III Make up a plan of the text.

IV Translate the sentences in italics in a written form.

V Questions for discussion:

1. What things should one take into consideration before choosing a garment?

2. What are the main figure types?

3. What is a hourglass figure like?

4. What is your advice for people with hourglass figure?

5. What would you recommend to wear with pear shaped figure?

6. Why is inverted triangle figure described as “the wedge”?

7. Why is this figure of the least difficulty?

8. Why is it important to know one’s figure type?

TEXT C

I Mind the following words and word-combinations:

1. to consume – споживати

2. to prevent – запобігати

3. duck type – парусина

4. skipped stitches – пропущений стібок

5. bent – кривий

II Listen to the text and be ready to answer the questions:

1. Why should one be properly ready before starting to sew?

2. What causes the wrong hanging of the garment?

III Listen to the text again. Decide if the statements are true or false.

1. Right preparation for sewing will consume your time.

2. Your sewing machine must be accurately threaded.

3. The choice of the needle doesn’t depend on the fabric.

4. A bent needle can damage the thread.

5. The grainline always runs parallel with the length of the fabric.

Texts for additional reading

Customs and Traditions

Different countries have different customs and different sets of beliefs. We have grouped the following countries into regions to illustrate to you how the different customs and traditions of some countries affect the type of clothes people wear.

Click on the different regions to see what people in different countries wear due to their customs and traditions.

Portugal:

Their traditional clothing consists of berets, stocking caps, baggy shirts and trousers for the men. Women wear long dresses and shawls. In other places the people dress entirely in black or another dark colour for their daily activities, but they put on colourful garments on special occasions.

Scotland:

The people from the highlands of Scotland wear kilts. It is a knee-length, skirt-like garment that is pleated at the back, but has a plain front. These kilts are made of tartan, a checked cloth. The design of the kilt is usually associated with a particular Scottish clan.

Ireland:

The Irish wear kilts of saffron colour, which are made of fine-spun woollen cloth and a sporran (an ornamental pouch) is worn in front of the kilt. The kilt is usually worn with nothing underneath.

China:

The Chinese believe that dark-coloured clothing bring bad luck and should be avoided while wearing brighter-coloured clothes, especially the colour red is auspicious as it is believed that the colour red can bring good luck and prosperity.

India:

Women: Most Indian women wear saris. This is a garment consisting of a 6-meter long piece of cloth, which is draped around the body as a long dress. The loose end of the cloth is flung over the shoulder or used to cover the head of the woman wearing it.

The sari is usually worn with a blouse. Most unmarried women and young girls in Northern India usually wear long flowing trousers called a shalwar and a long blouse called kameez. The tribal women wear long skirts.

Most Indian men wear a dhoti. This is usually white in colour and is wrapped around the legs forming loose trousers. This can also be wrapped around the lower part of the body forming a skirt and is fastened at the waist. The poor labourers wear loincloth, a piece of cloth wrapped around the hips between the thighs. In cities, western dressing is increasing in popularity.

Malaysia:

The traditional wear of Malay women and men in Malaysia is a colourful skirt called a sarong or a kain. The sarong is a long strip of cloth wrapped around the body, while a kain is similar, except it has its ends sewn together. The man usually wears a shirt with a sarong wrapped around his waist.

The woman wears a long-sleeved blouse with a sarong or a kain. The man also wears a special cap for religious purposes and the woman wears a shawl over her shoulders or on her head. They cover their heads so as not to show their hair. This is to prevent the men from treating them as sex objects, and also because their God has told them to do so.

Japan:

On special occasions, such as weddings and funerals, the Japanese women wear traditional clothing called a kimono. The kimono is tied around the waist with a sash called obi and worn with zori, or sandals.

Vietnam:

In the Northern cities, both men and women wear plain black trousers accompanied with tightly buttoned white or dark-coloured jackets. The people there wear sandals made from tires of worn-out automobile. The dressing in the northern cities is similar to that of the southern cities.

