Shirt *Construction* techniques

[Schneiderfrei]

Gerry, the texture is all part of the cloth. It's my guess that the cloth was sitting in the shop since the 80s.

I was told that it was German and all cotton. Well its not 'all' cotton, but its very well made and has a great handle.

It was $6 AUS permetre.

[Gerry]

Totally forgot about these two vids, covering detachable collars. For the Time Lords amongst us:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pDHW5R_Ef8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YuYMPngmSU

[Gerry]

Auto-translate function may be required for the following, though one or two of the older videos don't allow it. This Portuguese-speaking tailor (I think he's Brazilian) has a channel dedicated to sharing his knowledge, mostly about shirt making. For example:

Cuffs:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vt4d_WXOOx8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yN9HppPGXE8

https://www.youtube.com/live/EgLJxp7fsSk?si=f6wcwUIk0donpo5r&t=691

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCFYq-kg3xY

How to start making a tailored shirt:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXsAFyOfkOI

Not all of the vids are listed, strangely, but full channel here:

https://www.youtube.com/@AcademiadaAlfaiataria/videos

Playlists (including women's shirts/blouses) here:

https://www.youtube.com/@AcademiadaAlfaiataria/playlists

The 'live' section seems to host most of the longer vids:

https://www.youtube.com/@AcademiadaAlfaiataria/streams

[Gerry]

Another vid from the Academia da Alfaiataria, showing a couple of interesting things. Firstly, when he edge stitches the yoke's seam with the back, everything (including seams) faces upwards except the yoke facing, which remains facing down, out of the way. The stitching only goes through the outer yoke. His justification for doing this is that polyester thread can be harsh against the skin, especially if it has melted a little from the iron:

https://www.youtube.com/live/eliUz5bLtNs?si=hfyZRvWqU2w95IBY&t=928

I use cotton thread, plus the compensating foot I use does a good job of creating an even edge stitch on both sides of the yoke, especially having pressed the seam correctly. However, it's easy to miss the inner facing in places with a conventional foot, so his method has some merit.

Second up, closing the side seams using a hemmer foot. The only video I've seen that explains this, though I posted the details in a past thread, here:

https://movsd.com/BespokeCutter/index.php?topic=1226.0

I had a real 'duh' moment watching his vid. Having passed everything through the hemmer, he then flattens the seam and passes it under the hemmer foot again, though without coupling it so that the seam only runs in the channel of the foot. This keeps it nicely aligned as it passes through to the needle for edge stitching/felling flat. When I was trying this technique, I changed feet to do the felling, simply edge stitching the hemmed seam. His way is far simpler and superior, as it's more accurate. Very clever; and so obvious now that I've seen it.

https://www.youtube.com/live/eliUz5bLtNs?si=gmwYiWvJbhPBafVZ&t=1612

I'm guessing that the foot is 3/16ths? Slightly less shirting real-estate used than with a quarter-inch foot.

I wasn't impressed with the pattern matching, however. Plus, if you look carefully you'll see that the horizontals on both sides of the sleeve take a slight diagonal turn at the stitch-line - leaving a slight kink, if you will. This is what hemmers do: they twist the cloth as it goes through, resulting in slightly wavy hems and seams.

[Gerry]

This is very, very slow viewing (there's a lot of chit-chat), but I haven't seen this subject covered by anyone else. How to hand stitch monograms on shirts:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSKJ7a4iELU

The first part shows the techniques and has plenty of tips, the second part shows the dot-to-dot connections needed to cover the whole alphabet:

https://www.youtube.com/live/wSKJ7a4iELU?si=-Mf4OyV7lPvN2eIo&t=4026

In this vid he shows how to apply the monogram to a shirt pocket:

https://www.youtube.com/live/H5W24EXO2GY?si=oajzi2Kd8RfxXLFC&t=1553

If you're all wondering why I'm obsessively posting all these links, it's because I need a single reference point for them myself! (It would be very time consuming trying to find a lot of these vids a second time round).

