MY SEWING MISTAKES AND HOW TO AVOID THEM, PART I // MY MEDIEVAL COSTUMING JOURNEY
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- čas přidán 2. 12. 2023
- Learn about major mistakes to avoid when sewing medieval and Renaissance clothing: pattern drafting, LINING TECHNIQUES, TAILORING TECHNIQUES, and more!
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I made a similar mistake when I made my first leather armor, I didn't leave room for the inner padding.
You are not the first man-at-arms to tell me that - I even know some who made metal harness without taking into account their arming garments...That is even trickier to fix than with leather!
Great video. My best guess is that bag lining started as a fast and 'easy' option that started in the early 1920's-30's. Clothing was lighter and less structured. Looking through various sewing books, I've seen it where slips began to take the place of chemises, combinations, and flat linings. It could have been because of fabric rationing, or economic issues. One slip could be used under a number of dresses. Then, as people began to make clothing at home again in the '50's, it was probably seen as easier to make a duplicate, or a bag lining. Personally, I avoid them as often as possible. Flat lining makes so much more sense.
Thank you for complimenting and commenting! Bag lining is definitely not my favorite either, for any era! As you imply, I think sewing machines are a large part of why bag lining started, especially when trying to avoid or minimize the amount of handfinishing required.
I do wonder if bag lining became a thing, as opposed to flatlining/separately sewn in, because people thought it was neater? Or maybe it was because you don't really need to finish the seams thru felling/overcasting/binding like they used to, but then separately sewing in the lining would still hide the raw seam edges inside any way, which you can't do in mass manufacture. But also the move away from making clothes more alterable so you didn't need to access the seams that could've been a factor in it's creation? prevalence? I don't tend to bag line even modern stuff I make.
I am definitely leaning towards the mass production and sir, as you say. Bag lining definitely makes sense if clothing is being assembled in a sewing Factory.
This was really helpful! I didn’t know to hang the inner and outer parts but that makes complete sense!!!
Thank you for commenting and letting me know that this was helpful. It's sometimes hard for me to tell what information will be useful and interesting to people. I also thought that presenting the information in the context of the origin stories of the dresses might be a good way to frame my lessons learned. I have a whole nother video with another batch of lessons learned already in post-production, which is to say that I'm currently editing it into some kind of interesting video. 🤣
The few late-period things I've lined were flat-lined; bag-lining a huge skirt is fraught with trouble lol. If I recall correctly, the only things I've ever bag-lined were men's suit jackets, and even then, the sleeves are not sewn into the lining ahead of time.
Indeed, the baglining in my skirts literally becomes a vacuum bag for every bit of dust on the ground, road or floor! Really disgusting! 😅
Thanks for another great video.
Thank you for taking the time to comment! Did your lady love find the chronicle of interest at all?
(Two days and i still didnt get the notice.) She is busy studying for an exam at the moment, but im sure she will get to it.@@thecreativecontessa
👍 - also for the YT algo! 😊
As always, Jost, thank you for taking the time to leave a comment! Also it's been a while; I hope all is well for you in Germany! 😊
Thanx a lot! 💖👍
I enjoyed your video on lining. Wish I had known this earlier in my sewing, like about in the 70's. Still, good to know for the future. I was wondwring if you had any specific techniques for lining capes.
Thank you so much for taking the time and being patient enough to comment! When lining a cape, I would recommend flatlining as well, or whipstitching the lining into place piece by piece if you want to bury the seam allowances inside the garment rather than turning and stitching the seam allowances down. Flatlining means treating the lining and the shell as one piece/one layer and then seaming lining/shell to lining/shell, pressing open/turning the seam allowances and whipstitiching them down, or binding the seam allowances (the latter I would not recommend for a cape in which the lining with most likely be visible rather often). Does that make sense? So hard to utilize words to explain visual concepts!
This is so helpful, thank you!
I appreciate you watching and providing feedback! It is often hard for me to judge what might be useful knowledge and experience to share with people because some errors seem so obvious in retrospect.... but then I think: if I made this mistake, probably other people might be as well even still to this day. I have a second part to this video already in post-production with more of my exploratory sartorial mistakes! 😅
@@thecreativecontessa I look forward to it! I taught myself to sew through trial and error, so things like this really help me a lot. Especially because I often heavily modify patterns or just draft my own, It's really nice to learn the underlying principles of how fabric behaves, and how it wears over time. That's often not covered in sewing books. All that stuff about the bag lining sagging and accumulating dirt was so good to learn, because it's the kind of thing you learn from experience! Thanks again for all the time and work you put into this channel!
Currently making the armeye larger on a kirtle because I did try it on with a shift.
Out of curiosity, had you already planned to make the armsceye bigger before watching this video, or did this video prompt you to double-check the fit with the shift on?
I'm with you on that one: bag lining is *awful*.
