Use Japanese tailoring for a bulk-free collar and lapel. One goal of a fine tailor is to make collar and lapel edges thin with seams that don’t show. These edges are important because this is one of the most visible areas on a tailored coat or jacket; however, it takes time and skill to learn how to produce these details.

Fortunately, the Japanese ready-to-wear industry has developed an easy, fool-proof tailoring system based on adjusting seam allowances on the pattern to guarantee the turn of cloth, and then stitching, grading, and pressing in a particular way to set and preserve the edge. Author Judy Barlup shows you how in this article from Threads issue #147.