Garment cutting in the twentieth century

by Günther F. Hertzer

In Dia. [VII] and [X] the upper armhole nick is placed at 67½ deg. and the upper sleeve nick is placed at 60 deg., and both come very close together as long as the lap of sleeve and shoulder is not over 2¼ at 60 deg. Since Dia. [VII] and [X] were made, I have found that a right angle from the center of the back through 60 deg. at the armhole gives a rather better connection, and Dia. [II], which was made later on, was made to show that way. At the same time Dia. [II] was made with the front of armhole close to 45 deg. and with a lap of 2½ at 60 deg. The back nick at 8 and the front nick at 11 must be considered correct, but that much must be said: If for any reason the sleeve and armhole nicks must be changed, the sleeve will be the better if it is turned down in front and up behind, than if it turned the other way.

Now, the position of the sleeve and back enables the cutter to keep them in true balance. If the shoulder becomes a ¼ of an inch broader the sleeve loses that much, and if the shoulder becomes narrower, the sleeve must gain that much. If the armhole is cut more forward the back becomes broader and the sleeve that much shorter behind. If the armhole is cut more backward the back becomes narrower and the back sleeve seam that much shorter.

The stooping form requires the front of the neck-hole further down, and the top of back correspondingly higher, and for illustration, I refer to Dia. [V], and the dotted line at the neck. If the neck changes, the sleeve center remains at 8. If the neck is thrown further down, the top of the back must be longer, and the front becomes that much shorter, but the sides remain. Besides, a stooping form can always stand a trifle extra length at the back of the sleeve, and ¼ to ½ in. extra length there will always be found useful.

The top of the under sleeve I have represented in two different ways. The upper curve is especially intended for overcoats, because the overcoat armhole is cut deeper than the under coat armhole. The upward curve forms a gusset, or a wedge, which allows the arm to be raised on the same principle that the lap of the shoulder and sleeve on top allows the arm to be moved downward. When the arm is down, and in its natural position, the gusset on top is taken up and the one below the arm is hidden, and will not show at all. But if the arm is to be moved upward, it is there for supply, and the body of the coat is not required to go along.

The width of the sleeve, both at the elbow and at the cuff, most always depends on style or notion. A long sleeve must be smaller at the cuff than a short one, but a cutter should always inquire as to what a customer wants and write the measure down. In the absence of a positive measure, the elbow may be made 8¾ numbers, a little more for quite small sizes and a little less for quite large sizes. For the cuff, 6 numbers may be used for the medium sizes, so that size 35 may be made up 11 in. full. The smallest cuff, say size 23 to 24, should not be made up less than 9 in., and the largest cuff, say 48 to 50, is large enough with 13½ in., but may be made 14 to 15 in.—all changes to be made at the elbow seam. There is a variation of perhaps 6 in. in about 25 sizes, or about ¼ in. for every size. If we take 11 in. for the width of a 35 size cuff, we will be very near correct if we add ¼ in. for every size below that size, and deduct ¼ in. for every size above that number.

Dia. [VII] represents the armhole, sleeve and collar, and also represents the respective length of the cloak or cape. The cloak part of Dia. [VII] shows the full ¾ of that garment without any seam at the shoulders, but that would be too full for the present style; and the reduction must be made sidewise by folding the pattern at the center of the side, or at 67½ deg., but point toward the shoulder seam and top of the sleeve, where the shoulder will open toward the neck as the shoulder seam. This shoulder seam may be called artificial because the real reduction is made at the side below. By making the fold, the circle must be re-shaped at its bottom, but the respective lengths remain as in Dia. [VII]. (See Dia. [VIIa], which was made later.)

The armhole must be considered a center, or a permanent thing, and must not be changed for either the stooping, or erect, or long or short neck. If the neck be long, allow more shoulder strap, and if short, give less, as in Dia. [IX]. But if for any reason an extra loose armhole is desired, and it is thrown forward, then the front sleeve base must be advanced accordingly—that is, two seams must lap between the front of the armhole and sleeve, at 11, as in Dia. [VII].

To sew the sleeve in the armhole: Clean the front of armhole of all hair cloth, if any is used. Between the front and the top nicks, cut all canvas and padding in, in three or four places, and cut the lining in, in one place, about 1 in. above the front sleeve nick, and about 2 in. deep, and cover it with a V. If the padding is thick, it should be so cut that no two cuts meet each other, so that when the cuts are stretched apart, that they still form a solid edge and not show the offsets on the outside. The front of the armhole should then be stretched under the iron, from point 11 to 60 deg., and care should be taken that the front of armhole is not torn, especially at the nicks. After such stretching the sleeve and the armhole will be nearly even, and the sleeve will require no fulling, or very little. Below the front sleeve nick the armhole is not to be stretched, unless it is done to make the coat larger. On and along the back sleeve seam, up to 45 deg. and down to the under arm cut, the back of the armhole should be secured from stretching by some kind of a stay, and after the scye is solid there, the sleeve should be held a trifle full, which makes a better hanging sleeve than if the sleeve be stretched. No sleeve hangs well in front if it be stretched above the front sleeve nick: and the same thing is true to the back part. A sleeve can be made to hang well in the back, as well as in front, if the coat maker knows how to work it, or the cutter knows how to cut it, and be able to give positive instructions.

Whatever the top sleeve is made broader than 8 numbers is taken off on the under side and the nicks for the sleeve seams follow the width of the top sleeve on both front and back. The center of the top sleeve is 8, which will produce a medium top sleeve, but the under sleeve will be rather full and must be reduced, say ½ to ¾, on the front seam, or a fold must be laid under the arm.

By the normal position of the armhole, I mean that the front of the armhole is located within ⅜ in. or two seams of the angle of 45 deg., and the sleeve on that angle as a base, so that the sleeve and armhole always lap two seams, one for the sleeve and the other for the coat, as in Dia. [X] and [VII]. For the bottom of the sleeve, sweep from 8 on the back, which is the center of the sleeve.