Garment cutting in the twentieth century

by Günther F. Hertzer

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.