Garment cutting in the twentieth century

by Günther F. Hertzer

Centers of the Back and Front.

Both of these centers must be very nearly on straight lines, as is proved by the fact that a vest can be fitted with very little curve on the center of the back or in front; and in fact, can be fitted from the waist to the neck with quite straight lines by simply cutting a trifle of a gore sidewise, either at the waist or at the neck, or at both. When we examine the body closely we find that it is not round, but has four well-defined corners, two in front at the center of the breast or at the nipples, and two in the back at each shoulder blade. If any reduction is required at the waist it should be made at these locations, for they are the turning points of the body. Between these points the normal body is perfectly flat in front and at the sides, though in length the front is curved, while the back is mostly hollow; but for all that, the normal back may be considered flat from blade to blade, as the hollow between is not intended to be shown, but concealed. If we view the body from side to side, the back and front appear to be a sharp curve, as is shown in Fig. [2]; but if we look at Fig. [1] we see both back and front flat. If a body were to be pressed flat from side to side, and then a cover cut for that form, both the center of the front and back would necessarily be cut on curved lines, because it would be essential to fit from front to back, or from back to front, just as we may take it. But on the human form both front and back must be fitted sidewise from their respective bases, and as both of the bases are on a flat surface it follows that both of them must be fitted, or nearly so, on straight lines, at least as far down as the hollow of the waist.

If we take a sheet of stiff paper we can fit it over the back and chest, and from arm to arm, all the way down to the hollow of the waist in the back, and to the turning points or pit of the stomach in front, with scarcely any break or wrinkle in the paper, which shows that the center of the back or front must be fitted on straight lines, and that all reduction, as shown in Dia. [II], or all additions, as shown in Dia. [I], at the waist must be made sidewise or nearly so. The reduction of the back of the waist depends entirely upon the position in which we choose to place the different parts. In fact, it may be claimed that the waist reduction of the back is wholly imaginary, because the whole part of the body between the arms and waist is a flat surface, and can be fitted with a straight piece of cloth. Considering that the natural position of a garment when on the body runs from the shoulder blade downward and into the hollow of the waist, it must come in contact with the seat below, and must be sprung outward, but differs somewhat according to the nature of the garment—all of which is clearly shown in the diagrams.

All the different shapes of gores or wedges in the back of a frock coat we can make, because we can open or close the sidepiece and back, upward or downward. On a vest with a straight back, we must cut it just so, and not otherwise; and a vest back must have a trifle spring over the seat in the center of the back. If we cut a vest off at the hollow of the waist, we can connect the sides also on straight lines and the whole garment can be cut with but one seam in front. In this case, however, we must consider the following: If the square of 20, with one inch cut out under the arm, and sewed up, fits the body, the back and front are not in that square any longer; but that square spreads on top, and contracts below, about 7½ deg.

But while the square of 20 is thus contracted at the waist, it spreads apart on top, or above line 9, and here a reduction of the waist would be visible as a gore above the armscye line in the armhole, but which is cut away and that gore is invisible on a vest. But even a vest on a square of 20 would necessarily have a gore there if the armhole would not take it away, and if the seam is thrown further backward, as in a sack coat, that gore will show; and if the seam is thrown still further backward, as on a frock coat, it will show still more, because the armhole does not approach it so closely.

Now, all of this shows that two straight edges can be joined together and fitted over the center of the back or front by cutting the gores sidewise, and thus compelling the straight back and front of a garment to conform with the bend in front and the back in length. The center of the front cannot be manipulated like the back, because there are no seams in the forepart passing from one end to the other, except in a double-breasted coat with the lapels cut off. It is true, we can cut small gores under the lapel or at the waist to make the forepart conform to the body, but they must be well understood by the cutter as well as by the coat maker.

We all know that a great many good coats are made every day without any gore whatever in the forepart, but we also know that such coats are pretty well worked, and the front edge drawn in, which is equal to cutting a gore somewhere. A gore under the lapel is always vexatious in the hands of an inexperienced journeyman, for it is quite easy to throw the shoulder of the garment out of place when basted on the canvas. For this reason no gore under the lapel should be sewed up until the forepart is basted on the canvas or padding, after which the canvas should be cut in just the shape of the gore, because a flat canvas will spoil all effects of a gore. On a double-breasted coat, with the lapels cut off, an exception must be made, when the lapels are sewed on before the foreparts are basted on the canvas. Within said lapel seam may be obtained all necessary oval form required for a forepart, and all other gores under the lapel are apt to do more harm than good.

