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claireshaeffer

claireshaeffer

VFG Member
This is a sometimes bit of sewing info that might be helpful when making repairs on vintage garments.

Cotton thread was used to stitch most garments through the fifties. It's still the primary thread in haute couture. Cotton thread fades and dries out as it ages; however, it can be rejuvenated by soaking the spool in water. I wouldn't use it to construct a garment, but for mending older garments, it should be ok.
If the thread is faded on a spool, unwrap the faded thread and discard it.

When cotton wrapped polyester or polyester core thread was invented, it was used for most stitching on rtw because it was stronger than all cotton. I was unable to find a date, but I know it was used on Manhattan shirts in the sixties.

Polyester thread is used on all poly or nylon fabrics, garments which might get wet and mold, and seams which need extra strength.

Please add any info you have to this post.
 
Wouldn't Haute Couture use silk thread in a silk garment? I have no idea but figured they did. Of course, cotton thread for cotton garments.

I hate polyester thread, but it is here to stay. Give me cotton and silk!
 
I'm interested in different weights of thread and when to use them. When I shop for modern threads they are mostly all the same weight, but I've inherited a bunch of older threads and some are finer, some thicker. Presumably you use thinner threads for thinner fabrics.
 
That’s very interesting and very timely for me as just the other day I was watching a YouTube video of some woman, clearly a professional seamstress, provide sewing tips and one of them was about thread. She said that the only way to go is with a certain weight (50 if I recall correctly) silk thread and that cotton sold nowadays is of poor quality and not strong at all and that she also never ever uses polyester thread. She was a self-professed thread snob though. I have a huge collection of vintage threads acquired from estate sales over the years and to be honest I use the one that most closely matches the color I need rather than based on material.
 
Barbara, most couture garments I've examine have cotton thread. Silk thread is very strong; and if there is stress on the seam, the fabric will tear. If the thread is cotton, the seam will break before the fabric tears.

There is a fabulous red dress by YSL for Dior at the Met. It was photographed in the first edition of Couture Sewing Techniques. I went back to the Met about 10 years later to give a workshop for NYU students. The dress had some ripping at the waist where the seam was sewn by hand. The thread had dried out and broken. This is a reminder that even when garments are stored under excellent conditions, this will happen. I'll find a photo of the dress.
Victoria, can you send me a message with the name of the "thread snob." She's simply wrong. Cotton thread is wonderful, but it isn't right for all fabrics.
Ruth, I usually use and recommend Mettler or Metrosene threads. They are an excellent quality and they provided free thread for my workshops.
For lightweight fabrics, I like their fine cotton embroidery thread. For most fabrics, I like cotton size 50. I might use the heavy cotton thread for heavy cotton fabrics.

Cotton thread is inappropriate for poly and nylon fabrics. It doesn't have as much stretch as well as it's not as strong. For rainwear, campers, etc., poly thread is better because cotton will mold if it's wet for a long period.

The French hand sewing suppliers have some finer threads but the color is limited.
I have an appt. this morning and will return to this later. C
 
Victoria, thanks for the links with the 2 videos.
The second video is interesting. She is wearing a thimble--maybe leather--and pushes the needle with the side. This is more like a tailor who wears an open-end thimble and pushes it from the top. Dressmakers push the end and old thimbles often have holes at the end.

Her fabric is linen; it's easy to see the grain and folds and creases much more easily than cotton.

She called the last stitch a fell or whip stitch. They are not the same. She made a nice whip stitch. A fell or felling stitch is perpendicular to the folded edge. It is a sometimes called a tailor's or applique stitch. If you have a better quality man's jacket, look at the undercollar; it is traditionally sewn with a fell stitch because it is almost invisible when sewn correctly. In dressmaking, fell and slipstitches can be used for the same process; i.e. sewing a lining to the facing, but the stitches are different.

I recommend holding the fabric differently from either because it is less tiring, but this could be a difference in making a garment and conserving it. In some conservation workrooms, they have a table with a hole so the garment can lie flat as you insert the needle up and down.

I recorded a Basics video for Threads. Here is a link; you can watch free for 10 days.
https://www.threadsmagazine.com/vid...chniques-workshop-basics-with-claire-shaeffer
In another section of the threadsmagazine website, there is an interview I did with Judy Newcomb

I'll come back to the first video on another post. I want to watch it again.
 
I admit I hate polyester thread with a passion :BAGUSE:... eeek! But then I mostly sew with cotton fabrics, and I buy cotton thread only. What I get here is usually Mettler or Gütermann - these are good quality and do not rip! My mom who sews a lot prefers Gütermann. But many not so specialised shops will have a much larger range in colours in poly thread than in cotton. Thankfully I have a large stash, some of it leftovers from my mom and grandma (they would have come with her sewing machine). Some of those spools are easily 30 years old, some even on old cardboard spools. Kette, Zwicky... companies that are long gone. The Zwicky factory wasn't far from here - the factory area has been converted to a residential area over the last decade or so.
Cotton thread is also available in different weights, though in the thicker ones there's even less colour choice. I have one in this dull gold colour that I use for jeans repairs. And I have some old spools of heavier silk thread left over - we call that cordonet and I *think* it would be used for certain decorative stitching...
 
Victoria, I went back to the hand-sew better video. I don't disagree with what she says, but I don't like calling something "crap" I think you can say the Dritz needles are poor quality.
I didn't know that John James was made in China now. I still have some stock which was made in England. I'll try to organize them for the yard sale. I may also have some other Eng. needle brands.
A needle which she didn't mention is the calyx-eye or open-end needle. It has a lot of uses. Here is my favorite: anytime you want to move a short thread. I like the John James; the Colonial needles were sometimes rough and broke the thread.
I agree with her about thimbles. The most difficult thing is to find a thimble that fits--an antique dealer is best because you can try them on. If you don't think you can manage a thimble, use a band-aid.
 
Thank you @claireshaeffer
I think many people would view her as down to earth and entertaining for her style which is probably why she presents it that way. Either way, it did seem informative. I had never before paid attention to needles besides the rough size and even though I probably have a bunch of tumbles lying around in old sewing notion boxes, it had never occurred to me to use them. They always just mostly felt in the way and I guess I don’t sew enough to have noticed the need. I was just curious about her opinion on cotton thread since you had originally brought it up too. I would have assumed that the best thread is the one closest to the material you are sewing rather than statements like “I never use polyester thread”. Silk thread would seem plain silly on a 70s polyester dress IMHO.
With my sewing skills though, I am the stage where I want to learn a straight and even stitch without taking an hour to do two inches. My first goal right now is to learn how to re-hem a dress if I need to shorten it a bit due to damage.
 
Victoria, hemming is not easy because the stitches must be unseen or inconspicuous from the right. Here are some hints:
1 Use the smallest needle possible--a 10 or higher. A small needle will pick up a small stitch on the garment.
2. Use fine thread
3. Making the stitches on the garment, skim the backs of 2 or 3 threads. This takes practice.
4. Keep the thread loose between the stitches--this is not easy.
5. You can make the stitches farther apart if you make a backstitch every time you take a stitch on the hem.

I prefer a blind hemming stitch which is made between the garment and hem.
 
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