Kondo 0.1 – Marie Kondo and the question of tidiness
A few months ago fellow blogger Stephanie mentioned she had read a book on tidiness – The Life Changing Magic of Tidying. Then Anna Catt, a work colleague, offered me her copy to read.
What did I learn?
I learnt a great deal. I knew some of the theories, but what are thoughts without action? If you find her arguments persuasive you may be compelled to do something. To throw away everything in your home that does not bring you joy. Not necessarily throw away – take your bin bags to the charity shop where I am sure they will be able to turn it into cash to help people in dire need.
Kondo proposes
- Get your mind-set right. Decide why you want to have a tidy home (my reasons are set out below)
- You are going to tidy completely but once only – you need to dedicate some serious time to this until it is completed
- You are aiming for perfection so that the new, ideal space motivates you to live differently. Your home will become a beautiful sanctuary
- Approach your possessions by category not by room (ie clothes, books, papers, miscellaneous items, sentimental items)
- Handle each item thinking about its meaning to you. Things that you bought but never wore taught you something about what you enjoy wearing. Be thankful for that.
- Decide what you want to keep by what you love – select those things that bring you joy
- Discard everything else by putting it into the right place eg charity shop, dustbin, but don’t pass them on to others as you will burden them with your unwanted stuff (with few exceptions)
- Once you are left with a pile of eg clothes that you absolutely love then store them so you can see at a glance what you have and be sure you will enjoy wearing them and looking after them
- Careful folding into rectangular shapes and arranging vertically in drawers allows you to see what you have. Avoid stacking as you forget what is at the bottom and it gets crushed
- Once everything you own has its own space always return it to this space once you have used it
I was challenged by the notion that one starts with clothes, moving towards ever more emotionally-charged, highly valuable and irreplaceable areas like family heirlooms, letters and photographs. The idea being that clothes are instantly replaceable but things like photographs are not. Yet it was a logic that escaped me. My clothes are emotionally charged, and while they are replaceable I guess I have more invested in them than many things. My family photos are nice but I have hundreds that are similar, and I could scan the ones I love if I could be bothered. I have sold “heirloom” items in the past as I have needed the money more than the sentiment. But clothes have lots of meaning for me, not just the ones I made but also some of those I bought. The book assumes that clothes are less important than books. Also I have the category “fabrics, notions, patterns, and as yet unmade clothes, and craft items, and tools”. I think this would be a separate category for me. So if I am to adopt this approach I may change the order a little.
The other problem area is that my home is shared with my dear husband who has not signed up to this approach. We do have individual areas but we also have shared space. “My” large cutting table is also his “food prep area”. This is economical but not conducive to happiness as we both want to use it, especially at the weekend. Her advice on communal space is to start on personal space and make it perfect. Then it is likely that others in the house will follow suit.
Most questions you may have about tidying are answered in this easy to read volume. I would recommend it as an interesting read. But can I implement it? I thought about this question for quite a long time. Then, on Wednesday I grabbed a pair of red gloves before I left home. They were both for the left hand. Why would someone keep two left gloves? I felt like a total idiot.
Here are my reasons for tackling my home
- I would like a serene and clutter free environment
- I enjoy having a clear line of sight
- I would like my lovely home to look beautiful all the time
- I would like to know that my home is clean and tidy all the time
- I feel burdened by having too much stuff to worry about
- I know I have lots of things that I am no longer aware of that are just taking up space
- I would rather someone else could enjoy them – if they go to the charity shop then they are being recycled and a donation is also made
- I have trouble shutting some of my drawers
- I can’t always find things quickly
- I forget what I already have and sometimes buy the same thing again
- I find it hard to discard gifts and valuable items
- I sometimes think I will get round to something in the future but I haven’t yet (eg knitting two jumpers)
- I bump into furniture as our home is small and we have a lot of stuff
- Many of our storage “solutions” are not well used
- Things are not classified very effectively
- I don’t want to live like this
I am thinking about making this fundamental change and will let you know how I get on.
