Fusing Interfacing

I've long since dispensed with those plastic sheets of instructions you get with your interfacing. They are almost always the same and results vary depending on how hot your iron is, how much pressure you use, and your fabric anyway.

When fusing anything but cotton I do a test fuse first, just to make sure the interfacing is really going to stick. Sometimes with fabrics that are not washed (they are instead pre-steamed), I just can't get the interfacing to fuse permanently. That is not necessarily bad....the fusing will hold it in place at least long enough for it to get sewn in place and then it can act as a sew in.

Here's my usual procedure. I photographed two trials, one with so-sheer and one with pellon b/c each showed different aspects better.

• Press fabric flat.
  
• Place interfacing on the fabric...here is the best hint I can give you....don't smooth it out. Let is sit loose and wavy like on the fabric. And if it doesn't sit loosely on the fabric like this, use your fingers to loosen it up a bit...the idea is to give the interfacing a bit of ease in comparison with the fabric. I have a theory that this helps avoid bubbling later on when the garment is washed.
  
• 
• Now, hold your iron just over the interfacing and steam the bejeebers out of it. See the edge curling? It's shrinking up a bit.
• 
  
• Next, lay a press cloth (I like silk organza), misted with water (careful on dry cleanables of course) over the interfacing
• Press and hold for about 10-15 seconds. Really put some pressure on it.
• Pick up and move the iron to another spot and repeat.
• You will have to go over everything twice, with the iron in a different position, to get rid of the "holes" from the steam holes on the soleplate.
• When it's done, remove the press cloth and don't touch it until completely dry. Yeah, it's hard, I cheat sometimes too.
• If this process doesn't work, well, then, I use a sew in!

Elastic Waists

I have not fallen off the face of the earth (though my husband may push any day now.) I'm busy doing alterations and getting ready for Christmas, and knitting, and, a new fiber hobby, spinning. Alas, I have lost my sewing mojo. This has happened before though, and I expect it to return sometime after a week off between Christmas and New Year's. In the meantime, my daughter keeps hinting about her winter coat and it sits, in a neat pile, cut and not marked.

What I'm working on today is a pant muslin for a very petite client. She has a very hard time finding pants in RTW b/c she is so small and does not like the new lower rise pants. So she brought me her favorite pair to copy.

These pants are a houndstooth patterned knit, with a knit lining. They have darts front and back, and a waistband that is slightly elasticized. There is no closure.

Fabric for the new pants will be suiting wool, lined of course.

After tracing the pants, I've found that the difference b/w the hip and finished pant waist measurements is 8". (The elastic in the WB gathers the waist in another 5".) So how is she getting into the pants? Either she has 8" of ease in the hips, or the design of these RTW pants relies on the stretch of the knit fabric and lining. Since I did not, as would have been wise, measure her hips when she dropped off the pants (duh), I don't know how much ease the pants have in the hips. I will have to leave a side opening for a zip and see if I can pin it closed at the muslin fitting. If I can't, then I will have to ask her, would she like a zipper, or would she like me to add more ease in the waist area?

This has led me to think about elastic waists and why they just don't look good on some of us. The larger our hip to waist ratio, the less likely we are to prefer elastic waists, even though they are comfortable. That is because the waist must be big enough to fit over our larger hips, and the bigger the hips are, the more fabric will have to be gathered around the waist.

Women who are straighter or very thin can look quite stylish in elastic waist pants. They don't need as much fullness around the waist in order for the hips to fit nicely. Height doesn't hurt either. They can wear luxuriously gathered skirts and look great.

All is not lost for us curvier women though. We can still wear gathers or pleats, though they look best placed lower, beneath a skirt yoke, or higher, under an empire seam.

Don't get me wrong now...I'm all for curves. But they can be easily lost beneath elastic or gathered waists. So I think it's best...if you're curvy, to emphasize curves. And if you're straight, to emphasize that very youthful look.

Vogue Jacket Sleeves

Usually I use crimping or crowding to ease sleeve caps in dresses and tops. But for the tailored jacket, Vogue 7467 I thought I'd put in a little more effort. Anyway, with the hair canvas interfacing making the wool heavier, crowding would've been ineffective.

