Tailor-Made

It seemed a shame not to do a bit of tailoring on this piece, so out came a couple of reference books.

Tailoring is something that I know very little about, but anything that involves hand sewing is okay by me!

I like to think of padstitching as a way of turning a non-fusible interfacing into a fusible (but in a completely controlled way, and in isolated spots without the sticky stuff).  No matter how precisely you cut and stitch the pieces, a non-fusible interfacing is going to separate from the fabric as soon as you turn a collar.  But a bunch of little padstitches should keep that from happening!

Because this collar stands up in back, and has a break in the front, I alternated the padstitching from facing to bodice.

Claire Shaeffer’s Couture Sewing tapes the front edge as well as the roll line, so I thought I would give that a try.  I did not have any twill tape on hand, but my faithful Snug Hug did a wonderful job (for the roll line, I pressed the seam binding in half).

I really start to get excited when the neckline facing is stitched into place because it is the first time the bodice begins to look like a wearable garment, and some of those raw edges begin to disappear!

 [Britex has generously provided the fabric and sewing supplies for a dress I will be wearing to a formal event in October. I will be sharing some of the steps and construction techniques with you as I work on this project over the next couple of months.]