tailoring

Reverse Corner Construction

~ Tia Dia ~ 8 Comments

I mentioned in my last post that Burda’s instructions for the construction of the Painted Jacket’s yokes with their reverse corners was atrocious, consisting of, and I quote,

“Stitch front yokes to fronts and titch back yokes to back.  Clip seam allowances of fronts and back into corners.  Press seam allowances onto yokes.  Topstitch yokes close to attachment seams…..”

Sooooo much is missing in this little paragraph, that I thought I’d share how I do reverse corners.  I give full and unabashed credit to Vogue Patterns’ instruction sheets in the various designer patterns which I have sewn over the years, since it is through them that I have learned pretty much everything I know about sewing.

Step 1:  On right side of fabric, pin one small fabric remnant (silk organza is my choice), centring over the corner centre.  Stitch along stitching/seam lines using a small stitch, pivoting at the corners.reverse corner 1Step 2:  Slash between stitchings to corner.  Be exact on this step, slashing as close as you can to the stitching without cutting through it.reverse corner 2Step 3:  Press fabric remnant toward seam allowance over slashed edges.reverse corner 3Step 4:  Pin baste pieces, stitching sections together, just alongside the reinforcement stitching.reverse corner 4Step 5:  Press allowances onto yokes, trimming allowances on an angle into the corner.reverse corner interiorStep 6:  Topstitch or not.  Here’s the finished result from the right side.reverse corner 5I do find that some fiddling may be required to ensure the reinforcing remnant is within the seam allowance and doesn’t show from the right side, but I have never had a failure using this technique.  The corner is reinforced and secure and won’t pull apart, even under wear and duress.

Vogue 8626: Classic Harris Tweed

~ Tia Dia ~ 30 Comments

Vogue 8626 pockets (523x800)I wore my new tweed coat for the first time a couple of days ago when it was -11°C.  My fingers were numb after five minutes of trying to take photos outside, but the coat kept me toasty warm. It’s a very simple coat – nothing super fancy or head-turning about it.  The coat is wonderfully comfortable, and I’m glad I interfaced the back on the bias because it gives the feeling of moving with me instead of being separate from me.  Like it’s hugging me and keeping me warm.  I’m sure I’ll get a lot of wear out of this garment.  Here’s a shot of the back pleats.  Vogue 8626 backI’m a little disappointed in the way the pleats fall during wear.  When the coat front is open, they fall perfectly.  Vogue 8626 unbuttonedWhen it’s buttoned, they spread.  The side hangs vertically in a straight line while either buttoned or not, so the pleats should hang properly during wear, but they don’t. Vogue 8626 side If you look at pictures on the web and read reviews of this pattern, you’ll see that this is a problem on all versions made of this coat.  Personally, I think it’s because I assumed the empire back and pleats would eliminate the need for a short back adjustment of 2 inches, and there’s some tweaking that needs to happen with the pattern to get the pleats to lay perfectly flat.  The side back pleats need to be much deeper and shaped over the hips, imho.  Here’s a view, buttoned, on my dress form.Vogue 8626 back pleats buttonedAt least it mimics me in shape and drape!  And now the interesting collar: View C with the very high collar.Vogue 8626 view C collarI don’t have a particularly short neck, but you can see how the collar is too high for me.  Here’s a shot of it unbuttoned and folded over at the CB, which I think is much more flattering.  However, in a gale, the high collar will definitely keep frigid winds away!Vogue 8626 vie C unbuttonedAnd here’s the last finishing details.  I finished the hem edge with bias taffeta.hem bindingI added a hanging chain loop.haning loopAnd, of course, an extra button along with the wonderful Harris Tweed label that accompanies every length purchased from one of the mills in the Hebrides.harris tweedLooks a little 70’s, don’t you think?70s style

Vogue 8626: lining

~ Tia Dia ~ 6 Comments

Vogue 8626 back lining

The lining for my coat is what we call kasha lining: flannel-backed heavy satin.  I added a centre back pleat for the upper back.lining back pleat insideI simply cut a 4-inch wide strip, stitched each long edge of the strip to the centre back seams and then formed a box pleat.lining pleat right sideI then topstitched large triangles at either end of the pleat to hold all the folds in place.  And for that extra little piece of finishing, I trimmed the entire lining with shot taffeta bias strips.  Here’s an honest shot of the interior front.Vogue 8626 front liningLooks pretty messy.  I never noticed how off the lining was at the side front attachment seams until I took this photo, especially towards the hemline.  How irritating.  BUT… is it irritating enough to make me rip it out and stitch it again?  That is the question. 😉