So I ran two rows of 4.5mm basting stitches. Pulled them up and pressed on the tailor board:

They looked so good I thought that setting them would be easy.

sigh....

Not so. I hand basted them in quite meticulously and still had to make adjustments. I spent quite awhile trying to get the plaid to match in the back of the cap but finally had to give up that idea, which placed too much ease at the uppermost back shoulder.
Finally satisfied, I machine stitched the sleeves in place.
I used a "mustache" sleeve head that Sewing Diva Els sent me from Denmark! That part was easy enough. Though, honestly, I'm not sure I put them in right. I put the bigger end in the back of the cap.

Correction 10/7/07: Els is Dutch and lives in the Netherlands. Duh. I had to do quite a bit of fussing with the steamer to get the caps just right. They seemed to want to be a bit too pronounced for my taste. I thought about pressing the cap/shoulder seam open to flatten them out like a men's jacket...but actually, with my "weak" shoulders, I decided a little volume there wouldn't hurt.

I did not, as I'd expected, have to remove any of the 1 1/4" I added to raise the armscye base.

What's next? Closing the lining, sewing on the buttons, and revising and attaching patch pockets. (I already made the pockets once according to the pattern, but I decided they are too big, and I don't like the way they stand away from the body...my hips already stand away from my body.) Hopefully the next post on this project will be the last.

Vogue Jacket and Pressing Board

This is a June Tailor Board that I purchased quite a few years ago with the pads. Unfortunately, these are not available anymore. (Though there is one currently on ebay for over $50!)


***edited 11/19/07 to add - see comment below by Nancy2001....Tailor Board may still be available at Nancy's Notions...suggests calling and speaking to a customer service rep.

However, you can use a point presser for straight, tight seams, and a sleeve board (standing on it's end) for very rounded seams. Here is how I used my board today as I worked on the collar and lapel of my plaid Vogue jacket ~
I first used a steamer to slightly shape the lapel facing over the jacket front in the correct position.

Then I basted the facing to the jacket front, easing the facing where it would curl outward, and sewing it taut under the break point, where it should be hidden. Claire Shaeffer gives very detailed instructions on just how to do this in the pattern.

At this point I have to mention that I was very surprised at how efficiently the easing and steam shaping techniques worked. I had expected to understitch the front edge, on the body under the lapel, and on the facing below the break point....but the easing and pressing worked so well it's unnecessary. Also, the hand stitching that is done to secure the seam allowances inside works wonders to keep everything in line.

The tailor board is indispensable for pressing collars and lapels.

Here, left, I am using the curved point to press the upper lapel.

Remember, you can use the currently available point presser/clapper for any of these tight spots.

Incidentally, for a clapper, I use a scrap of wood salvaged years ago from the basement. Hitting the freshly pressed, steamed, seam with the flat of the wood helps to flatten it, and also causes it to dry much faster.



Right, I am pressing the "gorge line" with a straight portion of the board.












To press the lower front opening edge of the front/facing seam, I have turned the board on end and placed the curved seam over it. This is where you could use the end of a sleeve board for the same purpose.











The collar has a straight portion, towards the sides, which I'm pressing over a straight edge. Note how easy it is to press right into the corner! This makes for an easily turned, neat, collar point. (Just as with the lapel point)







The collar is more rounded in the middle back, so I pressed that over the curved portion of the board, though I think the straight edge of the point presser would work well enough.





So now the lapels are finished and the collar is ready to be placed. Just give me another few months for that....sigh....





Did I ever tell you how my husband, clever guy that he is, once put my ham in the fridge? Never a dull moment around here, folks.

OK, is it just me, or does my ham, adorned with the collar, look kinda like Patrick Star?

Couture Jacket Progress

During my vacation I spent a lot of time working on the Claire Shaeffer couture jacket pattern, Vogue 7467. It took two muslins before I was ready to cut the wool. After the initial alterations, I had to add an additional 1" across the bust, and a mere 6" around the hips!

