The girls of Pleasant Valley have decided to make the petticoats for the children at the summer home. The ladies of the board furnished the materials. They have chosen gingham for some and outing flannel for others. The belts are to be made of muslin. The material is all one yard wide. By folding the outing flannel selvedge to selvedge, and placing the triple perforations of the pattern of the front gore on this fold, the front can be cut all in one piece. It is rather a circular gore. Not all gores are the same shape. See if you can find other shaped gores in dress skirts. The two back gores of the skirt can be cut from another width. Be sure to obey the directions for placing the perforations on the warp. How many lengths of cloth are needed to cut such a skirt? How much will you allow for hems at the bottom? As the girls of Pleasant Valley had decided on two inches finished, they allowed 2½ inches extra in cutting. One must always think about this. All seams have been allowed on their patterns.
Be sure to lay all the pieces of the pattern on the cloth before cutting. Find a flat surface. Remember that the wide end of a gore is apt to cut to better advantage at the end of the piece of cloth. Can the gores be fitted so as to cut more economically? (Fig. 34.) Pin the parts carefully, not using too many pins. Mark all the notches with pencil, chalk, or basting thread. Do not cut notches; one is liable to be careless and to make them too large. Use long cuts, and make even edges in cutting. Good shears help.
EXERCISES AND PROBLEMS
1. Draw on the blackboard different shaped dress gores which you have noticed.
2. With the tiny patterns of the skirt which your teacher has cut, show how to lay them most economically on the red muslin which represents your material.
3. What would you do if you were using a pattern which did not allow for seams?
Lesson 12
MAKING THE PETTICOATS
Let us begin to sew the petticoats.
Notice all the notches which were marked lightly with pencil, and follow all the steps carefully:
1. Place the two back portions so that they join the front as the notches indicate.
2. Pin from the top of the gores.
3. Baste the three gores together with ½-inch seams, beginning at the bottom. Can you tell why?
4. Sew the seams on the wrong side, using the stitching stitch. The back seam is to be left open five inches at the top for the placket opening.
5. Overcast all the seam edges, overcasting the two thicknesses of the seams together.
6. Turn hems at the bottom of the skirt. First, turn ¼ inch; second, turn two inches. Baste carefully, laying little plaits neatly where necessary on account of extra fullness. Always have the seams of the turned hem lie on seams of skirt. Sew hem with hemming stitch or featherstitch (see page 120).
7. Finish placket opening. On right side make ½-inch hem, the first turn 1⁄8 and second ½ inch. Turn hem to inside of skirt. Baste and hem. On left side of opening make hem ¼ inch finished. Make first turn 1⁄8 and second ¼ inch. Baste and hem neatly.
8. To put the skirt on the band:
A. Cut band. Take waist measure; add to it one inch for lapping and two inches for the turnings, one at each end of band. Cut band lengthwise of the muslin, with the warp threads, and twice the desired width finished plus ½ inch for turnings.
B. Gather petticoat ¼ inch from edge, with two gathering threads one below the other. Divide skirt in half; gather from center front to back at right side, and from center front to back at left side.
C. Turn in ends of band one inch. Pin center of band to center front of petticoat, right side of band to right side of petticoat. Pin so that the edge of band is even with the gathered edge of skirt. Pin ends of band to the gathered back portions of skirt, with ends of bands to ends of gathers. Turn gathers towards worker, and distribute in same manner as when attaching yoke of apron to the apron skirt. Baste ¼ inch from edge of band, and between the two rows of gathering stitches. Sew with stitching stitch. Turn band over to wrong side. Turn in ¼ inch. Baste and hem flat. Overhand the turned-in ends of the band neatly.
D. Finish with buttonhole and button at back, or with two buttonholes, to button to waist. If the skirt is to be attached in this way, a buttonhole should be made in the center front of the band also. This should be up and down in the band.