Couture & Chanel cardigans

What does Couture really mean?  The term "Haute couture" refers to the creation of exclusive custom-fitted clothing.  Haute couture is made to order for a specific customer, and its usually made from high quality, expensive fabric with an extreme attention to detail and finished using time-consuming, hand executed techniques.  So says WIKIPEDIA.  LOL.  To me, any woman/man who makes their own clothes is a couturier except for the expensive high-end fabrics I guess.

Now I've been retired from the office scene for 15 years and my lifestyle is very casual.  9 times out of 10 I'm wearing jeans with a nice top, usually one I've made.  So couture doesn't really enter into my way of living and even if it did, we couldn't afford it.  Typical couture items can run into the many thousands.  But...I can see wearing a nice Chanel style cardigan with my jeans in my near future.  Since I've joined the Jacket A Month http://artisanssquare.com/sg/index.php/topic,12039.35.html  forum, I've found a few other blogs namely the Go Chanel or Go Home! Blog.  LOL.  I really love the look of the Chanel cardigan.  Well...I mostly love the look; I plan on updating that look somewhat. And since the jean jacket I've almost completed is my first jacket on that forum, my version of the Chanel cardigan will be my second.  Now let's get this straight from the beginning, I will come nowhere near making 12 jackets this year especially since there will be so much hand work on the cardigan.  I'll need to cleanse my sewing palette between jackets with other items.  LOL. 

So...what makes a Chanel cardigan different?  The cardigans are constructed without traditional interfacings, backings, facing or heavy linings.  As a consequence, there are only 2 fabric layers - the outer fashion fabric and the lining.  They are considered a "lined to the edge" type garment.  The fashion fabric is usually a loosely woven tweedy or boucle type fabric that is, as a norm, considered too fragile for traditional skirts and jackets.  Linings are more delicate materials such as silk gauze, China silk and silk charmeuse.

Typical construction consists of, almost invisible, quilting the fashion fabric to the lining so the loosely woven fabric will not sag and the garment can maintain its shape.  Other touches on Chanel cardigans includes a almost totally hand applied/sewn lining, braid trim and brass chains to weight the jacket hem attractively.

As I may have said before, I'm completely self-taught when it comes to sewing.  So I'll be using several reference books (and blogs) to help me construct my jacket.  I have my Threads Magazine Archive and Couture Sewing Techniques by Claire Shaeffer along for the ride.  I'm going to try to document my efforts more completely in making this cardigan than I ever have in constructing a garment before.  And the reason why is because I haven't found a single source, on-line or not, that does.  And basically because I want to.  LOL.

More later...

Jean Jacket Done! Well Almost...

I finally finished the lining this afternoon!  It was quite a bit more handwork than I usually do on a piece.  But I only have the buttons and buttonholes to do now.  But basically its done.  Phew!

Here's a couple more pictures of the lining and a closeup of the front.

Getting Close!

Wow, I'm almost done inserting the lining.  I think a closeup of how the piping and lining looks is called for.  So here it is.   I'm really ready for this project to be done.  Please pardon how dark the pictures are.   I was so excited at getting this much done and it actually looking decent that I just had to take pictures and not wait for daylight.  LOL.


 

This next view shows the lining sewn in, by hand I might add, on both sides.  I just need to finish around the neckline and then buttons and buttonholes. I'm hoping to have it completed in the next couple of days. 

Okay...I know what you're thinking.  Sewn in by hand?  What is she thinking?  LOL.  Well its sewn in hand because of poor planning on my part.  I just didn't really think it through when I thought it would be easy to add piping and lining.  Gah!  I probably would have been able to bag the lining by machine had I not wanted to insert piping.  Oh well, just all it practice for the Chanel style jacket I'll be making next.

Jean Jacket - Lining

Finally started with the lining.  I'm sure I'm not installing it in any kind of accepted order since there wasn't a lining for this pattern.  LOL.  It's going to be in Belinda order!  Its attached at the bottom hem area.  The hem of the jacket itself is sewn and the top-stitching along the sides.  I have one sleeve inserted even though you can't see it from this picture.  Once I have both sleeves installed to my satisfaction, I'll start working attaching the piping and lining along the sides. I sure hope this jacket is going to be wearable after all of the work I've put into it.  Now that I'm getting closer to completion, I'm getting a anxious about how the finished jacket will look.

Frustration & the Fix

I'm having more fun now inserting the lining on the Jean Jacket.  But before the insertion could begin, I had to do a bit of top-stitching along both sides of the front and the hem.  Talk about frustrating!  Gah!  Skipped stitches galore.  I tried almost every combination of needle sizes, different threads, stitch lengths I could think of.   Grrrrr.  Finally, one of the gals on the Jacket Sew Along mentioned Tension.  OMG!  I can't believe I forgot to look at the dang tension.  Needless to say, it fixed my troubles with the top-stitching.  And now I'm merrily inserting the lining.  Thank goodness for friends.  LOL.

I actually had to leave the sewing room and go cook.  I spent a couple of hours making Roasted Butternut Squash soup.  I came home from my visit with my family stocked up with about 20 squash that my Dad had grown in his garden.  He only had a couple of hills and wound up with a billion squash.  I'll probably spend some time cutting up the rest of them and baking them soft so I can store them in the freezer. 

Quick Piping Tutorial

Okay...This is just going to be a quick and dirty tutorial on making the piping.  There are already lots of "real" tutorials for making piping out there.  I really wanted to show my first use of my Darr Piping Ruler.  Let's start at the beginning.  LOL.  The first thing I did was cut enough bias strips of my fashion fabric to equal about 3 yards (I always make more than I think I'll use because of potential screwups boo boos).  I then sew the strips together and trim the excess.  Press the seams open.  Take your cording and wrap the wrong side of the fabric around it.  I took the time to pin the whole thing because my hand-eye coordination isn't great.  LOL.  This picture shows me sewing the cording.  Well...kinda; I'm taking the pictures.

Now I've sewn all of the cording and placed it on my cutting table.  This great little tool allows you to rotary-cut or mark your choice of 4 different piping seam allowances.  For my application, I chose the 3/8 inch seam allowance.  Just place piping on the mat and align the groove of the ruler for the seam allowance you wish to use.

And cut away! Look how perfect that seam allowance is!  I just love it.

And here you see about 3 yards of gorgeous piping for the inside of my jean jacket.  Oh, I do have a suggestion that is not in the instructions.  LOL.  If you have a cat that loves to play with strings, I suggest you shoo them from the room until you're done cutting.  You can give them the scraps from cutting your lovely, neat piping.

Procrastination & other odds 'N ends

Well...hardly any sewing this weekend.  Although I did get my lining cut out and ready to sew, my piping fabric is washed 'n ready to pipe sew.  LOL.  I've looked up the directions to make my bias strips for the piping and I have my handy dandy Darr Piping Ruler that I'll show you how to use the next time I post.  Now I have to go soak the cording in hot water for 20 minutes and let it dry.  I should have done it yesterday when I washed the lining but hey...that would have been too easy.  LOL. 

With the temperatures being so cold lately, I haven't been able to bicycle much.  I try to ride my circuit whenever the temps are over 38 with very little wind.  I really have to bundle up to ride but I really enjoy getting outside for a little exercise.  Right now I ride about 11-12 miles a day which only takes about 55 minutes, but I hope to change my route when it gets a little warmer so I can increase my mileage and work on my endurance.  I'm not going to compete or anything; I'd just like to get into better shape.  Of course, not eating that piece of corn bread baked in bacon grease last night might not have been a good idea.  LOL.