Tailoring a Jacket E-Book

Gill McBride

• Herausgeber: Crowood
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020

Beschreibung

A jacket is a wonderful staple for any wardrobe - it's versatile, flattering and stylish. This practical book explains how to make a jacket that can be worn with confidence, flourish and pride. Using 'speed' tailoring techniques, it explains fusible interfacings and finishes that are achievable for all home sewers, and will guide you to making a fabulous tailored jacket. Tailoring a Jacket includes a guide to fabrics, pattern choice and interfacings; advice on pattern matching; instruction on welt and patch pockets, shoulder pads and collars, as well as bound and machined buttonholes. It gives detailed help on lining and finishing your jacket, and ideas for alterations and, finally, a step-by-step explanation with photographs to the full process.

Leseprobe

Tailoring a Jacket

Tailoring a Jacket

Gill McBride

First published in 2020 by The Crowood Press Ltd Ramsbury, Marlborough Wiltshire SN8 2HR

[email protected]

This e-book first published in 2020

© Gill McBride 2020

All rights reserved. This e-book is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 1 78500 784 2

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

1GETTING STARTED

2CUTTING AND PREPARING

3STARTING TO MAKE YOUR JACKET

4SEWING THE JACKET’S OUTER SHELL

5SEWING THE JACKET LINING

6BUTTONHOLES AND FINISHING

7MAKING A CHANEL-STYLE JACKET

8DESIGN YOUR OWN JACKET

GLOSSARY

REFERENCES

INDEX

INTRODUCTION

Having a really good jacket in your wardrobe is almost essential! A jacket should be a staple in the wardrobe, ready to be worn with jeans for a lunch or a shopping trip or paired with some fabulous evening trousers or floaty skirt for a dinner date. A jacket is so versatile and it will make you feel well dressed and confident. Everyone needs at least one jacket in their wardrobe!

Jackets come in all shapes and sizes. Many have lapels or revers like a traditional gentleman’s jacket but many do not. Jackets can be collarless, fitted, boxy, long, short, structured or unstructured. The fabric choice we now have is also endless. Whereas, traditionally, jackets would have been more structured or tailored and made from wool or silk fabrics, we can now make jackets from any fabric we choose, including sweatshirt fabrics and knitted fabrics.

The thought of making a jacket is exciting and daunting at the same time. In the past, tailoring a jacket was something that only specialist sewers would have attempted. Today, however, we have the tools and the fabrics to allow all of us to have a go at making a beautiful jacket that we are proud to wear.

This book will help you to make a jacket by the speed tailoring method, resulting in a garment that looks couture but does not take couture time to make.

CHAPTER ONE

GETTING STARTED

What is it that makes you love a jacket? It may be the colour or the fabric from which it is made. It may be that it moves from smart to casual really easily. It may be that it fits you really well. Whatever it is, look at the jackets that you have in your wardrobe and take out your favourite. Examine it and decide what it is that you particularly love about that jacket. Is it the princess seams that make it fit so well? Perhaps the length is just perfect for you. Maybe the simplicity or the details are what make the difference. Take a note of what exactly you love about that jacket and use those notes when looking for a pattern.

Understanding Your Jacket Before You Start

In the diagram here, you will see described the different parts of the jacket. There are some definitions that may be new to you and it will help you to understand these better. The particular ones to note are around the collar and lapel or rever area. For instance, the gorge line is the stitched line between the collar and the lapel/rever and is maybe the most worrying bit for us when we are new to sewing a jacket.

Understanding a jacket.

The roll line is exactly where the collar folds over down the front of the jacket. It is important to understand what the roll line is when we come to prepare the jacket pieces before sewing. The break point is the point where the collar roll stops on the front of the jacket and the jacket front lies flat again, ready for buttons and/or closures.

The collar stand is at the back of the collar and lies against the neck. The part of the collar that folds over is called the collar fall.

The sleeve head is the top part of the sleeve from the shoulder to mid-way to the elbow. On the flat pattern piece, the sleeve head is round the top of the armhole part of the sleeve pattern. This is also sometimes called the sleeve cap.

The leading edge is literally the front edge of the jacket, from below the break point to the hem.

The other definitions on the diagram are more self-explanatory, such as pocket flap, top sleeve and undersleeve, side front and so on. These are also usually named on the pattern pieces whereas the definitions above are not found on the pattern pieces because they only apply once the jacket is being put together.

Choosing Your Jacket Pattern

There are very many jacket styles to choose from and we each have our own favourite. Some of us will return to the blazer style with lapels and pockets. Some prefer a Chanel-style jacket that is very simple in design and where the fabric is the key factor. Casual jackets are also favoured by many and these can be lined or unlined, buttoned or zipped, short or long, structured or unstructured.

Choosing your style is important. It will make the world of a difference to the final garment if it is right for you. A princess-seamed jacket lies extremely well on all wearers, whatever their bust size. (Princess seams are long and curved and give a figure-hugging fit to the garment, especially over and below the bust.) Jackets with straight darts are easier for some of us to manage. Shorter jackets look good on all ages, if the fit is right. Longer-line jackets must be well fitted to look good and not ‘drown’ the wearer.

When looking for your jacket pattern, do not be influenced by the finishes that you see on the front of your chosen pattern envelope. Look at the lines of the jacket, its design, the way it is made, the dimensions, whether it has darts or not, whether it has princess seams or not, and whether the sleeves are one-piece or two-piece. The finishes such as buttonholes, pockets and even vents can be added or changed to suit your preferences; these are the features that you can amend to make yours a one-off designer garment. The important features to look for in the pattern are the design and construction features to ensure that they are what you actually want to make and that they are what best suits you and your figure type.

