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Tailor Made Dresses

The Art of Tailor Made Dresses.

Tailored made dresses require a specialized type of planning and sewing. In the first place the materials used in severely tailored styles are usually heavier or firmer than those ordinarily used for the so-called dressmaker styles.

The preparation and handling of your materials is the same in any case. Remember to pre-shrink the material. Check out the straight of goods. Match stripes. Remember to make all your marks. Remember the importance of pressing all seams as you go along, PRESSING TIP - to avoid seam allowance impression to show on the right side, place heavy paper between seam allowance and body of the garment before applying pressure with your iron. All rounded areas should be pressed over a tailor's ham, and straight seams on a roll cushion.

All tailored styles require interfacing in order to hold the shape and crisp lines of the design. Interfacing is cut from the same pattern and it usually covers an area in a tailored suit jacket - about 3" below arms, curves over bust line, and extends down along the front edge in about a 3 or 4" width. In the back it reaches about 5" below the neckline and curves to the same depth as the front interfacing below the arms. Interfacing is also necessary for the collars, cuffs and pocket flaps if the design calls for them.

SEWING TIPS FOR INTERFACING: Instead of being joined in the conventional manner, the seams are overlapped and catch-stitched. This prevents unsightly, bulky ridging. Darts are handled in a similar way - they are slashed, overlapped, and catch-stitched.

METHOD OF PROCEDURE: The interfacing has to correspond exactly to the markings and alterations, if any, on the tailor made dress itself.

Drape the garment, inside out, on the dress form. Smooth out all wrinkles. Pin the interfacing to it. Make sure all markings are matched. See that the material and interfacing are placed together wrinkle free. Baste interfacing to material at seam lines, front edges, arms, and neckline.

Beginning at the point where your lapel will fold or "roll", pad-stitch the two together working from the fold to the outer corner of the lapel. Be sure to pick up only one thread of your material with each stitch so that they will be completely invisible on the right side.

Sew twill tape to the roll line of lapel, and after clipping the front edge of interfacing almost to the seam line, join it to the garment with tape by sewing one edge of tape to garment and the other to interfacing with slip stitches. At this stage - if you are going to have bound buttonholes - sew them in right through interfacing.

Now baste interfacing to wrong side of collar. If collar is to remain flat, join it to the material entirely with padding stitches. If it is to have a folding line or roll - mark the line of this with machine stitching and follow with rows of additional machine stitching until the entire area to the neckline is filled. The rest of the collar is finished with padding stitches. Steam press the collar to shape and leave on tailor's ham until thoroughly dry.

Attach the collar to the neckline - right sides facing - stitch at the seam line through material and interfacing. Notch neckline seam allowance. Clip interfacing close to stitching line. Press seam open.

Sew upper collar to lapel and neckline facing. Clip corners and notch seam allowance. Press seam open. Pin, right sides facing, to garment. The upper collar and lapels have to be eased slightly in order to form the proper shape or roll as you sew them to the garment.

Clip all interfacing close to stitching at seam allowance. Grade all seam allowances so that they are of different widths. Clip corners and notch curves wherever they would buckle or ripple when turned. Before turning press open all seams with the tip of your iron so that all edges will be crisp after turning.

Turn the facing and garment right side out and baste together about half inch from outer edges. Finish backs of button holes and catch stitch edge of facing to interfacing.