“I’d love to hear more about how you learned a new way to sew a pocket; kind of like, how does the expert learn or get inspired to try a new technique?”
This week someone from our community asked this question and with this month’s Curated by ITF focus on learning new techniques with our Sewing Coats Skills Kit and Ormond apron pattern, I thought it would be a great one to discuss in the Behind the Scenes post.
It probably won’t surprise you to learn that even professionally trained garment designers don’t know the best way to sew EVERYTHING. Of course, a lot is covered in our degree and the experience we gain in industry, but like any profession, unless you’re using those skills and techniques daily, you either forget them and have to re-learn them when you need them, or you realise that you actually need to figure out a better way.
When it comes to designing a new project or pattern, I often don’t know what sewing techniques will be included until I get started. As I do my research and sketch out ideas (manually or using Clo3d), the design starts to dictate what needs to be included, and then I can add in what I want. This is where I consider what techniques might be new to our Curated community members (and possibly even to the home sewing space in general). I like to think about what would be interesting for them to learn and what can broaden their understanding of garment construction and finishing.
When I started working on the Ormond coat pattern (next month’s Curated by ITF project!), I knew I wanted it to feature classic coat details like welt pockets and a centre back vent. I also knew I wanted it to be unlined. For me, there is nothing more special than how amazing an unlined coat, finished with bias binding, looks. You can see all the details and all the work that has gone into it and it’s something special that most of the time only the wearer sees. It’s like a little secret that makes you feel so proud of yourself every time you see it.
These design constraints began to direct my pattern development. Because the coat was going to be unlined, I knew this was going to make the features I wanted to include a little trickier to do. For example, welt pockets on a lined coat are often not even finished around the pocket edge. (If you’re a sewing nerd, you might have realised this if your hand has popped through a pocket bag on a lined coat!) And that’s totally fine, because no one can see it. On an unlined coat, however, it’s a totally different story. The welt pockets WILL be seen, and they really need to be as neat on the inside as they are on the outside. Durability is also a concern. Garment linings protect the inner workings of a coat, which means the exposed elements of unlined garments need more protection.
EMILY’S RESEARCH AND DESIGN PROCESS FOR THE ORMOND COAT PATTERN WELT POCKET
I started doing some research on what techniques are already available online and what features I do and don’t like about them. I liked the look of this pocket, but didn’t like that it had top stitching to hold the welt in place. I think it can end up looking messy and is also quite tricky to sew.
Next, I came across this welt pocket, which also looks great. But then I saw that the ends of the welt pocket were hand sewn. I have nothing against hand sewing, but when I see a feature in a pattern that is hand sewn, I like to interrogate whether it’s actually required. Sewing a garment completely on a machine is usually going to lead to a more professional looking finish, so I like to figure out solutions that involve machine sewing. Interestingly, as I continued researching I began to see that a lot of the welt pocket tutorials out there use hand sewing to enclose the ends of the welt. I was beginning to see it as a challenge to come up with a better solution.
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I decided to go back to basics and look in my sewing reference books - Reader’s Digest Complete Guide to Sewing and How to Start Sewing by Assembil books. (Yep, even professional pattern designers use reference books!) I still couldn’t find what I needed. They showed how to sew welt pockets, but not with a French seam, so I continued my search on Google.
When I came across this blog post, I realised it was possible. Sometimes all I need is to see that something is possible and it spurs me on to give it a try. In this case, I was still struggling to get my head around how to go about it, so kept going down the Google rabbit hole. I came across this post which broke down the steps. Now, I know the technique comes from a pattern, but I’m rarely concerned that the result I end up with will belong to someone else. What I have learned over time is that no matter what, once I start sewing and experimenting with a new technique, it always deviates away from the original inspiration. I really like pushing a technique as far as I can and achieving the neatest finish possible, so even just having a starting point or some hints along the way is normally enough.
I had basic pattern pieces drafted, but knew they were likely to change throughout the process. I cut the pieces from calico and got to work. I’ve looked for some photos of the original pocket process and realised they have all been deleted. Although this is slightly frustrating because I can’t show you the progression, it’s an important part of my process. I photograph the steps as I go, but if I realise a technique is not going to work as I hoped, I delete the photos. This means I don’t get confused between processes and I know which ones are correct and most up-to-date when I’m referring back to the photos to create the instructions and tutorials.
One of my goals with all my patterns is that anyone should be able to understand it, regardless of how long they’ve been sewing for. While someone may not have the technical skills just yet, I don’t want the wording or the process to scare them off. Often this means sewing an element many times until I believe I’ve found the clearest, simplest and neatest way possible to sew it. I think I sewed about six welt pockets before I came up with a technique I was happy with!
EMILY’S RESEARCH AND DESIGN PROCESS FOR THE ORMOND COAT PATTERN VENT
When it came to working out how to sew the vent, I decided to sew a sample the traditional way to see how it would look. I found a video on Youtube and followed along, but when I got to the end I was unhappy with how it looked. It was messy and would get messier with bulkier fabrics. I started thinking about what would happen if I added a shield to give the vent more structure and also tidy up the look of it on the inside.
Back to Google I went and came across this video. The finish of this coat is exceptional and I thought I’d find a solution straight away. But after watching the video I realised many of the steps involved cutting into the fabric and deviating away from the pattern. Although this works for an expert sewist, for our patterns I like to give as much information as possible on the pattern and leave as little as possible to chance. That way our patterns are accessible to both advanced home sewists and those who are wanting to level up their skills.
I decided to go back to the drawing board and sew a vent in the most basic way. By sewing it like this, I had a sample I could work on and continue to develop. I worked out what area needed to be enclosed and set to work drafting a shield. It took another few goes to finalise the pattern and technique, but again, by then I was happy to know I’d found an approach that gave a professional finish and left nothing up to guess work or chance.
As you can see, improving your sewing skill set is something that all sewists can be doing, regardless of experience. With each garment, sewing techniques can be applied in different ways and to varying degrees, which is why we continue to develop Skills Kits and Hack Kits for new projects as part of our Curated by ITF subscription. The more skills you learn, the more confident you become with knowing what you’re trying to achieve, what options are available to you and where to look to find more information. I love this about sewing and pattern making - you’re never done learning!
I hope this has given you insight into my own learning and skill development process! And if you have any other questions, please leave them in the comments. I’d love to answer them.
Happy skill-building!
Emily
WHAT YOU’VE BEEN MAKING…
Hacked Sawtell dress by @shuaychong
