Block fusing fabric for dressmaking at home - Laurens Top Sewing Tops - Part 11

Sewing your very own coat, I think, is possibly one of the most satisfying things you can ever make - closely followed by jeans! Sure it takes a bit longer than other types of dressmaking projects but you can get so much more use out of a coat that any other garment. It will go with lots of things in your wardrobe, you can wear it every day and crack it out again each winter for years to come! It’s sewing gold!
After teaching a lot of coat and jacket making workshops over the past few years, one common question that comes up regularly is whether to block fuse with interfacing the whole of the outer fabric of the coat or just interface certain sections of it. It can sometimes be a tricky one to answer as there are various factors to consider but in this post I hope to give you a better understanding of what it all means and help you work out if you should do it for your outerwear project.
Just to be really upfront from the beginning, I am basing my tips and suggestions on my own personal experiences after making 7 coats for myself over the last 5 years with various different fabrics and teaching around 7 coat making workshops over the last 2 years.
Find my blog post with written content from this video in this link-
guthrie-ghani.co.uk/blog/how-...
I also have a video and blog post that is more of an introduction to interfacing that you may find useful to watch first if you are still new to using it - • Laurens Top Sewing Tip...
In my online shop you can find coat patterns, fabrics and woven interfacing. We ship worldwide.
guthrie-ghani.co.uk/shop

[@opiatepix]

So useful! Thanks, Lauren! I use this technique for blazers as well to have a really tailored look. Interfacing the cap of your sleeves also helps with a clean set in.

[@sewlittletime]

Thanks for this Lauren, perfect timing for my Chloe coat 😀👍 xx

[@Sarah-mz3fr]

Thank you so much this is really useful. I’m just about start on my first coat, the Ernest by Republique du Chiffon. I’m definitely going to interface all my pieces now.

[@pollymaxwell5585]

Thank you for this informative video.

[@thedahliasewciety]

Great vlog! Very informative ❤️

[@tamarmiles8839]

Very helpful

[@elsafischer3247]

Thank you

[@carolepearson5512]

Thanks Lauren for such clear and concise information! I am about to make the Yates Coat ( Grainline ) from your Abraham Moon Melton Wool... would you suggest a full block interfacing for this particular wool or would a spot/ strategically placed interfacing suffice?

[@LaurenGuthrieGhani]

When I made my yates I spot fused the whole fabric, then cut out all the pieces then went over it again to properly fuse it on :)

[@quinniequinster3180]

@@LaurenGuthrieGhani Hi Lauren. I am new to your channel. I love your instructional video. Just wondering what material you used for the bluish yates coat in the thumbnail?

[@LaurenGuthrieGhani]

@@quinniequinster3180 I used a 100% melton wool coating by Abraham Moon. We sell a range of it in the shop but that particular colour-way was exclusive to some sewing kits that we sold earlier this month. guthrie-ghani.co.uk/search?q=abraham+moon+melton

[@LigiaRocha]

Hi Lauren, love how you share your knowledge. Would you also interface the sleeves of a coat when you suggest to interface all pieces? Greetings from the Netherlands. Lígia

[@LaurenGuthrieGhani]

Yeh I would, if the fabric needs that extra stability then I would just do it on all the pieces including the sleeves :)

[@AA-gu4mw]

What coat is on the thumbnail? Do you have tutorials on this? Thanks for all of the valuable information you share

[@LaurenGuthrieGhani]

It's the Grainline Yates coat :)

[@allygray100]

Hey Lauren, I’m about to make a Sopparo (sp) out of boucle wool and am now wondering if I should interface the entire coat. What do you think? And thank you for your videos. They really help me :)

[@LaurenGuthrieGhani]

It depends on the thickness and weight of the fabric really. The sapparo is quite oversized and full so you may not want to so the the fabric can still have maximum drape and movement

[@allygray100]

Thank you for responding ❤️❤️

[@elaine58100]

Lovely informative video, thank you Lauren. Please could you tell me the pattern for the blouse you are wearing. It's lovely!

