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Show WOMAN'S WORLD Dresses Made at Home Can Achieve Professional Look Dressmaking Aid By Ertta Haley j PLANNING to make a dress? Was the last one you made a success suc-cess or did it fall short of expectations expecta-tions in spite of the material and expense to which you went? If the latter is the case, then it's high time to stop puttering around In an amateurish way and pay attention at-tention to the difference between "something that just covers you" and a flattering dress that looks as though you'd been melted into it. Most common mistake which Is frequently made by the not-too-advanced seamstress is the failure to be realistic about figure faults. A woman hates to think her hips spread more than the ideal measurement measure-ment on a pattern, or that her upper arms are flabby or something else of the kind. These are the usual causes of ill-fitting dresses, and consequently con-sequently the dress only points up figure faults. Perhaps you're one of the thousands thou-sands of women who have not given It any thought before, but almost every feminine figure has distinct variations such as differences be- , ) 4 1 hi 1 teCI If n if: j : ? 3 allow about one Inch slack In the pattern from neck down to the center cen-ter back to the waist. This will allow for arm movement when the garment gar-ment is cut. Also allow a little slack around the arms' eye for arm movement. move-ment. If you're pattern is too long waist-ed waist-ed for the form which is the twin of your figure, take a horizontal tuck in the pattern between the side seam notch and the dart on the pattern that allows for bust fullness. When the pattern is too short waisted for the form, slash pattern and insert a strip of tissue paper for the extra length required. Waistlines on patterns are sometimes some-times too large for the wearer, while at other times they are too small. In this case, never let out or take in the bodice darts as this will alter the original line of the pattern. Merely make a small tapering dart to decrease the pattern or a slight slash filled out with tissue paper to increase the pattern size. If you have made pattern adjustments adjust-ments on the bodice of the pattern, the same alterations should be made at the waistline of the skirt. In this way you can continue to coordinate all the pattern markings which are the actual sewing guide. After the fabric has been cut according ac-cording to an adjusted pattern, baste all darts and seams. Put the garment on the dress form, right side out, and check for fit. On regular hems, tape may be used for the finishing edge. You'll find that this is easier to sew than the dress material, and it will give a nicely finished edge and also avoids the turning of fabric which may be difficult. Select Flattering Length in Hemline The dress should be almost finished fin-ished before the hem is pinned. Make certain that all side seams are sewed and if the dress has a belt, use this before pinning the hem, as it may lift the dress slightly slight-ly higher. Current dress lengths may or may not be flattering to you. If they are not, then select one closest to the length now worn and use this on your dress. Expert designers do not insist on a hard and fast rule for length, as long as trend is observed. If you have a dress of flattering length, try this on your form to use as a guide for the hemline of the new dress. It's easy to pin hem marking In with a dress form since you need only place one end of the ruler to the floor, and place the pins at whatever what-ever measurement you want for the dress. Cut off only enough for a proper hem. This is usually two inches, inch-es, but on a flared skirt that is very full, the hem is just turned under enough to make a very narrow nar-row hem. Careful Sewing . Increases Value Suppose that you have made a well-fitting dress. You'll like wearing wear-ing it because of the compliments received as well as the comfort it gives in the wearing. Garments like this are worn often. It will pay you to take special care in sewing carefully so that you'll get the utmost in wear and value. Many women say that their best-liked best-liked garments often don't wear long enough! tween the left and right sides of the bust, hip and shoulder measurements. measure-ments. Chances are that if you neglect to recognize these facts in your own figure and thus make the proper pattern pat-tern adjustments, you will do away with one of the primary reasons for making your own clothes, that of a perfectly fitted garment. Perfection of figure is almost an Impossibility to achieve, but a perfectly per-fectly fitted dress is within everyone's every-one's reach. With little adjustments here and there, figure faults are minimized so as to be almost nonexistent. One of the easiest ways to detect de-tect figure faults quickly is to use a thermoplastic dress form twin molded to your own figure to use at dressmaking sessions. It will enable you to make pattern pat-tern adjustments readily and thus turn out garments which are figure flattering. At the same time it cuts down on time needed to "try on" the dress in the. making. top surface. With a pressing cloth you can escape ugly pressing marks and stains. Another aid to dressmaking success suc-cess is the use of a thermoplastic dress form which is really a twin of your figure. With this form, you can take accurate measurements all on your own, and then by adjusting the pattern to the form, you'll find it's easy to turn out garments that provide pro-vide figure flattery. Countless try-ons can be eliminated elim-inated with the use of the form, and thus time is actually saved. You need no help in pinning hems, seams or many of the other dressmaking dress-making steps which require the help of an extra person. When you pin-fit the pattern to the thermoplastic form, be certain to pin all darts and tucks as shown on the pattern. Eliminating just one of them may throw off the line of the pattern completely. K U Mm Cut down on countless fittings Follow Basic Rules For Successful Dress Once you're aware of your own individual figure faults, you're ready to proceed with the steps necessary to turning out a truly professional-like dressmaking job. For instance, it's wise to provide generous seam allowance from underarm un-derarm to waistline for sleeve action. ac-tion. This will also keep bodice details de-tails toward the center front as indicated in-dicated . on pattern instruction charts. Just in case you've been skipping some dressmaking details like pressing press-ing after basting and sewing seams on a machine, you'll find out that this step also helps in turning out better jobs. This avoids puckering and helps eliminate inaccuracies. If possible, use a pressing cloth that's chemically treated to force steam into seams when a little water is sprinkled on the cloth's and fashion figure-flattering clothes. Have your Dress Fitting but Comfortable When fitting the back bodice, |