Second FBA:I also found it necessary to raise the armhole about 1" to facilitate arm movement. Here you see the side panel on the left and underarm sleeve piece on the right:Cutting
Lesson learned - always buy 3 full jacket lengths of a plaid in order to simplify matching! I had only about 2 1/2 lengths and it made things very, very difficult. I had to finally resort to doing the layout on the floor, so I could visualize the entire thing at once, and it took me hours. I do think I achieved fairly good matching, though I haven't set the sleeves yet.

Understructure
For what Ms. Shaeffer calls the entoilage (understructure) I used bias Egyptian cotton, Arco, and Tailor's Pride hair canvas. In substituting the cotton for the primary layer of canvas, I was using material I had (i.e., free) and also opting for a bit more suppleness. Unfortunately, I did not realize I should've replaced the cotton with canvas in the lapel area until after I'd machine quilted the canvas chest piece onto the cotton underlining piece. I then tried to "retro-fit" canvas into the lapel area. The white tape you see in this picture is not the roll line, it is securing the catchstitches I used to attach the canvas to the cotton (which is underneath the canvas chest piece.) (Did I just lose, you Mom?) This tape is so lightweight, I don't expect it to interfere with the turning of the lapel.
Note the balanced dart, not yet trimmed.

Welt pocket
The welt pocket insertion went smoothly. I did add the step of fusing interfacing behind the pocket as this wool has a tendency to ravel quite easily. Matching the plaid was the biggest challenge and I considered cutting the welt on the bias but I thought it was too busy looking. I also fused lightweight interfacing to the silk pocket bag pieces to make them easier to handle, and used a self-fabric facing for the upper bag piece to fill in the slash opening behind the welt with matching plaid.Seaming
The major seams had to be meticulously matched across the plaid of course. I pinned them from the right side and slip basted them before machine stitching them:
This worked like a charm and I didn't have to rip and re-sew any seams.

By now I am thoroughly disenchanted with this plaid. The color is all wrong for me, and it's dressier than I'd really wanted. I wanted a sport jacket and this is more of a suit fabric. Nevertheless, I plod onward, considering the whole project as a sort of private, self-directed, class in tailoring technique. And here is the fun part, the pad-stitching ~

Collar Pad-Stitching
This is the part I couldn't wait to do, and what appeals to me so much about tailoring...the hand-stitched shaping of the collar and lapels. I'm using a milliner's needle and cotton quilting thread. The idea here is to pick up only one of 2 threads of the wool behind the canvas, so the stitches are invisible from the right side. I do this by "rocking" the needle into the wool and out so the needle just catches it. Since you are stitching while the fabric layers are held in a curved position, you are in effect making the curve permanent. It's like magic. Lapel taping and pad-stitching
The roll line tape is cut about 1/2" shorter than the actual roll line, and as it is attached, the lapel roll line is eased to the shorter tape in the middle third area. I found the fell stitching awkward at first but got into a groove after several minutes. I also used a tailor's thimble, which is open at the top, on my right ring finger. I could then use the fingernail side of that finger to push the needle easily through the several layers - fabric, canvas, and tape.

I used 3/8" cotton twill tape at the roll line and 1/4" tape at the lapel and front edges. This, then, is where I have to set this project aside and attend to some work. Oh, yeah, work, remember that? Rats.

Evaluating a Pattern for Alterations

When my sewing mentor guided me through my first real quality garment, she taught me to evaluate the pattern tissue by making a chart comparing my measurements with the pattern's and calculating the difference between them. Over the years I have come to use less measurements than the 19 she originally used with me. As I've developed my own sewing style I've come to prefer to make less initial adjustments, as they can get confusing and there are always more changes to be made at the time of muslin anyway. I've also learned which adjustments are most important to my fitting issues. You will learn to optimize your own list in the same way. Perhaps you have larger biceps but waist length is not an issue for you. In your chart you would include the former and exclude the latter.

I am using a Claire Shaeffer Vogue pattern. I have rough cut the pattern pieces, and because there are so many, I separated them into two piles...

