Have you ever discovered a fabric that had the ideal colour but was too thin or flimsy for the item you were trying to make? Do you steer clear of certain pastel or white fabrics because you are aware that the seams will be visible on the right side? Well, these are only two of the many common sewing issues that underlining can quickly fix. Underlining is one of the main distinctions between couture and normal garment construction. Underlining transforms any handcrafted item of clothing into a designer-quality item and gives couture apparel its superior overall appearance.
The challenging part of your project will be over once you’ve experimented with different fabrics and discovered the ideal underlining cloth. First, preshrink both textiles completely before applying the underlining to your fashion cloth. Trim the underlining along the indicated hemline after cutting both the fabric and underlining from the identical pattern pieces. Pin the underlining to the fashion fabric; make adjustments for turn of cloth (fashion fabric thickness) along the lengthwise edges; hand-baste the pieces together (machine basting causes the fabric to draw up slightly, creating puckers in the finished garment’s seams; and the method of using dots of glue in the seam allowance to attach the underlining to the fashion fabric is quicker but stiffens seam allowances); and baste the darts at their centres to keep them from moving while sewing.
When sewing the garment, treat the pieces as one cloth after they have been basted together. To hide hand stitching and reduce transparency, underline. Stretch lace is given a modesty boost by the tricot bathing suit inside fabric (left). Hand stitching at the hemlines of soft cashmere or camel’s wool is concealed by cotton batiste (right). Without the underlining to stitch into, the fragile cashmere fibres would snap at the hem from the weight of the fabric. Underlining naturally adds more steps to the garment-making process, but the minor time investment pays off handsomely by allowing you to use more of your preferred materials.
The basic materials required for underlining are thread, pattern pieces, fashion fabric, underlining fabric, pins, and scissors.
The underlining is chosen based on the following five factors: What exactly are you sewing? Does it fit the fabric’s weight that you have? Is it lighter or the same? (Preferably lighter or the same weight.) What impact do you hope to have? Are the fabric’s quality and stretch compatible or not? Do the care instructions for the outside fabric and the fabric used for the underlining or interlining match up? You can use an interlining to give your garment the necessary strength if you wish to sew a really closely fitted outfit from a thin fabric, like chiffon or thin polyester. A woollen garment, however, might not require underlining.
Generally speaking, underpinning materials ought to be lighter in weight and as soft as (or even softer than) the fabric of the garment. On the other hand, the quantity of support, the kind of structure, and the required drape determine the type of underlining to use. To avoid any stretching and to maintain the structure and shape of the garment, a tightly woven fabric is ideal. Pick a hue that complements the clothing’s fabric. It will show through if the fabric is either too light or too dark. Drape the chosen fabric and the fashion fabric over your hand to see if your choice is appropriate. Examine how they interact with one another to ensure that the underlining does not overpower the fabric of the garment and produces the desired drape and appearance.
Although a wide range of other fabrics can be used for this couture method, cotton batiste, silk organza, and light- to medium-weight cotton broadcloth are the most frequently used textiles for underlining. Underlining can be made from materials as basic or affordable as muslin or even thin fusible interfacing. Everything depends on the particular project you’re working on and the fabric you’re using.
It includes
Cut out the pattern pieces for your clothing as usual. Don’t mark the clothing fabric in any way.
Cut the identical pieces from the lining fabric.
Write the underlining with all the necessary markings.
To make the transferred markings visible, sew each underlining piece to the reverse side of each fashion fabric pattern piece. Verify the alignment of all the edges.
Along the grainline, securely pin the two pieces together in the middle of the joint.
To attach the underlining to the clothing fabric, hand-baste the two pieces together along the grainline. These will be taken down later. Take away the pins.
Each piece should have the underlining manually affixed to the fashion cloth within the seam allowances.
The regular garment construction process can now begin! Your project will result in clothing that appears to be high-end.
In conclusion, underlining makes finishing, stitching, and marking easier. To avoid over handling, the garment fabric, construction markings are applied to the underpinning fabric rather than the fashion fabric. As a result, the markings can be made more obvious, helping with a garment’s general design and fit. When sewing, the underlining serves as a holding surface for stitches that would otherwise be hidden on the right side of the garment or fastened to the fashion fabric.
Since underlining is essentially “fused” to each pattern piece, facings and hems can be attached to the underlining rather than the fashion fabric, resulting in no stitching visible on the garment’s right side. Just keep in mind that underlining differs from lining and interfacing. In actuality, they differ greatly. While lining serves only to conceal the interior of a garment that hangs separately from it, interfacing is utilised to lend rigidity and structure to certain areas of a garment.