of your trade. It is theco mbin ed knowledge of all o f th em which produce s thecomplete craftsman. The four matters to which I amreferring a r e

( I) Making a garment.(2) Cutting paper patterns.3 ) Th e art of cutting.(4) The art of fitting.

I mu st say a few introdu ctory words abo ut each of

th ese .( I ) SEWING

I imagine that you have a lready learned to sew and t omake a garment to the sa tisfaction of your employer. fyou haven t , don t you think you are putting the cart

3


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4 T H E A RT OF C U T T I N G AND F I T T I N G

before the hor se in tackling this book? Be that as it may,pride o craftsmanship and an infinite capacity for takingpain s are the chief ingredients for success in this

department.(2) PAPER PATTERNS

Again, I expect (indeed I hope) that you are thoroughlyproficient at producing paper patterns by the scientificmethod of cutting. This is comparatively simple, andcan be accomplished with care and practice in a reasonably

short time by anyone of ordinary intelligence - whetheror not he be a practical tailor. There are variousmethods of producing a pattern for a given se t of measures.Some are simple and some are complicated, but in themain they achieve the sa me re su lt - namely , that offittin g what is generally known as a normal figure.

t is sometimes claimed on beh a lf of the more compli

ca ted sc ientific syste m s that they are capable of producingpatterns to fit any figure. Mo st of these systems are basedon dir ec t measure s which are difficult enough to take andstill more difficult to apply, so that the majority of cuttersof experience u se only the scien tifi c method for the purposeof producing a normal, or sta ndard, pattern, and then relyupon the art of cutting for their eventual success.

(3) T H E A RT OF CUTTINGHere succe ss can be ac hieved only by careful measuring

and careful observation of the figure, which together assi stin balancing the various parts of the pattern. O f thi s Ishall have quite a bit mor e to say later.

4) T H E A RT OF FITTI NG

Thi s is generally regarded as tile mo st difficult of thefour branches of your trade. cannot emphasil e too stronglY


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so Y O U W N T T O E C O M E C U T T E R 5

th t there is no roy l ro d to success in the rt o itting I t isdiffi cult to t eac h, an d th e art is acquired only aftertr ave lling th e bitt er an d often expens ive) ro ad of

experienceDon t be downh ea rt ed, how ever . I am going to save

you from many he ar t-burnings and di sa pp ointments bypointing out to you in adva nce many of th e s nags that youwill meet, and also make you familiar with a number ofpoints that you w ould not di scover fo r yourse lf in years oftri a l a nd error. I am merely warning yo u aga in st undueoptimism. We sha ll see th at cer ta in guidin g prin cipl escan be laid down whi ch will prove of in calcu lable assistance to you in overcoming the man y diffi culties you willencounter when you come to apply your theoretical orsc ientifi c knowl edge to the mor e diffi cult an d pra ctica lta sk of fitting .

In thi s small book, then, I propose to deal only withitem s 3) and 4) above, and I shall ass ume that yo u arealready exp erienced in item s (I) and 2).


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CHAPTER

MEASURING: HAVE YOU GOT IT TAPED?

WELL, have you? We have already noted that careful

measuring of the figure i s ess ential to success in co nnectionwith the art of cutting . No doubt you have alreadyreceived not a little instruction on how to mea sure yourcustomer, but a word or two on this mu ch-neglectedpractice will not come miss, becau se unle ss you are ableto measure correctly, you will find that the pattern (however carefully prepared ) will bear little or no re se mblanceto the size of the figure.

Although mea suring is a comparatively simple job, donot-run away with the idea that proficiency can be attainedwithout considerable practi ce So practise on your friend sand colleagues.

Take the fir st measures (t hat is, length of coat, widthof back and sleeve length) wi th the coat on This willserve as a guide to the length of coat that is suitable, andit will also indicate the utmo st width of back thefigure can carry. Remember, a side view of the figuregives a much clearer idea of its shape than a fro n t or backview

Remo ve the coat before yo u begin t ak ing the remainin g

measures. You will probably find th at your customer'sactual figure i s quite different from the one you h ave ju stseen with your own eye s A man owes much to histailor , is a saying that cannot be denied sometimes inmore ways than one).

Take the chest mea sure on the ~ s yside, and be sure6


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MEASURING H AV E YOU GOT IT TA P E D ? 7

that you keep your tape well up at the back to cover the blades.This precaution is most necessary, because if you allow thetape to slip down below the prominent part of the back

(a not uncommon fault in the tyro ), the measure will betoo small by one or two inches and so, of course, fatal to theproduction of your pattern. The novice is particularlyliable to go wrong in thi s regard when the blades arecarried high on the figure. Remember that in manysystems of cutting it is on the size of your chest measure·mem that the size of your shoulder depends.

I cannot lay too much stress on this point. I f youare not convinced, prove the point for yourself by placingthe tape around your colleague s chest, first below theblades and then again with the tape over the blades. Youwill, I think, be amazed at the difference in the twomeasurements

The waist-mea sure should be taken a little closer thanthat of the chest.

When taking the lower measure s don t neglect the hipmeasure (between the waist and the seat). For somerea son that is quite inexplicable, this measure is frequentlyomitted in practice, with the most disastrous re sults tothe trou s rs. When you bear in mind the fact that the

figure often measure s considerably more in this part of theanatomy than either the waist or the seat (particularlywith those who have a tendency to corpulence) you willa ppreciate my point. I f you neglect to take this mea sureyou will meet with di sas ter: you will find that whilst thewaist fly-button will button up easily enough, the servicesof a button-hook at least will have to be enlisted in orderto get the trou se s to meet below

Thus the taking of mea sure s is closely allied to the art ofcutting, not only from the point of view of obtaining anaccurate record of your customer s size and shape (animportant but simple enough matter ), but also becau se


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THE R T OF CUTT I N G N D FITTING

the pro cess affords you n exce ll ent opportunity o fstu ying th figur for which you are about to cut ourrecorded mea sure s sh ou ld help to paint the pi cture for

you and you r abi lity to take mea sure s correc tl y will in nosmall degree b e the me s ure of your su ccess .


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CHAPTER IV

KEEPING YOUR BALANCE

My dictionary gives a number of different definitions of

the word balance . The particular one upon which Iwant you to concentrate at the moment is harmony ofdesign and proportion .

Having taken your mea sures and noted down in themeasure':book your observations as to how your customer'sfigure differs from normal having regard to his chestmea surement, your next consideration must be the

preparation of a pattern.BALANCE is the corner-stone on which the successful production

o your p ttern depends and I want to talk to you about fourdifferent kinds of balances. The se are :-

( I) Major V crtical Balance.2) Major Lateral Balance.3) Minor Vertical Balance s.4) Minor Lateral Balances.

I hope the se four new term s that I have invented willhelp to give you a fre sh approach to that all-importantfactor in cutting, the production of a well-balancedpattern.

Now, I am well aware that hone sty is the best policy, n dalso that t pays to go str ight (so long as other people doso, too ) . I also know (if you share the experience of mostWest End tailors ) that you wiil come across crooks inabundance in the ordinary course of busine ss . But a s we

B 9


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1 0 T H E A RT OF C U T T I N G AND F I T T I N G

turn our attention to the art of cutting, for goodness sakelet u s dr op (a nd try to rule out for ever afterward s) th osemi sleading, but all-too-common, referen ces to straight

a n d crooked shoulder s and similar de scri ption s of theseat angle. The se term s are mi snomer s and, as such, bestforgotten. Let u s, then , ge t b ac k to the four balan ces .

I Maj or Verti ca l Balan ce By thi s I me an the relationyour back sec tion bear s to your front section. t is, infact, the ba sis on which your garment depend s for correcthang.

2 Maj or Lateral Balan ce This balance de scribe s therelation the neck-point of your fore part bear s to the neckpoint of your ba ck. t is the ba sis on which the forwardor backward m ove ment s of your forepart depend.

3 Min or Vert ical Balances These are the small adjustments that become nece ssary if you are going to followthe vertical sha pe of the figure (that i s to say, a long or a

short neck and square or sloping shoulder s . Thesebalance s form the ba sis on whi ch your minor verticalfitting depend s. .

4 Minor Lateral Balance s Here I am referring to theadjustments neces sa ry in order to follow, first, the lateralshape of the figure, and secon dly, the size (ass isted by themea surement s you have taken ) . Th ese balan ces are theba ses on which your lateral shape and also the size of thegarment depend.

In the art of cutting, these four factors, or balances ,as I have called them, should all be treated separa tely Theomission to consider any single one may prove fatal, buttogether they re sult in the creation of a perfe ct pattern.You want to attain success in your trade? Very well,then. Look after the balance of your pattern , and your ,bank balance will look after tself.

The whole essence of the art of cutt ing consi sts ofnothing more or less than the proper adjustment of your


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lCEEPING Y OU R : B A L A N C E

FIG. I . MAJOR VE R -TICAL BALANCEM O V E M E N T IN

LENGTH.

PASSING UPfat stoopin fi9ute .

PASSING DOWNot ew::t igu eo

.. ..-. .

FORW RD; f07-

.. stoopinJ figl/te

novnal .. •. ..

ne£k point .\. ::.> ... -,. ,'


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12 T H E A RT OF C U T T I N G A N D F I T T I N G

balances (both major and minor ) . which you will makefrom your observation of the customer s figure, as well asfrom the mea sures you have taken, using the block orstandard pattern as a basi s.

