Abstract
This comparative study analyzes and compares tight skirt sewing methods which are found in the clothing configuration reference text books available in contemporary universities and which are used in commercially-available domestic consumer products. The study samples included 15 text books and 12 tight skirt consumer products of different brands on sale at three department stores in Seoul each of which had a belt, a back-centered zipper, and back double slits. The findings of the study are summarized as follows: First, text books mainly show very basic sewing methods of using zippers on both sides of the straight-lined waist belt. This indicates that it is necessary for such methods to be complemented so that they cover a recent variety of designs, materials, and sewing machines. For consumer products, the main sewing method is to use a curved waist belt and a console zipper in silhouette running across half the hipbone. Second, consumer products employ three different types of cutting and sewing methods for putting an inseam on the center of the back slit part: to leave the whole inseam hemmed in the back center, to cut the left side of the inseam to the upper part of the back slit, and to cut the inseam to both the upper parts of the back slit. However, a method shown in most of the sampled text books is to cut the inseam of the back center to both the upper parts of the back slit. Third, the way of finishing a bottom edge hem in the text books is to do slip-stitch, herringbone stitch, and slinting hemming, in order after doing over-lock stitch, or to cut the hem on the bias and then slip-stitch, while for the consumer products the most frequently used sewing method is to finish the bottom edge hem by doing secoui-stitch. Finally, while in the text books the method of stitching darts and tucks is used for lining, the main lining method used in consumer products is to make tucks only. Also in the way of stitching the side seams of lining or the seams of the back center, there is a difference between the two sample groups of text books and the consumer products: while the former suggests using both open seams and over-lock stitch, the latter is found to finish the seams using an over-lock stitch only.
