CoudreMODE » Closures

No Way! Way.

coudremode — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 19:36:16 +0000

Click!

Yesterday at Lord & Taylor I found the perfect belt. This is actually a stretch belt, which I really like because I like a wider belt with dresses and I’m very shortwaisted. Stretch belts are really comfortable because they don’t dig into my ribs. Love the hardware, the macrame look and the color is perfect. Would you believe this is from Betsey Johnson? No? Here’s the proof!

Oh Snap!

coudremode — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 20:43:56 +0000

Click for a Closer View

The snaps, I will admit, were kind of a pain, because, being such a conspicuous detail, they really need to (1) be sewn on well and attractively and (2) they need to aligned properly so that jacket overlaps correctly. No 1. was much easier than No. 2 believe me. However, I did hit upon a trick that might work you for as well, and I think it could be adapted for smaller snaps too. I always sew the female side of the snap first by marking the center with either a white chalk pencil or a sewing marker. Then I place a pin through the center hole and push the pin into a wine cork. I leave just enough space underneath for my fingers. The pin-and-cork keeps the snap from shifting while I tack it down with a single stitch in each hole. Then after making sure each female snap is in the right spot I permanently sew them with double waxed thread and a buttonhole stitch.

Click for a Closer View

Attaching the male side of the snap is trickier. That process was a little different; first the snaps were set together and then the front overplapped. I then ran a pin through the fabric from the right side to find the center of the male snap, and I marked at the pin with chalk or a sewing marker. Then I measured out the radius of the snap from the mark, checked my edge measurement against the garment lines and tacked the male side down using a glue stick. Then I quickly hand tack edwith a single piece of thread, recheck the alignment by closing the snaps and then sew the male snaps with buttonhole stitches after I’m satisfied they match correctly. If I need to move a male snap that’s easy, glue stick is water soluble on fabric and I just dab it with a wet cotton swab. By the way, these faux tortoise snaps are available from Pacific Trimming in NYC (see this blog post) and they don’t have a very tight connection; I wouldn’t use them on anything that needs to take stress. This jacket would also look good with fabric covered snaps, as in the Burda original. Hammer set snaps and also regular buttons would be great.

The lining was set in by hand; I’ll admit that bagging a jacket lining is not really something I enjoy because it needs to happen right at the stage when I just want to finish up a project. I’d rather spend a few Zen moments hand sewing the jacket and sleeve hems to the fashion fabric rather than dealing with fussy clipping. That’s not a diss on anyone who bags their linings trust me. It’s a respected technique and it works too; I just don’t enjoy doing it.

This jacket doesn’t have a CoudreMODE label, I think I want some bigger ones like Lindsay’s, which are available on Etsy. Next up is a denim skirt to wear with this jacket!

Singer Professional Buttonholer Or How I Found Religion

coudremode — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 15:55:32 +0000

regular, keyhole and bound buttonhole

For a few weeks now there has been a discussion on Pattern Review about Greist and Singer buttonhole attachments, and I’ve had a Singer for a long time. I never used it because it never dawned on me to see if it fits a vintage Singer Touch n’ Sew 648 that I have stashed under my cutting table. Well – it fits! And it makes a better buttonhole than my fancy Bernina. Here it is set up on the Touch ’n Sew. This machine is perfect as a dedicated buttonhole machine because its small, 14 inches wide and the footprint is only 18 inches wide. I can leave it set up permanently with the buttonholer attached. The only downside is that 648 bobbins hold just 20 yards of thread, however the bobbin winds in the machine too, which is very handy. I may go to IKEA and get small table so I can leave it set up next to my industrial full time. Singer made thousands of these little machines and they are easy to find on Ebay and Craigslist. SewUSA sells Touch n’ Sew manuals and their web site has instructions for winding a bobbin and a thread diagram, which is also inside the cover plate in the head. This is a simple all mechanical machine and after a few test runs I was cranking out great buttonholes easily.