Line drawings on back of pattern envelope, describing construction details.

Choosing Your Fabric

Fabric choice is as important as your style of pattern. However, fabric choice is also mostly influenced by what you want your jacket for. If you are making a Chanel-style jacket for smart or evening wear, you might want to use a fabulous tweed in a gorgeous colour with a co-ordinating trim or a fabulous brocade. However, if you want to make a Chanel-style jacket to wear informally with your jeans, you might choose a more casual fabric such as a jersey that you can quilt and line with some fun fabric.

The same applies for a blazer-type jacket. If you want to make an evening jacket, there is a wonderful array of fabric choices you can use and you can team them with amazing buttons, beautiful trims, fabulous linings and so on to make a stunning statement jacket. A blazer to wear to work, however, might need a more formal fabric that is practical in colour and will wear well and clean easily. A linen blazer will look wonderful on holiday with palazzo pants but might not look so tidy in the office. A blazer made with sweatshirt fabric and unlined is a great quick make for everyday wear.

Fabric choice is everything! We have at our fingertips a wealth of choice. There are tweeds, silks, velvets, twills, denims, cottons, linens and lots more besides. Nowadays a lot of these fabrics have an element of stretch in them and they sew really satisfactorily. Many of them work extremely well for a tailored garment as they can be interfaced with fusible (ironed-on) interfacing in the same way as a totally stable fabric. With confidence, we can use whatever fabric we like to make our jacket, if it is what we want to use. Remember though, if you are buying online, to make sure you get a sample first. Whether buying online or in a shop, test your chosen fabric to make sure it does not crush too much or stretch too much for what you want to make. Does it drape well? Will it hold its shape? If it has stripes or checks, will you be able to match them well enough? In other words, does the fabric work for the jacket you want to make?

Finally, test press your fabric to see how it responds to the iron, whether it needs a water spray or a damp cloth and to ascertain exactly the best way to press as you sew. It may be that when pressed, seams begin to show on the right side of the fabric, or the fabric does not press well with a dry iron. Decide how to get the best result from pressing before you begin sewing and practise using a tailor’s ham and sleeve roll, if you have one or both to hand. They can make a huge difference to pressing your seams out and are described later in this chapter under ‘Pressing Equipment’.

Choosing Your Lining – If You Need It

After you have chosen your fabric and if your jacket is to be lined, then you must now choose your lining. This is where you have another great opportunity to express yourself if you wish. A wonderfully contrasting lining can look amazing inside a more simply styled jacket. For example, you could use a gorgeous simple tweed for your jacket and then line it with a heavily patterned lining fabric! It will look really striking when your jacket falls open and will give it another dimension. If your jacket is more complex in style you might feel that a contrast lining would detract from the design features of the jacket and a more stylish and formal lining would be more appropriate. Or you may prefer something simple inside that does not clash with what you will be wearing under the jacket. Again, with linings there is a huge choice of fabric. They may be plain, patterned or anti-static; they may be made of satin, cotton or a mixture of fibres. Some are cheaper than others and some will sew better than others, but you can also use any lightweight fabric that you love so long as you think it will work with your chosen jacket fabric and style.

Tweed jacket with contrasting lining.

Before you finally choose your lining, see how it works against your jacket fabric. Does it colour-match or contrast well? Will you be happy pattern-matching a striped lining? Is it the right weight – that is, is it too light or too heavy? Does it drape well? Does it crush or stretch and if so, will that be a problem? If it is cotton, will it stick to your clothes and will you be able to get the jacket on and off easily? A cotton lining is comfortable to wear but if you are wearing a cotton shirt or top underneath, then slipping your jacket on and off may become a nuisance as the lining of the jacket and the sleeves of your top will rub together.

Make your choice carefully as you did with your jacket fabric. All these choices will make a huge difference to the end product. They will all have an impact on your final garment and you want to be happy, proud and comfortable wearing your new jacket.

Everything Else You Will Need

So now you have chosen your pattern, your fabric and your lining. What else do you need to make your perfect jacket? Below is a list of sewing notions that will turn your jacket from a satisfactory garment into one that is beautifully finished and looks truly tailored.

Interfacing

This is a stabilizing fabric that is used on the wrong side of your garment fabric and helps to give your garment fabric body and structure. Interfacing can be fusible, meaning that it irons on, or non-fusible, meaning that it needs to be sewn in. Fusible or iron-on interfacing basically has a light surface of glue on one side of it; when you use the iron over it, applying the glue side on the wrong side of your fabric, the glue melts and adheres to your fabric. Sew-in interfacing is the same fabric but without the glue, and it has to be stitched into the garment seams to fix it. Nowadays, most interfacings are fusible.

Interfacings, edge tape, bias tape and Edgefix.

Interfacings come in several weights and can be used on most fabrics, from the lightest to the heaviest. They will change the way a fabric feels, the way it hangs and the way it sews, so it is important to choose your weight of interfacing carefully. For your jacket you will need a mediumweight interfacing and a lightweight interfacing, both fusible.

Interfacing comes in three main colour groups that are readily available: white, cream/natural and black/charcoal. You may be able to find other colours for specific uses. Choose your colour according to your fabric and remember that if you are using a very lightweight fabric for your jacket in a pale colour, then a dark interfacing might change the look of your jacket fabric.

As there is so much choice of interfacing, you might want to sample a few different weights until you find the one that gives you the best feel for your fabric. Always test first and be careful not to use too heavy an interfacing or your fabric may become too stiff.

TIP FOR INTERFACING

Be careful when choosing your interfacing. Do not be tempted to use one that makes your jacket fabric too stiff. It is surprising how ‘a little goes a long way’ in sewing and a slightly lighterweight interfacing should work really well.