Yesterday I posted on my Instagram a photo of what I’m working on lately, which is just a bodice that goes under a jacket. The photo showed the inside view of the bodice.
I felt ashamed for my sewing techniques: I use a lot of modern shortcuts in order to speed up the process of making a garment. You know, I’m a 21st Century woman and I bet that the ladies in the past would have done the same if the could.
I thought “Oh, I’m an imposter. I’m teaching people how to do historical clothing and then I use my serger machine and I do lots of things differently”. This thought was with me within this morning, when I realized that using modern techniques is not so bad, if they don’t effect the “historical look” of the garment.
So here you can find a list of my “modern shortcuts” that I use the most!
1. Fast boning channels
This is just a tedious work that I try to avoid as much as I can, but you know..bodices need to me boned. So, in order to make things easier for me (and for you if you have purchased my patterns) this is how I work:
– I use regilene bones (which can be sewn on fabrics) and a strip of twill cotton tape two times longer.
– I sew the regilene bone on to it.
– I fold the other half of the tape over the bone and I sew again.
Once done, I apply the bones to the bodices with hand stitches.
Photos taken from:
Pattern 1895 Bodice ref. LV B 01 available here
2. Serger Machine
This is my favorite method to finish the seams that cannot be finished in other ways (or that could take a huge amount of time to do by hand). I know that some may not have a serger machine, but you can also use zig-zag scissors if the fabric doesn’t fray, or zig-zag stitches made with your sewing machine.
This method is easy and fast to use in skirts, bodices and sleeves raw edges.
Photos taken from:
Pattern 1895 Bodice ref. LV B 01 available here
Pattern 1901 Skirt ref. ED S 02 available here
Pattern 1903 Bodice ref. ED B 02 available here
3. Reinforce the hem first
This is a technique I learnt from sew_throgh_time that save me A LOT of time when I have to interface an hem with crinoline (a kind of horsehair braid). It’s useful for 1890 – 1900 skirts that need to have a sturdier hem.
– You cut the crinoline fabric and you sew it on the interfacing fabric
– Then, you apply the interfacing with the reinforced hem on the fashion fabric.
– Once done, you can assemble the skirt.
Photos taken from:
Pattern 1895 Skirt ref. LV S 01 available here
These are my favorite modern shortcuts! Sadly I wish there was a faster way to apply hooks and eyes, which usually require me one day of work! I really hope you can find this post useful and, if you’d like to share with me your modern shortcuts please write them below here!
lauranicolin.com 