[Illustration: WORKSHOP.]
It would perhaps be too much to say that the more civilized a nation
becomes, the greater is the attention bestowed upon dress; since it has
happened that in countries not very far removed from barbarism, vast
importance has been given to external display, and robes and trappings
have been used to cover the savagery which had only just learned to
delight in the pomp and magnificence of costly ornaments. It is certain,
however, that in all civilized nations dress is more than mere clothing,
and has a significance beyond the mere utility of protecting the body
from cold or heat, and adding to our physical comfort. It is an old
saying that some people may be clothed, but that they are never dressed;
and the meaning of this is, that dress is frequently an expression of
character, and will even make known the disposition of the wearer. In the
same way a change of _fashion_ is often an indication of an alteration in
the manners and way of living of a whole nation.
It is the business of the Tailor, then, not only to make garments, but to
study the prevailing fashion, and, indeed, to advise what alterations or
slight differences in the cut and colour of clothes will be best suited
to different people, since on the way in which our clothes are made our
personal appearance will very greatly depend, and personal appearance is
of no little importance, since there are few people who are not strongly
influenced by it.
The trade of the Tailor is one of which very little can be said in the
way of explanation, since it mainly consists in cutting out cloth to the
shapes necessary to be applied to each other in order to make the various
garments; and as this cannot be described without numerous _diagrams_,
and even with them could not easily be understood, we must be satisfied
to quote the instructions of a practical Tailor on the subject of
sewing.[3]
[3] From the Industrial Library.
And, first as to the different sorts of stitches, which are:—the
basting-stitch, the back and fore-stitch, the back-stitch, the
side-stitch, and the fore-stitch; also the back pricking-stitch, the
fore pricking-stitch, the serging-stitch, the cross-stitch, and the
button-hole-stitch; besides which there is a distinct kind of stitch
for hemming, filling, stotting, rantering, fine-drawing, prick-drawing,
over-casting, and also for making what are called covered buttons.
The basting-stitch is a long and slight stitch, intended to be merely
temporary, or to fasten together some of the inner and concealed parts of
the garment. It is commonly used to keep the work in its proper position
while being sewed.
[Illustration: Sleeve Board.]
The back and fore-stitch is made, as the name implies, by the union of
back stitching and fore stitching; in this stitch the needle is first
put through the cloth, and turned up in as short a space as is possible,
so as to make a neat and strong stitch when completed; it is then put
through the cloth again in the same place as at first, and again turned
up, taking care that it passes through the cloth as nearly as possible
within the same space as before. This being done, the first back-stitch
is completed. The second stitch is made by passing the needle forward
upon the surface of the cloth, but without taking hold of it, over a
space equal to the length of the first stitch; the needle is again put
through the cloth, turned up, and brought back to the place where it was
last put through, so as to form another back-stitch; which is followed
by another putting of the needle forward, or, in plainer terms, another
fore-stitch, and so on in the same order, until the seam is finished.
This kind of stitch is used for sewing linings, pockets, flannel
garments, and other thin fabrics. There is no need to say much respecting
the back-stitch, as this may be understood from what is said above
respecting the first stitch in back and fore-stitching. This stitch is
used for seams where strength is required; it is also used for ornament
instead of the side-stitch, but in this case it must be very neatly and
regularly made.
[Illustration: Goose. Flat Iron. French Chalk. Thimble. Measure Book.
Rule.]
The side-stitch is used for the edges of garments, to keep them from
rolling over, or from being drawn out of shape. It is always intended
for ornament as well as use, and requires a very quick eye and a careful
hand to do it well. In this stitch the needle is put through the cloth
a little above or below the place from which it came out in the former
stitch, but it must be at a very little distance from this place, or
the sewing-silk will be visible on the surface of the cloth, which is a
great blemish, and yet it must be far enough away from where it came out
to prevent its breaking through, in which case the stitch is lost both
as to use and ornament. Care must also be taken that the stitches are at
regular distances from each other, and that the whole of them are placed
at the same distance from the edge of the cloth. In the fore-stitch, as
has been already hinted, the needle, when drawn out from the seam, is
always put forward, so that an equal quantity of thread, or a stitch of
the same length, is visible on each side of the cloth.
