Claire S. - V8346, Lapel Pattern Pieces

In answer to a question from Marji,

My front, front facing and lapels are 3 separate pieces and look as shown below:

Facing - the white paper is my new seam line after adjustments.


Front and Lapel - you can see the lapel lines right up with the front.


I was/am considering laying a lapel in place next to the facing and the front and cutting each of them out as one piece. I think I'd prefer that to a seam at the roll line.

What do you think ?

Q&A October

Hi all,
I'm deep into wedding sewing at the moment, so am not quite keeping up with the construction and question notes here. Pls have patience.
Claire and Susan, I appreciate that you've been finding some of your answers by just reading past posts and making use of the internet tutorials out there. Several members here have written excellent tutorials while constructing jackets and coats too - be sure to look at their blogs and use the search function on their blogs.

I can think of several relevant tutorials on the blogs of (in alpha order):

Ann and Els (The Sewing Divas)
Kathleen (Fashion Incubator)
Summerset
Tany


From Claire- Lapels - this pattern has separate lapels (instructions say to cut 4, interface 2 and stitch 1 interfaced piece with 1 un-interfaced piece then turn right side out) - All the example pictures shown so far have a front piece that includes a lapel all in one piece, so to follow the sewalong techniques, What on earth do I actually do with my pieces ?

If your lapels are separate, but together with the coat front piece they look like a coat front that is all cut together, it's perhaps a design issue, but also possibly just a fabric use issue. If the coat front is large (double breasted comes to mind) and the collar is oversize, it's entirely possible the seam is there just to make the cutting layout and the fabric usage reasonable.

In the case of the jacket I'm working on, the collar had a "collar stand" piece - surely a design issue. Anyway, I just interfaced both the collar stand and the collar and seamed them together, then proceeded to pad stitch the roll lines. I would suggest that you think it through and make the decision on how to interface based on what the pieces look like. Where is your roll line? Is it on the seam line? on the lapel side of the seam line? on the jacket side of the seam line?

You can interface separately, stitch the pieces together and then pretend the seam doesn't exist and proceed with your shaping padstitching per Paco's tutorial (which is probably what I'd do, but it's dicey saying that without seeing your pieces).

From Lisette:
I was going to interline my cashmere/wool blend fabric with cotton flannel but the added bulk in the lapel (notched collar) worries me plus I have a welt pocket that extends along the side front and the front and according to Marji I should interface instead of underline. What do you recommend? I'm leaning to just interface with the fusi-knit and forget about the flannel...Can I still padstitch with this method? Any help would be greatly appreciated, I need a push to move forward!!

Going back to the information on cutting, and interfacing/underlining etc -
I'd recommend underlining the side fronts, side backs, back, sleeves. The front gets fully interfaced - so it's supported and doesn't need the added underlining. It's also, to a point with most coats, overlapping at the CF along the buttons, so underlining there for warmth is not necessary.

You're right, you don't want flannel underlining in your collar and lapels. Around the welt pocket, I'd stitch the princess seam, mark the welt pocket, cut the flannel out of the side front (your fronts are not interfaced yet) and fuse an interfacing where the welt pocket goes, make the welt pocket, then catch stitch the flannel interlining back to the edges of the pocket seam allowances. Then I'd apply the hair canvas to the front and proceed. There is a good argument for simply cutting a box out of your hair canvas too around the pocket and catch stitching the edges, although if it's not too much, I'd be tempted to just let the interfacing sit on top of the pocket, between the pocket and the lining.

Lindsay T asked about interfacing the front of a collarless jacket.
Louise Cutting dissected an Armani jacket some years ago and wrote an excellent article in Threads on the front shoulder stay he used (it's not the on-line article about an Armani jacket that Marci Tilton wrote). If you have that issue, please speak up. I have it, but it's buried right now and, with the wedding sewing, haven't been able to find it.

Anyway, the gist is, cut a shoulder stay pattern from your front and side front just as we did with the lapel jackets - EXCEPT - the CF line, which would normally be on straight of grain, is placed on true bias. As Louise explained, this puts the neck edge, that you want to stabilize and keep from stretching, on the straight, which then acts as a stay, and puts the area across the front on the bias, which allows for more comfortable movement. Quoting Louise (from a conversation, not necessarily the article) "ingenious."

For your coat LindsayT, you definitely want a shoulder area stay across the front and back. And you want the interfacing to extend into the sleeve seam allowance.

Miscellaneous Construction Notes

Back intefacing stitched to underlining.
You should have this piece in your jacket regardless of your collar style.
If your jacket is collarless (LindsayT) you'll want to tape the seamline at the neck edge, same as taping line along lapel that Paco illustrated, Except you'll clip the tape along the curve to allow it to spread. Or you may use a fusible bias tape and fuse your neckline stay tape on.
If you have the Singer Tailoring book there's a good pic in there that shows this.

From my tailoring class notes, c 1980
Stitch undercollar to jacket
Pin undercollar side up, stitch from one dot across to other stitching TO dot, not through it, stitch jacket side up.
Now clip to dot (not into dot), Turn undercollar around corner, pin again, dot to dot, matching dotes carefully, and stitch, backstitching on both ends.
stitch upper collar to facing.
in same manner.

To attach Facing to Jacket
Set jacket on top of facing making raw edges even. Match all markings, Pin, then hand baste right on seamline.
Don't ease too much facing to Jacket, or else facing will roll out to jacket. If jacket side is larger ease it to facing below waistline. Above waistline facing should be larger than jacket.
When stitching slightly stretch vertical front from waist to lapel corner.
At point, stitch to "one stitch away" from corner, with needle down turn work in machine and take 2 diagonal stitches across corner, then with needle down turn again and stitch remainder of lapel, to dot but not through dot.
Pin collar to undercollar from CB to corner, baste, stitch same as for lapel, cutting diagonal at corner.
Trim interfacing from undercollar and neck edge seam allowance
Trim sm allowances to 1/4", Grading so that longer seam allowance is on the public side. This will mean that at the end of your roll line along the front of the jacket you will switch the grading. Above that point the sm allowance on the facing side will be the longest, below that point the sm allowance on the jacket side will be the longest.





Method for hemming.
I hem my sleeves, then hand stitch the lining at the hem, before setting the sleeves in to the jacket.



Stitch hem allowance to wigan.