1. Pieces needed for the muslin
2. Pieces not needed for the muslin - interfacings and linings - no need to alter those until I've perfected the fit of the muslin

I ironed the tissue pieces with a warm, dry, iron because they were hopelessly smooshed.

Now I've made my chart, which looks like this :Explanations:

• I have used my high bust measurement to determine my upper torso size b/c I am larger than a B-cup and all patterns are, of course, a B-cup. If I were to cut the upper torso corresponding to my full bust size, the garment would be too big around the neck and shoulders. I will have to make a full bust adjustment, or FBA.
• I have made notations as to what size I must cut where, taking advantage of the nested sizing of the pattern pieces. I will cut a 12 around the neck and shoulders (and sleeve), a 14 at the waist, and a 16 towards the hips. Yes, my hips correspond to a size 18+, but that is a full hip measurement and the jacket barely reaches full hips.
  
• In some instances I have used the pattern standard measurement (what they have stated on their sizing chart - first column on my chart) and where they do not state a standard measurement I have physically measured the pattern (2nd column on my chart.) There is an important distinction. The pattern standard measurement indicates the actual body measurement of the woman for whom the pattern was drafted. (Usually they only give you bust, waist and hips.) Now, the actual pattern measurements includes design and wearing ease. You obtain these values by measuring the tissue pieces. (Or, in some cases, the bust, waist, and hip actual pattern measurements are printed on the pattern tissue in the appropriate places.)
  

**** Either and/or both types of measurements can be used to determine which changes to make to your pattern as long as you understand that in order to maintain the line of the original design, you must maintain the original amount of ease in the pattern. How do you know how much ease was designed into the original pattern? Well, if the pattern standard waist measurement is 30" and the pattern measures 32" around the waist, then there is 2" of ease around the waist. Unfortunately that only works when you know the pattern standard measurements, and the bust, waist and hips is all they're likely to reveal. (Why, oh why?????) In other areas, shoulders or biceps for example, you will have to consult a reference to determine how much ease is recommended in those areas. Alternatively, you can purchase a pattern company's "fitting shell" which will represent body measurements plus wearing ease only...no design ease. You can compare the fitting shell bodice to the fashion garment bodice to get an idea of how much design ease is incorporated into the style. ****

• Be sure, when you measure a pattern, to leave out the seam allowances, fold out darts, and to double appropriate measurements. For example, when measuring the back shoulder width, I measure like this...

Then I double that measurement b/c the pattern only covers half of the jacket back, and get 8.5" + 8.5' = 17". If there had been a back shoulder dart, I'd have folded it out before measuring.

So, the pattern's back shoulder width is 17" and I've recorded that on my chart under the "pattern measures" column. My references tell me that there should be about an inch of ease across the upper back and that the shoulder point can extend up to 3/4" beyond the natural shoulder joint. So I will take 1" out of the shoulders leaving 16" or my body's 15" plus 1" of ease.

• Here I have measured the back waist length, always an issue for me -
  

The pattern's back waist length is 16 1/4". My measurement is 15 1/2". There is no ease in back waist length. So I will move the waistline up 3/4".

• Whoever has arms that long??? I am only going to remove 1" of length for the muslin however, since I like the sleeves longer than standard and it'll be easier to take more out of the pattern than to put it back in.
  

Next Steps:
Once I have made my chart I will sit down with my favorite fitting book/s and make a plan for altering the pattern pieces. Then I'll be ready to alter the patterns and make an initial muslin.

Curving edges towards the body

There are a number of places where you like a garment to curve attractively towards or around the body, where an opening edge would otherwise gape awkwardly.

