I chose this sheer man-made fabric for an elegant over-jacket style Haori. One of the biggest challenges for this project was ensuring that the opaque lines joined neatly across seams. It required purchasing a little bit more fabric to be able to allow for shifting to match.
The challenge of matching the lines also necessitated adjusting the yuki measurement on the parts. I basically cut at the closest opaque line which did render the garment a little larger. But this resulted, happily, in a nice, lose, flowing over-jacket.
Another challenge was that because the seams would all be eminently visible, it was important that they be as consistent and neat as possible. So I did use the machine and a small hemming foot to achieve this.
The fabric itself was springy and slithery, so pinning was the most time-consuming part. But here the opaque lines came in handy – both as spacers, and a part of the fabric the pins could truly bite into.
However, after multiple experiences, I knew better than to attempt to use a machine for the main seams or the collar. Matching control was far easier, and even with a 60 gauge needle, I did notice that the machine had a tendency to snag the threads of the fabric. Beyond that, the springiness of the fabric meant that, with a machine seam, the haori would not fall naturally into its proper folding configuration.
Ironically, this was the easiest collar attachment I’d ever done. The fabric had zero stretch.
If you look at the bottom of the right hand sleeve, you’ll notice a few holes. Unfortunately, my cat Jacques managed to climb her way into the sleeve bag and I guess the transparency of the fabric freaked her out. She decided to try and chew her way out. I have since done a little bit of repair-work on it with few tiny pieces of ultra-lightweight, black fusible interfacing. Luckily, because the sleeves are dramatic and long, and lie in folds at the side, they’re not too visible. But I will be keeping the cats away from sheer fabric in the future.
If you’d like to have a go at creating something like this, I have a cutting guide for a haori here.