Friday Freebie: Precision Draping

Precision Draping by Nelle Weymouth Link

Because who doesn’t want to look like a 1940s babe (apart from me, that is).

My favourite thing about this book is the font on the cover. I’d be over the moon if someone recognised the type (or even better, pointed me to a source for it). Also, the fact that this is a pre-1952 book which hasn’t had its copyright re-issued post-1978, means it’s an orphan work/ in the public domain. Yay.

Having said that, there is a lot of information in here on draping (blouses, dresses, sleeves, neckline variations, gowns, princess seamed garments, suits, you name it). Information which is better suited to testing on a dressmaker’s dummy or a very patient (/comatose) buddy. Much like these two books (reviews coming, I’ve only had them for two years) this is not a book you can ‘play alone’ with.

Bitch, please with the flower arranging. We’re here for the weed. And draping. Also Tupperware(R)**.

It’s almost like.. that yoke exploded and your top sprayed out of it. I think it’s time for your meds..

Dolman sleeves: when your day job involves putting clients in a head-lock.*

All I need now is a long range rifle…

The Forties were just preparation for the Eighties. Even the shoulder pads were working their way up..

Get it. If you’re printing it out, double check the margins, the binding on this beauty was super narrow, necessitating some close cropping.

Other cool freebies in the same vein: Everyday Alterations (you know you need this) Practical Essays on Shirt Cutting (one for the Gents) and Pattern Making. That should set you up for the weekend yea?

That’s right. The scanner’s back. But it only works with my old laptop (that’s heading to someone else soon) and not my current one. And even then, the quality isn’t great (which means no high-res images this time around). Which sucks, and not in a good way either.

Any ideas on improving this situation would be welcome.***

* The book includes instructions on draping sleeves.

** Tupperware was invented 2 years before this book came out. These ladies are on the bleedin’ edge I tell ya.

*** I have a Canon LiDE 210 scanner which was working fine with my decrepit old black Macbook and but which freezes, crashes the software then dies when hooked up to my new Mac Book Pro (OS 10.8.2). I’m assuming it’s a driver/ software malfunction but the latest updates don’t seem to have improved the situation.The old Macbook is heading to a new home and the scanner is a warranty replacement scanner (dammit-it should work the second time around). Any work arounds/ advice would be most appreciated. Also the Canon support twit is ignoring me (what’s the point of point of having a Twitter feed if you don’t interact with customers-I’m never buying a Canon again-there is so much online angst against those idiots and their late/non-functional/ non-existant driver updates).

Previously, on Friday Freebies.