The American System of Dressmaking
==================================

The blocks in this directory have been drawn following the instructions
on `The American System of Dressmaking`_ by miss Pearl Merwin, published
in 1909.

.. _`The American System of Dressmaking`: https://archive.org/details/americansystemof00merw/page/n3

Measurements
------------

The blocks have been converted to metric measures.

All measurements should be taken on top of basic underwear, including a
corset, following the instructions given by the book.

Waist
^^^^^

Measurements used for the waist block (pages 20/21).

+----------------------+-----+----------------------------------------------+
| American System      | Valentina                                          |
+======================+=====+==============================================+
| 1. Neck measure      | G01 | ``neck_mid_circ``                            |
+----------------------+-----+----------------------------------------------+
| 2. Bust measure      | G04 | ``bust_circ``                                |
+----------------------+-----+----------------------------------------------+
| 3. Waist measure     | G07 | ``waist_circ``                               |
+----------------------+-----+----------------------------------------------+
| 4. Front measure     | P03 | ``neck_back_to_armfold_front_to_waist_side`` |
+----------------------+-----+----------------------------------------------+
| 5. Back measure      | H19 | ``neck_back_to_waist_back_b``                |
+----------------------+-----+----------------------------------------------+
| 6. Chest measure     | I03 | ``across_chest_f``                           |
+----------------------+-----+----------------------------------------------+
| 7. Width of back     | I08 | ``across_back_b``                            |
+----------------------+-----+----------------------------------------------+
| 8. Under arm measure | H03 | ``armpit_to_waist_side``                     |
+----------------------+-----+----------------------------------------------+
| 9. Armhole measure   | L19 | ``armscye_circ``                             |
+----------------------+-----+----------------------------------------------+
| 10. Shoulder measure | I01 | ``shoulder_length``                          |
+----------------------+-----+----------------------------------------------+

Additional measures used in the block and not listed on those pages are:

H37 ``shoulder_slope_neck_side_length``
   2.5 - 5 cm (shoulder drop);
G34 ``neck_arc_half_b``
   6 cm if the neck (G01) is between 30 and 38 cm.

Sleeve
^^^^^^

Measurements used for the sleeve (pages 53-54).

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1

   * - American system
     -
     - valentina
   * - 1. Length of sleeve
     - 014
     - ``arm_armscye_back_center_to_wrist_bent``
   * - 2. Length of sleeve from shoulder to elbow
     - 014 - L03
     - (as above) - ``arm_elbow_to_wrist_bent``
   * - 3. Inside measure from armhole to wrist
     - L08
     - ``arm_armpit_to_wrist``
   * - 4. Armhole measure
     - L19
     - ``armscye_circ``
   * - 5. Elbow measure
     - L13
     - ``arm_elbow_circ``
   * - 6. Hand measure
     - D05
     - hand_circ

Skirt
^^^^^

Measurements used for the skirt (pages 133-134).

Here the book does not give names to the measurements, but refers to the
lines on figures 1 and 2 on pages 28 and 29.

+-----------------+-----+------------------------+
| American System | Valentina                    |
+=================+=====+========================+
| 1. Line 3       | G07 | ``waist_circ``         |
+-----------------+-----+------------------------+
| 2. Line 14      | G09 | ``hip_circ``           |
+-----------------+-----+------------------------+
| 3.              | H35 | ``waist_to_hip_side``  |
+-----------------+-----+------------------------+
| 4. Line 15      | A13 | ``height_waist_front`` |
+-----------------+-----+------------------------+
| 5. Line 16      | A05 | ``height_waist_side``  |
+-----------------+-----+------------------------+
| 6. Line 17      | A23 | ``height_waist_back``  |
+-----------------+-----+------------------------+