From Confusion to Realization

July 5, 2024

Since the 4th of July hits on a funny day (only thing more difficult is Wednesday - middle of the week), some have a longer holiday weekend, leaving time of course for sewing.  And that's where I am!

So I have this dreamy peach ponte, and I've got two pairs of pants that will look fabulous with this, plus this peach is a perfect look for summer.  It's begging screaming to be a jacket, and I've had it here on the edge of my cutting table ready to be cut.  

But the truth is that this ponte is a little thinner than the regular ponte, and the classic double-knit that's fairly stable.  And since I'm wanting this as a jacket, it needs stability.  This is that jacket that I've made up several times, so I know how it's supposed to look and what will work with it and what won't.  

This gets into the stretch percentage of a fabric and how key it is to making your garments.  If your stretch percentage is wrong, the garment will fail.  It's as simple as that.  And here's the proof:

This doesn't even come close to any sort of a decent lapel, much less the collar is just laying there and has not curve at all (even though I did offset the collar.

And this has way too much drape to even giving a passing grade for a jacket skirt.  

Even when I hold this up there is absolutely no body.  

And even when I hold it out, it has no body.  

Another interesting fact here is that these both look like two different colors.  That's caused by the fact that one was taken under incadescent lighting while the other was under LED lighting.  This is one of the reasons that buying fabric by color online is such a risky proposition.  Not only do you have to know the Kelvin chart for lumens.

Here you can tell a noticeable difference, but when you see a color online, it's very difficult to tell what level and what type - daylight?...candlelight?  Who knows.   Suffice it to say the jacket is the same color.  
 

To be honest I knew that this might be a possibility when I cut this jacket out, but the color was so dreamy that I couldn't resist it.  I'm not thrilled about having to take it apart and back it, but I do know that once I do I will be elated with the result.  I have some excellent cotton organdy - a little heavier than organza - that will be perfect for the backing.  

Back in the 60s and the 70s, jackets were almost always backed.  As the RTW industry cut more and more corners, this became a lost part of the clothing manufacturing process, however we sewists learned that a good jacket had cuff and hem interfacing.  And there are times today when I will make a facing on a jacket that is rough and coarse, and will hang on a skirt or pants that are also rough or coarse.  A simple hem facing in a nice weight of satin, will make that jacket hang like a million dollars.  

So backing isn't such a foreign thing.  I also know that backing this will substantially change the jacket for the best.  It will also remove any stretch, as the organdy I'm using doesn't have any stretch.  This is another thing that you can do with stretch fabrics, that you can't with wovens - change then into a garment with woven features, nice structure, good body and beautifully tailored garment.  

In many cases, it's fun to take a nice jersey or ponte and make parts of the garment woven, by adding woven interfacing or backing, and the rest of the garment stretch.  Most of the time we are interested in having that comfort around the girth, and very rarely would we need to add stiffness or unstretchiness to the girth part of the garment.  It's usually around the neck, cuff or a hem detail - like a hem that is faced or trimmed with grosgrain ribbon or something similar.  

As we begin to move into a more tailored and custom-made look, thinking in terms of stabilizing parts of a garment become something exciting and proper for this style to consider.  
 

This is a new way of thinking about knits and stretch fabrics.  It's OK to treat the collar and lapel of a jacket as if it were a woven tailored jacket.  It's OK to add a tailored feature to our stretch garments,especially when it can add a classic tailoring feature - like a button up collar, with a front placket, a tailored ruffle front, a bateau neckline edged in grosgrain, but large enough to get over your head, so no fitting problems.

Not all of these have a woven feature, but many of them do, and it makes for a cool, calm and restrained look that speaks volumes about your dressing.  

Next week, more about the peach jacket and the yellow hemline!

The SewingArtistry Resource Library is designed to contain information to not only make your sewing better, but to aid in you fitting and flattering your shape, size and style.  Check it out. 

Look for future classes coming in 2024
The Core Pattern Shirt, (one of my favorites for woven core pattern that you can make into a myriad of different garments), 
Basic Knit Top (core pattern class for knit basic tops, shells, tees, dresses, and tunics)
 

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