NeedleCraft Plus/needlecraftplusvolume1.iso/misc/txt-faq2/textile.txt

Text File | 1997-01-06 | 37KB | 738 lines

By: Scott Parks

Textile Books FAQ:

Books on Fitting:
    IF: Introduction to fitting
    VF: Vogue Fitting. Sandra Lenker.
    FF: Fabulous Fit. Patricia Perry (editor)
    MYCF: Making Your Clothes Fit. Patricia Burkhart Smith.

Books on Pattern Drafting:
    IPD: Brief intro to subject of pattern drafting
    PFD: Patternmaking for Fashion Design. Helen Joseph Armstrong.
    EK: Ernestine Kopp's series of books. Ernestine Kopp, et. al.
    PPfD: Professional Patternmaking for Designers. Jack Handford.
    DD: Dress Design: Draping and Flat Pattern Making.
      Marion Hillhouse & Evelyn Mansfield
    MPD: Modern Pattern Design. Harriet Pepin.
    AFD: Art of Fashion Draping. Connie Amaden-Crawford.
    DfFD: Draping for Fashion Design. Hilde Jaffe & Nurie Relis
    PD: Precision Draping. Nelle Weymouth Link.
    PoFPD: Principles of Flat Pattern Design. Nora MacDonald & Ann Weibel.
    HtMSP:  How to Make Sewing Patterns. Donald. H. McCunn.
    FoMFD: Fundamentals of Men's Fashion Design. Nasaaki Kawashima.
    MPCfM: Metric Pattern Cutting for Menswear. Winifred Aldrich.
    TS:  Tailoring Suits: The Professional Way. Clarence Paulin.
    S: Sleeves. Louise Todd Cape.
    FDPS: Fashion Design for the Plus-Size. Frances Leto Zangrillo.
    GTfMD: Grading Techniques for Modern Design.
      Jeanne Price & Bernard Zamkoff
    MNPD: Miscellaneous notes on Pattern Drafting

Miscellaneous: (todo)
    DD: Decorative Dressmaking. Sue Thompson
    MYOJC: Make Your Own Japanese Clothes. John Marshall.
    FYF: Flatter Your Figure. Jan Larkey.
    GE: Great Expectations (maternity)
    ARtW: Altering Women's/Men's Ready to Wear

FAQ: Where can I get an up to date copy of this FAQ?


Books on Fitting:

IF: Introduction to fitting [alg]

Many standard sewing references include some sections on altering patterns for
fitting.  In particular, you may want to check out:
    RDCGtS: Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Sewing
    VSB: The Vogue Sewing Book
    SSSbS: Singer's Sewing Step by Step
    VBSbSGtST: The Vogue/Butterick Step By Step Guide To Sewing Techniques
    SB: Sandra Betzina's books
    NZ: Nancy Zieman's books and videos
    T: New books from Taunton Press


Alterations come in two sorts:

-small alterations that are generally made along seam lines or dart lines and
can be made during the fitting stage.  Ideally, if you can buy the right size
pattern you should only need this sort of alteration.  It helps if you have a
multi size pattern and can put several patterns sizes together (i.e. bodice
size XX, skirt size YY).

-large alterations that involve redrafting parts of the pattern (typically
slashing and spreading or overlapping).

_The Reader's Digest Complete Book of Sewing_, _Vogue Book of Sewing_ and
_Vogue Book of Fitting and Alteration_ discuss both methods.  Both have
slightly more emphasis on the first method; which is appropriate.  Good books
on pattern drafting discuss many of the techniques used in the second form of
alterations.  An understanding of drafting techniques will help during major
pattern alterations.


SRL,PF: _Singer Reference Library: The Perfect Fit_:

[alg]: A good introduction to fitting with beautiful photos, but not quite as
complete as several of the other books available.  Still it covers most of the
common alterations neccessary. The introductory chapters discuss garment ease,
figure analysis and taking measurements. The section on adjustments shows pin
fitting a tissue pattern (can you *really* do this?  without a helper?) and
fitting as you sew.  Then there is a large fitting section that shows
photographs of common fitting problems and minor and major adjustments for
correcting them. _The Perfect Fit_ is the only fitting books I have seen that
uses color photos instead of drawings and this can be extremely useful.  _The
Perfect Fit_ is also very well organized; if you read through it once it can
be used regularly as a reference book.

