https://reconstructinghistory.com/en-de/blogs/tailoring.atomReconstructing History - Tailoring2017-09-27T06:42:30+02:00Reconstructing Historyhttps://reconstructinghistory.com/en-de/blogs/tailoring/how-to-make-any-jacket-part-i2017-09-27T06:42:30+02:002021-09-06T20:44:02+02:00How To Make Any Jacket Part Iadmin
This is a jacket that caught my eye and I thought I'd like to make myself something like this to wear when the temperature gets cool but it's not cold enough to wear my winter coats. I am a great fan of historical equestrian clothing, and this jacket has a bit of that style going for it. I am also a person with a protruding posterior, so jackets with extra fabric over the bum look good on me. Plus, I just think it looks fabulous.
But the back view reveals a few elements I don't like. The big problem is the attachment of the tails or skirt. It's attached with a flat waist seam that is rather unflattering. A curved waist seam — maybe in the style of an 18th century gown — would be more attractive. But even with a more shapely seam, the flat knife pleats are a bit dull from behind. I'd like to change those.
I found a similar coat that I like a bit better. Please excuse the fact that it is way too big in the shoulders for the model who is wearing it, and consequently, she is standing with her arms shoved back at an uncomfortable angle and ruining the hang of the front of the jacket.
Let's focus on the skirts instead.
From the side, we can see that the pleats are more round than flat. This is more pleasing to my eye. There appears to be no waist seam on this jacket. How then are the pleats accommodated? How does it go from a closely-fitted body to such wide skirts?
Let's take a look at it from the back.
Now we see! There is no waist seam in the back. The skirts widen from the waistline to the hem like those of a Golden Age of Piracy justacorps. The sides of the two center back panels likely turn 90 degrees at the waist area to make the full pleats that taper towards the waist.
Another element we can see more clearly from this angle is that the side skirts cannot be contiguous with the side pieces above the waist. The lack of dramatic taper in these pleats indicate that they start wide and stay wide. They cannot be the same piece of fabric as the piece above the pocket. And they're not. The pocket flaps are concealing a hidden seam!
Yet another similar coat gives us a better look at what might be going on under those pocket flaps. As you can see in the front-facing photo above, there is a seam from the bottom edge that touches the pocket edge and then continues across the bust and over the shoulder (known as a "princess seam"). The extra width of the side skirts is attached at this seam and continues to the princess seam in back. On this example, the center back skirts are attached with a waist seam that is hidden under a buttoned tab across the back of the waist. In our earlier example, the wider side skirts attached to the contiguous center back pieces that widened dramatically at the waistline.
So we have followed four steps so far:
Analyze Your Inspiration Photos
Look at the Drape
Find the Seams
Identify the Differences
Next time, we'll use the information we learned in these steps to choose a pattern that will help us make our dream jacket. Stay tuned!]]>
https://reconstructinghistory.com/en-de/blogs/tailoring/five-secrets-for-pattern-success2017-09-13T12:00:57+02:002021-09-06T20:43:51+02:00Five Secrets for Pattern Successadmin
Why Your Pattern Doesn't Work and I'm afraid we blamed it all on you. In my IT days we used to call that "Operator Error". But there are some ways you can increase your chance of success with a pattern. Here are our top five.
Always Make a Mockup
No matter how close you are to the measurements on the pattern size chart, always make a mockup. The simple fact of the matter is that pattern sizes only list bust, waist, and hip measurements, and maybe back waist for each size. But even if you are a 40" bust, the size for a 40" bust may not fit you well. Two very differently shaped women could have a 40" bust. I once made a gown for a woman who had a 40" bust but a 32" underbust. That's a very different shape than someone who has a 40" bust and a 38" underbust. Similarly some people are hippy and other people are "all back". People come in all different shapes, even when they have the same measurements.
Making a mockup allows you to make adjustments for all these variables.
Sometimes we think we have done this enough that we don't have to make a mockup. We're experienced! We don't have to add this extra step! Nobody got time for that! But the reality is that the more experienced you are, the more you will see that making a mockup every time is an absolute necessity. The amount of time (and fabric... and frustration!) it saves you in the long run is never not worth it.
Fit Again in the Fabric
Wait a second! You made a mockup, right? Doesn't that mean the garment is already fit properly?
Yes and no.
As I mentioned in the previous article on this subject, not all fabric acts the same. I repeat my anecdote about the 14th century cotehardie that fit perfectly in linen but I had to cut away four inches from the same size pattern pieces in wool to get the same fit. Some fabrics have a lot of give. Some fabrics are completely intractable. Some sneaky buggers stretch when they warm up to body temperature and your nicely-fit bodice suddenly hangs like a bag.
It may seem like an extra step, but it is never a bad idea to fit again in the fabric. Matter of fact, this is the one step I would never skip.
Take Your Time
We all have gotten that crazy idea to make a new garment the night before the event at which we want to wear it. But this is never a good impulse. Good things take time. And mistakes increase when you're in a rush. Buying a pattern, running up your size, and expecting it to fit in the morning is a recipe for disaster. Don't set yourself up like this.
Don't Throw Out the Instructions
I know. I know. You're a very experienced seamstress. You've made everything. Nothing is new to you. You know everything there is to know about every type of garment. But there's more than one way to skin a cat. The pattern you bought might use a technique with which you aren't familiar. Or it might assemble the garment in a different order than that to which you are used. Pattern makers don't do this to mess with you. They do it for a reason.
Before you get out your fabric and your cutting shears, sit down on your couch and read the pattern instructions, top to bottom. Digest what they say. Make sure you understand everything. If there's a bit that doesn't make sense, read it again.
Sleep On It
Sometimes, you just have to give your brain a rest.
]]>
https://reconstructinghistory.com/en-de/blogs/tailoring/dont-enough-fabric2017-01-18T11:47:40+01:002021-09-06T20:43:16+02:00What to do when you don't have enough fabricadmin
red coat from that pattern that I added gores to last month took 4 2/3 yards. But I didn't know if I could get the same coat out of 3 1/2 yds. As you can see, I couldn't even fit the four body pieces on it. And that isn't counting sleeves!
See? The Side Back piece is never going to fit.
Then I got an idea from my gore adding experiment last week. What if I trimmed the pattern pieces so that they fit on the fabric and used the triangular scraps — that always result from cutting this type of coat — to add the width back in?
So I carefully folded the Side Back and Side Front pieces to take away some of their width.
The Side Back piece rather conveniently folded along its grain line so I could run the piece right up against the fabric's selvedge.
I added a seam allowance to the Side Back piece (marked in the photo below with a dashed line). I also added seam allowances to either side of the Back piece so I will have something to add to on the Center Back and Side Back seams. This isn't as critical as adding width back to the Side Back piece since the Back wasn't very flared to begin with.
As you can see in the photo below, I saved so much fabric by cutting the Side Back piece this way that I didn't have to narrow the Side Front piece after all. I cut it, the Back, and the Front at full width. I also cut two Sleeves from the folded up fabric at the far end of the table and my Collar and Collar Facing out of bits between the other pattern shapes.
Do you know that that is there? That's the perfect rectangle to add onto my Side Back piece. And because the fabric is folded in half, there will be two of them of identical size.
What about facings? Yes. It's true. I didn't have enough fabric to make facings. And a coat needs facings. But facings can be a little decorative, right? As long as your base fabric is similar in thickness and drape to the rest of the coat, you can use a contrasting fabric to face the coat. I'm thinking about using this dense cotton velveteen I have in my stash. It would make a subtle but lush accent to this coat!]]>