Fashion Design Drawing

However, if one is proficient in making garments, a gored skirt pattern may be bought by the hip measure, even if too small at the waist, and the waist size may be increased in the following way: The increase must be calculated and planned for before the skirt is cut. We may find, for instance, a figure with 34 inches waist measure, and hips that measure 44. Referring to the "table" we find that the waist measure of the pattern of this hip size is 30 inches four inches less than the waist we are to fit.

The first consideration is the number of gores in which the skirt is cut, as this governs the number of seams at which allowance may be provided in cutting, and the amount that may be added at each seam. Another and very important consideration is the shape of the figure to be fitted. The same number of inches may result from the measurement of figures that differ entirely in shape. The hip measure of the nicely rounded figure with perfectly proportioned hips and abdomen may be the same as that of another that is flat at the front and back, with abnormal development at the sides; or of still another that has unusual abdominal prominence with extreme flatness at the back.

It will be readily seen that the allowance at the seams must be so distributed that the greater amount will come where the figure has the fullest development. Under ordinary circumstances, it is preferable to make no alteration on either the front or back gores, but this rule can not be followed when the figure is unusually full at the front. In the measurements cited (34 inches waist and 44 inches hip) it is necessary to add 4 inches to the skirt pattern at the waistline, 2 inches on each side.

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Figure 201 shows how this amount may be added to a nine-gored skirt pattern. It is a good plan to mark the outline of

the pattern on the goods, leaving ample material at each seam which may be let out where the figure requires it, tapering this amount off to nothing at the hipline which is seven and three-eighths inches below the upper edge. A skirt pattern should never be ordered with a hip measure smaller than that of the figure to be fitted.

If a plaited skirt is too large or too small at the waist or hip, the plaits should be made either deeper or shallower to fit the figure.

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LENGTHENING AND SHORTENING GORED SKIRTS Measure the length of the skirt at the center front from the natural waistline to the floor and compare it with the corresponding measure of the pattern.

To Shorten a gored skirt pattern, lay a plait straight across each gore of the pattern about six inches below the hipline (seven and three-eighth inches below the waistline, the three-eighths of an inch being the seam-allowance at the upper edge). (Fig. 202.) If the gores are cut with one straight edge, measure at the straight edge, or, if both sides of the gores are bias, measure along the line of perforations that indicate a lengthwise thread of the goods. If the figure is full, the slope of the gores at the bias side should be filled out from the folded plait to the hip; but if the figure is slight, this little extension may be taken off.

To Lengthen a gored skirt pattern, cut each gore straight across, six inches below the hipline, and separate the pieces as much as necessary. (Fig. 204.)

To alter the length of a gored plaited skirt pattern, follow the same principle as for the plain gored skirt pattern. Then make new lines through the perforations that show the lines for the plaits. Place one end of a yardstick at a perforation near the hipline, and the other end at the corresponding perforation near the bottom, and mark with a pencil. (Fig. 203.)

If, as is rarely the case, it should be necessary to alter the length of a skirt as much as four or five inches, it is best to take half of the amount out below the hips as explained above, and to take the remaining half off at the lower edge of the skirt.