Category Archives: couture construction

April 8, 2014 · 1:15 pm

Searching for Rumplestiltskin

Rarely do I not have enough fabric for a sewing project. I am one of those people who usually errs on the side of excess when I am buying fabric. Sometimes, however, I buy a piece for which I have no immediate plans, and therefore, no real idea what I will end up making. This, of course, was the case when I bought my Pucci silk. Little did I know I would be making a dress, and hoping to line its accompanying jacket in the same matching silk.

I dutifully measured and calculated and figured there was a good chance I could eke it out. I had two things going for me: the silk was 60” wide, and I knew I would be taking about three inches off the length of the dress pattern (and still have a nice 3” hem). But I also had two things going against me: I would need to do some matching of the design on the dress, which could prove interesting with a print that seemed to change both its color and motif on a whim. More concerning was the fact that the jacket has kimono sleeves. Kimono sleeves usually require more fabric than set-in sleeves.

I wasn’t about to panic – yet. First I had to make muslins (toiles) of both the dress and the jacket. Both needed some fitting adjustments (mostly minor), which I will not go into now. One of the most helpful parts of making a muslin, at least for me, is the opportunity it gives me to get acquainted with the construction of whatever it is I am making. In this case, the dress was very straightforward, but the jacket really intrigued me. No wonder, I thought, that the flap on the pattern envelope states “Emilio Pucci’s designs are distinguished by marvelous cut and construction.”

The vintage Vogue Designer patterns include a short statement about each featured designer on the pattern envelope flaps.

Take a look at the pattern pieces for the jacket. The jacket front (#8) is cut on the diagonal while the accompanying lining front (#16) is cut on the straight of goods, with a deep dart to accommodate the fullness for the bust..

Click on the image for a clearer view of the pattern pieces. Also, note the grain lines.

Now take a look at the jacket side (#13). It is both the jacket side and the under sleeve at the other end. Sewing the muslin together showed me how ingenious this construction is – and I’ll show more about this in another post.

But – back to that silk. Using my adjusted muslin as my pattern, I cut out the silk organza underling for the dress. So now I had all the dress pieces ready to place on the silk, spread out single layer on the dining room table. Then using the tissue pattern pieces for the jacket lining, I was able to eyeball my chances of having enough fabric. There was a thudding moment of truth when I knew in no uncertain terms that there was no way I was going to have enough fabric without making some change in plans.

Where was Rumplestiltskin and his magical spinning powers when I needed him? Alas, I knew I would have to make my own magic to solve this problem! And I could see only one way to make this work. I would have to piece the sleeves so that the lower half of them – the part you can’t really see – were in another fabric, the logical choice being, of course, the black crepe de chine that I would be using to line the dress.

I set about making new pattern pieces for the lining, separating each sleeve section at the “lengthen or shorten here” line and adding seam allowance for sewing the new “bottoms” on each of the three sections. Here are the new patterns for the lining, minus the sleeve ends:

And here are the sleeve ends. Since I would be able to use the crepe de chine doubled for these pieces (no matching required!), I only needed to make one pattern for each lower sleeve, thus three pattern pieces instead of six:

When I took my new “chopped off sleeve-ends” pattern back to my silk, I was able to fit everything on, including matching the dress yokes to the body of the dress. I checked and rechecked all the pieces. Then I took a leap of faith and cut it out. Although I am currently working on the dress, I wanted to see how the “new” sleeves, with their pieced ends, would look. So, here is one lining back section assembled, with its lower sleeve end added to it.

Am I positive this will work and not look glaringly – like I didn’t have enough fabric? Not really. I’ll know soon enough, however. In the meantime, I am enjoying every minute I spend with this Pucci silk. Eat your heart out, Rumplestiltskin!

14 Comments

Filed under couture construction, kimono sleeves, sewing in silk, Uncategorized, underlinings, vintage Vogue Designer patterns, vintage Vogue patterns from the 1960s, Vogue patterns

Tagged as Emilio Pucci designs for Vogue patterns, fashion sewing, Kimono sleeves, silk, vintage fashion, vintage Vogue patterns

March 20, 2014 · 3:26 pm

Magnificent Obsession

Sometimes the dreams and aspirations of our younger days take a long time to come to fruition. Although I was doing a lot of fashion sewing for myself when I was in my twenties, there were many more Vogue pattern designs which I never had the opportunity to make. One was Vogue Paris Original #2668 by Hubert de Givenchy (1927-).

I never forgot the jacket, in particular, featured in this Designer Pattern. Over the years I occasionally obssessed about this pattern, regretting that I had not purchased it. I never imagined I would have a second chance to make it mine, but thanks to the marvels of the Internet, I did. When I saw a listing for it in this Etsy store months ago, and it was in my size, I knew it was time to buy it.

The use of color blocking, as featured in View A, became stylish in the mid-1960s, when Yves Saint Laurent introduced his classic Mondrian dress.

This little sketch from The Fairchild Dictionary of Fashion, Fairchild Publications, Inc., New York, New York, 2010, p. 329, shows the classic blocked design.

The appeal of the use of large geometrical sections of contrasting colors was widespread then and has, for many of us, never lost its cachet. The clean precise lines, and diverse use of fabrics in color blocking must have appealed to Hubert de Givenchy’s sense of design. Known for simplicity and refinement, according to Arlene C. Cooper, writing in the St. James Fashion Encyclopedia, Givenchy emphasizes “line rather than decoration”. Further, Givenchy is known for “coats that are marvels of line and volume…” (St. James Fashion Encyclopedia, Visible Ink Press, Detroit, MI, 1997, p. 154). Vogue Patterns must have been exceptionally pleased to have the rights to this design for its Designer Series in the early 1970’s.

I started my jacket in early February this year in Susan Khalje’s Couture Sewing School class in San Francisco. I just finished it.

I like it worn open as well…

A look inside…

A back view.

