I recently made a jacket and did padding stitches on the collar. I had never really done this before and followed the directions in Claire Schaffer’s “Couture” book. Unfortunately, although the directions are pretty thorough, the book doesn’t show how it should look on the outside fashion fabric.
When doing padding stitches, are the stitches suppose to show on the outside (back) of the undercollar or only pick up threads so that they don’t show? It seems that they should show, or the undercollar wouldn’t be very padded and it would also be difficult to achieve the shaping that is supposed to happen. My padding stitches showed on the undercollar. That’s the only way I could achieve the shaping. The client was my aunt, who knows nothing about sewing, and she loves the jacket and dress, so there is no problem, but I want to do it correctly and practice it before I do another for a client. I did have a little problem with the shaping. What is the correct proceedure? and are there any tips for getting the shaping other than steaming. The fabric I used was a moleskin, underlined/interfaced with muslin. I used batiste as the underlining for the rest of the jacket. The hand was perfect.
Deb
Replies
I had to do this when I was training - yes the stitches did show - but only a little! In fact I think when I used them(remember I am going back to 1969/70!!) the place to use them was in jackets, coats etc. I remember that I have only used them a few times since - whether I was lazy - or whether the items I made just weren't calling for them. I do remember it being more of a tailoring skill - not dressmaking as such and of course interfacing has developed such a lot since those days. I distinctly remember I was pad stitching horsehair facings to the back of tweed coat fabric in a gorgeous gold tweed maxi coat. Those were the days - I HAVE just been trawling through the references on this site to 60's fashion!!
When padstitching, you catch only a thread or two on the underside, so the full length of the stitches is not visible. When the padding is done, it may show as a series of tiny dots, especially on fabric that is smooth or all one color, but not much actual thread should appear.As to the shaping, you roll the collar or lapel over your hand as you padstitch, spacing the stitches more closely where you want more stiffness and further apart just where you want the fabric to roll or drape. It really is sort of magic to watch that curve appear right in your hands!Here, about halfway down the page, is a nice picture of a pad-stitched undercollar:http://www.mysecretpocket.com/2007/09/couture-jacket-progress.html
Thank you so much for the info and the site. It was very helpful. I guess I have too much stitching showing on the jacket that I made, but since it is my aunt, I'm sure she won't mind. I'll do much better from now on. I copied and pasted the info on the link to a word program for future reference.
Deb
Thank u for this link - I went on very quickly - and got led to a fabric shop - which has some great stuff on it! Going to bite the bullet and buy fabric on line - if u have used this ladies fabric site - do u have any feedback?
Jan
I'm so glad you introduced me to the mysecretpocket blogsite. It is so full of great information, and photos to demonstrate. Thank you.
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