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First big problem, my weaving is uneven. While the piece of fabric is 24 inches wide on one edge it is only 22 inches long for most of the length. I figured out a way to get the cloak body and shoulder cape out of my main piece of fabric and while not quite perfect it is close to a half circle. I can cut the hood out of the sample piece I wove so I think I can actually make it from the fabric I have with nothing to spare.
Next problem is how to sew the pieces together. The original was much finer fabric and sewn in contrasting thread with a 1/8 inch seam allowance. To test my sewing I cut a small piece from my sample fabric and have been playing with various edge treatments. This is the sample I've been sewing on with both thick hemp thread and thinner linen thread. The original was with silk thread but I don't have any.
The bottom left edge is like the original. It is a pair of running seams with about a 1/8 inch seam allowance. This one makes a rather large welt because my fabric is so thick. I don't think it will work as the welts will make the cloak uncomfortable to wear. Next over is a whip stitch. Same problems as the first one and hard for me to keep even. The middle seam is like a baseball, butt end the raw edges and sew them in a herringbone style. This lies flat and seems sturdy enough although it is pulling because the weave is too loose. I am concerned that my seams will pull out my threads and fall apart. It is also totally inaccurate from a historical standpoint. The slantwise seam to the right is almost the same thing but behind it I sewed some twill tape with a running seam on both sides to strengthen the seam and provide more stability. The twill tape solves the stability problem but it also suffers from being totally inaccurate. Above that is a seam you cannot see. It is another version of the original seam along a selvedge edge. This almost works because I wove a double warp on the selvedge and I can sew just beyond that warp. For seams along a selvedge I may do this. Along the top I sewed a piece of the twill tape to encase the raw edge and then tried to sew it to itself as in the original. As you can see I took it out because it made such a huge lump. However, for the raw edges along the bottom and sides of the cloak I think this will work to bind them.
So I have a lot of questions for anyone who hand sews stuff.
Are there any other ways to attach two thick pieces of fabric together that I've missed?
What do you think of the various options I have?
Which should I use and why?
Should I stick with accurate contrasting thread and inaccurate stitching or try to hide the inaccurate stitches by using black thread?
I tried machine sewing and that really doesn't work. My fabric is too loosely woven and too thick for my machine to work with it.
Any and all suggestions welcomed. Please comment!
You could do inaccurate stitches in black thread and then faux accurate stitches in visible contrast thread? ;)
ReplyDeleteOh, and I was thinking originally when you said the welts would make the cloak uncomfortable to wear, maybe you could cover the welts by sewing a strip of fabric over them, assuming that would make it more comfortable.
ReplyDeleteWhat Silver said about the inaccurate stitches in black thread? :)
ReplyDeleteCould you maybe full the fabric some more? That's obviously not going to help in terms of how much you have and getting a cloak out of it, but it might make it easier to sew.
I haven't done much handsewing myself... I tend to farm it out to Goodwife Singer. :)
Thanks to you both for your ideas. The fabric is well fulled. Although I didn't do a formal waulking I've machine washed it a lot of times and it's a very thick dense fabric. That's why making a seam makes a thick welt. However, I've also been told that pounding the seams is a period practice so I'm going to run a test of that.
ReplyDeleteI agree the inaccurate thread first with accurate thread second may be the way to go. There are so many things wrong about this one (woven with 2-ply, woolen not worsted spun, much coarser weave than typical etc.) that perhaps I should just ignore it and get something I'll wear.
I agree on the Goodwife Singer, although I farm mine out to Goodwife Bernina :-)
It really doesn't help that my major experience doing fashion showing is for sheep.
Day Owl here again. I have done a fair amount of hand sewing. For a while, lacking a machine, I made a few garments entirely by hand. So does this make me an expert? ;-)
ReplyDeleteReading over your possibilities, I think you may have covered this one already but can't be sure. You could lap the two edges over each other, right side of leftmost piece over right side of rightmost piece, and then stitch along both raw or selvedge edges. When everything is pressed down, you will still have two layers, but the welt will lie flatter than it would with a conventional (right sides together) seam.
Your layout reminds me of the time I made a cloak out of Irish tweed in a one-way stripe. Fortunately the fabric was reversible, so I was able to fit the pattern into every bit of my yardage with practically nothing left over. Like your project, mine took a lot of advance planning: "measure twice, cut once" but in this case it was "measure a dozen times...."
Hand sew it with a butt seam -- put the selvages edge to edge, then join them with a stitch like a figure eight. This is an accurate 18th c. technique for joining fabric -- say, lengths of linen for sheets, where a bulky seam would be annoying.
ReplyDeleteSee the last illustration on this page:
http://members.peak.org/~spark/SeamsEdges.html