Plum Cloak: Piping

The cloak pattern calls for a facing from the fashion fabric that abuts the lining fabric. I have a ready-to-wear coat that has this construction with piping between the facing and the lining. It's a look I like, so I decided to use it.

I picked up some 1/4" cording and white silk charmeuse from my local favorite Colorado Fabrics. I cut 1 3/4" bias strips from the silk, intending on 5/8" seam allowances. I tried to be as precise as I could with my somewhat limited cutting surface and skills. I knew that as long as my strips were roughly 1 3/4" wide and the angle was bias-y, it shouldn't matter too much. Then I stitched one time down the length of the cording with my zipper foot. I didn't start with the needle flush against the cording, but I found that to work much better. Then I basted the piping to the facing, seam allowances roughly matching so that the piping was just past the 5/8" line.

I am incredibly pleased with the result! More pleased than I ought to be probably, since it certainly isn't perfect. But I think it looks very classy. I love the iridescence of the silk and the polish of the trim.

On the downside, I continue to struggle with my lining pieces having stretched out of shape. I actually hung my lining pieces from a trouser hanger after stitching the first seams. I don't have space to leave out my sewing projects in between my hour-or-two sewing sessions, and I was tired of having to iron them over and over again. I hung them up for about 10 minutes before I realized that probably wasn't the smartest thing I've ever done. Boy did they stretch out of shape! I let all of the excess go to the bottom, figuring I'll just hem it out. Hopefully it won't come back to bite me later. I did hold it up to the cloak outer fabric, and the opening for the arms seem to match up still. So maybe it'll all work out. I'm not pulling on the fabric in the below picture, just holding it out for dramatic illustration.

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Frivolous photo: My three-year-old got a hold of my camera the other day. Luckily he didn't cause any damage, but he did take some interesting photos.