But there is no question about the usefulness of a gore under the lapel of a double-breasted sack coat, and I may say it is indispensable there, for no double-breasted coat can be made to conform with the shape of the body unless one or two gores are cut somewhere. A lapel may be obtained without a gore in it, but as soon as the coat is to be buttoned up completely, there will be surplus cloth between each button and buttonhole, or the collar will be too loose under the chin, or the front of the waist will be too wide.

Now all of these faults—loose collar, long front, or large waist—may be overcome by simply cutting a gore of ⅜ in. in the center of the forepart at the waist seam of a frock coat, and I deem it necessary to give that gore particular attention. When we take a sheet of paper and spread it over the front of the breast, we can fit both fronts from the neck down to the pit of the stomach with that straight paper. From the pit of the stomach down it will stand off from the body, just as the front line of the angle of 15 deg. stands off in Fig. [II]. Now, to bring that surplus width in front of the waist to the body it must be reduced by cutting gores. One large gore in the center of the front would be all that would be necessary to bring the sheet to the body, but that would throw too much surplus cloth on the top of that gore, and all on one spot, and wrinkles would form across the front of chest, as in the case with all coats which are cut away in front of the waist and forced forward in order to button up. To reduce the front edge only will make it a cutaway; but that will never conform a coat to the oval body in front. Now, the more gores we cut the more will everything be divided and the better it will fit. So, in place of taking one large piece from the center of the front, we may cut three small gores—one in the center of the front and one in each middle of the foreparts under the nipple. The one in the center of the front is made in the edge, or the seam, and is simply a reduction of the front edge. The two gores in the middle of each forepart may be considered ⅜ in. cut, and two seams, or ¾ in. in all. These cuts will balance the front and give all the oval shape which the chest of a male requires.

On military or clergymen’s coats a cutter is compelled to make one cut in each middle of the front if he wants a good front. On such coats no gore can be cut at the front of the neck. The natural run of that gore is straight downward, starting at the nipple, or wherever the front of the body turns backward toward the front of the thigh. But we cannot cut them all the way down through the skirt, and so we turn it forward at the waist seam.

It will be noticed that Dia. [II] is cut without that gore, but it is thrown into the lapel seam, and the large gore upward is the result. If Dia. [II] is made with that gore, then the front must receive whatever said gore takes up, say about ¾ in. more.

Military and clergymen’s coats should be cut pretty straight in front and should have a large gore, say ¾ in., cut in the middle of the forepart, and starting high up; and the center of the front should not be drawn in with a stay, for this drawing in of the front edge will largely return and show small wrinkles at the edge, particularly on fine broadcloth. If all the surplus cloth is cut away and balanced by that gore, then nothing is to be drawn in, and a stay at the edge is simply put on to keep it from stretching, and to confine the canvas closely and permanently to the edge.

On single-breasted sack coats a small gore may be cut under the lapel, particularly for a longer roll. If a gore is cut for a short roll the collar must be quite straight in front, or else the lapel will pull too far downward. But for a short roll it is just as well to omit it altogether, or balance it otherwise as follows: After the forepart has been basted to the canvas, cut two or three gores in the canvas over and along the chest. Cut each gore about ½ inch wide, and about 3 in. across. Around these gores secure by good basting the position of coat and canvas; then draw the gores together, and shrink away the fullness of the outside, which may easily be done, then put the stay on even—by which means all surplus cloth, usually cut away as gores in the front of a frock coat, is used up and balanced in a sack. Drawing in the canvas without cutting it will never make a smooth job. But all this requires—that the coat be made by one who knows how to make it, and is willing to make it as it ought to be made. Otherwise it would be best to cut a sack without that gore.

On a double-breasted sack the gore under the lapel should be large and all surplus cloth taken away there, particularly so if the coat is to be buttoned up to the chin.

