Heads & Shoulders
- fabman556
- Aug 3, 2017
- 4 min read
Not this "Head and Shoulders."
THIS heads & shoulders.
The Seersucker Suit Project, Part Four
Components of this project include two shirts, which are completed, a 2-piece seersucker suit, and a pair of linen pants. The project continues with some structural work inside the jacket: making custom shoulder pads and sleeve heads.
Shoulder pads give shape to a jacket. Commercial shoulder pads are available (I'm not referring to the massive shoulder pads some of us remember from the 1980s), but the selection is not great, as not many people are tailoring these days. I prefer to make specific shoulder pads for each jacket, using the jacket pattern pieces as a guide. These will be a better fit and follow the lines of the jacket.
Shoulder Pads
To make custom shoulder pads, you'll need Pellon fleece from the interfacing area at the fabric store (not apparel fleece). This is a polyester non-woven padding material, and is 44" wide, folded in half on the bolt just like fashion fabric.
Tip: Buy a few yards when interfacing goes on sale and put it on your stash!
Begin by laying out the fleece (both layers, just like it was on the bolt) on your cutting surface. Lap the front and back pattern jacket pieces at the shoulder seam (I just pin them together). Position this on the double layer of fleece and pin to secure. Using a marker (I use a water-soluble marker...the markings come out with a spritz of water), trace the armhole edge from notch to notch (the notched used to match up the sleeve to the armhole) and the small portion of the neck edge.
Remove the pattern pieces and measure in an inch or so from the shoulder area and make a mark. Then draw an arc from one notch to the shoulder area and then to the other notch, creating a smooth curve. Mark an "F" at the front of the shoulder pad on both layers near the "point" (see photo, below) Cut around this double piece of fleece. This is the base layer of the shoulder pad.
To create the middle layer, place the base layer on another area of the fleece and trace around it. Mark 1" inside the tracing on the curved edge; mark an "F" at the front on both pieces of this middle layer as you did on the base layer. Cut on the inside line. This creates a stepped-out effect to gradually increase the thickness of the shoulder pad while tapering the shape. Repeat the process to create an upper layer using the middle layer, and again mark 1" inside the tracing on the curved edge and cut on the inside line. Again, mark an "F" at the front on both pieces.
Separate the layers; use one of each for each shoulder pad. Lining up the armhole edges, stack the upper layer on the middle layer with the "F" markings facing the same direction. Using a wide zig-zag stitch, stitch around the curve to secure the layers.
Stack the combined layers on top of the base layer with the "F" markings facing the same direction and repeat the stitching around the curve. Now the shoulder pads are completed!
Sleeve Heads
Sleeve heads give shape to the top of the sleeve, keeping it from collapsing. They are easy to make, using the same Pellon fleece used to make the shoulder pads.
Cut two 2" x 8" rectangles from the double layer of fleece. Fold each single layer in half widthwise and pin in place. Using the wide zig-zag, stitch on the long edge to secure it. The sleeve heads have now been completed!
Placing the Sleeve Head
Insert a sleeve head in each armhole: fold the sleeve head in half lengthwise and mark the center. Align this mark to the end of the shoulder seam, with the folded edge of the sleeve head running along the sleeve cap stitching line and the cut edges extending into the sleeve; pin in place. Slip stitch in place along the sleeve cap stitching line (Yes, this is the dreaded hand sewing, a typical exception for me, only because I haven't figured out how to do it by machine.) Repeat for the other sleeve.
Next, set in the shoulder pads. Align the armhole edge of the shoulder pad with the edge of the sleeve cap seam allowance inside the jacket and pin in place. Here's where it gets tricky: how to stitch them in place. Three different tailoring books in the sewing studio library directed three different methods. I have never been truly satisfied with the various methods I have tried in the past, and was not impressed by the tailoring books guidance, so I turned to YouTube and found a method I liked. YouTube can be a good resource for this type of thing. (Hmmm. Maybe I need to get some videos out there!)
The shoulder structure is now in place, and the jacket is ready for the lining and collar facing. Stay tuned...!
Old Business
Remember the patriotic shirt I made several posts back for my friend, Larry? I saw him last week, and he modeled the shirt for the blog. We thought you'd all like to see him in it!
Until next time keep those sewing machines humming!
DTFM
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