Simple direct measures will help you to find the shapeof the figure for the minor balance s. For example, with

LOWERJf{6SHOULDERf t slop",shouldeu LOWERlN6

LOWERING ])0 W N HOULbERBACK / IECK sWf ir9 fin slopingrot tJht1Ct neck ShofJ.kk. tS shculde Cs ,

RA/ IHG 1G O R G ~fat lanon u k J

LOWfRIII6GORGeSt shottnu k ·

FJG. 3 MINOR VERTICAL BALANCES CONCERN SHAPE

·your tape depending from the · collar-seam at the centre ofthe back, run your finger across the back horizontallyfrom the shoulder-point to the tape. This will indicate toyou the height of the collar-seam above the shoulder-point,which will u sually be about 11 inche s for a square shoulder,2 inches for a normal shoulder and t inche s for slopingshoulders.

Jot down a note if you consider that a longer or shorter


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K E E P I N G Y O U R B A L A N C E

back balance is needed. Consider the height of theblades. I f they are pronounced, remember that so meare carried hi gh and other s low. The high one S will need

B

A-C: big b ck withsmallfwntB - D smal back withlatgefrontE f : 1atgehips E 6 f/at hips

FIG. 4. MINOR LATERAL BALANCES CONCERN SHAPE ANDSI ZE.

the extra width at, say , 5 in che s down; the low ones mayreq uire it as low as 9 in che s down.

ObselVations suc h as C inch lon g back . or C inchshort back J are u seful. In fact, any disparity ordivergence from the normal which cannot be measured


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should be noted with its estimated amount as it will helpyou in painting the pi cture later on.

The accompanying sketches are not accurately drawn

to sca le and are not intended to show the correct ad just-ment for any spec ific case. They are merely illustrationsof the prill iples you must apply in order to obtain well -balanced adjustment s. On ce you have ma stered thisnew idea of balance s I venture to think that as a cutter itis unlikely that you will be found wanting.


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C HAPTER V

CULTIVATE AN EYE FOR FIGUR ES

I N the preced in g chapter I tried to em ph asize th e m po r ~ante of think ing afres h in term s of ba lances. P robabl ybef ore we h ave fini sh ed dea ling with the art of cuttingand fittin g you'll be a bit sick of th em . I hope not, butnevertheles s we shall h ave to con side r them a lot more aswe proceed. At the moment life are go ing to ap ply t h esefri ends o f ou rs to the preparation of th e pa t tern , using thesame sequence as we have already laid dow n. Thu s we

have: -

( I ) T H MAJOR VERT IC AL BA LANCE

Take a look a t F ig . J . You wiU no tice th a t th e majorvertical balan ce is arrived at by .w hat is kn own as passingu p the bac k or p assing down the forepart. Whatis the object oft his proces s? t is to ar range two pieces ofcloth in suc h a way that the y ar e perfectly balanced intheir vertical re la tio n fo r any given fig ur e bea r in g in mindthat a variation fro m nOfma l may be ca u sed by its st oopor its erectness.

In most cases it is suffic ien t to 'pa ss up or down s o m ~thing betw een t and in ch . In abn or mal cases as muc h as

I to 2 inches ma y be requ ir ed . Now , do n ' t im ag ine th a tthere can be co m plete and fina l cer.tainty in arri ving a t thecorrect amount to b e pa ssed ~u p or down at this tageThe fixin g of the amount cannot be finally det erm ineduntil we come to th e ar t of fitting in a later chapte r.Howeve r in preparin g the pattern you r aim u s t be to

'5


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1 6 T H E R T O F C U T T I NG ND F IT T I N G

ge( as near as possible to you r ultimate go a l. Su ccess orfa ilure will be determined by the acc uracy with wh ic hyou have tak en you r mea sureme nts and the care with

which you h ave taken observat£(m o our Customer s figure• T he major verti cal ba la nce is perha ps the mo st important of the fou r. It is cer ta in ly the mo st d iffi cult to finde. ac tly in pr epar ing the pattern . Emph a ticall y, its l ~adju stment wii ca use gre a ter trouble and add , more toyour f i t t i ng ~ ro o difficultie s than will a discrepancy in

any of the othe r ba lances. You w ill therefore pay a tt en -tion to it accor din gly . ,Having m ade up your 'mind as to the amount of major

vertical ba lance you requir e, ad just your side-seam to giveeffect to your decis ion . Then dismiss this balance from yourmind entire ly, and tum you r s i ng l e ~ m i n e atte n tio n tothe next ba lanc e in the seq uenc e. In othe r w ~r s keepeach balance in a w t e r ~ t i g h tcompartment . H av ingdealt with one, forge t it.

2) THE M JO R L TE R L B L NC EThi s ba la nce is ne xt in impo r tance , a nd it will help you

to fix the correct po sition of the neck -point. I ts fun ctio n

is .to mov e the forepa rt eith er forwards or b ac kwards on alateral line , just as the m ajor vertical b a lance concern edmove men t u p or dow n on a vertical line . Con sid er Fig. 2for a mo men t.

Th e adju stmen t of the major lateral balance consistssimply of a fo re-an d-aft move ment. You will find thispr ocess considerably easier than its pre decesso r. Furt her,if you have ~ i g n os e d th e majo r vertical ba lanc e corre ctly,yo u wi ll find th a t you ha ve a definite p o~ nt er toward s t h ~requireme nts for a proper lateral ba lance, because thl neck-point goes forw ard with a stoop (or lon g b ack balince) andbackward with an erect figure o r short b ~ kbalan ce) . h iot her wo rds , less room i s n eed ed between the n e c l c~ p oi n


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r

CULTIVATE AN EYE FOR FIGURES 7and tp.e front edge in a flat chest, and more room is neededin that vicinity for a full ,chest. So you see that a lateralmovement of the n e k ~ p o i n ttakes material away from the

front edge in the case of a flat chest, and adds to it in thecase of a full chest. Just one last po int. The amountthe back has been passed u or down respectively is quitea useful guide by which to assess th e amoupt of fore oraft movement required. Having decided on and giveneffect to your major lateral balance, you should dismiss it

from your mind, and turn your whole attention to thenext in our series of balances. .

3) T H E MINOR V ERTICAL BALANCES

See Fig. 3. Fixing these balances consists simply ofmaki ng the slight local adjustments necessary in order tofollow the vertical shape of t he figure. , There are four ofthese adjustments to be considered; they a r e

(i) Raising the back neck and gorge for a long neck.ii) Lowering the back neck and gorge for a short

neck.(iii) Raising the back and forepart shoulder-points

in order to meet the requirements of a squareshoulder.

iv) Lowering them for a sloping shoulder, ,and atthe same t.ime raising or lowering the armhole a likeamount.

All the above are quite elementary, but neverthelesshighly important, adjustments. The amount requiredfor each can only be arrived at in one way-that is, bymeans of your observation o th figure together with thedirect measurements you have taken. Have you noticed,by the way, that I continue to emphasize this matter ofobserva tion whilst t he customer is being measured ,? Itis vital to remember it.


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HI H

BLADES

FlG·5·

LOW

BLADES

FIG 6. F I G 7

EXAMPLES OF MINOR LATERAL BALANCES: SHAPE AND SIZE

-'e

>•o

oqee

cDlPu lcnt 0w i s t -z

o

e

o


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CU L T I VAT E AN E Y E F O R F IGURES ' 9

CCUTao is essential to get th p rfect shoulder At the sametim e it is only fai r to tell you tha t a slight mala dju stm en twill not land you in the same troub le and d isas ter as wou ld

a cor respond in gly sma ll err or in t he case of the ma jorba lances . The reason for t h is is, of course, that the minorvertic l ba lances are adjustm en ts of a l o c ~ lna ture , andhen ce are more easily rectified., Aga in , try to forget your jugg lings' with the pre viousbalances as you procee d to ta ckle the fina l grou p.

4) T H E NOR L ATE RAL B A L ANCES

Th ese ba lances be ar relatio n bot h to the shap an d to thesh of the figu re. T hey ar e more n ume rou s than thosein the previou s groups because they deal with both theseaspe cts. want you to refer to Fig s. 4; 5, 6 and 7 as we

proceed.Fi rst, look a t Fig. 4. You will notice that it d eals

with a big back with a small front, or with the revers e-in othe r words, a flat or prominent ches t. Whe n yourm easur es and observat ions ind icate tha t you are dealingwith a big b ack, yo u r che st-m easu re (w hen app lied t o thepattern )

willautomatically reduce the size of you r fro n t.

Simil arly, jf a sma ll bac k is called for , you r ap plied c l t~ s t-mea su re will automalical{y increas th e size of your fron t.You will appl y similar adjustment s to a flat wais t and hip sor to a prominent waist and hi ps, as th e case may be .

Next turn to Figs. 5 and 6. In sp ite of the ir simpli cit y, you will readily see th at a round b ack, p rominentb lades high blades or low blade s all call for minor localadjustments in a lat ral direction in order to conform toth e shape of the figure.

L as tly le t u s look at Fig. 7. H av ing m ade the abo veadj ust ments w hh an eye to shape, you should now mea sur eup you r patte rn for siz a t th e c hest, wa ist and hips.


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2 T H E A R T O F C U TT I NG A N D F IT T I NG

You r pa ttern is now co m plete , wit h th e exce ption of thesleeve, t he hea d of wh ich should be ad j usted to con form toth e height of th e shou lders. f you hav e to con ten d w ithsquare sho ulder s, wh at adj ustment will you make? Wh y,of course, you will slightly r ise the head of the sleev e.An d for slo ping should ers? Slig h tly low er the h ead.Yo u a re beg in ning to get the id ea, t hin k. f you havenot q u ite g ras ped it yet, i t mig ht b e as well for yo u tore-rea d th is chapter before going on ahe ad.