Silk Dress pattern proposals
I asked for suggestions for a diaphanous silk dress. Internet friends supplied some ideas. Demented Fairy writes:
V1244 or V1301 [both Koos van den Akker] scream for diaphanous prints. As long as the silk is ultra fine, they would be lovely. I can personally vouch for the beauty of V1410 in a fine silk, much drapier and more elegant than the pattern image. V1223 is a lovely flirty offering from Ann Klein, or the more structured Guy Laroche 1339.
Let’s start with Mr Koos van den Akker. Here he is, in his full waistcoated glory. I like that his shirt sleeves are different and that his patterns seem to include fruit and veg. He died a couple of months ago and this write up is rather lovely. He draped rather than flat pattern cut, always inspired by the fabric to create architechtual shapes. Aparently he liked dressing larger ladies, which makes me glad. But it also puts me off a little bit.
Here is V1244 and I love the fabrics Vogue has chosen for the patchwork selection. One piece for the beautiful sleeveless cowl top and then a selection of five additional fabrics for the skirt. I think these may be silk satin – the colours seem especially vibrant, but they could be polyester – who knows? The skirt is reversible.
Here is the technical drawing. As you can probably fathom the elasticated skirt is on a loop with no hem, so you just turn it inside out and you have the same skirt but with a different colour way. Version one for example has a preponderance of fabric 1, plus blouse fabric, with no fabric 3, whereas version two has much more of fabric 3 at the hip with the other four colours plus blouse fabric at the bottom. There is a belt too to add yet more colour and excitement into the outfit. It could be a really fun way to combine six different patterned silks. I like the colours on the Vogue pattern envelope. I also like the concept of a blouse and skirt for versatility and the idea of having a skirt that reverses is also fun. There are two versions on Pattern Review. But the shape is not really what I want. The gathered, elasticated waist is just about OK (although the model does look like she has full hips) worn with a tightish belt. But I don’t like soft hems. Never have, never will. I love the blouse, and would certainly wear this shape, but I think I could draft this pattern myself.
Here is another dress from the same designer – this is Vogue 1301. I actually rather like this one. It also has a third piece – this time a scarf or stock to wear with it. I like all three views. This one again is made from three of different fabrics, arranged like patchwork. It can be worn with or without sleeves, with a high or open neck and with the scarf tied around the waist, neck or as a headscarf.
Let’s have a look at the drawing. One of the suggested fabrics is chiffon and I think this would work brilliantly in hand painted chiffon with a nice silk lining. I have never painted on chiffon but I think it would be a lovely project. And because you have control over the colours you can guarentee a harmonious pattern match – using three different colours in varying proportions, for example. I find this an exciting proposition. The only thing that puts me off is the large amount of seaming which, with handpainted cloth, is not actually needed. How many of these seams are to join the fabric and how many incorporate darts? The garment is refered to as very loose fitting, and it is a “pullover” style, so maybe the it’s just a tent.
One of the suggestions from Ruth is a Marfy pattern which also flares from the neck : 3234. If you are familiar with this Italian company you may know they provide a few free patterns, one of which is a blouse which is rather similar to this dress. I like the fullness and drapyness of the dress so this pattern also appeals to me greatly. I think it would look beautiful in a hand painted silk.
Here is a lovely version of the free blouse download made by Red Point Tailor. I love the colour and design of the silk Beata has used and the shape is very flattering with her slim arms.
The second Marfy pattern Ruth has picked out for me is this one. I am attracted to this pattern which again features a lovely flowing skirt from a high waist. It appears that there is a sheer panel which covers and reveals the back – back detail I like that – and this may be the case at the front. The wide boat neck is attractive as is the bowed back belt. I do like to have a good look at the technical drawings before I buy a pattern. If I am paying £10 or more I want to know it is not something I could just draft myself.
Finally let’s examine the Anne Klein V 1223 pattern. I really love this dress, especially the way the pleating comes down over the right shoulder into the skirt. I think this would look work brilliantly with a hand painted silk. In fact I like the textile that Vogue has shown the dress in. So fresh and summery! I am coming around to this one as my first choice but the Marfy 3234 and the Koos 1301 are close seconds. I think at the end of the day I like a defined waist line.
