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From: Bhadra
Date: 02-14-2006, 01:11 PM (1 of 13)
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To Whomever: Has anyone ever heard of using an underlining as opposed to a lining on a jacket? Thank you. Bhadra |
User: Bhadra
Member since: 09-27-2005 Total posts: 23 |
From: paroper
Date: 02-14-2006, 01:46 PM (2 of 13)
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I've seen it used in addition to lining not by itself that I can recall.
pam
Bernina 200e, Artista V5 Designer Plus, Explorations, Magic Box, Bernina 2000DE & 335 Bernette Serger, Bernina 1530 Sewing Machine, Bernina 1300 DC Overlock (with coverstitch) |
User: paroper
Member since: 02-03-2004 Total posts: 3775 |
From: AndreaSews
Date: 02-14-2006, 07:07 PM (3 of 13)
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I've wondered about this as well. I think I saw an episode of Sew Much More on tv once where Susan Khalje hand-basted the underlining to the silken fashion fabric before she constructed a dress. She then applied a lining as well. She used this and a couple of other couture techniques to make the dress hang in a nicer shape. To demonstrate the effect, she had the dress sewn up with plain pattern-instructions techniques hanging on one dress form, and she hung the under-lined one on another dress form. The one with all the extra steps certainly looked more classy and was a show stopper. I think for a jacket you could do this as well, to add a layer for warmth, but I have wondered if you'd need to cut it larger in order to make the sleeves and armholes work out smoothly and feel comfortable when worn. Andrea
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User: AndreaSews
Member since: 02-18-2005 Total posts: 1007 
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From: Bhadra
Date: 02-14-2006, 09:27 PM (4 of 13)
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Yes, Thank you for the input. This is all new to me, so I need the basic input to match what I think will work. I am making the jacket out of Dupioni silk. Part of the nature of Dupioni silk is the way it flows, although is is a rather stiffer flow than a lighter silk. For my jacket I am working with an easy pattern with not much real style and flowing grace in the design, so that the only way I can proceed and capitalize on the beauty of the Dupioni silk is to utilize the effect of underlining as it changes the hand of the fabric with which it fuses, the Dupioni. This way, the hand and textural beauty of the silk will be made still prominent even though it will not be used for the way it hangs; rather, it will be made to shine. By that I mean that the most outstanding attribute of the Dupioni silk is its sheen. This material is lemon yellow dualized with black thread -- it looks gold. If the underlining works as I see it, the silk will be puffed out, so that the sheen will be accentuated in the light and with movement. I had originally planned to make a skirt with the silk, but I had ordered it on the Internet; once I had it in my hands, I saw that it was stiffer than what I would want for a skirt, at least at my level and with my lack of knowledge and experience. I just did not think that I could make a really striking skirt out of it. So I switched over to a vest, and then decided that a jacket would be even more practical and more rewarding. If you two, Paroper and AndreaSews, have indeed heard of using underlining for a jacket, then I am going to trust even further my hunch that this might be just the right thing for me to do. I had researched the question here on the WWW, and really did not obtain any encouraging reports that using an underlining for a jacket is commonly done at all. I read plenty on how to make and install a lining on a jacket, and I suppose that the day for that will arrive once I finish the construction from a fused material. I am also encouraged that it will be that much warmer with an underlining added in. I have further gained experience in how to apply an underlining, and thus I will be able to build upon that experience with this garment. Right now I am solving a dimension problem, as I have the underlining material just now in hand, but it is too narrow -- the pattern calls for 60" width, and I have a 45" wide piece. Fortunately, I had bought an extra length, so that I think that I might be able to just make it work. I am in the middle of that determination this minute, which is why I came here to find out what you think of the idea of an underlining in the first place. I can also use this 45" material for another project if necessary. I will have to go back to the table and make a decision. However, my mind is made up that an underlining will be the way to go, now that I hear that it is done. I am happy with that result. Thank you for the direction in this project. It is most helpful of you. Sincerely, Bhadra |
User: Bhadra
Member since: 09-27-2005 Total posts: 23 |
From: paroper
Date: 02-15-2006, 12:13 AM (5 of 13)
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The only time I have ever fused an underlining was when I made a light weight jersey into a tuxedo coat with tails. I always pad stitch the under lining and go from there. There are several variations. Sometimes you apply it to the entire front and back, other times you apply it across the shoulders and around the underarm in back. You can also do a similar thing to the front of the jacket, up the front and wide across the chest directly above the bust, curving under the arm and covering all of the top portion of the coat. It really varies according to what you want the jacket/fabric to do. I have also only used a woven underlining except in that jersey coat where I used a tricot fusible.