By the way, I ought pe rhaps to 'tell YO l why I insisted onyour forgetting ea ch ad ju stment as you turne d to the n ex tbalance in the sequence - that is, keep ing eac h group ofbala nc es in its o wn separate co m pa r tm en t. T he objec t istwofo ld. Fi rst, i n t his way y ou make eac h-set o f bal ancesd o its ow n work witho ut tr espas sing upon ano th er.Secondly, th e sepa rate cons idera tion of the diff erentba lances will materi a lly assist you in your d i gnosis whenyou come to the ma tt er of fitti ng . You will find t h at th ismethod sim p lifies th e iss ue apd helps to keep yo ur mindunco nfu sed.

Th is chap ter has been rath er h eavy go ing , hasn' t . it?Bu t the effort h as been well wort h whil e, and h ave no

doubt you hav e learnt qu ite a bit. Let me en d on aper sona l no te. Durin g the war (wh en l abo ur was at ap remium), havi ng u sed for ove r thi rty years the old ru leof-t hu mb met h od , was fo rced to find a mea ns by wh ichlter tions could be cut down to the irreducible minimum Thi s,

ma rk yo u, in a n e xac ti ng West End business . Afte r a

goodde

alof

cogit a tion , Ifo

und

what

1 sought

in t hegroup -bal ance syst em . I soo n discover ed tha t it re d ucedthe m arg in of error i n two ways: first, in preparing thep attern where no bal ance, major or mino r, ca n pos sib lyescape your n ot ice), and later, as we sh all see when wecome to conside r it, in t he ar t of fitti ng . Wit h fittin g, thecalise of every effe c t nee d s t o be so ugh t fo r. When one


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I C U LT I VAT E AN EY E FOR F I G U R E S

has traced the cause it is a comparatively simple matter toapply the appr opr iate cure .

Let me explain thi s with an example. When u sing the

old -fashioned me thod of, say, croo king o r st ra ight en ing ashoulder, you wer e to ld respectively) to lengthen orshor ten the front shoulder, in doing which you were rollingtwo, or even three, sets of balanc es in to one. By mymodem method the lengt hening or sho rt en ing of the frontbalance has already been done for you, by passing theback down for an erect figure, or up for a stooping f i g u r ~So you can see that the neck-point is used for one purposeon ly-namely, in connection with the fore or aft mov emen tof the front. f n.ecessary, th e neck -point will be loweredo r raised automatically when you com e to th e minor verticalbalances.

Now, by keeping each group of balances in their water

tight compartments, you systematically provide [or everypossible contingency . Nothing is missed. Nothing can bemissed. I don t think I am go ing too far in comparingt he o ld-f ashio ned rul e-o f- thumb method to a cross-wordpuzzle, in which a given clue permits various alternativeanswers. f we continue the analogy, the rtew method

might be compared to .a jig- saw puzzle, wh ich prov idesfor one solution and one on ly. E ac h p iece must fi t in to itsappointed p la ce, and no other. Your success s directlydep en dent on you r ab ility to observe siz e and shape

Postscrip t . Need I add that you will ap ply the sa meprincipl es to the wai stco a t as you h ave alre ady done to thecoat pattern? .


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CHAPTER VI

LET S LOPK AT SOME LEGS

I M referring to legs inside their trou sers and as you mayhave guessed, we shall again apply our old friend s thebalances t o thi s prob lem.

Similar principles o f balance to th ose we have alreadycons idered apply to your trou se r·bl ock (if you use one) orin th e drafting o f your pattern , hut wit one marlud diiJermceYou will readily appreciate th at there ca n be o majorverti cal balan ce in the trou sers (w hich hang from hip s or

braces ) in the sense that th ere is in the coat (which restsupon th e s houlders ) . Obviou sly it would be quite stupidfor me to te ll you to pa ss up the ba ck o f a pair o f trou sers ,because all you would succee .d in doing would be to give alittle more length in the vicinity of the back brace·button s.This can easily be done if nec essary, as we shall see whenwe come to o ur minor ve rti ca l ba lances . Similarly, i oneleg-seam or side-seam were to be passed up or down independentl y o f the other, nothing more than a twist in thetrousers w o uld result. I f it is occasio nally found neces saryto apply the latter adju stment, this is solely due to the factthat the trousen have been badly put toge ther; that is tosay. the balance-marks on the leg -sea m or side- seam h ave

been allowerl togo

adrift.There is, howe ve r a definite major vertical ba lancecontrolled by the sea t-sea m. But, as the same seam controls our m ajo r lateral balance , we cons ider th em as one,and th is is what happen s (See Fig. 8.) According tothe roundness or flatness of the sea t, the hind part of the


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L E T ' L O O K A T S O Y E L ~ S

trousen requir e a longer o r shorter balan ce, respectively .You can effect thi s balance by giving a shorter seat-anglefo r the flat seat, or a longe r seat-angle for the round seat.

PIO. 8. WAJOR VER l 1 CA L BALAN CE, WOVEMENT TN LENGT H .

This you do by bringin g the sea t- sea m on the waist- lineinw rds or nearer to the fork ) for a fl at sea t, or by carryi ngit outw rds o r away from the fork ) for a round seat. Thusin effec t, you are eit her sho rt enin g o r lengthening the ba ckof the tro users in r elatio n to the fr ont.


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4 T H E ·A RT O F C U T T I N G A N D F I T T I N G

T H E MAJOR LATERAL BALANCE

Before reading on, take a look at Fig. g. . In applying

the major lateral balance, the seat- seam as whole as

FtG. 9. ~ O RLATERAL BALANCE MOVEMENT IN WlDTH.

distin ct from the seat-angle ) is pla ced farther in or out. Inother word s it is ca rried t owards th e fork for a thin trunk,and is carried farther out, or back away from the fork ),for a large trunk, regardless oj e vertical balance Re-


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L E T S L O O K AT S O l i E L EG S 5

member, the seat-s eam pla ys the same role in trou ser-cutting u the neck-point d oes in coat-cutting. By its latera1movement it tran sfers clo th from one pla ce to another.

A D. C D B-D op nH . C E B-[ close "' )S. f --.-.

. c J-i A - 1\ B /· .. · ,. , ,

·, · ,, ·· · ,· , ·· ,· · · •· • ,i · · ,j · ·., · , ,, ·· ,

·· ·•

· ·. ,

I . · ·i •, · ,I · , · ·· ,·· i· ·,, , · · ·· , ,, · · · •i , · ,· · ,· 11 rf \ ID E D EE D E D

PIO . 1 0 . MAJ P R lATERAL BALANCE .

Now look at Fig . 10, whi ch d eal s with openness andcl stntss of the leg$. We co nsider thi s maller as one ofmaj o r lat eral ba lance , beca use the op ennes s and close

c


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2 6 T H E A R T OF C U T T I N G A N D F I T T I N G

F 6 ong ftont wit shOlt ck

F H short front wit longback

FlO. I I EXAM P LE OF . MIN O R VERTICAL BALANCES( CONCERNS SHAPE .

,,

• ull stnmcuh.kn hry ps .

r K

L /a lge ,( ---....

•· ,• ,••I

K, L, ,, .

., •. ,, . , ,\ . . , .,I

Fl O. 1 2. EXAMPLE OF MINOR LATERAL B ALANCES(CONCE RN S SHAPE AND SIZE ) .

K

,


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LE s LOOK AT SO ME LEOS

ness of the leg s are dependent on a l a n c~ rat her than onsize, It is obvious w ha t ha ppen s Th e openn ess o rcloseness of the leg -sea m will simpl y be regulated by th eopennes s or clo seness of the legs of your cllstomer s figure.

T U R M I NO R VERT ICAL BALA NCES

H ave a g lance at Fig. I You will fllld these balan cesquite sim p le if yo u bear in mind th a t h eig ht is g iven tothe back, in the vic inity o f the back br ace -b u tt ons, if the

figure

bend s forward, and th at more len gth is required inthe front if yo ur custome r is blessed w ith the (proverbia l)proportion s of an a ld erman,

T H M IN O R LA T ERAL BA LANCES

See Fig. 1 2. Th ese relate to matters o f shape and size,and in order to obtain them co rrec tl y, you will a pplythe waist -, hip - and seat m easur es . You will be guidedbo th by yo ur meas ures and by yo ur obs t r v lion oCthe figure,with a view to deciding w here materia l is required tofollow th e sh ape and wher e it is not . Fo r exa mple, ex trama te rial is needed on thefront for a fuil s tomac h a nd on thes i t in o rder to cope with large and knotty hip s. You have

already fixed the posit ion of your sea t-an g le, which shou ldbe left u n t u ch ~I n genera l, wh en preparin g th e pattern for your trou sers

it is wise t o kee p the sea t-line well ope n (that is to say, weilback from th e fork ) . Hyou do this you give th e trou sers acha nce of breath ing. When you have finished, hold themup by the topo fth esi de- sea ms j ust a s if you we re abou t top u t them on, and then look d own int o th em and see wha ttrunk-r oo m yo u have between the fork-line and the seat.Th ere mu st be su fficient room for the trunk t o drop in tothem, Otherwise t he re wiU be trouble in the regio n ofth e fork and seat -sea m . A seat -li ne th at is 100 close w illirritate you r custome r- lit erally .


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C H PT ER VII

FOR THOS WHO SU FF R FROM BAD FITS

IN thi s c hapter I wa nt to tell yo u , not h ow to c ur e badfits (as sugg ested by m y titl e), but rath er h ow to void them.

