This Way Up

One of the challenges in sewing in a lining of just about any sort, is that you really only have 2 kicks at the can. Oh sure, some people might be able to eke out 3 or 4 tries (I suspect the correct term for that is "eek"), but if you're working with a fabric that frays (charmeuse - I'm looking at you, bitch) or a zipper insertion, you're likely asking for trouble the first time you unpick.

Of course, when one beautifully sews a zipper into a lining, and then just as beautifully sews that into the outer garment only to find that the zip insertion in the lining is inside fucking out, well, then (s)he has no choice but to use up that second life-line.

Ask me how I know.

Now, let's add some fuel to this fire: Let's say that you originally used double-sided wonder tape to "baste" the zip to the lining. (On the first try, that works beautifully, fyi.) On the second go, after you've picked the stitches and the zipper off the lining and the double-sided tape stays seriously affixed to the frayish, floppy lining fabric, then you've got some issues. (Non-sewists: No technical skill is required to understand this scenario. Quite simply, it's a royal fuck-up.)

Word to the wise: At this point, throw out the original zipper. Give it to the sewing goddess and get a new one. Cuz if you flip the old one over (with some of that adhesive still stuck on that side), you're going to wreck a couple of needles and then - even when you get a nice-looking finish - the charmeuse is going to stick to the zipper in such a way that every time you try to open or close the fucking garment, the lining is going to get sucked into the teeth.

Cuz if you don't do it before you start the second insertion, you won't have another chance. And then your "looks pretty good" skirt with the zipper sandwiched (professional-like) between the lining and the fashion fabric will merely look good.

Personally, I prefer functional closures.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to drink something strong and eat an ice cream bar before dinner. More reflections on this suit are pending. And lots of shots, natch.

PS: I grabbed the camera to take some pics - I mean, it doesn't look half-bad - but the kid (amateur photog that she is) burned out the batteries again. So we'll have to wait till tomorrow for that.

The Sewological Clock

I've got that shaky, weird hunger thing I like to call sew blood sugar. You know, that state which occurs after approximately 8 hours of sewing (including a brief break to scarf down two tablespoons of almond butter and a row of rice crackers). Till 10 minutes ago, I didn't even have any wine in the house to dull the other thing I like to call sewing reality.

Anyway, this post isn't about the weird terms I have for all the craft-circumstances, but to tell you how sewing a garment with a lining is like having two kids. 

I'm so amazed by people who say that lining a garment is a quick additional step and, truly, I fear for their sanity as (when I do the math) it's like a zillion extra steps:

• Chances are you have to draft the fucking thing - thanks modern era and short attention spans
• Then you have to cut it
• Then you have to finish the edges and work any relevant tucks or darts into it
• Then you have to sew it up
• Oh, and then you get to figure out how it goes into the shell garment which (when you're working with increasingly complicated construction like vents, bagging, using petersham as facing etc.) is not necessarily clear.

You see, a zillion extra steps.

But back to the likeness between children and linings: Think of the shell garment as your first, that cute little baby who enriches your urban, bohemian lifestyle even as you struggle through hallucinogenic exhaustion and a crisis of identity.

Oh, you could stop there. I mean, it's hard enough to find time to pee when you're nurturing this little bud. But the lure of more calls to you. If only I had a lining to go into this (insert garment here), everything would be complete.

So, you consider how you're going to find more resources, to expend additional energy, and you go for it - you make the lining.

And, fucking hell, it's like making 3 garments. There's no time for dinner. No time for sex. How will you insert that lining? How will you cohere it to the shell??

Sure, when all is said and done, the lined (insert garment here) is rather complete (well, by the standards of most). And, it's apt to take you into your old age, what with its shockingly good construction, and to see you through retirement.

I suppose it's not the optimal time to remind you that I have but one kid.

Though most of a lined, high-waisted pencil skirt with a vent.

It's important to have your seam lines priorities straight, amirite?

Sewing Tip: Pants

I have some useful info for you if you happen to be making pants (like, for the first time). While your gorgeous wool fabric may have give up the yin yang, your bemberg lining will not.

Do yourself a favour and use seam allowances that are .25 inch smaller on your lining (i.e. make the lining a smidge bigger than the fashion fabric). Then, when you try to put on the finished garment, you won't feel encased in a slightly too-snug lining.

What can I say? You live, you learn.

PS: I'm starting to realize that the sign of an expert seamstress is one who can intuit how much fabric ease is required when transitioning from muslin to wearable item.

From Muslin to Reality

I appear to love crafting things in navy blue, which is just fine if you see my handmade items up close and personal, but it's challenging to see the nuance in photographs.

Here's the finished Vogue8640 jacket:

Yes, that is my own little label!


The lining freaked me out, but it was not so difficult - I mean, not compared to figuring out how to slip stitch aka blind hem aka "thing I had to read 3 books and watch 2 videos to learn". Note: Slip stitching isn't that hard (all things considered) either. But man, did I have a mental block!

It hangs very chicly, I think, although it does look a bit shapeless in this post.

I have a "matching" skirt, made in the same fabric. I do intend to model this with jeans and the skirt and whatever else I come up with. Just need some time to take the pics.