Here it is from the front and the tech drawing.
My search is not over – the main reason being that I had a maxi length in mind originally and all of these are shorter numbers. Two of the ideas from DF are longer, which I will consider in a future post.
Three nice things
I recently received three gifts, which I thought I would share with you.
Magnetic, extendable, pin retriever, with light
Need I say more? I use a lot of pins. And I drop a lot of pins. And usually they get vacuumed or swept up and due to the bother of picking them out of the stitching and trimming rubble I often lose them. Maybe 50 per cent of my pins (especially if someone else is doing the sweeping or vacuuming) are collateral damage. We have small kids crawling around and all of us take our shoes off in the house so economy plays second fiddle to safety. This wonderful item extends fully so you don’t have to bend down. It has a strong magnet at the end which ensure you only pick up the pin or needle rather than fluff and thread. And it has a powerful light! A little torch that comes on through a screwing action. I love this item, and am so indebted to my husband who gave it to me. Thanks Nick!
Handmade, William Morris, Liberty print, Bias binding
This thoughtful, beautiful bias binding was made by Linde and given to me for my birthday. What a delight! Isn’t it beautiful? I do make a bit of bias binding from time to time, but it is a fag, and I don’t have any special equipment – just a ruler, a washable felt tip, some sharp scissors and an iron. I didn’t ask Linde how she did it, but it is completely even, soft, and just a gorgeous piece of work. Not every one would appreciate the thought and work that went in to a gift like this. The William Morris design is around 150 years old. The fabric is cotton lawn – a really luxurious, stable, close weave cotton. And the colour is so pretty. I will have to think about how to use this binding to really show it off.
You know when so many people across lots of different lives mention something to you that you realise it must be good? This is what happened with Serial.
I have never listened to a podcast, or an audio book. I associated audio cassettes with my old Dad who listen to books when driving (I don’t have a car) and, as he aged, increasingly at home, in bed. I am afraid I put being read to, or listening to something more demanding that the usual bland radio chit-chat, with being old or disabled. But actually, being read to is an interesting and quite delightful idea when you are busy with your hands but your mind is relaxed. So my third gift is having something riveting to listen to when sewing. Prompted by so many people I listened to Seriel and really enjoyed it. And then it finished, I tried something else which I will also recommend to you.
A couple of years ago my son Gus and I did an evening class in writing short stories. He was a lot better than me, but we had some fun, with a wonderful teacher called Katy Darby.
A published author she also runs a club in London called Liars’ League. (There is also a LL in Hong Kong and NYC). You go to the event (once a month) where new, unpublished short stories are read out by actors. Of course not everyone can get to live events, but the readings are recorded and then uploaded for everyone to enjoy. Why not try listening when you are attaching your silk underlining to your silk dress? Or basting in that sleeve?
The story of my Dinosaur lace
Here is the woman who designed my Dino-lace. Sophie Hulme is a young British designer. Can you spot what she is wearing?
She has on a nice cream chiffon blouse. With dinosaurs. OK they are beige, but they are marching across her sides and shoulders. Isn’t that lovely? And here is the navy dinosaur lace used in a number of creative ways at London Fashion week: shorts, blouse and jacket. Did you spot the dinosaur brooch and necklace charm on the first girl?
Here is a close up of the parka jacket, and the blouse, this time in navy, on the model on the right.
These days Sophie (who only graduated in 2007) is more or less a handbag designer, and a very successful one too. In the top picture you can see the models are all holding large, distinctive handbags.
There was a ready to wear version too. Here is her skirt and top in the lace. It’s a pretty set, retailing at around £700, but I would prefer to see more of the dinosaurs. It appears that with this version the lace and backing were sewn as one.
I got the lace from Simply Fabrics, and I wish I had bought enough for a skirt. However I may be able to do an embellished shirt, a bit like Sophie’s.