[OlymposPartizanos]

It seems many of DPC's materials still available on here:
https://www2.quartoknows.com/page/shirtmaking-workbook

[Gerry]

I'm guessing that the foot is 3/16ths? Slightly less shirting real-estate used than with a quarter-inch foot.

This is a lengthier, clearer video demonstrating the hemming technique to do the long seams:

https://www.youtube.com/live/ybtlk2Md8rE?si=Z_fEM_rUZIRpqwJE&t=1343

He uses a 3mm (1/8th) foot. This width is often seen in high-end dress shirts, but I'm more of a casual shirt chap and my 1/8th Singer foot doesn't take kindly to the thickness of cloth that I often use. Fine shirting only, though I imagine that hemmer feet for industrial machines can take thicker cloth?

I mistakenly thought that he fed the cloth under the foot to do the felling, utilising its channel. However, he partially couples the seam into the foot. Very clever, though I'm not sure this wouldn't cause a slight ruck in the seam (as happens with felling feet when doing this). The stitching certainly isn't symmetrical - second, felled line is more inwards from the edge compared to the seam line ... or vice versa (difficult to tell which was the front and which was the back).

[Gerry]

No available subtitles, therefore auto translate doesn't work for this vid. However, it demonstrates the typical shirt-maker's way of doing felled seams more clearly than the Emma Willis video posted earlier; and it's easy to see what's going on:

https://youtu.be/CTTD0Y-E6GM?si=REgNn8XRMNqePu1_&t=203

In this case a sleeve is being sewn in flat. Sleeve underneath, offset the armhole by a seam's width, fold over the sleeve seam to overlap it, but pull it over slightly to the left of the needle (a hair's breadth more than a quarter in this case) so that its edge gets caught in the stitching. This not only creates the main seam, but it acts as a 'holding stitch', keeping the edges of the fold from puckering or flaring-out when felling, due to the action of the dogs/pressure of the foot.

For precision, a quarter inch foot with a built in guide is being used. These are easily found for all types of machine. Just look for a 'quarter inch quilting foot'.

Having tried both methods, I prefer setting in sleeves already sewn, rather than doing the cuff to hem (or vice versa) method of closing the long seams. If the sleeve is cut correctly, everything aligns perfectly and it's almost like sewing a straight line.

I've also switched from top stitching on the right side (as shown above), using the blade of the foot for a guide, to edge stitching with a compensating foot. When felling, it's typical to tension the cloth at the sides. If pulled too much, the seam can be displaced to the side of the needle, making it easy to miss its edge. The downside of sewing 'blind'.

[Gerry]

For precision, a quarter inch foot with a built in guide is being used. These are easily found for all types of machine. Just look for a 'quarter inch quilting foot'.

I watched a fair chunk of his longer video showing the complete construction of some shirts. He actually uses an array of compensating feet. Quilting feet work just fine, however (as I can attest).

[Gerry]

The vid to follow contains a few things that caught my eye. Firstly, he demonstrates a couple of folding techniques. One for chamfered cuffs, which I hadn't seen before (everyone seems to trim their seams), the other for collar-point turning.

https://youtu.be/HaEO7VlbAk4?si=zc3GU1xhDFh4dZKc&t=492

I had come across two-stage collar-point folding via DPC's Craftsy video series; and a three-stage method is also demonstrated in one of his books, However, it's along the lines of a conventional mitred corner and is fiddly with narrow seams. In the above vid the tailor demonstrates a more manageable method IMO. The side seam is folded first, then he forms a diagonal at its top before folding down the top seam. I should think that grading the seams at the points would help reduce bulk.

The other thing that caught my eye was the shaping of the collar. 'Regular' (not all do it) shaping is seen in this informative video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBt7Q2EKbp4

Something I hadn't seen before, however, is demonstrated here:

https://youtu.be/HaEO7VlbAk4?si=J7lnOS25KUDDWun4&t=968

After top stitching the collar, he flips it over and angles it to close the opening, thereby reducing the width of the undercollar and giving more to the upper facing. This gives the completed collar a natural, downwards curve along its width. Note that he feeds the cloth ahead of the foot, to prevent creep.

