Flat Drawings & Colour Pallets

Here are my flat drawings for the coat and jeans, i have also added a few pages on the different colour combinations that i could use to take the garment and adapt it for further seasons.

Deconstruction Part 2 - Jeans

These photos follow the process of deconstructing my second garment, a pair of jeans.

I started by unpicking the lamé ‘River Island’ brand jean logo off of the back waistband of the jeans, as it had only been top stitched onto the garment and looked as though it was the last piece to be sewn on to the jeans.

I then went onto unpicking the belt loops that were attached to the waistband of the jeans, as they had all been stitched on top of the jeans too and it were a few of the very last pieces to be sewn on.

In total there were 5 belt loops, 3 of which had been folded and stitched into a reinforced belt loop with a triangle shape at the end, these 3 were placed with one at the centre of the back of the waistband, and the other 2 were placed either side of the button and zip just before the start of the front pockets. The 2 belt loops that had not been folded were placed either side of the single folded one at the back.

I then started unpicking the back pockets which were both a variation of a ‘Box Pleat Patch Pocket’ which is ‘A pocket based on the foundations of the ‘Patch Pocket’ but with an added design feature of the front part of the pocket folded over onto itself’. After removing the pocket from the back of the jeans, it was evident that the pocket had been nearly fully constructed before it was then separately sewn onto them. It was attached to the back of the pocket by sewing a line over it onto the jeans, about 5mm inside of the stitch that was holding the pocket together, the stitching was joined up so that it looked presentable.

I then unpicked that outer line of top stitching and the other separate line of top stitching which was sewn across the top of the pocket featuring a design detail of studs. This gave me two separate pieces, one rectangular top piece and another almost box shaped piece with 3 pleats in the middle, giving it a slight triangular shape at the bottom. Then lastly, I unpicked the stitching on the pleats which had been done using a variation of a ‘French Seam’.

I then moved on to unpicking the waistband of the jeans, I started by the opening for the zip and button hole as that was where there was some reverse stitching indicating that I was the last sewing point of that particular panel. The waistband was sewn using a closed seam on 3 sides and then on the bottom of the longest side, folded over and top stitched onto the top of the rest of the jeans.

It was quite difficult unpicking around the button hole so I unpicked it and carried on around the waistband. Once it was completely detached from the rest of the jeans, I realised that the button had been pushed into the jean fabric using a machine and it was not going to come out. I then started unpicking the brand and size labels which were just sewn simply on 2 of the 4 sides. 

I then moved onto the front pocket where I immediately saw that there were more metal studs pressed into the fabric (similar to the button), so at the first opportunity I cut around them as closely as I could, so that I could keep the fabric almost in one piece. I started unpicking the double stitching and found that the small piece of material detailing that peeked out of the pocket was a small piece of piping with a thin piece of rope inside to shape it.

I unpicked as much as I could before I had to start on the zip since the rest of the material was attached to the middle seam. 

As I unpicked, the zip was clearly broken down into smaller pieces and ended up as just 3 parts.

From there it was pretty straightforward, I just had the seams up the side of the legs to unpick.

First Jeans Photos

This is the second of the garments that i will deconstruct. This pair of jeans has a lot of design features on it such as buttons, studs, piping and a zip. 

Seams, How-to: Open Seam, Closed Seam, French Seam & Machine Run and Fell Seam.

Following on from my previous post on 'Fashion Terminology', here is a short how-to on how to sew certain seams:

Open Seam

Open seam – This is a seam which is only stitched once and the raw edges are pressed apart. This is used in medium and heavy weight materials where a flat finish is desired, like the seams of skirts or the underarm and shoulder.

·         Place the fabric edges together.

·         Stitch together, leaving 1 cm seam allowance or however much your pattern states.

·         Open the two shorter edges that have been stitched and press with an iron so they are both facing opposite ways outwards.

·         Then over-lock the edges separately.

Closed Seam

Closed seam – This is where a second row of stitching is placed just behind the joining. Coat and skirt seams are often stitched like this.

·         Place the fabric edges together.

·         Stitch together, leaving 1 cm seam allowance or however much your pattern states.

·         Over-lock both pieces together.

·         Opening up the two pieces of fabric, press the over-locked seam to one side.

