Sleeve experiments

This year I will get to experiment with some odd sleeve shapes.

Asymmetrical outfits and sleeves with darting of the sleeve head in order to create angular shapes. The fashion fabrics for this are varied-some heavy (15 oz wool) and some tissue thin. It will be a challenge, no doubt.

I start with a basic one piece sleeve block that I can develop the other shapes from. In some cases I will need a two piece sleeve pattern for an inner sleeve, plus patterns generated for cuffs/fore arm pieces, a one piece pattern for the upper arm as well as patterns for panes.

I start out expanding my pattern by slashing and spreading for the volume I think a sleeve will need but it usually takes a trial in muslin to really see the relationship between the paper and the resulting muslin toile.

I also have to figure out how to support the shape- whether the fabric needs backing or some kind of netting on an under sleeve or both. The sleeve in the upper photo is backed onto a Nylon fabric that was used for shirt collars at one time. It also has a hoop of rigilene stitched in to keep the circumference held out. The sleeve in the lower photo is washed muslin stitch fused with stitch witchery to craft felt, also with a rigilene support.

Industrial machines

Industrial sewing machines are the workhorses of the wardrobe and of my studio space. They are heavy, will sew through virtually anything, and I can't imagine trying to work on anything else. I find that the best machines to purchase are the older ones with fewer bells and whistles. They have fewer things to go wrong. The first industrial machine I bought was this Consew straight stitch for $100.00. Best investment I ever made. It only goes forward-no reverse- so if you need to tack the beginning or end of the seam, you have to lift the foot pedal, pull the fabric back a few millimeters and stitch over your first few stitches.

I bough the industrial Pfaff zig zag machine when Steve from Pro-Sewing found one and told me about it. I cost much more than the Consew did, but in the costuming area, a zig is very useful machine to have and I feel that this is one of the better ones.

I also have a very old Singer overlock machine-I'm not sure of its age but it still works very well. I use it mostly for finishing the seam allowance of garments.

I have a domestic serger that I use for rolled hem edges and for stretch fabrics too. It has a useful foot that allows elastic to feed through it without having to manually guide the elastic along.

I have a more modern Mitsubishi straight stitch machine that has a reverse lever and Carol has a Mauzer overlock at the studio as well.

I managed to get all these machines moved with the help of my husband and a manual fork lift. (He hopes I am happy with where they are situated so I won't have to ask for help to move them again.)

The other heavy duty piece of equipment I have is my old (bought it used 16 years ago) Sheldon industrial boiler and iron. When the seal went on the glass tube (which shows you the interior water level), surprisingly I got my local plumber to fix it- It will produce 30psi of steam and you can run it all day without refilling it. The iron is a heavier weight model for tailoring. The unit needs its own electrical breaker and it sits on a dedicated ironing table, covered in wool felt and wide enough to iron 150cm wide fabric. When this iron stops heating its life will be over since it has asbestos batting inside the bottom plate and no-one is allowed to work on them anymore.

So all the heavy items are now in the space, cleaned up and ready for whatever project next comes our way.

In the meantime I am back at my regular job contract. I have three shows assigned right now, so a bit of 30's and 40's style tailoring and a few doublets thrown in for good measure. I will work with new designers as well, so it should be an interesting season.

The process begins again.

suits 1910-11

Hockey Day in Canada is almost upon us (Jan 30th) and in that spirit I present the Boissevain, Manitoba Hockey Team- Intermediate Champions of 1910-11.

I couldn't resist this photo when I saw it in a shop window in a small town in Manitoba back in 1990. I had joined my husband who was on tour through Northern Ontario and Manitoba, and among the highlights of seeing more of our country was the time to check out many small town antique and junk shops. Their personalities seem to shine out at you from this hundred year old photo, and it made me wonder whether their young faces were next seen in another type of uniform.

It is a great reference for hockey clothing in general but also for the suits that the manager (left) and the "spare" (right) are wearing. I think they are both DB- there is a button showing on the front of the manager's suit. I think his seems a bit more unusual in style that the one on the right.

