Couture Sewing Techniques, Revised & Updated

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To me couture means tailored garments that are fitted on you and have all the little details that make them fit better on the person.

I’m beginning here with a faced hem… This was the hem of the first Refashioners project I attempted. Before lockdown started I had been commissioned to make a dress for a work colleague of my daughter Katie. Haute couture requires underlinings, facings, seam finishes, bound button holes, matching stripes and checks and of course, using the very best of pure natural fabrics like silk, linen and wool. I've always gotten the impression that it meant hand-sewing, whether tailoring or finishing, and that only a privileges few were allowed to apply it to describe their work.I recently subscribed to an online sewing class by Susan Khalje (Craftsy) and honestly I couldn't npbelieve the messy sewing she produced, big hunky seams, pointless sewing, so long to fit something…. I’ve used it here on an organza skirt for the Dior New Look-inspired evening dress I made 4 years ago. I think a lot of the books marketed as “couture” sewing aim to help us hobbyists add a touch of this couture style—even if it's just careful construction—without having to go whole-hog, since (almost) none of us really want to do that much hand sewing.

She sourced the base fabric with my advice, and a printed quilting cotton Nativity which was sent from the US.It was really just educated guesswork but, eventually, by folding out the 5cms horizontally from each panel I was reasonably confident it would be pretty close. It is interesting this couture sewing – I am a good sewer, able to construct anything, but I can be slapdash and lazy, and I love your blog Sherry as you admit to some of my failings as well. Helpfully, my fabric had horizontal stripes, some opaque and some sheer so I started by placing the crin on the front of the fabric and lining it up with the bottom edge of an opaque stripe. The next one is an interesting hem finish which is very useful especially if you want a quality finish on evening or bridal wear.

What it strictly means, though, I'm not sure… one of my recent RTW dresses has beautiful bound buttonholes, which were sewn entirely by machine.Being a part of the online sewing community and Sew Over 50 in particular has been an absolute joy and a lifeline at times. I’m genuinely pleased with the dress though and in spite of everything I’ll wear it on Christmas Day because there’s plenty of room for expansion!

Couture sewing” seems to be applied to anything that is beyond intermediate level and virtually all hand sewing– incorrectly, in my mind. I would cut everything for each garment as required and then make a ‘bundle’ including all trims (covered buttons, zip, piping cord etc) and labels.

I know what you mean about sewing for others and adjusting your construction sequence to allow for fitting adjustments.