Serge-stitching is done by passing the needle through the cloth from
the under to the upper piece, throwing the thread over the edges of the
cloth, so as to keep them closely together. It is also used to join
selvages together, as also to prevent taking up more space for seams than
can be spared, when the pieces are barely large enough for the required
purpose. It is not, however, much used by tailors, except when no great
degree of strength is required.
The cross-stitch is formed by two parallel rows of stitches, so placed as
that the stitch in the upper row is opposite to the vacant space in the
lower one, the thread passing from one stitch to the other in diagonal
lines. It is used for keeping open the seams of such garments as require
washing, and also for securing the edges from ravelling out in such
fabrics as are too loosely made to allow of their edges being fastened
down by the filling-stitch.
In the button-hole-stitch the needle is first put through the cloth from
the inner to the outer surface, and before it is drawn out the twist is
passed round the point of the needle, and kept in that position till the
needle be drawn out to the full length of the twist; this forms a kind of
loop, called by Tailors the “purl,” at the top or edge of the opening,
and when regularly made is both ornamental and useful. To increase the
strength of this stitch, and also to aid in making it true or exact, a
“bar” is formed on each side of the opening before the hole is begun to
be worked. This “bar,” as it is called, is made by passing the needle
from one end of the opening to the other (twice or three times), so that
there is a layer, if it may be so called, of twist stretching along
its whole length (and on each side) upon which the whole is worked,
the workman taking care to keep the “bar” as near to the edge of the
opening as possible, without allowing it to come over, in which case the
button-hole would be neither strong nor neat.
[Illustration: Trousers Pattern Book.]
The filling stitch is similar to that used in hemming; the chief
difference being in the direction given to the needle. In hemming, its
point is directed outwards, or _from_ the workman, but in filling it is
directed inwards, or towards him, and in each should be a little, but
only a little, slanted, in order to give the sewing a neat appearance.
This stitch is used for sewing on facings, and when made with neatness,
and without showing itself much on the outer side of the cloth, is
considered to be ornamental, as well as useful.
[Illustration: Whisk. Measure. Hard Brush. Reel. Iron Holder.]
Stotting (pronounced stoating) is the stitch used for joining pieces
of cloth so neatly that the join shall be but little visible, and yet
so strongly as to prevent the pieces from being easily parted. In this
kind of seam the pieces of cloth are not laid the one upon the other,
as in back-stitching, but are placed side by side, the edges being
carefully fitted, so as to prevent any irregularity or roughness in the
work. They are then sewn together by passing the needle half through the
thickness of the cloth. Care must be taken to keep the stitches as near
to each edge of the cloth as can be done without incurring the danger of
its breaking through. The needle is put in on the nearest edge of the
two, and must not be slanted in the direction given to it, but put as
straight forward as possible. The stitch should be drawn close enough
home to prevent the silk thread from showing itself on the right side of
the cloth, but yet not so close as to draw the edges into a ridge. If
the join be as neatly made as it may be, it will, when properly pressed,
be barely perceptible. This stitch is used for joining the pieces of
cloth of which facings, collar-linings, and other fillings-up of the
inner sides of garments, are made, and also in other cases to prevent the
taking up too much of the cloth by making a back-stitched seam.
[Illustration: Shears. Coat Pattern Book. Wax. Goose Stand. Needle and
Thread.]
Rantering, like stotting, is intended to conceal a join in the cloth.
