1913 08, page 20
The New Tailored Skirt
Each season fashion seems to select some one feature of
dress into which she introduces her most striking touch of novelty. On year it is the sleeve, another it is the
neck, again it is the waist. This year
it is the skirt, and one of the old-time skirts will spoil a costume, no matter
how handsome the material nor how good the rest of the dress.
In choosing a model for any skirt much depends upon the
material to be used in making it. No one
would dream of using the same style for voile as for linen, nor for crepe as
for serge, and so on through the entire list.
There are some designs that are suitable for many materials, even for
some of very different texture, and it is one of these that we have selected
for our consideration in these columns at present.
First of all, it is well to remind ourselves that nowadays
even wash-materials are made of good width, and also the many silks and satins
and crepes all come much wider than they did years ago. So we will consider that in making this skirt
we are using a ratine, 44 inches wide.
As the skirt is a two-piece model, it will cut economically from this
width.
Before beginning to cut the material, make sure that it has
neither wrinkles nor creases anywhere.
If it has been folded, press out the fold unless this is so placed that
it will be cut away or stitched in out of sight. This done, lay it on a table that is wide
enough for the width of the gore and long enough for its length. This is not always as easy to find as it
sounds, but most people have an extension dining-table, and this can be used.
Examine your pattern and select the gore marked L. This is the left side gore. Lay this carefully on the material with the
lines of triple perforations on a lengthwise thread of the goods. It will be noticed that the front edge of
this gore is not entirely straight, but this is as it should be. Pin the gore firmly to the material. Do not be afraid to use plenty of pins as
this will make the cutting much easier.
In placing this gore on the material leave enough space at the end for the
belt, which is cut crosswise of the goods.
This, too, should be carefully pinned before cutting. When the left gore is firmly pinned in place,
cut it carefully around all the edges.
The designers have left 1 1/2 inches as the allowance for the hem, and
it is therefore essential that you be very sure of the required length of the
skirt before cutting it. If the pattern
is too long, do not take off at the lower edge, but fold it across the middle,
taking out as much as necessary and in the same manner if it is too short cut
it across at the middle and pin the two halves separately. This will keep the proportions correct and
insure a proper line at the seams.
After the gore is cut, take your scissors and snip out the
notch near the top of the gore. If you
intend to fit the skirt by means of the darts these darts must be marked either
with thread or chalk or pencil. By the
way, blue pencil is much easier to rub out than black; but thread is the best marker
of all. Then mark also the line of
perforations for the seam; or, if the material be at all stiff, crease it along
this line.
Now take the gore marked R.
This is the right side gore and the one which has the draped
section. Lay this on the material very
carefully, for unless you cut it straight as it should be the plaits will not
hang as they should. Use plenty of pins
as before, after adjusting the length of the skirt to suit your individual
needs. Mark the dart, if you are going
to use it, and the small perforations at the top of each plait; also snip out
the notch at the seam side.
When this is done, comes the time to handle your
plaits. Turn to our illustrations and in
diagram 2 you will see how the plaits look after you have laid them in
according to the directions on the envelope of the pattern. Baste them firmly, overcast the top edge,
then stitch them to the loose edge of the top, as shown in Diagram 3. This diagram also shows the edge of the upper
part turned in 1 ½ inches for the hem of the overlap. The large diagram, No. 1, shows how the skirt
should look on the wrong side when the plaits are in position, the front edge
hemmed and the two gores joined together.
In this diagram it will be noticed that the back of the skirt is shown
gathered at the waistline. The skirt may
be arranged in this manner rather than fitted by darts, if preferred. It is a little newer than the fitted style
and much more becoming to most figures. This,
however, is a matter of taste and must depend somewhat upon the material.
The arrangement of the gores brings the closing and its
drapery a little to the left of the center of the front, and in the back the
edge of the material at the seam is somewhat to the right of the center of the
back. This manner of placing the seams
is more artistic than having them all on the straight line of front and back.
There is so little drapery in this skirt that it will
answer very nicely for serge, if a traveling suit be considered. Of course it will be more graceful in thinner
fabrics, and the many qualities of voile are a great temptation. Cotton voile is uncommonly pretty, and it is
also one of the most popular materials of the season. Then there is a loose ratine, which drapes as
gracefully as crepe, and there is crepe itself, not only the beautiful silk
crepe de Chine, but a cotton kind that is ever so lovely, and that comes both
plain and striped. It is found in many costumes for the skirt, while the blouse
or coat is of plain ratine, or of figured eponge or some other differing
fabric.
Batiste is so soft that it suggests itself the moment that
there is any question of drapery, and one might make the skirt and purchase the
blouse all made, wearing a wide girdle at the belt, or a narrow twist of some
bright-colored velvet or satin.
If care is sued in finishing this garment it will be found
very simple to make, but plenty of basting and plenty of pressing are the two
things that the amateur is often tempted to shirk in her eagerness to see the
finished garment. The result is sure to
be a homemade appearance, no matter how good the material nor how careful the
workmanship in other ways.
A row of crystal buttons above the drapery on the closing
edge, and perhaps a piping of bright color will brighten up the skirt.
The pattern, No. 6273, is cut in sizes from 22 to 30 inches
waist measure. To make the skirt in the medium
size will require 2 7/8 yards of 44-inch material. Price of pattern, 10 cents.
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