Cutting and sewing a blouse

A blouse is a light women’s garment cut like the upper part of a dress. The base drawing is copied onto white paper and then changed along the model lines: the neckline is deepened, extra width is added at the front for a gather, and the sleeve is widened for a “puffed” shape. The pattern shows the part name, seam allowances, grain (warp thread) direction and notch positions. Cotton fabric is soaked in warm water, dried and ironed before cutting because it may shrink in washing. The patterns are laid along the warp thread direction, pinned, traced with a 1–2 mm chalk line and cut with sharp scissors: laying big pieces first and small ones between them saves fabric. The cut pieces are of 6 kinds: front, back, sleeve, front and back neck facings, cuff. In sewing the pieces are first tacked, tried on, then machine-sewn, and the seams are overlocked and ironed. The sewing machine and iron are used only under the teacher’s supervision: electricity is unplugged before and after work, fingers are kept away from the needle, and scissors and pins are counted.