• necklines, especially v-necks, should curve slightly over the breasts, hugging the body
  
• pocket edges, especially over the side hips, should curve towards the body so that they stay flush with the pant body when worn
  
• armholes should curve around the front axilla, not gape open revealing skin and bra (as we so often see in RTW sleeveless blouses)
  

The simple key to any of these 3 fitting details is that the fabric edge be eased over the body curve. The ease can be achieved in various ways including these:

• Run gathering threads just outside the seamline to be eased, i.e. a scant 1/8th inch outside the seamline. Draw up gathering threads to desired fullness and tie off. Note: Using a shorter stitch length with your gathering threads, i.e., 3.5mm rather than 5mm, gives you more control over the distribution of the ease and creates smoother, less noticeable fullness. Secure with stay tape.
  
• Use narrow elastic stretched slightly over the area to be eased. I often use elastic to ease necklines and armholes when sewing with stretch knits. Besides easing, the heft of the elastic gives the edge of a knit some definition and stability. For example, I would use the elastic around a knit sleeveless armhole, running it without stretching over all but the lower third of the front armhole - there I would stretch it slightly to curve that part towards the body. The relative thickness or body of the elastic gives the edge of a knit some definition and stability.
• Use "crimping" a.k.a. "crowding." This is my favorite method of easing fabric. After crimping, apply stay tape to secure.
  
• Ease directly to stay tape. For this method, you pre-cut the stay tape to a length somewhat less than the edge to be eased. (Experience will teach you how much shorter, but 1/2" is a good place to start in most cases.) Pin the stay tape to the opening. You will be sewing tape side up, fabric side down, just outside the seamline. Pin the tape flat where you don't need much easing, i.e. the upper neckline, and let the fabric bubble under the areas where you need the ease, i.e., the lower third of the neckline. Stitch the tape to the fabric slowly. When you get to the place where the fabric is "bubbled" under the tape, hold the tape taut and allow the feed dogs to ease the fabric into place with the tape as you stitch. You have eased and stayed in one step.

Incidentally, any lightweight, stable, woven fabric can serve as "stay tape." I often use the selvage edge of cotton batiste or silk organza. It need not even be the selvage edge. I wouldn't hesitate to use a lengthwise strip of silk organza cut from the interior of the fabric. Or a lengthwise strip of batiste, though I might cut that with pinking shears if I were going to be machine washing the item. I have also used satin ribbon as stay tape, twill tape, rayon seam binding, even cotton cording. Just make sure the "tape" is not bulky, and that it is pre-shrunk.

• You can also use fusible stay tape. For this method, pin the stay tape in as above, with heat resistant pins. Fuse tape flat where no easing is needed, as at the upper neckline, and when you get to the eased area, allow the steam to shrink the fabric to meet the tape. It may be advantageous to do this over the inside curve of a pressing tool. The concave curve will help the fabric excess meet the tape, and the desired shape will be pressed in during the fusing process. Obviously, this method will only work with natural fabrics such as wool, cotton, and some silks, that respond well to heat and steam shaping.

Curving garment pieces to match your body's curves gives your garment a refined, custom look. It is the small, subtle details like this that combine to make your custom sewn garment far superior to ready-to-wear.

Single Layer Easing, Crimping, and Crowding

Single-layer easing and crimping (otherwise known as crowding), are techniques I'd like to teach the whole world. With a little practice, they work magic for shaping garments to fit over our curved bodies. I use these techniques regularly to shape pocket openings, necklines, armholes, and sleeve caps.

If you have been sewing for any significant length of time you have noticed this fact:

When sewing through only one layer of fabric, the tension of the stitches often cause the fabric to pucker.

Usually this effect is undesirable as we want our seams to be flat and smooth. However, it works to our advantage when we want to build just enough fullness into a seam or edge to allow it to delicately curve over a convex area of the body. I'll call this technique single-layer easing.

How much fullness we get by sewing through one layer of fabric depends on several variables:

• Fabric content, weave, and weight. Obviously, lighter fabrics will draw up more easily and heavier fabrics, like denim, may not draw up at all. Synthetics tend to draw up readily (too much so.) Closely woven fabrics such as microfibers and gabardine also have a tendency to draw up in an undesirable way. The best candidates for controllable, attractive easing are light to mid-weight natural fibers (cotton, wool, and silk) in regular, plain weaves.
  
