Friday, September 23, 2011

The seamstress's lot is not an easy one

Friday, September 23, 2011
Loretta reports:

Since starting my Dressmakers series, I've been fascinated by haute couture seamstresses, since their work comes closest to that of early 19th century dressmakers: every stitch by hand, no paper patterns, expensive fabrics cut with an expert eye.  Yes, today's high-level seamstresses work with modern tools as well as their trusty needles, pins, and scissors—as you'll see in the embroidery work in this Chanel documentary.  But even with the advanced technology, the work is astounding.



Don't know about you, but I couldn't stop with one episode. 

2 comments:

Isobel Carr said...

I can't use paper patterns, LOL! I've tried. I always seem to have a left over piece or something. Plus, I find I have to make a muslin to do a fitting anyway, so I might as well draft it from scratch.

Louise Partain said...

Thanks, Loretta for the glimpse into Chanel prep for the collection. It reminded me of LOL a Project Runway Season 3 challenge in Paris to create a haute couture dress in 2 days. The winner and 1st runner up created lovely handsewn gowns. I learned a lot about what the word haute couture means from that episode -- episode 10 I believe.

 
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