The Great Cape Adventure: Plaid Matching & Interlining

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Continuing on The Great Cape Adventure, I needed to figure out how to match plaid.  I bought extra fabric with this in mind.  It really kind of sucked seeing how much fabric is wasted because of the matching!  I need to get myself a plastic bin for all my fabric scraps.  Plus another for fabrics in waiting.  I can see how people start building up a stash... I also started to use a file folder with several slots to keep patterns in.  GENIUS.

Anyway, in order to start matching my plaids, I turned to the ever smart people at Coletterie and Sewaholic for their trusty tutorials.  They both have different approaches and sometimes one will speak more clearly to me than the other.  In this case it wasn't about which one was more clear, it was simply which one seemed easier!  I went with the tutorial from Coletterie which shows you to lay out your fabric flat, cut one piece, then flip it over and match it.  Cut, flip, match.  Then I switched to the tutorial on Sewaholic, and conveniently Tasia was making a cape too.  Score!  This helped me with my side pieces because they are curved and otherwise wonky.  I'm not entirely sure that my side seams will match beautifully, but the front, back and corresponding side pieces match to each other.  The back mirrors the front, the collar matches the back.  So, I'll look perfect from at least two sides instead of all four.  Also I decided to cut my welt pocket pieces on the bias right on top of a plaid square so I'll get cute little diagonal lines.  Adorbs.  I could tell when I had my pieces nicely matched because they practically became invisible on top of my fabric, as you can see here.
Once I had all of my pieces meticulously matched up, I matched them up with their corresponding pieces of interlining.  I basted them around all sides and like magic, two became one.  I can already tell this is going to be one cozy cape!
I apologize for the poor lighting.  My husband is a vampire.
Bonus!  I finished off my first spool of thread!  Go me!  That must mean I am really becoming an expert.

Once I started sewing together the pieces, I took more care to line up the plaid than to match notches and such.  I am pretty happy with how my matching is turning out!
IZSOPRETTY.
I may have stared at this for an entire night pleased as punch with myself for doing this. Woo!

3 comments

  1. Great work. I am currently cutting out Linton Tweed for a Chanel Style Jacket........it has one inch squares - the fabric is red with the black lines making the outline of the squares.

    What tips for matching up the sleeves, would love your thoughts........they are in three parts!!

    Thanks for sharing with us. Would love to see the finished cape.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for reading!! Your jacket sounds lovely. I'm not a pro, but what I would do is cut the pieces individually and lie the cut piece next to the spot where you want to cut another piece. Start with the "main" piece that is the focal point and arrange your pattern according to how you want the sleeve to look. For example, if the piece is for the outside of the sleeve, you want to make sure that piece is placed the "prettiest". Then line up your other pieces to correspond to your main piece. You have probably found out already, you definitely need extra fabric when matching pieces!

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    2. I would love to see your finished jacket, especially how the sleeves turn out! Mine is officially finished, keep an eye on my blog for pictures. :)

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