Hi there – naive question but I don't think I understand what opposite bias means, or what the issue is with it.
Is it to do with how the two pieces of the collar canvas are sewn together? In which case I need to be wary of exactly how I cut out the pieces from the canvas?
I'm also a little confused as in the video you talk about stretching opposite corners of the canvas but it looks more like one whole side is stretched and the other shrunk.
Up till now I've naively copied what's happening in the video but I'm not sure if I need to make sure it's the right way round, or perhaps not even do it at all. Is it an option to cut the undercollar from a single piece of canvas, if we have a piece big enough?
Sorry- can’t work out how to add photos to comments, only to my original posts.
Hi Robbie,
I THINK I understand what you’re asking, as I had same question when I started doing this, my first jacket. At first I couldn’t see why it couldn’t be cut as one piece.
The undercollar is cut in two pieces and then seamed together again to make one piece. This is because the grain on both of the ‘short‘ sides of the collar needs to run in the opposite direction, so it hangs correctly. If you cut it as one piece it doesn’t. The grainline should be marked on the original pattern piece; if you’ve self drafted it you need to mark TWO bias grainlines. So mark two grainlines on the original pattern piece; drawing the left hand and right hand grainlines running in opposite directions.
Trace and cut out half this pattern piece, adding on enough for a small seam allowance at CB. Then cut the other half of the pattern piece, again allowing for the small CB seam allowance. Mark the grainlines which you marked in opposite directions on each piece of your new ‘half’ undercollar pattern pieces.
So now you have two undercollar pattern pieces, each with a narrow centre back seam and each a mirror image of the other (if I’ve explained this correctly!) You will then cut these out ensuring you lay each piece following the direction of the new grainlines you’ve marked. Then sew them together along the small CB seamline you added. And voila! You should have a new one-piece undercollar with grainlines running in opposite directions, so the grain runs perfectly down each short edge of the collar etc.
I‘ll take a photo of mine and see if I can add it here to show you.
Obviously Rory is the expert here, which is why we are following this Forum, if I’ve got this stupidly wrong or misunderstood your question, apologies! Photo to follow, hopefully!
EDITED to add that I learnt this technique from the Cabrera book, it’s certainly not my original thinking; I wouldn’t have had a clue!
Not sure if I completely understand – I will have to take a closer look at the canvas!
I felt I should ask because I got a larger piece of collar canvas in the anticipation of making several coats – so wondered if the way you made up the undercollar was to do with the limited size of the trimming pack piece.
I think at my level it's going to be cutting errors that have a bigger effect on how the collar is sitting anyway 😄
Thanks for the reply and your help generally!
Hi Robbie I wouldn't do it if there wasn't a purpose behind it. In fact I wasn't even taught this method by any of my masters. It is something that I developed myself. Of course, like most, I found out later I wasn't the first to come to this realisation. When I was at Pooles two of the cutters mentioned the same issue, the collar would sit off the neck on one side. One cutter said it always happen on the left and the other side the right. Both had tried every canvas out there to resolve the issue but none could remedy the problem. One of the canvases they showed me was very loosely woven. So much so I could see every stranded in the weave. Since it occurred every time and often on different sides it had to be the weave (the make up of the canvas). It was then that I noticed that the strands were longer on one side that the other, and also equal on opposite sides. Its the short strands that stretch the most so these go on the outer edge, the leaf edge of the collar. If you still don't understand this explanation I would say to simply follow the video series blindly and accept the fact that I know what I am doing. Everything is done for a reason.