IT project officer Charlene Peters – from Carnival Queen to night club singer
Charlene is a Project Officier who works for Notting Hill Housing – she is helping us upgrade our IT for care and support business. Charlene often wears brightly coloured clothes – which of course drew my attention to her. I asked her to tell me a bit more about herself.
I like that people notice my outfits and comment positively on my style. I often wear two colours which complement each other in blocks. But I love patterns too. I am definitely an extrovert, and not at all scared of colour like so many people seem to be. I have colour confidence! But I also have a long standing interest in style, clothes and make up. I love those programmes – Ten years younger, How not to dress and How to look good naked – the make over just fascinates me. I think all women have a right to feel beautiful and I do what I can in terms of my own image, and as a beauty consultant where I help women to look their very best. When I am performing I like to wear false lashes, contact lenses, lots of brightly coloured make up. I just enjoy it so much!
I enjoy working on projects – and in the future as personal projects I would like to design underwear, produce a cookbook and do more performing. I sing in the Nomad Bar in Old Street and at the bar at the Stratford Royal theatre – just an acoustic set. I usually wear a cocktail dress in a bright colour like lime green and pink. I also wear a lot of jewellery that I have from my Indian relatives – a bhindi and a full necklace, as you can see above. My family is Trinidian – my Grandma came from there and she brought me up. My family is quite mixed – with Spanish, Chinese, Indian and African ancestors.
The clothes they wear in Trinidad are mainly the same as they wear here. But I have some Indian clothes as a result. I really enjoy wearing my turquoise sari. And I love belly dancing – wearing Turkish and other clothes with jingly coins on them. I have travelled a lot – to the Caribbean, the USA, Mexico, North Africa, within Europe. I thought the fashions and make up of North Africa was very inspiring – especially their dark eyes.
I was the Carnival Queen at Notting Hill Carnival when I was 7. That is a real honour – you lead the float at Carnival, and you get to wear some of the best costumes. That is me right at the front in the navy, silver and white dress – here in Notting Hill. I am sure you know that Carnival was started and sustained by people from Trinidad – we have the same thing back home – it was great to express our identity, music and sense of art and style. My Uncle and other Trinidadians had a special band where they wore Native American costumes – they were famous in their time. For Carnival, and at other times you often see Trini people wearing the colours of our national flag with pride – it is red, black and white. We go strong on red – even the guys like to wear red trousers or jeans.
I have always been a bit overweight. I used to diet in my teen years, but as I got older I just became more accepting of myself. To be honest I love food and dinning at nice places – I eat out alot and I enjoy myself. I am happy. I think I dress well for my size. You can get nice clothes in bigger sizes – I get quite alot from Ambrose Wilson which caters for larger ladies going up to size 32. Not everyone who is bigger wants to wear blanket tops! I would say to big women “Be fashionable – dress for your body shape not your size”. I have a curved, hourglass body shape so I wear softer fabrics, curved lines. I find an empire line is good, giving definition in the middle and making your legs looks longer. Wear something that skims rather than clings, and make sure it finishes below your wider parts. And smile – draw attention to your face.
How to add a lace sleeve to a sleeveless dress
I have a basic, as yet unfinished, plain sleeveless navy silk dress. It is incredibly boring and safe. It is also a bit dark for my complexion, although I find sleeveless can work as there is a fair expanse of lighter skin (also wearing skin coloured rather than black, nearly black or navy tights). To make it more exciting and to add some lightness to it I decided to give it lace sleeves.
This post explains how to add lace sleeves to any sleeveless dress pattern.
1. Make up the dress as usual to the stage where you would normally be finishing the armhole seams.
2. Select a suitable sleeve pattern. It is very easy to use one from an existing dress or blouse pattern. I considered two different patterns. A 1940 Vogue blouse Vogue 6704, and a 1969 Style mini dress, Style 2641. Either of these sleeve styles would be good in my dress. The older one is less fitted, and gathered into a cuff. I considered doing this blouse with a solid navy cuff. But in the end I went for the more fitted 1960s style which was more in keeping with the original 1960s dress. I liked it as it had an elbow dart and was a slim fitting cuff-less shape.