pam
Bernina 200e, Artista V5 Designer Plus, Explorations, Magic Box, Bernina 2000DE & 335 Bernette Serger, Bernina 1530 Sewing Machine, Bernina 1300 DC Overlock (with coverstitch) |
User: paroper
Member since: 02-03-2004 Total posts: 3775 |
From: Bhadra
Date: 02-17-2006, 01:44 AM (6 of 13)
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Pam, It is a pleasure to have a glimpse of the things of which you are capable. This is good for me -- I get a picture of what results from practice and experience, and can aspire to the knowledge someone such as you has earned. I will come back and read this post by you as I see what is actively resulting from my work, and make a comparison. That way I can assess more minutely what you are providing me in terms of a prospectus. By the way, whoever thought up the idea that this forum should be founded was thinking correctly in a most total manner. It is a boon to me, and I can imagine that many others who gain direction here are also grateful. When we (the beginners) are working, we can always reflect upon a certain degree of freedom gained from this forum. This forum allows us a freedom to proceed past all obstacles and doubts, as well as confusions, as long as we can post here and get information and instructions. Thank you for sharing with me some of your knowledge. I value this. Sincerely, Bhadra |
User: Bhadra
Member since: 09-27-2005 Total posts: 23 |
From: cake
Date: 02-17-2006, 10:55 AM (7 of 13)
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I've used interlinings in jackets, and Andrea is right - they're for warmth. So you can miss it out completely if you're in a warm place, or choose how thick you want the material for the cold weather. You can use them just in the body of a garment, or in the arms and things too, depending on where you feel the cold and how bulky it will look. Good luck! Katie 
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User: cake
Member since: 03-24-2003 Total posts: 27 
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From: paroper
Date: 02-17-2006, 11:11 AM (8 of 13)
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Not necessarily. Certainly some interlinings are for warmth but the real key is that interlinings give body. They can be the difference between a sleezy cheap evening gown or coat or jacket and an expensive looking tailored coat or jacket or chic evening gown. It all depends on the weight/characteristics of the interlining. Certainly, many if not most men's suit jackets are interlined and they are not necessarily warm, dependant on the season and how they are made. Linen men's suit jackets would just "hang" without the proper interlining. When making winter coats, I've always used a coated linsulated lining for added warmth. pam
Bernina 200e, Artista V5 Designer Plus, Explorations, Magic Box, Bernina 2000DE & 335 Bernette Serger, Bernina 1530 Sewing Machine, Bernina 1300 DC Overlock (with coverstitch) |
User: paroper
Member since: 02-03-2004 Total posts: 3775 |
From: Bhadra
Date: 02-17-2006, 12:00 PM (9 of 13)
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Answer to Katie and Pam: Dupioni silk is stiff, and its appearance belies the stiffness. The sheen catches the light and mesmerizes with a color difference, so that an underlining will definitely work dramatically with the characteristics of the silk and affect how it hangs. As for the practical use of an underlining for the warmth it will give, the jacket should be given added warmth undeniably through its addition. I can even imagine adding a lining past that, and see just how effective the silk can be in winter weather. That way I can stagger the project in time, and wait for next winter to approach before I even make a lining. But the effect of the underlining on the form might prove to be actually the most esthetic feature of the entire project. I will have to consider leaving out the underlining of the sleeves. This might depend upon how graceful the cut of the sleeves to begin with. If they seem really straight in cut, then I would want the udnerlining there to give its effect. If they were more on the billowy side, I would consider not using an underlining for them, and the form of the sleeves might in that case give an interesting contrast to the change in hand of the silk in the body of the jacket. I have a feeling that the straightness of the sleeves will win me over to also underlining them, but maybe time will tell differently. But we learn from considering opposite options, do we not? Will keep you all posted. Bhadra |
User: Bhadra
Member since: 09-27-2005 Total posts: 23 |
From: DorothyL
Date: 02-17-2006, 12:04 PM (10 of 13)
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To tell you the truth -- I can't see you softening the hand of dupioni, if that is what you are looking for. It is a fabric suited for a more structured look. Let us know what you decide and how it works. Dorothy |
User: DorothyL
Member since: 12-09-2002 Total posts: 3883 |
From: Bhadra
Date: 02-18-2006, 12:32 AM (11 of 13)
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Dorothy -- I will try it out and let you know. At least it will teach me a great deal. Thanks. Bhadra 
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User: Bhadra
Member since: 09-27-2005 Total posts: 23 |
From: Bhadra
Date: 09-17-2006, 12:39 AM (12 of 13)
