GARMENT

CONSTRUCTION
Sarwat Halima
Saima Habib
Sadia Amin

QUOTATION
What I do is restricted by the cloth and the
human body.
My job is to make that cloth give expression to
the body.
(Vivienne Westwood)
April 1941 is anEnglish fashion designer and
businesswoman, largely responsible for
bringing modernpunkandnew wave fashions
into the mainstream.

INTRODUCTION

Garment making is a technical accomplishment

that requires knowledge of fabrics, principles of
clothing construction and skills involved in it.
This depends on the ability to select the correct
fabric, color, design and accessories to suit an
individual occasion.
A garment that is made will be attractive if it
fits well and proper attention is paid to its finer
details.
It is necessary to know the techniques of sewing
for producing attractive garments with good fit.

THE NATURE AND PURPOSES OF

DRESS

Perhaps the most obvious function of dress is

to provide warmth and protection.
Other basic functions of dress include
identifying the wearer and making the
wearer appear more attractive.
Clothes that are deemed handsome in one
period are declared downright ugly in the
next and even uniformsthe simplest and
most easily identified costumeare subject
to change.

THEORIES OF CLOTHING
BY SCOTTY HENDERSON

One of the earliest theories which formed

the hypotheses of wearing clothes was the
modesty/shame theory.
This theory is also known as the fig leaf
theory which is based on the story in the
Bible. Genesis states that Adam and Eve
realize that their state of being naked
when they consume a fruit from the
knowledge tree. And in shame they both
stitched clothes out of fig leaves, hence the
name fig leaf theory.

THEORIES OF CLOTHING

Arguments said that clothing was merely

because of protection of one's body from the
threats in the environment.
Clothing was discovered eons ago. A
discovery of a 500-year old male on a glacier
on the Austrian-Italian border revealed such.
The body was clad in a fur cap, a leather
cape, a loincloth, and leather shoes.
These clothes were possibly there to
provide protection against the harsh winds.

THEORIES OF CLOTHING
BY SCOTTY HENDERSON

Other arguments stated

that clothing was
created to create sexual
attraction or to display
beauty of one's body.
It is discovered that
people began decorating
themselves much before
they started clothing.
Early age signs of
decoration included
painting and tattoos and
even jewelry.

THEORIES OF CLOTHING

Recent scholars now state that clothing

represents one's identity and communicates
nonverbally.
Clothing in some societies is as functional as
language. It represents a person's age,
gender, marital status, ethnicity, social
status and occupation.

HISTORY OF GARMENT
CONSTRUCTION

It is not certain when

people first started
wearing clothes
however,
anthropologists give
estimates that range
between 100,000 to
500,000 years ago. The
first clothes were made
from natural elements:
animal skin and furs,
grasses and leaves, and
bones and shells.

HISTORY OF GARMENT
CONSTRUCTION

Clothing was often

draped or tied
however, simple
needles made out
of animal bone
provide evidence
of sewn leather
and fur garments
from at least
30,000 years ago.

HISTORY OF GARMENT
CONSTRUCTION

Before sewing
machines, nearly all
clothing was local and
hand-sewn, there were
tailors and seamstresses
in most towns that
could make individual
items of clothing for
customers. After the
sewing machine was
invented, the readymade clothing industry
took off.

SEWING MACHINE

Before the invention

of the sewing
machine, most
sewing was done by
individuals in their
homes, however,
many people offered
services as tailors or
seamstresses in small
shops where wages
were very low.

THE SONG OF THE SHIRT

Thomas Hood's ballad The

Song of the Shirt, published in
1843, depicts the hardships of
the English seamstress:

With fingers weary and worn,

With eyelids heavy and red,
A woman sat in unwomanly
rags,
Plying her needle and thread
Stitch! Stitch! Stitch!
In poverty, hunger, and dirt,
And still with a voice of
dolorous pitch
She sang TheSongof
theShirt!

BIRTH OF MECHANICAL SEWING

The first possible patent

connected to mechanical
sewing was a 1755 British
patent issued to German,
Charles Weisenthal.
Charles Weisenthal took out
a patent for a needle to be
used for mechanical sewing.
Unfortunately, what sort of
mechanical sewing we do
not know fora description
ofthe machinewas not
properlymentionedin the
patent.

SEVERAL INVENTORS ATTEMPT

TO IMPROVE SEWING

The English inventor and

cabinet maker, Thomas
Saint was issued the first
patent for a complete
machine for sewing in
1790.
The patent describes an
awl that punched a hole in
leather and passed a
needle through the hole.
Later reproduction of
Saint's invention based on
his patent drawings did
not work.

BARTHELEMY THIMONNIER - FIRST

FUNCTIONAL MACHINE & A RIOT

The first functional sewing

machine was invented by the
French tailor, Barthelemy
Thimonnier, in 1830.

Thimonnier's machine used only

one thread and a hooked
needle that made the same
chain stitch used with
embroidery.
The inventor was almost killed
by an enraged group of French
tailors who burnt down his
garment factory because they
feared unemployment as a
result of his new invention.