I hate using it for anything, including modern garments. Yuck. I would add two extra issues with it: 1. If you're not insanely careful to match your lining & shell fabric in terms of type, they don't move or stretch the same way, so you can end up with weird puckers & all sorts of problems, not just worn away lining. 2. Never use polyester lining. Ever. It is an evil static-y disaster and literally all sewing patterns recommend it.
The only reason I can think of is that using an alternative, like flat-lining, means you have to finish all your seams. Also, it can make your seams bulkier since you have four pieces of fabric joined into one seam. Bag lining is still a horrible nightmare, though.
Those are really good additional points. I think I might include those in the second video in this series. Thank you for sharing and taking the time to leave such a thorough comment. Greatly appreciated 😊
@@thecreativecontessa Hi! No problem. I've been sewing since around early high school, so it's been similarly around 30 years. I've learned a lot of lessons the hard way & destroyed a lot of fabric in the process! 😂
Hi, what alternative to bag lining do you suggest for princess seams? Thank you 🙏
Thank you for the question! I would suggest flatlining each individual panel and then whipstitching the pieces together. Does that make sense?
@@thecreativecontessaSo whipstitching the pieces together doubles as a seam finish? Did I understand correctly? But is there a way to finish princess seams after they have been sewn regularly? On my pattern instructions it says to notch into the seam but it doesn’t say how to finish the seam. Thank you
Don't know if anyone will see this at that point but I'll post it anyway. Also, I'm a professionally trained custom tailor.
One of the main reasons why we line garments nowadays is primarily to make the inside look nice and neat which baglining does very well. So yes, it's to hide all the edges, whether raw or somewhat finished. I was also taught to only finish the raw edges inside if the fabric is prone to fraying a lot. If we're lining skirts or pants though, the lining will always be shorter than the main fabric and they won't be sewn together at the bottom. Lining and main fabric are only attached at the waistband and in very long skirts at the seam allowance at the bottom with thread loops. The lining can even be cut a lot slimmer in wide skirts to save fabric but that's mostly done on an industrial level and not by your tailor around the corner.
I make an attempt to respond to every single comment, especially such a considered and detailed reply! Thank you for sharing your professional expertise here! Although my question was not about lining in general so much as why we moved from flatlining to baglining. I've always assumed it was because baglining is easier to achieve on an industrial level, but maybe you have more insight?
@thecreativecontessa I don't know anything about that, I can only assume but now I also want to know. I personally find flatlining intimidating because I feel like there's a high risk for something to pucker compared to other methods. I'm no expert on men's clothing but didn't they bagline their jackets from the beginning basically? If that's the case, we probably adapted this for women's clothing as a sign of quality since women's clothing often was made by home/self-taught other women compared to men's clothing. Look at 18th century stays, those are baglined and were made by trained professionals. The more I think about it, the less I think the industrial revolution is to blame for the transition. In the beginning the clothes were still custom fitted after they left the factory and I can assure you that that is a lot easier and efficient if you don't have to work around the lining. It's also double the work because you not only alter the outer fabric but also the lining. But again, I'm just guessing here.
Also weren’t there strips of fabric under the hem (facing down) so those would drag in place of the precious garment, be worn, and be replaced easily ? Or is it a later thing ?
Indeed, we do have evidence of that particular finishing technique from 15th and 16th century Italy. I cannot recall offhand having seen it used in other extant garments from other periods and places in Europe in the case of dresses whose skirts are unlined. Not that there are many extant garments from anywhere in the 15th or 16th century, so there's no way to know just how representative those surviving items are of the greater opus. And we do have documentary and Visual Evidence of gowns having been lined entirely, just unlikely that it was bag lining. Was that the section of the video to which your question was referring? 😊
@@thecreativecontessa I was more thinking of a hem guard of some sort, more robust fabric that would be attached on top of the finished garment, facing down, so you wouldn’t have to replace the entire lining/panel in case of damage, and it would be prettier than just patching it.
I know it’s a thing for later periods (culminating in Victorian balayeuses) but I’m not sure when it began being used. I guess if you don’t mind being accurate (to the extant of our current knowledge, as you said, it’s a spectrum) you still could do it, even if it’s not documented in medieval times ?
When hanging things for bias stretch, is it best done when each pattern piece has just been cut out or when the pieces are sewn together as a dress but before the hem?
Thank you for the great question In general it's best to sew everything together and then hang it for stretch before making any final adjustments to the hemline. As a note, it is also best if you can lay out the pattern pieces so that in the skirts you have an edge cut across the bias sewn to an edge that is cut on the grain. Not always feasible, and it obviously depends on whether the Garment is of geometric construction or not.
For the most recent gown that I just finished, my 15th century Florentine gamora, the skirts were attached separately to the bodice, and so I hung the skirts up after sewing the seams because I wanted the skirts to be entirely finished before I whip stitched them on to the bottom of the bodice.