A comment from Claire Shaeffer!

Dear readers,

Today I received an email from Amazon saying that I got  a comment on my review of Claire Shaeffer's revised edition of Couture Sewing Techniques. And as I have already gave away in the title of this post the commenter was Claire Shaeffer in person! Yes, it was, a little bit, a celebrity moment for me. But what I was more excited about is that we, as readers of these books and customers of Amazon, have this great opportunity to influence what is offered to us by authors and publishers! So, here is the comment:

"Yes, authors read the reviews on Amazon. When I began the revision, I had several goals which included making the book more user friendly and making it different enough that owners of the first edition would want to buy it. I reviewed the posts for the earlier edition and listened to comments from my students.  

I own many of the garments photographed in the new book so I could examine them again and again if needed. This isn't always possible with museum garments.  

I cried at times because I had to replace many of the photos in the original book and highly recommend you buy it. There are some text deletions and many photo substitutions in the Revision.  

Yes, writing is sometimes painful; but, if you like the book, it's worth it. 

Claire Shaeffer"

Do you review books on your blog, or on Amazon, or anywhere else? If yes, what's your motivation to sit down and to write a review?

Claire Shaeffer Custom Couture patterns (cont.): V8489 bias dress

This dress (V8489) must look gorgeous. It is cut on bias, uses piecing technique and has a great neckline. The pattern is recommended for hourglass and triangle figures. The dress is evening length, but if I did it for myself, I would probably make it knee-length.

The pattern is still available on Vogue Patterns website for the regular price of $16,50. On sale, it can cost as low as $3.50. I highly recommend this pattern for anyone who wants to practice bias construction. As always, I love comparing couture and regular construction techniques. Have you made this dress? if so, please comment with a link to your blog, I will add it to the Couture Patterns page under  this design.

MISSES' DRESS: Close-fitting, A-line, bias dress, evening length has shoulder straps and left side zipper, using couture sewing methods. Purchased trim on shoulder straps and armholes.

NOTIONS: 14" Zipper, 1 3/4 Yds. of approximately 1/2" beaded trim, Hooks and Eyes.
FABRICS: Wool Crepe, Wool Jersey and Crepe Back Satin. For piecing, allow extra fabric to match design. Lining: Organza. Unsuitable for obvious diagonals, plaids or stripes. Use nap yardages/layouts for pile, shaded or one-way design fabrics. *with nap. **without nap. No provision made for above waist adjustment.
COMBINATIONS: AA(6-8-10-12), EE(14-16-18-20)

A great review of the pattern and construction techniques is on the And She Sews blog.

If you are looking for information on other couture patterns by Claire Shaeffer, check out my Couture Patterns page. I am constantly updating it with new patterns.

P.S. I have contacted Vogue Patterns asking them whether they had a list of all Custom Couture Patterns they printed, but the answer was a "No". Hard to believe that they have no records to refer to, but well... I will try to contact Claire Shaeffer personally. But meanwhile, I will just continue posting my finds, hoping that one day I will have full list.

Couture Patterns (2): V7540 Dress by Claire Shaeffer

I am so excited about my growing collection of Shaeffer's Custom Couture designs for Vogue Patterns!

So, the next on the list is V7540: Misses' Dress & Belt (OOP). I purchased this out-of-print pattern this week on eBay - for very reasonable price.

Fitted, lined, straight, sleeveless dress, mid-knee, has welts and back zipper. A: armhole shields (I've seen those on dresses with sleeves only - very practical) and pockets. Lined belt has button closure.

Ok, the design is basic, but I am really interested in couture construction techniques for the neckline and armholes. I am sure i will discover more when the pattern arrives.

Couture Patterns: an (in)complete list

The last ten days passed without me noticing it. Work, sick kids, projects - leaving no time for sewing or blogging. In between, however, I did manage to acquire some great patterns by Claire Shaeffer from her Custom Couture Collection for Vogue Patterns.

It all started with the very popular and now out-of-print pattern for Chanel(-inspired) Jacket (V8295).

I tried to locate this pattern, in vain, on eBay, Etsy, vintage and discontinued pattern stores... I even wrote to McCalls... They suggested I look on eBay (how original), but at least they wrote back. At one forum, contributors mentioned that V8295 was sold for almost $100 on eBay.... There should be a reason!

Well, to cut the long story short, I discovered about 30 other Custom Couture patterns. I thought, this is better than any sewing resource - it is almost an encyclopedic record of couture sewing techniques project by project. So, I should try to collect all of them!

Do you think it is crazy, dear readers? If you are reading this, the chances are you know Claire Shaeffer and her patterns and are interested in Haute Couture, or? Do you possess any of her patterns?

So, the first thing I did I Googled "Claire Shaeffer Custom Couture" - I came across dozens of blogs describing how they made V8295 or how they are looking for the pattern. Others tried to make Custom Couture Pants, there were also other patterns. But I was not able to find a resource listing all her patterns she did for this collection. If you know of such a resource, please, let me know!

Meanwhile, I decided to create an additional page on this blog listing all Shaeffer patterns with notes. I won't be able to do it at once but I will try to do it one by one. So, check it out - Couture Patterns - I hope it will prove to be a useful resource for others.

The first entry has been added, V7803 (Skirt), an out-of-print pattern.

I purchased this pattern recently and as soon as it arrives I will add description of it. Does anyone know actually whether there other skirts from this line?

BOOK REVIEW: The Dressmaker's Handbook of Couture Sewing Techniques: Essential Step-by-Step Techniques for Professional Results

I bought this book three month before its release without knowing who the author was or what the contents were. I saw the magic word 'Couture' and put it in my shopping cart.

