Tools and Equipment
This domain tests tool recognition, correct use and care of measuring, marking, cutting and pressing equipment.
Measuring and marking
Tape measure (flexible; check it has not stretched), metre/yard ruler, L-square for right angles, French curve for armholes and necklines, hip curve for hips and hems. Mark with tailor’s chalk, tracing wheel and carbon, or thread tacks; pencil is avoided on fabric because it stains.
Cutting and sewing
Shears with a bent handle for cutting on a table, pinking shears to reduce fraying, seam ripper, pins, hand needles, thimble, bodkin and machine feet (zipper, buttonhole, hemming). Pressing equipment includes a dry iron, steam iron, pressing cloth, sleeve board and tailor’s ham.
Worked example
You must draw a smooth armhole curve from shoulder to underarm. An L-square gives a right angle but not a curve; a French curve is designed for armholes and necklines. Use the L-square for the underarm corner and the French curve for the curve itself - the combination gives a true shape.
Traps
- Using paper scissors on fabric; they dull quickly.
- Cutting with the fabric lifted off the table.
- Using a stretched tape measure.
- Pressing wool directly with a hot iron without a pressing cloth.
Keep tools clean, sharp and stored in a case; blunt or rusty tools cause accidents and poor finishes.