Making this was one of the most enjoyable sewing experiences I have ever had. Being privileged to get Susan’s expert guidance on some parts of the jacket certainly was part of the equation. In addition to that, however, were the preciseness and subtle design details of the pattern, which made it a pleasureable sew. A few of those details are:

1) the genius of the extra side panel, which enhances the “swing” line of the coat.

2) that side panel also allows the use of a Dior dart which adds just enough to the bust to keep the line smooth, but ample.

Th instruction sheet gives a good diagram of the small Dior dart tucked into that front side seam.

The instruction sheet gives a good diagram of the small Dior dart tucked into that front side seam.

3) the concealed front allows the clean appearance of the coat to be unencumbered by buttons.

I chose these navy blue buttons for the concealed front. They are flat, simple, and match the blue exactly.

4) the flap pockets, which conceal the openings, again with minimal interruption to the clean and “simple” look.

The concealed opening, with a flash of pretty pocket lining.

I did make a few changes/alterations to the jacket, ensuring a better fit for me in 2014.

First, with Susan’s assistance, I took some of the volume out of the back seam, as it was just too full for my frame. Second, I added ½ “ to the diameter of each sleeve, as they were just a little too slim for comfort. Doing this allowed me to enlarge the lower armscye, also adding comfort and more flexibility. I felt like I was able to do these alterations without changing the look of the jacket. I also made two “visible” changes, although still in keeping with the design. The original flaps looked a little too “’70s” to me. I reduced the “depth” of them by 7/8″, so that they are more in keeping with modern sensibility.

These muslin patterns are folded in half to show the depth of the original flap and the depth of the altered one below.

The pattern had separate pieces for the lining, and even the lining followed the blocked design. I had chosen a printed silk charmeuse (at Britex , naturally!) for my lining, which did not need to be block sewn. So, using the muslin I had made for the lining, I cut the “lengths” as one piece, eliminating 16 horizontal seams. I also underlined the silk charmeuse with a very lightweight rayon voile, which made the lining fabric easy to control, and adds another layer of warmth to the overall coat. This photo shows the underlining in the sleeve linings before I sewed them into the coat.

The jacket turned inside out, showing the lining.

The inside back of the coat.

Finally, the pattern called for topstitching the exterior edges of the coat. Due to the nature of my napped fabric, I thought machine topstitching would detract rather than add. But – I wasn’t happy with the thought of no topstitching, either. So I decided to do it by hand. It wasn’t nearly as time-consuming as I thought it would be, and I am happy with the result.

The topstitching is very subtle, but you can see it here on the pocket flap. Click on the photo for a close-up.

One more thing about this pattern. When I received it, the pattern pieces for the pants and sleeveless tunic were cut and had obviously been used (although every piece is intact). The tissue pieces for the coat were still in their factory folds. On the outside of the pattern in the upper right hand corner is the name Georgia Sanders. I guess I’ll always wonder if she had plans to make the jacket, too. I’m so glad she bought this pattern and kept it in such good condition so that it could find its way eventually to me – to help me realize my magnificent obsession from my younger self.

20 Comments

Filed under Buttons - choosing the right ones, Coats, Color blocking, couture construction, Dior darts, underlinings, vintage Vogue Designer patterns, vintage Vogue patterns from the 1970s, Vogue patterns, woolens

Tagged as Britex Fabrics, Choosing buttons, coats, Etsy vintage patterns, fashion sewing, handwritten notes on vintage patterns, vintage fashion, vintage Vogue patterns

March 9, 2014 · 9:29 pm

The Inside Story

Silk organza must be the best fabric ever made. The more I use it, the more I appreciate and value its unique properties. Having first become aware of it as the building block of couture sewing in the Couture Dress Class by Susan Khalje on Craftsy, I quickly adapted my sewing to incorporate it whenever possible and feasible. Although I fully expected to be using it for my color-blocked coat, I wasn’t sure if I would need to add more to the inside construction in the way of interfacings or other support techniques.

The pattern envelope and instruction sheets were somewhat mystifying, as they listed yardages for both interfacings and underlinings. However, the diagrams on the instruction sheets clearly showed interfacings only.

It was just so lovely to have Susan Khalje’s input and expertise to help me with this during my Couture Sewing School class with her in February. Silk organza was clearly going to be the only “support” mechanism I was going to need (with the exception of the collar, to be discussed below.) With each jacket section underlined with black silk organza, I was able to control the inside seams by catch-stitching them to the silk organza.

Here is the inside of the back of the coat, with the seams catch-stitched to the organza. Click on the photo to see details.

A quick note here on pressing. Because my fabrics each have a distinct nap to them, making them easily impressionable, and because they are heavier coat weight fabrics, pressing seams required some extra attention. Susan had me insert sheets of paper under the two edges of each seam for its initial press (before trimming them down for catch-stitching). This prevented the impression of the seam allowances to show up on the right side. With a really good steam iron, a wonderful finish can be achieved with this method.

The pockets were one of the first details to be tackled. It had been a while (like years!) since I had made flap/buttonhole pockets. Once again, Susan’s guidance gave me confidence. She had me make a trial pocket first, and then I was ready for the real thing.

My sample flap before pressing.

Showing the “buttonhole” type opening.

Showing the “inside” of my trial pocket.

With the flap concealing the opening of the pocket, there is no room for error (or else you will end up with puckers at the edges of the flaps). I basted and basted and sewed with extreme caution. I ended up with pockets with which I can, thankfully (whew!), be happy.

One finished pocket . . .

. . . and the other one.

And here is what it looks like under the flap, with the opening basted together temporarily.

So now on to the collar. The collar was cut on the bias, and it had a clearly marked roll line. With the organza basted on (the only “interfacing” I would need), Susan had me run an invisible line of tiny hand stitching along the roll line.

The curved line is the roll line.

