Sew Inspirational

Double Cloth and Double Faced Fabrics

Double Cloth

Double cloth is a little hard to find, but well worth the hunt. It is two distinctly different fabrics joined together by very fine binder threads. It can be different colours, different patterns or different weights on either side of the fabric and is usually made from wool or wool blends, with a few exceptions. It is therefore doubly warm and an excellent choice for outerwear.

Double Faced Fabrics

A double faced fabric is any fabric with two attractive, useable sides. They can be exactly the same on both sides, contrasting colours or contrasting textures. Whichever type they are, you can always be assured that the best coordinate for one side is the other side. They are therefore the perfect choice for reversible garments or mix and match coordinates. Common examples are satin backed crepe, suede cloth, jacquard and damask, woven stripes and checks, wool crepe and ‘shot’ fabrics.

Double cloth can be sewn with conventional methods but to maximise the unique qualities of this very special cloth use specific double cloth techniques on seams and hems and make a stunning garment that is completely reversible. Use run and fell or double welt seams and consider topstitched, self-bound or fold-over braid edges. The extra time spent on these special techniques is far outweighed by the fact that double cloth needs no interfacings, facings or linings.

Select simple, classic styles with fewer seams and design details. We love Burda 7708 this season but you will find excellent choices in every pattern catalogue. Patch or inseam pockets are better than welt. Suitable closures are double sided open-end zippers, double-sided buttons and buttonholes, frogs and toggles. Although looking for patterns with simple lines will make the task easier, really almost any style is suitable if you eliminate or modify surface trims like pockets, frills, pleats and insertions.

To make the double cloth reversible entails sewing double seams and this usually means that one side is sewn by machine and the other by hand. Don’t be tempted to topstitch the second side by machine unless you are specifically looking for a very sporty style. The hand finished technique is the mark of the true specialist. To determine which side to machine and which to hand sew consider the design of both garment and fabric. Do you have to match checks or stripes on one side? Which side will be worn most often on the outside? How many seams do you have?

The machine stitched side will always be neater and more polished than the hand stitched side. Which side do you want uppermost?

The two layers in the seams of the coat have been teased apart, machine stitched, graded, pressed and then hand stitched on the inside to create run and fell seams. The outer edges and hems are also teased apart, turned in on themselves and hand finished. The result is a garment as perfect on the inside as the outside.

Seams

7 steps to perfect seams

1. Before beginning to separate the layers, machine baste 3cm (1 ¼”) parallel to each edge. This will create a straight, even, ‘stop’ line when separating the two layers.
2. (Photo 1) Start to pull the two layers of fabric apart. If you are having trouble separating the layers or are distorting the fabric, use fine pointed, sharp scissors to carefully cut the binder threads.
3. (Photo 2) When you have the whole seam separated, you are ready to sew your seams.
4. (Photo 3) With right sides together, sew the two outer layers of fabric together with a 1.5cm (5/8”) seam. Do not catch the inner fabric layers in this stitching.
5. (Photo 4) Press the stitched seam open and then towards the back of the garment. Grade the sewn seam.
6. (Photo 5) Leave one layer of the inner fabric seam allowance flat and lying over the outer layer seam. Turn the other layer to the inside, on the seam allowance and pin in place.
7. (Photo 6) Slip stitch the folded edge of the seam to the inner fabric layer, only.

Hems and Edge Finishes

• Baste, as above.
• Trim hems and outer edges to 1.2cm (1/2”).
• Fold the edges into the garment and slipstitch the folded edges together.

Buttonholes

Hand stitched keyhole, tailors buttonholes are great or try these four easy steps to make perfect bound buttonholes.

1. Mark buttonhole positions. Draw the buttonhole ‘windows’ at the marked positions. The size of the buttonholes and the width of the lips will depend on the thickness of the cloth and the size of the buttons. ALWAYS make a test buttonhole in a scrap of the actual garment fabric.
2. Machine baste 1.5cm (5/8”) around all sides of the ‘window’.
3. Slash open the window; straight through the centre and into each corner. Then separate the fabric layers, to the basting. Turn and press the slashed window flaps to the inside, to create the opening.
4. Make the buttonhole lips from one separated layer of the double cloth or use a contrasting fabric. Always cut the lips of a bound buttonhole on the bias grain. Slip the lips into the window, between the layers and slip stitch in place.