3. Now check the sleeve will fit into the armhole. Both my sleeve patterns were for bust 34″, whereas my dress pattern was bust 32″. The way to check the size is to line up the back and front bodice on the table as if they are sewn up on the side seams – you can ignore the dart for now. Take the pattern and “walk” the sleeve pattern against the armhole seam, first on the back, then on the front bodice peieces. You mainly want to ensure that the sleeve is a little bit bigger than the armhole so you can ease it in. You can see what happened on the photograph below. There was about a 1″ gap on both front and back, giving around 2″ of ease (the space between my two fingers, twice). I would suggest this is ideal and won’t require any gathering or pleating. Certainly with the lace I was using this went in perfectly OK.
4. It is worth noting that on a sleeveless dress the armhole is normally dropped between half and one inch at the underarm seam to make it more comfortable to wear. Strictly you could fix this first but I am assuming you have decided to put sleeves in once you have cut out.
5. Cut the sleeves out singly so you can see how the lace works on your pattern. I used the “selvage” of the lace as the cuff of the sleeves to get a tidy finish. This meant not cutting the seam allowance on the cuff, but folding it back and cutting on the original stitching line. However another nice finish is to cut around the motifs on the lace to give a more sculptural line.
6. Use tailors’ tacks to mark the notches and other marks as it will not be easy to see cut notches on lace, especially if you are using a guipure lace as I was (netted or mesh laces are a bit more like a piece of fabric).
7. To make the elbow dart I cut out approximately one dinosaur, then sliced the next dinosaur in two and laid one over the other to make a stumpy dinosaur. I then stitched it carefully together using a matching cotton thread. Can you spot the little fellow there?
8. I could have joined the sleeves together by hand very carefully according to the pattern to make a nearly invisible join. Instead I machined the sleeve seam. (Wearing my yoga gear) I tried the sleeve on. The cuff is nice and neat.
9. After pressing open I inserted the sleeve in the normal way, easing the dinosaurs so that where possible I was stitching bodies rather than holes. I did this by hand, using a back-stitch.
10. Finally I lined the bodice and tucked all the seam allowances at the arm hole into the inside of the lining so that I had a neat finish.
Obviously the sleeve looks better with an arm in it so, when I have completed the dress, I will give that Dino-lace a twirl….
Sewing with a Plan 2015 0.23 – white Nina Ricci over-blouse
This week I almost finished my white Nina Ricci overblouse – its my second outing for this pattern – I already made a green one. It was still quite hard work, but slightly easier this time. I am disappointed that I haven’t finished it yet – but I have started making my silk dress so have been a bit distracted.
Pattern alterations
I added a tiny little bit of curve at the upper hip, adding around 1/4 inch to the two back pieces – overwise we just have the inch above the bust dart that I need for my relatively long torso, and half an inch in the length above the waist.
Fabric choice
I had some fairly heavy white cotton with a little Elastane in it, left over from my Geoffrey Beene dress. The overblouse is cut on the bias. I decided to use silk organza for the underlining. Although I do like using silk organza very much I was put off by the price. My friend Demented Fairy kindly told me where to buy it cheaply and I have been using it much more regularly ever since. You order it though eBay – it is not very wide (104cm) but it is only about £4.50m! The quality is not as good as MacCulloch and Wallis, where it is 140cm wide, and made in Italy, but then they charge around £24m.
So, given the very affordable price, I have been using it with abandon. Including on this garment. It is so light and delicate and makes me feel like I am sewing with air. Making meringues! It reminds me of wedding dresses (when I have used it before) and it has an ethereal, other worldly quality. You do feel like a couture seamstress using it, smoothing it against the fashion fabric, pinning with silk pins, basting all the seams and darts. snipping the excess off with small, sharp scissors.