French Seam

French seam – A French seam has the edges doubled in so that no raw or frayed edges show. This type of seam is used on thin material for garments like blouses.

·         Place the fabric edges together.

·         Stitch together, leaving 1 cm seam allowance or however much your pattern states.

·         Over-lock both pieces together.

·         Opening up the two pieces of fabric, turn it upside down so the over-locked seam is facing the ground.

·         Fold the fabric over the over-locked seam so that the seam is tucked inside of it, press with iron.

·         Using your fingers to feel where the seam is, carefully edge stitch over the top of the fabric so the seam gets caught inside.

·         Opening up the fabric again take the seam, which should now be sticking up slightly, and press it to one side with an iron.

Machine Run and Fell Seam

Machine run and fell seam – This is where both edges of the seam are tucked under each other and then stitched flat. Men’s shirts and underwear and women’s tailored blouses and shirts are often made this way.

·         Place the fabric edges together.

·         Stitch together, leaving 1 cm seam allowance or however much your pattern states.

·         Carefully cut one of the pieces of fabric by the seam about 0.5cm into the 1cm seam allowance.

·         Over-lock both the shorter and longer edges by the seam.

·         Fold the longer seam edge snugly over the shorter; if necessary, press the fold with an iron to hold it in place.

·         Then fold the larger piece of fabric that is before the seam over the top of the longer seam edge that has just been folded, again, press with iron if necessary.

·         Sew an edge stitch over the fabric on the opposite side that has just been folded over.

Fashion Terminology

Here are a few examples of words that you will see everyday in the fashion industry:

Seams:

Open seam – This is a seam which is only stitched once and the raw edges are pressed apart. This is used in medium and heavy weight materials where a flat finish is desired, like the seams of skirts or the underarm and shoulder.

Closed seam – This is where a second row of stitching is placed just behind the joining. Coat and skirt seams are often stitched like this.

French seam – A French seam has the edges doubled in so that no raw or frayed edges show. This type of seam is used on thin material for garments like blouses.

Machine run and fell seam – This is where both edges of the seam are tucked under each other and then stitched flat. Men’s shirts and underwear and women’s tailored blouses and shirts are often made this way.

Pockets:

Patch pocket – An unfitted flat pocket on the outside of a garment. Most often used as a pocket on the back of jeans or on the front of shirts.

Box pleat patch pocket – A pocket based on the foundations of the ‘Patch Pocket’ but with an added design feature of the front part of the pocket folded over onto itself.

Welt pocket – An inset pocket which can have one or two lips finishing the opening edges. Used mostly in classic wear. Usually found as the chest pocket of a jacket or a coat. In traditional men’s wear tailoring, the welt pocket is used only as a breast pocket, but in women’s wear it may be used anywhere and inserted at any angle.

General Fashion Terminology:

Armhole - An opening in a garment for an arm.

Binding - Provides a garment, hem, etc. with a border or edging, for decoration or to prevent fraying.

Button hole - A method of fastening where a small knob or disk is secured to a garment and passed through a buttonhole or loop.

Button loops – A loop through which a button is passed.

Button loop bracket – A panel on a garment that secures and holds the button loops.

Coat breast – The front top panel of a coat or jacket.

Coat hook loop – A small loop of material usually attached to the back neckline of a garment used to allow coats or jackets to hang on hooks.

Dart - folds sewn into fabric to help provide a three-dimensional shape to a garment. They are frequently used in women's clothing to tailor the garment to the wearer's shape.

De-construct - To break down into components, to dismantle.

Drawstring - A cord or ribbon run through a hem or casing and pulled to tighten or close an opening.

Edge stitched – A single line stitch close to the border  of the fabric.

Eyelet - A small hole or perforation, usually rimmed with metal, cord, fabric, or leather, used for fastening with a cord or hook.

Fastener - Something that you use to join something together, such as a button on a piece of clothing.

Hood - Part of a piece of clothing that can be pulled up to cover the top and back of the head.

Interfacing - A piece of firm fabric or other material inserted and usually sewn between the layers of a garment to thicken or stiffen it.

Lining - Material used to line a garment, curtain, etc. Hides raw edges and seams inside garment and gives a smooth, professional finish.

Neckline - The line formed by the edge of a garment at or near the neck.

