TAILORING TECHNIQUES A CONSTRUCTION GUIDE FOR WOMEN'S WEAR ROBERTO CABRERA /PATRICIA FLAHERTY MEYER Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012 http://archive.org/details/classictailoringOOcabr CLASSIC TAILORING TECHNIQUES: A CONSTRUCTION GUIDE FOR WOMEN'S WEAR CLASSIC TAILORING TECHNIQUES: A CONSTRUCTION GUIDE FOR WOMEN'S WEAR Roberto Cabrera Assistant Professor Fashion Design Department Fashion Institute of Technology Patricia Flaherty Meyers Fairchild Publications New York 1 Book Design by Catherine Gallagher Barbara Woolworth Photographs by Gustavo Candelas Illustrations by Roberto Cabrera Copyright® 1984, Fairchild Publications Division of Capital Cities Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote sources in connection with a review written for inclusion in a magazine or newspaper. Standard Book Number: 87005-435-X Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 84-80058 Printed in the United States of America FIT.
COLLECTION To my family, Elvira, Robert and Liliana. To Jonathan, my husband — my joy. Preface When took my first tailoring course with Roberto Cabrera, and I watched him so effortlessly transform a length of fabric into a beautifully living suit, was both delighted and overwhelmed. What Professor Cabrera I was offering to us was the sum total of his forty years of tailoring experience— construction techniques nowhere detailed in the available tailoring textbooks.
The question was how to absorb all of this information before it disappeared again at the end of the course. This book, Classic Tailoring Techniques: A Construction Guide for Women's Wear is our joint attempt to present these tailoring techniques in a detailedand precise manner, so that they can be understood and — performed by any serious student from novice tailors to home sewers ready for the next challenge. This book is a sequel to and an expansion of our earlier work, Classic Tailoring Techniques: A Construction Guide for Men's Wear. Since wom- en's tailoring is an adaptation of an art which originally belonged exclu- sively to men's wear, many construction procedures outlined in our first book are repeated here with only slight adjustments— pockets, lapels, vents, etc.
We include construction techniques for three jacket styles, and for three variations on the straight skirt, in order to respond to the almost endless variety of style and detail in women's wear. To afford yourself the best opportunity for success, we suggest that you complete the construc- tion of the classic jacket and the basic straight skirt before moving on to the variations of each. Although pattemmaking is an integral part of the art of tailoring, this book, as its title indicates, concentrates on the construction techniques used in classic tailoring and deals with pattemmaking only indirectly in Chapters 2, The Pattern, and 3, The Fit. We offer our sincere gratitude to those students and colleagues whose encouragement and assistance facilitated the presentation of this work- Patricia De Georges, Sarita de Castro, Mary Gray, Suzanne Galimir, Coli Cabrera, Joan Kinateder, Edward Barnes, Betty Novak and her students at Sew and Show, On-ke Wilde, Steven Stipelman, Randy Dana, and Orchard Street's S.
A special word of thanks to William Fioravanti Inc., and to Robin Ryan and Dara Lamb of Darabin Ltd., who most graciously allowed us to photograph their work. 1984 Patricia Flaherty Meyers. Hips 17 General Tailoring Supplies 2 1 1 Skirt Length 1 " Understructure Supplies 4 12. The Fly 18 Hand Stitching 5 13.
Pants Inseam 18 Saddle Stitch 5 14. Pants Outseam 18 Prick Stitch 5 15. Knee Width 18 Back Stitch 5 16. Width of Pants at Hem 18 Running Stitch 5 The Muslin Fitting 19 Slip Stitch 6 The Muslin Jacket 20 Cross Stitch 6 Lapels— Too Wide/Too Double Cross Stitch 6 Narrow 20 Overcast Stitch / Whip Stitch 6 Lapels— Too Long/Too Diagonal Stitch / Pad Stitch 6 Short 21 Blanket Stitch 6 Jacket Balance 21 Hem Stitch 6 Stooped Posture 22 Pressing Supplies 7 Overly Erect Posture 22 Pressing Techniques 8 Low Shoulder 23 Tailoring Supply Sources 8 Bust— Very Full 26 Bust— Very Flat 27 2.
