Dressmaking 
 
 
         IV. Basting and Preparation for Fitting 
   There are a few general rules for the basting of all skirts. 
 Those required in the making of a skirt pattern have al- 
 ready been given under Drafting. More detailed direc- 
 tions are necessary for the making of the skirt itself be- 
 cause of the variety of design possible. 
   Seams are basted on either the right or the wrong side 
 of a skirt, depending on the style of the finish. In basting 
 for fitting the thread should be well fastened in the begin- 
 ning and the finishing and short stitches should be used 
 where there is any strain. If the skirt has been fitted and 
 the basting serves merely to keep the seam-lines in place 
 for stitching, longer stitches may be used. Unless a worker 
 is very experienced, stitching should not be attempted with- 
 out basting. Even careful pinning is not satisfactory. The 
 line of basting should always follow exactly the line of trac- 
 ing. Before basting any seams together the corresponding 
 tracings should be matched and pinned and all long seams 
 pinned together at short intervals. This keeps the seam-lines 
 together and makes their basting simpler. It also prevents 
 the slight fulling of the side nearest the worker, which fre- 
"quently occurs, especially in the work of the inexperienced 
or careless. All skirt basting should be done with the work 
flat on the table, as the seams are too long to be handled 
well in the lap. For a fitting all the pieces of a skirt should 
be joined and a belt prepared but not attached. The style 
determines the number of pieces in the skirt and the kind 
of belt required. The width of the belt depends on the 
height of the skirt at the waist. 
   i. To Join Plain Gores.-An edge which is straight be- 
 low the hip and an edge which is bias frequently fall to- 
 gether. In pinning and basting such seams the bias edge 
 must be toward the worker; that is, the gore with the 
 straight edge is placed flat on the table and the gore with 
 the bias edge is placed on it. If the edge is very bias it may 
 be more easily managed if some of the basting is done over 
 the hand. If two bias edges fall together, with one more 
 
 
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