Fine Things, By Hand

Céline. Couture sewing | Historical costuming | Knitting | Other fibre arts and needlework. Original posts.

[onegirlatelier]

January, 2025 | Making a 1930s Qipao: Making and sewing

13) Sew the buttons

Arrange the buttons so that the knots sit exactly on the seams.

Draw or thread-trace where you plan to place the buttons. I anchor my thread within the button as there is no place to hide the thread ends on the main body. The thread should be on the side of the button facing you. Sew from the end of the button. The first stitch is perpendicular to the marked line.

Bring the needle out and insert it perpendicularly through the button to bring it back.

For the second stitch on the main fabric, insert the needle into the same spot where you sew the first stitch, but make it diagonal to the marked line so that it comes out 2mm away from the first stitch.

Repeat the steps to sew towards the head of the button. All the visible portions of the thread should stand perpendicular to the surface of the main fabric. They should be even and about half the height of the button. I repeat the final stitch and tie a knot, hiding the thread end inside the button.

The finished button.

The loops are sewn in the same way.

I sew from the bottommost pair of the buttons because it is the least noticeable. Hopefully I will have gained some experience when I need to sew the ones near the neck and on the collar.

Note that the top button on the side is slanted and the buttons near the neck are vertical, which provides the best support for the fabric to hang on the body (Figures 10-13f and 10-13g).

I do not sew through the lining when I sew on the collar buttons.

14) Sew the snap buttons to the opening

Snap and hood-and-eye closures are very much historically accurate. I sew a pair of hood-and-eye closures to the top of the collar and one or two pairs of snap closures on each side of the neck opening. These are done with buttonhole-stitches. I have nine pairs of buttons on the right side, which is enough to close it securely. I will sew snap closures on the side, too, if I place the side buttons more sparsely.

15) Press to finish.

11. Conclusion

It is my wish to write about qipao for an English-speaking audience. It has been way too easy to find sexualised depiction of qipao in art and popular media, not to mention that some of those were made by Western authors according to their imagination of the Far East in ways that ignore the rich and nuanced cultures of its wearers. Instead of an essay on the double discrimination faced by women of colour or on orientalism, I offer a description of the history and construction of qipaos.

In the introduction, I briefly discussed qipao as a product of feminism and westernisation. Therefore, early-twentieth-century women wearing qipao were in fact actively engaging in and promoting social changes rather than objects to be gazed at. It should also be noted that women did not simply adopt western fashion. Qipao combines Chinese traditions with foreign trends, indicating the wearers’ efforts to negotiate between the old and new China in a time of great turbulence and confidence in their Chinese identities.

Dressmaking could be a way to appreciate, rather than appropriate, other cultures, as it prompts us makers to observe existent garments in detail and consider what is beautiful and dignified. Why we adhere to some rules whilst making creative decisions? Why must the collar be so fitted? Why do we add positive eases? For me, low side slits and generous eases suggest the female body with an attractive subtlety and are practical for moving and eating. I also appreciate that the smooth lines of the sleeves, shoulders and collar are the same as the graceful curves of Chinese art and artefacts for millennia. These are some of my examples to show that whilst garments are specific to their times and often showcase the dynamic, intertwined nature of cultures, respectful adaptation is based on a genuine understanding of the original culture.

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Here's the video of how I make the knot buttons:

[onegirlatelier]

January, 2025 | Making a 1930s Qipao: Sewing and finishing

Heh, my last post has been labeled mature content...It's in review, but I hope the issue resolves soon. The making continues:

9) Finish the left side slit

Draw the ink line to Point A, which is parallel to the top end of the slit (Point B). Mark the point 1.5cm higher than this on the side seam (Point C) and draw a triangle with a right angle and two 45-degree angles, as in Figure 10-9a.

Sew the dark green tape to the side seam, fold over and press

On the wrong side of the light green tape, mark the line that is going to be stitched to the ink line on the main fabric. Draw a line at a 45-degree to this

Fold along this diagonal line, wrong sides together, and press.

