Couture Classes: Sit & Sew Day 3

Welcome back, readers! So, today, it's all about Day 3, which I spent mostly basting underlining to my jacket...

However, I learnt that while men's jackets are entirely interfaced in front (except, of course, for lighter summer versions), women's jackets are often soft tailored, with interfacing covering only center front and the area above the breast and around shoulder. The back support is similar for both sexes. hmm, I guess you knew it already... 

ok, I also decided to underline the jacket, which is not a common thing I understood. Why? I am terrible with my clothes, I let them hang on a chair, throw them on a bed, or any other surface - this is probably because with children I just take care of anything else after I took care of the kids... So, to cut the long story short, I need clothes that are more resistant to wrinkles and that retain their shape despite this disrespectful treatment. Underlining provides exactly what I need and I chose silk organza, so the jacket remains light and soft. Organza complements tweed very well - I love the feel of the two layers. 

For the interfacing, Kenneth recommended very lightweight Hymo hair canvas, which I bought at Steinlauf and Stoller. 

Finally, I also got my lining cut, for which I chose a solid silk charmeuse from B&J, the only store that had a matching color.  

Cutting and underlining took me entire day, and new demos by Susan and Kenneth were a welcome interruption to this rather monotonous activity.

Corset Demo by Susan

Unrelated remark: see those grey handle scissors? Those are my paper scissors! Never ever come to Kenneth class without paper scissors - he won't take you seriously! I misplaced mine on Day 4 and ended up listening that silicon in paper dulls the blades. And it's true, readers! By the way, the same applies to synthetic fibers. So, if you have expensive tools and sew frequently, listen to Kenneth!

Back to Susan! She showed us where the boning is usually placed in a strapless dress or corset. You can see that the corset has a waist stay, so Susan explained the use of the waist stay. Waist stays take the weight and strain of a garment from a zipper or shoulders. Use waist stay on a strapless dress and never again will you need to pull it up every time it slides down exposing your breasts. For perfect support, use boning, of course.

A waist stay is made of grosgrain ribbon, which is cut slightly shorter than the garment. While the garment would have some ease, the waist stay should fit snugly.

here you can see how waist stay is attached to the corselet

Fly zipper demo by Kenneth

Kenneth showed us this very fast method of putting together a fly zipper. I diligently took pictures of the process, but was not able to remember the steps. It was not complicated at all, but it will require some effort to remember and write it down...

Oh, right, and Devra's project. She wanted to make a vintage dress and bought this amazing italian shirting fabric and matching lining. I think the choice of fabric could not have been better, or?

That's it for today! Hope you enjoyed the post and please leave your comments and questions about the class!