OCR Text |
Show 1 Woman's World Reversible Raincoats Make Smart Suits for Street Wear I : rtta JJaLj DEVERSIBLE raincoats have been In style just long enough for the older ones to wear out and become shabby looking. However, . in most cases, it is just the gabardine gabar-dine side which is worn and spotted, while the tweed or solid colored in- side is almost as good as new. Your first Job In remodeling this type of coat is to Inspect it carefully care-fully for worn spots. If it is too badly worn out along the sleeves or shoulders and will require too much cutting away, then don't try to stretch enough material out of it to make a dress or suit for yourself. your-self. It can be used to much better advantage for daughter who wears a smaller size. Since these raincoats have had the hardest of wear, your cleaning job will have to be tops. This can be done at home with a good dry cleaner and thorough pressing, or it can be done professionally. Take particular care to see that all spots are removed before you start working. When you finally take scissors In hand, remove the gabardine or outside out-side first. Then remove the collar, pocket flaps and front closing from both sides. Press the remainder of the material, open carefully, and separate the coat at the waist After you have decided on a definite defi-nite style, the material is easy to lay out and pin on the pattern. Sometimes this takes a bit of fitting, fit-ting, but don't be discouraged, as with a little moving about you can If you have a reversible raincoat . . make the material fit the pattern. A shirt-waist style in a dress this type using a minimum of material Is a good style, or another an-other of the classic types is also an excellent choice, both from the point of view of material and type of wear desired from this fabric. Another little detail which you will want is slashed pockets bound with a contrasting colored tape or ribbon rib-bon and closed as they are on ready-made dresses. A bolero type, too, is easily made from this type of material. This is a particularly smart choice if the top part will not make a well-fitted well-fitted bodice to a dress, and too, the dress will need no collar and the sleeves can be made three-quarter length. A smart touch is to trim the sleeves and opening of the front of the bolero in contrasting ribbon and have a belt to match the trim. The slim skirt should be fitted as carefully as possible. You will undoubtedly un-doubtedly have plenty of material at your disposal because these coats are made much larger than your skirts. Be sure to select a pattern or style, however, that has a seam in the front, directly down the center as this will, of course, be open or cut In the material you Make it into a tmart drets. are using. Basting, pressing and sewing, however, will enable you to make a neat closing of the material in front. Wool Garment! Need Care In Tailoring Since a dress Is much smaller than the original coat, you will have plenty of material for generous seam allowances. Even if the pattern pat-tern calls for narrow seam allow anccs, make them wider. Work on a fiat surface and press each seam before it joins- another. All woolen garments should be machine stitched at all points. The stitch well, it should be as short as li practical for the fabric, and you are the best judge of that Over casting, whipping and slip-stitching are commonly used in tailoring. You'll find bastings all-important when working with a woolen garment. gar-ment. The seams should not be stretched or the stitching will seem tight and ill-fitting. Consider the price of wool as compared with some of the cottons and rayons, even though you are working on reclaimed re-claimed material, and you will want to work with it carefully. The results re-sults will well repay your efforts. A well-tailored garment even though made at home can look as though it were handled by an expert tailor. Another small pointer which is well to remember when working with wool, is to hang the garment when you are not .working on it, and also to keep the skirt or bodice hung while the other is being worked on. To cover the pocket openings as suggested previously, cut strips of lining fabric 1V inches wide and the length of tne opening plus 1 inch. Press or baste inch seams around all edges of the strip. Baste the right side of the openings, open-ings, keeping fabric smooth. Stitch strips on edges. Press with a damp cloth. These strips will be hidden by the pockets. If the material is a smooth, dark fabric a band of contrasting ribbon would be very becoming. .As finishing touches to the garment, gar-ment, a complete pressing job is in order. Use a damp muslin cloth and do take your time. Here, more than on any other material, pressing press-ing is the secret to successful tailoring. |