[@LaurenGuthrieGhani]

Thank you :) It's the closet case patterns Kalle shirt. guthrie-ghani.co.uk/shop/pattern/kalle-shirt-dress-closet-case-sewing-pattern

[@DiamondRubyJewel]

​​@@LaurenGuthrieGhani*HI LAUREN. CAN YOU DEMONSTRATE ALONG WITH YOUR ENTIRE EXPLANATIONS? THANK YOU. OTHERWISE IT'S CONFUSING FOR MANY*

[@user-vn6uk4gi3o]

Also, is there a right and wrong side to the Abraham moons Melton wool? U mentioned that the interfacing should be block fused to the wrongside of fabric (and at the same time, you showed thr Melton wool as a demonstration). Does that mean it does have a right and wrong side?

[@LaurenGuthrieGhani]

on the Moons Melton wool I can't see a very obvious right and wrong side, but I did make sure I was consistent in the side that I choose as the right side once I stared fusing and constructing. You could look at the selvedge and sometimes there are very small holes punched into the edge of the fabric there and typically the right side would be the side that it looks like the holes were punched from, hopefully that makes sense! I specified that it should go on the wrong side for clarification in case anyone would watch the video who wasn't using that particular wool. I hope that helps :)

[@lillugful]

Should you somehow pre-treat the interfacing? I would think it would shrink otherwise and shrink up the fabric with it.

[@LaurenGuthrieGhani]

Hi Cindy, I think with regards to re treating the interfacing its worth thinking about how the final garment will be washed and laundered. If you are using a wool or wool mix fabric its going to be best to dry clean that. It's unlikely that dry cleaning would shrink the cotton fabric, therefore there would be no need to pre treat it for that situation. I have never laundered woven interfacing before using it and I have used it to make trousers and jeans before for the waist band and have never found that during subsequent washing it has been affected at all. I hope that helps :)

[@margaretpitts5462]

What weight of interfacing would you use please?

[@LaurenGuthrieGhani]

This is the one I use for my coats guthrie-ghani.co.uk/shop/fabric/black-medium-weight-woven-fusible-interfacing

[@margaretgreenham302]

I have just made my first unlined boiled wool coat. Tessuti Berlin jacket. So, how do I stop getting a stretch pouch over the bottom (seat area)

[@LaurenGuthrieGhani]

Hi Margaret, If its not lined then I don't think you can really stop it from happening. You might need to periodically just give it a really good press with a hot steamy iron to try and set it back into place :)

[@margaretgreenham302]

@@LaurenGuthrieGhani I did think I could put some iron on interfacing just on the back? Would it be very difficult to line it though? Thank you for your reply, you are a great help. X x

[@LaurenGuthrieGhani]

@@margaretgreenham302 I think as its unlined just putting the iron on interfacing might look a little out of the ordinary as usually its hidden away. I've not made that jacket before not not totally sure about lining it I'm afraid :)

[@margaretgreenham302]

@@LaurenGuthrieGhani Thank you for your reply. I think I might just make the jacket again in lining and sew it in? Cant see why that wont work. I can always just clip it out if it’s horrid. X x

[@user-vn6uk4gi3o]

If you block fused the entire Melton wool fabric for the Yates coat, Does that mean you ended up having every single pattern piece interfaced? So, even Including the *sleeve and all facings* pattern pieces?? ..... why I'm asking is because the original yates pattern only asks for 8 pattern pieces to be interfaced. So it made me wonder if u interfaced everything of the Melton fabric instead. and obviously the lining wasn't interfaced.

[@LaurenGuthrieGhani]

Yes, that's right, if you block fuse as I demonstrate in the video, every pattern piece including the sleeves etc all have interfacing. So then you don't need to cut out the pattern pieces for interfacing that come with the pattern as they already have interfacing anyway. Yes the lining is not interfaced.

[@user-vn6uk4gi3o]

@@LaurenGuthrieGhani and is that what you did in your Yates coat on the thumbnail photo? As in... you interfaced everything regardless of whether or not the pattern indicates so?

[@user-vn6uk4gi3o]

@@LaurenGuthrieGhani and is that what you did in your own Yates coat on the thumbnail photo? As in... you interfaced everything regardless of whether or not the pattern indicates so?

[@LaurenGuthrieGhani]

@@user-vn6uk4gi3o Yes thats right, every single pattern piece for the main fabric also had interfacing on it and to make that process quicker I block fused it as demonstrated in the video.

[@isabellamelie]

I thought you were going to demonstrate how to Block fuse the fabric. Next :(

[@LaurenGuthrieGhani]

Hi Isabell, if you skip to about 13 mins 20 secs then you'll see close up videos of the technique I use to block fuse. I hope this helps you with your projects :)