The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1905-11-18
is 1T GOOD ECONOMY TO
MAKE YOUR OWN CLOTHES?


MAKE YOUR OWN CLOTHES?
Is it good economy for a woman to
make her own clothes?
As they do either individually or col
lectively With most things pertaining
to her, men have benignly tried 10 set
lie this question for their womanllind
as far back as there has been any
choice about the matter
An acquaintance who is utterly with
out "knack" and who has a husband in
comfortable enough circumstances to
put a good dressmalkpr in charge of all
the rest of her wardrobe, has an over
developed sense of duty which makes
her insist upon making what she calls
her working dresses These are
1ousemaid's dresses of light percale
which are the only things in which she
feels equipped to go about a mild
mount of lousework. The result of
her attempts every time is an eXertion
on her part which comes near 10 giving
her nervous prostration, and domestic
fluttcr which is out of all proportion
10 the money saved and the inartistic
results
Edith, you would oblige ME if you
would have enough sense 10 never try
to make another dress as long as you
live. You have had the house stirred
up for three days. You have saved 10
cents, and you look like a fright in
them now you have got Them" is all
the consolation she gets out of her hus-
band. But it accurately sums up the
facts.
Husbands object to Dressmaking.
With the exception of the rare man
who glories in seeing a clever wife
shine in an eXtravagant variety of Sar-
torial triumphs which she can have be-
cause she makes them herself, hus-
bands in the generosity of their souls.
combined with a masculine suspicion
that there is a screw loose in the eco
Monies part nearly always try to steer
a woman away from doing her own
dressmaking. And from this last point
OF view, at least, they are right. as far
as two of the three classes of women
who struggle with their own sewing are
concerned.
The first of these is the woman who
hasn't "knack." Without the qualities
which this includes she usually can
find something she can be more sue
cessful in and earn more money than
she would save by Indifferent dress
making. The so-called knack is simply
the dressmaker's mind, which always
sees the construction with the effect
expressing itself in materials. 1t is the
Gift of the scissors which is essential
TO good dressnaking where the gift OF
the needle is only an accident, and II
probably is because of the mixing Of
:.leas about the two faculties that so
many women who have the dainty
deftnesS' with the needle that fashion
editors talk about keep on trying to
make their own clothes when they are
oF ny "a
woman who has the art Of construc
ton can be a good dressmaker without
any knowledge of the fine stitchery
part
Not Economy, But Luxury.
The woman without knack who per-
sists I'm spelling materials is however,
on the high road 10 getting rich quicker
as a rule compared to the majority of
those who can make anything they see.
Considering the matter from the eco
nomic standpoint. and not knocking
the fair sister who at any time can
evolve some pretty, inexpensive thing
in which 10 make herself beautiful. the
women of this class are economists only
SIN obtaining the maximum Of luSuries.
They are not economists.
A woman who has endless ambition
iu making the best Of everything re-
made over thirty pairs of sleeves dur
ing the last season. She has three
daughters. who help in the sewing. and
there never is a time et this house
" hen there isn't an evening gown or a
dress on the table that is being made
for some special occasion. For these
there is searching for bargains in
beautiful trimmings. and often a whole
gown is purchased TO build up around
some pretty piece of embroidery or lace
that was bought for almost nothing.
These women are the envy of their
friends for their many changes, but
they are not economical in dress. Most
OF their things are what you might call
temporary clothing-that is. they a;e
Rurriedly made for the occasion and
never are properly finished and are
soon replaced by the next according to
some new idea which develops. And
though they save on separate articles.
the total dress expenditure of each one
Of the family is greater than that of
many q simply goWned woman who
patronizes a good dressmaker.
Heavy Tax on Nerves.
In this plan the enormous expendi-
ture OF nervous force is not counted
and the value of time gets out of all
u
years in the luxury of making over
was noted for her economical ways of
getting up something pretty out OF
what she had on hand. One day she
was thrown suddenly into the position
of having TO maize her living. Before
beginning TO look about her. she took
q little time to get her clothes in order.
She began by making over net waist
on which she put a fairly pretty idea
IN trimming which she made by apply
ing 10 the black net, little pieces OF lace
which she cut out of some cream coll
bred stuff which she had on hand. She
spent three weeks i'm cutting out ana
applying the little ornaments, and when
Fhe was through she had dress vast
instead Of a business waist. She never
has done anything which amounted TO
anything, because she hasn't been able
yet 10 detach herself from making
pretty things for herself regardless OF
whether they counted.
On the other hand. for The woman
Tho makes what she needs and plans
Or only, little looking shows that