Thursday 29 September 2011

Vogue 8701 Progress

So i've done the pad stitching on the collars.  It took a while as the collars are quite wide.  Not only that, they are not one piece with the body as a tailored jacket normally would be, they are sewn onto the bodice as illustrated in the last post.

Pad stitching is easy peasy to do once you get the hang of it, and you easily get into a 'rhythm' which makes it much easier still.  You just have to remember a couple of things.  

Keep the collar folded (pref. over your finger) at the fold line
Keep the stitches small
Keep the stitches as even as possible
Each line starts at the opposite end to the last - this is what causes the chevron shape.

Pad stitching not only shapes your collar, but it also ensures that the collar lies flat and where it is supposed to be.

Here we have one side padstitched, and the other not.  You can clearly see how the pad stitching has helped the left side lie flat while the right side is distorted out of shape because it is bouncing back upwards.


Here it is from the side - very unsightly!


And from the other side ... even worse!


Now complete, my collars are beautifully shaped as the pattern intended and nice and flat too.


3 comments:

Lisa said...

Your post is really helpful. I need to try some of these tailoring techniques . I just assumed pad stitching was used to attatch the collar and interfacing . Thanks for the clear photos.

Joanne said...

I love these technique posts of yours - it's so obvious what a difference proper tailoring makes from your photos, and it's an inspiration to go the extra mile. Can't wait to see the finished jacket!

JuliaB said...

THanks both. I love pad stitching, it's like magic stitches! Who'd think that just these little rough ugly stitches could make such a difference to something?!