fabric – Page 5

Fabrics & Best Seam Finishes

Batik: Flat fell seam or sew with a plain seam and serge together

Batting: Butt the raw edges together and hand overcast with basting thread to get the width you need.

Beaded Fabric: Finish with a product like Great Seams as in Hong Kong finish. Eliminate facings. Finish the neck and armholes with bias silk charmeuse or line your garment, making the attachment at the neck and shoulders.

Boiled Wool: Sew seams and clip curves. Press seams open and top-stitch on each side from the right side using a wide double needle or top-stitch each side separately from 1/8” to 1/4” allowance from the seam. Trim to your top-stitching.

Brocade: Press seams open and overlock separately, even if lined. Use a Hong Kong finish with lightweight silk or bind separately with double fold bias.

Burnout: Finish with a narrow French seam.

Charmeuse: Use flat fell or French seam on serger.

Chiffon: Use a narrow French seam. On long vertical seams, sew with tiny zig-zag stitches to prevent drawing up.

Corduroy: Serge seams separately or flat fell the seams.

Crinkle: Sew with a tiny zig-zag.

Damask: Sew flat fell seams.

Denim: Sew a straight seam. Serge one seam allowance and trim the other without turning under. Overlap the serger seam allowance onto trimmed seam allowance and topstitch. This forms a fake flat fell seam that is less bulky.

Dupioni: Serged or traditional flat fell; serge and press open.

Faux Fur: None

Faux Leather: Use a fake flat fell seam or finger press open and top stitch from the right side, straddling the seam. Trim close to stitching.

Faux Suede: Lightweight ultra suede seams can be simply pressed open. Other faux suede’s can be top-stitched with a double needle or treated with a fake flat fell seam.

Flannel: Straight stitch or flat fell seam

Fleece: Sew with a straight seam and finger press open. Top-stitch or serge.

Gabardine: Press seam open and serge each side separately with a woolly nylon in lower looper; flat fell; or Hong Kong bound.

Georgeette: French seam.

Jersey: For lightweight knits, sew the seam, press to one side and top-stitch 1/4’ from seam. Trim extra fabric away. For invisible seams on wool jersey, zig-zag and press open.

Mudcloth: Flat fell or bind with double bias.

Rayon: Flat Fell or press open and serge.

Slinky: Four thread serge with Woolly Nylon in lower looper. Use differential feed if needed.

Sweater Knits: Stabilize horizontal seams and neckline using 1/4” clean elastic. Sew seams with small zig-zag then four thread serge. You can also sew with a lightening stitch and bind with Great Seams.

Tencel: Flat fell or press open and serge separately.

Velvet: Press open, pink or or serge separately.

Dior On a beautiful, sunny day in January, the Colorado Springs ASG garment group toured the Dior exhibition held at the Denver Art Museum. I had heard glowing reviews from other friends who had attended, but I was not prepared for the scope of the offering. A selection of more than 200 couture dresses was on display, along with many drawings, mood boards and accessories. The exhibition was even more fantastic because of the way the garments were presented, having been designed by the internationally renowned architect Shohei Shigematsu.

The first room of the exhibition had the viewers walking through a dimly-lit passage filled with toiles made up in a flat black fabric (even the mannequins were black). Something about stripping the designs of all color allowed the viewer to see the beautiful structure of the garments.

We were able to see design boards and garments by Christian Dior, who was head of the house for a short time before his death. The exhibition then showed garments and their inspiration from all the lead designers who have followed, including Yves St. Laurent. Each of these designers has contributed his or her own design esthetic to the Dior line.

Another striking room was filled with traditional toiles in white. The room was probably 25 feet tall and the toiles were hung on the wall at least four garments high. We were told that Dior drew his sketches without a lot of thought as to how they were going to be constructed. He expected his workers to be able to translate his designs to finished garments, the toile being the first step.

One room of about 20 ball gowns featured a video display above with images of celebrities in some of the same gowns. While we definitely couldn’t touch the garments, we were able to get quite close to some of them.

Part of Dior’s genius was to design and create accessories, even perfume, so that a woman could be clothed head to toe in Dior. One display had colorful columns that held hats, headpieces, jewelry, shoes, bags and what looked like doll clothes. It was a bold presentation that captured the breadth of the line.

In many cases, the designers of the House of Dior were influenced by what was happening in the greater art world. This influence showed up in fabric creation and garment silhouettes. In many rooms the Denver Art Museum showcased actual art that served as inspiration.

The final room of the exhibition was an extensive display of Dior around the world. The room was enormous with the garments standing on tiered discs. With almost 50 garments, the visual punch was intense.

We all agreed that once through this exhibition was not enough to take it all in. Perhaps we’ll be able to go again before it leaves Denver and makes its way to Dallas – the only two cities in the US to house the exhibition.

~Thank you to Cecelia Harris from the Colorado Springs chapter for this post.

Guide for Seam Finishes

Fabrics & Best Seam Finishes

The Dior Exhibition