The Complete Home Book of Family Tailoring

Measuring, cutting, fitting and finishing - Bonnie V. Goodman's course in proper tailoring, written for anyone making coats, suits and trousers at home rather than in a workroom.

First published in the Prentice-Hall home economics series, The Complete Home Book of Family Tailoring runs to more than four hundred pages and follows a garment from first measurement to finished seam. Goodman begins with taking body measurements correctly and choosing the right size of pattern, then works through cloth selection, seams, fitting and the finishing that separates a tailored coat from a merely sewn one.

Chapters cover garments for the whole household, children, girls and boys included, and much of the instruction still holds for anyone working from a commercial pattern today, since measuring, altering and fitting have not changed. It also stands as a clear record of what mid-century American home dressmaking asked of the person at the machine.

This edition features:

• The complete text from the Prentice-Hall home economics series, running to more than four hundred pages
• Step-by-step instruction in taking body measurements correctly and choosing the right size of pattern
• Guidance on selecting cloth, working seams, fitting and finishing coats, suits and trousers properly
• Separate chapters on tailoring for children, girls and boys as well as for the adults of the household
• Illustrated throughout, with diagrams taking each technique from first measurement to finished seam