This anchors it for the subsequent pad-stitching. Although the pattern instruction sheet shows only half of the collar interfaced, you will see the pad-stitching detail, which is required to get the collar to roll properly.

I am grateful to my classmate Sylvia for taking a photo of the pad-stitching which I did on the collar. What this shows is the small pad-stitching below the roll line, with larger pad-stitching above it, extending to the fold line.

Click on the photo to see it in detail.

With the side seams sewn, my collar showed a clear roll where it was supposed to be.

And here is the collar on my dress form.

I had one more important question for Susan: what about the buttonholes on that concealed fly front? Normally, when sewing with wool, I would do bound buttonholes, but we both agreed that would add too much bulk to what should be a clean, sleek finish on this coat. It seemed machine-made buttonholes would be the ones of choice. I must admit, I had a bit of reluctance to do machine buttonholes in wool. I even practiced making buttonholes by hand, but I wasn’t happy with my trial runs, and even they seemed too bulky. So, I simulated the thickness of my layers at the fly front and made some machine buttonholes in a sample piece. And – I thought they were great! On to the real thing – and this was clearly the way to go:

The buttonholes show up better on the camel wool. Click on the photo for a close-up.

The middle buttonhole is a slot-seam one.

The next step, before inserting the lining, is to finish the hems in the sleeves and the body of the coat. Here I may add a bias strip of soft interfacing to insure that the hem has a soft edge to it.

The Vogue Sewing Book from 1963 includes this detail on The Soft Hemline, as part of its section on Haute Couture Techniques. I also asked Susan about sewing on a chain at the hem as well. Because the two wools I have used are slightly different weights, she agreed this may be a good idea, to help ensure an even hang.

So – the miracle of silk organza, pressing techniques, and practice, practice, practice – are helping to make my long-awaited color-blocked coat a reality. On to the finish line!

15 Comments

Filed under Coats, Color blocking, couture construction, Uncategorized, underlinings, vintage Vogue Designer patterns, vintage Vogue patterns from the 1970s, woolens

Tagged as coats, couture construction, fashion sewing, sewing, vintage fashion, vintage Vogue patterns

February 15, 2014 · 3:19 pm

Powerless in Pennsylvania, Sewing in San Francisco

“She had the loaded handbag of someone who camps out and seldom goes home, or who imagines life must be full of emergencies.” – Mavis Gallant

Actually, the handbag I took to San Francisco was small, tucked inside a larger tote bag – so that I could use my allotted “carry-on” space for an extra suitcase for fabric purchases. Off I went on February 1^st for Susan Khalje’s Couture Sewing School held at The Sewing Workshop in San Francisco. I had carefully packed myriad sewing supplies and my prepared muslins, hoping to be ready for any contingency. Little could I have known that while I was to be sewing on the West Coast, the camping out (or really, camping in!) and the emergencies would be on the East Coast – with the county in Pennsylvania where we live especially hard-hit by a devastating ice storm. Our house was without power for 5 days, and knowing that my husband was dealing with downed trees, downed power lines, blocked roads, confused pets, a house getting colder and colder with each day, and limited means of communication, weighed on me mightily as I worked away on my color-blocked jacket.

Most of us in the class needed to purchase all our fabric or coordinating fabric or supplies for our intended projects, so off we went to Britex Fabrics on Monday after Susan had fitted most of our muslins. I had thought long and hard about what color combination I would like to have for this coat. Knowing that many, many hours of work would go into this project, and also realizing that this jacket could be a go-to piece of outerwear if I chose my fabrics carefully, I decided to look for more conservative colors. So – no hot pink and apricot orange, at least this time.

Britex carries an extensive selection of coating wools, so much so that it is definitely advantageous to be helped by one of their incredibly knowledgeable sales assistants. I was fortunate that Inna, who has such a trained and talented eye for color and texture, was able to assist me. We started with a lovely camel hair coating wool, which had a napped silky sheen on one side and was just the right heft for outerwear. First I wanted to look at pairing it with gray, but nothing in the gray family seemed to strike my fancy. Then we moved on to the navy blues – and there nestled in among the bolts was the perfect “medium” navy blue, also with a napped sheen on one side. It was a little heavier than the camel hair, but Susan felt confident we could make the two fabrics work together, especially because their colors complimented each other so perfectly.

Silk lining fabric was next on the list, and I wanted something figured rather than plain. Inna pulled out a bolt of Italian charmeuse, which picked up the geometric feel of the jacket, and introduced a little red into the mix. I couldn’t be happier with it.

I am not so sure this gives the best sense of the colors of the fabrics, but you will see more in a future post.

I am not so sure this photo gives the best sense of the colors of the fabrics, but you will see more in other photos.

Back at The Sewing Workshop, armed with fabrics and enthusiasm, I spent the next two days cutting out the multi-, multi-pieced pattern (31 separate pieces, all of which would be cut in tandem, making 62 in all, not including the lining!), and basting the silk organza underlinings to each and every piece.

My well-lit and spacious work space at The Sewing Workshop.

Because of the color blocking, I needed to pay great attention to which piece was to be cut in blue and which piece in camel. Initially I went through and labeled each muslin piece “navy” or “camel”. Susan double-checked me, but then suggested that, because I absolutely could not make a costly mistake, that I pin the muslin pieces onto the available dress form in our studio. What a great idea, one of so many which I picked up from Susan and my classmates!

Here is the “front” of the jacket, pinned onto the dress form.

And here is the back.

Now, I felt confident and set about to cut my fashion fabric.

Here are the silk organza underlining pieces arranged on the blue fabric. I pinned a small tag on each piece, telling me each piece's pattern # and description. A lot of the pieces look alike!

Here are the silk organza underlining pieces arranged on the blue fabric. I pinned a small tag on each piece, telling me each piece’s pattern number and description. A lot of the pieces look alike!