WALTER HUNT & ELIAS HOWE

In 1834,Walter Hunt
America's first (somewhat)
successful sewing machine.
He later lost interest in
patenting because he
believed his invention would
cause unemployment.
(Hunt's machine could only
sew straight steams.) Hunt
never patented and in 1846,
the first American
patentwas issued to Elias
Howe for "a process that
used thread from two
different sources.

ISAAC SINGER VS ELIAS HOWE PATENT WARS

Sewing machines did not

go into mass production
until the 1850's, when
Isaac Singer built the
first commercially
successful machine.
Singer built the first
sewing machine where
the needle moved up
and down rather than
the side-to-side and the
needle was powered by
a foot treadle.

READY-MADE CLOTHING

About 1831, George Opdyke

began the small-scale
manufacture of ready-made
clothing, which he stocked
and sold largely through a
store in New Orleans.
Opdyke was one of the first
American merchants to do so.
But it was not until after the
power-driven sewing machine
was invented, that factory
production of clothes on a
large scale occurred. Since
then the clothing industry has
grown.

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
GARMENT CONSTRUCTION

During the industrial revolution, both men's and

women's dress becomes more complex during
this era due to the invention of the Sewing
Machine, and the popular dissemination of
pattern books and systems for garment cutting.
Men's clothing, while outwardly simple, begins
to acquire the internal padding, interfacings
and complex structure that makes modern
men's suits fall so smoothly even over an object
as lumpy and mobile as the human form.
while women's dress continues to balloon out
with ruffles, decorations and petticoats.

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
GARMENT CONSTRUCTION

Elias Howe, the inventor of

the first mass produced,
practical sewing machine,
originally demonstrated its
utility to a group of
prospective investors by
holding a sewing race
between himself and his
machine, and ten professional
hand stitchers.
He easily won, and the
economic situation of
stitchers (mostly female)
declined as a consequence of
the adoption of the invention.

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
GARMENT CONSTRUCTION

Industrialists would invest in the machines,

hire the stitchers cheaply, and then take the
profits for themselves that their increased
output produced.
With profits so high, soon competition
between manufacturers of clothes got fierce,
and so producers tried to "improve" their
product by adding more sewing decoration,
such as ruffles, pleats, and top stitching, to
lure customers.

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
GARMENT CONSTRUCTION

The end result was that fashionable Women's

dress became incredibly over decorated in
the 19th Century.
Another result of this was that poor people's
clothing got better, and the rags of earlier
eras were replaced by cheaply made mass
manufactured work clothes. The middle
classes were able to afford more than clean
simple clothes, and began to actively indulge
in fashion for its own sake.

TYPES OF FABRIC
CONSTRUCTION

There are 2 types of garments.

1.
One is Woven garments.
2.
Another is Knitted garments.

Woven fabrics are made in hand looms, power looms and mill
made. Making woven fabrics is simple. But yarn counts, reed &
picks (warp & weft), width should be considered with more care.
The fabric quality is made differently by various methods of
finishing and treating.

Knit fabrics are made in different kinds of knitting machines.

According to the structure of fabrics, they are called by different
names. The mainly used fabrics are Jersey, Pique, Interlock, Rib,
French Rib, Flat back rib, Loop knit, Fleece, Polar fleece and
Jacquards. The knit garments can be made in solid dyed or all
over printed or yarn striped or jacquard fabrics.

GARMENT CONSTRUCTION
SPECIALIZED AREAS.
Garment construction can be divided into
different specialized areas. At the top of the
manufacturing chain are
Haute couture and
The tailoring crafts,
which involve working with individual
customers.
At the lower ends of the manufacturing
chain are
Industrially produced garments.

WHAT IS HAUTE COUTURE?

The term Haute couture

is French. Hautemeans
"high or "elegant.
Coutureliterally means
"sewing," but has come
to indicate the business
of designing, creating,
and selling custommade,high
fashionwomen's clothes.
It refers to the creation
of exclusive customfitted clothing.

WHAT IS HAUTE COUTURE?

A haute couture
garment is often made
for a client, tailored
specifically for the
wearers measurements
and body stance.
Haute couture garments
are also described as
having no price tag - in
other words, budget is
not relevant.

THE TAILORING CRAFTS

this reveals with

one person
individual dress
making by a tailor.

INDUSTRIALLY PRODUCED
GARMENTS

Ready-to-wearor
Industrially produced
garments is the term
for factory made
clothing, sold in
finished condition, in
standardized sizes, as
distinct frommade to
measure orbespoke
clothing tailored to a
particular person's
frame.