THE PATTERN 9 Misplaced Front Dart 28 The Jacket Pattern 9 Front Dart— Too Long/Too The Skirt Pattern 1 Short 29 The Pants Pattern 1 Too Loose/Too Tight Above Preliminary Pattern Waist 30 Adjustments 1 Too Loose/Too Tight Below 1. Jacket Roll Line 12 Waist 31 2. Shoulder Seams 12 Shoulder— Too Wide/Too 3. Revised Facing Pattern 13 Sloped Shoulder 33 5.
Pants Cuffs 14 Square Shoulder 34 Lengthening or Shortening Neckline— Too High/Too Patterns 14 Low 35 Tight Neckline 36 3. THE FIT 15 Loose Neckline 36 Measurements 15 Armhole— Too High/Too How to Take Measurements 16 Low 37 Center Back/Neck to 1 The Muslin Skirt 38 Waist 16 Too Tight/Too Loose 2. Center Back/Neck to Across Hips 39 Hip 16 Waistband— Too Loose/Too 3. Shoulder 16 Waistline— Too Little/Too Much 5.
Sleeve Length 16 Ease 41 6. Bust Level 17 One Hip Higher than 8. Waist 17 the Other 44 9. Hip Level 17 Hips Thrust Forward 44 Flat Seat 44 Assembling the Canvas and Protruding Stomach/ Jacket 103 Buttocks 45 Padstitching the Lapels 107 The Muslin Pants 46 The Taping 110 Waistband— Too Loose/Too First Fitting 113 Tight 47 The Facing 114 Waistline— Too Little/Too Much Attaching Facing by Ease 48 Machine 115 Too Tight Across Hips 49 Attaching Facing by Too Loose Across Hips 50 Hand 121 Protruding High Hips 51 The Facing Pocket 125 Crotch— Too Short/Too The Lining 1 28 Long 51 The Lining Pocket 134 Bowlegs/Knock-knees 52 The Shoulder Seams 1 36 Flat Seat 54 The Shoulder Pads 137 Prominent Seat 55 Inserting Shoulder Pads 140 Protruding Stomach 56 The Collar 142 Rise— Too Long/Too Short 56 Constructing the Undercollar 144 4.
FABRIC 57 Constructing the Selecting the Fabric 57 Topcollar 150 Properties of Woven Fabrics 58 Plaid and Striped Collars 155 The Grain 58 The Collar Draft 156 Straightening the Grain 60 The Sleeve 162 Shrinkage 61 Reinforcing the Armholes 162 The Nap 62 The Muslin Sleeve 164 The Sleeve Vents 168 5. LAYOUT/CUTTING 63 Sleeves without Vents 1 70 Oaktag Patterns 63 Lining the Sleeve 1 70 Chalkmarking, Cutting, Tailor Setting the Sleeve 173 Tacking 66 Tacking the Armholes 174 Plaids or Stripes 70 The Sleeve Head 176 The Plaid Sleeve 177 6. JACKETS 76 Buttons and Buttonholes 177 Darts and Seams 76 Constructing the Buttonholes 179 The Jacket Pockets 78 The Handworked The Welt Pocket 78 Buttonhole 179 Welt Pocket (Plaids/Stripes) 83 The Bound Keyhole The Double-Piping Pocket 83 Buttonhole 181 Double-piping Pocket The Bias Bound (Plaids/Stripes) 88 Buttonhole 182 The Cash Pocket 89 Setting the Buttons 184 The Double-piping Pocket with Final Pressing 186 Flap 91 The Unlined Jacket 187 Double-piping Pocket with Flap Darts in the Unlined (Plaids/Stripes) 94 Jacket 187 The Patch Pocket 95 Pockets in the Unlined Patch Pocket (Plaids/Stripes) 99 Jacket 188 Preparing the Canvas 100 The Facing in the Unlined The Pad Stitch 102 Jacket 191 Covering Shoulder Pads in Assembling Skirt and the Unlined Jacket 191 Skirt Lining 244 The Peplum Jacket 194 The Grosgrain The Full Canvas Waistband 245 Interlining 195 The Peplum 196 8. PANTS 248 The Peplum The Pants Pockets 248 Reinforcement 197 The Slant Pocket 249 Assembling the Peplum The Side Pocket 253 Jacket 198 The Western Pocket 257 The Peplum Jacket Lining 201 The Back Pocket 262 The Mandarin Collar 203 The Pants Fly 265 Constructing the Mandarin The Pants Side Seams 268 Collar 205 Belt Loops 270 Attaching the Mandarin The Pants Waistband 271 Collar 206 The Pants Lining 272 The Peplum Jacket Sleeve 207 The Pants Hem 274 The Heel Stay 275 7.