Additional comments from Marie-Christine Mahe [[e-mail]]
What really makes the Singer book unique is the use of photos.  Each problem
is presented in mild and severe form, so you can tell easily what the pattern
companies consider as a real objective problem.  There are so many people
running around with distorted body images that it's very useful to be able to
look at 2 pictures and see that you only have a mild case of square shoulders
or big thighs or whatever, or a really serious case of skinny arms.  Moreover,
the adjustments also come in 2 versions: the easy one for the mild cases, and
the slash-and-rip ones everyone else recommend, but only for the extreme
cases.  I haven't seen any other book that makes such a clear distinction
between the possible adjustments and why you'd want to use one or the other.
Of course, you can also slide and pivot, but that really falls into the more
extreme category too.  Most people really only need small adjustments, if any,
and these are rarely explained so well.

Additional comments [[e-mail] (Deborah Trytten)]:
Go to the store and buy the Singer Reference Library Fitting Book.  It's a
gem.  I found out things about my figure that I never knew before.  I had
always thought that my fitting problems came about because I am large busted.
Come to find out, that's only half of the problem.  The other half was that I
have narrow shoulders.  They have hundreds of pictures of fitting problems and
the cause.  I was paging through it when I saw this weird front armhole gap
that shows up on all my clothing.  Then I started measuring, and found out
that my shoulders are very narrow--and I had never suspected it.  Give it a
try.  It's as painless as fitting can be.


VF: Vogue Fitting [alg]

_Vogue Fitting_: If you just want to look at one book, this is probably the
best one.  It only covers fitting and is fairly complete in it's treatment of
alteration techniques.  It should be available in many stores for about $15
(paperback).  You'll certainly have no problem ordering it.

Vogue fitting : the book of fitting techniques, adjustments, and alterations /
  [writer, Sandra Lenker ; illustrator, Phoebe Gaughan ; editor, Helen Moore].
  -- New York : Harper & Row, 1987, c1984.  192 p.



FF: Fabulous Fit [alg]

_Fabulous Fit_. Butterick Publishing Company.  This book was printed in about
1977 and is now out of print.  I like this book slightly better than _Vogue
Fitting_, but both are good books.  I believe Butterrick and Vogue are owned
by the same parent company, so this book has also been called _The Vogue
Sewing Book of Fitting, Adjustments and Alterations_.

The Vogue sewing book of fitting, adjustments, and alterations.
  [The Vogue sewing book of fittings, adjustments, and alterations]
  Fabulous fit / [editor, Patricia Perry]. -- New York : Butterick Fashion
Marketing Co., c1977.
  190 p., [6] leaves of plates : ill. ; 26 cm.
  "Also published in hardcover as The Vogue sewing book of fittings,
adjustments, and alterations ... (third edition, 1977)."
  Includes index.


MYCF: Making Your Clothes Fit [alg]

_Making Your Clothes Fit_ by Patricia Burkhart Smith. This book was also
published in the 1970's and is out of print.  I like this book alot.  It
consists of a page of pictures that show common fitting problems with pictures
on the opposite page that shows the appropriate adjustment.  This book
concentrates on the smaller adjustments; I am not sure whether or not it shows
the large adjustments.





Books on Pattern Drafting:


IPD: Brief intro to subject of pattern drafting [alg]

Basically there are three methods that designers use.  Most designers use a
combination of several of the methods.

Initial patterns are drafted from a series of instructions based on the
measurements of an individual body.  These patterns which are often called
basic slopers.  Typically this system is used to design slopers for basic
pants, a basic bodice and a basic dress and the slopers are then modified with
flat pattern methods to create new designs.  All basic slopers fit the body
snugly with minimum ease.  Many pattern books from the 1800's discuss drafting
complex dresses and suits using body measurements, but today this method is
used mainly for slopers.

Flat pattern methods take basic sloper patterns and alter them into more
sophisticated patterns.  This is probably the most widely used method.  The
basic principles are slashing and spreading.  Some pattern makers use pivoting
in addition to or instead of the spreading step.  The books on flat pattern
drafting show you how to cut lines on the original pattern and manipulate the
pattern pieces to get a completely different pattern.  One basic principle is
how to move or eliminate darts in order to change the drape of the pattern and
the design ease.  Pivoting is particularly useful for moving darts from one
part of a pattern to another.