The diagrams show the position of the center of the back and front as well as any description can make it, but the reason why I have been describing it so closely is, that I desire to show the why and wherefore all seams are precisely so and so. Neither do I claim that they must all be just so, by the least fraction of an inch, but to show a general law which governs the whole. I must refer to still another important point. On a sack coat that is sewed up all around over the seat, or nearly so, the side seam and the seam in the center of the back may be both cut oval so as to give the form of the seat, particularly on a short sack. On a frock coat the back center is thrown out below the tack, and all roundness over the seat is produced by two curved lines on the side of the back and side of the front skirts, all of which is shown in the diagrams. The center of the back is open below the tack, and a curved line there would simply produce a curved edge, but would not give the oval form to the garment. If it is desired to roll the lapel further down, a gore should be cut somewhere in the forepart, and whatever the gore and its seams take up must be allowed in front, or else the coat will be too small there. This gore gives more roundness of breast and consequently a longer roll.

However, it should be borne in mind that a longer roll of lapel should never be made wider on top; but, on the contrary, smaller. A large or long roll must be produced by roundness of the parts created by gores from some direction, and not by the width of the lapel. For this purpose, I will refer to the overcoat in Dia. [X]. If that overcoat is cut for a short roll, the small gore will produce a good lapel; but if the roll is to be longer, the width of the lapel must be reduced, not by reducing the front edge, but by enlarging the gore under the lapel. If the lapel is not reduced in width, the long roll will fall over too far toward the armhole, and no coat looks well with an extremely broad lapel on top. The width of the lapel depends on fashion, but all lapels should be wide enough to admit the button-hole and leave a reasonable space in front and back of it. It looks bad to see the button-hole too close to the front edge, or almost touching the seam behind.

According to the present style, a lapel should be 2 in. wide at the bottom, 2½ in. in the middle, and from 2 to 2¼ on top; but there is no law against making it a trifle wider or smaller. But this work has nothing to do with fashion, and all fashionable points must be obtained from the regular reports of fashion.

Again, it will be noticed on the single-breasted coat, as shown in Dia. [I], that the front of the forepart has a gore cut in its center at the waist seam but none above or under the lapel. There being no gore under the lapel to produce the oval form of the chest, the gore must be cut below, else the coat will swing off from the front of the body. The point of that gore must point to the center of the breast, and may run straight downward or may be turned somewhat backward. Whenever that gore is cut, the bottom of the forepart must be rounded on and along the bottom of the gore, or its sewing up will cause a kink at the waist seam.

The front edge of a vest must also be explained, although the different diagrams cannot fail to make the correct impression. In Dia. [XIII], it will be noticed that in the front of the neck a small gore has been cut, which will bring the straight front line to the oval shape of the body. On a frock coat the larger gore toward the waist effects the same thing. On a vest the under arm cut is made where the gore in the frock coat is cut, and consequently the vest has that gore balanced in the side seam. A vest cut close up to the neck and without collar would not look well to have a gore cut in front of the neck, and so the deduction is made in front by starting the front-edge about 3¼ numbers from the point of 135 deg., and on the plumb line, and meeting the front line again at line 9. On a double-breasted vest, which is intended to button all the way up to the neck, and lap over to the other side, this gore must be cut, not where it is marked in Dia. [XIII], but in a cut forming the lapel, and which cut should be as large as the gore shown in Dia. [II]. It is impossible to make a double-breasted garment of any kind without that large gore if it is intended to fit the form when buttoned over. It is true, very few vests of that kind are made; but that kind of a cut must be made in all double-breasted garments if a well-fitting front is to be obtained when buttoned up.

From line 9 to line 15 the front line is the front edge of a single-breasted vest, receding a trifle at the lower button. Very few vests are cut all the way up to the neck, and consequently the gore at the neck, as in Dia. [XIII], is entirely cut away and of no account. Single-breasted vests that button up, say to about 2 in. above line 9, can be fitted without any gore; but the front edge should be worked so that it will not stretch out in making, particularly around the open neck. Low-cut vests, and without turn-down collars, must be fairly well drawn in at the open neck, or the long opening will gape more or less. Single-breasted as well as double-breasted vests with a low opening should have half an inch gore cut under the collar. The gap may be taken away by drawing the neck in with a thread or stay; but a gore is better—the maker should know just what to do with it. Stretching the collar will never do any good—it will give the collar a different shape, but will never bring a gaping front to the body.

In producing a double-breasted vest, 1 to 1½ in. may be added to the front edge, and the buttons set back that much from the place where they would be if the vest were single-breasted. To obtain the proper balance for the bottom of the double-breasted vest along the buttons, so that both sides meet, sweep from 3¾ at the plumb base line on Dia. [IV] through the bottom of the front part of the angle of 15 deg., or as far backward as the buttons will be located. This is a sure sweep. (See Dia. [IV].)