Vogue 8626: sleeves

~ Tia Dia ~ 14 Comments

I wanted the nicest possible sleeve head for this coat, so I cut a bias strip of tweed and interfaced the top 4 inches of the the sleeve head.sleeve capThe cuff is interfaced with a wide strip of bias horsehair.sleeve interfacingAfter fitting prior to sleeve insertion, I decided to put in a very small 1/4″ shoulder pad.  Here’s the front of the shoulders.shoulders frontHere’s the back view.  The shoulders of this coat are quite sloped and designed with no shoulder pads in mind.  shouldersI think this coat looks like it’s been in my closet for a while. Y’know – already broken in.sleeve head

Vogue 8626: pockets

~ Tia Dia ~ 5 Comments

Here’s a view of the in seam pockets.  I wasn’t sure about keeping them inseam, but decided I would leave them as is instead of changing them to welt pockets.in seam pockets (600x800) I added pocket stays to keep them from flopping around and extra organza strips to reinforce the pocket edges as they are just off grain and I don’t want the openings to stretch out of shape.  pocket stay (599x800)I also added 3-inch (10 cm) wide strips of Harris tweed to the front pocket lining pieces to limit the view of the very shiny kasha lining.pocket inside facings (600x800)I am going to pick stitch the edges to keep all the allowances, organza and interfacing in place.

Vogue 8626: back construction

~ Tia Dia ~ 9 Comments

Vogue 8626 interfacing back (800x600)I’m taking my time on this coat.  I decided to interface the upper backs on the bias with horsehair.  I chose not to add front and back shields based on the fit.  There isn’t any caving through the shoulders.  I wanted the bias interfacing through the back to keep the movement of the tweed fluid.Vogue 8626 interfacing skirt (600x800)I underlined the back with polycotton broadcloth.  The hem is interfaced with bias strips of horsehair.  The seam allowances are all catch stitched into place, although these pics were taken prior to that step.  Here’s the back with all the pleats.back pleats (583x800)

interfacing a coat

~ Tia Dia ~ 6 Comments

Well, as sure as there’s sunshine today, I’ve decided on my course of action for my tweed coat.  Thank you to everyone who left a comment!  This isn’t the first coat I’ve tailored, but for some reason I just got stumped about which interfacing route to take.

Anyways, let me tell you how I came to my decision:

I was catching up on my blog reading and clicked through to Pinterest from one of the blogs and, would you believe it, there was this lovely pin on one of Steph C’s boards:How to Interface Jackets: Lessons from an Yves Saint Laurent Garment

This is an Yves Saint Laurent jacket from the 80’s, and shows you one of the methods of interfacing that I was waffling on. Don’t you just LOVE interior pictures like this?!?!

I’ll be using this method, since it will stand up to years of wear and – if the pics in the linked Threads article (click on the picture above or here) are any indication – will keep its shape for at least 20 years.

Happy sewing, everyone!

stalled…

~ Tia Dia ~ 8 Comments

Waffling on how to go about certain parts of garment construction sometimes really trips me up on productivity.  I’m currently have my Harris tweed dress coat cut and ready to assemble, but I’m undecided about the interlining/underlining. undecided (600x800)

I want this garment to hold up to years of wear without falling out of shape, so I’m using hair canvas, which you can see at the very back of the picture.  I’m making Vogue 8626, View C.

Here’s the options I’m having a tough time choosing between:

  1. V-8626_thumb.jpgInterfacing the bodice back with the interfacing cut on the true bias and (possibly) an extra shoulder piece, depending on the fit.
  2. Should I underline this tweed with silk organza (I don’t want a lot of bulk), trim away all the bias interfacing seam allowances except for the shoulders and armscyes and catchstitch the interfacing to the organza?
  3. Or should I underline each back piece separately and cut a back “shield” for the interfacing ?

And what about the front?  I’m doing bound buttonholes, and will interface the front on the straight grain, but should I interface the entire length of the side fronts on the bias?

Do you ever get stalled on a project because you can’t decide which method to use?  This won’t be the last coat I make, so I guess I could just use this as an experiment and use whatever method I don’t choose on the next one….