SKIRTS 208 The Pants Cuffs 276 1. Basic Straight Skirt 208 Pleated Pants 277 Curved Double-Piping Skirt Pocket 212 9. ALTERATIONS 282 Side Zipper Closing 218 Tapering the Jacket Lapels 282 Hong Kong Piping Hem Adjusting the Sleeve Length 284 Finish 219 Re-lining the Jacket 286 Overlap Vent at Center Altering the Jacket Width 287 Back 221 Altering Skirts 289 The Skirt Hem 222 Adjusting the Pants Waistline 289 Waistband backed with Tapering the Pants Leg 290 Grosgrain Ribbon 224 Adjusting the Pants Length 290 2. Straight Skirt with Shirring 226 PATTERNS 291 Kick Pleat at Center Western Yoke 291 Back 227 Western Facing 293 The Crescent Pocket 229 Western Shaper 293 Shirring at the Center Back Pocket Piping 295 Front 232 Slant Yoke 295 Assembling Skirt and Side & Slant Pocket Facing 297 Skirt Lining 232 Back Pocket Facing 297 The Self-backed Shoulder Pad 299 Waistband 234 Crescent Pocket Yoke 301 3.
Skirt with Pleats 236 Crescent Pocket Facing 303 Three Pleats from Waist to Hem Facing Pocket 305 at Left Front 236 The Side Seam Pocket 241 About the Authors 307 Courtesy of Darabin Limited and William Fioravanti Inc. 1 Tailoring The art of tailoring can be traced back at sharp, without noticeable bulk. The collar, and least to the fourteenth century, when it became allcurved edges of the garment were to incline fashionable in Europe to add an underlayer of ever so slightly inward toward the body, a grace- padding in the chest area of men's jackets. ful avoidance of the awkward, upward curl of Rather than taking its form from the contours of collar tips and pocket flaps.
Pockets were never the wearer's body, the garment fabric was cut to gape open when not in use, and vents were and carefully shaped to fit over the padded form. expected to lie flat and firm. The result was a Through the ages the padding was extended, clean definition of design lines, a controlled yet according to fashion, to the sleeves, the shoul- graceful presentation of the garment fabric, im- ders, even to the stomach area. The padded peccable fit, form and detail.
understructure provided what was considered to The construction techniques presented in be improvements over the contours of the body. this book and practiced today, with minor varia- It also enabled the garment fabric to lie neatly, tions, by the finest tailors all over the world, have relatively unaffected by the body's wrinkling changed very little in the past 100 years. though new machines and new methods of The construction techniques developed to fusing layers of fabric together offer today's tailor create these structured garments were quite dif- speedy alternatives to time consuming hand- ferent from those used to produce shirts and work, relatively few of these faster methods dresses. By the sixteenth century the makers of have been adopted by custom tailors.
The sew- men's jackets had formed a separate branch of ing machine is used for almost all seams and the clothing makers' guilds, complete with pre- darts, but almost 75 percent of all stitches in a cise specifications for the quality and color of custom-tailored suit are still done by hand, to padding materials and linings for gentlemen's silk ensure the most accurate shaping of the fabric. The new fusible interfacings are being used by By the late seventeenth century women's most custom tailors to reinforce certain small fashion began to be influenced by the man- areas, such as dart tips or the inside of some tailored coat. Tailors were presented with the pockets, however, they are not considered ac- new challenge of adapting their craft to feminine ceptable substitutes for the multi-layered, hand- form and fancy. stitched canvas interfacing which gives body to Not until the early nineteenth century did the entire front of the jacket.
careful fit become a criterion of well-tailored gar- Today's tailors continue to practice their art ments. The understructure remained, but the almost exactly as it was practiced a century ago. shaping became more subtle, its purpose now Not because slower is necessarily better, but being to complement rather than to distort the because these methods produce body and form, natural lines of the body. Great attention was detail and durability which newer faster methods also given to the flawless lay of the garment of tailoring are simply unable to equal.
fabric over the canvas form.