THE ULTIMATE SEWING MAGAZINE
A MAN WHO EMBROIDERS WITH FURY AND A WOMAN WHO DESIGNS NECKWEAR FOR ALL | MODERN SMOCKING | COUTURE TIPS FOR FINISHING A CARDIGAN JACKET | NEW SPRING LOOKS AND MORE
SAMPLER SAMPLER SAMPLER SAMPLER APRIL/MAY 2013 VOGUEPATTERNS.COM
Contents Vogue Patterns Magazine April/May 2013
FEATURES
56 Shiny Fury A profile of textile artist Andréas Kanellopoulos. by Leigh Newman
62 Thread of Tradition The hand-embroidered artistry of Jupe by Jackie. by Jean Hartig
78 Designer Directions New looks by Donna Karan, Tracy Reese, Pamella Roland, and more.
82 Spring Flourish Step into warmth with colorful, sculpted dresses and mix-and-match tailored separates.
ON THE COVER Pamella Roland’s silk faille cocktail dress with fan pleat details. V1340. Hair and makeup by Joseph Boggess. This page: V8876.
2 VOGUE PATTERNS
DEPARTMENTS
A Dance of the Hands 42
Editor’s Note 5
The art of tambour embroidery and beading. by Robert Haven
Letters | Contributors 7 What Are You Sewing? 8 Must-Haves 10
COUTURE CORNER
Destinations | Chaos to Couture by Jean Hartig 13
Designer-Inspired Details 46
SEW BIZ Industry | Mokuba 14 by Mimi Jackson
Boutique | Pat’s Custom Buttons and Belts 16 by Jean Hartig
Sewing With Nancy 18 Purveyor Nancy Zieman celebrates thirty years of sewing programming.
TIPS & TOOLS Embroidery Maintenance 22 How to get the best results from your machine or module. by Kathryn Brenne with Larry Shackleton
Tools for Fine Work 26 Scissors and needles for embellishing. by Kathryn Brenne
MASTER INSTRUCTION Traditional English Smocking 30 An old-fashioned technique with modern appeal. by Kathryn Brenne
A Japanese-Inspired Flourish 36 How to make an organza rose corsage. by Mary Jo Hiney
How to apply custom buttonholes and a chain trim. by Claire Shaeffer
62
FASHION HISTORY Storied Stitches 50 The art of embroidery. by Daryl Brower FREE PROJECTS Experimenting With Lines 66 From tape to ribbon, a lesson in drape. by Laurie Jackson-Murray
Rose-Covered Clutch 69 An elegant spring companion. by Laurie Jackson-Murray
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Stylish Smocking 70 A touch of tradition. by Laurie Jackson-Murray STYLE STRATEGY A Fashionable Approach to Embellishment 72 by Moni Briones
Fabric Matching 74 One Garment | Two Looks 76 THREAD TALE Sewing Life’s Lessons 96 by Amy Brill
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MASTER TECHNIQUE
30 VOGUE PATTERNS
MASTER TECHNIQUE
Traditional English Smocking An Old-Fashioned Technique With Modern Appeal BY KATHRYN BRENNE
Smocking is a form of embroidery that was developed during the Middle Ages to gather in fullness and give shape to garments that were cut from rectangular pieces of cloth. During the sixteenth century it was worn by farmers and laborers on their work clothes, or smocks (hence the name). Today the word smocking is likely to conjure images of sweet little gingham dresses, baby pajamas, or Christmas wreaths and ornaments. But when applied strategically where fullness is gathered—at necklines, cuffs, waistlines, and yokes, or as a small, blocked inset (see page 70)—this folksy technique can add an unexpected, contemporary flair to a variety of garments. In fact, many of the designs that graced the 2013 runways, from Nina Ricci to Valentino, elegantly incorporated it. While smocking looks intricate, it actually comprises a few basic stitches worked over pleated fabric that can be combined to form a myriad of easy-to-learn patterns. The trick to mastering it is in the details and requires patience and practice. Whether you’re looking to add a turnof-the century detail to a vintage gown or a contemporary gather on a spring dress, here you’ll find the basis for endless smocking options and designs. FABRICS
MORE ONLINE
New to smocking? Download our illustrated instructions for the basic stitches from voguepatterns.mccall. com > magazine.