Some of the steps in flat pattern drafting can be similar to the modifications
you might have to make when drastically adjusting the size of a pattern (e.g.
changing it 4-8 sizes).  For this sort of major modification you cannot adjust
at the seam lines, you must slash and spread the pattern to re-proportion all
parts of it.  The new Sewing Basics section of Threads magazine has shown a
number of slash and spread modifictions that you may need to solve some common
fitting problems.

The third method is draping.  In draping a piece of muslin is pinned directly
to a dress dummy (or even a 1/2 or 1/4 scale dress dummy!).  Draping gives you
immediate feedback about the way the cloth hangs.  Many people drape with
muslin for initial experiments and use the cloth they intend to use for a
advanced draping to get a better feel for the drape of the final fabric.

Many of these books discuss flat pattern methods.  A few books such as {PFD:}
and {DD:} combine draping and flat pattern design. The Hillhouse and Mansfield
book discusses the appropriate uses for both draping and flat pattern design.
The Armstrong book discusses both but concentrates on flat pattern design.

Pattern drafting books are not available in most bookstores.  Universities
with large programs in fashion design will carry some of these books, possibly
as textbooks.  Many of these books are fairly expensive.  It can be very
useful to preview the books by reading through them at a good University
library or borrowing them from an InterLibrary Loan program before you
purchase them.  Several mail order places carry a range of books on drafting;
check Hard to Find Needlework Books for old and new books and Unicorn Books
for new books.  (See the sewing FAQ for more information on these places.)

Now I have to insert a disclaimer.  Many of the following reviews are by me
([alg]).  I have read many books on pattern drafting and draping.  However I
have very very little practical experience with either subject.  These reviews
are based on the subjects that the books cover and the clarity of the
illustrations and writing. In short, these reviews are from a well-read, but
inexperienced, hobbyist in the pattern drafting field.


PFD: Patternmaking for Fashion Design [alg]

- Patternmaking for Fashion Design. Helen Joseph Armstrong. c. 1986. New York.
Harper & Row. (Ref: Threads #14, pg. 67) (Ref: Threads #11, pg. 37 gives c. as
1987.)  (has been highly recommended in Threads several times) (has been
highly recommended as a single all-in-one book for flat pattern + draping in
Jan/Feb 1991 Threads).  I agree that this is probably the best all-in-one book
that I have seen that is currently in print.  It's somewhat expensive ($45+),
but it is about 700 pages and covers a very wide range of subjects and
alterations.  If you want one book, I think this is the book to get.


EK: Ernestine Kopp's series of books [alg]

- How to Draft Basic Patterns, 3rd edition. Ernestine Kopp et.al. c. 1984. New
York. Fairchild. (Ref: Threads #11, pg. 37) Describes making the basic slopers
needed for _DAttFP_ and _NFAfDAttFP_ from either standard measurements
(provided thru size 18) or from individual measurements.  Basic slopers for
sleeve (fitted and straight), skirt, pants, bodice, maybe more.

- Designing Apparel through the Flat Pattern, 5th edition.  Ernestine Kopp. c.
1981. New York. Fairchild. (Ref: Threads #14, pg. 67) Uses the basic slopers
and flat pattern methods to create a wide range of patterns.

- New Fashion Areas for Designing Apparel through the Flat Pattern.  Kopp,
Ernestine, et al.  Sequel to _Designing thru the Flat Pattern_.  Interesting,
but fairly old (1972).  Includes some interesting sections, incl a chapters on
capes, hoods, and cowls.

The three books by Kopp are a good, and fairly complete, intro to all aspects
of flat pattern design.  Of course, purchasing three books represents a
considerable investment.  The _Designing Apparel through the Flat Pattern_
book can pretty well stand alone, but you may need the _Basic Patterns_ book
to get some of the slopers if you are hard to fit, etc.


PPfD: Professional Patternmaking for Designers [alg]

- Professional Patternmaking for Designers. Jack Handford.  This is a pretty
good book that is probably still in print. It is a one book intro to drafting
slopers and flat pattern design.  It's spiral bound and about $25.  You'll
probably have to special order it.  I can look up the publisher if you can't
find it in Books In Print.



DD: Dress Design: Draping and Flat Pattern Making [alg]
    [HIST-COST] 1930's & 1940's

- Dress Design: Draping and Flat Pattern Making.  Marion Hillhouse and Evelyn
Mansfield. c. 1948. Boston. Houghton-Miffin. (Ref: Threads #14, pg. 67) Clear
instructions on draping, with excellent drawings of bodice, skirt, sleeve, and
neckline styles.  Perfect for reproducing styles of the 1940's. (Threads #30).
This is a GREAT book! Lots of draping examples.  Also lots of exercise for
flat pattern drafting.

