Coat Measurements

Before the first stitch is made, and before the drafting pencil ever touches the paper, measurements must be taken. When measuring, the goal is to obtain as much information about the client’s figure as possible. Since most of my work involves Devere’s Handbook of Practical Cutting, 1866, I’m using his methods of measuring.

Devere’s book is very descriptive in the measurements taken, but in the 1866 version, is lacking in illustrations. It took me a good while to figure out exactly what each measurement involved, and where it was supposed to be taken. Then, a couple of months ago, I came across some illustrations from Journal des Tailleurs, a French tailoring magazine published by Devere in 1858. It contained some beautiful illustrations of how the measurements were to be taken, but of course, had no accompanying text. So what I’ve done is take the text from Devere’s 1866 manual, and combine it with the images from 1858, as well as some diagrams from his 1856 edition. Hopefully that will make it easier for those of you trying to learn how to draft from his book.

Ladies’ Skirt Cutting

Learning to draft clothing patterns can be very intimidating at first. There are pages and pages of instructions to read, such as with Devere’s manual, or it can be full of points to draft out, such as with a coat pattern. It might be a good idea to start learning to draft by creating a woman’s skirt draft. They have fewer points to draft, and fewer things can go wrong. I came across an article featuring three different methods of drafting a skirt by A. H. Scriven, from the Sartorial Gazette, August 1915. I like the part where the author states, “A school child, with a little knowledge of geometry, can both draft them and understand how the result is arrived at.”

The Modern Tailor, Clothier and Outfitter

Tailoring knowledge has traditionally passed down from master to apprentice, with little written down. Tailors had their own secret methods of construction, and were not keen on other tailors gaining this knowledge. Sadly, this has led to there being very little information available on tailoring today. Most books published were cutting manuals, with the authors touting their ‘perfect’ systems of drafting. There are a few books available on tailoring methods, but the modern ones often lack details, or present only one method of doing things, while the older books are becoming exceedingly rare.

Enlisted Frock Coats

Since September of last year, I’ve been working on a major project. Outfitting my fife and drum corps, Connecticut Valley Field Music, with completely new uniforms. Our current uniforms are about 8 years old, falling apart, and weren’t made very well to begin with. Here’s what we look like now:

Devere’s Graduated Rulers

I’ve been drafting patterns using a copy of Louis Devere’s The Handbook of Practical Cutting on the Centre Point System (1866) for almost two years now. Of the available drafting manuals from the Civil War period, this seems to be the most complete and easiest to learn.

Full of Lint

I regularly clean and oil my sewing machine, a vintage Singer 201 built in 1939. It can be counted on to run beautifully most of the time, with perfectly straight stitches, and almost noiselessly, compared to other machines I’ve used.