Fro m whi ch yo u will gath er th a t we a re go ing to con siderthe ge ntl e a rt of fittin g. Th e sub j ect is th e most intere sting, and a t the sa m e ti me the m os t d ifficu lt, of a ll. I tpr ese nt s a large field f or th ought and stud y, a nd it is o nlywhen we ge t to thi s s tage that we re lize how m ny mistakesw e h ve m de in m eas ur ing in ob serv ati on of th e fi gur e a ndin pr ep aring th e p att ern.

I ca nn ot emph asize t oo s tr ongly that th ere i s on ly one w yto lea rn th e a rt , and th a t is by constant pr ac tice. Thereis n o shor t cut to pr oficiency . A s in m os t w a lks of life,exp erience is the b est (a lb eit the m os t exp ensive ) instru ctor.You simply ClInnot acquire th e a rt by reading in stru ctionsou t of a boo k, no m att er h ow b rilli an t the au th or an d n oma tt er how a pt a pupil you a re. So my fir st counse l toyo u i s: if yo u w an t t o learn c uttin g a nd fit ting s t r t oncutting and fitting, and k p going

I a m n ot forge ttin g of course, th a t th e o bjec t of thi slittl e boo k is to g uid e yo ur fee t into the ri ght p a th and topoint out in adv a nce th e t ra ps a nd stumblin g-blocks thatawa it th e uniniti a ted. But yo u ll n eve r ge t any where

unle ss you s tar t wa lkin g.I ha ve go ne to some p ai ns to find th e most int eres tin g

and a t th e sam e ti me the mo st co mpl ete a nd effic ientm eth od of pr ese nt ing th e subj ect, w ith a n eye t ass istingyou a s to th e lines upon w hi ch to think. I h ave been

28


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FOR THOSE WHO SUFFER FROM BAD F I Ti 9

unable to di scove r a better method than what I ma y callan U I M M E D I AT E C T I O N sys tem, lik e that taught to there cruit by the Army n stru ctional Staff for remedying

stoppages and fault s in an automatic weapon.Mo st of you will h ave served in one of the Services,

and know only too w ell ) the sor t of method I have in ·mind.

When , in the P.B.L (or elsew her e) , you learned a newweapon, you were taught holdin g and aiming, elementaryhandlin g, a nd so forth. Prep ar ing th e patt ern cor respo ndsto these. Eventually you were trained in stoppa ges andLA. F or the b enefit of th uninitiated, I h ad bett erexplain th a t LA . (or mm edi a te A ct ion) is th ac tion thatth fir er of an automatic w ~ p o ntakes imm ediately itceases to fire. he purp ose of LA. i s twofold: fir st, todiagno se th fault (that is, the rea son why the gun h asceased to fir e) as quickly as po ssible, and , secondl y, tor emedy th defect without dela y. E ve ntuall y, after end ;less pra ctice , th e recruit will kn ow his LA. so well that hisreaction to any sto ppa ge is instin ct ive

Perhap s yo u begin to per ce ive why I am modelling mym et hod on that of the Arm y. I am going to give youvarious typ s of LA., as applied to the pro cedure of fitting,

so that in tim e yo u will instinctively re ct to mechanicalfault s that hav e arisen in preparing the pattern . Everypo ssible contingency will be sys temati ca lly provided forb y a s hool so lution , which will demon str a te the cau seof v ry effect and, of cou rse, give you the reme d y.

t is a far cry from a Tommy- gu n to th fitting-room(a lthough v n in those serene surroundin gs the n eed forsuch a wea pon ma y occa sion a ll y be felt ) , and I can imaginethat if by mi schan ce thi s book should find it s way int o thehand s of a cutter who ha s arri ve d ; he would weep tears ofblo od at the ve ry idea of hi s art being so debased. Butthat , I r eg ret, neither alarms nor deters mc .


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~S U R P L U S ~ l\ j~ £ N T H \ r

M A C K · ~ VA R M

S K I R I

R £ S I I N G VO N I P S

FIG 13 M J O R VERTICAL BALANCE TOO LONG

c.

cc


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When W lbutt oned. :

C O l S T N D S

AWAY FROM HIPS

FIG 1 4 MAJOR VERTICA L BALANCE TOO SHORT

JWhlll1 butl:aned:

7 / o W

A T N E C K

8l ST NDING

AWAY ROM

C O / . . L . A R .

c::....'..,I

;;::

't


42/102


I am sorry to say that lack of und ment l training and,particularly, failure to apply a reasoned method of procedure n the fitting-room results in many young cutters,who would call themselves experienced, indulging in agreat deal of disjointed and woolly thinking. Some ,I fear emerge with a harassed expre ssion rom thefitting-room, scarcely knowing the seat of their trousers from the elbow of their coat, and sub sequentlyapplying the hit-or-miss method to the marking up.And the result? Unnecessary alteration s, waste of ,time, waste of money. A bad busines s altogether.Hence my insistence on your learning the groundworkthoroughly.

You should aim at being so technically efficient thatyou not only observe every fault during the process offitting (of course you ll do that , but that you also mentally

note the appropriate remedy at the same time. Your jobis to convey to the garments, by means of carefully madechalk -marks, the faults that you have observed and,hence, the remedies that you propose, so that the pictureis clearly painted for you by the time you come to mark upthe garment. I will go even farther. Your aim shouldbe not only to make the alteration marks at the time of

fitting with care and accuracy, but to make them so explicit and so self explanatory that any intelligent tailor can,if necessary, proceed with the making up without furtherreference to you.

You will accomplish this and more i you will onlypractise assiduously the mental immediate action of thefitting-room that I am about to unfold. You will findit laborious at first, but it will pay a hand some dividendin the end. Apply the same sequences in fitting s youdid in preparing the pattern. You will reinember thatthese a r e


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F O R T H O S E W H O S U F F E R F R O M B D F I T S 33

I ) Major Vertical Balance .2) Major Lateral Balance.3) Minor Vertical Balances.4) Minor Lateral Balances.

With which I think we cannot do better than bring thi,chapter to an end and make a fresh start.


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C H A P T E R VII I

CUT AND COME AGAIN

P E R H A P S you think that is a curious title for a chapteron fitting? What I intend to imply is that I am about togive you a series of table s that contain the whole quintessence - pith, core, gut s sum and sub stan ce or what youwill f the art of fittin g. f you want to make a successof your career, you will read mark learn and inwardly diges tthis chapter, until the very pag es become well-thumbedand dog-eared. f n the P.B.1. you were ever respon siblefor an automatic weapon, you were made to learn LA.until you knew it backward s because your life and the

livesof

others) dep ended on yourautomatic rea ction

to astoppage or a fault. Need I rub the lesson in Cut andcome agam.

By the way, take a look at Fig s. r 3 and r4.By the use of the follow in g table s fittin g can be reduced

almo st to a simple mechanical proce ss . The table s are ifyou like ) the me chani cs of fitting. The art lies in the

ability to di sce rn immediate1y which one or more of thenumerous balance s are at fault, and also in not confusingone with another. f th e dia gnos is is wrong, the mechani ca l proce ss of adjustment will obviously be wrongalso. f you learn to follow the seq uence of the table sas a drill, you will find that it will assist you in yourdiagno sis.

34


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C U T A N D C O M E A G A I N 35

MAJOR VERTICAL BALANCE

Sequence. Effect. I-- - -

Caus e. Imm ed iat e action.( t ) High on collar. Maj or ver ti cal bal- Pass down the back.

Surplus cl o th in ance too long. Guide for amountlength fr om back is the 100 clotharm to back arm . you m abl e toSki rt r es ting on pic k up be twee nhips. th e fin gers across

th e back.

2a ) Coa t standing offor away from the Verti cal balance Pass up the back.too short. As a guide for thehips when fr ont s amount , lift th ,arc unfastened. coat ofT the shou l-

d , . pulling it) Coat too low and down at the ba ck

standin g awa y unti l th e s kirt res tsfr om n ec k when easi ly on the hi p5.fronts aco fast- The amount theened. Lat eral collar i, low andfold s und er arm s. stand s away fr om

neck is the adjust -ment nec ess ary.

M AJOR LATERAL BALA NCE

Seque nce . Ef f ec t. Cau se. Imm ediate ac tion.

( t ) Coa< tight on top Neck-poin t too far Put n ec k-point far-hutton. Running forward - i. t., too ther back ,..- i.t.,on at bottom or ncar the fr ont away from frontfr o nt edg e. Sur- edge . edge . A guid e forplu s mat eria l in the amount of ad-front of arm. . just m ent is theShou ld er of coat am oun t th , coatres ting on th e app ears sm all at toparm. V ertical button and su rp lusfo lds und er arm. mat erial in front of

arm . Rarel y morethan in. to t i n .;' cal led fo r .

(, ) Coat too hig on Neck -point too far Reverse th , abovetop button. Run- back - i. t ., too far procedu re, amountning awa y at bot- awa y from front d epending on howtom of fr ont edge. edg e. much too big atPoo r in front of top button.armhole.


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MINOR VERTICAL BALANCES

Sequence. Effect. Oause. Immediate action.

( , Collar too hightoo low.

0 ' Neck tootoo low.

high 0 ' Raise or lower col·lar.

(2 } eoat atanding off Shou lder not square Sduare the shaul-neck and resting enough, or more en by taking intoo closely on shoulder , oom neck or letting out

. shoulders. Crease necessary . shoulder point. fund er collar. depth of armholes

is correct, me theformer. If too

. hig h, use the lattermethod .

