Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Garments and Fabric: Part 2: Words of Wisdom

June, on cutting and curves:
  1. Stay stick before cutting/overlocking.
  2. Use small stitches.
  3. Don't be too diligent in cutting the wedges around a curve; the fabric will stretch.
Sue, on designs suitable for short and tubby shapes:
  1. Length: make jacket and vest length no longer than the bottom of the bottom/tush, unless going full length.
  2. Avoid double-breasted designs.
  3. Stick to the vertical.
  4. Use dark colors for the larger parts. If you are bosomy, use darker colors on your top; if you are bottomy, on your bottom.
  5. Elongate the neck/collar area; avoid horizontal opening.
  6. Use simple sleeve shapes.
  7. Classical, nicely-cut, tailored designs look best.
Sue, on lining: Make it the same size as the outside fabric, as we need room to move around inside the garment. Include a tuck at back center if possible.

June, Jenny, Joan, Rose, and everybody else who have made a garment before: Always cut/fit/alter the pattern first because it changes how much fabric you need to weave!

2 comments:

  1. These are really helpful, thanks for sharing. I've long been thinking about teaching myself how to sew (above my rather limited abilities) so that I can use handwoven cloth to make my own clothes. I'm learning so much, following your own learning path.

    ReplyDelete
  2. That's wonderful, Geodyne. It's hard for me to imagine there are others like me, (well, there aren't many "just" like me,) but it is hard to make/find clothes to fit, but the idea is, once you learn some tips, it should start to get easier for us all to spot clothes that do flatter us. At least that's the theory. :-D

    ReplyDelete

I love comments. Thank you for taking the time to leave one. But do be sure to leave your real or blog name.