The Cutter's Practical Guide, Part 7 E-Book

W. D. F. Vincent

• Herausgeber: BoD - Books on Demand
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 195

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

The bravest thing in war is a good retreat, and the cleverest thing in cutting is altering a bad fitting garment in such a way as to make it a good one. Who of us has not felt at a loss what to do when some unexpected difficulty has faced us, and how much at such times we have welcomed the advice of a friend. This work has been got up to prove just such a friend to every cutter in difficulty, and to help him in a practical way to overcome that which stands between him and success. This work is necessarily rather disjointed in its character, as it aims at describing, illustrating, and providing a remedy for most of the defects usually met with; so that if it lacks apparent continuity, we trust the diversity of subjects it treats will meet every necessity. The defects of Trousers are fully dealt with in Part III of the "Cutter's Practical Guide," and these together will, we trust, throw some light on every puzzling defect the cutter usually meets with.

Leseprobe

"W.D.F. Vincent was born in Junie 1860 and began his career as an apprentice with Frederick Cooper in Yeovil. After completing his training, he briefly established his own businesses in Oxford and later in Maidenhead as a clothier and tailor, though neither venture was financially successful.

While in Maidenhead, Vincent won an essay competition on tailoring, which was open to all members of the National Federation of Foremen Tailors, titled "The Great National Work on Trouser Cutting, or Defects in Trousers." He submitted his entry under the pseudonym "Oxonian" and won the first prize. This success led him to secure a position with The Tailor and Cutter magazine. In the early years, Vincent contributed numerous articles on tailoring methods and techniques to the magazine. However, due to the terms of his employment, these articles were published without attribution to him.

By the 1890s, Vincent became a leading tailoring authority. His books, such as The Cutter's Practical Guide to the Cutting & Making of All Kinds of Trousers, became standard reference work. By 1917, Vincent referred to himself as a journalist. He died in June 1926.

The Tailor and Cutter magazine and academy were operated by John Williamson & Co Ltd. In the 1950s and 1960s, many tailors displayed their Tailor & Cutter Academy Diplomas, signed by W.D.F. Vincent, as the Chairman of Examiners, as a centerpiece in their shop windows. One such example can still be seen on display at the Museum of Welsh Life at St. Fagans in South Wales."

(cf. https://vincents.org.uk/family-history/w-d-f-vincent-tailor; 15.12.2024)

Content

How to avoid alterations

Trying on

Calking

Remedies for defects

The cause of creases and folds

ALTERATIONS AT THE BACK NECK

Coat too high at back neck

Coat too low in neck

Collar standing off at back neck

Alterations at the top of the sideseam

Curved Creases round the back scye

Perpendicular folds between blades

DEFECTS AT THE BACK

Sidebody fulled on back

Full in the back from back scye to back scye

Diagonal creases from front of scye to bottom of side seam

Waist seam above back tack

Back fulled on sidebody

Standing off at waist

Hoirzontal creases in sidebody at waist

One waistseam above the level of the other

Overlapping of the pleats

Pleats gaping or opening behind

Creases on hips

Folds of superfluous material in skirts

Fold just under the back tack

Back skirt curling out at bottom

DEFECTIVE SLEEVES

Forearm standing away from the cuff

Sleeve dragging on muscles when arm is raised

Creases across forearm

Creases across sleeve head

Creases all down sleeve

Excessive folds at elbow when the arm is bent

Too wide at elbow and cuff

Sleeves too narrow

Sleeve head too full

Sleeve head too flat

Fold from top of forearm to elbow at the back when the arm rests at the side

The corner of cuff curling outwards

COLLARS DEFECTIVE IN FRONT

Bump on the crease row

Tightness on top button

Too straight cut forepart

Collar standing away from neck on right side

Coat rolling too low

DEFECTIVE COLLARS

Collar end turning upwards

Want of harmony between collar end

Collar put on too short

Looseness of fall edge

Collar higher on one side than the other

CREASES IN THE SHOULDER

vertical creases from breast to shoulder

Horizontal creases across to shoulder bone

Curved creases round the gorge

Curved folds in front of scye

DEFECTIVE SHOULDERS AND FRONTS

Wedge shaped fold in front of scye

Curved creases on folds under scye

Tightness at neck, and looseness on the shoulder ends

TIGHT SCYES

Coat lifting

Coat Sacking down on shoulders when unbuttoned

DEFECTIVE FOREPARTS

Fulness under fall of collar

Loose material at top of fly

Bulging between buttons when fastened

Diagonal creases at side

Front edge turning outward and facing bulging when unbuttoned

Lapel hollow on the outer edge

Inside of pocket showing above top

Splitting in front of scye

DEFECTS PECULIAR TO FROCK COATS

Skirt falling away and opening from bottom button

Front of skirt running forward at bottom

Front of skirt with a bellied appearance

Irregular run of waist seam when buttoned

Skirt short at side and standing out at that part

Dragging from front to side

Skirt longer in front than back

Skirts too short in front

Bottom of skirt curling inwards

DEFECTS PECULIAR TO DRESS COATS

Fulness at back

Step in lapel to high

Fronts too short

Fronts too wide

Skirts too narrow at bottom

Skirts too wide and fulness at angle of strap

Forepart too Narrow

DEFECTS PECULIAR TO MORNING COATS

Falling away from front

Tight on top button

Loose on top button, &c.