Construction
This garment has taken quite a long time, and I found it boring process – it’s a repeat. The fabric is a neutral. White is difficult to keep clean. And the pattern seems to go on and on. Once you have finished the shell, you put in the neckband which is a fiddle and hard to get completely even. Then you put in the separating zip by hand. After that comes the armhole facings and the hem. When you think you are almost done you have to construct the front band which has a bound button hole in it. This is also done on the bias and again it is hard to get it all to behave. It’s a bit wonky so I think I will have to redo it. This weekend I will try to find a special button – Sharon on Clitheroe market has some vintage ones – and attach the hooks and eyes. And give it a proper press – it looks a bit sad hanging on its hanger.
SWAP
In terms of the SWAP I am almost finished. I have nine completed items.
- Fuchsia jacket
- Fuchsia skirt
- Navy skirt
- Navy jacket
- Green overblouse
- Squiggle jacket
- Squiggle skirt
- Green skirt
- White overblouse
I have one ready to wear item as permitted. So its just the silk dress to go. I have two competing ideas to resolve now – one is a summery dress in a floral design, the other a version of an LBD. Two very different garments, two weeks left to the big reveal. I will have to decide and get on with it now.
Menswear Friday – An audience with Christopher Raeburn at the V&A
Last Friday my husband suggested a date night! This consisted of a cycle across the Park (Hyde Park), a melamine plate of rice and duck with a side of broccoli at Oriental Kitchen, then an evening talk by Christopher Raeburn, one of the UK’s most exciting young designers. It was 22 degrees, and cycling home at dusk we could smell the daffodils, the blossoming trees, and it felt like we were in Southern Spain. But the clothes we saw were largely Made in Britain. Or rather Re-made in Britain. Because what Raeburn is known for is his recycling of interesting, generally military weather-proof materials, into modern outdoor clothing.
Born and brought up by what he referred to as eccentric parents in Kent, he and his two older brothers were encouraged to draw things, make things, repair old cars and survive in the countryside. These Swallow and Amazon type influences lay behind his interest in designing clothes rather than swooning over elegant ladies wear or reading Vogue magazine in the lounge.
I found him a self-effacing and interesting young man. His commitment to re-invention – which goes so much further than recycling – was inspirational. He seeks out “utility and beauty in that which appears to be obsolete”. His current collection is inspired by The Desert Boneyard in Arizona where 4000 military aircraft rest until they are reintegrated or re-appropriated.
His “REMADE” collection this year takes apart original MIG fighter pilot flightsuits and makes them into new garments. The styles retain original details such as the all over contouring draw strings.
He used Swiss military rain capes to clear outerwear; the original identification labelling is included. He also recycles parachute fabric – like they did in the war. He reused Lifeboat fabrics to make a patchwork orange coat, and (my favourite) he remodelled Russian military sheepskins into gorgeous coats. Christopher said with only 50 of each of these items made they are a “labour of love” (ie not a commercial success).
He takes a lot of inspiration from military garments.
“If I come back to my inspirations and think military functionality, everything has a reason. Generally speaking I try to consider what’s ultimately going in those pockets. For me it’s about validation in design and knowing a design has been considered all the way through. I don’t profess to be an archetypal high-fashion designer. Having a product that really works is at the centre of what we do.” (Style)
Making a silk dress
I read the Financial Times – the “Pink ‘un”. A “world business newspaper” which gives me the salient economic and political news I need each day. No gossip, no celebrities, no-nonsense. Politically neither left nor right, but obviously pro-business. I love it.
At the weekends it provides additional supplements – on personal money, travel suggestions, house and home with adverts for furniture and expensive properties plus an FT Weekend magazine with columns on cookery, wine, philosophy, medicine, plus crosswords and quizzes. They also deliver a glossy magazine called “How to Spend it” – a tantalising opportunity to consider spending thousands of pounds on a bottle of wine, a trip to Burma, a racehorse – or a dress. Of course the magazine is at once utterly seductive – who knew they needed this IT kit, or the finest headphones in the world, or a lesson in golf from a well-known golfer? – and also a smug insiders’ catalogue that documents how the other half per cent lives.
