4thly. That you should, as often as possible, begin your run at the top, so that if there is any left over, it may go off at the bottom, where it is of the least consequence. You can do this in every case but where you have to join a cut edge and a selvage, and must begin at the bottom, in order to have the selvage uppermost. 5thly. That you must remember that gored skirts hang lower at the bottom of the gores than either before or behind, and that the first turning in of the hem should be therefore laid in rather deeper at the sides of the skirt. 6thly. That you should make your fastenings so good as that the dress may wear out before they give way. This is particularly important with regard to the pocket-holes and the openings behind, which should be well secured by stitching, or a bar at the turn. It is very trying to a lady to find her skirt slit down behind the first time she slips her gown over her head, or her pocket-hole give way before she has put her hand into it half a dozen times. With these remarks, and a proper share of attention, the following instructions will remove much of the difficulty in which the novice in the art of dressmaking finds herself involved. First the materials for the intended dress must be procured, and it is advisable, whenever practicable, to get them all at the same time. The necessary requisites are the material, the lining for the body and skirt, wadding, covering, hooks and eyes, silk, thread, and what is called stiffening muslin. You will require all those for a silk dress, and most of them for those of other fabrics. Having thus procured the required articles, proceed to cut out the dress, first measuring off the number of breadths of the proper length for the skirt (which is, of course, to be regulated by the height of the wearer, and by the manner in which it is intended to be made), and try them carefully on one side. If tucks are to be introduced into the skirt, a proper allowance must be made for these, as also for the turnings both at top and bottom. You next cut out the sleeves, as being the largest parts of the garment except the skirt. In cutting out the sleeves, you must first prepare a paper pattern of the required shape; then double the lining, and cut it exactly the shape of the paper, leaving about an inch all round for the turnings in. You will thus cut the sleeve linings both together, and will avoid some labor and all danger of making one larger than the other. Double the silk or other material so as that both the wrong sides may face each other, and cut the sleeves by the lining just prepared. To secure exactness, it is best to tack it to the material. Be careful to lay the straight side of the pattern to the selvage of the silk.