TOOLS FOR THE GARMENT

CONSTRUCTION

Besides asewingmachine ingood condition,

well selected sewing equipment are essential
for making garments of good quality and
appearance.
SEWING TOOLS
CUTTING TOOLS
MEASURING TOOLS
MARKING TOOLS
PRESSING TOOLS
MISCELLANEOUS TOOLS

SEWING TOOLS

HandSewing Needles
Sewing Machine Needles
Sewing thread
Pins
Thimbles
Embroidery Frame
Embroidery Threads
Bobbin

CUTTING TOOLS

Bent-Handle Shears
Scissors
Pinking Shears
Button Hole Scissors
Electric Scissors

MEASURING TOOLS

Measuring Tape
Rulers
Yardstick or meter scale
L Square
Skirt Marker

MARKING TOOLS

Tracing Wheel
Tracing Paper
Tailors Chalk

PRESSING TOOLS

Iron
Steam Iron
Ironing Board
Sleeve Board
Press cloth

MISCELLANEOUS TOOLS

Awl
Seam Ripper
Loop Turner
Dress Form
Paper
Three-Way Mirror
Orange-stick
Cutting board or table

CHARACTERISTICS OF WELL
FINISHED GARMENTS

Five basic factors present in every fitting

decides whether a garment fits well or not.
These five are interrelated.

Ease
Line
Grain
Set
Balance

EASE

The garment, which seems to be right size is

neither too loose not too tight.
Ease is also the difference between the
actual body measurements and the garment
measurements.
This amount varies with the fashion, type of
garment and personal taste. A garment
constructed with optimum ease would be the
right size.

LINE

Lines should be smooth without folds and

neat. There should be smoothly graded
curves in back and front. Armhole should be
oval, but not pointed or round in shape.
The curve lines should not be too low which
will hinder the movements of the hand.
The lines obtained by darts, pleats and yokes
are with in the garment and they should be
graceful and smooth.

GRAIN

The placement of warp and weft yarns form

grain. Heavier threads tend to drape well on
the figure with graceful folds, when gathers,
pleats and ruffles occur on the straight grain.
If the grain line is not corrected, wrinkles or
sagging occur. Some times the grain line is
off, when the material is not cut carefully.

SET

A well-fitted garment has a smooth set

without any wrinkles.
A smoothness of "set" or freedom from
wrinkles is required for a good-looking fit.
Graceful folds created by gathers or un
pressed pleats or draped features are style
lines not to be confused with wrinkles, those
slanting triangles straining from some curve
or bulge of the body

BALANCE

The garment should look balanced from left

to right and front to back.
The skirt should hang so that it extends the
same distance from the center to the right
and left sides.
The necklines should fit neck snugly at all
points. If the shoulder seam stands away
from shoulder at neck point and fits tightly
at armhole point, the garment will look out
of balance.

REASONS FOR POOR FITTING

1.

2.

3.

When the garments are

carelessly cut and if
stitching is not done
properly then the garment
will have poor fitting.
If the basic patterns are
not of the right size or if
they are not altered
according to the body
measurement then poor
fitting occurs.
Poor posture might be the
reason for differences in
the bodice blocks.

REASONS FOR POOR FITTING

1.

2.

The human body has

numerous curves of which
the basic ones are bust,
end of shoulder, shoulder
blade, elbow, abdomen,
side and hip. The garment
should be cut and stitched
accurately to fit on the
curves of the body.
The straight material
should be folded into
darts are cut into seam to
allow enough ease over
the curves.

TO SEE THE FITTING OF A

GARMENT

The garment should be

tacked and tried on.
The openings are pinned
together accurately,
properly and securely. The
basting line that marks
centre front, and back helps
in giving a good fitting.
The garment should be worn
right side out to check the
fitting on the body. The
garment is thoroughly
inspected and carefully
analyzed for fitting.

TO SEE THE FITTING OF A

GARMENT

It should be comfortable
while walking or working.
If any alterations are to
be made on the garment
then Mark the correct
line with tailors chalk and
tack the corrected seam
line or dart line from the
inside of the garment.
The paper patterns
should also be altered on
the basis of changes
made in the garment.

TO SEE THE FITTING OF A

GARMENT

Until a satisfactory
fitting is achieved,
repining and alterations
for fitting is done.
In the second round of
checking the fitting,
concentration must be
on the sleeves and arms
cycle, Necklines,
waistlines should be
curved to fit
comfortably and
naturally.

TO SEE THE FITTING OF A

GARMENT

The patterns which are

altered for good fitting
should be preserved.
A dress should look nice
from the back as it is
from the front.
The back should be more
carefully fitted since
there is a strain. A dress
with a back too wide,
too narrow or too short
can be uncomfortable
and it is unbecoming.

CONCLUSION

Human beings start to wear clothes for many

reasons i.e modesty, protection, identification
& wearer appear more attractive.
Garment construction is very old. People wear
leaves, fur and animals skin as clothes.
Initially people used to sew cloths from their
hands which is very time consuming n difficult
job but after the invention of sewing machine
the whole scenario has been changed n
garment has been start constructed on mass
level.

CONCLUSION

Five basic factors present in every fitting

decides whether a garment fits well or not.
These five are interrelated. These are Ease,
Line, Grain, Set, Balance.
A good fitted garment always gives pleaser to
the wearer and gives good name to the brand
or tailor. The most important factor of
garment construction is it should be
comfortable

THANK YOU NOW SAIMA HABBIB WILL

CONTINOU