So you've got a nice piece of washed
and pressed fabric all ready to go.
What are you going to sew? Unfortunately, that's one question I
can't answer for you. I personally recommend starting with a
T-tunic or the like. Drea Leed has a fantastic
Elizabethan
smock site which teaches you how to take your measurements, then
uses them to plot out a smock pattern based on your measurements.
Here's the secret--this is basically a T tunic in shape. Make the
following modifications, and you've got a T tunic:
1) Make your sleeves long rectangles instead of long trapezoids (i.e.
extend the sleeves straight out from the shoulder to the wrist instead
of tapering the width to the wrist)
2) Use a colored fabric instead of a white fabric
3) Make a keyhole or boat neckline instead of a low square
neckline
4) If you're male, your shoulder to hem length will be much
shorter. Measure from the shoulder to the knee or other desired
tunic hem point.
Now, for a disclaimer, I have never used her smock site, but I have
heard good reviews, and it decreases the amount of thinking you have to
do for your first project. In fact, even if you decide to make
some other kind of garment, go to the smock site now to read how to
take your measurements since she explains it better than I would.
This is absolutely critical.
Key
facts about measurements:
1) Don't cheat. No person cares if your waist is really 34"
instead of the 31" you claimed it was, but your waistband will care and
you will be tremendously uncomfortable.
2) Use a friend. The measurements are much more accurate if you
are standing comfortably than if you are contorting to try to measure
your own bust. Not to mention trying to measure your own back
waist length...
3) Make sure to breathe in and out when your measurements are
being taken. Don't puff your chest out, or suck your stomach in,
unless you're willing to do that for 8 straight hours in the
garment. See also #1, Don't Cheat.
4) Write your measurements down in a safe place for later use...and
remember to recheck them every few months or more often if your weight
changes substantially.
Fitting Garments
I'm sorry, but I just can't cover all the fine points of
drafting
patterns and correcting fitting problems in this article, but here are
a few critical points that will come up early as you plan your first
garments.
Key
facts about fitting and clothing:
1)
Remember that you
have to be able to pull the garment over your head and shoulders to
wear it. So if your garment doesn't have a full front opening
(like the laced front of a cotehardie), the body portion of your
garment has to be at least wide enough to allow your shoulders through
it with your arms raised. Trust me. It doesn't work
otherwise.
2) Along the same lines, your head has to be able to make it
through the neck opening. Your head is much bigger than you think
it is, therefore your neck opening (boat or keyhole) must be much
bigger than you think it should be. Try it on before you finish
the raw edges around the neck. Although remember that it is much
easier to cut more off later than to add back on.
3) The front of your neck is lower than the back of your neck.
You will need to curve the front neckline down more than the back, no
matter what kind of neckline you choose, or the front will always feel
like it's choking you.
Marking and Cutting
Lay your pressed fabric on the biggest surface you can find--a clean
floor or a big table. At this point, there are two paths
depending on your kind of pattern:
You
have a list of measurements (i.e. rectangular pieces 24" by 36"):
Take your yardstick and begin to measure out your
pieces. Measure repeatedly from the selvage (the firmer edges of
the fabric) while marking the line with your chalk or fabric pen. Try
to avoid measuring from a line you've already measured; in other words,
if you need two pieces 14" wide, measure 14" from the selvage for the
first piece and then measure 28" from the selvage, instead of measuring
14" from your first drawn line. I can guarantee you that your
lines will meander a little, and this will be compounded if you measure
again from that slightly irregular line.
You have pattern
pieces in fabric (not recommended) or butcher paper (a better
idea): Lay your pieces out on the fabric. You can
either trace the pattern pieces with your chalk or pen, or you can pin
through the pattern pieces along the edges. Don't let the pins
stick out from the edge of the pattern, since you'll have to cut along
the edge. If you have folded your fabric to cut two pieces at
once (a more advanced trick), I strongly recommend pinning through the
pattern and both layers of fabric.
All pieces should have their long axis either parallel to or
perpendicular to the selvage of the fabric. Fabric cut on a
diagonal
is 'on the bias', and has much greater stretch than pieces cut on
grain. This fact is used to our advantage when we make stockings,
which are cut on the bias to allow greatest stretch and a closer fit.
This handout
has a diagram of fabric grain that might help you understand this
better.
DO NOT cut any pieces out until you have marked all of them on
the fabric. At some point you will have some tragic accident
where all of your pieces don't quite fit onto your fabric without
rearrangement, and if you've cut the pieces already you've burnt that
bridge. Once you are happy with the layout of all your pieces,
you can begin cutting. Try to leave the fabric as flat as
possible for the most accurate cutting; this is why bent handled
dressmaker's shears help you out a lot. Move your body around
frequently to give you the best angle on the cutting--don't try to cut
in a contorted position.
Once all your pieces are cut, you have to start assembling the
garment. Unfortunately, I can't walk you through this
directly. You will have to figure it out from your pattern
directions. Buy Singer's
Sewing Essentials from your
local fabric store. It will teach you the details of how to pin
your seams, how to sew your machine seams, how to clip and grade curved
seams (a critical skill!), how to pick the needle for your fabric
weight. Refer to this book religiously until you are comfortable
with basic sewing...just pretend the sections on zippers and
darts don't exist. Trust me--I can't explain it any better than
this book does, with nice color photos.
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