The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1891-04-08
IN THE WORLD OF FASHION.
sPRINeTImE MEANS DRESS TIME.
Hints on Dressmaking-Be Your Own
MIlinsr-rooIs for the Schsme-The
Nioest Dresses Have skirt
BrAid-Latest Fads.

means dress time, says the New York
World.
Now any petticoated imbecile creature
who has an account with a modiste or dry
goods firm can be as gay as any army with
flying banners, but it takes very clever
woman to dress on nothing year, do her
own sewing and make nice appearance.
And this is virtually what many brave,
sweet, patient wives and daughters all
over the country are forced to accomplish.
II you can't have q workroom, reserve
closet. a wardrobe or a bureau for the
storage Of patterns, supplies and models.
Have big kitchen table with perfectly
level top that the tracing-wheel, hot iron
or pinking machine will not damage.
Have an inch measure marked Oft all
along the edge in bright colors. You will
need light goose and q long-nosed iron
for pressing the different parts of the
dress. You will also need press board,
such as tailors use, and two or three pairs
of scissors designed for cutting purposes.
A tracing-wheei is also Indispensable to
a woman who cannot draft her own pat
terms.
A sewing machine is one of those things
Won can't bullyrag or boss. 1t must be
cleaned, oiled and put in shape before 1t
will do nice work, and 1t will be saving
of time and temper to give 1t first atten-
ton when dress is to be made. Tailors
argue that there is only one kind OF nee
die worth handling and that is the short
betweens. Certainly the long ones are
more likely to break, but habit has much
TO do with selection.
While a lap-board is convenience, a
number of mistakes in dressmaking may
be traced 70 its misuse. 1t is well enough
10 haste sleeves. collars and trimmings on
q lap board, but larger pieces OF work re-
Quire larger surface, while to attempt to
cut skirt or press waist on 1t Is TO IN
sure a botch of the garment. Good work
cannot be done in low chair or on a lap
board. A cooler, holder, sponge andPress
cloth should form part of every work
table, for you can't press dress too much.
This is fact that women have had to
learn from the male dressmakers, who
have beaten them on their own ground.
Another aid 10 the art is a skirt stand.
Oddly enough the American woman does
not appreciate its value, while French
woman, on the other hand, would Just as
soon think of sewing without needle as
making a skirt without stand. This i'm
plement may be had mounted on wood
or iron pedestal The frame work is made
of hinged iron, which can be adjusted to
ary size hip or waist. When closed up it
fits into a box three inches wide and
thirty-six inches long. For convenience
In drapery and as a time-saving instru-
ment the dress stand will pay for itself in
one season. Prices vary from So to So.
Every woman who has to do her own
sewing must needs keep a model before
her.
For self-instruction there is nothing bet
ter than to save up enough money to pay
for the making of one good dress every
two years or SO. With this for guide,
intelligent and fashionable work may be
accomplished. Barring this paragon, the
next best thing is 10 circulate among the
shops and dressmaking psrlors during
opening DAYS, when inspection is invited.
Now, it does not profit a woman TO go
eadding round ball dresses and hurting
superlatives at dancing frocks and recep-
ton robes. Leave that sort of thing to
the lady novelists and the fashion writers.
Walk right up to the pattern dress, keep
your gloves on and raise the skirt; look at
the seams, see what side they are on, see
how nicely the facing is done; count the
darts about the waist and hips, and meas
ure with your fingers or your eyes the
width of the gathers or plaits in the back.
II your memory is trescherous slip off to
ono side and iot down the observations for
future reference.
Next take in the body of the dress.
Manage in some inOfensive way to look
inside. If you once know how the interior
As constructed rest assured the outside will
develop itself. In the manual training
schools children are taught how to OBJ
serve. A better lesson could not be as
signed the would-be dressmaker.
It pays to buy large quantities of Innings,
tape, pins, threads and notions. These
are staples and the savings are small, but
IL Is convenient to have them at hand
when needed. A trip to the store for a
yard of sleeve lining and % cents worth
of twist may mean half day wasted to
the busy housewife.
Never attempt to use old Innings. It is
time and temper wasted.
And now for the findings on the pur-
chase. on which every dressmaker realizes
O commission.
A French artistic on Fifth-ave., who will
not put scissors in dress for less than
500, never uses whalebone. Being an
acknowledged authority and a consum-
mate artistic, her opinions on the ever
ready steels and the coraline stays are
worth quoting:
"If basque is not properly cut bones
will not make it fit; and if it is correctly
drafted, then it is necessary to stay. the
seams with something strong enough to
hold the garment down over the hips and
figure. Whalebone will not do this alone.
The bone must be softened and pressed
into shape, in which direction it will
incline. After awhile it is impossible TO
bend the bones without breaking them.
steel on the contrary never breaks I'M
less you double it. 1t is also very pliable
and bends with every movement of the
body. The best bones cost % cents each,
and then there is the extra expense for
casing. The finest tempered steels can
be had for 10 cents a dozen, neatly
cased and ready for immediate use. These
steels are put in the finest dresses made in
New York City.
Drilling has had its day. So has paper
eambric. Neither is used any more, for
the reason that one is too clumsy and the
other too limp.
The quality of the dress material will de-
eide the character OF the lining selected.
For light, airy fabrics there are French
sateens, with a silky finish as dainty in
design as imported percales The ground
Is white, pearl, pale pink or ecru, the col
ors are fast and the goods seven-eighths of
O yard wide. 1t varies from Is cents to 25
cents yard, and is used throughout the