_Dress Design_ is one of the most comprehensive all-in-one books.  There is a
large chapter at the front that discusses fitting and making a master shell.
The rest of the book discusses both draping and flat pattern making
techniques.  Alot of information on making a good dress dummy, drafting and
fitting basic slopers, using slopers for more complex design.  It emphasizes
designs popular in the 1940's.



MPD: Modern Pattern Design [alg]
    [HIST-COST] 1930's & 1940's

- Modern Pattern Design.  Harriet Pepin. c. 1942.  Drafting slopers and slash
and spread modifications.  Has many neat ideas for 1940 style clothing.  Many
unique cuts, etc.  I found this in a used book store and really like it.  It's
not quite as good as the Hillhouse and Mansfield book, but it's still a pretty
good all-in-one reference.


AFD: Art of Fashion Draping [alg]

This book is a good general introduction to draping.  The book contains many
clear illustrations and takes you through draping many different styles step
by step.  Of the draping books that I have read this book appears to be the
most thorough introduction as well as the book that would be most useful for
someone trying to learn draping from scratch.  The illustrations show you
exactly how to place the muslin material and the hand motions to use while
smoothing it and controlling darts.

The Art of Fasion Draping. Connie Amaden-Crawford. Fairchild Publications.
copyright 1989. 307 pages. (available from Unicorn as of 4/92; see sewing FAQ)


DfFD: Draping for Fashion Design [alg]

This book has good directions for draping many styles of bodices, necklines,
princess seam variations, bodices with unique yokes, skirts and cowls at the
neckline, armhole and waist.  The book illustrates a wide variety of styles.
The book uses only draping methods, it does not include flat pattern
alterations. Many other books use flat pattern methods for some of the yokes
and cowls that are draped in this book.

The illustrations and descriptions in this book are adequate.  The
illustrations and text often do not include details about how you should
smooth the fabric over the dress form.  For example, the illustrations in
{AFD:} and {PD:} typically contain arrows showing the position and direction
appropriate for using your hand to smooth the fabric in each step.  {DfFD:}
seldom includes this level of detail.

Draping for Fashion Design. Hilde Jaffe and Nurie Relis. c. 1973.  Reston
Publishing Co (a Prentice-Hall Company). (Ref: Threads #11, pg. 37) ($27,
9/89)


PD: Precision Draping [alg] [HIST-COST] 1940's

This book provides well illustrated instructions for draping many of the
styles that were popular in the 1940's.  The illustrations show how to lay the
cloth and how to smooth it on the dress form.  This is a good general
introduction to draping and particularly useful for anyone that wants to
recreate the styles of the 1940's.  The book uses some flat pattern methods to
show alterations for sleeves, yokes and skirts.  The book covers only women's
clothing and does not include pants.

Precision Draping. Nelle Weymouth Link. Funk and Wagnalls, copyright 1948.
Check for this book through Interlibrary Loan.


PoFPD: Principles of Flat Pattern Design

- Principles of Flat Pattern Design by Nora M. MacDonald and Ann Weibel.  For
a Textile Arts class. Spring 1991.  Spiral, $30.  I've looked through this and
it seems like a good book on flat pattern methods.  Starts with a few chapters
on pivoting.


HtMSP:  How to Make Sewing Patterns

- How to Make Sewing Patterns, rev. ed. Donald. H. McCunn. c1977. Drafting
patterns from measurements.  Some notes on flat pattern methods.  Has both
women's and men's basic patterns.  Long out of print, but available through
inter-library loan. I think this book may have been re-released in the early
1990's; available from Unicorn books as of Feb 1992.


FoMFD: Fundamentals of Men's Fashion Design [alg]

This is a book about drafting suits from individual measurements.  A wide
variety of men's suits are illustrated.  Of course, many of the illustrations
show styles that were popular in the late 1960's and early 1970's.  However
many of the patterns for formal attire are relatively timeless.  I know of no
other book that contains such a variety of men's patterns drafted from
measurements.

Fundamentals of Men's Fashion Design: A Guide to Tailored Clothes.  Masaaki
Kawashima. Fairchild Publications.  copyright 1974.  ISBN 87005-105-9.
Available from Unicorn as of 4/92.