(, ) Coat too I 0 Shoulder not slop- Take in shoulder ·big at shoulder- ing enough or too point or let outpoint. square. neck -point. If

armhole s correct ,u the forme r, iftoo high, uselatter method.

th,

« ) Steeve creases bo- I nsufficient vertica l Giv e more crown tolow forearm and balance or crown. sleeve-head.hindann.

- -(5 ) Sleeve creases Too much vert ical Reduce crown of

acrQS. l crown. balance or crown. sleeve-head.- -

MINOR LATERAL BALANCES

.Sequence . Effect. Cause. Immediate action.( , Tight crease under Back too small at Let out lOp of back.

collar across top from shoulder- Ch eck neck -pointback. point to shoulder· to prevent neck of

point . coat becoming toolong.

(, ) Diagona l crease Insufficient ,oom Lot out back on

from blades to- across back at centre am atwards side waist blade bones . blades.of back. Loose a t Shape of back in -back a=. with correct .coat atandingaway at bottom ofcentre back seam.


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CUT AND COME AGA I N 37

MINOR LATERAL BALANCES Con inuIQ)

Sequence: . Effect . Cause. Immediate action.

3) Tight lateral Too little room be· LeI OU I throughcreue. under tween side -seam side-seams.arou at chest and and front of arm-waist . hole, or coat 100

small.

(i ) Loose verti ca l folds Too much width Take in throughunder aem al between side side-seams.chest and waist. ,am and arm -

hole, or coat 1big .

(5) Tight diagona l I nsuffi cient hip LeI oul sid e·seamr e ~ from hip room . over round of hip.

al •ide-aeam 10 -w.,.d5 fron t ofarmhole .

(6) Coal too big on M easu res incorrect- Take n ew measures.fron t edge. Iy taken or wrong-

ly applied. f the LeI oul back sec-latter, 100 big in tion . Reduct: frontfront section to secti on .Ihe detriment ofback section.

7) Co at too smallfront roge.

on Reverse of abo ve. Reverse abovecedure.

pro-

. In order to amplify the table s let u s run through thesequence again. We shall begin to see how errors creptin whil st we were preparing the pattern , and, at the sa metime, learn how to prevent confu sion in making theneces sary adjustments. Keep a finger in th e appropriate page of the tabl es as we go over them to ge ther.

M A J O R V E RT I CAL B A L A N CE

Sequence ( I ) . Surplus cloth in length from back arm toback arm, etc. The ca use of this was failure to observethat the figure was mor e erect than normal. Don'tconfuse th is symptom with that re sultin g in a tight

•


48/102


crea se under the collar , as in Sequence ( I ) of th e Min orL atera l Balance s.

Sequen e (2a ). Co_at standing off, or away from the hip s.This ha s re su lt ed from failure to observe a stoop or athickne ss of the back of the figure. Don t confu se thiswit h Sequence 2 ) of the Minor Lateral Balan ces, inwh ich the coa t stand s away at the centre of th e ba ckseam.

Sequen e (2b . Coat too low · and standing awa y from ne ck.There i s a subtle d ifferen ce between thi s effe c t and thatwhich I have de scribed a s Coat standin g o ff ne ck ..in Sequence (0) of the Minor Vertical Balance s. I fyou ob serve carefu lly you will learn to spot it every time.

MAJOR LATERAL BALANCE

Sequen e ( I) . Coat tight on top button. Here the cau sewa s fa ilur e to ob serve that the figure wa s mor e thannormally full in the che st. Don t mix thi s up wit hSequen ce (7) of th e Minor Lateral Balan ces hey aresomewhat similar at fir st gl ance.

Sequence (2) . Coat too big on top button, etc . The cau seof thi s was a failure to noti ce that the cu stomer' s figurestooped or was flatter on th e c hest than normal. You

mu st learn to di stingui sh thi s fault from that in Sequen ce(6) of the Minor Lateral Balan ces.

MINOR VERTICAL BALAN C ES

Seq.u, ( I) . Collar too high or too l ow. Thi s ha sresulted from fai lur e to observe that the ne ck wa s longeror shorter than normal. The symptom s are not to be

confu sed wit h th ose in Sequence s ( I) and ob of theMajor Vertical Balance.

Sequen e (0) . Coat standing off ne ck and resting too clo selyon shou lder s. Thi s ha s ari sen because of a failure toob serve that the figure wa s squarer or lar ger in the


49/102

C U T A N D COME A G A I N 39

should ers than in th e usu a l c,ase D on ' t co nfu se thi swith Sequen ce ) of the Ma jo r Verti ca l Bal a nce.

Sequenee (3) . Coat too loose or big at shoulder-point. Theca u se in this in stan ce wa s failure to noti ce that thec ustomer' s figure wa s m ore sloping or smaller in theshoulder s than norm a l Thi s must not be co nfu sedwith the effect d esc rib ed as loo se at ba ck a rm inSequence (2) of .the :Min or L a teral Bal a nces .

Sequences (4) and (5) , as ·yo u ca n see for yo u rs elf , are a

necessa ry co nsequenceof

(2) and

(3) above.

M I NO R L A TERAL .BALANCES

Sequence ( I ). Tight c rease under co llar a cro ss back. Theca use of thi s wa s yo ur failure to ob se rve either that theba ck wa s big ac ross the top from shoulder-p oint to

shoulder-p oint, or th a t the bl ade s were very .hig h . Don'tmix up this fault with that in Sequence (2) of th e MinorVerti ca l Balan ces.

Sequence (2) . Diag on a l c rea se from bl ades towa rd s s idewai st of ba ck, etc. Thi s ha s resulted fr om failure toobserve ei ther that th e blade-bones were more prominentthan u sual, or that the ce ntre of the ba ck wa s rounderor longe r than norm a l You . mu st di stin g uish thi s

. seque n ce from th a t whi ch I de scribed as s tandingaway from hip s under Seque nce a ) of the MajorVertical Balan ce . The two sy mptom s are, I know ,very alike, and the in expe rienced eye frequently make sthe wrong dia g no sis. So be warned.

Sequence (3) .

Tightla te ral

creas

es under arms

atche st

andwai st. Here you failed to notice that the figure wa slar ge r than normal between the forearm and backa rm. Thi s is not to be confu sed w i t h lat e ral foldsund e r arms in Sequence ) of the Major VerticalBalan ce.


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4 0 T H E A RT O F C U T T I N G AND F I T T I N G

Sequen e (4 ) . Lo ose verti ca l fold s und er arm at chest andwai st. The se arose from your failure to not that th efigure was smaller than usual between the forearm and

the back arm. Don t co nfu se thi s with the verticalfold s under th e arm de scribed in Sequen ce ( I ) of theMaj or Lateral Balan ce .

Sequence 5 ) . Tight diago na l crea se from hip at side·seamtoward s front of arm hol e. Thi s ha s come about becau seyou didn ' t noti ce that eith er the hip or the seat wa slarger than normal. Compare thi s with skirt re sting

on hip s in Sequen ce ( I) of the ~ a j o rVerti ca l Balance,and note the diff erence .

Sequ ,ces (6) and (7) . Coat too bi g or too small on frontedge. Assuming that your measures were correct thi s is there sult of failing to note whereabouts the size on the figurewhi ch varies fro m the normal wa s ca rried. This isquite different from Sequence s ( I) and (. ) of the MajorLateral Balance.

T H W A I STC OAT

For the wai stcoa t app ly the sa me principle as you didfor th e coa t. The Major Vertical Balan ce ca n be t inchto in ch longer , so a s to pre ve nt bulging at the neck whenthe wearer is s itti ng down.


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CHAPTER IX

POINTS ABOUT PANTS

FROM the very moment that I started thinking abouttrousers, an old rhyme has been running insistently throughmy head. So mu ch so that I feel bound to quote it.Here it is; -

There w u a littl e girl who had a little curlRight n the middle o her forehead.

When she was good she was very very goodBut when she was bad she was horrid.

What on earth", you may well ask, has that to dowith trousers?" And the answer, of course, is Nothingat all" . Except that the last line i s so apposite to oursubject that I could not refrain from mentioning it.When trou se rs are bad, they are very bad indeed and,further, in the hand s of the inexperien ced they usualiJI g t

progressiveiJI worse with each attempt to alter them From whichyou will gather (believe it or not ) that the art of fittingtrousers is more difficult than that of fitting coats. Thereason for this i s that one seam (as I explained in connection with preparing the trouser p a tt ern namely, thesea t- sea m i s used for both the Major Balan ces ( Verti ca land Lateral ).

Having said th a t, we may proceed without delay toconsideration of our leg drill, which, like that for coats,

. mu st be read, marked, learned and inwardly digested.For the effect of some faults have a .look at Figs. 15and 16.


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4 2 T H E A RT OF C U T T I NG A N D F I T T I N G

MJ\JOR VERTICAL BALANCE

5


53/102

Sequence.

(.)

(, )

(,)

- (. )

ISequence .

( . )

(, )

PO I NTS A B O U T PANTS

MINOR VERT I CAL BALANCES

Effect. C a ~ Immediate .I.etion.

Tig h t CN:1. e from Insufficien t ,=. Raise front . t lOp offront braee-but - r ~ fly 10 n l h i n ~atton toWa rdl fork. Iid e-st:aIIlI. A low- length ••~ obel ly.l.oose laleral fold. Front rise 100 long. Lower fronq . t lOp

acroa front below of fly 10 nolhin( . twailt. lJide-.eam. Rarely

neeesary c:xcrpl i nue of very hollowwaia .

Tigh t ver tica l iluuffici en l R .I.iIe back rile ••fro m back , ; , . noth ing .ide-

brace-buu.on ~wards roclt.

LooIe la teral £okb ~ mo h Lower back rile at

back under ~ back brace-buuonswais l. 10 nothing 1 1 aida.