Typically smocking is worked on woven fabrics, but lightweight knits can also be used. Lightto medium-weight cotton, rayon, wool, linen, and silk are all good choices, as are broadcloth, voile, gingham, batiste, challis, organdy, satin, charmeuse, corduroy, Viyella, chambray, and velvet. Just remember that the pleats add bulk to a garment, so choose fabrics that drape well and have a smooth even texture. Each type of fabric will pleat up differently, depending on its weave, weight, thickness, and sometimes even the color. Dark solids, for
example, can be difficult to pleat on a pleating machine, as can dark red, burgundy, and navyblue fabrics. One theory for this is that the dye saturates the fabric, making it difficult for the pleater needles to penetrate. Soft, limp fabric on the other hand is easier to pleat and manage if it is starched first. How much fabric to use? As a general rule, three times the finished width will work for most medium-weight fabrics. A lightweight fabric will pleat up more than a medium-weight fabric; therefore, you’ll need more lightweight fabric than you would a heavier fabric. Always work a sample first, applying starch if needed, before beginning on an actual garment, in order to figure out a ratio for the fabric as well as to test different threads and stitches: Cut a sample that is 20" (51 cm) wide. Pleat up the fabric, using one of the basic stitches. Pull up the pleats so that they are almost touching each other. Tie off the pleating threads. Measure the pleated fabric. Divide the original width by the finished width to work out the pleating ratio. For example, if you begin with 20" (51 cm) and the sample pleats up to 5" (13 cm), divide 20 by 5, which equals 4, giving you a ratio of 4:1. For every 1" (25 mm) of finished smocking, you’ll need 4" (10 cm) of fabric. If the garment is very full and the requirement is wider than the fabric, narrow seams can be added before pleating. If the garment will be laundered, prepare the fabric by washing, drying, and ironing first. Trim off the selvages. Straighten the fabric along the crosswise grain. (Fabric will hang best if it is pleated on the crosswise grain.) To straighten the fabric, pull a crosswise thread, and cut along this line. Align the grainline on the pattern pieces with the lengthwise grain of the fabric. THREAD
Most smocking is worked with embroidery
APRIL/MAY 2013 31
COUTURE CORNER | THE FINAL INSTALLMENT OF A SIX- PART SERIES
Designer-Inspired Details How to Apply Custom Buttonholes and a Chain Trim BY CLAIRE SHAEFFER
Two of the finishing touches I’ve seen on Chanel jackets are the custom buttonholes and—one of the most famous Chanelisms—the decorative chain trim. In this final installment of a six-part series on detailing a designer cardigan jacket, we look at how to apply these embellishments with couture perfection. THREAD BUTTONHOLE
Used on the sleeve cuffs and at the front opening of a selffabric lined jacket, the thread buttonholes are made by embroidering the cut opening with buttonhole stitches and a silk buttonhole twist after the facing or lining is applied. Make a sample buttonhole first to experiment with the stitches and to check the length and thread color, then pin the sample to a bulletin board. Many times I’ve changed the thread color after discovering from a few feet back that it was a shade off.
1. Locate the buttonholes as indicated on the pattern or on your fitted muslin. 2. Mark each buttonhole opening with thread. (A) Begin the buttonhole as you would a straight buttonhole. If the fabric ravels badly when cut, fuse
46 VOGUE PATTERNS
a small piece of lightweight interfacing to the wrong side of the fabric before stitching around the opening.
3. Set the machine stitch length to 1.25 mm (20 stitches per inch). Beginning at the end away from the jacket edge, stitch 1/16" (1.5 mm) from the marked line. Overlap one or two stitches at the end. (B) 4. Cut the opening precisely on the marked line. Use an awl to round the end near the opening to create a keyhole. (C) Trim away the stray threads. To prevent fraying, use a toothpick to apply white glue to the cut edges. A fray retardant will also work, but it’s a little more difficult to control.
STRANDING
Stranding—the process of laying one or two strands of thread along the sides of the opening—adds strength to buttonholes. It also improves the appearance by covering the fabric under the buttonhole stitches and creating a nice ridge around the opening. While several techniques for stranding exist, the one outlined below is my preferred method because it’s easier to control the thread strands and keep them from rolling off the
fabric and into the opening. While silk buttonhole twist works best because of its sheen, which emphasizes the stitches and gives them definition, you can use topstitching thread or a heavier machine-embroidery thread made of polyester (a better color selection does exist in those threads). Wax and press whichever thread you choose, to make it stronger and less likely to curl and snarl. 5. Begin by anchoring a double thread with a waste knot about 1" (2.5 cm) from the end away from the jacket opening, to avoid weakening the keyhole. 6. Lay the strand over the machine stitches on one side of the buttonhole. Take a short stitch at the keyhole end and lay the strand over the machine stitches on the other side of the buttonhole. Take a short stitch past the end. (D) 7. To make the buttonhole stitches, use a single strand of thread that has been waxed and pressed. Cut the thread long enough to avoid piecing it midway. 8. Begin the buttonhole stitches at the end away from the opening with the needle under the fabric. Bring the needle to the right side just outside the stitched line. Wrap the thread around the point of the needle as shown (E); then
pull the needle through to make the purl or knot close to the edge. Pull the thread straight up and perpendicular to the fabric so the knot is on top of the fabric instead of in the opening. 9. Continue making stitches to the end, then around the end and back to the beginning. Make a small thread bar at the beginning end and cover the bar with buttonhole or blanket stitches. (F, G) Fasten the buttonhole thread and cut the ends of the stranding thread. To fasten the thread at the end, take the needle through to the wrong side, and make several stitches in one place. Then insert the needle, run it between the layers, and pull it out about 3 /4” (20 mm). Hold the thread taut, and cut close to the facing so the thread end disappears between the layers.