MPCfM: Metric Pattern Cutting for Menswear
    [[e-mail] (Mr M. Grice)]
_Metric Pattern Cutting for Menswear_ by Winifred Aldrich
(Oxford: BSP Professional, 1990 - 2nd Edition)

(My copy of this book is actually the first edition, however, the second
edition is essentially the same with the addition of a chapter on Computer
Aided Designing (CAD) in pattern drafting.)

The book covers the basic principles in metric sizing, taking body
measurements, how to use the basic blocks (slopers), devloping basic blocks
for casual wear, sleeve variations, trousers, coats, nightwear and the classic
suit.  A separate chapter covers adapting the men's blocks to women's wear
(essentially darting the blocks).

The instructions are extremely detailed, with very accurate (to scale?)
drawings of what the blocks and adapted patterns should look like.  The
development of adaptations such as extended shoulder lines, lowered armhole
(easy fitting) and combinations thereof is very well described.  The chapter
on collars (shirts and jackets) removes much of the uncertainty that I have
found in other books on pattern drafting.

The criticisms I have are that the adaptations described are a little
conservative, the book is based on the metric system of measurement (which
personally is not a problem, but may put others off), and the chapter on CAD.

As a computing professional I found the discussion on CAD for pattern drafting
to be too high-level, with the focus being on systems found in large
production environments.

On the whole, the book gives comprehesive coverage to various aspects of
pattern drafting of interest to the "home" pattern cutter.


TS:  Tailoring Suits: The Professional Way [alg]

- Tailoring Suits: The Professional Way. Clarence Paulin. I found this book in
a used book store.  It's a bit old (60's?), but seems to be reasonably
complete.  It's mostly for drafting and making men's suits; women's suits are
a chapter tacked on to the end.  Paulin shows how to draft the pattern based on
measurements and then adjust as needed during the first fit.


S: Sleeves [alg]
    [HIST-COST] drafting sleeves

This is a collections of unusual sleeve designs that may be useful for anyone
doing costuming or historical costuming.  Many of the designs are too unusual
for daily clothing.  However if you need to design fancy or unusual sleeves
for clothing from the 1500 - 1900 era you may find this book very useful. You
may have to search a bit to find this book; check Interlibrary Loan Programs
and Unicorn books.

Sleeves: A Treasury of Ideas, Techniques and Patterns.  Louise Todd Cape.
Copyright 1988.  Coat of Arms Press, Box 1, Penland, North Carolina 28765.


FDPS: Fashion Design for the Plus Size [alg]

This book is written for a student designer.  It discusses some of the common
figure types for larger women, some standard design tricks that can be
flattering.  The largest section discusses introductory drafting and draping
techniques for making slopers and altering the slopers to make some
complementary designs.  The last section discusses grading for sizes 14-24.
This book may be useful if you are doing alot of designing for larger women.
Most of the topics and techniques are covered more thoroughly in other books,
however this book concentrates on the problems most common in larger women.
If you're not sure how useful it will be, check for it in a library before you
buy it.

Fashion Design for the Plus Size. Frances Leto Zangrillo. copyright 1990.
Fairchild Publications.  ISBN 87005-677-8.  Available from Unicorn 4/92.


GTfMD: Grading Techniques for Modern Design [alg]

_Grading Techniques for Modern Design_ shows pictures of standard pattern
pieces and shows how they should be slashed and expanded in order to regrade
them.  I believe they start with the industry standard size 12 (?) and show
regradings up and down for most women's sizes.  I once used the techniques in
this book combined with the pictures in the _Reader's Digest_ book to alter a
dress pattern from size 12 to about size 18.  I slashed the pattern in the
places indicated by the book and used their charts as a guideline for
spreading the pattern.

Price, Jeanne. Grading techniques for modern design / by Jeanne Price and
Bernard Zamkoff.  New York : Fairchild Publications, c1974. ix, 132 p. : ill.

See Also: article on pattern grading in Threads, issue #29, June/July 1990.
Good intro.

See Also: _Grading for the Fashion Industry, the Theory and Practice_ by
Patrick Taylor and Martin Shoben.  London: Hutchinson and Co, LTD. 1984. (from
a reference in Threads issue #29).  A complex and comprehensive text, from an
apparel manufacturers viewpoint.  Includes a survey of 34 body measurements
(in metric) as well as two and three dimentional grading for missy bodices,
skirts, sleeves and pants.