Pin the light green tape to the main body. Continue the unfinished stitching from Step 8 all the way to the diagonal line

Fold over the light green tape and press. For a narrower and more stable binding, it would be okay to leave the diagonal edge open. For this wide silk tape, I sewed it down in invisible slip stitches. The stitches need to go through all layers.

From the very top tip of the corner, draw the side seam onto the light green tape to Point A. Baste the bias tapes to the main fabric, 1mm away from this line in the seam allowance.

Finish both the front and back sides of the slit.

Turn to the wrong side. Clip the seam allowance at the tip of the corner perpendicular to the seam, which is the mark on the right in the picture.

This allows you to French-seam the portion above the slit, which is unfinished from Step 6. Make a small diagonal line at the end of the French seam. Trim away the excess seam allowance, turn and sew the second row of the French seam from the tip of the slit back to the sleeve cuff.

On the wrong side of the slit, trim away the excess seam allowance on the main fabric and finish the binding. I neaten the top by folding the bias tape. It is difficult to finish the raw edges of the narrow dark green tape, but fortunately it is only a very small bit cut on true bias, so it is not going to unravel as long as other parts are appropriated stabilised.

Image caption: Finished slit on the left side.

10) Finish the edges of the back piece

Continuing from the left side seam, finish the binding of the back hem and up the right side. Treat the right side as the back half of a slit and finish it the same way as you sew the left side.

11) Finish the cuffs

After pressing the side seams towards the back, finish the cuffs.

12) Make knot-and-loop buttons

I use the same silk from the binding to make the buttons. This is a 16-momme silk charmeuse and I fold it vertically three times to make a cord with eight layers. For the second fold, I keep the raw edges 1mm away from the folded edge. This way, the raw edge will not show after the third fold. I press the first and second folds into shape and whip-stitch the folded tape together. The whip-stitch lends some flexibility to the tape so you can stretch the cord to make it narrower. I use a 4cm-wide bias tape for this and end up with a 4mm-wide cord.

The first fold.

The second fold.

I will add a video for how I make the knot (edit: added to the bottom of the last qipao post). I like to hold the two ends of the cord securely in my left hand as I neaten up the knot. Pull the cord tightly and you should end up with a very firm and round knot. The whip-stitched sides of the two ends should face the same side.

To finish the button, insert the needle from between the two cords. There is no need to anchor the thread as it will not slip.

Wrap tightly twice or three times around the cords and sew through the two cords to secure the thread.

Snip the ends into an elongated triangle. I also like to trim away the excess fabric inside the triangle.

Continue to wrap tightly a few times and secure the thread.

Turn the button so the side without the whip stitches face you. Flatten the bit immediately before the wrapping and fold the triangle underneath. Use the remaining thread to sew through the triangle and the cords to secure the end, placing the stitches strategically so that the button is narrow.

It is important to flatten, instead of opening the cords. Compare Figures 10-12i and 10-12j: flattening the cords avoids leaving a gap.

Add a few whip stitches to sew the two cords together. The direction of the whip stitches should be opposite to that of the original ones, as this helps correct the twisting of the cord.

Everyone works differently so it takes a trial or two to know where to sew the end so that all buttons have the same lengths. They do take a lot of practice. I make spare ones so that I could pick the prettier ones.

[onegirlatelier]

January, 2025 | Making a 1930s Qipao: Sewing and finishing

I'm back from my hiatus! I will be posting the last two segments today.

10. Making the qipao

1) Shape the chest, waist, back, hip and thigh areas via steam-pressing

The front piece is longer than the back and curves out a little, which accommodate the bust. The aim of shaping in the bust area is to shrink the length of the side seam on the front piece so that it could match the side seam on the back piece and push the fabric from the side of the bust towards the centre.

When I match the front and back piece, the side seam at the front is a little longer around the bust.

There is also a curve on the front side, unlike the almost straight seam on the back.

There is excess fabric at the side seam as I pull the fabric towards the centre of the bust.

I run a row of small running stitches for about 14 cm around the bust area to pull the side seam into the same length as the side seam on the back. A greater length of running stitches is needed to reduce a greater length of side seam.