But when they cover fashion I love the sumptuous photo shoots – more upmarket than Vogue, and always of interest to me (although I never would, nor could, spend £2000+ on a garment). For me seeing such high-end clothes is exciting because they are either wonderfully tailored or feature unique fabrics. A dress is just a dress – but when you have an almost unique item, in distinctive and no expense spared fabric, beautifully constructed it is exciting. These dresses are not easy to make and require much more thought and labour than an ordinary off the peg frock. They present an interesting question – how were they made and can they be replicated?
Last week How to Spend it, did silk dresses – some patchworked, some embroidered – all of them light and dreamy capturing the spirit of the 1970s. Styling by Damian Foxe and beautiful photographs by Andrew Yee.
My own interest in silk dresses is that I have committed to making one as my “wildcard” for the 2015 SWAP challenge. I am working up a few ideas, so this slug of inspiration was very welcome. Here we have a range of modern tea dresses – all of them light, luxurious, feminine, tender and colourful.
The St Laurent by Hedi Slimane could be recreated by using a range of hand printed silks pieced together, or the fabric could be painted or block printed in sections before construction. The African/animal prints are not in colourways that appeal to me, but you can see how the yellowish brown border pulls all the disparate features together. Also I like the floaty soft pull-over shape of the garment.
The second dress – you already guessed – is Emilo Pucci. The dress is a fairly simple Mad-Men-Megan-style halter neck arranged on a metal necklace. The glorious amber and ruby print has a dramatic central panel that then explodes towards the hem of the dress. A flesh coloured underskirt give it a little body and decency, as it billows out in the sea air.
This Just Cavalli dress is made from a distinctive striped cloth, where several different designs are grouped together, each united by the yellow, blue, green, black, white colour scheme. The bodice is simple but the long skirt flows open over shorts.
I love this Erto dress, especially the deep sky-blue chiffon. The patterns appear random and could be replicated with painting, screen or block printing, using yellow, white, blue, navy and green. This is such a delicate, sensual look.
The Dries Van Norton silk dress is also beautiful. Here it is styled with linen/cotton trousers and a silk/linen coat (over the shoulders). To me this is an object lesson in matching prints successfully. The scale of all the designs are similar but the colours are quite varied – green, yellow, orange and purple in the coat; deep red, black and white in the transparent dress; red and gold in the trousers; worn with patterned shoes. Nevertheless all that print together looks wonderful – I think because they all contain a creamy white and have an airiness about them.
It makes me want to make something diaphenous and draped after the rather structured Nina Ricci dress I am making for the SWAP. I had seen a nice dress that Closet Case Files made with hand painted silk, and bought the pattern. There are some gorgeous versions of it – Vogue 8827 – out there on the internet. I am unsure if the shape is it really me – especially the waterfall front – its a bit flouncy, non? If not this pattern, any suggestions? And what about colour schemes?
Lining, Underlining, Interfacing and Interlining – could you win the pub quiz?
Not all garments are equal. With most high street clothes what you see is what you get. Just the fabric, the zip and the overlocking. If the garment has a collar, a waist band or a bit of structure then it will probably be depending on machine pressed interfacings, which are fused to the cloth before construction. If you are buying a coat or a jacket in may also have a lining – usually made of polyester – which is stitched into the garment when it is being manufactured, bagged out and stitched together crudely at the side seam or somewhere less obvious.
For home dressmakers we have lots of choices in these matters. This post asks what lies behind the dress or jacket that you see?
Let’s just clarify the purpose of making clothes with additional layers behind the exterior fashion fabric. Under layers are exceptionally useful and make a real difference to how good your clothes will look. It is important to chose the right type of underlying fabric and technique so that your garment is not too stiff or structured. Underlying fabric can
- add shape
- add stabliity, stops stretch
- add longevity
- add structure
- add warmth
- makes it easier to slip the garment on and off
- provide a clean finish
- make the garment more manageable when sewing up
- work as a skelton when sewing so that hems etc are invisible
Some of the names for these under layers are similar and difficult to remember.