Besides the gore under the collar, or the drawing in of the edge around the neck of a double-breasted vest, I have found in a majority of cases that it is well to lengthen the back, say ½ inch—which gives the front a better opportunity to settle in its place. It is ten times better to have the back of a vest a trifle too long than too short. The difference between a vest and a coat may well be observed from Dia. [I], [II] and [IV]. It is useless to describe them, and I will conclude this article with the following remarks:

A coat must fit best behind and at the shoulders, for the front can be regulated by moving the buttons, and for this reason a center line in front is not important; but it is very handy to have one for a system, whenever you want a straight front.

A vest is intended to fit best in front, and for this reason the front is cut loose at the front of the waist. The vest is cut off a few inches below the waist, and a trifle loose cloth will not show; but if a coat were cut as loose there the skirt below would flare in all directions. To regulate the top button of a coat and vest, so that the coat will cover the vest when buttoned, place the top button-hole, say on line 9 for the coat, and ½ in. lower for the vest. The single-breasted coat has one inch more cloth there, and the button may be set back one inch on the coat, and on the vest as near as the button-holes when buttoned. The coat will cover the vest about one inch, and this may be used as a guide whenever the opening of the coat and vest are lowered.

To the center of the front also belongs the lapel, and a cutter should know just how much to use for that purpose, and with that object in view examine the front of a clergyman’s coat as shown in Dia. [I]. A coat of this kind is, of course, without turnover or lapel, but it must be loose, though not too wide; and if it is correct that the angle of 135 deg. makes the top of the front just large enough to sew it up with a seam, providing a large gore is cut below at the waist, then it follows that the buttons and front of the button-holes must be sewed one seam back of that line, and enough cloth left in front of the base as is required in front of the button-holes and in front of the buttons. If the edge is bound half an inch on the button-hole side and one inch on the button side it will answer very well; but if the edge is turned in one more seam must be allowed. The space in front of the button-holes should not be less than five-eighths inches and may be three-fourths, and the button side may have one-half an inch more for extra lap.

Now, I will refer to Dia. [III] and [XII]. Observe the circle which is drawn from 60 degs. on the right and through 135 degs., which circle gives as good a top to the lapel as anything that can be contrived, and the whole front produces an extreme cut-away. If the lapel is to be run further down, all we find necessary to do is to allow on the bottom of the lapel, say three-fourths inches, and shape the upper part according to notion. If we desire a long roll of the lapel, a gore should be cut under the lapel, and the gore and seam again allowed in front, so that the original width of the circle and on top of the lapels, is not destroyed. There is no question but that a larger lapel requires a trifle more width around the second or third button-hole, but how much must always depend upon the notions of the cutter; but in all cases the lapel of a single-breasted coat should be large enough to allow the second or third button-hole, or all, to be made without coming in the break of the roll, and a neat lapel need never be larger than for that purpose, no matter how low it is to roll. It is here where the touches of a fancy cutter can be seen, and a cutter has always a chance to become more proficient on that point. Even with the greatest care he may often obtain a lapel that does not suit him. But the cutter alone can not do all. The journeyman must have the taste and the ability to make it so that it will not only suit the cutter, but will also be admired by the public.

If the front of Dia. [I] was to be sewed together with a seam like the back, the front line of the angle of 135 degs. would have to be cut through, and that would fit down to between lines 15 and 17½, but below that point the front would have to be reduced 15 degs., and at the same time where the front requires reduction, the back requires an addition, all of which is shown in Dia. [I].

There is one more important point to be considered in connection with the center of front and back, and this is the length. For particular forms, or for odd forms, it may be measured as follows: From the top of back measure straight down behind, and again, from the top of back measure forward, striking point 11¼ on the plumb base line, as near as you can, and from that point go straight down to a level bottom for both back and front. To obtain that level bottom by the scale, make both back and front even long from the point of the angle of 135 degs. for a frock coat, after all seams are sewed.

For a sack coat, make the front about ¾ shorter than the back, for the reason that the back of a sack coat is also ¾ shorter than that of a frock coat, and which is fully illustrated by the lap of the bottom of the sidepiece and top of skirt in Dia. [III]. This calculation holds good for the normal form, and for the long or for the short neck, but for the stooping and for the erect form it ought to be measured, especially in extreme cases.