The buttonholer attachment is also widely available on the web. It appears that Greist and Singer sold them from roughly the 1940′s to the 1970′s. So if you’ve been thinking about setting up a buttonhole station here are the basics:

Make sure you find the attachment that fits your machine; the buttonholer came in vertical shank and slant shank versions.

Make sure you use the right throat plate. The buttonhole attachment has its own feed dogs and the plate covers the feed dogs in the machine. There are three different types of throat plate (scroll down to see them) . If you have a newer machine that can drop the feed dogs you don’t need to worry about the throat plate. A Singer Touch n’ Sew 648 requires the throat plate on the left in the link above; there are no screw holes because a 648 has an “elevator” feature that raises throat plate with a lever and the buttonole plate slips under the indentations on either side.

For both the Greist and Singer attachment buttonholes are sized and stitched with small cams. The buttonhole cams drop into the top of the attachment. There are 20 cams in a complete Singer set, a complete set of Greist cams seems to be about 13 to 15 based on what people were saying on PR. Greist cams are pot metal, Singer cams are pot metal or plastic depending on the age of the attachment.

Buttonhole attachments of either brand seem to run $10 – $25 depending on how complete they are (cams, manual etc), and Touch n’ Sew machines can be had for short money too; maybe $50. All in all this is a great machine + attachment combination if you’re seeking better buttonholes.

TNT Diversion – Almost Done

coudremode — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 00:13:41 +0000

Yesterday I was able to get about ¾ of the way done. The lining is in and all that is left are the sleeves, hem and buttons/buttonholes. Here you can see the pattern pinned and matched at center front; on the upper bodice it turned out out I didn’t have enough fabric to vertically carry the pattern repeat up to the bodice, so instead I did a separate placement there and matched it. Another reason for that decision is there are four darts in the bodice and the pattern repeats would get really chopped up if I had done that.

Buttons will be an interesting challenge and I’m mulling over doing inconspicuous fabric covered buttons that match each underlying fabric color or something showier, such as these black and white examples from M&J Trimming.

Alternative for Real Buttons – Make a Dior Rose

coudremode — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 15:33:05 +0000

Els post on the Dior Rose reminded me of how much I love this as an embellishment. Purchased trims are often more expensive than your fabric, and these can be made from scraps. These are easy to do and they can be made in just about any size.

You can use any fabric, but of course silk makes the showiest roses. A drapey fabric like charmeuse makes a softer rose than a dupioni, but really it’s up to you. I’ve also seen them made from chiffon, wool crepe and even boucle, which is kinda cool. Here’s how to make them:

Draw a long rectangle on paper. This one is 2 inches wide by 10 inches long; a longer rectangle will make a rose with more “petals”. Fold the rectangle in half and mark off a curved edge using a French Curve. Mark a 45 degree angle as the grain line because you will cut this out on the bias.

Cut out the rectangle and sew a scant seam along each curved edge; then turn the rectangle out. Do not press it - a soft edge makes a prettier rose (I used china silk for the sample below). Finger press the stitching on the curved side seams (my scissors above are just holding down the unpressed folded edge.)

Take a length of knotted thread and baste along the bottom cut edge. Don’t cut the thread after basting ; just leave it in the needle. Gently pull the basting to form a circle and then begin to roll the rose into shape from the inside to the outside, gently incorporating the gathers into a shape that pleases you. Use the still-threaded needle to hand sew the rose together once you have it gathered into a shape that resembles the ones from Els’ post.

The trick in making these is to keep the shape flat like a button as opposed to a twisted cone shape. If this is a challenge you can stitch the flower onto a backing such as ultra-suede, felt or buckram. It’s also good to make a one or two extra so you can choose the best-looking ones for your project.

One word of caution – if these roses are crushed or ironed they lose all of their appeal, so it’s never a bad idea to remove them from a garment before you clean it. You could sew snaps onto them to make them easily removable, and if you’ve use a backing snaps are simple to add.

So that’s it! This is a classic embellishment you can use on gowns, dresses, bags, hats or even as a brooch.