Two piles showing all underlinings basted onto the fashion fabric.

By this time, I was half-way through the 6-day class. I assessed my situation and determined the parts of the jacket construction upon which I wanted to get expert advice from Susan: treatment of the concealed fly front, flap pockets, rolled collar (all of which will be detailed in a future post). Now I had a plan, which seemed to be much more than anything that was happening back home in Pennsylvania.

My husband joked during one of our few cell-phone conversations, that he had a vision of the power in our house coming back on Sunday evening, February 9^th, as he would be driving me home from the airport in Philadelphia. He was right. That is exactly what happened. I came home to a 39F degree house, but the lights were on, and soon the heat was, too. Almost a week later, it is still snowing and snowing – perfect sewing weather for this sojourner home from San Francisco.

12 Comments

Filed under car coats, Coats, Color blocking, couture construction, Uncategorized, underlinings, vintage Vogue Designer patterns, vintage Vogue patterns from the 1970s, Vogue patterns, woolens

Tagged as Britex Fabrics, Color-blocked coats, fashion sewing, quotes about fashion, sewing, vintage Vogue patterns

January 30, 2014 · 2:39 pm

The Second Time Around

Coco Chanel reopened her House of Chanel in 1954, and by the early ‘60s, her suit with its narrow skirt and boxy cardigan jacket, famously made from beautiful boucles, was a dominant fashion look. I could not help but think of another product of the early ‘60s as I was working on my Chanel-inspired Jacket No. 2: the song, written by Sammy Cahn and set to music by Jimmy Van Heusen, entitled “The Second Time Around”. I wondered if making my No. 2 would be “lovelier the second time around”? And you know what? It was! I give so much credit to Susan Khalje, from whom I took the Classic French Jacket Class, whose tips and teachings gave me much confidence as I tackled No. 2 on my own.

There were a couple of additions and subtractions I decided to try with my second jacket. The easy one was deciding to have just two pockets rather than four. The more involved one was deciding to add buttonholes to the front edge, the sleeve plackets, and the pockets. However, I remembered Susan’s statements about making buttonholes in one of these jackets – and the reason she advocates in her class the use of “hook and eye” fasteners at the abutted front edges. It is very difficult to make acceptable hand-done buttonholes in this loosely woven fabric, unless one is extremely skilled in this procedure. Since the only hand-done buttonholes I am used to doing are bound buttonholes – not acceptable in this application, due to the type of fabric – I knew I had to figure out another way to get buttonholes in my No. 2.

Fortunately, I have an issue of Threads Magazine from June/July 1989 in which Chanel jackets are featured. This picture gave me the idea for seam-slot buttonholes.

You can tell the buttonholes in this jacket are vertical, nestled between two trims. Pictured in Threads Magazine, June/July 1989, page 28.

I would just have to add on a separate piece for the right front, make each pocket in two pieces, and make the plackets on the sleeves separate pieces, sewn on with openings in the seams to make the buttonholes. Here is an example of what I did.

The extension is sewn on separately, leaving three openings, evenly spaced for buttonholes in the seam.

Of course doing these extra pieces meant I had to apply separate linings to each extension.

Here is the separate lining piece being applied to the placket.

The entire time I was quilting the jacket, working on the seams, and figuring out these buttonholes, I was pondering the trim. Some of you may recall (if you read my blog regularly) that I could not decide between two different trims.

Here are the two trims I had chosen. I really liked the fact that the spacing on the multi-color trim matched exactly the spacing of the red rows on my fabric.

Because of the lining fabric I had chosen (and from which I am making a blouse), I was leaning towards the red, white and blue trim, but I thought it looked a little “weak”. What to do? I started looking at as many pictures of Chanel jackets as I could find, but the one that made the light bulb go off was one from that same issue of Threads Magazine:

Click on the picture to see the underlying grosgrain ribbon.

If I could find a Petersham grosgrain ribbon in the right color, I thought it would be the perfect backing for either trim. Once again, Britex Fabrics (from which I had already purchased the boucle, the lining fabric, the buttons, and the two trims) came to the rescue: I ordered 5/8 inch Tomato Red ribbon – and then paired it with each trim.

I thought the grosgrain ribbon made both trims look better, but especially the multi-color one.

The grosgrain ribbon made both trims look better, but especially the multi-color one. Click on the photo for a close-up view.

I thought it added just the right amount of depth to the multi-color trim, and my decision was confidently made.

I sewed the Petersham ribbon on before I did the finish work on the inside lining seams. Then the ribbon provided a wonderful surface on which to attach the trim.

The Petersham ribbon attached. If you look closely, you can see the sea-slot buttonholes.

The Petersham ribbon attached. If you look closely, you can see the seam-slot buttonholes.

I took this picture to show the contrast between the trims. I think the multi-color trim adds more interest to the jacket.

I took this picture to show the contrast between an all red trim and the multi-color one. I think the multi-color trim adds more interest to the jacket.

So – here’s the jacket (shown on my dress form for now. Once I get the matching blouse finished, I’ll “model” it for you.)

Back view, obviously!

Details, details! Can you tell that I added a little length to the back of the jacket? It makes for a more graceful appearance when worn.

Here is the bottom buttonhole on the front of the jacket – and notice the chain!

There is no way to make this jacket quickly. The extra steps I added (buttonholes and 2 layers of trim) added to the length of the process as well. But – it was incredibly satisfying to see it turn out as well as it did. I am grateful that I made this No. 2 shortly (well, within 6 months) after my first jacket, as it reinforced my knowledge of the process. For my next one I’d like to add a “mandarin” type collar, as shown in these examples:

The Second Time Around - mandarin collar ex 1

This example is from Threads Magazine June/July 1989, page 28

I love this suit in houndstooth wool. This is pictured in Threads Magazine, January 2014, page 44.

So when will No. 3 commence? I don’t see it on the horizon yet, but perhaps when it does, the third time around will be … “the charm”.

