Step 15. Assembling the Jacket Part VI.

The Collar

Since I had chosen the collarless look for my jacket, the collar area was stitched by first attaching the back facing piece that I had drafted to the front facing, stitching, and pressing the seams open. Then I stitched the neckline seam, using directional sewing techniques, sewing from the front opening around to the center back on each side of the jacket.

I melded the seam together by pressing with the iron, then clipped, trimmed, turned, and understitched the neck opening before giving it a final press.

The Front Buttonholes and Buttons

I stitched the front buttonholes using the same method outlined for the cuff buttonholes in Step 14. of this web log, using silk thread and gimp for reinforcement. Next, I stitched the buttons into place, using waxed silk thread. To make my waxed silk thread, I pulled my silk thread through beeswax and then placed one end of the thread between two layers of scrap fabric and pressed the "sandwich" with a warm iron, while I pulled the thread through the area under the iron to melt the beeswax into the thread.

The Shoulderpads

I stitched the shoulderpads into place, using stab stitches to attach them to the shoulder seam allowance and long thread chains to attach the front and back corners of the pad only to the seam allowance of the sleeve. I don?t stitch through all the layers of the shoulder pad when I attach it to the seam allowance because I don?t want it to dimple.

The Lining

I chose to use handpainted silk charmeuse for my jacket lining.

There are several methods of lining insertion, detailed in many sewing publications. Here are some options:

1. Sewing the lining together and inserting it into the jacket completely by hand.


2. Sewing the lining pieces together by machine and inserting it into the jacket by hand.


3. Sewing the lining pieces and inserting the lining into the jacket, both by machine, with the exception of the sleeve lining, which is inserted by hand.


4. Sewing the lining pieces and inserting the lining into the jacket completely by machine.

This last method is sometimes called ?bagging the lining?, and it is a method that I like to use unless I have lots of time available or the design of the jacket dictates a more careful insertion of the lining. For example, if there is a center back vent, I put the hem of the lining in by hand.

One of the best descriptions of bagging a lining that I have come across in my personal sewing library is in Sandra Betzina?s book, Power Sewing Step by Step, 2000 edition, Taunton Press. The section ?Visual Guide to Bagging a Lining? on pages 213-215 contains clear, stepwise instructions and lots of great pictures.

An online pictorial source for the technique of bagging jacket linings as well as other jacket lining methods can be found at Threads online, Sandra Millet?s article: http://www.taunton.com/threads/pages/t00034.asp