Although similar in shape, the 1902 De Mayo coat had the additional step of stitching a dart along
the side seam for a closer fit (the shape can be seen in the small ovals marked lines 12 and 13 in
Figure 3). The prototype coat, printed in an allover pattern onto silk crepe, can be seen in Figure 8.
The back is reinforced and slit at a point mid-armhole to inset the long extended finger of the sleeve
pattern. On the original pattern, the sleeve seams were not the same length. Rather than placing the
excess at the elbow as most likely intended, pleats were created at the upper sleeve seam. Finally, a
small collar was added from the remaining printed fabric. The other alteration to the original was
addition of width in the sleeve as noted earlier.
The Santomene pattern was the third coat developed as a printed prototype. This pattern did not
fit through the arm and shoulder area when tested and would have required significant alterations.
The sleeve was much too narrow and the shoulder angle too steep. In addition, it was the only
pattern with center front at a 90_ angle to center back. Rather than attempt to adjust the pattern
to retain the patentee’s original intention, this pattern was chosen for creative experimentation
(Step 6 of the original proposed process) that might suggest other approaches to draping the pattern
shapes. For this investigation, the original pattern shape was retained but orientation on the
body altered. This meant ignoring the patentee’s intended relationship of pattern to body. The
entire pattern was shifted forward from the shoulder, thus causing the center front (Figure 9) to
drape at an angle, rather than follow the center front line. This placed the back armhole point
(C) higher on the back of the body—a more logical position to improve movement based on previous
analysis. The front edge was folded back to form a lapel. Points A and B are marked on both
pattern and muslin in Figure 9 to provide orientation. Point C is not visible on the muslin. While
contouring issues remained, the result is a more dramatic garment drape and shape. The back coat
section, originally intended to connect to the front, is now draped with a side fold and held in place
with a tuck (Figures 9 and 10). After the muslin test, an underarm panel was added to increase the
sleeve size based on comparison to the sleeve on the Peyser pattern. A dart was added over the
shoulder for shape and several additional darts to contour to the body. For this jacket, the print
was engineered to clearly follow the lines of the pattern, with the final design printed on cotton
sateen (Figure 10).