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Filed under Boucle for French style jackets, Chanel-type jackets, Coco Chanel, couture construction, Uncategorized, woolens

Tagged as Boucle, Britex Fabrics, Chanel-inspired jackets, fashion sewing, Threads magazine

October 6, 2013 · 11:44 am

“P” is for Pearl — and — Perseverance

Among timeless fashion statements, pearls and wrap dresses both make my top-ten list. The opportunity to combine the two was just too good to pass by, especially after being inspired by a silk charmeuse perfectly suited for just such a pairing.

Pearls and ribbons and clusters, fabric purchased from Mendel Goldberg Fabrics in NYC.

As luck would have it, shortly after I purchased the silk for this dress, an entire article in the Style & Fashion section of The Weekend Wall Street Journal of August 24 – 25 (2013) was devoted to “the old-fashioned allure of pearls…” It seems that pearls are “showing up on everything from shoes to wallpaper to chairs” – and to fabric, as evidenced by my Italian silk charmeuse. I am just “old-fashioned” enough to think that pearls are never not in style, but I must admit that even I was smitten with the unusual and modern approach of this fabric design.

Pearls are showing up everywhere, it seems.

So – how would this modern fabric look, made up in a mid-1970s’ wrap dress pattern? I thought it would work quite well. But getting there turned out to be challenge. Although I was lacking the classic Diane von Furstenberg wrap dress pattern that I envisioned for this dress (blogged about here), I thought I could piece together a 1976 Simplicity version and a new Vogue wrap dress pattern to achieve my goal.

This is the dress I wanted to recreate…

The Simplicity “version” of the Diane von Furstenberg wrap dress.

Vogue 8784 diagrams

Here’s what I did:

1) I decided to use the princess-seamed bodice back from the new Vogue pattern.

2) I re-cut the collar and the cuffs from the Simplicity pattern so that the points on them would not so extreme.

3) Because the ties on the Simplicity pattern were not attached to the dress (the tie was just like a very long separate sash) I used the ties from this DvF pattern, and attached them to the side seams.

4) The missing sleeve pattern piece in the Simplicity pattern meant that I had to use the sleeve from the new Vogue pattern and basically redraft it, with an elbow dart, and with cuffs. I also used Simon Henry’s book The Little Black Dress: How to make the perfect one for you as a reference.

This is the wrap LBD dress featured in the book.

5) I ended up making two complete muslins and re-stitching one of those muslins, before I had a workable pattern. All of this seemed to take forever!

When I finally cut out the black silk organza underlining, I was ready for a celebration, but of course, that would have been premature. Although the design in the fashion fabric really could not be “matched”, I still had to respect the placement of the “clusters” as they would relate to the bodice. (I did not want “clusters” at the apex of the bust darts, for example.) And I felt like the “clusters” should be placed at equal distances from each other over the expanse of the dress, if possible. After determining all this and cutting out the fashion fabric, I finally got to sewing, which included lots of basting, catch-stitching all the seams to the underlining, understitching the collar by hand (which worked beautifully, for which I was very grateful!), setting in the sleeves, making the lining, etc., etc.

Here is the final placement of the fabric design on the front of the bodice . . .

. . . and here is the bodice back.

Understitching the collar created a slight under-curve which helps the collar lay flat.

This boring view just shows the lining that was so tedious to attach!

I made the mistake of making the cuffs before a final fitting of the sleeves. (I thought I was being smart and getting “prep” work done, but I just made more work for myself). I ended up shortening the sleeves and enlargening the openings so that I would be able to push them up on my arms if I wanted to. The cuffs I had made were not long enough to accommodate these adjustments, so back I went to cut and make new cuffs. Fortunately I had just enough fabric to squeeze these out!

For buttons for the cuffs, I went to my button box and came up with this card:

The original price of these buttons was 10 cents. I picked them up for 50 cents at some point. It almost seemed a shame to cut them off of the card!

Because I had reduced the points on the cuffs, I needed “not-too-big” buttons and these proved to be perfect, I thought, and in keeping with the “pearl” theme.

Here is one of the cuffs with buttons attached.

Working on the black fashion and lining fabrics was tedious. And it seemed the more I worked on this dress, the more there was to do on it! Kind of like eating a big bowl of pasta – the work seemed to multiply before my eyes. Fast, easy, and jiffy this was not! It’s times like this that being of a stubborn nature serves me well. I persevered and got it done! And even better, I am really happy with the results.

I will replace this photo with one of me in the dress as soon as I can!

Here is the dress on my new dress form . . .

. . . and here it is on ME!

Now – two more “P” words. I have “P”romised myself that my next “P”roject will be simple. Maybe a blouse – or even a blanket?

15 Comments

Filed under Buttons - choosing the right ones, couture construction, Little Black Dress, sewing in silk, Uncategorized, vintage buttons, vintage Vogue Designer patterns, vintage Vogue patterns from the 1970s, Wrap dresses

Tagged as Choosing buttons, Diane von Furstenberg, fashion sewing, Mendel Goldberg Fabrics, silk, vintage fashion, vintage Vogue patterns, Wall Street Journal Fashion coverage, wrap dresses

August 19, 2013 · 4:50 pm

A Simple Sheath?

One of the most enduring dress styles in the last 60 years is undoubtably the classic sheath. According to the definition in Fairchild’s Dictionary of Fashion, a sheath can be one of two constructions: without a set-in waist or with a set-in waist. In either case, the silhouette is straight, narrow, and fitted, “shaped to body with vertical darts”, with ease of movement facilitated by a slash at back or an inverted pleat. “Both styles were popular in 1950s and early 1960s. Revived periodically.”

Fairchild's illustration of a sheath dress. copyright 2003, The Fairchild Dictionary of Fashion 3rd Edition, Fairchild Publications, Inc., New York.

