One of the last projects I worked on in my patternmaking class at FIT was a women's vest, and I dreaded it because as with everything else, we had to draft the pattern
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This is the vest we had to make. |
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and make a sample, but we were given very few assembly instructions. There's no doubt you can learn a lot when you have to figure out how something goes together.
In lieu of a treatise on assembly, my professor always gave a few industry tips along with her instructions and those were priceless. She had worked as a professional patternmaker for years both in the U.S. and Russia and was a goldmine of industry secrets.
The vest we were making had a brocade front that was faced with the lining attached to the facing and hem. Then the back of the vest used the lining material for both the lining and the fashion fabric.
To me, I had alway though that because the lining goes on the inside, it should be either the same size or a little smaller, and on many commercial patterns, you cut the lining from the same pattern piece as the fashion fabric.
The truth of the matter, however, is that you need a little bit of ease in the lining, so that it is actually bigger that than the fashion fabric piece. In a coat project that I made for the Winter 2012 issue, for instance, I added a pleat to the neckline of the lining, to add ease.
In this vest project, the professor had us add 1/2" inch to the length of the lining when we were drafting the pattern. This way, once the lining was attached to the hem, it would overlap the hem by that 1/2" and form a little lip that would allow the wearer ease when moving.
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The lining is attached to both
the facing and the hem. |
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Making the lining 1/2" longer creates
ease with a lip that overlaps the hem. |
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If you have a sewing project where the hem is not attached, for a dress or skirt for instance, and you want to attach it, just add that 1/2" in length to the lining and that will allow for movement and keep the lining from pulling up the garment. Once attached to the hem, press the lining edge so that the 1/2" lip is formed. An attached lining always looks so much more finished than an unattached lining and it will protect the inside of the garment better.
For lots of patterns to practice your sewing skills on, check out the downloadable patterns from Stitch Winter 2011 now available in the Sew Daily Shop.
Do you have any tricks for installing linings? Let us know on the Sew Daily blog.
Happy stitching!
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