Foreparts curling outwards

Hanging away behind

DEFECTS PECULIAR TO LOUNGES

Horizontal folds at waist of back

Too much spring at bottom of back

Too loose at the waist

Tightness on hips

Too much fulness at bottom of sideseam

Lining showing below bottom

Buttons too near together across front

DEFECTS OF CHESTERFIELD

Pressure on seat

Winging away at bottom of back

Looseness at top of fly

Fly showing beyond the front

Difficulty in getting a chesterfield on

Fulness just over back tack

Crease from bottom of fly to hip

Diagonal creases at sides

DEFECTS IN ULSTERS, INVERNESS CAPES

Cape running off from front

Fulness at point at shoulder

Wing dragging from sideseam

Folds from shoulder of inverness wing

Shoulder cape full between shoulder and bottom edge

Adapting cape to be worn under collar and turn

Cape too tight round bottom

Cape too full round the bottom

DEFECTS PECULIAR TO CLERICAL GARMENTS

Too large in neck

Buttons out of centre

Tendency to open in the front

Sleeves dragging when the arm is lifted

DEFECTS IN LIVERY GARMENTS

Foreparts of coatee too scanty

Coachman's Frock Coats

Flaps out of harmony with Skirt

Collar higher left side

DEFECTS ARISING FROM PECULIARITY OF MATERIAL

OTHER PROBLEMS

Sympathy with workmen

Carelessness

Incompetence

Habit

The interfering employer

Jealous employer

Avaricious Employers

CUSTOMERS

The "Leave-it-to-you" type

The friendly customer

Faddy customers

THE WORKMEN

Steady workmen

Dissatisfied workmen

Paying the workmen

Late finishes

The busy season

MATERIALS

Unyielding materials

Ravelling material

Faced goods

Striped goods

Checked Material

OUTSIDE INFLUENCE

How to overcome this diffculty

Travellers

Conclusion

AUTHOR'S PREFACE

The bravest thing in war is a good retreat, and the cleverest thing in cutting is altering a bad fitting garment in such a way as to make it a good one. Who of us has not felt at a loss what to do when some unexpected difficulty has faced us, and how much at such times we have welcomed the advice of a friend. This work has been got up to prove just such a friend to every cutter in difficulty, and to help him in a practical way to overcome that which stands between him and success.

This work is necessarily rather disjointed in its character, as it aims at describing, illustrating, and providing a remedy for most of the defects usually met with; so that if it lacks apparent continuity, we trust the diversity of subjects it treats will meet every necessity. The defects of Trousers are fully dealt with in Part III. of the "Cutter's Practical Guide," and these together will, we trust, throw some light on every puzzling defect the cutter usually meets with.

W. D. F. VINCENT..

PUBLISHER'S PREFACE

The "Cutter's Practical Guide" in order to be the complete "Guide" it professes to be, must embrace the whole of Systematic and Practical Cutting. It must be such a Guide, in the daily routine of the Cutting Room, to which the cutter can turn and find help and direction, not only in the cutting of every kind of garment, but in every phase and feature of his work.

The ground has already been well covered by the Six Parts of the GUIDE which are now before the trade. These embrace exhaustive Treatises of — 1st. Youths and Juvenile Garments. 2nd. Every style of Gent's Coat, including also Livery, Clerical, Naval, Police, and many other special garments. 3rd. A Guide to Trouser Cutting. 4th. British Liveries in all their varieties. 5th. Overcoats in all their varieties, including all the classes stated in Part Two. And 6th. The Guide to the Cutting of Ladies' Tailor-made Garments.

With such a comprehensive Syllabus of the Parts already published, it might seem difficult or impossible to suggest another. But when our readers scan over the work we now introduce, they will at once feel that the "GUIDE" could not have been complete without it. It is well — indispensable indeed — that the cutter of every good class trade should be able to cut all the garments enumerated in previous Parts of the GUIDE as noted above, as well as follow the instructions given for deviating from different forms and classes of figure; but probably the cutter's greatest difficulties are found in dealing with defects, both in the fit and style of garments. It is to assist our patrons in these difficulties that this exhaustive work on "Defects and Remedies" has been prepared. With the previous Parts of the GUIDE in the hands of most of our patrons — being the work of the same author — this latest Part requires no words of commendation from us. The large demand and appreciation of the previous Parts will secure a like demand for this last, but not least, Part of the "Cutter's Practical Guide."