It doesn’t take very long looking at current fashion magazines and websites to see that the sheath dress is enjoying one of those revivals right now. And why not? It is an infinitely versatile style, going from casual to dressy just by choice of fabric. Earlier in the Summer when I was shopping at Mendel Goldberg Fabrics in NYC with Susan Khalje’s “Classic French Jacket” class, I succumbed to purchasing 1½ yards extra of my lining fabric, with the express intention of making a sheath dress out of it. The fabric is definitely a demonstrative print, so I thought the simpler the style of dress, the better.

My lining and dress fabric, still on the bolt.

I have to admit I had a few moments when I wondered if that fabric, which I loved as the lining in my jacket, might not be a bit too much for a dress. Well, too late for any misgivings – this dress was going to happen! Then suddenly I started seeing photos of more and more sheath dresses, many of them made out of very bold and colorful fabrics. Two fashion websites I often visit for inspiration and ogling each featured such dresses:

This dress can be found on the Lee Anderson Couture website.

This dress is from Oscar De la Renta’s Ready-to-wear line.

Encouraged with this affirmation of my idea, I chose my pattern, ordered china silk for the lining (I already had black organza underlining), purchased the zipper and proceeded to plan my dress.

I decided to adapt this simple pattern, using the third view without the neck and hem bands.

I decided to adapt this simple pattern, using view A (on the right) without the neck and hem bands.

First, of course, I once again sewed up the muslin I had already made for this pattern earlier in the summer. Here are the changes I made:

1) I sewed the neckband onto the body of the dress and treated it all as one.

2) I eliminated the facings, as I was making this dress with couture techniques.

3) I tweaked the fit a little more, to make it more fitted than my earlier dress (which was belted and needed a little more ease).

4) I adjusted the shoulder to be cut a little higher on the arm.

5) I dipped the neckline a little bit, to match the neckline on my jacket.

6) I added a slit in the back seam for ease of movement.

While I love the look, sheen and feel of silk charmeuse, I don’t think it is the easiest fabric to work with. I thought I could make my job easier if, when laying out the fabric for pattern (muslin) placement and cutting, I was able to control the slipperiness of it somehow. I decided to use half of my dining room table, covered with heavy drapery flannel (which is what I use under tablecloths for cushioning). The flannel “anchored” it beautifully.

Then I was faced with a design element quandary. Before I cut out my jacket lining in Susan Khalje’s class, she and I had looked at the fabric with my dress in mind –and had determined that one of the gold “cross” lines in the design should hit at about my breastbone. However, once I had the fabric remaining from my jacket laid out, I realized that was not going to work. I tried every which way, and, with the fabric I had available to me, I simply could not match up the pattern in the fabric across the front and two side backs of the pattern and still “cross” my breastbone. It took a couple of hours, but I finally was able to come up with a new plan – this one to have one of the “cross” details at my waist. This allowed me to have a shoulder detail I really liked, a black field (with cherries) at my neckline, and the slimming effect of a “cinched” waist, effected entirely by the design in the fabric!

Here are the organza underlining pieces laid out on the fabric.

This photo shows exactly how I determined where to position the design in the fabric.

Then I was off and sewing!

Zipper and neck details.

I stabilized the shoulders with a bit of selvedge from the organza underlining.

A close-up of the hand-picked zipper.

The dress turned inside out.

A detail of the shoulder and neck edge.

Finished! What do you think? Too demonstrative or just right?

A back view.

A side view

And, of course, I have to show the dress with its Chanel-inspired jacket:

This project is complete!

Once again, I underestimated just how long it takes to make a dress using all couture techniques – even a simple (?) sheath dress.

Was it worth it? Absolutely!

39 Comments

Filed under Chanel-type jackets, couture construction, hand-sewn zippers, sewing in silk, Uncategorized, underlinings

Tagged as Chanel-inspired jackets, fashion sewing, Mendel Goldberg Fabrics, sheath dress, silk, vintage fashion

July 31, 2013 · 6:35 pm

Paris in Baltimore – and Beyond: A Small Fashion Show

Shortly after I returned home from my Classic French Jacket Class with Susan Khalje, an article entitled “The Comeback of Haute Couture” appeared in The Wall Street Journal. The reporter, fashion editor Christine Binkley, gives an overview – from the haute couture week in Paris, of course – of the frenzied and renewed interest in “astronomically expensive made-to-measure clothing [ranging] from $10,000 to $150,000 or more.” Among the fashion houses showing haute couture collections was Chanel. To quote: “Chanel . . . looked as though the clothes could be easily worn, even if they were assembled, pleated, and embellished by dozens of ‘petite mains,’ as haute couture seamstresses are called. ‘Of course it’s comfortable. It’s Chanel,’ said designer Karl Lagerfeld . . .”

“Comfortable” is a description frequently used by those of us making our own Chanel-inspired jackets. Of course, everyone knows that the inspiration for Coco Chanel’s original cardigan jacket came when she cut her lover’s cardigan sweater down the front, added some ribbon trim and created a classic. How the construction of the jacket went from sweater to quilted, silk-lined boucle is unknown to me, but one thing is for sure: these jackets feel as cozy and comfy as any old favorite sweater. I think this was a revelation and lovely surprise to all of us. It makes wearing them all the more rewarding.

And – wear them we are starting to do! Some of my classmates have kindly given me permission to show their finished jackets here on Fifty Dresses. I am delighted to share these lovely examples made by “petite mains” Joanne, Holly, Myra, and Sherry:

Joanne’s classic black jacket is elegant and so versatile. Her lovely floral lining fabric does not show, but trust me that is stunning.

A simply lovely jacket!

Holly’s jacket has sparkle to it, just like her!

Look at the beautiful lining that Holly chose.

Isn’t this color perfect for Holly?

The buttons which Holly chose are perfect!