Here is it: 

The Dressmaker's Handbook of Couture Sewing Techniques: Essential Step-by-Step Techniques for Professional Results

The author is Lynda Maynard (I have never heard of her, but this doesn't mean anything). She has a BA in textiles and clothing from San Jose State University and is an adjunct professor in the fashion design departments of two community colleges and a private design school in the San Francisco Bay area. Apparently she is also an author of the CD book Demystifying Fit.

Nevertheless, my experience with instruction books like this is that it's not about all the titles and affiliations with prestigious organizations but about the commitment of the author to his subject.

So, here you have a very well illustrated and designed handbook for ESSENTIAL couture techniques, not more not less. 

I liked how it is organized:

It starts with a Couture Technique Selector, which is a thumb preview of exactly thirty-nine couture techniques. These are divided into Binding and Finishes, Design Details: On Show, and Design Details: Concealed.

Each technique is accompanied with a number of illustrations and steps. The author also includes so-called Couture Secrets and tips on materials, pressing, construction and style. With my rather patchy knowledge of couture techniques I do see that a lot of information that I have seen scattered across different books dedicated to Couture has been very nicely compiled and presented under individual techniques. 

For example, in a section on Banding V-Neck on Woven Fabric, Ms Maynard says 

"Silk organza is an indispensable  item in the couturier's supply arsenal. Use it to underline and interface garment sections, stabilize curves and angles, tape straight edges, and steady wiggly fabrics for specific procedures."

In Style Suggestion she adds:

" This technique works well on bateau necklines also, since each shoulder seam join functions as a V. try using a contrasting fabric or color, or experiment with bias stripes for added dash."

The part Design Details: On Show includes

Channel-stitched accents

Corded accents 

Petersham "peek" seam

Petersham "peek" on a wrap skirt

Hong Kong finish on the outside

Wide charmeuse hem band

Ribbon-trimmed hem

Decorative trim hem

Flange closure for chiffon

Charmeuse welt edging

Charmeuse welt-edging: add a picot finish

Ribbon-trimmed collar band

Boned cuff

Shoulder Pad (I don't know why this technique is in 'On Show' section)

Button-on garment sections

I especially loved Design Details: Concealed

It includes techniques on

Lining/Binding skirt panels

Couture waistband (I had to re-read this one in Claire Schaeffer's book couple of times to understand)

High-waist couture facing (using boning! how clever)

Easy double-needle hem (for stretch fabrics)

Organza "bubble" hem finish (to prevent hem on skirts and dresses from collapsing)

Faced hem  (great for dresses with longer drapey skirts)

Horsehair braid hem (I wish I could see a garment with such a hem - the effect of this technique is difficult to imagine)

Concealing horsehair braid in the hem

Balanced dart (this technique is widely covered in most books on couture techniques)

Couture dart (the secret of sewing a dart on a machine with only one thread. I remember this technique was covered in Roberta Carr's "Couture: The Art of Fine Sewing" )

Satin pocket bags

Waistline "flip-out" pouch 

The book includes a section on "all the essential equipment for the couture sewer", which included a sewing machine and a serger ( I thought a serger is a no-no in couture sewing?). It goes on to tools like scissors, pins, patternmaking tools and other. Finally it lists pressing equipment. 

I thought this part in the book was not so great since nowhere in the book does the author explain how or where to use many of these tools. 

A section on underlinings/ backings is interesting. I thought, finally, more than a page on underlinings, but, unfortunately the technique of applying underlining is just half a page. But to compensate this, the author gives eight pages with images comparing several combinations of backed and unbacked fabrics, explaining the effect the backing/ underlining has on the fashion fabric. 

Directory of Luxury Fabrics and Trims includes 

Linings - discussing application, practical points for silk crepe de chine and acetate satin. Honestly, what about China Silk, Silk Charmeuse? I hear all the time how Chanel skirt are lined with charmeuse. These were not covered here 

Underlinings describe Rayon Challis, Batiste, Voile, Silk Organza, Cotton Flannel, Muslin, Hair Canvas. 

Charmeuse finally appears under Luxury Fabrics, together with Hammered Satin, Silk Dupioni, Silk Chiffon, Handkerchief Linen, Lightweight Knits, Silk Velvet, Lightweight Wool, Cotton Batiste, Voile, organdy, Silk Gazar and Linen. 

Trims cover applications for Rayon Ribbon, Mousetail, String, Petersham, Yarn, Satin Ribbon, Grosgrain Ribbon, Rattail, Decorative Trim and Decorative Ribbon

To give you my opinion on Fabrics & Trims section, I think you are much better served with  Claire Shaeffer's Fabric Sewing Guide

Maynard's book dedicates its final pages to Essential Couture Techniques (yet again? what about Couture Techniques part that takes up most of the book). She explains how to do French Seam, Spaced Tucks, Hand-Finished Zipper, Underlining, Hanging Loops, Adding Grosgrain Ribbon, Piped Cuff, Shoestring Straps, Buttons, Buttonholes on Sheer Fabric, Snaps, Hand-Bound Buttonhole and two pages on Making a Muslin. The muslin part is somewhat brief and is handled in a by-the-way manner. It could have been explained in more detail at the beginning of the book. Why all these techniques ended up on final few pages is a mystery to me. Nevertheless they are worth learning. 

I know, I have criticized several sections in the book, but I have to say that the main part - those 39 and 12 more techniques hidden toward the end of the book - is really interesting. However, this book is not a substitute for Couture Sewing Techniques by Claire Schaeffer (which covers couture construction process from start to finish) but a great collection of selected techniques. It's a great addition to my library and I will start applying these techniques starting with the next projects. 

What books on Couture Sewing do you recommend?