I've been sewing for years, probably pretty sloppily, as I am essentially self-taught and never read "how to" books because I get bored too quickly. Given this, perhaps some of our professional tailors and seamstresses can give me some advice.
First, pinning. What kind of pins do you use? How far apart are your pins on the fabric? Corners? Notches? Curves?
Next, scissors. Tailoring scissors can be 10 inches long - I have found if I cut the total length of the blade, my cutting is more sloppy and has more jags in it than when I do short cuts, despite the blade length. How do you folks cut? Do you find the closer you pin, the neater your cuts?
What are your favorite brand / style of scissor, and why? I have thought of purchasing the Kai professional tailoring scissors, which have 10 inch blades, but given my short-for-success cuts, it seems rather silly.
I am making my husband the 16 1/2 neck shirt, short sleeve version, of Vogue 7954. He is about 6 feet tall. Looking at this pattern you can see they pulled in the shirt to fit snuggly around the waist of the models, probably pinning it in the back to take up the slack. Comparing the shoulders of one of my husband's favorite shirts, the shoulders are going to be about 2 inches broader than what he likes. This is easy enough to adjust, but because I want to make a "master pattern" I am sewing a muslin shell to use for pattern adjustments, so I am cutting the pattern exactly as specified. The shirt seems quite baggy as well compared to his favorite shirt.
So, a few questions about muslin shells. The shirt has a yoke - would you make both pieces of the back yoke and sew it as directed to see the fit more accurately? Would you interface the collar and the neckband as well? (I did cut out 2 pieces for each, as directed.) Would you put in the interfacing? Would you make the buttonholes and put on the buttons as well? Any other hints or suggestions for a successful shell and final pattern alterations would be much appreciated.
Personally, I like the 7"-8" length of scissors the best and I used to use Gingher's all the time, they were my absolute favorites. However, in 1996, I was assaulted by a student and lost much of the use of my left wrist (I do everything left-handed), and I have discovered the soft-grip Fiskars work very well for me now. As for pinning, I use as few as possible. If there is a long straight seam, I use a rotary cutter on the special board. This does take practice. There is an excellent article in the latest Sew News magazine, I received my copy today, about pins with illustrations. I'm sorry I can't help with your other questions. Emily
A lot of this will "depend." I like to use glass head pins for a couple reasons. I have found that they tend to be sharper and retain a sharp point longer than other pins. That may be in my head, but it works for me. lol Also I like them because they can be pressed over. I keep my iron pretty hot when sewing. And plastic head pins will melt. Not good. Also, I like the long "quilting" length pins rather than short ones. They will get through more layers of fabric. I don't place pins very close together. That way I use fewer and have less to remove. But again, that depends on what I'm doing. Some things need them close together.
For the most part, I don't use pins when I'm cutting out patterns. I reuse my personal stash of patterns all the time. (when sewing for clients each pattern is a one time use) Pins will tear up pattern tissue paper. A lot of the time, I can just smooth out the tissue paper (don't be afraid to use the iron on tissue paper, it works great and sometimes creates a little bit of static cling that will hold the pattern piece in place on the fabric) and then I can hold it with one hand and cut with the other. If that won't work, I usually use weights of one sort or another to hold the pattern pieces in place.
When sewing, I usually only pin fabrics that will shift as I stitch. That means slippery fabrics or bulky layers of fabric, or tight curves. For a shirt, I would normally only pin the sleevehead and the collar in place. Maybe the placket after it's pressed in place and needs to be topstitched. When I do pin, I normally pin perpendicular to the seam line with the pin head sticking out past the cut edge. That way it's easy to remove before I get to it. (Never sew over a pin if you can help it. You can break your needle if you hit the pin. If you manage to miss it, and stitch over it, that stitch won't have as much tension as the rest of the seam. That weakens the whole thing and it can pull out from the weak spot. Very frustrating.) The other time I pin is when I'm using the feed dogs to help ease one piece to another. I will pin at the beginning and end of the seam to make sure the ends don't shift away from each other. Then I put the longer piece against the feed dogs and let them pull it right in for me.
The rest of the time, I use a method called "taut" sewing. I hold, firmly but without stretching, both layers of fabric in front and behind the needle. I have heard really good things about Margaret Islander's methods. Now, I've not read her books or seen her videos. But what I've heard is that she has a whole system where you don't use any pins. You might want to do some research on that. (there are videos, I understand, so you wouldn't be bored. ;} )
I don't cut the whole length of the blade. I stop, oh, 1" or so from the end. That makes sliding the blade further under the fabric to make the next cut easier. The fabric is still lifted by the lower blade that way.