THE JOHN WILLIAMSON COMPANY LIMITED.

PREVIOUSLY PRINTED BY THE JOHN WILLIAMSON COMPANY LIMITED, 93 & 94 DRURY LANE, LONDON, W.C.

https://www.becomeatailor.com

In the various parts of the C.P.G. that have up to the present been published, we have dealt mostly with the production of the various styles and shapes of garments as worn by various classes of customers. These treat primarily with the cutting, but incidentally they convey such hints on making as would be helpful to the tailor in dealing with each class.

Such information must necessarily form the foundation of the knowledge a cutter requires. In this present Work we are departing somewhat from the former lines, and we trust it will be found a Practical Guide to the cutter who has to deal with misfits and defects of various kinds. The highest degree of skill in the cutter is found in altering a bad fitting garment in such a way as to produce both fit and style. To do this requires far more thought and technical knowledge of the principles of cutting than any other branch of his calling. The present Work is prepared to help those in difficulty to turn failure into success. Prevention is always better than cure, so we shall begin with some observations showing

This edition is a reprint of the legendary Cutter's Practical Guide series; the first book was published in 1890. Although W. D. F. Vincent wrote many books on tailoring, these are the most popular. The entire text has been meticulously read, and the images have been carefully cleaned and edited to ensure the highest quality.

Part 1 – Juvenile Garments

Part 2 – Body Coats

Part 3 – Trousers, Breeches & Knickers

Part 4 – Livery Garments in all their varieties

Part 5 – Overcoats

Part 6 – Ladies' Garments

Part 7 – Defects, Remedies, Trying on

Part 8 – Economical Cutting

Part 9 – Lounges, Reefers, Norfolk, Sporting & Patrol Jackets

Part 10 – Waistcoats for Gentlemen, Ladies, Military & Naval Officers, etc.

Part 11 – Shirts, Undergarments, Collars, Cuffs, Aprons, etc.

Part 12 – Clerical Dress

Part 13 – British Military Uniforms

How to Avoid Alterations.

Alterations arise from, first: Incompetency on the part of the cutter. Second: From an insufficient grasp of the customer's wishes.

Third: From carelessness. Fourth: Bad workmanship.

Let us analyze these a little, First, incompetency on the part of the cutter. What excuse has he? Knowledge of his business is to be had so easily and cheaply at the present time, that there can be none. The various Works published on the artistic and scientific phases of tailoring; the meetings of foremen tailors' societies he might attend, or the pages of our trade journals he can read, offer opportunities which cannot with impunity be disregarded; and if he does not avail himself of them and make himself the very best tailor and cutter it is possible for him to be, he is wronging not only himself but the world at large. There is a great lack at the present time of men who are proud of their business, of men who feel it an honour to be a good tailor; men who study their business from every available standpoint, and so get a full view of its possibilities and beauties. The early days of scientific cutting flooded the tailoring world with imperfect systems, and cutters would then often find that their best laid plans turned out differently to what they anticipated. But at the present time, when there are scores of really good systems, and so many treatises upon how these may be adapted and applied, there need be no difficulty in this way, But the cutter must be on his guard from expecting too much from his system. He must look upon it merely as a means to an end, as a tool that requires the master's hand to guide. If he realizes this, he will use the necessary care, without which success is impossible. This leads up to the second point, viz.,

An Insufficient Grasp of Customers' Wishes.

If a cutter wishes to avoid alterations he must fully understand what his customer expects in the garment, and with that end in view he must use special care when taking the order to be able to grasp fully his customers views, not merely of the garment as a whole but in points of detail. Many a customer thinks more about the position of a button or a pocket than they do of the fit, and although, of course, the fitting must not be overlooked, yet we cannot pay too much attention to these trifles. Then as to fit, it is highly important the cutter should have a correct ideal of what a good fitting garment really is; but he must not treat all customers alike in this respect. One man likes an easy fit; another a close fit; one man desires fit at any cost, another wants ease however it may be produced. So that, if the cutter would avoid alterations, he must not only be master of his business from scientific and practical standpoints, but he must have that quick wit which enables him to readily grasp his cus- tomers wishes as regards fit, detail, and style; and having grasped them, to infuse them into the garment he is making.

