#but i also couldn't find any other inspiration and i really really love soutache.

[dummerjan]

Ok but I would love to hear about your tailoring? That’s amazing, speak to me of the soutache! Do you have opinions on thimbles?!

Sorry for taking so long to reply. But I just finished the first sample (of two) of what I will be sewing during my journeyman exam in June and am really excited about that, so now seems like a fitting occasion since it's the source of my soutache themed dreams (thankfully not yet nightmares, but I have been dreaming an awful lot about sewing and class). Prepare for a barely filtered infodump. Here, the finished sample:

(The buttons are temporary, I just didn't have anything else. I am either going with black ones or do fabric covered buttons myself. I also hate how I ended the soutache on the back of the yoke. It should continue into the seam of the zipper so it's continuous. I don't know what I was thinking with ending it abruptly.)

Opinions on thimbles... Use them! I didn't until I started my apprenticeship and I've been converted. I don't have the typical metal cone ones but this one by Prym, I don't find the other ones comfortable. But Clover has an interesting metal one I'd like to try, partially because it makes me think of medieval armour. Leather thimbles also seem to me popular because they aren't that rigid and can be made yourself. And did you know sashiko thimbles are a thing? They cover the part below the middle finger since the motion during stitching is quite different and the fabric is gathered onto the needle which is then pushed by your palm and not just your finger. Now onto the soutache. If you don't know what it is: it's a braid made out of threads that are woven and braided around two cords.

Nowadays made out of synthetic filaments (viscose, polyester) but I've also found a German manufacturer of cotton and linen soutache. For the journeyman exam we need to make a combination of skirt, dress or trousers and coat or blazer. Skirt and blazer is what most do and is what requires less time. We have five days (40 hours) during which we have to do all the sewing and also cutting out fabric for the lining, so everything that's done after the first fitting. And part of that is a decorative element of our own choosing, which needs to fill 8 hours. It can be embroidery, appliqué pleats, ruffles, beading, rouleaux trim, pleating and so on. Stupid me decided to do soutache. Because I've wanted to try it for years and been admiring it on garments from second half of the 19th and early 20th century during which it was really popular. Nowadays it can be most often found on uniforms and costumes.

This is my inspiration:

Actually buying soutache, good quality soutache, is the first hurdle. I've gathered a wide arrange of braid from all over but not all is suitable to my needs. I wouldn't have thought before but the braid needs to be rather firm for a nice, even result without turning out wonky, especially with curved lines. Of which I have many. Sewing braid on fabric sounds deceivingly easy. And in theory it is, but getting it just right (especially with something that requires symmetry) is a headache. And a lot of it already comes down to how you transfer the pattern onto your fabric. One way is to trace the pattern on thin, to pin it to your fabric and then to sew along the traced lines. Tear away the paper and you're left with a pattern of stitches to follow.

But placing that paper just right, especially across seams that are not forgiving when it comes to symmetry. The paper slips and especially the curved lines are super difficult to sew along and turns out wonky more often than I'd like. It's easier to follow the curves when applying the soutache actually, I have more control. I used this method for the soutache on the back of the jacket and while I am happy with it, even if it isn't perfect, I doubt it would suffice for my exam. I am going to go with a smaller design and also one where the bows only go across one seam. Knowing this, I chose a fusible interfacing for the skirt yoke that I could draw on, much easier, and much more accurate even if the braid itself isn't always even in the end. Not done by a machine after all.

wrong side of the yoke, the blue is water soluble pen, and then one line of stitching to transfer the pattern to the right side and one of applying the braid

There are presser feet for applying braid but while they help with not having to hold the braid, the foot itself covers the lines I want to follow. Great for relatively straight lines but not an option for the bows. There is an attachment called an underbraider that was made for old domestic machines. They allow you to sew with the wrong side facing up while the braid is attached to the right side. But I haven't been able to figure out what it's called in German and if I can buy one somewhere. But I do have an antique singer it could be used with. For the details around the slits in the sleeves I've tried yet another method and shaped the bows beforehand and then basted them onto the fabric. It's good for such small designs, and especially that specific area because of the challenges the seam allowances and the underside of the slit presents, which can't be caught in the stitching and the stitching has to be hidden by the lining later on. Still a bit trial and error.

An issue with this particular soutache braid is that the cords at its core don't match the outside, they are white! And sometimes they show, which is rather unsightly. So not an option for my exam.

The one that's perfect in terms of firmness and actually has the the same coloured cords (the yellowish one above) is no longer being produced and the remaining colours don't fit my fabric.

I bought enough fabric for two suits out of the blue and one out of the red and wanted to use the blue fabric for my exam but given the soutache braid issues, I am considering going with red fabric and blue soutache (if I have enough meters, I need to measure). I think that combination is lovely.

I am also considering going with a different skirt pattern. I like it by itself but not as an ensemble. It's too flowy due to the bias cut and doesn't go well with the firmer lines of the blazer, I think. But given the poofy sleeves, I think the skirt has to be flared or be much shorter, a mini skirt, and close fitting. And as it is, the jacket covers the top of the design on the yoke. But that's why it's the first sample of two I am going to sew before the final exam. Also, let me take the opportunity to show off the rather neat buttonholes I stitched today.

Also, while I am already rambling about my sewing: I love sewing by hand and I especially love slip stitching (and I am really good at it). I'd happily be the person always doing the slip stitching for everyone. We have the option of inserting the entire jacket lining by hand or just do the sleeve and jacket hems by hand and attach the lining to the facing by machine. I hope I can make it work time wise and do it by hand.

And tagging @whirling-ghost because you are always on the receiving end of my sewing related rambles (and plenty of the other ones too and have been for years). You're the best! <3