MI NOR LATERAL BALANCES.

Effect. Ca= .

laleral I lUIufficient roomao:::ro. at tOP of fly.

Loo.e vertical folthat be lly, behindfly.

Tight lalera le rulCl across hip' ,

l ..oose vertical IOIcbat hips.

Too mueh laleralroom aCl ON be lly.

IlUIufficient lateralroom over hip',

Too much hip~

I mmediate aetion.

Let out fronl . tprominent part ofbell y. .

Take in 1 1 top offront.

Let ou t l ide«anu1 1 hip",

Take in side-seanut hip',

Tighl lateral Insufficient ..,at Let OUt side-seanu~ a c r o u . . a l .room. t ..,.1.1.

(6) LooK vertica l fold Too mue h ..,at Take ;n lide-..,anuat ..,.1.1. ~ m 1 1 ~ t


54/102

T H E A RT O F C U T T I NG A N D F I T T I N G

Once aga in let us amplify the tables by runningth rough the sequence, in the sa m e way as we did withcoats .

M A J O R VERTICAL B L N C ~

equence (I) . Too much length on seat-seam, surplus clo thin length under seat . This ha s resu lt ed from your

f•• R.

FIG. 15. MINOR VERTICAL BALANCE. INSUFFICIENT FRONTRI SE.

failure when measuring to observe that the sea t was flatand that the size of the seat-measure was to be found onthe hips. Don t confuse this error in balance with thatin Sequence 4) of the Minor Ve rt ical Balance s wh erethere i s too muc h back ri se.


55/102

P O I N T S A B O U T P A N T S 45equence (2) . T oo shor t on se at·seam, etc., causing pull

on sea t. Th e cause here wa s a failure wh en meas urin gto ob se rve that th e seat wa s pr om in ent . Do n t m ix

thi s up with Seque nce (3) of th e Min or Vertica lBalan ces, whi ch d eals wit h insuffic ien t ba ck ri se

SE T ANGLE

TOO LONG

SE T ANGLE

T S H O RT

Fl O . 16 MAJ O R VE R TI CA L B ALANCE

M A J O R LAT E RAL B ALANCE

quence ( I) . Tro users too tig ht in fork, etc H ow did

thi s arise? Becau se whe n mea suring you overlooked.the fact th at th e fi g ure was t hi ck i n depth an d requiredmore trunk room than u su al. You mu st learn to di s·ti ngui sh thi s cau se and effect from tho se in Sequen ce(2) of th e M ajor Vertica l Bal ance, w h er e th e se at-an gleis too short .


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46 T H ·E A RT OF C U T T I NG AlIiD T T I NG

equence (2) . Trousers too full in fork, etc. What is thecause her e? Simp ly your omiss ion to note whenmeasuring that your cu stomer s figur e h ad m ore width

than thickne ss ; in other word s, that l ess trunk or forkroom than usua l was required. Thi s sy mptom is notto be confused with those of Sequence ( I ) of the MajorVerti cal Ba lance, where , as we have se cn, the seat-anglewas too long.

equence (3). Later al fold s inside leg, etc. Thi s ha sh appened becau se you mi sse d the fact that the figurt:stands with leg s close toget h er.

equence (4) . Lateral folds on outside of le g, etc. Whatwas th e cause? Simp ly, failure to ob serve t h at thefi gure stood with legs apart.

M I N O R V E RT IC AL BALA NCES

quence ( I ) . Tight crease from front brace-button, etcT he reaso n for thi s effect is that whe n mea suring youquile overloo ked the fact th at the bell y wa s unu suallyprominent and required more len g th , a s well as width,in it s vicinity.

quence (2). Loo se lat eral fold s, etc. Thi s ha s come aboutbecause you failed to observe t ha t the wai s t wa sexceptionally hollow.

equence (3) . Ti g ht vertical c rease, from back to fork.What was the cause here? t wa s that you were notcareful to observe that the figure stooped from thewaist and, hen ce, that it required longer back ri se.Don t confu se thi s with Sequen ce (2) . of the MajorVerti ca l Balance, which ·is cau sed by a too short se atangle.

tqumce (4) . Loose late r al fo ld s under wai st. These fold sar e caused by too much ba ck ri se: that means th at youoverlooked the fact that the figure was exceptionall}


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P O I N T S A B O U T PA N T S 7

hollow at the back waist. This symptom must not beconfused with tho se in Sequence ( I ) of the MajorVerti cal Balan ce, in which, as we have seen, the sea t·

angle was too long.MINOR LATERAL BALANCES

equenu ( I ) . Tight lateral creases across the belly: in·sufficie nt room at the top of the fly. This ha s bee ncaused by your failure when mea sur ing to observe thatthe beJly was carried well forward. As a result, youdidn t allow su fficient Minor Lateral Balan ce to meetthis protuberenc e.

equenu 2) . Loose vertical fold s at bdly etc. The ca useof thi s wa s your failure to notice that excessive size in themeasure below the waist wa s ca rried on the hip s, andnot on the belly. In other word s, adju stm ent for the

Minor L ateral Balan ce has been made in the wrongplace.equenu (3). Tight lateral creases across hip s. Wh at ha scaused the se? Here you failed t o ob serv e the excessivesize ofthe hip s, and so got your adjustment of the MinorLateral Balance wrong.

equence (4 ). Loo se vertical fold s at hip , etc. Th ese havearisen be cause you omitted to note that th e figure hadflat hip s, and so your adjustment for Minor LateralBalance was in co rr ec t.

equence (5). Tight lateral crease at seat, etc. The causeof thi s wa s your omission to observe the prominence ofth seat. Hence you did not provide sufficient room in

making your adju stment for Lat eral Balance.equenu 6) . Loose vertical folds at sea t, etc. Thi s isthe result of your overlooking th e flatness of thecustomer s seat. Thu s (in contrast to the mistake inSequence (5)) in making th e Min o r Lateral adjustmentyou provided too much room.


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•

CHAPT E R X

GOLDEN TIPS

You mu st not conclud e from th e title either that l ve go tsomething special for th e 2.30 for yo u, or th at I a m go ingto re co mmend a n ew blend of tea . In thi s a nd the n ex t

chapt er I am go in g to offe r you a few tit·bi ts w ith which Ihope to stimulate yo ur sa r to ria l a ppetite. S ome o f themare , venture to think, wo rth their weight in go ld.

I am frequently a sked, Wh y d o you fell ows need soman y fittin gs? Aft er a ll- I mean t9 say - th e re ad ymad e sto re s claim that th ey ca n ca ter for everybody o utof th eir lim itl ess suppl y of different sha pes and sizes .

That kind of remark is p rtly tru e a nd , like a ll half-truth s,d a nge rous. Th e rea l an swer is th a t th e sa lesman of theready-made has onl y to find a fig ure to fit onc of hi snumer ous shape s and sizes, wh erea s the b espoke cu tterha s to m ake a suit to fit the size anp. shape of hi s custo mer' sfigur a vas tly different propo sition.

It is true that the mak ers of'r eady -t o-\vear clo thin g havemad e rapid stride s particularl y in America , during th eyears bet ween the wa rs. The off-t he-peg merchant s,havin g enticed memb ers of the be spoke tr ade wit htemptin g wages, have pi cked their brain s a nd , of co u rse ,benefit ed from the kn ow ledge so ga in ed.

I admit, too, that it is within the scope of any cutterof experi ence to produ ce patt ern s and to h ave ga rment smade up for stock to fit quit e a wide ran ge o f g ure s. Awell-b alanced coa t will fit a range o f g ures hav ing asimilar ches t mea sur eme nt an d, subject to slight adj us t-

48


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C O L D E N T I P S 49ment s in the Minor V erti ca l and La teral Balan ces, manyfigure s can be ca tere d for thu s. S o, for example, agenerou s 4o-inch ch est -blo ck will loo k rea sonably well ona lar ge-shoulder ed 38 -in ch figure : it would not look toobadly on a small- shouldere d 42-in ch che st. But we are notco nce rn ed with th e ready-to-wear bu sine ss, but with ourabilit y to m ake a suit to fit ou r cu stomer 's particularecce ntri ci tie s of build sa tisfact orily.

Her e, then, i s tip number o ne. In cutting your patt ern always err on the big side. The only thin g y ou ca nn otafford to have too la rge is the armhole, which, in .theintere st of the mu ch- so ught-after drape of to-day , shouldso far as is consistent with co mf o rt ) be k e pt as small and

as hi gh up as po ssibl e . The armhole shou ld r ese mbl e thesh ape of an egg, r a ther th an th e horseshoe of th e old

de signs. t mu st, h owever, be la rge enough to take thesleeve co mfortabl y .

A manuf ac turin g tailor in a co nsiderable way of bu sine ss, for whom I h ave in th e pa st mad e clothes for m oreyea rs th a n I care to rememb er, in va riabl y referr ed. to meas th e sa fe ty-fir st ta ilor. He used to say , e I w ouldn'templo y yo u in m y fac tory ou wa s.te t oo mu ch cloth.To which I replied , I would rather waste cloth than wastetime which is j.ust wh a t I sh ould do if I sta rt ed off'with mysuit on the small side.

My seco nd tip i s th a t a big back will saveyoufrom many abad headache. I could add th a t yo u will be save d from anumber of minor a ilm en ts, t,oo. O f yo ur Major V er tica l

Balan ce, ' I would adv ise that yo u should ke ep it on th e longside. And the re aso n? Simply thi s. I t is ea sier tojud ge how mu ch yo u require to short en a ba ck than tojudge by how m uc h it shou ld be len gthened. In anycase , th e lon g b ac k balan ce ca uses less tr ouble at thestart.

