Underlining

[Karendee]

Liana,

You KNOW that I don't know this answer, but your fabric is so lovely. The only thing I have read is that muslin is not good enough quality to use for any part of a garment. However, it sounds as though yours has a finer hand and higher thread count and might work well. Will you have the garment cleaned? I would think so, and if the muslin was properly washed and dried any shrinkage would occur at that time and not at the cleaners. I will await answers from the professionals.
Karen

[Ms. Fine Fabrics]

Liana,

We, and a few dressmakers I know here in Santa Barbara, use their muslin as underlinings all the time. I don't imagine you'll be washing your silk, but if you might want to (have) washed the muslin first if you are going to use it in the skirt.

Susanne

[DeniseM]

I find muslin to be too closely woven and stiff for underlining, but I suppose it depends on the garment fabric. I prefer cotton batiste or silk organiza, which breath and are light, giving just enough body to the garment. However, I'm making a faux lamb coat and binding a pinstripe wool from a Michael's bundle onto a silk lining (also from the bundle). But the coat itself is heavy. I wanted an underlining to add some warmth and the wool is light but dense and doesn't seem to add much weight. The only way to decide an underlining is the same way you choose an interfacing. Experiment on some scraps and see what feels best.

[AnnRowley]

Liana, as the skirt is on the bias I think you need to consider how your underlining will drape. I wouldn't use muslin - but yours may be a better quality than is available here.

My first instinct is silk habutai and the second would be cotton lawn. I'm not sure what batiste is, but I suspect it may be similar to our lawn.
If you do use cotton then remember it's likely to cling to your underwear - you may need a slip as well...
 
It's a very intriguing looking design but - and I hate to say this - I wonder if it really needs a fabric with a bit more drape; crepe perhaps? I don't want to put you off but I wonder how those embroidered squares will react to being on the bias. Does Marfy suggest any particular fabric?

Keep us posted anyway...

[LauraS.]

Liana, I have to post again (first time on the sharing thread) that I love, love, love that Marfy skirt. I've used a light muslin for interlining on this dress.  The fashion fabric is lightweight and needed some "umph" to it.  I also lined the dress.  Because I'm lazy and cheap, I've used muslin as linings on full cotton skirts.  Did I say I like that skirt?

laura

[Liana]

Thank you everyone for all the good, fast replies!    I am going to go look at everything again, work on the fitting muslin, and think about all the answers.

Ms Fine Fabrics,  I am really glad to hear that you and others you know are using muslin regularly as underlining.  I will definitely be dry cleaning this fabric, and I plan on prewashing whatever I use for underlining just so I won't have any shrinkage whatsoever.  I assume muslin may shrink quite a bit. 

Ann, I know there are lots of different qualities of what we call muslin, and I think you call it calico.  This seems to me like a lightweight sheeting fabric.  The lawns I have are very lightweight and when you hold them up to the light, you can just about see through them.  I love lawn for summer blouses; there's nothing cooler.  I hadn't thought about habutai.  That could be a nice choice, and now that I think about it, I know I have a white silk broadcloth that might work well.  Marfy unfortunately says nothing about fabric for this design.  Perhaps I should think again about the drape of it with this fabric.  I'm always glad to have your thoughts, even when they shoot down my ideas, since I want to be sure about this before I start in on the real thing, and after all, I did ask.    I know I'll have to either line the skirt with something slippery or wear a slip.  I have resisted unslick underlinings for the most part because of an experience with a skirt a long time ago.  The cotton underlining wanted to stick to everything, even a slip.    It was many years ago though, and looking back, it was not nearly as high a thread count or as smooth as I should have found for it, so for the most part I think it was 'pilot error'.    I don't want a repeat of it though.

Laura,  It's so nice to hear that you really like this design!  I really like it too.     Thank you for showing me your dress with the muslin underlining.  It looks like it did a good job for you, which is nice to know.

[Marji]

Liana, don't know if you remember the whole exercise I went through and blogged about when choosing underlinings for the Great Coat Sewalong...but I found silk batiste was just what was needed for one of the lighter weight wools, and used cotton batiste for another.
I believe it really is a matter of draping over your arm several different choices before you find what's right.
In the past I've underlined with

• polyester chiffon (sounds nuts doesnt' it, but it was perfect) to underline a white poly skirt and pants and eliminate the show-through factor
• Silk habotai to underline wool crepe - did that on that red dress - vintage Vogue pattern with all sorts of bias pleating

don't discount the cotton lawn before sampling - it may be just exactly what you need.
I adore that pattern, but you already know that. 

[fiberfan]

I hadn't thought about habutai.

I underlined a wool gabardine dress with 5mm habotai.  The 5mm was a bit thin, next time I underline with habotai I will use 8mm (common weight for dyed habotai).  Even thorough the 5mm was a bit thin, it worked fine for my dress.

[cmarie12]

Interesting topic!  I'm loving all of the responses and will remember all of the suggested fabrics for future projects.  I've just used silk organza and cotton batiste for underlining so it's nice to learn of some other options.

[Liana]

Thanks to Ann's very tactfully phrased warning about the fabric not being right for this design,  I did a more careful test of whether it was going to hang well on the bias.  Well, it's not.  The embroidered squares just sit there very stably, and the plain squares want to drape on the bias, giving almost a pouch-like effect.  Interesting, but not exactly what I want in a skirt.      So, back to the drawing board, or the inventory, and I have looked through a lot of fabrics I have that would be possibly suitable.  I really want a plaid or check to show off the bias cut with the straight grain pocket lining.  I think I have found the perfect thing.  It's a very lightweight wool plaid.  It's from Pendleton, and it's about what they would make one of their knife-pleated skirts out of.  It seems to have a very nice drape, and this afternoon I had visions of piping the edge of the pocket, and possibly around the entire top of the skirt, as that would be continuous.  We shall see, but for now I am planning on this fabric.  It's a pale pinky-beige and cream plaid, very soft colors, and I have plenty.  I may look at habotai to underline, or possibly some lightweight silk I was saving for lining.  I will also test organza, but on a quick check, it seems to have slightly too much body.

Marji,  I do remember your underlining tests, and that's what I was doing when I decided I liked the way the muslin was working with the original embroidered fabric.  I think that's the only way to test underlining, as IMO there is no ONE perfect underlining for every fabric.  How could there be?  You are an example of how choosing the right one from all the choices available gets you halfway to a successful garment before you start.   

[AnnRowley]

  I think I have found the perfect thing.  It's a very lightweight wool plaid.  It's from Pendleton, and it's about what they would make one of their knife-pleated skirts out of.  It seems to have a very nice drape, and this afternoon I had visions of piping the edge of the pocket, and possibly around the entire top of the skirt, as that would be continuous.  We shall see, but for now I am planning on this fabric.  It's a pale pinky-beige and cream plaid, very soft colors, and I have plenty.  I may look at habotai to underline, or possibly some lightweight silk I was saving for lining.  I will also test organza, but on a quick check, it seems to have slightly too much body.

This sounds lovely.    And a piping on the pocket edge would not only look good but help to stabilise that edge.

It's a really intriguing design and I can't wait to see how it works out...

[DeniseM]

FYI Sarah Veblen is having a class on underlining on Pattern Review starting in July, in case anyone is interested. She goes into much detail on how to choose the best fabrics and how to cut and so forth.