Carelessness

Is probably the most prolific cause of cutters not meeting customers' wishes. Cutters know they ought to try their utmost to grasp their customers' views; that they ought to devote their entire attention to their work when cutting, but how often do they neglect these elements of success? It is not merely having the knowledge in our brain that is of use; it is when that knowledge is applied in the right way and at the right time, that the knowledge becomes power. Ours is a peculiar business. Success comes in drifts. It may be that day after day we get our customers returning to say how pleased they are with their garments, we get elated and fancy we know how to do the thing, and our spirits become proud, and we relax the care, the painstaking attention to little things that was the very keynote of our success; the consequence is that the following week our coats come back with sleeves too long, our trousers are too wide or too narrow, and on very hand there is evidence — if we will but realize it — of carelessness. We can all remedy this cause of failure, if we will, and as it arises from a cause there is no excuse for, we ought to feel humbled that it should ever bring an alteration to our cutting board. We will now consider briefly another cause of displeasing customers:

We have dealt on these points in this introductory chapter, with the view to pointing out how to avoid the defects arising in the first place; but as we know misfits will occur in the best regulated cutting room, we have little doubt our readers will find the following pages useful. We know by our own experience in the earlier part of our career, this was the phase or our practice upon which we had the greatest difficulty in mastering. We trust, therefore, this part of the "C.P.G," may be useful not only to the younger men starting on a cutting career, but also those who, though they have wielded the shears for many years, have not yet acquired the art of cutting with "never a misfit and never an alteration."

INLAYS. — Plate 1.

What inlays shall I leave? is a query that every cutter must make up his mind definitely upon very early in his career; and as this is an important matter in these days of keen competition and economy in cutting, we trust the result of our experience in this direction will be of service to many. Whilst we are by no means an advocate of cutting the garment without any usuals at all, at the same time we do not believe in too many. Every garment should be cut with as much care as if it was not to be tried on, aye, and even as if it was going to be cut without any inlays. "Cut to fit" is our motto, not cut to try-on; and if this is done, the number of inlays may be reduced to a very small number; for it must always be remembered, inlays more often than not cramp and contract the fit of the garment. They also leave considerable scope for the careless workman to be even more careless, and so provide a head aching alteration for the foreman. But as mistakes will happen, we should never cut a garment without leaving a possibility of making an alteration, should it be necessary.

The Inlays in a Morning Coat,

Or other body coats, such has Frock or Dress coats are as follows: — Back, Diagram 1, about ½ at the top of the back, as per shaded outline above A. This is left with the view of letting the collar come higher up the neck if so desired. This is, in our experience very seldom used, yet to the inexperienced cutter it is very useful. At the bottom of the back, there is left enough to form the pleats and the opening as at B C. This should never be less than 1 inch. if it is 1¼ or even 1½, it will be none the worse. The sidebody, Diagram 2, should have about ½ inch left at D and E, as per shaded outline, the use for which will be explained further on.

Plate 1

The Forepart. Diagram 3.

This should have inlays under the arm and all round the shoulder. The most important is the one under the arm, as it is the one most often used. It is a fairly easy matter to get the shoulders of the right form and balance by the aid of "The Cutters' Practical Guide System," but it is not always so easy to decide how much will be required for making up, or what degree of ease the customer may desire, hence this inlay under the arms should never be omitted; about 1 inch will be a good general quantity. There should be about ¾ inch left on the shoulder at H and J, and about ¾ at I; this we have found quite sufficient in our experience, though we know many cutters leave quite double these quantities; but large inlays are wasteful, and as they are generally useless, we prefer to use care in cutting, and leave moderate inlays. We do not leave an inlay down the front, as any extra size that may be required at that part can be arranged by a readjustment of the neck and shoulders and underarm seams.

Skirt and Sleeve. Dias. 4, 5, 6.

The former merely requires an inlay left down the back of not less than 1 inch; this is utilized in forming the pleats, but it is available if need be to give more spring behind, and also to vary the shaping of the run of the skirt if so desired, in which case a piece is sewn on to form pleats; but of this we shall presently deal.

In cutting our sleeves, we always prefer leaving any inlay so as to make it wider down the hindarm of the topside, as this carries the hindarm seam further under if it has to be utilized; whereas if it was left on the underside it would bring it further to the top in the event of the sleeve being made wider. We prefer leaving an inlay down the hindarm rather than the forearm, because the latter is apt to contract the forearm and cause unsightly wrinkles. We should leave about ¾ from K to L, and not less than 1 inch, preferably 1½ from L to M. For the undersleeve, Diagram 6, there should be 1 inch left from N to O when the cuff is made up with a slit, and the same amount from O to P as from L to M. These same principles may be applied to garments of the three-seam class, the inlay being left at the top of the back, down the sideseam of forepart, and round the shoulder, and the sleeve as just described. It is also a very good plan to leave an inlay all round the bottom, as it is not only useful as an inlay, but also makes a better finish, and prevents the possibility of the lining bagging down in wear. The

Inlays of a Vest