• Thread tension. Higher tension leads to more puckering.
• Thread content. Polyester and nylon threads are elastic and cause more puckering as stitches relax. Cotton thread causes the least.
• Presser foot opening. The larger the opening, the more movement the fabric under the needle is permitted and the more puckering will occur. (This is why we use a presser foot with a small hole when stitching on lightweight fabrics.)
  
• Needle plate opening. For the same reason as above, more puckering will occur with a larger needle plate opening.
  
• Stitch length. Longer stitch length causes more puckering. Think about it...there is more fabric b/w each stitch to draw up under the tension of the threads. There is also less thread, less give, in the seam, so it cannot relax as flat as a seam with a smaller stitch length and more thread can.

Even given all these variables, you will quickly come to understand your machine's particular tendencies and capabilities to ease fabric. My Pfaff, for example, has a large, 9mm needle plate opening. Most of my presser feet also have this large opening. This fact means that my machine has a tendency to draw fabric up very easily. I can usually ease fabric into shape by simply sewing through the single layer with a slightly increased stitch length.

For some of you though, you will have to use a technique called crimping or crowding to get your fabric to ease into shape.

Crowding is what it's usually called when we place the left index finger tightly behind the presser foot, impeding the fabric's progress under the foot, and causing it to crowd up under there, causing easing.

I believe I first saw this technique on a Nancy Zieman show many years (15?) ago on her PBS series Sewing with Nancy. You will find it in many sewing books. It is also the principle of some gathering presser feet, and differential feed on a serger. You impede the feeding of the fabric under the foot, causing it to buckle up underneath.

To crowd fabric, place your left index finger firmly behind the presser foot, really wedging it slightly under the back of the "heel." Keep the pressure there as you sew, and you will see the fabric bunching up behind and under the foot. Release the pressure and begin again at regular
intervals, allowing the fabric to move on through. Here, I've removed the ankle screw so you can more clearly see my finger wedged behind the foot.I also use my thumb to gently push the fabric towards the presser foot, increasing the crowding effect: This is a technique that takes a little practice. Tear some muslin into strips and go for it. Then, before you try it on your actual garment piece, do a test run on a scrap of that fabric as well.

Given your particular situation - type of machine, fabric, and amount of ease required - you may only need to stitch through a single layer of fabric, perhaps with increased stitch length or thread tension, or you may need to use your finger (crowd) in order to achieve the amount of shaping you need.

My suggestion to you would be to gather some scraps of your garment fabric. Start with your machine at a slightly higher than normal stitch length and normal tension. Stitch through one layer of fabric. Evaluate how much easing, results. If it's not enough, start making some adjustments to machine settings. Try a longer stitch length. If that does not help, you might increase thread tension a notch or two. If you are still not achieving the desired amount of eased in fullness, try placing your finger behind the presser foot.

Here are some quick examples I stitched on my Kenmore, a.k.a, my "little blue machine", which has a needle plate opening of 7mm. I used relatively straight grained scraps of cheap muslin.

This shows a regular stitch length, regular tension:
It is relatively flat, as is the next sample, with an increased stitch length and still regular tension:
Here I've also increased the tension and I finally have some easing of the fabric. See the puckers beginning to form within the stitches?This is probably enough easing for most V-necklines, and I would stop here in those instances. But I might want more easing for a sleeve cap, or around the side bust part of an armscye. In those instances I would add some crowding to my stitching, and get a result with much more shaping, like this:Note how easily this curves around the ham here:
Once steam pressed, the easing will become completely inconspicuous outside the seamline, but the shape will remain.

If you do some crowding on your sample and find you are getting too much fullness, you can simply hold less pressure on your index finger or release the fabric from behind the foot more often.

I rarely use gathering threads to ease fabric anymore. Most of the time, single-layer easing or crowding will provide just the right amount of fullness for subtle, attractive shaping over the body's curves. It seems to provide a more evenly distributed easing than gathering threads. It works at edges such as necklines or pocket openings as well as for interior shaping points such as sleeve caps, elbow points, or back shoulders. It's easy to do, and fits easily into the construction process with little forethought or planning.