From Errors to BeautifulOctober 24, 2025 Isn't
it amazing how you can go from a horrifying mistake(s), to absolute beauty that looks like some inspired technique that some expert would have come up with. In reality, the experts, probably went through the same set of mistakes and mishaps as you did, but worked all the way through it to a technique that works. There must be something in the universe, cause I'm not the only one having problems. A couple of decades ago, when Outlander first came out, I made myself my
own "plaeid" (or at least that's how they pronounced it on the show). It was from my family's hunting tartan and I had been looking for something really Irish and cool to do in that plaid and this was the perfect project. But the fabric was one thickness so that the buttonhole would show on both sides. Additionally with one thickness the buttonhole would need stabilizing. I wanted to do bound because it will be stable in a fabric like this and it's also an
in-your-face sort of way to show quiet quality.
There's a ton of ideas out there for bound buttonholes.
Most of these are from some Diane Ericson books that I have and from Threads Magazine. But I love Diane's quote at the bottom of the page - "Whenever two pair of lines intersect - there is a possibility for making a buttonhole!" She does make a great
point. It's also a possibility of creativity.
Here's the video of me going through about 6 different efforts to finally get to the technique I wanted to use. After doing that, I still didn't like it so went back to the classic bound buttonhole and it was the best of all the efforts.
However, through all that work I had done had produced something really worth the dang time I spent trying to figure out how I did something 10 years ago!! This faced square opening was so clean looking, that I decided I would use it on the inside of the
buttonhole. Bound buttonholes look great from the outside, but on the inside they are a mess. So you only work one thickness of the fabric, because they do look so sloppy on the inside. However, if I could make this neat square (like the one below), I could actually have a very lovely opening in the back.
And here it is with the lapel open, so that the inside shows, and the buttonhole inside shows and it looks so professional.
As a matter of fact the buttonholes look so smashing on the inside, I might have to find a way for the jacket to flap open a lot - on a galloping horse!
The final pièce de résistance, is that I felt the edging needed some special TLC. The fabric was never going to press flat, and I didn't feel like top stitching was very good. So, and this would only be for my clothing because it would be so
prohibitively expensive to do for a client, and they wouldn't understand it anyway, so I did the delicate pick-stitched edge that is a trademark give-away for bespoke tailoring. I'm catching the light just perfect to pick up the stitching and here it's hard to pick the stitching out and you see more of a welt. Either way, it's extremely subtle, but does give the feeling of a flatter lapel and collar line.
Here's a nice explanation of pick-stitching.
I'm very pleased with where I am now in this jacket, and had to make some
modifications because of the stretch, but it works great
This isn't really an "art jacket," but I do want to take the extra time here to do something special with this jacket, that I will notice if no one else. This is probably the second most important reason why I sew. To add extra detail or a new
technique to make the outfit look special, and certainly unique. But it's one of those things that you have to know about to actually see the extra detail.
This was a dress for a family who had been extra sweet and special to me during a tough time of my life. I had taken some beautiful fabric I had at my home, and used it for her dress. Looks simple doesn't it? That's the whole idea. The
dress has a longer hem in back, but the hem is the same length all the way around, so how does that extra length in back work?....it was lengthen at the waist, where the highly gathered seams you can't see how the stripes are set into the waist at a longer angle, but for sure, the hem looks even, but it's longer. If you sit there and look at it long enough, it will literally defy logic. That was the whole purpose, but you had to know what to look for to see it. After the girls
were presented, a very experienced clothing merchandizer came up to me and gave me a beautiful complement: "Claire, that dress was the most beautiful dress I've seen in ages!" I thanked her and told her only she would notice the detail in the dress. We didn't even have to say what it was. We both knew!
As if that weren't enough, the beaded fabric in the bodice is along the horizontal and vertical axes, and that means that any darts or fitting has to be on
the horizontal or vertical axes or else it will not match and look off.
This was more than a job, it was a gift, and as such I didn't mind spending the extra time to do something like this, as most of my clients This is the extra detail I'm talking about. This jacket already has a pretty in-your-face feature in the buttons from my grandmother's old coat, so anything else is either going to be overkill or it's going to be compete with the buttons. The buttonholes need to be sturdy because of the nature of the fabric. And since it's my jacket, I can take the extra time to do some remarkably
detailed things, that I might not ordinarily do for a client.
I'm on the clock with a client, and have to be judicious on what I can do and what I can't. This is hard for me, but I've usually quoted a price and can't change. In this particular case I did take the extra time to vary from the original request of the client, but the look was so fabulous, that I couldn't resist. I knew I would loose about $250 worth of time doing this, but sometimes it's worth
the risk. The bride requested an off-the-shoulder look for the ceremony at the Catholic Church (St. Patrick's in NYC no less), and then she would remove the jacket for the reception.
You can see here that the jacket is intact or together from the hip up, but from the hip down, there are three-foot pieces separate from each other cascading down to floor-length in the same lace that float about the skirt. It made the most elegant look and
as the bride moved in the dress the lengths of lace moved around like a fanned out tail to the jacket. But alas, the bride didn't like it so I had to cut them all off, but I did get this photo before I cut them off. When I did, the bride was ecstatic. And that's what I get paid for!
For me - the sky's the limit. And that's what we sewists can do, even though it might take a day or week or two extra. It doesn't matter, cause it's about making something that's special for us, and we are our most favored clients! So there's
nothing to prevent us from taking that time, that costs so much to buy, but gives us so much pleasure.
There are times when we are sewing that time is truly our most precious resource. But take an extra hour or even day to make a garment special with a detail or even a technique that we are learning, can make a garment an extra special garment, even more special. And there's nothing like wearing that garment over and over.
I took almost 2 weeks to perfect
my Armani Pants (with the Tessa Pattern from StyleArc) and now they are my favorite pants. EVERY TIME I put them on, they are excellent and feel wonderful, they hang like a tailor's dream, and frankly they look great on me. I feel great in them - all due to two weeks working with the pattern to get the hang just right, to get the crotch gusset just right, to get the hem just right and now everytime I put them on, I feel great, look great and know they are a perfect pant for me.
I've trekked to the local fabric store and checked out the rayon challis isle and have a few more cut out, but can't seem to get them sewn up wearing my classic-colored pants all the time. That will hopefully happen this weekend!
So don't miss the opportunity to take some extra time to make your garment special. The payoff is every time you wear it and little nice endorphin rush, and it's so worth it!
I thank my luck every day that I not only found the vocation of my dreams but that I
get to make all sorts of special clothes for myself with special expensive touches that give my garments another level of excellence. We are all so lucky that we can do that with our clothes.
Enjoy your sewing - even your mistakes!
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Tracking a fashion trend isn't all that hard after seeing a few of them.
Living from Mid-Century Modern through Twiggy...
It's worth the time to look at these styles, particularly today as
there is a group of that wants to look....
This is the way fashion used to be -- pretty, flattering and I can't wait to make some of...
NOTE: There are some folks who can't get my email, or it's sporadic, or something is hinky. I will always respond to any of you who send a private message, whether it's about the topic of the week or something else. If you don't get anything
from me, it's probably because the support@sewingartistry.com email is blocked, and even a private message can't get through. In that case, I'm on Instagram often, and you can always PM me at @sewingartistry.
As a precaution,
please ensure I'm in your email Address Book and check your spam, junk, and trash folders. Some email clients get extra excited when they see emails coming into the Inbox that go to many other receivers. They automatically think it's trash or spam, and it never makes it to the Inbox. I must constantly check my spam and junk folders to ensure I'm getting the emails I subscribe to.
To view in browser along with past emails, click here. We respect your email privacy. |
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