Couture Sewing Techniques, Revised & Updated

Product Information

and there is a lot of this going on–implying artisanal, traditionally crafted, family-owned traditions. So now they both are tied to and represent a larger fascination in our society with the handmade, the close-to-the-maker, the authentic, the real (and things that take time to make, as opposed to quick). She talks too about the 90 minute transformation challenge on GBSB was actually a very liberating experience because there was no time to be overly precious with what they were given to use, it forced her to think outside the box very quickly and not have time for self-doubt. For example, we made the gown that Sarah Brightman wore to the party after the world premier of Phantom of the Opera [we memorably made another dress for her to wear for a Gala at the Royal Albert Hall, she had a fitting at the showroom and declared it should be taken in which we duly did at the workroom.

showed us how she takes inspiration from high-end fashion and clothing all around her but then recreated the looks using multiple end-of-line garments and thrifted clothes. The next one is an interesting hem finish which is very useful especially if you want a quality finish on evening or bridal wear. In the French Haute Couture system much is sewn by hand – does this mean a couture technique is one that is only sewn by hand?There are some out there in the blogosphere that have made it sound like, if you didn't go the Nth degree then your garment is somehow lessened or beneath wearing. To sew an invisible zip into the diagonal seam across the back I machined the seam closed but I used a long basting stitch just for the section where the zip will go.

Early on in lockdown I had the pleasure of talking to Maria Theoharous for her Sew Organised Style podcast on a couple of occasions. I then did the same on the other side – but the 2 pattern pieces are not yet sewn together, they are only attached with the strip of leather.

Whilst a single layer is often a very economic way of cutting fabric it’s usually more time-consuming to cut out so I did the two at the same time which was slightly risky but it worked out. Mr Y was the lucky recipient of a few handmade garments too during 2020 when I made him another two Kwik Sew 3422 shirts, and not one but two Thread Theory Finlayson sweatshirts! I think it's thrown around a lot to indicate high-quality, but unless you're an expert in those techniques, I don't know that the result is necessarily high quality. the bias strip is on the inside at the moment It is then turned up to the outside where I trimmed and stitched it with ricrac braid. The black stitching you can see is the stitching lines I did to mark the edges of where to sew on the sequins – when I was going to do it by hand.

I think it’s worth mentioning that I like to use bias binding to neaten necklines (and armholes) too. I’m happy to say he’s delighted with all of them and I’ve got plans for another sweatshirt for him in the new year. There’s a scrap of the fabrics pinned to the picture, it was silk chiffon covered in paillettes over a layer of silk satin and lining, all the edges were finished with bias binding so that the sequins didn’t cut the wearer to ribbons! As well as the matching trainers and purse, I wore my gold party socks – I almost thought it was too matchy-matchy but then I realised I don’t care! There is just a little fraying on the cut edges which I overlocked singly as I went along, as per the pattern instructions.

For this next finish I’ve used a triple straight stitch to create the effect of top stitching on the hem, and several seams, of this Simple Sew Zoe hack I made last summer.

It’s has a bark-like finish and is different on each side, you could use this to your advantage if you want to create an interesting visual effect by having some pieces with one side out and some using the reverse side. Actress Stephanie Beacham wearing a gown similar to the Carmen Miranda in a women’s magazine another version of the dress in an ad for a car (? This is a couture technique so if you look at red carpet dresses with no visible stitching at the hem this will be how they achieved it. Judith and Sandy constantly add to the saved Highlights on the account too, particularly any one of the many worldwide challenges you might like to participate in, plus using some the dozens of hashtags unique to us will give you unlimited ideas for your own future projects.Couture sewing” seems to be applied to anything that is beyond intermediate level and virtually all hand sewing– incorrectly, in my mind. The seam is trimmed slightly and snipped if necessary, then turned so that the edge is enclosed and finally topstitched close to the folded edge to secure. Both in a literal sense and a philosophical sense… It's like the way a traditional Japanese ramen chef might approach the making of a bowl of ramen as a representation of a self-contained universe. I thought I would expand a little here on the blog using more photos of projects I’ve made in recent years.