I’m working on a jacket from a re-issued vintage Simplicity pattern. I want it to be extra-special nice so I’m actually doing the lining for a change. And to make it as comfortable as possible (as in, not feel like I’m wearing a plastic bag) it’s all silk. The shantung fashion fabric is great: it has enough body to handle complex seams yet a bit of drape and feels wonderful. The organza interfacing (not nasty fusible) preserves the hand of the fabric rather than turning it into cardboard. Sure, basting the layers together took more work but it was worth it.
Now, the lining is another story. It’s a lightweight silk twill, in a paisley that screams “I’m a Necktie!” But for a lining, that doesn’t matter. (It is indeed tie fabric and I have a bolt of it.) I had hoped that a twill would be somewhat better behaved than a satin. But it will not lie still and every time I look at it my cut pattern piece is a different size. It’s almost as bad as charmeuse. Way more than the organza. I’ve had to use tons of pins to get it to stay put long enough to stitch.
So far I’ve gotten the jacket and the lining each assembled, the lining took almost twice as long. Now I just have to put them together.