Many women wear the traditional Vietnamese ao dai, which is a long coat-like garment worn over trousers. In rural areas, the women wear loose-fitting shirts and skirts and the men wear coat-like garments that extend to the knees.

Mexico:

The men wear cotton shirts and trousers. They also wear leather sandals known as huaraches. Sombreros protect Mexican men from the hot sun. Sombreros are wide-brimmed felt or straw hats. They wear ponchos when it is cold or when it rains. The women wear blouses with long, full skirts. They also wear plastic sandals. The women cover their heads with rebozos (fringed shawls).

Brazil:

In Southern Brazil, the cowboys (gauchos) wear baggy trousers called bombachas, and also wide-brimmed felt hats.

Bolivia:

The men wear striped ponchos and colourful shawls. The women wear full skirts. They also wear derby hats.

Egypt:

The Fellahin men (fellahin means peasant) wear pants and long, full shirt-like garments called a galabiyah; whereas the women wear long flowing gowns either in dark or bright colours.

North Africa:

In Northern Africa, the men wear long, loose robes. Many men also wear turbans or skullcaps. The women folk wear long, simple dresses, at times with baggy trousers underneath. The women also wear a dark coloured cloak or shawl in public, while some follow the Islamic tradition of covering their faces with veils. However, people in the cities dress in western-styled clothing.

How Climate Influences on Clothes

In many parts of the world, people need protection from the weather. Therefore the type of climate influences the type of clothes that people wear.

The materials used for clothing vary around the world. Some textiles are better suited to a particular climate. For example, knitted wool is more useful in cold climates, and thin woven cotton is more useful in warm climates.

For most of history, the textiles people used depended on the raw materials available locally, such as flax in Egypt, cotton in India, and silk in China.

Beyond considerations of utility and availability, however, people tend to derive regional or national identity from their most characteristic textiles, just as they do from their typical foods. Thus, a European businessman defines himself in part by his woollen suit, an Indonesian farmer by his cotton sarong (skirt of brightly coloured cloth, worn wrapped about the waist).

For centuries, silk-wearing Chinese people despised wool, which they considered the fabric of uncivilized people. Today, such considerations of identity have weakened amid international trade and international cultural exchange.

In cold climates, people wear warm garments made of fur, wool, or closely woven fabrics. They also wear warm shoes or boots. These materials are usually good insulators of heat because they tend to have many tiny hairs in them and these hairs trap air.

As air is a bad conductor of heat, heat is unable to pass through and the person is kept warm. The Eskimos for example, made most of their clothing of caribou skin. They wear two suits, with the inner suit of caribou skin or sealskin suit.

In warm climates, people wear materials made of lightweight materials like cotton or linen, which have a fairly open weave. These materials absorb perspiration and allow air to flow around the body.

People in these climates sometimes wear white or light-coloured clothes because such colours reflect the sun’s rays. For example, India, most of the people wear light, loose clothing because of the hot climate. Bright colours and white are common.

They may also wear sandals, which are more comfortable than shoes or heavy boots in warm weather. Large hats made of straw serve as sunshades.

This is especially evident in places in the tropical regions like in Southeast Asia where daily temperatures range from 23 to 34 degrees Celsius and where the weather is very humid.

In an African village, villagers may wear only a loincloth around the waist.

In temperate regions, people wear different types of clothing because of the four different seasons: summer, spring, autumn and winter. Their types of clothes vary with each different season.

In summer, they may choose to wear clothes made of cotton so that they will not feel too warm during this period when temperatures are high.

During winter, they would switch to wearing coats and jackets made of thicker materials like wool to keep themselves warm in the cold weather.

In many places, people must wear clothes for protection against several kinds of weather. For example, people of the Arabian deserts wear loose, flowing garments that shield their bodies from the blazing sun.

The same garments protect them against the cold night air. Even in less severe climates, people may require protective clothing during the hot and cold seasons.