Bouclé, Charmeuse and Quilting à la Chanel

Ok, my quilting tutorial is an epic. Again. 

I somehow manage toproduce annals on simplest things. Give me a catchstitch and I will return itwith a PhD-worthy manual.

The same is happening here. And before I overload you with details, check out this quick intro on what you will need to quilt your bouclé à la Chanel.

How did I learn these techniques? First by reading Claire Shaeffer articles, book and instructions for her highly-coveted Vogue#8259 Chanel Jacket, which I was very lucky to find. I also took a Classic French Jacket Class with Susan Khalje, and the techniques I learnt there were very similar to those I learnt myself, but nothing, of course, can replace face-to-face learning experience. 

I am now working on my Colette Fall Palette cape, which I decided to make from a nice black and white even plaid bouclé I bought at Mendel and Goldberg. The cape is lined with printed silk charmeuse from Mood Fabrics. It was only natural to make it following Chanel techniques, instead of following Burda instructions, because I wanted to have a piece that feels luxurious, soft and warm, and, at the same time, a piece that would last longer. 

Techniques you will find here are a mix and modificationfrom classes, publications and pattern instructions, see the resources at theend of this post. At the end of the post, you will find links to resources that go into depth about quilting. 

Ready?

FABRICS? OR, WHY I AMQUILTING…

I bought relatively loosely-woven bouclé for the cape. I (now) know that, after a while, some portions of the cape will sagif I don’t stabilize it. This will happen mostly to the upper part of thegarment, since it carries the most weight. Excess fabric will show at the bottom part which will look like a bubble... 

So, the action plan is: quilting lining to boucle, andadding a layer of silk organza on the upper portion of pattern pieces as aninterfacing - to further stabilize the fabric and the seams without adding bulk.

Here is what I am using for my project:

• Woolbouclé 
• SilkCharmeuse Lining – silk charmeuse is a very good choice for warmergarments. However, there are more choices for silk linings - I discussed some of them in my Burda Style guest post.
• SilkOrganza for interfacing. 

Got scrap organza? Never through away remnants of organza, or organza selvedge!!!! Never!!!You will need every square inch! Bigger pieces (5 to 10 sq. in.)are good for interfacing the area around armscye. Smaller, literally 1 sq. in.pieces, are great for interfacing buttonholes and button areas.

TOOLS & NOTIONS:

• 2"-widetransparent ruler – is a must, since makes life so much easier 
• WHITEchalk marker – pen-style Clover chalk liners are the best I havetried. Never use yellow! It will leave permanent marks on your fabric.
• Finest silk pins – you don’t want to leave marks on your precious silk
• Japanesehand basting needles – for thread-tracing and basting
• Silkthread in contrasting color for hand basting and thread tracing. Pullingout silk basting is much easier! 

QUILTING IS DONE BYMACHINE, and you will need…

• A walkingfoot – you will struggle without, but still can try if you want on a scrap.
• Silkfloss, machine embroidery threador mercerized cotton for machine-quilting
• Microtex needle - I am using Microtex because it works best with both, silk and bouclé, which often contains some novelty threads (Universal needle just could not pierce through the latter without breaking thread). #70 works great

RESOURCES:

As promised, here are someresources you may want to explore in addition to the upcoming tutorial:

Claire Shaeffer. The Comfortable Side of Couture: Practical techniques ofCoco Chanel. First published in Threads Magazine, June/July1989, Issue 23. Republished in The Best of Threads: Designer Techniques, Spring/Summer 2011 (Thread Archives contain several Chanel-related tutorials and articles by both, Claire Shaeffer and Susan Khalje).

Claire Shaeffer. Couture Sewing Techniques:Revised & Updated. Chapter: Applying Couture Techniques: The Quilted Lining (p. 195)

Vogue Patterns # 8259. Chanel-inspired jacket. Custom Couture by Claire Shaeffer.Here, the quilting is slightly different then in the other sources, but the pattern has great step-by-step instructions and the highly-coveted three-piece sleeve.

For hands-on experience, join Susan Khalje’s class ClassicFrench Jacket, usually in Baltimore, MA, or Claire Shaeffer class in PalmSprings, CA.

Part II of the Quilting à la Chanel will include: 

• Laying Out & Cutting Lining.
• Adding Interfacing.
• Preparing Layers for Machine-Quilting. 

I will post the second part on Wednesday - at the moment both, me and my 2-years old are still sick, so tomorrow a lighter treat:  trend report inspired by this week's Sew Weekly Challenge: Spanish Harlem.

That’s it for today, readers! Questions?

baca juga artikel terkait dibawah ini