Underlining
Underlining Is a second layer of fabric that is cut in the same shape as your pattern pieces (often a little larger for speed – it can be trimmed off later). It is pinned to the fashion fabric, then basted along all the stitching lines and darts, and stitched with it – the two fabrics performing as one. The purpose of underlining is to give a little more structure to a garment, to stabilise it and to provide an underside onto which facings and hems can be invisibly attached. Some people like to make all the markings on the underlining so as to avoid marking the fashion fabric.
Different fabrics can be used for this task. For example on a sheer fabric you could choose a sheer underlining like silk organza, or an opaque fabric like cotton lawn if you wanted more coverage. If you have a crisper fabric you may want a crisper underlining – I might use cotton organdie for this task. Also colour is important – while black and white underlining will serve most purposes there will be times when you want or need a different colour. For example you may back red lace with red polyester organza or dye white silk organza to match. I sometimes use habotai silk or a muslin cotton if the fabric is very soft.
Interfacing
This is the underlying fabric (or fusible) that stabilises fabrics to stop them stretching out of shape. For example it is often invaluable to use a light weight fusible interfacing along the seam when you are inserting a zip or attatching buttons. Additionally on a dress or blouse the collar, cuffs and facings often require interfacing. You can use some of the same fabrics for interfacing that you use for underlining. For example with a very lightweight (say sheer or lace) blouse silk organza may be the best interfacing. But generally in order to get more body a woven interfacing or an iron-on product can be used. Personally I prefer sewn in, woven interfacing but there are times when fusibles work better. Most commercial patterns will specify what interfacing they recommend but experience allows us to match the fabric we have chosen with what we might already have in the drawer. I have five or six different weights of interfacing – a metre or so of each, both woven and non-woven, mainly in white, but some black too. I try to choose a similar weight with the right amount of crispness. The best way to test is to put the interfacing over the back of your hand, and to drape the fabric over it. How does it feel and look? You can do a test square – fusing or basting – with a couple of options if you are not sure.
For tailoring you need more support and body. This is because the sections of the garment, especially the collar, lapels, chest, upper back need to be supported and permanently shaped to fit the wearer. More specialist interfacing is required for a tailored garment and I tend to use cotton organdie on the lightest garments and horsehair (which I believe actually uses goat hair these days) interfacing for more structured garments. “Duck” is a type of linen canvas, and various other types of cotton such as calico and canvas can also be used.
Lining
Not all garments are lined, but I like to line my garments, because it:
- makes the garment look neat and finished, hiding away all your workings
- makes it easier to put on the garment, particularly a tailored garment, especially if you use a slightly slippery fabric
- feels really nice against your skin (eg a silk lining on a woollen dress)
- helps the garment last
- provides an opportunity to express your individuality – painted or coloured linings are exciting, even if only you ever see them when you step into your skirt.
The key thing is to get the right quality and weight of lining for the garment. I admit I have often spent more on the lining than on the fashion fabric – I love getting good quality bargain fabrics for clothes, but I prefer to use silk for the lining and this is rarely available at a discount. I know many people use good quality man-made and synthetic fabrics for linings, and you can certainly get good results especially if you pay a little more. But for me I buy several metres of white silk and dye or paint it to match my outfit, plus some colours that I love.
I use habotai silk with a weight of between 8 and 12 (5 is too flimsy and fly away) for most purposes
For a more robust and stable finish – say on a suit jacket – on a more important item I will use silk crepe.
For a coat where slipperiness is important (or sometimes just in the sleeves) I prefer to use a silk satin. This is the most expensive and heaviest silk option I use.
Interlining
This is to provide warmth. It might be a good idea if you make say a winter coat from a lightweight wool. You just add in a layer of wool flannel, or possibly a fleecy type fabric (I have never tried a synthetic) – but it needs to be light weight, stable and warm but not bulky.
If by any chance you were to make say a tailored coat with a slightly tricky but lightweight fabric (say an open weave Linton tweed) you may use all four under layers. They have a specific order, just like knives and forks at a posh dinner!
Fashion fabric, underlining, interfacing, interlining, lining. Got it?
You must be logged in to post a comment.