What is interesting to note is the general silhouette, the shoulder, the size of lapel, and the overall length.

Look at the angle of the gorge line and the subsequent length of the collar especially on the man on the right. The end of the gorge line where the lapel peaks is at least 2 1/2" below the knot of his tie. It's a young man's look of the time, and a real departure from the high buttoning style of the turn of the century just 10 years previous.

The manager is quite dapper in his starched shirt collar- you see, Don Cherry is just following tradition, but let's not talk about his suits. Really.

more frock coat details

Here is a shot of the undercollar and under the lapel. I was surprised that it was machined through the stand. It has been felled to the coat by hand. The collar end has been clean finished, the collar and lapel were edge-stitched by machine and then the collar was caught to the lapel with a very small cross-stitch. It has a functional buttonhole and loop behind.

This is the back step - you can see the hand stitching that catches the under step area to the coat itself.

The lining is cut in two pieces at the back, which is so much easier to put in. Linings can be without a waist seam here, which is was how I learned to do it, but I have changed to this method as well for the tailor's benefit. Cutting the lining all in one is guaranteed to cause heart palpitations when you make that clip for the first time.

frock coat details

It is difficult to take good photos of black garments.

If you enlarge the picture of the lapel, you will see how nicely made it is. Please ignore the little crumpling on the lapel-my iron was not hot so I did not press this coat.

There is a beautiful shape to the lapel, and it has a thin neat edge because it was cut on the fold. It has been seamed only on the top edge that abuts the collar and this seam travels just about 1/2" or so around the lovely curved peak of the lapel. The outer edge of the lapel has been shaped with the iron into a gentle curve, and then shrunk in at the CF before being seamed to the body.

You can see the handmade buttonhole and the machine edge stitch here. Some frock coats are cut with a silk facing but this is all wool. I wonder whether it was made without silk for a particular reason. Mourning perhaps? Or maybe it was a less formal look.

Here's the first working buttonhole on the left front.

I thought I had managed to lose a button when I looked at the sleeve, but no, there are only two buttons here (on both sleeves) and a quite wide spacing. The false sleeve vent has a tiny curved edge that has been manipulated into the curve rather than having a facing sewn on.

The sleeves only are lined with a cotton sateen, it is almost a pale tobacco colour now with age.

DB frock coat

Now I'm on a roll, unpacking and looking at these things that I have kept, so I might as well continue to document them here- it is very nostalgic, and it gives me a break from the heavy work too-taking down shelves and putting them up again, and setting up my table.

I need help to move the industrial machines anyway, so I can justify a little detour into the past.

I bought this frock-coat in 1984 for the sum of $40.00 which was a lot to me then.

It is in excellent shape- except for a bit of light damage on one shoulder- take note! keep your vintage things out of the light or you will regret it. It is small about a size 38 yet it was cut for someone with a bit of a belly and perhaps an erect posture by the way it sits on a stand.

It is a traditional double breasted frock coat with cut on lapels- hence the center front seam. This differs from cutting a "grown-on" lapel which would be of one piece with the main front body piece, perhaps with a dart into the gorge for shaping. It has three functioning front buttons and closes up fairly high on the chest by virtue of it being DB. There is no outside breast pocket, but two inside breast pockets. It has beautifully handmade buttonholes, and the linings are put in by hand, but it has a machine top-stitch, in a very short stitch length on the edges.

The buttons are basketweave with a raised rim. The back is cut with a step at the centre back, and with the usual pleats in the back skirt. The skirt is moderate in fullness. I forgot to check to see if there were pockets installed in the pleats..... I'll have to check that, they usually do.

I was guessing that this would be Edwardian at the earliest, possibly an example from as late as the 1920's.

I'll share a few close-up shots of some of the details next post.

bow ties

That dashing young man in the thirties might have worn these bow ties. The one on top here is a plain silk that you must tie yourself, and the one below it is a pre-tied version in white pique. Stylistically they are quite different as well, so they are probably not of the same era. You can see that the silk tie has squared off ends and the cotton has pointed ends. Back in the box with these as well.