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Show Woman's World Boosl Blouse Supply By Making New Ones from Old Dresses (Jij Crlla J-lafeij 0 WOMAN ever has enough blouses, the most economical item in the wardrobe. If you have a skirt with a choice of two, three or even four blouses, you can always al-ways be sure of going about well dressed without giving the impression impres-sion that you are always wearing the same clothes or operating on a limited wardrobe. Most blouses require two yards or less of material, and they may be made from all sorts of material. In fact, the sky is the limit as far as fabrics for blouses are concerned. con-cerned. Many a woman with outmoded out-moded dresses or evening gowns can put together several blouses and give the impression of a brand new wardrobe. TalTeta evening gowns make particularly par-ticularly attractive blouses. Since tafTeta blouses are now popular, those outmoded gowns should now be taken out, overhauled, cut and made into something as usable and pretty as a blouse to give you an alternate for that new spring suit. Any style may be chosen for taffeta taf-feta blouses are seen in draped and lauorea styles, iney are cooi ana feel well under a wool suit. They are dressy enough even when you remove the jacket to your suit. Fitting is as important in a blouse as in a well-tailored suit. Take a look at some of the handsome, expensive ex-pensive blouses in the stores and you will see what I mean. Notice that there are at least four tucks at the waist of the blouse, two on each side in both back and in front In some styles you will find even more tucks to give that "nipped" at the waist look, and prevent too much fullness under the skirt Details are Important In Making Blouse Another important detail which we are beginning to see more often in blouses is the deep dart right underneath the arm. This is used to get away from the flat-looking bust you hat e a tuffeta evening goun . . and to give more attractive, fitted lines to the garment. Even If the pattern which you happen to be using us-ing does not show these darts, fit them into the garment after the shoulder seams are sewed and you are ready to fit these side seams. Then baste them in, press, and try on. You will see how much they do for the figure. Darts are used plentifully on the blouse, as are gathers. In making the blouse, gather at the shoulders first, using very tiny stitches so that the gathering will be even. If the blouse has a yoke and an action bark, make sure that the blouse is gathered, as at the shoulders, and basted carefully in place before sewing. sew-ing. Another detail which is important impor-tant in the blouse Is the shoulders. A tiny basting stitch is run around the upper port of the sleeve, and this is used for making the small gathers which enable you to ease in Make a crisp Home. the sleeve when you are ready to stitch it into place on the blouse. Most of the fullness it allowed on the top of the shoulders and the back. Make sure that no gathers are allowed al-lowed underneath the arm, as this will make the blouse uncomfortable to wear. Many types of shoulder pads are now available which will also aid In ,i Ulnch Wool Crepe j i a ' C W i ) mLJm A smart black wool crepe dress with a matching hood is modeled by Martha Vlckers, now appearing in Warner Brothers' "The Big Sleep." The hand-crocheted pep-lum pep-lum is of black chenille. giving good lines to the blouse. The more expensive pads seem to cup the shoulder rather than pad it, and they are not so weighty as the stuffed ones. They may be used in several blouses. Another type of pad now being made is attached to a net vest. This Is designed to be worn underneath the blouse, and of course, it eliminates elimi-nates sewing pads in each blouse. Still another solution to the pad problem is to use the tafTeta itself. The pads, which need not be stufTed, since the material is stiff, will also match the blouse perfectly. If you are fond of cufTs on the blouse, tafTeta makes beautiful pleated cuffs. The pleats should be placed evenly and pressed and basted hi place before sewing. Pay particular attention to the line or print of the material. Piping may nUn hp nsod if vnti nrp fortunate in finding some that matches or contrasts con-trasts perfectly with the material you have on hand. If you are making long sleeves on the blouse, you will want at least two darts at the elbow to allow for freedom of movement. Sometimes patterns will call for only one dart, but it has been found best to make two small rather than one deep dart. The finished garment will also look much better. It is always wise in making darts of this type to come to a sharp point. You can best guide your sewing sew-ing if you will baste first. Always tie the threads on the inside and do tie them firmly so that the dart does not come open later. It's much easier to sew them right the first time than to try to repair them later when they are sewed on the gar- nient and you no lunger have a flat I working surface. Home Sewing Hints Just a word about patterns for i those of you who do a lot of j home sewing. If the tape measure meas-ure around the bust reads 42, , please buy a pattern in that size, I not in a 38. The size of the Iridi- j vidunl is much better concealed j In a correctly fitted garment, than one which is too small. If the pattern must be altered, It Is much easier to alter one that Is too large simply by taking tak-ing tucks in the pattern. If too small, the pattern must be slit, and this is much more difficult to do than taking in tucks. Avoid over-sewing if you want the garment to look nice. Use the type of finished edge most suitable to your material and make this as neat as possible. Good table space, good light and a place for the ironing board are among the essentials needed need-ed for home sewing. If It Is not possible to have a sewing room, have all these items conveniently on hand when you do sew. |