Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1902-12-05
)UR NAVY SAILOR YAILORS
JACK TARs AT LEAGUE ISLAND
WHO MAKE THEIR CLOTHES.

WHO MAKE THEIR CLOTHES
some Experts With NeedIe-one Lad
Who Turns Out Suits For Women
and Little GirIs--How the Work is
Done Aboard ship.
Il can Make said the young sailor,
ten sailor suits day."
He did not look up from the piece of
white duck that lay on the deck, nor
lid he cease from sending his shears
With a tearing sound through the
10th. This is a pair OF pants" he
said, that / am cutting out"
! The pantaloons were not visible.
They lay concealed in the piece of
| luck.
I'm every piece of duck" the bronx
ID lad resumed, pair of pants,
aczet or sailor suit is hid. and it's my
ieligEt to get these garments out"
The sailor squatted on the deck and
crossed his knees. He opened vast
rag of stiff white sailcloth and took
)ut a needle that resembled a broad
sword. and skein of thread that re-
;embled rope.
Strength he said. beginning to
sew with these formidable tools,
strength is what is required in sail
,rs' clothes. A white suit is washed
seven times a week. 1t has to be
strong to stand that"
The name of the young man is AL
lert Wood. The deck he sat on was
he deck of the Minneapolis, the
League Island receiving ship. He
was working busily making all seGgrts1
Of clothes. and here ana and there squatted
I D Sailors in cross-legged positions.
)ne reseating a pair of trousers, an
other putting a new collar on a shirt,
third making himself a mastering
suit.
Il would be willing to bet" said AL
bert Wood, that every old sailor in
The navy knows how to make his
clothes. OF the young sailors that
can't be said, but they are learning.
good percentage of them are fair
tailors now, and the rest are picking
up the art fast.
'I'll tell you how to make whits
suit like this one l have on. You
measure your man first"
Wood arose and got one of his pat
rons to stand in front of him.
For the shirt" he said, using the
patron as a dummy. or lay figure. you
take the width around the chest, then
the length of the sleeve, then the
length of the shirt itself, and then the
width over all across the shoulders.
For the pants you measure front
waist to deck on the outside of the leg.
Then around the waist, then around
the hips over all. You don't need to
measure the length of the leg inside.
for the inside of every mans leg is
II inches shorter than the outside
Therefore, you just deduct foot, and
you have the final leg measurement.
Now, you cut out making your
pants in two pieces and your shirt in
one. You cut out according to your
measurements, but it is necessary to
allow a couple of inches of margin for
the seams. 1t is also necessary to
curve your lines here for the sake
of grace and shapeliness. You curve
the waist lines. so as to give the shirt
or blouse rakish fall, and you curve
the back of the neck so as to make
the collar set right. The pants need
some curves in them. too. You settle
that matter according to your taste.
The next thing to do is to sew up.
aboard for the use of the sailors, and
a machine is very good thing; but
the less machine and the more hand
work there is in suit of clothes the
better the suit wears, and the longer
it lasts. The leg seams and the side
seams, though are just as good sewed
by machine as any man requires. and
therefore it is a waste of time to put
them in by hand.
1.-The buttons and buttonholes and
trimmings are easy. The navy regu-
lations say just where they are to go,
and all you have to do is to follow
the rules in the book, putting in so
many buttons and buttonholes here,
so many pieces of braid there, and so
many anchors and eagles and stars
in other places. 1t takes me only
about three quarters of an hour to
make a whole suit
The young man while he talked
worked on a blouse with great speed, |
and the sailors seated near him did
not once discontinue their mending
and repairing. Each used a tremend- |
Gus needle and a thread of unusual
thickness, and beside each there stood
stiff and erect, bag of white sail
cloth, in shape like golf bag These
bags are sailors trunks, and each
one contains precisely the same |
things, namely
Three suits of working clothes.
Three suits of underclothes.
One blue mastering suit.
One white mastering suit
One sweater.
One cap, or storm hat
Two white hats
Three pairs of stockings.
One knife lanyard.
One scrubbing brush
One backing brush.
One plug Of tobacco.
One packet of needles and thread.
One neckerchief.
The young men kept diving into
their bags for this thing or that. One |
would take out stockings and darn
them Another would catch up
seam that had ripped. Still another
would repair a rent in mastering
shirt. They pulled their thread very