Innholdsfortegnelse for #213 - Spring 2021 i Threads Magazine

PETER LAPPIN (“Foolproof Collar Buttonholes,” p. 60) says, “I’m intrigued by smocking—Canadian smocking in particular—which I was introduced to in a haute couture embellishment class at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan. I have a couple of women’s patterns that include smocking, but I would love to use it in a men’s pattern. I just have to decide where this might work best, perhaps on the front or back yoke of a men’s wool shirt.” Peter started his sewing blog, Male Pattern Boldness, in 2010. He is a Threads digital ambassador and a Craftsy instructor. You can find him on Instagram @peterlappin. CINDY LOSEKAMP (“Embellishments: Paint on lace,” p. 24) says, “I love creating new items out of vintage pieces and adding vintage elements to recycled garments, giving both new…

Classic batiks are created by a wax resist and overdyeing process. Textile historians trace their development to 13th-century Indonesia. Artisans there used handmade copper stamps or “tjaps” to imprint wax patterns onto fabric. Wherever the wax penetrated the fabric, dye would not penetrate. Stamping, dyeing, washing out the wax, and repeating the process with additional dye hues creates vibrant layered prints with distinctive fine lines from cracks and fissures in the wax resist medium. Other methods of creating batik prints include painting or drawing wax on fabric, or using a process similar to screen-printing. Studying batik processes is a fascinating undertaking. Print motifs usually consist of florals, leaves, or geometric shapes. Many handmade batiks are available, and tjaps are collectible as tools or art objects. The majority of batiks are…

Lace is romantic, but painting it with multicolored dyes opens a kaleidoscope of possibilities: color depth, precise application, and artistic blended effects. It’s an easy way to create a beautiful, unique detail for garments and accessories. Dye bonds to the fibers without changing the lace’s hand. You can paint lace of nearly any fiber content using the proper dyes, but lace made from rayon—especially Venise lace—takes color best. Rayon Venise lace trims have a wonderfully fluid hand and come in many designs and widths. Their heavier, satin-stitched motifs also provide substantial surfaces to paint with color. Use your custom lace trim to embellish garments or accessories. You can also cut the dyed lace apart to create appliqués or unique jewelry. Cindy Losekamp teaches machine embroidery and lace painting. SewingArt.com SUPPLIES…

Growing up I remember my mom and my grandma saying that you couldn’t have a pair of pants or a skirt without pockets. Where else would you stash your hanky? As a teenager, I thought a pocket’s only purpose was to make my tummy pooch out. So when did I turn into my mother? Mom and Grandma were absolutely right: Pants need pockets. And not the little shallow kind. They need nice, deep, useful pockets. Now, when I encounter a pants pattern sans pockets, the first order of business is to add some. With many of my favorite patterns, this means that I need to work around a side-seam zipper. I could move the zipper to the center front or back, but my preferred method is to shift the side-seam…

One of my favorite shirt styles is the button-down collar shirt. This style is most closely associated with the Oxford cloth button-down, known as the OCBD among traditional menswear enthusiasts. Variations on this collar style abound. The collar points can be short or long, the collar roll subtle or pronounced. The button-down style likely originated in the late 19th century on the polo field, where the collar buttons served to prevent players’ shirt collars from flapping up into their eyes. Today, button-down collar points are generally shorter and the dangers of one’s collar points flapping into one’s eyes virtually nonexistent. Yet the button-down collar continues to be popular. In this article, I’ll explain how to create the collar look that epitomized Ivy League style and, among purists, remains the standard.…

Just like all of you, I love to make clothes. Choosing a pattern and making a garment are exciting, and during the process, I have a mental picture of what the finished garment will look like on me. It’s going to be just as flattering on me as that sample shown on the pattern envelope. Sometimes, however, the finished garment’s shape just doesn’t suit me. It may be the correct size, but not flatter my proportions. If this has happened to you, here are some design solutions and techniques to help you achieve a customized fit—after the garment has been made. The use of fitting devices such as darts, tucks, and seam contouring can also be applied to garments you’ve purchased. These simple alterations can subtly change the shape to…

