Innholdsfortegnelse for #223 - Fall 2023 i Threads Magazine

MAGGIE RAYWOOD (“A Cache of Couture Gowns,” p. 36) says, “Being a costumemaker for many years, I have tried all sorts of tools. For hand sewing, my favorite needles are made by Lance, specifically sizes 7 and 9 sharps. The sevens are my go-to size for sturdy hand sewing. I use the nines whenever I have more delicate work to do. As for thread, it’s definitely Gütermann. Costumes I have made often need to stand up to hard wear and tear, so I rely on sturdy and reliable tools.” Maggie, a retired professor of costume construction, has been a draper and costume shop manager on Broadway shows, opera, and dance in theaters regionally and internationally. ALEX WOODBURY (“Hand Embroidery on Knits,” p. 66) says, “The needles I enjoy most are…

I was cruising through one of my favorite vintage clothing stores and found a skirt that had wonderful pockets. They are hip pockets, each with a broad single welt that extends well past the pocket opening toward the side seam and folds down at a right angle. Its pointed end is buttoned to the skirt. I bought the skirt, shown on the back cover, simply to decode how these unique pockets were constructed. The originals are horizontal. That is fine, but I experimented with an angled version, which I find more graceful. I decided to place the angled pockets on a jacket, realizing that they are versatile and would work beautifully on a coat, too. On the vintage skirt, the garment’s multicolored tweed fabric obscures the pocket lines, so I…

Cozy Zip-Up Jacket Viki Sews: Abbie Jacket (VikiSews.com) Skill Level: A moderately di≤cult undertaking depending on fabric choice. It is more challenging to sew in shearling or faux fur, less so in coating fabric. The traditional tailoring techniques make it a time-consuming but worthwhile project. Size Range and Fitting: European sizes 34 to 52 to fit busts 31½ inches to 45¾ inches and waists 23⅝ inches to 37 ⅞ inches. All sizes are available in four height options: 1 (5 feet, 1 inch to 5 feet, 3 inches), 2 (5 feet, 4 inches to 5 feet, 6 inches), 3 (5 feet, 7 inches to 5 feet, 9 inches), and 4 (5 feet, 10 inches to 6 feet, 1 inch). Each pattern size/height is sold separately. Fabrics: Use midweight, nonstretch coating fabrics with…

Beneath the surface of every beautifully tailored garment is a carefully considered arrangement of structuring material that helps determine the piece’s ultimate shape. The options in materials available today provide complete control for designing a garment that’s perfect for you. Based on the garment fabric and style, this structure may incorporate a single interfacing or layers of different interfacings. Seek out nice quality products. This doesn’t mean the most expensive, but if you’re taking the time to sew a garment, you want good components for the best results. Woven and knit versions should be on-grain, and fusibles should have effective and evenly applied adhesives. If you haven’t tried a fusible interfacing in recent years, I know you’ll be pleased with today’s offerings: They’re softer, more supple, and have more reliable…

The tagline “Because you’re worth it” always T seemed suspiciously self-indulgent and consumption-driven to me. But these days, I have been considering it more broadly: We are worth it, and being thoughtful toward ourselves can—and should—encompass kindness and generosity toward others and the world we live in. As sewers, we know that each garment we make is special in some way—even if it’s a complete dud. We invest time, materials, skill, care, hope, and love. When it’s easy and affordable to purchase clothing, sewing for yourself and others is all the more meaningful. We’ve been delighted to see an enthusiastic return to hand stitching in the past several years. The slower pace of sewing without a machine brings opportunities to reflect on the value of your sewing practice and enjoy…

While completing his fashion design studies this past year, Christopher Lagasse couldn’t get enough of a headline-grabbing story from the 1940s about the so-called hermit hoarders of Harlem. In fact, Lagasse based his final garment collection on the eccentric brothers, Homer and Langley Collyer. The Collyer brothers had come from high-class society but gradually descended into a life of chaos, secluded in their debris-packed, four-story brownstone. Both died in 1947 amid their tons of collected junk. “It’s one of the most fascinating stories I have personally ever heard,” Lagasse says. “I became kind of obsessed with it.” A TOUCH OF CHAOS With the brothers in mind, he created his four-look collection, “From Riches to Rags to Riches.” It was his senior project at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York. Each…