MNPD: Miscellaneous notes on Pattern Drafting [alg]

I have seen recommendations for the following books, but have never read them.
The recommendations came from a "Best of Out of Print Dressmaking Books"
article in Threads and references from other articles.

Flat Pattern Design. Allyn Bane. c. 1972. (out of print). New York.
McGraw-Hill. (Ref: Threads #14, pg. 67)

Dress Pattern Designing: The Basic Principles of Cut and Fit, 5th edition. c.
1986. Natalie Bray. London. Collins. (Ref: Threads #11, pg. 37)

More Dress Pattern Designing, 4th edition. Natalie Bray.  c. 1986. London.
Collins. (Ref: Threads #11, pg. 37)

Pattern Making by the Flat-Pattern Method, 5th edition.  Norma R. Hollen. c.
1981. New York. Fairchild. (Ref: Threads #14, pg. 67). (Note: Threads #11, pg
37 gives c. as 1972 (?).)

Clear-Cut Pattern Making by the Flat Pattern Method. Mary Gorgen Wolfe. c.
1982. New York. MacMillan. (Ref: Threads #14, pg. 67)


- In Threads #21 (spring 1989) there is an article about Madeleine Vionnet by
Betty Kirke.  Vionnet designed clothes in the 20's and used bias cuts
extensively.  The article states that Betty Kirke is working on a book about
Madeleine Vionnet.  It should be interesting!  I keep checking for this book
in Books In Print and looking for articles about it.  I have not seen any
evidence of the book yet, guess it's time to write to Threads and ask them
what's up.

- Patternmaking and Design.  Antionette Colicchio & Burr D. Coe. c. 1967.
This book uses flat pattern methods.  It emphasizes designs popular in the
60's.  This book might be hard to find as it appears to be from a small
publisher or possibly even self published.



Miscellaneous Books:

DD: Decorative Dressmaking [alg] [HIST-COST]

Dressmaking details and techniques common in the first half of the 20th
century (1900 - 1940 or so).  Each chapter describes the sewing techniques,
shows pictures and illustrations of a number of garments and includes a
project, generally with a scaled pattern (in sizes small, medium and large).
Suggests and techniques can easily be applied to commercial patterns also; the
charted patterns in the book have minimal sizing.  The pictures and drawings
of techniques and variations are very inspirational. Chapters include:

1) Flounces: Using flounces and ruffles on skirts and collars.  Circular,
spiral and shaped flounces.  Appropriate materials, finishing edges,
variations.  Pattern for simple dress with flounced collar at neckline.

2) Stripes: Creating interesting designs with stripes.  Skirts, shirts hand
dresses.  Chevron patterns, gored skirts, pleated stripes. Pattern for a dress
with a pleated skirt and striped accents at neckline and hipline.

3) Piping: Types of piping, making piping, cording.  Piping to accent seams or
edges in jackets, shirts and dresses.  Pattern for simple linen jacket and
pants with cording highlights in seams.

4) Topstitching: Topstitching or quilting accents on collars, cuffs, yokes and
hats. Pattern for a boiler suit (simple pants-suit) with topstitching on wide
collar.

5) Pintucks: Using pintucks to add design and accents to skirts, jackets.
Using pintucks to control fullness in blouses, skirts.  Pattern for pintucked
jacket and skirt with pintucks on collar, waist, pockets, yoke and front of
skirt.

6) Applique: Appliqued desings on clothing.  Somewhat "60's-ish".  Pattern for
caftan with a white on white appliqued pattern.

7) Bands and Bindings: Making and using bindings.  Classic 1940's suits with
bound edges as an accent.  Binding garment edges.  Using binding on garment
seams (bind one edge and sew seam together with an overlap seam).
Incorporating bands into a pattern for accents, either inset bands or bands
sewn over seam allowances.  Pattern for a full (oversized?) winter coat with
banded seams and edges.

8) Pleats and Tucks: Making pleats, marking pleats, pressed pleats, inverted
pleats, partly stitched pleats, horizontal pleats, pleats in jackets,
combining pleats and stripes. Pattern for pleated top and skirt that uses
striped material for added interest.