How to “off-grain” a plaid garment Q I enjoyed the article “Refine Your Patterns” by Marla Kazell in Threads #209 June/July 2020. Since I like shirtdresses, I found the section on making vertical edges hang straight interesting. My concern is with plaid or striped fabrics. The suggested “off-grain” adjustments would be visually distracting. Is there a workaround for off-graining plaid or striped fabrics? Could the left side only be adjusted on a full-front button closure? —Betsy Amalong, via email A Author Marla Kazell explains how to adapt the technique to geometrically patterned fabrics: Off-graining a garment is a method of revising a pattern’s vertical, open edge (such as the center front or a back vent) to be slightly off the straight grain. This subtle change helps those edges hang straight, rather than…

This issue of Threads is the first on a new schedule. We are moving from the bimonthly cadence we've followed for 35 years to a quarterly release schedule. Subscribers and newsstand buyers will now see spring, summer, fall, and winter releases in February, May, August, and November, respectively. I would like to share some of the thinking behind this change and answer questions you may have, with the following points. • Threads is not going away. The COVID-19 pandemic has been hard on newsstand sales for many publications. It is expensive to print and distribute a magazine, and by consolidating the number of issues we release, we'll reduce expenses and still be on your favorite news-stands as everyone ventures back to stores. • If you have a six-issue subscription, you’ll…

Slippery floors, clothes that don’t stay put, and other shifty situations can be annoying or even dangerous. Luckily, there is a solution. Let’s take a look at a variety of premade and do-it-yourself options for taming slick surfaces and keeping everything in place. There are two main types of premade non-skid materials—elastics and fabrics. Both are “grippy” but are used in different ways to solve various slipping problems. And there’s also a product you can use to make your own fabrics and garments less prone to sliding. Katrina Walker is a designer, teacher, and Pfaff brand ambassador. Paints Sometimes you want to reduce slip, but it’s not practical to sew an extra layer of fabric to a garment or home décor item. Fabric paint can come to the rescue. At…

LOOK FOR THESE ICONS ON THE PATTERN REVIEWS Includes sizes 24 and up Fast and easy Challenging techniques Petite options For knits Downloadable pattern McCall’s 7983 (SomethingDelightful.com) This ensemble pattern yields a slim, columnar silhouette. It consists of a close-fitting bodysuit paired with a slim pegged skirt. The pull-on bodysuit has a snap-tape crotch closure and is designed with negative ease. The view A top has a neckline finished by a narrow band and elbow-length sleeves. View B has a mock turtleneck and full-length sleeves. The fully lined skirt has minimal ease. The waistline sits 2 inches above the natural waist. There are two waist darts in front, and four in back. The length options are just below the knee at 24 inches long or midcalf at 32 inches long.…

I’ve been teaching pants fitting and sewing since the 1980s. My techniques and skills have changed and improved over the years, but this fly-front zipper technique has remained the same for me because it works. It’s a classic technique I learned way back when, and I’ve enjoyed carrying it forward into new decades. My students feel proud of their zippers when they use this method—it satisfies the sewing geek in all of us. This method is adaptable for any pattern with a center-front seam, as you can draft your own extension or modify an existing one. Each step has easy preparation to get the elements in proper alignment for stress-free sewing. Along the way, there are opportunities to catch any mistakes before you proceed to the next step. And it…

For artist and designer Erin Jean Kaya, creating costumes for dancers is a natural fit. The professional ballroom dancer, competitor, and instructor has been making colorful dancewear in many styles for dancers since she studied at the School of Fashion Design in Boston. She also owns and operates Aurora Ballroom Dance Studio in Salisbury, Massachusetts. Her dancewear clients hail from around the globe. Much of her costume design business comes from interacting with dancers at competitions. She says there’s lots of satisfaction in working one-on-one with customers. “I love surprising them with the finished product, as they see their costume go from a sketch to reality.” Erin talks with Threads about her process of creating dance costumes that fit properly and are comfortable to wear. Then she shares a technique…

