Innholdsfortegnelse for Spring 2025 i Threads Magazine

Is there a sewist anywhere who has not experienced moments of frustration when tackling a complex —or even an easy—project? I suspect not. And that’s why it’s so grati-fying when your efforts turn out a beautiful garment, artful quilt, or other well-made design. If sewing were always easy, I wonder whether it would offer as much satisfaction. There’s a sense of triumph in mastering a challenging technique. Creating a perfect match in busy prints, as Elizabeth Vana Bryant shows (p. 66), is a puzzle you can solve. New designer Annika Geissberger (p. 58) posed a tricky patternmaking problem in her senior collection, and shares the unique result. Pamela Howard, always a superb technician, reveals the satisfaction of adding top-tier details to a classic shirtdress, for a wardrobe staple you’ll treasure…

Mid-century jackets often had details and silhouettes that still appeal to us today. A case in point is this swing jacket, with a wide lapel that folds back to form pockets near the hem. In Threads #228 (Winter 2024), I demonstrated how to draft this collar on a plain coat pattern. Here, I’ll show you how to sew the lapel. Although it looks like the lapel area below the oversized “notch” is simply folded back and secured in place with a button, I’ve come up with a better way to form the pocket. My approach eliminates much of the bulk near the lower front corner. Given that the original jacket and my sample are made from heavy coating fabrics, reducing the number of thick layers yields a sharper finish. If…

LOOK FOR THESE ICONS ON THE PATTERN REVIEWS Includes sizes 24 and up Fast and easy Challenging techniques Downloadable pattern Printed pattern Projectable pattern Flowing Sundress MARFY 3107 (Marfy.it/en/) Skill level: This is a simple dress to sew with only one major seam. This pattern line comes without step-by-step sewing instructions, seam and hem allowances, and with just the essential markings. A beginner will need to pause and think about how to approach the sewing. All others will find it an easy project to tackle. Size range and fitting: Sized European 42, 46, 50. For busts 34½ inches to 41¾ inches, waists 26¾ inches to 34 inches and hips 36¼ inches to 43½ inches. The fit is forgiving, as it can be adjusted via the drawstring under the bust. Fabrics: Choose…

My family is passionate about large, funky prints. My son, who is a pilot and aeronautical engineer, enjoys shirts constructed from flight-themed fabrics, while my husband, a college professor who teaches microbiology and physiology, likes his shirts with microbes and viruses. Even my niece gets into the “Ms. Frizzle” look, with music-themed dresses for her elementary music classes’ concerts. All these garments involve fabrics with large prints. However, large prints pose a number of challenges to garment sewists. You want to place motifs in the most advantageous way and, more importantly, you don’t want to break any of the fun elements into unreadable fragments. I’ll answer common questions about pattern-matching and show you foolproof ways to create the perfect garment with your large-scale print fabric. Why do we bother to…

The picture at right looks like a photograph of a white lace glove, carefully placed on a sky-blue background. This image is, instead, a record of technological evolution, in photography and textiles. Created in the mid-1840s by French inventor Hippolyte Bayard, the picture was made through the cyanotype process: A sheet of writing paper was coated with iron salts, dried, and then the glove was laid on top. When exposed to the sun for a few minutes, the paper turned blue everywhere except beneath the glove’s fine threads, producing a perfect blueprint image. Gloves of this sort were worn frequently, not just by the wealthy. They were typically knitted in silk or fine cotton. The technology for machine-knitting lace and net was only a few decades old at the time…

CHACHA N. HUDSON  (“A Quick Win for Plus-Size Sewists,” p. 44) says, “Contouring the center back of a bodice was a game changer for me, eliminating many drag lines in woven garments and improving fit. While it’s certainly not the reason for all back drag lines, it resolved many fitting issues for my body and became essential when drafting and fitting my own slopers.” ChaCha is a PhD candidate, fashion educator, inclusive design researcher, and advocate for equity in the fashion industry. ChaChaNKole.com. PAMELA HOWARD (“Shirtdress Style,” p. 52) says, “For years, I could not figure out why there was excess fabric in my back bodices between my shoulders and shoulder blades. I finally realized that it was more to do with my erect posture—so I shortened the pattern back length…

Spring always offers the chance of a fresh start, a time to learn something new, embark on a journey, metaphorically or actually, or rejuvenate beloved things. In the spirit of these aspirational goals and tasks, I talked to the founders, creators, and teachers at some of the sewing and crafts-related schools in New York City. I chose those operating in the Big Apple because that is where I live, but there are countless others across the country, and likely one near you. Spring is an excellent time to take a class, whether to develop a new skill or take your knowledge to the next level. Or perhaps there is someone in your life who wants to learn to sew. What better time than spring for them to begin—and for you…