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Hello all, Ambition is the price of progress, so that if progress is slow, the premium of ambition is all that will keep the activity alive. At least, that is the case with my newest hobby, sewing. I greatly appreciate this forum now from a brand new viewpoint: when one leaves a project on hold for an extended period of time, as I have with the silk jacket, but then returns here to find the mapping out process on that project so neatly preserved, one can just resume and get to the task. The sense of continuity lent that long gone task becomes vital. That is my current status. Now I will resume my plan to create the silk jacket. Since its delay I have only created one thing at the sewing board: a flannel baby blanket with ornate borders. I am just now putting on the finishing touches, which are a couple more tassles at the corners. This has been a wonderfully rewarding undertaking, as I have worked now in general without a pattern in the creation of this simple blanket. I find that to create like this is most interesting. I will go along and see a gap, wonder what to do, finish some essential stitching or whatever, and then go back and figure out how to make "ends meet" so to speak. I chose a red bandana material for the borders, and then added onto two parallel sides more to those bandana borders -- some gold ribbing, the same raw material I had used in the belt I had made for my flag art skirt. The flannel is hunter green. I also added a gold background in one of the corners, and there I simply embroidered the initials of the baby in red thread. I did so with no reading or special instructions, never having really embroidered before except maybe once by chance -- I held together a cheaply made nylon backpack once with both repairing stitches (hand stitiching) and decorative ones, the latter being used to prevent what rips I saw would soon arrive without fortification. This is all most instructive, to set about something, anything, without a total plan. That was my dream when I bought the sewing machine, and I see that it is more difficult. What other beginners might learn from this is true: follow your heart's desire when you sew, and let that be your guide and teacher. That may sound quaint or "tried and true," but it takes the sting of being so new out of being new while you sew. Admittedly, I had to hide the most beautiful straight stitches I had accomplished along the edges early on, and also the second ones of the red bandana borders were quite straight. When adding more material with the gold borders added upon both of those layers, it became more challenging even yet to sew through three layers of material, some of it even doubled over at the corners. You can draw your own conclusions. However, when I compare that experience with how I mapped out the skirt I had made to the tee, and which skirt I launched with the help of this forum, and how I studied and read before I would make another move as I went along, I see how the art must come more fully into perfection with a balance perhaps of studied, pattern-planned experience, and the more creative venture of following what happens in front of you within the constraints of whatever flows from your hands, which remains only to be seen when it happens. The baby for whom this blanket tells the comfort and warmth of a loving aunt is also, by the way, my eldest sister's third grandchild, and is the most indescribably great baby anywhere. He has already seen the blanket as partially completed, and will receive it very soon by UPS. Another word for fellow beginners: I found that after a structured creation like a skirt, to go into a project with basic dimensions like a small blanket is refreshing. One learns a great deal, gains practice in a more simple way, and also, there is nothing like seeing the completion of a work of sewing at the very first sitting at the sewing machine! It is so delightful to see it that way, even if it doesn't happen that way. Of course, I extended into decor (applique?) and thus complicated things totally, but then, I still remember the feeling of seeing the total thing finished in just one sitting. Now to start the silk jacket past the planning stage, and thus must I review. Yours, Bhadra |
User: Bhadra
Member since: 09-27-2005 Total posts: 23 |
From: Sancin
Date: 09-17-2006, 01:08 AM (13 of 13)
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Bhadra How lovely to hear/ see you again! I recently took apart a 40 year old wedding dress, that at the time it was made, was called silk shantung, but it has the same sheen and hand that dupioni silk has. It was interlined with a moderately crisp fabric, similar in appearance to baptiste in weave. It was then lined. The dress style was a simple A-line dress. The interlining gave it shape and the lining helped to be smooth when putting the dress on, something you need to consider with a jacket. As it was worn in very warm weather, I don't think the interlining was intended for warmth. I have not decided yet what I will use the material for - a garment, or accent on a garment. I don't think I would use iron on interfacing as it may bubble or you may not be able to get the iron to the temperature to fuse completely. Some interfacing require that steam be used and you would need to watch that you don't waterspot the silk. When I interface anything I baste the fabric and interfacing together and then put together and sew it as one piece of fabric. These are just some of my thoughts. Good luck in your project. A simple silk jacket sounds lovely. Have you considered embellishing the silk in any way? *~*~*~* Nancy*~*~*~* " I try to take one day at a time - but sometimes several days attack me at once."
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User: Sancin
Member since: 02-13-2005 Total posts: 895 
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