DOUBLE BUTTONHOLE
A version of the double buttonhole first used by Charles Frederick Worth, the father of haute couture, is used on Chanel jackets that have a contrasting lining, to mask the underside of a thread buttonhole. It consists of a handmade thread buttonhole on the face side of the jacket and is paired with a faux buttonhole on the lining side. 1. Make a thread buttonhole
1
A
2
B
4
C
D
6
E
F
7
Press
ILLUSTRATIONS : ROBIN BLAIR
Right side
Wrong side Grainline
G
H
APRIL/MAY 2013 47
FASHION HISTORY
56 VOGUE PATTERNS
Shiny Fury
A Profile of Textile Artist Andréas Kanellopoulos BY LEIGH NEWMAN
A
Opposite page: Silver lace; hand-painted fabric leaves; plastic yellow flowers with transparent paillettes; yellow glass beads; Lurex multicolored thread on pale sky-blue silk organza, 2009. This page (clockwise): Detail of Kanellopoulos’s supplies, his studio in Pantin, and Kanellopoulos.
ndréas Kanellopoulos isn’t your average embroiderer. Known for incorporating found objects into his work— such as bits of foam, rubber band, and spray-painted paper—he nevertheless manages to end up with a piece of needlework that can only be described as classically beautiful. Like most rule-breakers, Kanellopoulos comes from a background rich in tradition. He was born in Greece, where generation after generation of women has worked in every variation of needlework, preparing elaborate trousseaux as part of their wedding ceremonies. His grandmother was known for her crochet work, and his mother had similar talents, which she used to run a business tailoring and repairing clothing. “Both of them had such gifted hands,” he says. “They passed it down.” At age nineteen, Kanellopoulos went to fashion-
design school in Athens and, after graduation, quickly began working for two Greek hautecouture firms—Polatof and the now-defunct Anna Katramatou. But Kanellopoulos wanted to make it to the global center of fashion, Paris, so he enrolled in University of Paris-X Nanterre (now called Université Paris Ouest Nanterre La Defence) to study art history. A few months into his courses, he transferred into the Sorbonne Nouvelle (also known as Paris III) theater program, a major that in France is less about drama and acting, and more about the literary theory behind these art forms. The intense intellectual workload was worth it. Kanellopoulos realized that the elaborate—and often historical—costumes of stage production were his calling. His first big break came in England. Through a friend, he was given a job as an assistant designer at the Royal Opera House in Covent
APRIL/MAY 2013 57
STYLE STRATEGY
FABRI MATC C HING We pre
se pr ints nt f ive emb el lishe and te d xt from t he Spr ures straigh t i n g 20 ways t 13 r oh these h elp you ach uniev ig at hom h-desig n loo e e. ks
HELMUT LANG (left to right) silk/ cotton voile in black ($8.75 per yard, thaisilks.com); Robert Allen Modern Felt in natural ($19.40 per yard, onlinefabricstore.net); metallic-look denim ($14.00, moodfabrics.com); and lake-blue plastic separating zipper ($2.70, zprz.com). DOLCE & GABBANA (clockwise) red Designer Guipure lace ($45 per yard, sposabellalace.com); Sultana Burlap in natural ($6.49, fabricdepot.com); and Ashland flowers ($9.99, michaels .com). DONNA KARAN (clockwise) pale blue silk/cotton, silk, and silk charmeuse ($14–19 per yard, moodfabrics.com). PHILLIP LIM (from top, left to right) Robert Kaufman 8 oz. black washed denim ($11.99 per yard, fabricdepot .com); French laundered bull denim in blanc ($12.99, fabricdepot.com); and Robert Kaufman bleached indigo washed denim and indigo washed denim ($12.99–13.99 per yard, fabricdepot.com). PRADA cotton floss in black ($0.99, joann.com); Satin Monaco reversible four-ply crepe in antique ($33.95, bssilk108@aol.com); 3/4" (20 mm) silk taffeta ribbon, art. 159 col. 49 by Mokuba NY ($5.97 per yard, 212869-8900); and Blue Hills Studio Bag-of-Blooms red paper flowers ($2.33, amazon.com).
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HELMUT LANG
DOLCE & GABBANA
FABRIC FILES??
PHILLIP LIM
PRADA
© FIRSTVIEW.COM
DONNA KARAN
APRIL/MAY 2013 75
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