With a few scraps left over from her lining, Holly made a color-blocked shell to wear with her jacket.

Myra’s horizontally and unevenly striped boucle caused some minor headaches during the pattern placement, but look how beautifully it turned out.

Looking lovely even in the hot sun!

Myra’s whimsical lining fabric features images of Audrey Hepburn. She brought this fabric with her to Baltimore and chose her boucle accordingly.

Sherry chose a creamy white, loosely woven “windowpane” boucle for her jacket, and the result is pure loveliness.

Isn’t this beautiful??

Sherry very cleverly made her pockets on the bias. The petite buttons are just right for the weave of the fabric.

Look how well Sherry’s jacket fits.

One of the many fun aspects of the class was the color variety of jackets being sewn. While there were other deep shades (raspberry pink, royal blue, true purple) I was the only one making a red jacket.

For starters, here is my jacket hanging.

A few details.

A view of the lining.

Shown with basic black.

I can’t believe it’s finished!

I added a gradual 1/4″ to the back length, which gives it a more graceful line, I think. This was one of Susan’s many excellent suggestions.

There is nothing shy about this lining fabric!

During the lengthy process of making my jacket, I have had lots of time to reflect on some of its charms:

1) Boucle is wonderful for hand-sewing, as one’s stitches simply disappear into the fabric.

2) This is “common sense” sewing: every step (of which there are many) adds in subtle or significant ways to its wear-ability, appearance, or fit.

3) Finishing a project like this is empowering. I felt like I grew as a “dressmaker” during this process. And beware . . .

4) Finishing a project like this is addictive. Yes, I already have a boucle for my next one . .

However, before I start my next one, I have one thing to (start and) finish: That charmeuse I used for the lining? I purchased enough to make a sleeveless sheath dress to wear with my jacket.

What was I thinking??

28 Comments

Filed under Chanel-type jackets, Coco Chanel, couture construction, sewing in silk, Uncategorized

Tagged as Boucle, Chanel-inspired jackets, classic French jacket, fashion sewing, quotes about fashion, Wall Street Journal Fashion coverage

July 9, 2013 · 1:27 pm

Paris in Baltimore – Part 1

It might be stretching a point to compare our Classic French Jacket Class, taken with Susan Khalje at her workspace just outside Baltimore, Maryland (USA), to spending time in Paris, France. However, I could not help but feel that the twelve of us in the class were a small part of a continuum of dressmakers dedicated to haute couture, even if we were all sewing for ourselves! Certainly the outstanding instruction we received and the techniques we learned are consistent with the standards associated with such fine custom sewing – and with timeless, classic fashion.

A classic French jacket (or Chanel-inspired jacket) has certain characteristics and sewing techniques which are specific to it. Among these are:

1) These jackets are usually cardigan style, with the front edges abutting rather than over-lapping.

2) The fabrics of choice for these jackets are boucles or sometimes loosely woven tweeds.

3) The lining is machine quilted to the fashion fabric, but does not show because of the nature of the fabrics which are traditionally used.

4) The interior structure and integrity of the garment depends on this quilting and on extra-generous seam allowances (common in haute couture). The only interior interfacing is a small section at the shoulder, front and back, extending down just to the lower armscye.

5) Shaping of the garment is accomplished by vertical princess seams which form the fullness for the bust line. Darts are rarely used, but sometimes necessary (as several of my classmates discovered).

Here is Vogue 7975, which is the “go to” pattern for one of these jackets. (However, as Susan says, the pattern is just a starting point.) The vertical princess seams can be seen on these drawings.

6) Hand sewing is used extensively in the construction and finish work on these jackets.

Our instruction began the day after our whirlwind trip to NYC to buy our boucle, charmeuse lining, trim and buttons. Looking back on the week, it seems to me that the process can be divided into specific sections: (1) preparing and fitting the muslin, and cutting out the fashion fabric and lining, (2) quilting and assembling the body of the jacket, (3) fitting, cutting out, and sewing the sleeves, and (4) all that finish work. Although none of the techniques is difficult, it is all very time-consuming, and it can not be rushed.

To start the process, we all came to class with pre-prepared thread-traced muslins. (I believe we were all using the standard Vogue 7975 pattern, details of which are shown above.) The fitting process began with the body of the jacket, minus the sleeves. (I quickly lost count of how many jokes were made during the week about our “vests”. But on about Friday, the thought of making vests instead of jackets was beginning to appeal!) Susan meticulously and expertly fitted each of our muslins, which was fascinating to watch. When it came to deciding preferred hem lengths, we usually had a group consensus – collective thought for something like this is incredibly helpful!

Susan making adjustments in Diane's muslin.

Susan making adjustments in classmate Diane’s muslin.

After marking and adding all the fitting changes onto our muslins, part of the uniqueness of the construction of these jackets became apparent. Why? Susan instructed us to cut out our muslins on the sewing line – and these pieces became our new pattern. The extra-generous seam allowances would be added as the pieces were cut out.

Here are some of my trimmed muslin pieces.

Some of my muslin pattern pieces laid out on my boucle. Notice the wide spaces between the pieces. This allowed for very generous seam allowances.

A close-up of the same.

Then we used our cut fashion fabric pieces as the guidelines by which to cut out the charmeuse lining fabric. With these two fabrics held carefully together with pins, we were ready to machine quilt each separate piece, another technique (with lots of do’s and don’ts to it) which was new to most of us.

Getting ready to cut my lining.

Sewing the pieces of the body of the jacket together had its own set of rules, especially as the loose edges of the quilted linings had to be avoided in that stitching frenzy! Those loose edges were finally tidied up and joined together by hand, using a fell stitch, which helps to make a lovely and soft interior.

Here is a side seam in my jacket, partially closed using the fell stitch. Machine quilting can be seen on either side of this seam.