9) Ruching: Adding bands of ruching to dresses, jackets, blouses for
detailing.  Rouching in garments, for example as gathering to form shaping for
the bust of a dress.  Altering a pattern to add strips of rouching.  Altering
a pattern to incorporate ruching (e.g. all-over gathering) in the garment
seamlines. Pattern for an evening dress adapted for ruching.

10) Faggoting: Making faggoting strips and sewing them together.  Different
embroidery stitches to use. Faggoting in garment seams, collars, yokes, hems.
Patterns for an oversized thick mohair jacket made of strips joined by
faggoting.

Decorative Dressmaking. Sue Thompson. Rodale Press. 1985. ISBN 0-87857-579-0.
Has been available from Hard to Find Needlework Books (see sewing FAQ).



MYOJC: Make Your Own Japanese Clothes.  [alg]  [HIST-COST]

Detailed directions for making a traditional kimono, outer robe, haori jacket,
hanten jacket, wraparound top, vest, slacks, obi sashes and tabi socks.
Includes comments about using traditional (14" wide) materials and modern
materials.  Includes notes for fitting Westerners who are often larger than
traditional Asian people.  Meticulous details!

Make Your Own Japanese Clothes: Patterns and Ideas for Modern Wear.  John
Marshall.  ISBN 0-87011-865-x. $16.95 (paper). 1988. Kodansha International
Ltd.


FYF: Flatter Your Figure. [alg]

Includes tests (using a mirror, stick, string and helpers) for about 20 figure
features such as short legs, short or long waisted, swayback, shape of
shoulders, bust, waist, hips, and arms.  Also analyzes shape of face and
haircut. Advise for deciding which figure features are advantages, which are
minor disadvantages and which are major disadvantages.  A section showing many
basic garment shapes explains which are favorable or unfavorable for various
figures.  Discusses camaflaging common problems, accenting your best features,
and using garment lines to create illusions.  Emphasizes a positive attitude;
accent positive features and don't draw attention to less desireable features.
Advise for balancing conflicting advise (e.g. styles that are good for some of
your features but bad for other features).

This subject is usually covered in general sewing references, but FYF is a
much more comprehensive guide.  Recommended for people who sew their own
clothing or buy ready made.  Illustrates and discusses women's clothing only.

Flatter Your Figure. Jan Larkey.  $9.95 ISBN 0-13-321795-7. 1991.  Prentice
Hall / Simon Schuster.  Larkey had an article in Threads in ?early 1991? that
contained a number of the ideas in FYF.



FAQ: Where can I get an up to date copy of this FAQ?

There are four textile related FAQs. The first list concentrates on general
sewing questions and supply information and restoring antique sewing machines.
The second list concentrates on costuming and historical clothing.  The third
posting contains a list of books that cover sewing, fitting and pattern
drafting.  The fourth is an index to quilting FAQs that are maintained by
various individuals and are available by email request.

When looking for an FAQ list, first do the obvious and check the relevant
newsgroup for articles with "FAQ" in the subject line.  If you don't know how
to check articles marked as read, your sysadmin can tell you. Next, try the
group news.answers since this FAQ is crossposted there.  Again, your sysadmin
can tell you the commands to use in searching.

If you cannot find the FAQ on your system, you can retrieve a copy from
Jonathan Kamen's archive of periodic postings.  For general instructions on
the server, send email containing the commands "help" and "send index" (no
quotes, separate lines) to
    [e-mail]
For a list of all periodic postings that are archives in news.answers, email
the command "send usenet/news.answers/index" to the server.

via anonymous FTP:
Periodic postings including FAQs are archived at "rtfm.mit.edu" (currently
available at 18.70.0.209), in the directory "/pub/usenet". The textile FAQs
are:
    /pub/usenet/news.answers/crafts/textiles/faq
    /pub/usenet/news.answers/crafts/historical-costuming
    /pub/usenet/news.answers/crafts/textiles/books/part1
    /pub/usenet/news.answers/crafts/textiles/books/part2
    /pub/usenet/news.answers/crafts/quilting-faq-index

via email server:
The address of the server is [e-mail].  To retrieve files,
send email to the server with a blank subject and one or more of these lines
in the body:
    send usenet/news.answers/crafts/textiles/faq
    send usenet/news.answers/crafts/historical-costuming
    send usenet/news.answers/crafts/textiles/books/part1
    send usenet/news.answers/crafts/textiles/books/part2
    send usenet/news.answers/crafts/quilting-faq-index

