Lindsay asked me to blog about thread tracing, so I thought I’d give you a brief tutorial on the two types and when I use each one. Each has its own advantages and you can use them together or separately depending on your project.
A sewn together thread traced muslin
Machine Thread Tracing is done to a muslin to mark the seam allowances, grain, darts, center front, center back, waist etc. This is so you can quickly sew up a muslin for fitting and easily see where the seams and garment lines fall. A thread traced muslin that is altered is picked apart and the muslin itself is used as the pattern. In machine tread tracing I like to use black thread and a really short stitch length, 13 or more per inch, and when sewing up the muslin I switch to red thread and a longer stitch length, 7-8 stitches per inch. I do this so it’s easy to pick apart the red stitches and not accidentally pick the black tracing stitches. One advantage of machine tread tracing the seam lines is that it calibrates the pattern seam allowances to your machine’s seam plate and you get a more precise fit than you would if you marked the seams with a pen, or made up your garment by cutting right from the tissue pattern.
Hint: Always mark the right side of the fabric because the fabric front and back looks the same in a thread traced muslin. The photo on the right shows the black thread tracing and the red construction stitching on Abby’s Ralph Rucci muslin.
Hand Thread Tracing; I do this right on the fashion fabric from the right side. Hand thread tracing is done with seam allowances removed from the tissue pattern; the tracing marks the seam lines, grain, darts, center front, center back, waist etc. Hand thread tracing can be used when you’re working with fabric blocks if you have a pattern to match or a fabric that ravels badly, like a boucle or the silk taffeta I used for this 2007 cocktail dress on the left.
I used hand tracing on the Ralph Rucci bodice lace because there was no other practical way to mark the seam lines and I needed to see what beads & sequins have to be removed from the seam allowances. A hand traced pattern piece block doesn’t need to be cut until you’re ready to sew it; I like to roll them up and set them aside until I need them. I use a sharps needle and take long running stitches with small bites to get a good outline. And I make sure to push the needle under to the wrong side of the fabric exactly at corners and intersection points to mark them precisely. The seam allowances are added on before the piece is cut and the tracing is removed right before sewing. The thread on the Ralph Rucci bodice lace is basting thread, which is cotton, thick, very soft, breaks easily and leaves no holes. I’ve also used silk thread tracing on silk fabric for the same reason.
Hint: on a hand thread traced pattern block the grain always needs to be thread traced on each piece because you’ll need to re-grain the piece before you cut it out. In the example above the grain also happened to be at center back so I didn’t need to thread trace a grain line.
Thanks, Phyllis! This is so helpful. But kinda personally depressing too, because just when I think I’m getting a handle on this sewing stuff I find out there’s still sooo much I need to learn. I think it will be a long time before I am making Ralph Rucci patterns, at least with confidence.
Thanks Phyllis. You always have the best tips on technique. I will be using the black and red threads, because, damn I’ve taken out the wrong thread too many times to count. I did this on my yellow coat, and was so frustrated that I put it aside for awhile, which is one reason it took so long to make!
In the rush to sew “fast” ..these classic techniques are often ignored so we can wear a garment “now”.
However, that’s why so much sewing looks a little “off”, LOL!
You remind us how important taking the extra time and care is to create a well fitting garment of true beauty….thank-you!
Great tutorial, Phyllis. Very nicely done
Great tutorial, and the black and red threads are a great idea. I too have taken out the wrong thread on occasion.
Excellent post. The extra time spent on these sorts of techniques is worth it.
Great tute! Thanks so much.
In marking the dart, do you mark a tailor tack at the dart point and the legs and then just connect them with your hand thread tracing, or cut the darts out or some other method?
What about stitching lines on the body of the garment, pocket placements, that sort of thing?
Thanks for the reminder to pre-sew seam lines before I start to put the pieces together!
Although I prefer a good dry tailor’s chalk, sewing the seam line is the best way for me to get an accurate seamline on odd matched pieces like princess seamlines and such. It can make a beginner’s work look great too.
BTW, I also use this method to match up seams by ‘braille’, just feel the bottom thread line and match it to the top thread line as I sew (which means I don’t have to pin at all)
Wow, so much work! I always fall in love with those beautiful patterns but I don’t have enough patience to do all that fussy stuff that is required to make them look good. So when do we get to see final pictures?
If you sew the thread tracings at 13 stitches per inch isn’t it hard to take out if you have to make changes after fitting the muslin?
Hi Susan, the stitching at 13 per inch is just to mark the seamlines. The muslin is sewn together at 7 stitches per inch and I sew right on top of the stitch marked seamline. The benefit of making the seam lines a really small stitch is that it’s easier to pick apart the long construction stitches and not accidentally pick part the thread traced seamlines. Also, this is why the tread tracing is one color and the machine basting is another – its easier to tell them apart.
I am still confused
if i start w a pattern, how do i thread trace the seams for both pieces of the fabric?
why sew seam markings on a machine if (a) my question is whats the best way to get seam markings from pattern to fabric when the tracing wheel and wax paper combo is so ineffectual? and (b) wht sew seams on at 13 stitches per inch if i may need to take it apart and make adjustments for a final fitting? and just how DO you thread trace?
any input will be appreciated, I presume everyone knows this but me!
Good questions LJ – I made this a blog post!