In the narrow gap between work and sleep (another 12-hour day yesterday), I have been reading up on couture sewing. It is rapidly becoming apparent that you can spend an arbitrary amount of time on a couture garment, depending on how fussy you want to be; also that I have a LOT to learn if I really want to sew couture. I am torn between investing the time to learn it (because I do want to understand the “right” way to do it…that curious mind again! 🙂 ) and getting back to what I really want to do, which is weaving.
I am still mulling over how to do this. It is clear to me that my original plan, which was to sew up a throwaway garment using exactly the same technique as the final garment, won’t do if I plan to do couture. Yes, it’s the “right” way, but there’s no way I’m investing 30+ hours in a throwaway garment, and the fabrics I had selected were picked primarily on price and the word “hideous” therefore springs to mind to describe them. So I have a choice between using faster methods on the throwaway piece (which would effectively negate the point of doing a “practice” garment), purchasing a more livable fabric with which to do a practice garment (but then what would I do with two identical coats?), or working directly with the final fabric (a prospect that gives me the willies).
I am really not sure what I will do at this point – buying a quality fabric to practice on would require a substantial investment since we are talking about 9 yards of high-quality 45″ fabric, and since I’m about to move my cash flow is pretty tight. I’m also worried about “second sock syndrome”, where you create the first garment and then lose interest before doing the second one. So while I would like to adhere to my ideal of couture, and am generally unafraid of sinking HUGE amounts of time into an arbitrary project, there may have to be some compromises in the name of practicality. I’m just not sure where they are yet.
I have ordered a copy of Claire Shaeffer’s book (thanks Peg) and have also been reading through Roberta Carr’s book Couture: the Art of Fine Sewing which I happened to have on my bookshelf. (I actually used to have Shaeffer’s book as well, but couldn’t locate it on my bookshelf – I may have eliminated it in one of my Great Purges a few years ago.) It’s really interesting! elevates sewing to an art form. Doesn’t even look all that time-consuming (for a lot of the techniques anyway) if you know what you’re doing. But it clearly requires skill, practice, and focused study – something frequently lacking in the world today.
It’s so frustrating to me that time and lifespan are limited – there are so many things I would like to explore in greater depth than I can in the next 40-60 years! I would like a lifetime each to devote to sewing, to weaving, to my other passions (not to mention reading, cycling, being sat on by cats, and other more leisurely pursuits) – anything less means having to give up depth in one area to reach another. It’s so frustrating.
On the other hand, 40-60 years is a LOT! at least relative to most life on this planet. (If I were a Galapagos tortoise I would have up to 300 years, but it would be mighty hard to sew without opposable thumbs. 🙂 ) So I suppose another way to look at it is that we are blessed with many times more life than we “ought” to be, and focus on the time I have rather than the time I don’t have. 40 years is long enough to learn a lot, so I suppose I ought to be patient, and do what I can. But compared to the wealth of things to learn, it seems like such a pittance!
Tonight I am going over to a guild mate’s house – she is going to help me figure out how to construct this coat, and give advice on interfacings, etc. Which I deeply appreciate. The rest of the week will probably be devoted to work (major project, behind schedule, final deadline Friday – you know how THAT goes), but then after that I should have some time to work on the coat. (Assuming we aren’t packing for the move, that is.)
If it were me…. I would make the throw-away coat out of throw-away fabric to test the fit and shaping, and then make little samples to test anything that you want to test, like bound buttonholes or welt pockets. That way you’re not investing all the hours into a garment you won’t wear, but you’ve had a chance to at least give it a go before you start on your good fabric.
Tien,
A couple of thoughts…
Before rewarping to make your additional 18″ of fabric, are you sure you can’t configure the remaining smaller pieces you need by butting selvedge ends together discreetly (with hand sewing) from leftover yardage bits? I just saw a dramatic demonstration of this at my guild meeting yesterday, with parts of the sleeve panel “added on.” You could not tell at all. The mid-knee length coat was made from fabric 30-36″ wide, 6 yards (or less). Also, consider adding to the sleeve piece under the arm pit, where it is less likely to show.
To practice for a coat I wanted to make from handwoven, I bought a cheap Mexican blanket (less than $20) It gave me the practice I needed on the tricky bits with interfacing, collars, closures, etc. in a similar weight.
To avoid the “second sock” syndrome, how about just buying enough decent fabric to work through the tricky bits?
I typically make a “real” garment in materials similar in hand to my handwoven fabric to test the pattern and make adjustments. I find that the difference between commercial fabric and the OMG experience of working in the real-deal NEVER leads to the “second sock” syndrome. It’s still much more nerve-wracking with the handwoven, but the first garment gives me confidence to work through the tricky parts, and allows me the time to ask a professional how to proceed before I have made a “can’t-go-back” mistake.
I think we’ll need a Quicktime video of the first cut when you are ready to sew!
I really appreciate your posts, Tien. Your step-by-step approach is really inspiring!
Sally
You are definitely trying to do something ambitious – and the more I talk to very experienced tailors, the more I feel like my sewing skills are lacking. So I would definitely feel intimidated by sewing something difficult with handwoven.
Another thought….is your dream to actually sew the jacket, or to have the jacket made from your fabric? Any chance you could hire someone to do the sewing? (I realize costs might prohibit that). Just thought I’d throw that idea out there….the only two people I know who’ve actually hired some one were traveling in Cambodia and China at the time.
I so admire your willingness to tackle a tough project! I’m sure you’ll come up with an ingenious way through this sticky wicket! Best of luck!!
Sue
I see no reason to use couture techniques on your throw-away. The throw-away, aka muslin, is primarily to check and fine tune fit. So save the couture for the final garment. And you don’t have to use all the couture details in the book. The most important are the fit (so you will probably still have to baste the good fabric just to make sure…..), the interfacings, including hem interfacings (and frankly, very high quality interfacings have been developed, that only the most couture of the couture crowd probably still use sew-in..), and lining (do NOT bag it!). I would avoid things like welt pockets, hand-picked top stitching, and I would pick a style without a lapel. Your fabric is absolutely gorgeous, so I would use a very simple Chanel kind of style coat. No collar either. This kind of a coat is very easy to put together, so you can well afford the time for all the interfacing and for putting in the lining right. If you simply have to have a collar, a shawl collar is the easiest.
I have Carr’s book as well and was very disappointed with it.