Over locked – A certain stitch method created by an over locking machine to overcast the raw edges of a fabric to prevent unravelling.

Panels - Any distinct section or component of a garment from a sheet of material.

Parallel double top stitches – Stitching on a garment consisting of 2 parallel lines visible as a design detail on a garment.

Pressed – Pressed down using an iron producing a smooth, flat finish on a piece of material.

Reverse stitched – Once stitched, sewn over again in reverse to reinforce the strength of the stitch.

Seam allowance - The area between the edge and the stitching line on two (or more) pieces of material being stitched together. Normally 1.5cm

Seamstress - A woman who sews, especially one who makes her living by sewing.

Top stitched – A stitch used as a decorative detail on top of the garment. Just for show, or to reinforce the stitching.

Unpicking - To undo sewing by removing stitches.

Zip - A fastening device operating by means of two parallel rows of metal or plastic teeth on either side of a closure that are interlocked by a sliding tab.

Deconstruction - Part 1

These photos chronicle the beginning of the deconstruction process for the jacket.

I started by unpicking the bottom right hand corner as it was the only part that the lining had been top stitched over, meaning it was most likely the last piece to be sewn on the coat.

As I expected the lining is revealed along with the pressed edge of the bottom seam and the inside of the button hole.

I think that when the seamstress made it they reverse stitched when they got to the first seam going down.

I carried on unpicking all the way along the bottom seam to the other side of the zip.

I then cut the thread of the buttons as they had been sewn through the lining.

This opens up the lining completely so I can now start to de-construct from the inside.

There is also a spare button with is sewn into the lining only on the inside of the left hand panel, I unpicked this as well.

I then started unpicking upwards along the zip line, as it was double stitched I started to unpick the outer edge first.

I then found that it had been folded and stitched on the inside as well so it would be best to go from the inside seam instead.

Once the inside seam is open I unpicked the outer seam then turned the lining inside out and unpicked the last seam.

I then did the same for the right side of the zip.

I then unpicked the button loop bracket off of the right main coat breast. It is top stitched the whole way round so I decided to start with the seam that was stitched to the jacket breast. After unpicking it I found interfacing on the inside of one of the panels.

I then started unpicking the parallel double top stitches at the same time, whilst doing this the button loops came off showing that they were only secured by the outer top stitch but had only been added in line with the stitching after the two panels were sewn together.

I unpicked one button loop and it seemed to just be a sewn together rectangle of material with each end folded from halfway at a right angle to meet each other. The rectangle was edge stitched on one side and pressed to keep a sharp shape and, upon unpicking, I found that it unfolded to 4 times its original size. The two long edges of the rectangle had been folded in to meet at the center then folded together and then top stitched to form the button loop.

After this I proceeded to unpick along the top of the lining by the neckline and hood. This was obviously stitched on from the inside shown by the needle marks above the seam allowance.

After the lining was fully unpicked from the neckline and start of the hood, the only place it was still attached to was the ends of the sleeves. Each sleeve had been top stitched so I set about unpicking that. All that had been done was the outer material had been folded under by 1 cm then folded inwards again a further 3cm and the lining was tucked under the folds and reached the end of the sleeve and then top stitched. I then did the same on the opposite sleeve.

Once the lining was completely removed I started to unpick the top sleeve of the lining from the striped panel part of the lining. It had been over locked and just normally stitched but as the lining was quite thin and ripped easily it took a while to do it carefully. Once the sleeve had been removed from the armhole I then proceeded to unpick the two seams holding the sleeve together, one panel was significantly smaller than the other, as shown here. These seams were, again, just over locked and had one line of stitching.

After that I was left with the back of the lining which consisted of plain lining material as the bottom part, striped material at the top, one thin strip of material keeping them together and the label. I decided to start unpicking the two lines of stitching that were over the strip of material keeping the two lining panels together; it had been back stitched at both ends. The way it was set up was that the lining was the bottom layer, followed by the striped material overlapping it by 2cm then the strip of fabric over the top of them both.

The label was easy enough to pick off as it was just a single layer of stitching attaching it to the striped lining material.

First jacket photos - details

This is the first of the garments that i will deconstruct. The jacket has lots of details on it such as 2 different kinds of pockets, a zip, buttons, a hood, various panels and is fully lined.