PATTERN CHANGE I have a favorite pants pattern with a center-back zipper. What changes do I need to make to convert to a fly front? I look forward to each issue of Threads, reading it cover to cover. —Sarah Blechschmidt, via email In this issue, “Easy Fly-Front Zipper” by Pamela Leggett, p. 66, includes instructions to add a fly-front extension to your pants' center-front seam allowances. It is the work of a moment, plus you'll learn Pamela’s quick technique for sewing the fly front in the story.—SMc PROLIFIC AT HOME Hi Threads! I wanted to say thank you for being there during the early days of the pandemic lockdown. It was wonderful to have access to the website for information and emails to help keep me motivated. I spent plenty…

Big, decorative buttons add drama to garments. At the same time, they pose problems: How do you attach buttons with extralarge holes rather than shanks, and what is the size limit for stitched or bound buttonholes? I’ll offer creative and practical solutions to these questions, so you can feature bold buttons on your sewn clothes. Consider the situation in which the button requires a buttonhole that’s 3 inches long. You have to cut a 3-inch hole in the front of the garment. If you have planned for a whole row of buttons, this may compromise the stability of the garment’s opening edge. One way to create a strong closure is to machine-sew the buttonholes and leave them uncut. Alternatively, make beautiful bound buttonholes, which you can also invisibly stitch closed.…

In 2020, Threads editors posed a challenge to the members of the Association of Sewing and Design Professionals (ASDP): Create a garment or two-piece ensemble inspired by one of the four classical elements—earth, air, water, and fire. These elements have been associated with colors, shapes, seasons, the cardinal directions, gemstones, temperaments and humors, and animals. We requested that each look focus on one element, and interpret it in a way that was meaningful and well rendered. A panel of judges reviewed the garments: Patty Robison, the 2019 challenge top winner (via remote connection); guest judge Anna Mazur, editor of Threads’ Pattern Review department; Threads Editorial Director Sarah McFarland; and me, Threads senior technical editor. We were intrigued by the range of approaches to the challenge and impressed by the high…

Much of the time, a garment’s zipper opening is straightforward: The zipper is inserted into the center-back seam, or possibly along the side seam, or maybe at a center-front seam. It is a simple, predictable process. Every now and then, however, it is a good idea, for reasons of design or engineering, to do something different. If a seam is unnecessary or unwanted, install a zipper in a dart instead. Couture, at its best, combines form and function. My students have heard me say that a million times. The concept is at the heart of fine sewing. The two techniques I’m going to show you do just that. They do what they have to do from a technical standpoint—offer a place to install a zipper when there isn’t a seam…

In your sewing career, you’ll discover that there are times when a garment calls for a thin, flexible finished edge. Some instances are in garments made of heavy boiled wool, double-sided fabrics, or fabrics that have decorative surface effects. A binding enables you to finish the edge without a facing, so you eliminate the bulk of enclosed seam allowances made of the heavier fabric. A beautifully applied binding also creates a finish that looks attractive from both sides, so it is ideal for reversible garments or those in which the fabric’s reverse face may show during wear. My preference for this finish is a French binding. A French binding starts with a bias strip, usually of a lightweight fabric, that has been folded lengthwise with wrong sides together. The cut…

Made in 1916 and sold at Seymour’s in Los Angeles, this navy cashmere skirt suit hints at a Russian influence, with its high collar, asymmetrical front opening, tunic-length peplum, and sash belt. The Cossack style was seen in women’s fashion of the mid-1910s, and frequently featured ornate trim. This example exhibits couched cording, chenille embroidery, long bound buttonholes, and many large-eyed, oblong buttons attached with self-fabric cords. For more information about attaching oversized buttons and making buttonholes for them, see p. 22.…