Monday, July 2, 2012

Butterick met Kenneth King and produced---

This:


Threads #158 had a tutorial by Kenneth King, using what he calls "bias strip insertion".   Bias strips are cut and folded, like bias tape, then twisted and sewn into a base panel.  That panel is inserted into garment seams.

My Designer group's challengee for this month was to embellish something, using a strip of fabric.  That strip could be strip piecing, bias tapes, fabric tubes--whatever, as long as the embellishment began with a strip of fabric.  This project was perfect for the challenge.  And so it began.

Here's a detail of the bias strip insertion on the front panels and sleeve:


I used this simple OOP Butterick pattern for my base.  It has a bust dart and lapel.


This is the journey.  Using drawings, this is what my base pattern looked like:


I curved the neckline into a sweetheart shape, and drew in the style lines for the base panel that would hold the bis strip embellishment:



But--uh oh!  The design lines went right through the bust dart.  So, I shortened the dart, making it touch the design line nearest the point of the original dart:


Then, I cut out the bust dart, slashed the outermost design line to the bust point, and opened the dart.  Now, the dart is in the seamline of the panel:



Next, it was a matter of cutting the pattern apart on the style lines, and adding seam allowances.

The panels are 3" wide, finished.  I cut bias strips 4 -1/4" wide (3" plus two seam allowances), folded them into a bias tape, pressed them,  and sewed them to one raw edge of the panel. Then gave them a twist, and sewed to the other edge of the panel.  That panel was then sewn into the garment fronts.

For the sleeves, I used the same technique, but made the bias strips narrower and with spaces between each strip.  Originally, I tried to put them touching one another, but that was too full for a small circumference.

The fabric content is unknown.  I picked it up off the grab table at one of my sewing clubs.  I underlined the jacket with white lining, and made HongKong finishes on the seams, and bound the armholes.  For a closure, I used button loops and covered buttons, and put a modesty panel on the button side.

And that's how I did it!

41 Talk to me:

Mary Beth said...

That's a beautiful jacket, Gwen. Congrats!

Kimberly said...

I love it. I'm going to have to try it myself.

Carol said...

Wow, Gwen! That's really impressive. I admired this technique when I read the article, but I don't think I have the patience for it. This is a stunning garment. The curve is beautiful. I can see this being worn in many ways. Well done!

BeeBee said...

Just WOW! Stunning!

KID, MD said...

Lovely!! I think this is a much better use of the technique than the skirt they showed in Threads.

Corrine said...

Absolutely beautiful. I agree, the technique looks better in your version.

shams said...

Beautiful, Gwen!!!! I love it!

Ann said...

Gorgeous Gwen. I love it. You did a fabulous job of making it.

Unknown said...

Such a wonderful touch! You did a fabulous job, it's a beautiful jacket!

Irene said...

This is absolutely spectacular! A very elegant embellishment. I do hope that this jacket has many, many outings. It certainly needs to be seen by the world.

Linda L said...

I love this! Great job. Thanks for sharing how you changed the pattern.

BetsyV said...

Wow, Gwen, that looks great!

Belinda said...

Love it Gwen!

Linda T said...

Oh Gwen, that is absolutely beautiful! Should you ever tire of it, I will certainly take it off your hands! What a gorgeous job of creating and sewing; definitely one to be proud of.

Sharon said...

Absolutely stunning jacket.

Kyle said...

WOW!! really gorgeous detail!!!

Uta said...

That is gorgeous! I love this kind of same-color detail; so subtle and pretty.

Beth (SunnyGal Studio) said...

That is lovely, what a great embelishment.

kbenco said...

Oh that is one smart jacket. It is so clever of you to convert the dart to the insertion curve, it looks wonderful.

Karin said...

This looks amazing! You did a fabulous job.

Sigrid said...

Amazing jacket. Thanks for sharing how you converted your pattern.
Doing something with the technique shown in the article is still on my wish list. I love what you did, very original result in this beautiful jacket.

Bunny said...

This is gorgeous, Gwen. Love this detail. How lucky to belong to such a challenging group!

Gabrielle said...

That's so beautifully done - expert sewing! Thank you too for demonstrating how to shift the dart.

Lori said...

That is a gorgeous jacket, Gwen. Great design.

Audrey said...

It is a really lovely top and a wonderful use of Kenneth' embelishment technique, much better than his skirt yoke IMHO. And you rotated the dart and incorporated it in the insert. Really clever1

Anonymous said...

Breathtaking!! Thank you for the detailed dart alteration description.

Nancy K said...

Gorgeous. I'll have to pull that issue out.

becki-c said...

Love the chic details. This little detail has so many possibilities!

HeathersSphere said...

Gwen, that is mesmerizing! Very nice work.

Yuki said...

Just discovered your blog via Rhonda's Creative Life. What a beautiful jacket!

Diana said...

How very creative you are . I often think I'd like to use an idea from Threads as a challenge but I never get around to it. Youe shirt is beautiful.

MushyWear said...

Wow, super impressive! What a beautiful embellishment on your jacket and carried out with such precision.

Dr. Fun (AKA Sister) said...

Oh Gwen, that is stunning! I had to look at that for a few minutes to see what you did - what a lot of work! Beautiful!

Jean said...

Wow! So beautiful!

Nancy Winningham said...

This is amazingly beautiful. I'm still not sure how you did the twisty thing. I'm going to have to go back and read that article! Gorgeous!

Lisette M said...

Really gorgeous!

kathy said...

Amazing.
Love the texture.

Tee said...

Wow, that turned out beautifully! I got to incorporate that technique into a garment!

Lisa said...

You clever thing , I love the effect you have created. Such a great job.

Cennetta said...

Wow! Gwen, your jacket is outstanding. The production of Kenneth King and Butterick is awesome. Love it. I'm taking notes.

Digs said...

It must've been a lot of fiddly work, and the effect looks amazing! Do you mean to say you didn't stitch the folded bias tape closed/together, just left it folded together? I don't see any separation.... Thank you for the great technical tutorial on moving the dart to the decorative panel's seam line.

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