By this time, it was late Thursday afternoon, and I was wondering how I would ever get sleeves put in my jacket by Sunday… This was s-l-o-w sewing, but fascinating and fun and clever and precise. I was loving every minute of it (well, almost every minute.)

And those sleeves? Part 2 will cover those little lovelies. To be continued . . .

17 Comments

Filed under Chanel-type jackets, couture construction, Uncategorized, Vogue patterns

Tagged as Boucle, fashion sewing, French jacket, love of sewing

June 21, 2013 · 8:16 pm

Inspiration and Adaptation

Sometimes in life – and in sewing – you have to alter your plans to accommodate the situation at hand.

This is the situation I found myself in: I had my heart set on pairing a favorite vintage Vogue Designer pattern with a piece of vintage Moygashel linen I had found in an Etsy shop. They are both likely from the early 1970s and seemed destined to be together.

Molyneux has always been a favorite designer of mine. My thought was to make the dress with short sleeves, but belt it as shown in View B.

Molyneux has always been one of my favorite designers. My thought was to make the dress with short sleeves, but with a belt as shown in View B.

My best guess is that this Moygashel linen is from the very early ’70s.

To make this pairing of fabric and pattern even more enticing, I was given this amazing pearl button by my dear friend Nancy C. (Thanks, Nancy!)

I love this unique button!

The square shape of the button – and its largeness (1 3/16” square) – and the fact that I had exactly one of these beauties – made it seem custom made for the design of the fabric and the tab featured on the pattern.

I couldn’t wait to get started! I pulled out all the pattern pieces, ironed them flat, ready to make a muslin – and then the “uh-oh” moment struck. The “straight of grains” on the pattern pieces could not have signaled more trouble if they had been flashing in bright red. I grabbed the pattern envelope – and right there in plain English was stated: “Not suitable for obvious plaids.” (Why won’t I learn to read those envelopes more closely???) While this fabric is not a plaid, it reads like a plaid. My heart sank – as I realized very quickly that I absolutely could not use this pattern for this fabric. It just would not work. End of discussion.

If you look carefully at these line drawings, it's obvious that "plaids" would not work.

If you look carefully at these line drawings, it’s obvious that “plaids” will not work.

I took a few deep breaths – and went back to my vintage pattern file. None of my other vintage patterns would do. I had my vision for this fabric and no pattern came even remotely close. It was then I decided I would have to adapt a new pattern to achieve the look I wanted. Once I made this decision (Plan B, as in “it BETTER work!”), I began to see the advantages, and the possibilities for an even better look than I originally thought.

The first thing that went right was having this pattern in my “new pattern” file:

I picked up this pattern a few months ago as I thought it looked very versatile.

I figured if I used View B, I could alter the neck band to incorporate a center tab. I wanted to belt it, but I happily thought the tapered darts at the mid-section, front and back, would help create less bulk at the waist (and that’s always welcome). I liked the shape of the neck (and had actually planned to widen and lower the neckline on the vintage Vogue….). I would have to lengthen it, but I had plenty of fabric. I also like the banded sleeves. To envision the look, I did a quick sketch:

More about the belt later – it was ready before the dress was even cut out.

Then I set about adding the 1970’s tab to the neckband. I actually used the pattern piece for the original tab facing so that I could get the correct size and look.

I placed the old pattern piece onto the new neckband.

Then I made a new pattern piece.

I made my muslin and then proceeded to use some couture techniques, but not all I normally would. For one thing, I did not want to underline this linen fabric with silk organza (to preserve the breathability of the linen and keep it as light as possible). The pattern called for the dress (but not the sleeves) to be lined. I used a very lightweight cotton/linen blend for this which worked beautifully. I also decided to use the facings included in the pattern (usually eliminated with couture sewing), and I’m really happy with that decision.

This photo shows the neck facing and the off-white lining I used for the body of the dress.

I hand-picked the zipper, understitched the facings by hand, and sewed the hem oh-so-carefully so that my stitches would not show (one of the disadvantages of not using an underlining is that there is no layer to sew the hem to, except for the actual fashion fabric). I made a bound buttonhole for that big lovely button (the original Vogue pattern calls for a bound buttonhole).

Here’s the buttonhole, with the button peeking through!

The underside of the tab.

I also added a slit to the back seam as once I lengthened the dress, I thought I might need the extra wiggle room.

A quick look at the slit I added to the back center seam.

I had the belt made by Pat Mahoney of Pat’s Custom Belts and Buckles. What a great decision! I could never make as neat a belt and buckle as she does.

Pat Mahoney does nt have a website, but she can be contacted at: 209-369-5410; 537 York Street, P.O. Box 335, Lodi, California 95241, USA.

Pat Mahoney does not have a website, but she can be contacted at: 209-369-5410; 537 York Street, P.O. Box 335, Lodi, California 95241, USA.

Here is the finished dress.

I am bound and determined to make a summer dress using that vintage Vogue pattern. But – now I know I’ll have to use a plain fabric for best results (maybe a solid linen…). It will, however, have to wait for another Summer, as I have other projects in mind!

Making this dress has reminded me that sometimes Plan B turns out to be the BEST plan of all.

21 Comments

Filed under bound buttonholes, Buttons - choosing the right ones, couture construction, Linen, Moygashel linen, Uncategorized, vintage buttons, vintage Vogue Designer patterns, vintage Vogue patterns from the 1970s, Vogue patterns

Tagged as bound buttonholes, Choosing buttons, fashion sewing, Moygashel linen, vintage fashion, vintage Vogue patterns

Category Archives: couture construction

Searching for Rumplestiltskin

Magnificent Obsession

The Inside Story

Powerless in Pennsylvania, Sewing in San Francisco

The Second Time Around

“P” is for Pearl — and — Perseverance

A Simple Sheath?

Paris in Baltimore – and Beyond: A Small Fashion Show

Paris in Baltimore – Part 1

Inspiration and Adaptation

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