Home Sewing Tips from the 1920s - The Rippling Hemline

In this tip for home sewers in the 1920s, Ruth Wyeth Spears tackles the subject of "rippling hemlines". She refers to the "new figured materials", by which I do believe she means what we would call a print fabric (rather than a solid color fabric). Along with suggestions of various methods, Ruth illustrates how to best hem these curved edges.

Ruth always provides such fine illustrations to accompany the explanation.

The Art of 1920s Dressmaking - Choose a Becoming Color

This image is the frontispiece in the 1927 book "The Art of Dressmaking" published by Butterick. The image carries the caption "Selecting becoming colors as they do in Paris".  Does this sound familiar? If you've been reading Ruth Wyeth Spear's tips for home sewers of the 1920s, she frequently mentions the current fashion from Paris, whether it be color or some other detail of style. And of course, selecting the most flattering, or becoming, color was extremely important.

The book goes on to state that "in order to look well dressed, you must have your clothes accord with the season's lines". Clearly, Paris designers ruled!