This is third part of the book – dealing with External Anatomy and the Proportions of the Body
In order to make clothing intelligently it is desirable that we should be acquainted with the leading features of the body we have to clothe,
This is third part of the book – dealing with External Anatomy and the Proportions of the Body
In order to make clothing intelligently it is desirable that we should be acquainted with the leading features of the body we have to clothe, and as there is universal agreement amongst scientists that the human figure is the masterpiece of creation, it is but natural that we should expect to find some traces of design. Now, you know that when a builder is putting up a house he erects a scaffolding and then builds his walls; just so the builder of our bodies has erected scaffolding and built walls to the house we live in. The scaffolding is the bones, the walls are the muscles, and the skin is the beautiful covering given to the walls.
The Bone Framework
Now, it is my desire to call attention to a few of the more noticeable features of anatomy, as they will be of service to tailors. In the bones are to be found three different kinds of joints, and as these govern the movements of the body a knowledge of these peculiarities will help us to know what movements are possible. The first joint of every limb has a ball and socket movement, which has been so arranged by our Creator that the freest possible movement might be obtained. Thus the first joint of the arms, the legs, the hands, the fingers, and the toes are all of the cup and ball order; these are all marked 1 on the figure. The second joint of each limb is of the hinged pattern, which moves only in two directions, like the door of a room, to and fro, and this shows us that a sideways movement is impossible where it is found, viz., the knee, the finger, second and third joint; the elbow is also of this character, but it is so wonderfully formed that a greater liberty is given to it by a rolling power; still, for our purpose we may classify it as a hinge-joint. The third kind is the gliding joint, which gives a great variety of movements of a limited character; these are found in the backbone, the arch of the wrist, and the arch of the foot. The movement allowed by these joints is seen the eel and the snake, but as they do not have much bearing on tailoring we may pass onto our next item, viz., the parts of the body where the bones always remain near the surface of the skin, and here we have a lesson of the utmost importance for tailors, as it enables us to decide where alterations should be made in the cut where figures are larger or smaller than usual.
It will be well for you to examine your own body to prove the truth of what is here stated, as well as to impress the lessons on the mind.
The bones which always remain near the surface of the skin are:-
Spine or back bone (A A)
Shoulder bone (B B)
Elbow (C C)
Hip bone(D D)
Thigh bone (E E)
Shin bone (F F)
Ankle bone (G G)
It does not matter how stout or how thin the figure may be, you can always depend on these bones being near the surface of the skin, which means that provision for extra size must be made at other parts, butt of this I shall deal with more fully later.
Another point worthy of note is that the human body is symmetrical, which means that the right side is the same shape as the left, and, generally speaking, the same size, only in reverse. Consequently, when cutting out a coat, vest, or trousers, we cut it two thicknesses at a time, the material being arranged face to face, so that only one piece shall cover the right side and the other cover the left.
These points indicate design and law, and beautifully illustrate the wisdom and love of our Creator, so that feel compelled to exclaim: “Truly, we are fearfully and wonderfully made!”
Let us now devote a little time to the consideration of the walls of the house we live in. These, as I have previously stated, are the…
Muscles and Flesh
And some of the lessons all tailors have to learn are the laws which govern the the distribution of (a) the muscles and (b) fat. Now, if you look at the figure of the skeleton given a few pages back you will see that the bones do not by any means go through the centre of the limbs. Take, for instance, the thigh, you will observe by far the larger amount of flesh is on the inside of the the the leg. Now, the study of external anatomy teaches us that the figure we have to clothe is by no means a flat surface, but, rather, one that abounds in prominences and depressions, or, in other words, there are any number of little mountains and valleys over which we have to arrange the cloth. Look, for instance, at this very beautiful portrait of Sandow, the champion strong man, which we publish by kind permission of Mr L Graham Lewis, manager to the makers of Sandow’s own developer, which, by the bye, is a splendid ins