Then, I use a steam iron to smooth out the small gathers. The arrows indicate the direction of the iron (Figure 10-1e). Push and pull the fabric using one hand, and use the sides of the iron to coax the fabric into a new shape. Be very gentle as you do not want any creases pressed into the fabric, which easily happens with steam. Some fabrics are more easily moulded than others. You might need to do it in small amounts over several sessions.

The maximum amount I can reduce over 14cm is 1.5cm, which I am happy with. The side seam now looks straight and matches that on the back (Figure 10-1f). I stabilise it with a thin tape. This should be sewn from the right side if you intend to encase the tape in a French seam later. For the right side of the front piece, since there is no seam allowance, remember to place the tape and running stitches within the pattern.

The fabric has been moulded so that it no longer lays flat. I check this by putting a pair of bra padding underneath the bust area.

Use the same method to shape the hip and thigh areas. For the hip area, I sew running stitches 10cm respectively above and below the hip point and reduce the length on the seam on the back piece by 1.5cm. For the thigh area, I sew running stitches 5cm above the hip point and 20cm below and reduce the seam on the front by 2cm. I prefer that the front hem either hangs straight or sways backwards a little.

2). Making the standing collar

I like to finish the collar as early as possible, since a sturdy, fitted collar makes sure that the entire dress hangs correctly on the body. You will have three layers for the standing collar: the main fabric, the lining and the interfacing. There is no seam allowance for the interfacing, and I trim away the seam allowance for the main fabric later. If using fusible interfacing, attach it to the main fabric with an iron. If the interfacing is not fusible, baste it to the main fabric close to the seam on the top and sides (Figures 10-2a and 10-2b).

Next, I sew the binding. The row of dark green is 2mm and the light green is 1.5cm. My dark green tape is thus 1cm wide and the light green tape is 4cm wide. I first draw a line 1.5cm away from the seam.

Align one edge of the dark green tape with this drawn line, right sides together, and stitch 2mm away from the edge. Because the silk bias tape is very stretchy and 2mm is a narrow width, you can just lightly bunch and stretch the tape at the corners. Fold it over and press.

Place the light green tape on top of the dark green tape, right sides together, and stitch the light green tape at 1.5cm away from the seam. I find it helpful to baste first so that I don’t have to maintain the width of the silk bias tape and do tiny stitches at the same time. Make mitered corners. Fold the light green tape so that it is right side out, and press with steam.

After that, fold over the light green tape to the wrong side of the collar, and press with steam again. Finally, whip-stitch (or use whatever stitch you prefer) it onto the interfacing, but not through the main fabric (Figure 10-2f). If you are using a fusible interfacing and cannot separate it from the main fabric, you can use an adhesive, but on the edge of the bias tape only and away from the edge of the collar. Leave the lining unattached.

I use this method for all the places on the dress with the same finish, except that in other places, I fold the raw edge of the tape under on the wrong side and press lightly before whip-stitching.

(Some makers sew multiple rows of tapes together and treat it as a single one afterwards. I find it incredibly difficult to do this whilst keeping the widths of the silk charmeuse tapes even, without some sort of starching or stabiliser. If you can control your tapes better, this is an entirely valid method. It works better if you are applying the bias tape onto mostly straight edges, as straight running stitches reduces the flexibility of the tapes.)

Press a crease for the bottom seam that is going to be attached to the neckline, too.

3) Shaping bias tape for the neckline on the bodice

Draw the neckline onto the main fabric and stabilise it with one or two rows of running stitches to prevent distortion. You can cut open the neckline at some point after this to hold the fabric more easily.

The neckline decorations are appliquéd to the main body. I first fold and press the light green tape to the desired width. I meant to do 1.5cm but accidentally made it 2cm, which is why it looks a bit wide in the pictures. In general, though, if the finished neckline binding is wider than 2cm, I would simply cut a piece of fabric simply in the shape of the neckline, as it is very difficult to shape a wide bias tape into a tight curve.

Cut a separate piece of sturdy paper in the shape of the neck opening and place it on the pressing table or cloth. Gently curve the bias tape, wrong side up, and press it into shape with steam. Remember to leave some extra tape on the ends at the CF.