Ten years ago while at a dinner at the Villa La Pietra (VLP) in Florence, a dean from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts—where I was teaching costume construction—handed me a spiral-bound notebook. It contained an inventory of dresses and shoes, with an appraiser’s assessment of the items. At first, I did not understand what Dean Allyson Green had given me. I turned the pages, my eyes widening, and asked, “Where are these dresses?” Thus began my adventure into the world of the Callot Soeurs and the incredible dress collection amassed by the American socialite Hortense Mitchell Acton. The dresses were discovered in 2004, when a painting conservator at the Villa opened an old Louis Vuitton trunk in a storage room. Inside was a collection of dresses and…

Textiles hold history. Artifacts and techniques alike have the power to initiate conversations about culture, tradition, time, and memory. I appreciate the beauty that results from the slow process of hand stitching, which is a meditative act for me. I practice stitches and think about women’s invisible labor in the past. My work embraces modern aesthetics and traditional techniques. This represents my identity as someone living in two cultures. Bojagi—traditional Korean wrapping cloths—are my interpretation of my cultural heritage and tradition. I create my work in an improvisational process, using new and reclaimed materials. My approach is organic: Bojagi and I grow together as I repeat many stitches with my wishes for happiness. MY BOJAGI JOURNEY Since I was a child, I’ve loved tactile objects, especially fabrics. I studied clothing,…

Iwas lucky enough to have a third-grade teacher who gave instructions to lefty students (all three of us) on how to slant our papers when we learned cursive. Right-handed students slanted their papers to the left; we southpaws slanted our papers to the right. It was the only time I received instructions specific to being left-handed. For most of my life, I’ve figured it out on my own. This has been especially true with sewing and handwork. That same teacher introduced us to basic sewing, and I immediately fell in love with all things needle and thread. Within a few years, I had taught myself hand embroidery: I bought a book of embroidery stitches and, by looking at the illustrations upside down, I figured out how to sew them as…

This tweed skirt, a vintage clothing store find, has unusual welt pockets, which sit horizontally at the hips. Each welt extends past the pocket openings toward the side seam, then turns toward the hem. The extension is anchored to the skirt with a button. Many variations on tabbed pockets appeared on straight skirt patterns in the mid- to late 1950s, and the skirt’s construction confirms this dating. Contributing Editor Kenneth D. King suggests this high-quality ready-to-wear garment may have been part of a suit, with the same pocket style on the jacket’s upper chest. Learn to make the extended-tab welt pocket as a detail on the garment of your preference, on p. 12. Photographer: Mike Yamin Source: Kenneth D. King Text: Carol J. Fresia…

Fearless Hand Embroidery on Knits In this issue, Alex Woodbury teaches you how to give casual knits a playful upgrade with hand stitching, in “Hand Embroidery on Knits,” p. 66. Visit ThreadsMagazine.com to download the author’s design of the Face and Flower pattern to create your version of the T-shirt on p. 69. More Web Extras to Enjoy More on menswear: On our website, you’ll find additional images and details from designer Christopher Lagasse’s menswear collection from “Exploring Design: Menswear with a Twist,” p. 18. Bonus book review: Read our review of Sofi Thanhauser’s Worn: A People’s History of Clothing (Pantheon, 2022). Learn more about this panoramic social history of clothing at ThreadsMagazine.com. Patterns in motion: Check out Pattern Review, p. 28, for details about the Viki Sews Abbie Jacket, Sew Different…

Feathers can add flamboyance to a hem, emphasis to a shoulder, and excitement to a neckline. That’s why feathers are the embellishment showing up on fashion runways for fall. Wispy, weighty, soft, spiky, fluffy, stiff, short, long, sleek, downy: All these adjectives describe feathers. Additionally, feathers can be dyed, trimmed, curled, or beaded, creating a huge array of choices for the designer. One of the easiest ways to incorporate feathery fun into your wardrobe is with premade feather boas. I’ll show you how attaching a boa to a jacket’s lapel can add movement, sophistication, elegance, and a touch of whimsy. Ellen W. Miller is the author of Creating Couture Embellishment (Laurence King Publishing, 2017). CreatingEmbellishment.com Pick Your Plumage From individual feathers to the fluffiest boas, you have options for adornment.…

I credit my love for knit fabrics to growing up playing competitive sports. I constantly wore T-shirts with my team logos, for volleyball, basketball, swimming—each had a color and style I stuck to. As an adult, I still gravitate to knits, but now I like to make my own designs. I’ll tell you how I design and embellish great-looking tops with hand stitching. If you’re like me, once you get started embroidering your knits, you won’t want to stop. I came into my love for sewing during what I call a “knit boom,” in the mid-2000s. At The Sewing Workshop, the store owned by my mother, Linda Lee, I would wander through the knit section and marvel at the colors and prints these textiles showcased. These were the fabrics I…