Alameda High School - Acorn Yearbook (Alameda, CA)

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Making Hats for the Exhibition of Millinery

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Designing Posters “WHNHIS is the class in Poster Designing,” said the teacher to an interested mother. “Just at present the students are busy making posters for the Pet Show at the Exposition.” “What other posters do you design here besides these?” asked the visitor. “This term we have made advertisements for the Acorn, the Orchestra Dance, the Senior Play, the two school performances, “Scenes from the South- land” and the “Park Play,” and for the designing class. “Are the students really interested in this work?” “Indeed they are, because of the competition in developing original ideas, styles, and color schemes. In making the different posters they learn about the different mediums for drawing, such as charcoal, ink, water color paints, pastel, chalk and distemper of frescoe’s paint. Few posters are made with more than three colors in order to lessen the cost of reproduction.” “Is that a copy from life?” “Yes. The student made a sketch of a neighbor’s parrot, then brought the drawing to school and enlarged and colored it here in class. Now the poster with rabbits silhouetted against the moon is not as simple as the parrot, but its charm lies in the color. As you see, the sky is purple and the moon and printing yellow. These two main colors of the drawing form the greatest possible contrast because they are complementary. The other colors so con- trasted are blue and orange, and green and red. These combinations are always effective. Above all things a poster must be simple—both in wording and design. If a person looks at an intricate picture he loses the dominating idea and the advertisement is a failure. It must be held in mind that a poster is an advertisement intended to catch the eye, hold attention, and con- vince the reader that he wants the article advertised—and it must do these things as beautifully as they can be done. If it fails in any of these things it is neither art nor an advertisement.” “What styles of lettering do you use?” “The lettering is a matter of great importance and we use all styles. It is absolutely necessary that the type of lettering conform to the style of the poster. If the picture is delicate, long, thin, graceful lettering should be used; but if the subject is heavy and dark, the lettering must correspond. “A notable fact about the German posters is the substantial, compact lettering, and the bold and plain color scheme and design. Ludwig Hohlwein is the best modern German poster-maker. On the other hand, the lettering on French posters is in frailer type and more scattered. The colors are varied and the design fantastic. They contain an element of grace and are less conventional than the German style. Steinlen is the greatest French poster worker. Strangely enough, his greatest and most popular poster is an adver- tisement for sterilized milk. In Europe many artists of international fame do not scorn the lucrative satisfaction of poster-making.” —Margaret Calcutt.

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Millinery---A Practical Course N THE Millinery Class the first thing I made was a model hat of blue out- ing flannel by which I learned the different stitches necessary, such as the blind, catch, overcast and blanket stitch. I also learned to accustom my hands to use buckram and wire, and the art of covering a hat. My next step was to apply the stitches and work learned from experiment with the model hat to a hat which would fit me. I made my design, cut my pattern of heavy paper, and worked over it until the shape suited me. After the pattern was made I cut it from buckram and wired it, and bound the edges with crinoline so the wire would not wear the velvet with which I intended to cover my hat. After covering the hat, I put the necessary trimming in place and lined the crown, thus finishing my winter hat. The next task was to make sample bows, which I fashioned from paper cambric. Although there are many kinds of bows, the types only were prac- ticed and these were made as carefully as if of expensive ribbon. The next work was to make flowers of velvet, satin and other materials. After much experimenting I made folds and hems, which are necessary to know in order to sew two pieces of material together or to finish the brim edge of a hat. The last work of the term was braid-work, and to learn this I made a small buckram shape and covered it with silk braid. Many pretty hats were the result of the term’s work in Millinery. One of these was a brown velours of the Puritan shape with three bands of gros- grain ribbon around the side crown and a lighter brown ostrich fancy in front. Another was a large, white velvet, picture hat trimmed with brown fur, and a fur rosette with a flower in the center placed on each side. Another more simple hat was made of black taffeta underlined with rose taffeta and with a single large pink velvet rose as its only trimming. These are examples of the many pretty hats made in class. “Is millinery a practical course?” I was asked. I consider it one of the most practical courses in the school. One learns to make hats, to choose becoming and appropriate styles to suit the wearer, the season and the occa- sion, and to appreciate the cost of materials, thus making possible a future economy. The cost of the hats displayed at the November Millinery Exhibit in Dr. Thompson’s office ranged from $2.50 to $5.00, making an average cost of materials $3.75. In these days of arbitrary prices and quick changes in fashions one can seldom buy a suitable hat at so small a cost in even the least pretentious millinery store. —Alma Halcrow.