Thirdl y, err (if you mu st ) to the extent of keeping your


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Major Lateral Balance (in other word s the L e c k ~ p o i n t )on the forward sid e t hat is towards the front. Thi s givesthe coa t a better chance of a start in life, and will help

you in the fitting of the shoulder.Next, regarding your Min or Vertical Balances be generous

rather than stinting. Alwa ys keeping a watchful eye onth e s hape and depth of the armhole. Don ' t be stingy inde a lin g with yo ur Millor Lateral Balances either. You willfind that it is a far simpler matter to judge how much t otake in at any give n p oi nt than how much to l e t out.

Next, I ad vise you to keep your sleeve as ull as possible althe top A small sleeve i s an abomination. Many anarmhole ha s been mutilat ed in th e intere st of co mfort,when the actual fault lie s in the smallne ss of the sleeve,which will not allow it to breathe .

Another useful tip i s thi s. N ever lose sight o the int ernalso Jour coa t: Many a costly alteration ha s been carriedout (unhappily, with little or no effect) when the realcau se o f th e trouble ha s been ti g ht (or small ) ca nva s andlinin gs . Thi s kind of faul t is chiefly to be found inlinin gs acr oss the upper part of the back and the shoulder sof the for epa rt. Have your canvas put in on the bia s.

t help s th e tailor in hi s working out of the brea st.

Now for a few hints about the waistcoa t t never doe 'sany harm to have a little extra length o back This, in fact,help s to counteract the crease s that are found when thewearer is seated, and also assists in reducing the lengthwhich frequently show s between the top button and thene ck. The width of the ba ck-ne ck should be on thegenerous side. In thi s way you will avoid tho se na stylittle crease s that are all too frequently to be seen in theshoulder s.

Keep the wai stcoat slig htly larg e on the top bullon Thispolicy allows the waistcoat to fall better and prevent s itfrom standing off at the lower buttons. Keep the wai st


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G O L D E N T IP S 5

cut and th e bo ttom po cke ts lo w: yo u wil find tha t by thismean s th e ge neral wai st effec t is impr ov ed .

8 W· L


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5 T H E A RT OF C U T T I N G A N D F I T T IN G

Some of the better-fed bulk s for which you have to caterwill require almo st elephantine amplitude into which todrop. Rememb er it i s much ea sier to t k e in the fork

than to let it out particularly if the only inlay you canspare cons ists of selvage.

In regard to the openness and clo sene ss oflegs I advi seyou to steer a middle cour se. Thi s I do be ca u se of thedifficulty of altering t he leg s when once the trou ser s havebeen cut and more so o f co ur se when they h ave beenfini shed.

The knock-kneed and bow-l egge d fraternitie s pre sentyou with a bit of a problem. Have a g lance at Fig.

) Don t take m too literally when I tell you th atin dealing with tho se whose knee s sc rape I aim athitting th m il tlt e kll and standing off slightly from thein side of the foot . With band y leg s I touch the kneeat the outs id e and stand off slightl y at the outside o f thefoot. In each case I attempt to furni sh th e owne r s of theleg s with an appearance o f rc c tilinearity with whichneither t ~ i rparent s n or indeed Mother Natu re hadquite succeeded in endow in g them. In short the keyword is, clo ser for the form er and m o re open for thelatter.

There is notmu

ch that Ic

n add about the MinorBalance s, but you will find that your safely-fir st precaution s re fairly self-evident.


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CHAPTER X.I

SUITING STRANGE CUSTOMERS

TOM may be of normal build, Dick may be blessed with

the fantastic proportions of a Falstaff, and as for Harry,you may think quite privately, of course) that he is awizened little worm. But if Tom, Di ck and Harry h appento be your customers, it is your jo to suit and sat isfy thema U. We have a lre ady tou ched on thi s matter; now)eu s go into it in a little more detail. ,

Our friend with one s oul e r lo w is. a downright nui sa nce.

I mean this liter a lly for there are, of course, more lowright than low left shou ld ers. Po ssib ly the explanationis that mo st people are right-handed - I don't know.What we arc up again st here might well be called thefitters' problem child, or, better still, problem children- for they a re triplet s. By which I mean that there arc atlea st three quite di stinct va rietie s of dropped shoulder,each of which calls for a different diagnosis and a separatecure. These are

I ) The drop where the shoulder is thrown backward s, with a collapse of the ribs at the back of thearm .

2) The vertical drop , with a collap se of the rib sunder the arm.

3 ) The drop with the shoulder thrown fon vardand a co llapse of the ribs in front of the arm .

Generally speaking, all three are accompa nied by aprominent hip on the offending side . Item s (I) and 3)

53


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54- T H E A R T O F C U T T I NG ~ N T T N G

abov e ar c diffi cult to dea l with. Item (2) is simpl e- sosimple , in fact, th at most cutter s apply it to a ll threevar iet ies hop ing for th e be st, but fea ring (and, I regret tosay, ge nerall y ge tti ng ) the wors t. Let u s have a look ate a c h .

t em ( I ) : r op wi th shoul der ba ck See Fig. 18 . You

. - ••

oul o the p o1 t eVJ

Dtop with Jhouldetrhtown backwatdsFIG r8.

will di scover that the effect wi ll be a se rie s of horse- sho efold s runnin g from t he blade s towards th e side-wai st,whil st th e offending side rests on t he hip. The cau se of

this phenomenon i s that the Minor Vertical Balance is toolong wh ilst the M inor Lat eral Balance is too wide. YourIm mediate Act ion mu st be to shorten the side- sea m inrelation t o the back-sea m. Th is yo u d o by throwing theba ck-seam inwards at the top, lowe ring th e neck-point


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S U I T I N G S T R A N G E C U S TO M E R S

and reducing the Minor Vertical Back Balance by theappropriate amount. Lower the top of the side-seam thesame amount. Only the back section need be altered.

You will adjust your Minor Lateral Balances by reducingthe width of the back and letting out the hip to tlieappropriate extent.

et t ical dW J of•shou ld f t

FIG. 19.

When putting the side-seam together, strain up the backslightly, so as to allow for the amount that the top of theback side-seam has been dropped. You can easilydemonstrate for yourself the adjustment necessary ytaking a H V out of a pattern, inch at the waist of theside-seam, to nothing at the centre back.

Item 2): Vertical Shoulder Drop See Fig. Ig. Herethe effect reveals itself as a looseness at the shoulder-


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6 T H E R T OF C U T T I N G N D F I T T I N G

point with lateral cre ases under the arm. The cause ofthis i s of co ur se that the shoulder is too square. YourImmediate Action will consi st in reducing the Minor

Vertical Balance in the same way as you would for asloping shoulder and in lowering the armhole the sameamount .

with shouldetfO 1wo.td

topthtown

FIG 2 0

Item 3) : Drop with Should er Forward See Fig. 2 0The effect consi sts of horseshoe folds in front of the arm,also from the neck-point towards the side -waist. You will

notice an appearance of l seness across th front shoulder.Lastly, the collar will stand off on th e offending side.There are two causes to con sider; th y are :-

a The Minor Lateral Balance of the front i s toolong.


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S U I T I N G S T R N G E C U S TO M E R S 7

b) he Minor Lateral Balance of the front is toowide.

o remedy these defects apply the following ImmediateAction. First, adjust your vertical balance, reducing itby the appropriate amount through the front shoulder.·Lower your armho le and a lso the top of the side-seam.Only the front section need be altered. Next you mustadjust the lateral balances by narrowing the front of theshou ld er and at the same time lettin g out the hip . Whenyou come to put the side-seam together, strain up theforepart of it to the extent that it has been dropped. Youmay demonstrate this action for yourself by taking a H Vout of the pattern inch at the waist, to nothing at thefront edge.

Our next strange customer is the gentleman with

prominent blade s, sloping shoulders and a pigeon chest,all rolled into one. We meet with him not infrequ entlyand he is perhaps the most difficult customer, first to fit,and then to camouflage. He of all the people we shallcommonly meet, will provide our system with the acidtest. And I am in the happy positon to assure you thatthe method I have taught you emerges from this, its

severest test, complete ly vindicated. I know, because Ihave proved it in practice.

This kind of figure almost invariably causes di str ss tothe tyro cutter. He is prone to comp la in, H When I lookat the back which is standing off the body I decide topass up the back. But when I look at the forepart whic hsticks out at the front, I decide upon a longer frontbalance. What the dickens am I supposed to do next? ..

He certainly is in a dilemma, but obviously he can'thave it both way s, and hence he must leave the MajorVertical alance alone and seek the cause of the effectselsewhere.


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58 THE A RT OF C U T T I N G ND F I T T I N G

Following the sequ ence of fittin g then, we look fir stto the Major L atera l Balance . Thi s, we decide, is cor re ct.Next we attend to our Minor Vertical Ba lances an d makethe ne cess ary a dju stmen ts for slop ing should ers.

But we h ave s till not found th e rea l ca u se o f our trouble,which consists of an pp rent shor tn ess of ba lance both ba ckand front. So we turn to our final group the MinorLater a l Balance adjustments ), a nd at las t we a re rewardedby discovering both causes In the back sec tion we find thatth ere is insufficien t blade-room ca u sin g th e back to stand off,and a lso g ivin g an ap pearan ce of short back b a lance.Across the ch est we find that there is a l ck o chest room inthe right pl ce suffic ient to cover th e p igeo n ches t com -fortab ly. We notice th a t h ere the cloth re sts fla tly on thechest, ca usin g an ap p ea ran ce o f short front ba la nce byreason of th e fore pa rt standing off at th e b o ttom.

