What is the difference between tailored and non-tailored garments?
Hello, this is here by request. I know I said that I wasn't going to write a blog for a few weeks as I am busy making a coat, but so many of you have requested to see some of the garments I made at college over 30 years ago, so here I am blogging when I should be sewing.First of all watch my you tube video as much of the explanation is there and it saves me having to type when I should be sewing!
Direct link to video if it doesn't show is Tailored vs non-tailored
Here are close up photos of my ancient garments, fully tailored, totally sewn by hand, and which took six months to a year to make! However you can see how well they have survived despite being in a suitcase for many years.
I feel swamped by it now but it was very fashionable then. The coat has layers of handsewn horsehair canvas inside the entire front, all the seams are taped with muslin to stop them from stretching and the front and collar are all prick- stitched so that the shaping can be moulded permanently into the garment. The name of the stitch is because you prick your finger with every stitch and that is why if you don't use a leather thimble your fingers are covered in blood!
The lining is sewn by hand too.
Because the brief was to not use a pattern we were allowed to use a sewing machine for the long seams. And, joy of joys, we were able to do the buttonholes by machine too. Machines which sewed buttonholes were new and I had to borrow one to sew mine.
This is a beautiful jacket, which I actually might start wearing again. Sewed entirely by hand in a man's suiting it really does look as good today as the day I finished it. The buttonholes are hand sewn. The fronts are interfaced with horse-hair canvas and the shoulder pads and roll are made by hand.
This is another totally hand sewn jacket, using a striped fabric. I enjoyed wearing this as it was very different then.
Another stunning jacket. Quite boxy in shape . Again totally 100% sewn by hand, no sewing machine was used.
This is a silk/Mohair blend fabric . Again totally hand sewn. It was part of a suit. Three quarter sleeves, welted pockets, beautiful.
Now to the more modern garments
That's the tailored garments taken care of.
Now compare them to non-tailored garments and the difference is plain to see. They don't have the same structure, the same durability, and they hang differently.
To teach you tailoring on a blog post is a near impossibility, it's too complex, even the way the fabric is pre-shrunk is different. So if you are interested I urge you to take a course. Your local college may have one, or you might want to do one online.
It really will improve your day to day dressmaking skills if you learn to tailor. You will learn about engineering fabric, you will learn the importance of choosing the correct interfacings and your garments will last forever.
Ok, here are the non-tailored garments. See the difference? Don't get me wrong, they are still good and infinately better than shop bought, so do make one. Take your time, as soon as you get tired stop and put it away.
A spring coat. The link to the blog post is A spring coat by Sewangelicthreads
A coat with zipper closure . This is an easy coat to make as it uses a chunky open end zip. A coat with zipper closure
Another very easy coat, which closes with poppers for those who are not confident with buttonholes just yet. An Embroidered wool coat
Thank you for asking for this post, I hope that by watching the video and reading the blog posts mentioned you will feel confident to learn a little about tailoring and incorporate a bit into your next garment.
Thank you for reading.
PS
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