Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 1985 - 18

RESEARCH

Costume Pattern Drafts

by Kevin Seligman

The following drafts for a nineteenth-century sack coat, trousers, and vest were
submitted by Linda Morton, Museum and Library, Owyhee County Historical
Complex, Murphy, Idaho. The drafts from a nineteenth-century pattern
drafting system are an outcome of continued research in working with these
systems to reproduce period garments. Only a portion of the scales are printed
that are necessary to draft the individual pieces. Each scale is 50 units long; one
will need to repeat the tracing process so they have the full 50 units to work
from. Also, scales for only sizes 36 to 48 are given. If anyone is interested in
obtaining the scales for the other sizes, they can contact Ms. Morton and she
will be happy to supply that information: P.O. Box 216, Melba, Idaho 83641.

Powell and Kohler's Practical System
jar Cutting All Kinds oj Garments
(Cincinnati, Ohio, 1868)' is a proportional drafting system containing instructions for men's frock coats, sack
coats, shirts, vests and trousers, boy's
pants and a lady's bodice, coat and
saque. It uses only the chest measurement for upper body garments, and
waist, hip and inseam measurements
for trousers. (To supplement these few
measurements, this author recommends
that back waistlength, arm length, upper arm and neck circumference be
taken to check against the finished draft
and corrections made as needed.) Powell and Kohler requires only three tools
to complete the draft: a tape measure,
square, and the set of scales, based on
hip and chest measurements, that comes
with the system. If desired, a hip curve
and 60° and 55° curves can be used to
complete all curved edges of the draft.
Directions for use of POlVe11 and
Kohler, as taken directly from the system, are as follows:

~Figs.

33, 34, and 35 are diagrams for
the present style of pants. Three
measurements are taken for pantsthe waist, hips, and length of the leg,
from the crotch or fork, to within
two inches of the floor. The hip
measure will point out the scale. In
Fig. 33 you will observe that the work
is laid off on both sides of the base
line; that is, the measurements of
width are made from the baseline
both right and left. Layoff your
work down to Part 47 by the scale,
and from D layoff with the tapeline
the length of the leg.

~AIl

numbers on these diagrams are
parts of the scale. The width at the
top from A to C should be onefourth of the waist measure in both
Figs. 33 and 34. If the waist is above
the natural proportion, the line A, C,
in both figures, will have to be extended beyond C far enough to include one-fourth of the waist measure and the seams.

~Fig.

36 is a diagram for a vest without
a collar. The form here gi ven is very
elegant. It is a special favorite for the
summer season and is easily made.
The breast measure sill give the scale
number for all vests. The figure is
easily drawn and we deem it unnecessary to give further instructions.

~ Figs.

20, 21, 22, and 23 are for the
several parts of a gentleman's sack
coat. This is emphatically the style
for a business coal. It is always in
fashion and deservedly so, for no
garment that is worn is more conducive to comfort than this. The breast
measure is the only one needed in this
case. The dotted lines, Fig. 22, show
the form of the underpart of the
sleeve. Fig. 23 is the collar, with
dotted lines showing the directions of
the fold.

It must be remembered that the
numbers on the scales refer to a fixed
length as determined by the scales. It
does nOI refer to inches. The directions
state that seam allowances are given
in the draft, bUI unfortunately, the

Theatre Design & Technology / USITT / Fall 1985

amount of the seam allowance is not
given. I assumed 314 inch allowance on
major outer edges except the neck and
armscye, which was assumed to be Y2
inch. Hem allowances are not given at
all. Also, the set of scales given with the
system (27 in all) vary as much as '/'6
inch in the markings on each individual
scale. (To use these scales, line the scale
up against a piece of tagboard or other
sturdy surface and mark off the gradations exactly as given.) If it is desired
to grade the garment to another size,
use modern grading methods to give
uniform results. The system contains
no information about inner construction such as linings, interfacings, and
pocket shapes and sizes; the outer appearance is the only guide, unless you
have an original garment to study.2
I used the 1868 system to re-create
an 1875 sack suit that required the following adjustments: the jacket length
was shortened approximately 3 inches
from the original draft, and 3 to 4
inches were removed from the width of
the sleeves. All other changes in the
three garments occurred due to minor
fit adjustments for the intended wearer.
The desired appearance of the finished
1875 sack coat is as follows: approximately 2 inches longer at center back
than is currently fashionable, in this
case 33 inches, tailored (two-piece)
sleeves slightly wider than the present
mode, four-button front closure with
the top button several inches below
front of neck, leaving an extremely narrow lapel. The center front is cut with
a slight curve to allow the coat to grace-

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