Shifts and expedients of camp life, travel & exploration

by William Barry Lord; Thomas Baines

Tailor’s Work.

Trousers, to make.

Although it is in every respect better and more economical for a traveller to take full supplies from home so as to be able to devote all his time to the real objects of his journey, yet it is quite possible that these may fail, and that he may have to trust to his own ingenuity to replace them. A cotton or woollen shirt, worn over all, and belted round the waist, is in cold weather a very simple, and not inconvenient or unsightly, addition to the clothing. We have taken a navy serge frock, and folding in and stitching a slight gore down the back, and turning up the skirts inside towards the waist, and stitching them there, have made a very neat and comfortable hip jacket for walking or riding, without cutting it in any part, except down the front, where a couple of buttons, in addition to those already attached, were quite sufficient to confine it. A cotton shirt may be treated in this manner for a lighter blouse or jacket; and for those who wish something more stylish in appearance we give a diagram, which we think will sufficiently explain itself. Trousers, to make. We have, in cases of need, cut out a pair of trousers, and stitched them while sitting on the waggon box during the morning journey, so as to have them ready to put on at the next station; and we have done this without intermitting our usual observations for course and distance and notes of the route.

These may be made in two pieces, one for each leg—2½yds. or 3yds., according to stature, being enough for a pair. The duck, or other material, is folded along the centre through its whole length, and it may then be folded in half, but should not be cut until the measurements are taken; if the stuff is scant, the diagonal line of each part at the waist may cross into the other half, and thus it may be found sufficient. The duck, of which trousers are usually made, is 27in. in width, and in general this is found to be enough, with little or nothing to spare; if stuff is plentiful and time of any importance, the trousers may be made in two pieces, each of which forms one leg and half the body; there is no difference except in the front, the buttons being sewn on the right side, while the corresponding holes are on the left. Presuming the length from above the hip to the heel to be 40in., 2¼yds., or 81in., with care in supplementing one part by the pieces cut out of the other, will just serve; but we will suppose that we have 2½yds., or 90in., and are not compelled to such an exercise of ingenuity. Each half will now be 45in. long, of which mark or crease off 1in. at the end, l l, for the hem at the bottom; from this line, k k, measure 40in. along the edge, 41in. along the centre, and 42in. along the other edge; draw a diagonal line through these points, and draw another 2in. beyond and parallel to it; this will be sufficient to turn down for the waistband, and will occupy the remainder of the 45in. of stuff. In duck or canvas, where both sides are alike, some inches might be saved by cutting it diagonally across the centre; but in drill moleskin, or anything that has a right and wrong side, this will not be the case, so that it had better be left out of the question. The inner seam of the leg will be 30in., measured from k k to the points a and h, where the duck will remain of its full breadth; take the girth of the waist at the point l, and, finding it 32in., divide it by four, and mark off 8in. on each side the central line; then take that of the hips along the line b b, and, finding it 36in., divide it by four, as before, but instead of marking off 9in. on each the centre, mark 8in. before and 10in. behind it; then on the edge intended for the front draw a curved line from a to the point b, and continue it in a straight line upward; then draw the outlines of the piece that is to be folded into the parts c, d, and e, each of which is to be 1⅞in. wide, and cut round the outline, which is strongly marked in the diagram, folding and creasing sharply, but not cutting the material along the dotted lines. Cut the back of the trousers from the point h with a slight curve, touching the end of the measured lines b and j. We should then commence by turning down the parts c, d, and e, working button-holes in them as in the diagram, and stitching them firmly, but very neatly, in their places, and remembering that we are working on the left half of the garment. We should then take the right half, fold in the parts c, d, and e, as before, and stitch them, omitting the button-holes. We should then take the two parts, and laying them together at a, stitch them as far as b; then laying together the point h, stitch up the back seam, next bringing a and h together, stitch down each leg, turn down the waistband, and stitch it, making button-holes as at f, in the diagram, and fixing buttons to match, turning up and seaming the bottoms of the legs. Making eyelet-holes for a lacing at the back of the waistband braces we usually make no provision for; but if the wearer desires, buttons may be affixed for them in their proper place.

Jacket, to cut out.

PATTERN FOR A JACKET.

We give also the outlines of a plain and useful jacket, which may be made in six pieces, of which three only are drawn: Fig. 1, half the back; Fig. 2, half the front; Fig. 3, one sleeve; the others of course are exact duplicates of them. Our drawing is made on a scale of 1-12in. to 1in. Fig. 1 is half the back, the first measurement for which is taken from the collar, so far down the centre as just to clear the saddle—say, for instance, 24in.; the next is the girth of the chest—say one quarter; say 8½in. is allowed for the half back, and a little more, or 9½in. for the half front. The rectangular figures, 1 and 2, should be first drawn to these measurements, and this will much facilitate all future operations. In like manner, if the circumference of the neck for collar be 12in., the proportions will be for the half back 2½in. and for the half front 3½in. From the collar down to the line across the shoulders will be about 6in., and from the collar to the line of chest measurement 9in. The first of these lines drawn on the parallelogram will give the point from which to draw the diagonal line for the shoulder seam, and the second the bottom of the oval that is to be cut out for the armhole; the edges are hollowed about ½in. for the waist. The diagram, we hope, will be sufficiently clear to indicate the few remaining measurements.

From the front of the collar on Fig. 2 down to the line of the shoulders will be about 5in., and from the collar end of the shoulder seam to the same line will be fully 7in.; the oval for the armhole will be 6in. deep and 4½in. across, of which 1in. is to be cut into the half back and 3½in. into the half front. About 4in. beyond the front line of the diagram may be allowed on each half of the front for overlapping, and on this the buttons will be placed according to taste.

The dotted lines of Fig. 3 represent the sleeve, the measure for which will be from centre of back to armhole; 7½in. from armhole to elbow; when the arm is raised and bent inwards, 10½in. from elbow to wrist; 10½in. the circumference of the arm—loosely taken, will probably be 10in.; and the wrist 9in.; but more may be allowed, according to the wearer’s fancy. A straight line, 21in. in length, must now be drawn, and at 4½in. from the top it must be crossed by another of 10in., 8¼in. of which must project in front, and 1¾in. behind; on these lines the curve which marks the insertion of the sleeve must be drawn, beginning from the longer end of the cross line, and sweeping round by the top; down again to the shorter, then continuing downward for the convex seam till it crosses the first line, about 8in. from the bottom, and farther on the base line, about 2½in. in front of it; 9in. more forward must be allowed for the width at the wrist, and a straight line drawn from this point to the longer arm of the cross will give the inner seam.

In stitching the parts together, we should commence with the shoulder seam, from the armhole upward; then with the side seam, from the arm downward; then, folding the sleeve piece, we should stitch the inner seam from the wrist upwards; and, placing the termination of this seam on the fore part of the armhole, 1½in. or 2in. below the shoulder line, stitch the sleeve in; then, commencing at the collar, would make the back seam, and, this done, would trim off all inequalities of the edges; then turn down, and hem them, and finish, more or less, according to taste or convenience.

We have had but little experience in jacket-making, as it is a garment we seldom use in African travel; but to our ability to cut one, in at least endurable style, for the chief Moshotlani, on the Zambesi, we are indebted for some of our best views of the falls. At 9 o’clock each morning we would say to him, “We have fixed enough for your men to sew all day, now we want the canoe, and the man to go down with us to the waterfall.”