Bias bands should be cut on the bias of the material. Cut a square piece of material and fold it cat-a-corner. Cut along the fold and you will get a true bias.
Bands to finish the necks of undergarments or around armholes should be cut on the bias. In fact, any curved edge that has to be faced should be faced with a bias instead of a straight band.
Now suppose we make a real dress for Sally Ann that will be put together and finished just like one of your own dresses. The style we will select will be on the order of a French dress, that is, a long waist and short skirt. The pattern for the waist is in seven parts: they are the front, side front, back, side back, sleeve, collar, and cuff. The skirt is only one piece.
Three quarters of a yard of material will be sufficient to make a dress for a doll from eighteen to twenty inches in height.
In all patterns that are bought only one half is given; sometimes all the seams—which are a very important part of a dress—are given and sometimes they are omitted. Any pattern that is published by a reliable firm tells on the envelope whether you should allow for the seams or not.
The pattern is usually of tissue paper and each piece has perforations or holes of different shapes. One shape means this side must be placed on the fold of the material, another shape or perforation the same shape only grouped differently, means that the pattern should be placed on a straight thread of the material. Still another means "gather here." If there are tucks in the pattern they are usually indicated. Where the seams join each other, little notches are made and corresponding notches are placed together and pinned after the pattern is cut.
Let us suppose the material is forty-five inches wide. Place the centre of the skirt on the fold of the material and pin in place. Your pattern should be planned and pinned on a flat surface such as a sewing table. Place the pins through the tissue pattern and both thicknesses of the material, letting the head and the point of the pin be visible to the eye. Do not cut any piece of your pattern until you have planned and pinned every piece, as that is the only way you can economize on your material ([Figure 77]). Often a pattern cut before each piece is planned comes to grief if an over-supply of material has not been provided.
The centre front is also placed on the fold of the material as well as the centre, back and collar. The sleeves are now fitted in, so that the perforations rest on the straight thread of the material. The side front and back and cuffs are also pinned to the material. The pattern now pinned, take a large pair of cutting scissors and holding the blunt part toward the table, cut close to the tissue pattern, or if no seams are allowed, the width stated in directions should be allowed for the seams.
