Cartridge pleating and seam finiahing questions

[chargirlgenius]

Cartridge pleating question

I'm planning on cartridge pleating the sleeves onto Jeff's gown. I've never cartridge pleated before, though I'm sure I can handle it. I have a slight problem, in that the edge of the armhole of the gown was finished assuming that I would have a seam allowance (I hadn't thought about cartridge pleating when I did it).

I know that you're supposed to sew the pleats directly to the edge of the fabric. Is it worth me refinishing that edge (maybe folding it over, etc.) or can I pleat the edge of the sleeve to a arm hole with a seam allowance?

I'm also toying with the Elizabethan sewing technique of finishing all of the edges first. The sleeves are fully lined. I've sewn one of the silk sleeves shut, but I didn't finish the raw edges first, so I'm not sure if this is going to work. Perhaps I should have sewn the flat lining to the flat silk, first? I have another technique I'll probably do, along the sleeve length seam, at least. Stitch the layer of lining down in the ditch, folk it over, and then whip the other half of the lining down. As far as I know, though, this isn't documentable, but a more modern tailoring technique.



Brief explanation: The black lines are the silk, and the red lines are the linen. Stitches are left out. The two silk pieces are sewn together with a running stitch. The bottom (straight) red line is sewn to the silk with a running stich that comes out in the seam of the silk, thus hiding it from view. The second (top, bent) red line is sewn to the first lining, and maybe to the seam allowance of the silk, but not all the way through, with a whip stitch.

For the sleevehead, I might just sew the sleeves right side together, for my nice finished edge. I was looking at attack-laurel's description of the process, and she suggests sanwiching them together, right sides out, and doing a running stitch. Only trouble is, this is a significant curve, and I'm not sure how I can avoid seam clipping. Maybe it doesn't matter so much, as a good portion of the sleeve will be cartridge-pleated in to my armhole, but maybe there's a better way?

*sigh* I have lots of ideas, but so far, none of them are jumping out as exactly right, or right without any problems (self-caused or inherent). I'm open to thoughts from people who have used these techniques.

Comments

[attack-laurel.livejournal.com]

The seam allowance for the curved sleeve should fold over fine if you stitch it down to itself first (i.e., "hem" the raw edges). That way, it doesn't fight the fabric on the other side of the seam. I've done it on significantly curved seams with no problem - but it depends on how large your seam allowance is. I usually keep mine to about half an inch.

Cartridge pleating the sleeve in with the seam allowance should work - just fold the edge of the shoulder so that it is the finished size. I usually hem each piece before I sew it, though. But attaching the cartridge pleating works the same whether you hem the raw edges or not - just fold over the edges, and work the cartridge pleats along the edge.

As long as your raw edges are inside the lining, you shouldn't have too much of a problem with them - the problem comes when it's rubbing against outside stuff, and being given a chance to fray.

I'll check in later today to see if you have any more questions. :)

[chargirlgenius.livejournal.com]

I usually go with a 1/2" s/a as well. I decided to double it over, especially on the silk. The silk doesn't give at ALL, and it frays like crazy, so I figured extra protection would help. As it happens, folding it over twice isn't really any more work than once. I decided to do the linen in the same way, as well.

I *think* I have my plan in place - thank so much for the insight. I'll be posting an update today, with more seam diagrams!

[attack-laurel.livejournal.com]

Cool - I will be happy to help, but I'm usually off-line after about noon (when I leave work). I'll check my home e-mail a couple of times tonight and tomorrow (I don't work on Fridays) in case you have a question you need me to answer.

[chargirlgenius.livejournal.com]

Thank you, so much.

I just posted an update. It's long and stream of conscious-y, but I think I learned something while I was writing. I think I have a path forward, but if you have ideas about where I'm going, I'm all ears.