Here, however, it is requisite to make a strong as well as a neat
joining; and therefore a seam is first sewn with a fore-stitch, and
then the rantering-stitch is worked upon or over this seam. It should
be worked with a very fine silk thread, or with twist that has had one
of the strands taken out. The needle should be both long and slender,
and must be passed forwards and backwards over the seam, so as to catch
hold of its two sides, and draw them closely together. But in doing this
care must be taken not to take a deep hold of the cloth: the nap or wool
is all that should be taken hold of, and this must be done with a light
hand, while the stitches must be placed close to each other, so that the
seam may be well covered with wool; when this is done, the seam has to
be “rubbed up,” that is to say, it must be held between the fore-finger
and thumb of each hand, these being placed upon the fore-stitching, and
its two edges brought as closely together as possible. The rantering must
then be slightly carded or scratched backwards and forwards with the
point of a needle, in order to bring the wool out again where it has been
drawn in with the stitch; the seam is then ready for pressing, and, if
this operation be properly performed, will be as much concealed as may
be necessary; while it will be much stronger than if it had been merely
back-stitched.
In fine-drawing, the stitch is formed in the same manner as in rantering,
but there is a difference in the way of placing the pieces that are to
be joined, _i.e._ if they be separate pieces, for this stitch is mostly
used to close up places that have been accidentally cut, or torn; the
two edges of the place requiring to be fine-drawn are first trimmed by
cutting away the loose threads or ends of the cloth which may be upon
them; they are then placed and kept in as level or flat a position as
is possible, either with the fingers, or by fastening them to a piece
of stiff paper. The needle should be both very small and long, and the
thread used, whether it be of silk or twist, should be very slender.
Greater care is here necessary than in rantering, to avoid taking a deep
hold of the cloth; the needle should be passed forwards and backwards,
over the opening, and the thread should be drawn no closer or tighter
than is quite needful in order to hide it in the wool. The stitches must
be placed as near to each other as is possible, so as to prevent the
edges of the cloth from being visible between them; if it be needful
to make a strong as well as a neat joining, the fine-drawing should be
repeated on the under side of the cloth, but here it will not be needful
to put the stitches so close together. When the fine-drawing is done it
must be pressed, but with as light a hand and in as short a time as is
practicable, otherwise the sewing, however neatly done, will be visible,
and so far as it is so, the design of the fine-drawing stitch will not be
answered.
The stitch called prick-drawing is now but seldom used, yet it may be
proper to notice it briefly. When this stitch is intended to be employed,
the edges of the cloth are first stotted together, after which the needle
is passed backwards and forwards in diagonal lines, under the stotting,
so as to make the join more strong and durable than it can be made by
merely stotting the pieces together.
This stitch is used where the cloth is very thick, or hard and
unyielding, and, consequently, where the stotting-stitch would quickly
give way without this support. It is also better than a back-stitch seam
for cloths of this description, inasmuch as it can be made to lie more
flat, and thus to be more neat in its appearance, than a common seam.
Overcasting is used merely to secure the edges of thin and loose fabrics
from “ravelling out.” In using it, the edges of the cloth, whether it be
woollen, linen, or cotton, are first trimmed clear of the loose threads;
the needle is then passed through the cloth in a forward direction, at
about the distance of one-eighth part of an inch from the edge of the
cloth, and when drawn out it is carried (from the left to the right, and
not, as in other stitches, from the right to the left) about a quarter of
an inch; it is then again put through, and on being drawn out it is made
to pass over the thread leading from the preceding stitch, so as to form
a kind of loop on the edge; which loop secures the edge from becoming too
much frayed, or ravelled.
All the tools that the apprentice or even the journeyman requires may
be bought for a few shillings. A yard of linen for a _lap-cloth_; two
pairs of _scissors_, one pair moderately large, for common use, and the
other small, for button-holes; a _thimble_; a small piece of _bees-wax_;
and threepennyworth of _needles_, are all that he will have occasion to
buy so long as he is not a master, or a journeyman working at home, when
he must procure a _sleeve-board_ and an _iron_. The more expensive part
of even these few implements, viz. the scissors, will, with tolerable
care, last for a number of years with only the trifling expense of being
occasionally sharpened by the cutler.
All the implements used by the Tailor are so well known as to need no
particular description; the _sleeve-board_ is used to place in the
sleeve of a coat while the seams are pressed with the heated _iron_
or the _goose_. In the _measure book_ the dimensions are written when
measurement of a customer is made, and the _French chalk_ marks the
direction in which the cloth is cut to the pattern of the various shapes,
which are afterwards sewn together to make complete garments.