Another tailoring: sewing an authentic Japanese kimono

This is part III of an ongoing series on wasai. Look here for part I, which deals with measuring yourself and cutting your pieces, here for part II to learn to mark the pieces, and here for the introduction. Now you have marked all the pieces, and are ready to sew: congrats, the hard part… Continue reading Another tailoring: sewing an authentic Japanese kimono

Another tailoring: marking the pieces of an authentic Japanese kimono

This is part II of an ongoing series on wasai. Look here for part I, which deals with measuring yourself and cutting your pieces, and here for the introduction. Now that you have your pieces cut, you need to mark them, since wasai doesn’t allow for notches, and the seam allowance (SA) varies depending on… Continue reading Another tailoring: marking the pieces of an authentic Japanese kimono

Canvassing 201: assembling the canvas and jacket front

This is part 2 of Canvassing 201. For part 1, click here. For Canvassing 101, click here. Congrats! You have made it this far. Now that you have your fronts and you have finished preparing your canvas, it's time to baste them together so they can be treated as one. Of course, there are more… Continue reading Canvassing 201: assembling the canvas and jacket front

Canvassing 201: preparing the canvas

For the intro to canvassing, complete with an outline of the different canvassing styles, click here. Finally, it is here: an in-depth canvassing guide! I'm making this guide in the context of a heavy flannel winter jacket, so I decided to use the British style of canvassing. This is the most canvassing you are ever… Continue reading Canvassing 201: preparing the canvas

Threads have directions, who would have thought!

Wonder why when using machine thread to hand sew, it turns weirdly? It’s the twist! So, it turns out that threads come in two flavors: S twist and Z twist Image from Yarnsub. Machine threads are in Z twist, whereas hand sewing threads have a S twist. This convention is born out of the fact… Continue reading Threads have directions, who would have thought!

How to sew a sleeve placket, the easy way (IMHO!).

I’ve been asked several times what my secret for a crips sleeve placket, as this particular part of shirt making is often badly explained and ends up dissuading many people from making shirts altogether. For this reason today I’m sharing with you my own method. I confess it’s been a lot of trial and error… Continue reading How to sew a sleeve placket, the easy way (IMHO!).