The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1891-11-25
MAKING CLok6s.

lish. comfortable cloaks and jackets of
good materials may be bought for very
i little money, compared with the prices
of cloaks of materials that may be more
costly, but not more stylish in cut, the
wonder is that the styles are not more
varied. The styles are more varied than
those of the outer garments for men, but
hundreds of cloaks of the same pattern
may be seen in the streets any day.
Cloaks and jackets are garments on which
women cannot show much originality in
making them at home, as they can OF
dresses, and the styles are, therefore,
fixed by the designers employed by man
ufacturers. In many instances the style
depends on the material to be used, as it
would be useless to design a style with
many puffs and folds for thick and heavy
material. Beside, if a style be good it
is acceptable to many women, no matter
whether it be unsuitable to their figures
or out of harmony with the rest of their
costumes.
In making cloaks, where the demand
may be sometimes for 500 of a certain
style, each piece of cloth is thoroughly
examined by experts in regard to mea-
! sure, texture and color, and then it Is
sponged by machinery made especially
for that purpose. All smooth cloths and
those with finished faces are sponged by
copper rolls, and the machinery is so ar
ranged that from the time the cloth
starts to go over the rolls until it is
folded dry it is not touched by the oper-
ator. The cloth is then ready for the
cutters, with all its imperfections marked.
Each cutter has a separate check on
which has been entered the particulars
about the cloth, style, and proper pat
terms. If the quantity be large enough
| for the cutting machine, it is marked
and laid in folds, but small pieces are
cut by hand with shears.
After the cloth has been cut according to
the provided patterns the bundles are
carefully compared with the orders, aud
then a ticket is made for each garment,
on which is a place for each worker to
put his or her number, so that a COM
plete record is kept of every hand that
works on the garment. The garments
then 90 to the seamers, who are en-
ployed the year round to seam them on
machines specially adjusted for that par
ticular work, being provided with a
fixed gauge THAT insures a perfectly
Uniform seam. Expert seamers can
work at machines that make 5000
stitches a minute. For the detection OF
any possible mistakes and imperfections
in the fit, the garments are tried on
figures before being sent to the trim
mers. The collars, cuffs, facing, etc.
of each carmen: are cut according to
the style designed, and, with the main
part of a garment, sent 10 a workman
who particularly excels in a certain style.
After leaving the hnisher the garment is
inspected again by the foreman, and if it
be not satisfactory 1t goes back to the
workman for alterations.
After the making Of %buttonholes and
the sewing on of buttons and ornaments,
the garments 60 to the presser, and
from him to the final examiners, who
are responsible for the fit and workman
ship, and who see that the materials and
trimmings are right, and that any
changes that may have been ordered to
suit certain customers have been properly
made. Then they ore ready for packing
and shipping. Records of the shape,
cloth, trimmings, aad buttons, or any
other parts Of the garment, are kept in
duplicate, so that a copy of any garment
!! can be made at any time. Sometimes
garments that are in fashion in this part
of the country for O year do not reach
the Western States until a year or more
afterward, when some particular style
NAV be favored more than another, and
the orders for it be larger than those fol
any other. By turning to the records
exact duplicates of any style can be made
ut any time, provided the material be in
the market.-New York Sun.