The

adjustment i s s imple i n the back sec tion , because weha ve a back- seam in w hi ch th e nece ssa ry a ltera tion forshape can be m ade by let ti ng out over the blade s. It isnot, howeve r, so simpl e in the front sect ion , becau se thereis, o f co ur se, no sea m through the bre as t (as in a lad iescoat ) to e n ab le u s to provide th e sh ap e in the right pluce.

So we are fo rce d to provide one by mean s o f a c ut. Let

the coa t out say, t in ch right throu gh the front edge,taking th e surplu s material below the bre as t away witha c ut of a simil ar amo unt ) from th e bot tom throu gh thewaist to nothing at the nipple . By thi s means we attainth e s hap e nece ssary .to a llow the cloth to enco mpa ss th eprominent part s of the figure comfo r iab ly in stead ofm erel y res tin g upon th em.

Thus we h ave h ad to plough a ll through o ur drill, rightto the las t sequence, before we succee ded in dete cting theca u se in thi s in stance . Don t be downhearted by reaso nof that. Con so le yourself rather with the fact that byemploying a system tic sequence o tests to your jitting noJault c n


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S U I T I N G S T R A N G E CU .STOMERS 9

Te' lain und tected. You will eventually by means of apersi stent and methodical pur su it track down the causeo f any effect . Having found the cause I am quite sure

that by now yo u can apply the cure for yourself nd soyou h ave t that ex tent b ecome adept a t suitin g somes tr a n ge cu stomer s.


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CH APTE R XII

CARCASE A ND CAMOUFLAGE

U p to th e pr esent we h ave conce ntr a ted for the mos t partupon th e ba sic groun dw ork of yo ur trade. NO\\ let u sturn for a short whil e to so me of the fancy stu ff . I amthinking at the m o men t of that m uc h-so ught- a ftcr andgr ace ful ga r ment known as th e Drap ed Coat , of whi ch itmay truly be said th a t d ista n ce lend s enc hantment toth e v iew . I n my humbl e op ini on it d oes not bearin spe c tion to o clo sel y, b eca u se it doe s not really fit.Rath er, a s th e nam e imp lies, it d rapes the figure, and ifyou a re going to adopt thi s style o any gr eat extent yo u 'm ust be prepared to edu cate yo ur c us tom ers' tas tes.

In sp ite of the se remark s, [ cons ider th a t the drapedcoat is to be comme nd ed , not only for it s gracef ul line s,but a lso for it s co m for t, and it s bility to c m oufl ge th em any and var ied imp erfec ti ons of the h uma n figure. t so

h appen s that it is the one an d on ly g arme nt our r ea d ymad e competitor s find di ffic ulty in producing. Therea son for thi s is th a t cutting the coa t do esn't fini sh thejob. t is a tail ore d garme nt in the ol d-f as hi oned senseof the term, and so is easy to cut , but diffi c ult to make.

Th e j o urn ey man who a spir es to m ak e a dr ape d coatmu st h ave a flair fo r hi s job wi th mo rc th an a tou ch ofar tis tr y in hi s make-up. Such a re few and far be twe ento-d ay, but I believe that , caug ht y oung enou gh, th eenthu sias t can be tau g ht all th a t is ne cessary in t hi sr ega rd.

I ha ve sa id th a t the d rape d coa t is ea sy to cut. T h e60


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C A R C A S E A N D CA M O U F L A G E 6 1

c utt er should po ssess, abo ve all thin gs, th e quality ofu i ty D on t be afr a id of the job . Be bold; be

daring. T he ch ie f character istic s o f the coa t are its sizein th e top sec tion and the cor respondi ngly s ma ll , eggshap ed a rmho le. I t is s hown to the m os t elegant ad-va nt age w hen wo rn by the man wit h tall, s qu are should ers.On th e ot her hand it serve s its mos t useful purpo se incas es w here a misu sed wa ist ha s gaine d in su per iority ove rthe p oo r old chest.

A 40 -i nch chest wit h a 40-in ch wa is t is seldom a thin go f beaut y. But if only we can con tri ve to co n vey th e

ppe r nce of a 44-in ch ches t ri sing above the 4 0 -in ch wa ist ,we are we ll on the wa y to ea rnin g th e un dyin g g ratit m) eof the mi ss hapen wretch wh o (in a mora l mom en t)th reatens him self with a sobe r diet of orange jui ce andsteame d sh, but who (in th e u lti mate i ss ue) o ut-gourma ndize s mo st of h is fellow- gourma nd s.

Thi s is how it i s done. Cut a wi d e back and a sm allfo repa rt at the side seam . All your cr aft w ill be req uir edin d ispo sing of th e extra width of back should er occ asionedby th e ext ra widt h of bac k. An i nc h , or even mo re, is.no tco nsidered exces sive. The fullin g-on pr ocess ha s the

e ffect o f sho rten ing the side in rel a tion to the ce ntre back,a llowing the extra width to drape in a g ra ce ful fold fromthe end o f the shoul de r to the w aist. Obv iously, it is th isextr a width cross the b ck th a t m a kes for com fort as well a selegan ce.

A similar drape mu st be im pa r ted to t he front o f thearmh ole. T his you o bt ain b y ad va ncing the M jor L ateralB l nce that is th e n eck-p o int - a n yt hi ng up to an inc h ,and lett in g ou t th e fron t of th e ches t a sim ila r a mount.By thi s m ean s the dr ape, o r ex t ra chest room , is tran sfer red to the front of th e arm resu ltin g, in th e ha nd s o fthe craft sman , in a sim ila r d rape to that of the baek fromthe shou lder-point, strai g ht d own towa rd s the waist.


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The observant student may well ask why, if it i sneces sary to full-on the back in order to hold ·up the width

inthat

section,it

isnot

al so necessary to full-on thefront shoulder to perform a similar function for the frontsection. The answer is of course, that yo u can tfull-on botho them. You mu st look for some other .means of holdingup the excessive width across the chest. How is thi s to bedone?

You wilT remember that in a previou s chapter we spo ke

of the internals of the coat. Here they are a mostimportant factor. You mu st work out the centre of thebrea st to give a relative shortne ss to the front of the scye .This is the only method by which the extra width ca n bemaintained in the place where we want it. The operationwill fail unle ss the canvas is put in lon g and on the bia s.The shoulder lining, too , s hould be long, so that it is ableto render its assistance.

I must warn you of one difficulty that you are quitelikely to experience with thi s type of coat. You may findthat the drape refuses· o run straight up and down particularlyif you have not had much experience of making this kind ·of shoulder. The drape at the top may show an awkward

tendency to steal away at an angle, towards the middl eof the shoulder. Thi s fault is difficult to eradicate. Whatis the cause? It is simply that the in side is too sma ll,and so prevent s the cloth from going where it wants to goand where it is intended to be.

The shoulder should be made up so ft , and not naileddown around the armhole. f your customer has a

square figure, a sma ll, stiffi sh pad in the shoulder-point isall the wadding you will require. But for a figure of thesloping kind be more generous with your padding, agreater amount of which will be needed to hold up thedrape.

How are you going to cope with the modern Falstaff -


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CARCASE AND CAMOUFLAGE

the corpulent bon-vivant whose chest has slippeCl in thecourse of year s well below hi s waist-line? T h e bowler

ha t is scarcely easy to conceal I advise you not toworry unduly until you meet a waist that. exceed s in sizeits neighbouring chest. When you do come across it, youmust take it in hand.

The old-fashioned remedy was to throw a receptacle forthe bowler (or belly ) by taking out what was known as abelly cut (horrible phrase ) . All this ever succeeded indoing, however, wa s to accentuate the wearer's naturalungainlines s The big cut from the back of the pocketmouth through to the armhole had the effect of flatteningthe chest, and so giving the coat the appearance of thefigur in other word s, making it look bottom heavy.I f you are going to cheat the ravage s of nature, your poli cymust be to aim in the reverse direction.

The shoulders must be draped y u know how to do that.A small waist-cut can be taken out in the u sual way,terminating an inch or two in front of the armhole. Thefront of the coa t will be found to be re sting on the belly,at just about the front of the pocket. Keep the coat fairlygenerous across the wai st, so that its re sting-place i s not too

obviou s. You will also find some surplus material standing off at the bottom, below the front of the po cket. Thismust be taken away by a cut (of the appropriate amount)exactly where it asks for it - from the bottom, through tothe pocket-mouth. By keeping the coat slightly long infront you will help to pre se rve the general illusion.

I can a ssure you that once you have ti ckled the fancy of

your mo st corpulent customer whh a draped coat, he willhave suc h an awed re spect for it that nev er again will hecarelessly fling it over the back of hi s chair as he turns hismo st earne st attention to the carv ing of the Sunday joint.


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CH PTER XIII

BEST BIB AND TUCKER

IN this short chapter I am go ing to give yo u a few hint s

on the making of body-fitting coats. At thi s s tage it issca rcely necessary for me to say that you will apply tomorning and to dre ss coats the me syste m of balanceadju stment, in preparing th e pattern and fittin g, as yo uhave done for th e jacket of a lounge suit.

As the name implie s, body-fitting coa ts cling moreclQsely to th e figure than the j ac ket , although it is never

thele ss permi ssible to have a drape effect at the shoulder.Th e de signers of the se garmen ts ha ve shown great

consideration for the tailor in assisting him to fit thebod y clo se ly by placing at hi s disposal two e

Documents

1950 - Art of Cutting and Fitting - A Practical Manual - Wilson.pdf