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ToDO (maybe):
Add home decorating notes
Fix up bibliographic references in Fitting and Pattern Drafting sections
Clean up fitting and pattern drafting sections: re-check some comments, e.g
    on Armstrong and other books
Add sergers to specialty
Add topics from Betzina books
Info on ethnic books (Erikson's Ethnic Costume, etc) for this or hist-cost FAQ
specialty books such as Erikson's fabric manipulations, books on quilted
    clothing? embellishments and special techniques?
Add RLShep's books to hist-cost FAQ for drafting 1800's patterns
Specialty:  Maternity (Great Expectations and that other one that's in print
    now.  name?).  Babies; that Fashion Accessories book;
someone had additional comments on Nancy Zieman; add them in; there were a
    number of comments that NZ's pants fitting video has some strange
    methods and some methods that are generally wrong.
Martensson, Kerstin: Sewing For Baby, Sewing for Toddlers, incls master
    patterns, publ: Kwik-Sew. softcover, $10? each. Marina recommends;
    where are these available?  (stores that carry Kwik Sew)
Innovative Serging (has chapt on which machines are good) author?
Happy Endings has TONS of bindings for household sewing!
update notes on Holleran and Wolfe books
special: bags ?
    _Lucy's Bag Book_ by Lucy MacKall ISBN 0-395-26473-1.
      Houghton Mifflin Company. 1978.
    _The Total Tote Bag Book: Designer Totes to Craft and Carry_ by
      Joyce Aiken and Jean Ray Laury ISBN 0-8008-7793-4 Taplinger
      Publisheing Co, 1977. (rather 60's or 70's-ish).
The Sew/Fit Manual (see ad in Sew News Apr '92); can anyone comment on this
    method for fitting?
Miscellaneous: (todo)
    GE: Great Expectations (maternity)
    ARtW: Altering Women's/Men's Ready to Wear
copying ready made, how-to: Rusty Benussen's book; Kari Newell Copy Creations;
    SRL,101, ????
Pointer to Threads articles on sleeves and armholes
Pointer to Threads article on using plaids in jackets and lapels
Geez, why don't we just have a 10 year index to Threads online?
the book by ?Hazen? on sewing machine repair
    Owner's Guide to Sewing Machines, Sergers and Knitting Machines by
    Gale Grigg-Hazen.  Available for $10.40 from Clotilde, 1909 S. W.
    First Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33315-2100 (+s/h) 1-800-772-2891
Another recommended by [e-mail] (Colin Douthwaite)
    that may be in print: THE COMPLETE HANDBOOK OF SEWING MACHINE REPAIR
    by Howard Hutchinson. Published 1980. TAB BOOKS INC, Blue Ridge
    Summit, PA. 17214
Another from Alan Holland: The Sewing Machine Handbook by Peter Lucking;
    Copyright 1985. Arco Publishing, Inc. LCC TT713.L75 1985;
    ISBN 0-668-06562-1; paperback, 112 pages, list price $6.95; It has a
    chapter on the several types of stitch-forming mechanism used in
    sewing machines.  Another chapter is on sewing machine needles.
Draping and Designing With Scissors and Cloth, 1920's and 1930's.  Two vol
    reprint from the original Women's Institute series, used by coutures
    of the era.  $18.95 + $2 s/h each volume.  Diane Barlow-Close
    recommends.  Body Blueprints; 1734 Scott St., St. Helena, CA 94574
Ladies' Tailor-Made Garments - 1908. S. S. Gorden. detailed patterns of
    gored skirts, coats, capes, sleeves, collars and jackets. 240 pgs.
    $22 ppd.  LACIS Dept SN4, 2982 Adeline St. Berkeley, CA 94703;
    510-843-7178.  Is this an RLShep reprint?
There will be a new Couture book from Claire Shaeffer and Taunton sometime
    within the next year or so; check Sew News ads I guess (I've seen
    suggestions for spring '93 or June '93, but I haven't seen it listed
    anywhere yet so it may be delayed again)
According to Diane Barlow-Close, Robbie Fanning is also working on a Couture
    book; '93 may be the year of Couture books.
Shirtmaking by David Coffin (Taunton, $30 paperback; new March '93)
    one report says it has good pix and seems to have good text too
_From the Neck Up_: *the* book on making hats.
=======================================


              -Anne Louise Gockel
              Cornell Computer Science

Internet: [e-mail]   UUCP: cornell!alg