Flatlining is not underlining!

I am going to start with a bit of a beef! 

I am in the process of making up the Brownie jumper-dress (details below!). The fabric is a brushed cotton/flanelette (not sure which) plaid. I predict that it would be very clingy to t-shirts and tights worn underneath and decided to underline it (I debated between underlining and regular lining.)

Flatlining

Underlining is a technique where you attach a second fabric to the main fabric and sew it as one. There are several reasons to underline. It can help control the main fabric, for example, it can make a see-through fabric more opaque, or, as in my case change the texture. HOWEVER, there is a refined method of underlining which is called flatlining. Briefly, flatlining is a method of underlining where the underlining fabric wraps around the raw edge of the main fabric in order to enclose the raw edge. It ends up looking like a hong kong binding, and is such a nice finish. I first heard Maria (at Pattern Review) talk about this, and she has an excellent tutorial on her blog about how to do this. Check out her instructions on blog here if you are interested in the technique. I had a question which she did not address on her blog (but she responded rapidly when I sent her a message. And frankly the thing I was trying to do is not doable!)

Where am I going with this? Well, I made the mistake of randomly trying to find out more information on Google. (Why did I bother when I had already found the BEST description of flatlining?!) I clicked on three different links, all of which seemed to have copied MISINFORMATION from each other. They all described basic underlining and called it flatlining. UGH how frustrating was that?! Just a word of caution, I guess!

This week I sewed up a pair of  5/4 woven boxers (5/4 =  pattern company name) as sleeping shorts for the entomologist. I thought this would be a bit of a change from the usual pattern I make. I used remnants from the Christmas PJ sets. 

I had hoped to balance the crimson from the rear panel on the front with the fly facings, but of course - they face IN. I could have folded them to the exterior, had I been thinking it through! He is not a fan of the button!

Inside

Back to the Brownie dress and lessons in plaid pattern matching. I made up a muslin on Friday, with the nylon/polyester that was the lining in the kimono I upcycled. It really frays a lot, and is not useful for any other purpose. The finished muslin looked a bit like an old-fashioned nurse's uniform! It went together very nicely, and the fit was good, needing only a bit of an adjustment to the princess seam above the bust. A hollow chest adjustment, it seems to be called. 

I did try to outsmart the instructions by installing the zipper before attaching the back and front shoulder seams. Bad idea, because you have to pull the sides through the facings! (Glad I decided to make it up pretty much fully even though it was only a muslin, and that I had used a separating zipper which I happened to have on hand!) I thought it was going to be a bit short, but the length works. I am thinking of adding an in-seam pocket where the skirt meets the bodice. This might be a bad idea, though...

I am using the plaid pictured in the photo to the left. It was a stand-in for the very expensive Italian cashmere that I did not buy. I like the colours, but at the price I paid, I guess I could not expect it to be perfect.

I am using this as a practice in careful plaid-matching. So even though I had lots of fabric, I cut out in a single layer, in order to line up each piece carefully. I sharted with the centre front piece, did the side front pieces, then the back side pieces, then the centre back pieces. When I got to the very last centre back piece... it only lined up with one piece, not with the other side. HUH?!😦 See the circles in the photo.

I still can't figure it out - sure the plaid may not be perfectly on grain, but this is ridiculous!

"BUT it's okay; I have lots of fabric. I will try again." 

Same thing. This time I thought that it was best to have the mis-match at the side seam. So I lined up the centre back seams, and went ahead.

I measured out and cut out my underlining (a slippery poly or rayon that I have had for years.)  This is difficult - because if it is too narrow it pulls the main fabric in. I was more careful with my line tracing than I had been with my gray Marta skirt. That time I had to slash the underlining and add a piece. To eight different pattern pieces. NOT FUN. 

I started sewing in the underlining, and, well, it is fitting, JUST. Almost not....

And then the next morning I realized something. (Some readers may have already got there).... my mismatched seam is not the side seam, but the back princess seam. 

Back to cut another piece!

By the time I got to the end of the weekend I had had to re-cut three different bodice pieces, and will probably have to do something with one of the skirt pieces. 

You see - I worked hard to match the pattern at the skirt centre front and centre back; and completely forgot to match the sides. Learning a lot, though!One of the pieces would not line up at the shoulder seam if I lined up the pattern...  I also unstitched some bits in order to realign the pattern. It did not work entirely, though!

Finally, a few photos of the very nearly finished Mitchells. Still have the hem to sew. And yes, she did notice the strange thing going on with the pockets (they are a bit asymetrical), but she says they are very comfortable and will be perfect for the summer weather she is heading to!