132
Practical D ress D esign
Estimates must be made for hem finishes and m ethod of application-either by a heading or by a plain seam. After these amounts are allowed, then slash and spread equally for pleats and gathers-unequally for circularity. GORED SKIRTS Four-Gored Skirt Pattern
Usually the four-gored skirt with seams at CF, CB, and clown the hips is so cut to avoid waist darts, or to add more flare tl1an the two-gored pattern affords, especially at CF or CB. It is much favored to form a continuation line from some vertical design line at CF of the blouse such as an inverted box pleat, hem, overlap, or seam. It is useful for patterned fabrics and stripes cut on th e alternating bias. If the side seam is on the straight grain with the bias at CF and CB, a good straight silhouette is developed yet with graceful walking and sitting room. It is thus popular as a design for the so-called basic dress especially for large hips or thighs and for the mature figure. H owever, there is no reason why one or more short darts cannot be introduced at the waistline as an aid in fitting wide hip girth to a smallerthan-normal waist measure or to correspond with features in the blouse. ' ÂĽhile such darts may be introduced for decoration, they h elp to make the gore seams less bias, and therefore easier to make, press, and launder. I. Begin with the front foundation pattern. Some flare may be obtained by adding 2" or 3" of flare to C F (clotted line) , A (Fig. 15 5) . The flare should begin 7"-10" below the wais tline. Make the dotted line, new CF, as long as tl1e original; thus, the hem line will curve up slightly at the lower edge. Better balance is obtained if some of CF is darted out (dotted line ) at the waistline and added to the hip seam above the hips with a straighter line below the hips (dotted line) . More interest is developed by moving or dividing the one basic dart into several. 2. F or more flare and ease over the thighs, close the waist dart and throw fullness to h em, B. If less flare is desired, leave part of the basic dart at tl1e waist and throw part into the lower flare. Use the same technique as in Figure 35. Cut either of these patterns with the side seam on the lengthwise grain. 3. Still more flare may be added by slashing
frol!l the lower edge up to but not through the waistline and spreading. This method causes some of the ripple to show between hip and waist. It is removed by drawing a straight line from waist to hem to replace the curve in the hip seam (dotted line), C. Recall the ease of 1" at the waistline and 1Y2" around the hip line in the straight skirt. None of this is needed if this circularity in C is added; thus the dart may be overlapped ÂĽ!" at waistline and spread more at the hem line to give a smoother hip. 4. The back is developed like the front. 5. Pleats, tucks, or gathers may be inserted in the center of each of the gores in any arrangement or style desired, C. If one spread in the middle of each gore is ÂĽ!", a tuck of Ys" may be taken on the wrong side to create the effect of an eight-gored skirt. If the spread is 4"-8", a gathered type of skirt is obtained but it is less bulky at the waistline than a straight gathered skirt and thus more becoming to large waistlines and hiplines. Such a skirt may be floor length for evening. 6. The four-gored skirt pattern can have several satisfactory grain placements according to the effect you wish t o create, A, B, C, (Fig. 156). D is due to careless cutting by the dressmaker. The four-gored skirt is popular cut on the bias from striped fabric. The stripes should match and be at the same angle. E and F are alternating bias, C is nonalternating bias, thus lacking balance in design; it lacks balance in fit, too; since the warp pulls heavier than the filling, the more bias side will sag if soft, or ripple if stiff. Six-G ored Skirt Pattern I. Use the two-gored foundation pattern which has a narrow basic dart in tl1e front and a wider basic dart in tl1e back. Presumably these darts were placed during fitting to create space divisions in good proportion and becoming to the individual figure, and matching the basic blouse darts. To be sure of good proportions, begin with a copy of the whole front or back, not the half pattern. Fold lengthwise along the sides to give a threedimensional effect of your figure, A (Fig. 157). Then, divide into three well-proportioned vertical spaces- not equal, as B. If the gore seam is too near the side silhouette, C , the silhouette is accen ted, the center panel seems too wide and thus the whole figure seems wider. But if the center panel is too narrow, D, tl1e figure appears wider