Metallic Tweed Suit and Ribbon Stitch Tutorial

03 Apr Metallic Tweed Suit and Ribbon Stitch Tutorial

Greetings, Dear Readers!  I hope those of you celebrating Easter had a joyous holiday weekend.

My love of pink and orange is approaching unstoppable 😉

Actually, this color combo has been a long time favorite that resurfaces periodically, which is usually, but not always, contained to clothes.

I ordered three yards of the pink and orange cotton metallic tweed from Mood Fabrics two years ago and it is now sold out – however, Mood has a nice selection of  metallic tweeds on its website in several types of fabrics. Unfortunately my camera does not capture the metallic thread which shimmers in the sunlight and beautifully reflects the fabric’s colors. (The photo below is from the Mood website.)

Since I had three yards of fabric I went all out this Easter and sewed a suit.

I practically gave up wearing suits when I left my office job years ago, but not all suits are office attire and perhaps I’m ready to ease back into wearing one now and then. For church I kept the accessories toned down,

but I love the contemporary twist that bold accessories and trim bring to classic clothing.

First, I sewed the skirt with a pattern pulled from the stash. The trumpet skirt is a refreshing change from my go- to pencil skirts.

The six piece paneled skirt is fitted through the hips, and flared from the mid-thigh.

I find the fit to be flattering with no pleats or gathering around the abs, yet very feminine with its subtle flair and movement. It’s very deserving of another go!

My jacket pattern is Butterick 5927 and is described as semi-fitted. The pattern is fitted in the bust but is boxy in nature.

I broke my own rule of sewing a muslin and needed to taper the back once the fabric was cut. You can see the tapering in the photo below as the lines of the plaid moved closer together down the back seam.

I made View A which led to all of the fun. I liked the collarless look with the single row button closure. I even liked the two piece front bodice, but once I attached the upper and lower bodice pieces I decided to pursue an alternate waist detail treatment from the pattern’s topstitching recommendation.

TUTORIAL

There is nothing like trim to dress up a garment and it is not always easy to find!

Pfaff offers a collection of patented Ribbon Stitches exclusive to Pfaff and available on several of the Pfaff sewing machines. The ribbon stitches are purely decorative which enable narrow ribbons and trims to be woven into the special stitches as you sew.

The Creative Icon features Single, Double and Triple ribbon stitches – the triple being exclusive to the Creative Icon.

An example of a single ribbon stitch looks like this:

the double like this:

and the triple resembles a braid shown in the upper right and lower left portion of the photo.

I toyed with the idea of sewing the double ribbons directly on to the jacket’s fabric over the seam,

but I quickly realized I could make trim by fringing the fabric once the ribbon was stitched on the top.

Below are the steps I followed to create double ribbon stitch trim:

Pfaff Ribbon Stitches are comprised of a decorative stitch and a travel stitch sewn in the same step by pushing the start/stop button on the machine.

1.Touch the start/stop button on the machine. It will sew the first decorative and travel stitches (the diagonal stitches).

2. Place the first ribbon along the travel stitches (in the same direction).

3. Touch the start button again. After the stitch is complete, place the second ribbon in front of the needle crossing the first ribbon and at the same angle as the travel stitches.

4. Push the start stop button. When the stitch has stopped, fold the second ribbon back over itself and position it parallel to the first ribbon and over the travel stitches. You will have two ribbons on the left side.

5. Push the start/stop button and fold the top ribbon to the right.

6. Push the start stop button.

7.. Fold back over itself and hit the start stop button. Again you will have two ribbons on the left.

8. Repeat these steps to form the pattern until you have the desired length of trim.

 

9. Using a straight stitch sew closely along each side of the ribbons. Cut to the desired width and fringe.

8. For this fabric I placed and sewed the ribbons along the weft (transverse) allowing me to remove the orange threads which created pink fringe.

 

The fabric is  loosely woven which I handled with care. Each pattern piece was stay-stitched as soon as it was cut which prevented some (but not all) raveling. I lined both the jacket and skirt in orange silk crepe de chine.

This was indeed an involved project, but not more than I bargained for at all. I have been looking for a way to incorporate  Pfaff’s ingenious ribbon stitches into my garments, and creating the trim has opened a world of possibilities for working with this technique.

I don’t have a next project planned but there is lots of pink and orange still calling my name😉

Have a good one!