Apparel Designing Questions and Answers

Answer: C

The method is drafting.

Pattern drafting creates a pattern on paper from a set of body measurements, using rulers, curves and calculations, starting from a basic block. It is the most common method in garment construction courses.

Draping shapes fabric directly on a dress form or body. Flat pattern-making develops new designs by manipulating an existing basic pattern, and 'pattern-making' is the general term covering all of these methods rather than the one based on body measurements.

Answer: B

The term is couture.

Couture, and especially haute couture, means made-to-measure clothing created for an individual client, fitted to her measurements and finished largely by hand. It is the opposite of mass-produced clothing.

Ready-to-wear (pret-a-porter) is made in standard sizes for sale off the rack. A silhouette is the outline of a garment, and 'ethnic' (printed 'Ethenic') refers to traditional or regional styles, not to customisation.

Answer: C

A wrinkled appearance along a seam is called pucker.

Seam pucker is the gathering or rippling of fabric along a stitched seam. It is caused by too much thread tension, uneven feeding of the two layers, shrinkage of the sewing thread, or a needle too heavy for the fabric.

Unbalanced, variable and slipped describe other defects, such as unequal tension or stitches that slip, but the specific term for a wavy, wrinkled seam is pucker.

Answer: A

The figure type is hourglass.

In clothing design, figure types describe the proportions of the body: hourglass (bust and hips about equal with a well-defined waist), pear or triangle, inverted triangle, rectangle and apple or oval. Each type calls for different lines and silhouettes in a garment.

Obese, short and tall describe body size or height, not the shape and proportion that a figure type classifies; a tall or short person can have any figure type.

Answer: A

Ball point needles are used for knitted fabrics.

A ball point needle has a slightly rounded tip that slips between the yarns instead of piercing them. In knits, a sharp needle can cut the loops and cause holes, runs or skipped stitches, so the rounded point protects the fabric.

Woven fabrics are sewn with regular sharp or universal needles, which pierce the closely interlaced yarns cleanly. Non-woven fabrics and matting also call for sharp needles, as there are no loops to slip between.

Answer: C

The keyed answer is Tall person.

Horizontal lines lead the eye across the body, so they make the figure look shorter and wider. That effect suits a tall person who wants to reduce apparent height; the same widening effect also helps a thin figure, but the key takes the height-reducing effect of horizontal lines as the point.

Horizontal lines are to be avoided by people who already look short or broad. A short and obese person would look shorter and wider still, and a tall and obese person would gain width, so both are told to prefer vertical lines, which add height and slim the figure.

Answer: B

Short-lived fashions are called fads.

A fad is a style that becomes popular very quickly, is taken up with enthusiasm by a limited group, and disappears just as fast, often within a season.

A classic is the opposite: a style that stays in fashion for a long time, such as a blazer or a simple shirt. A style is the distinctive form of a garment, such as a cowl neckline or a raglan sleeve, which may or may not be in fashion. A trend is the general direction in which fashion is moving, and usually lasts longer than a fad.

Answer: A

It is the cowl neckline.

A cowl neckline is cut on the bias grain, which drapes softly, and has extra fabric at the centre front so that it falls into soft U-shaped folds below the throat. Fabrics such as jersey, crepe and silk are used for it.

A dolman is a sleeve cut in one with the bodice, with a deep armhole. A bertha is a wide, cape-like collar that lies over the shoulders, and a flounce is a gathered or circular strip of fabric sewn to a garment's edge. None is a neckline that falls into folds.

Answer: B

The fabric is interfacing.

Interfacing is placed between the outer fabric and the facing in parts such as collars, cuffs, waistbands, button plackets and lapels. It gives them body, holds their shape and supports buttonholes. It can be sewn in or fused with heat.

Lining covers the inside of a whole garment to hide seams and help it hang well. Binding is a strip of fabric that encloses a raw edge. Interlacing is the crossing of warp and weft yarns in weaving, not a fabric.

Answer: A

The presser foot holds the fabric in place for sewing.

The pressure (presser) foot presses the fabric down against the feed dogs, so that the feed dogs can move it forward evenly and the fabric does not lift with the needle.

The needle is held by the needle clamp, the movement of the spool thread is controlled by the thread guides and tension discs, and the stitch length is set with the stitch regulator.