In the early 20th century, the blouse—or shirtwaist—was tucked into a skirt and buttoned down the back. As women began to go out of the home to work, these garments were made for easier wear. Most ladies didn’t have a maid to assist them, so buttons were placed down the blouse front, making it more convenient to dress without help. The result: a feminized version of a menswear shirt. In the United States, mass manufacturing of these garments allowed many women to look like their upper-crust counterparts. A headline in the June 15, 1938 issue of Vogue declared “The Shirt-Waist Dress—an American Institution, Est. 1893.” For most of my life, I have been fascinated with making tailored garments and shirts. Making shirtdresses was a natural progression for me. I have…

BONUS CONTENT • Patterns Galore: See options to create trending styles for spring. Scan the QR code on p. 31 for links to all the patterns in “Create Your Spring Look.” • Shirtdress Techniques: Expert Pamela Howard will have you sewing a shirtdress this season, with her close look at this iconic garment in “Shirtdress Style,” p. 52. Find more of her shirtdress sewing advice in an exclusive Web Extra. • Jacket Refinement: Learn how to hone the back-neck fit on a dolman-style jacket, similar to Kenneth D. King’s creation in “Swagger Lapel, Part 2,” p. 12. TRAVEL WITH • 2025 TOURS • May 3 – May 10 Join us on an exclusive trip to London in May 2025. Highlights of this tour are a glove-making master class with Riina Õun, workshop at…

If you’ve got a special event on the horizon and no time to sew, don’t panic. And don’t head for the store or a retail website. Instead, take a length of luxurious 54-inch-wide taffeta to tie an evening skirt. You’ll need just a little time to finish the edges, but there’s no cutting, seaming, or fitting involved. You’ll have a finished rectangle of fabric that, when we show you how to tie it, will turn every head in the crowd. This is an elegant, version of the pareu (pronounced PAR-ay-oo), or sarong, traditionally made of light-weight cotton and worn as a dress or skirt. Today, it is often used as a bathing suit cover-up. Start with this formula to determine how much fabric you need: Hip measurement + 1½ yards…

Designing patterns is a passion of mine, and I enjoy working out the intricacies of fit and construction. Sometimes, though, I crave a quick, less detailed project. One of my favorites is this strip-pieced, no-pattern skirt. For instant sewing gratification and a speedy fashion boost, you’ll find it fits the bill perfectly. The skirt is made of four to six lightweight, drapey fabrics cut into strips and pieced into a new fabric. This pieced fabric is casually pleated and fused to an internal yoke made of iron-on interfacing. Free-motion-quilting further secures the pleats to the yoke. The only fitting involved is in the yoke, which is simply a ring darted to your body size. CHOOSE A FINISHED OR UNFINISHED VERSION Textiles such as chiffon, georgette, voile, lawn, and charmeuse are…

I designed this blazer as part of my senior collection, with a lapel and collar that extend to form straps that cross over each other in the back and tie. Including a detail in the collection that I had never seen before was an important goal. I knew there would be a carefully fitted blazer in the collection because I love tailoring and the detailed construction that goes into it. I included an exaggeraated hip detail using an added side panel, set in a proper two-piece sleeve, and shifted the pattern to make it double-breasted. However, the lure of doing something with the collar and lapel was most exciting to me. FOCUS ON THE COLLAR AND LAPELS I looked into ways that collars and lapels had been manipulated in the…

Following a quilting pattern is an easy way to guarantee a specific out-come. But if you are an outside-the-box maker by temperament, you may find this approach stifling. Three recent books focus on creative ways to patch together fabrics, resulting in one-of-a-kind projects. From using stash fabrics to trying ad-lib design methods, they encourage you to make each pieced item an original work of art that expresses your aesthetic. Patchwork Luxe: Quilts from Neckties, Kimonos & Sari Silks by Julia McLeod (C&T 2024) Committed sewists can rarely resist a beautiful textile, hence they find themselves with curated collections of gorgeous silks, both vintage and modern. Julia McLeod urges readers to pull out their stashes and turn them into lovely quilts and accessories. She provides tips on sourcing and prepping silks,…

A modern interpretation of a double-breasted blazer makes us yearn for spring, with its flower embellishments and integrated straps that tie and flutter in back. Envisioned and sewn in 2024 by budding designer Annika Geissberger, the fitted jacket is reminiscent of Christian Dior’s iconic “New Look” from 1947, with its prominent shoulders, padded hips, and nipped-in waist. The blazer’s floral motif, including the three-dimensional flower embellishments change color in the sun-light, due to the photochromic dyes applied to the fabrics from which the flowers are cut. The unusual straps emerge from the lapel and collar notch, drape over the shoulder, and wrap under the arm before tying and trailing in back. Find out how to create these ties on p. 58.…