[Gerry]

Another vid popped up in my feed today. It shows a method of doing hems that's almost identical to how I do them. Certainly the concept is the same.

The first fold of the hem is created at 3/8ths, but stitched at a quarter. This is folded in turn by a quarter, but the first stitch line is rolled to the back by about a 1/16th. This second fold is then stitched at a quarter to complete the hem:

https://youtu.be/BH8FKnvWWSk?si=AMGdZC11hZNVNAFx&t=492

I press each stage and use an edge guide. This gives greater accuracy, but pretty good results can be achieved 'on the fly' if speed is of the essence. I also don't bother to cut away superfluous cloth. I haven't found it to be a problem. Because I press accurately, and use an edge guide, I top stitch from the right side. Here you can see a snap of one of my own shirt hems:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/194911850@N05/53172913103/in/dateposted/

A quarter inch hem is pretty fiddly to press and get a nice, even result. Which is why the first fold is 3/8ths: it's relatively easy to press. As with the felling vids posted earlier, the first run of stiches is a 'holding stitch', securing the raw edge, which (with only a quarter of an inch fold) would otherwise be free to splay out when securing the second fold of the hem. This isn't really an issue with any hem over a quarter of an inch, but is with narrow hems (in my experience).

What I like about this method is that you don't get the twisting ('roping') often associated with hemmer feet. It's easy to keep vertical stripes in line, too. Very clean in that respect.

[Gerry]

Very good article on point turning by DPC:

https://www.seamwork.com/articles/how-to-make-a-perfect-point

[Gerry]

As a more personal request, I'm looking to hear/see/read side seam and shoulder seam for inset sleeves construction techniques--specifically re: lapped, felled, or frenched seams.

French seam technique shown here (auto translate may be required):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2kPwFi09Lg

Setting in a sleeve like this might look fiddly, but it really isn't. As I mentioned earlier, the seams line up, rather than opposing each other in places (which is the case with sewing sleeves flat). It's almost as easy as sewing a straight line, we just have to remember to rotate the body occasionally as we go, so that it doesn't twist as we follow the line of the armhole. Not a fast process, but I much prefer it.

Although I don't use French seams much, they are very elegant and accurate (especially if sewn with an edge guide). The only reason they're not used in ready to wear and a lot of bespoke, is because they take longer.

[Schneiderfrei]

I've always been fond of french seams. They are simple and diminish the appearance of stitching, which I like, plus they are more flexible and don't stiffen the garment.

[Gerry]

The aforementioned Patrick Grant has a new book out: The Savile Row Suit - The Art of Bespoke Tailoring. It features a whole section on shirt making "following the method of Lizzie Willett". She heads the team for Emma Willis, so it's essentially that firm's method.

As with many bespoke shirt companies, their 'time is money' philosophy means that much of their approach isn't the best or most elegant way of doing things. Nevertheless, a complete method is outlined here; and for those in a rush, it will be quick ... so it's worth mentioning.

I do wonder why anyone bothers to write tailoring books in this day and age of visual media; which is a far better way to convey information of this kind, IMO. As with many books before it, some of the procedures are a little cryptic. I had to re-read passages a number of times until I understood what was going on. It's not really a 'how to tailor' book, but more of a instruction guide to those who already have tailoring experience. A 'this is how to do it the Savile Row way' guide, featuring sections on trouser making, waistcoat making and shirt making (as well as coat making, of course). There's no drafting info, BTW, this book is solely focused on construction.

A nice addition to the bookshelf, but only if you have some experience under your belt already IMO. Otherwise you'll be struggling to understand a lot of the instructions (which are kept brief).

https://uk.gestalten.com/products/the-savile-row-suit-the-art-of-hand-tailoring-savile-row-patrick-grant