I have been using the Fiskars "soft grip" or maybe "comfort grip" scissors for a while now. (8" shears BTW) I'm actually on my second pair. The first pair is reserved for paper now. (and marked with a red ribbon tied to the finger loop.) These are really comfortable. They have foam on the handle and a spring in the middle. All you have to do is release the lock and they pop open. So when you cut all you have to do is squeeze, then release. You don't have to pull the blades back open. Believe me, your hands will thank you! And they are reasonably priced. I think I paid about $12 at Wal-Mart. The most I've seen them for anywhere is about $20. Beats the pants off some of the other brands. (which leaves more money for fabric!! lol) I've really been pleased with them. Fiskars also makes a couple of sharpeners. That makes keeping a good edge on them easy.
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Yes. Since there is a seam in there, all around the yoke I'm assuming, that will alter the fit if you don't make the whole thing. You don't want to make it too small and then when you make the "real" shirt have it not fit.
Would you interface the collar and the
Yes I would. I've found that when making a muslin, it's best to go ahead and do the whole thing. That way you can get the fit perfected. Also take lots of notes on any changes you make. Put your pages of notes right in the pattern envelope so you have them when you make the final shirt. The advantage of going ahead and making the buttonholes and putting on buttons is you will know if any of them need to be moved. (sometimes, for my taste, they are way too far apart.) There's nothing worse than making and cutting open a buttonhole only to find it's in the wrong place. :( Much better to discover that on the muslin.
I tend to use Extra Long, Extra fine pins. I pin differently, according to fabric, pattern, and need: there will be more pins round a sleeve head than down a skirt seam, for example. For really okkard bits or fabric, I baste!
I have small hands - take a six and a half glove, or a Small in Marigolds! Big scissors are a pain. Heavy scissors are a pain! I use Fiskars stainless steel scissors, and have several pairs of their side bent general purpose ones, which are great for classes, as I teach a lot of kids. I also have a pair of their dressmakers sheers, which are a leeeeltle big for me, and tend to wear a hole in my thumb knuckle, so I have taken to sticking a pad on the knuckle when cutting whole garments.
The best thing to do to get good cuts is to use the correct size of scissors for your hands, and keep them as close to the table as possible. DO NOT pick the fabric up to cut it. Use as long and as smooth a cut as you can. ALWAYS cut the pattern out completely and accurately with paper scissors before laying it on the fabric: nothing will blunt your fabric cutters as quickly as cutting paper with them! And keep both sets of scissors sharp!
Try them - try LOTS of different scissors, and buy those that suite your hands and you cutting needs. What fits me may not fir you. Scissors I find easy and light may be too small and light for you. Remember, those big tailors sheers are designed for men - who have larger hands than most women - and are designed for looooong cut on long, relatively straight seams in wool type suiting fabrics: look at the difference between cutting a man's suit out and cutting a ladies dress out of light weight fabric!
Yes: the two layers will give you a better idea of final fit.
Yes: again it will fit differently without.
No - but mark their places and pin where they go. You will need to take the muslin apart a few times to get things exactly as you want, and this isn't easy if you have done the buttonholes.
Use a similar weight fabric so that you get a good idea of the hang of the garment. MARK all the alterations you make on your muslin. Transfer them to the final version of the pattern. I hand baste muslins, as it's much easier to pull out the stitching on the customer if necessary
While the muslin is often used as the pattern in couture wear, this is not a good idea for a pattern that will be used often, as the fabric will distort with handling and use.
I will try to answer your questions one by one. There are a lot of them and I am not familiar with the pattern you refer to. My web page offers a large-size men's dress shirt pattern and you can go have a look if you'd like. Here we bo.
Pins: stainless steel, 1 1/4 inch long, nothing special there. How far apart: as required. I hardly pin, except when fitting the sleeves into the armholes or assembling the collar. Basically, if it tries to move and it cramps your style, pin it.
Scissors: Henkel, 8 inches long and another pair 7 inches long. Absolutely needed: Fiskars scissors sharpener, so blades cut all the way to the end and remain deadly sharp all the time. Cutting: Using long, even strokes only. Neater cuts are not a function of how close you pin the pattern, but how sharp your blades are, how steady your hand is and how long the cutting movement is. That's why you need scissors that cut all along the blade. One important point for me before buying scissors: the blade shouldn't lift the fabric too high off the table when the scissors are open.
The shirt has a yoke, so your muslin shell should also have a yoke. I would interface the collar and the neckband as well, to stabilize the muslin and make assembly easier. I would make buttonholes and sew on buttons as well.
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