When the collar has dried and cooled down, place it onto the main fabric, both right side up, and stitch the inner circle (i.e. the neckline) to the main fabric with an invisible slip stitch. Draw the outer circle onto the main fabric.

Lift light green tape and align the edge of the dark green tape with the line of the outer circle and stitch 2mm away from it. Fold over and press. Finally, pin the outer circle of the light green row into place and appliqué with an invisible slip stitch.

This process would be a lot easier if you apply a very thin layer of temporary fabric glue.

4) Attach the collar to the bodice

Align the neckline to the bottom seam of the collar and stitch through only the main fabric of the two parts (Figure 10-4a). Clip the seam allowance on the neckline and baste first if needed.

To finish the standing collar, sew on the lining. I just fold the raw edges under, press and whip-stitch it to the collar, carefully avoiding stitching through the main fabric (Figure 10-4b). I use my left hand to curve the collar so that the lining is actually a little less wide (horizontally—not less tall) than the main fabric, which help the finish collar to naturally curve and fit the neck better. This is difficult to do when you are sewing from the lining side, but just try your best.

This method of attaching the lining has the additional advantage that it is relatively easy to change the lining without taking apart the whole collar.

5) Sew the under-layer of front opening

I then attach modesty panel to the wide seam allowance on the main body, indicated by red line in Figure 10-5a.

I double-roll the raw edge from the neckline to the bottom of the modesty panel and whip-stitch it. There is hardly any seam allowance along the CF for the main fabric so I fold over the bias tape to cover the raw edges.

Image caption: It is okay if the two sides do not close at the CF. This will be covered by the front piece.

6) Finish the neck opening of the upper-layer

Stabilise the curved lines on the neck opening of the front main piece and finish the edge. There is no seam allowance along this edge.

Finished collar and opening, bar buttons.

7) Finish the first row of French seam for the sides.

On the left side, the side seam is between the front and back pieces of the main body. Pin the shoulder section and the main front piece together at the side seam and sew as one piece. On the right side, the side seam is between the back piece of the main body and the modesty panel. Baste or pin to check that the front and back parts of the side seams align.

The side seams will be French-seamed. Sew the first row of a French seam, about 6mm away from the seam (the width depends on the thickness of your fabric), all the way from the cuff to about 20cm away from the top end of the slit.

8) Finish most of the raw edge on the front piece

Continuing from the top curve in Step 6, sew the binding all the way down the right side. Double-check the length and symmetry of the front hem and that the hem curves up for an appropriate amount. Finish the binding on the hem and up the left side slit. Leave about 20cm of the slit unfinished.

The rest of the process will be in next two or three parts!

[onegirlatelier]

January, 2025 | Making a 1930s Qipao: Toile and fitting issues

8. Making a toile

For a first qipao, it is important to make a toile. This will give you some approximate idea on how a qipao is supposed to hang on the body. Calico (also known as muslin in the US) works for the toile, but a viscose or cheap silk can be used to best estimate the effect of silk. Calico is stiffer than silk, and a slight tightness or bagginess at the underarm and chest areas in a calico toile might not be felt in a silk qipao even if one uses the exact same pattern. I highly recommend making a toile for the standing collar, too.

Even for a qipao without shoulder seams, it would be more economical to cut the front and back separately and seam the shoulders for the toile. You would not need to slant the pattern if you are making a toile in this way, but you may wish to do a ‘test run’ for the slanting if you are going to be doing it for the actual dress.

9. Some common fitting issues

1) Collar and neckline

The standing collar should fit as snugly as possible to your neck, though you should obviously be able to breathe in it! You might need a smaller neckline than you expect. Sometimes the neckline will be pulled wider by forces towards the underarms, so a very fitted neckline may not feel as tight as expected when you try on an entire qipao.

Unlike a kimono collar, there should not be a gap between the collar and the back of the neck. If this occurs whilst the front of the collar fits fine, try raising the neckline at CB so that the standing collar is not pulled down.

If the collar fits well at the base of the neck but gaps around the mid-section of your neck, the collar pattern needs to tilt upwards more.

Drag lines from the neckline downwards indicates that the neckline is too deep, as the collar is pulling up the dress. Horizontal lines mean the neckline is not deep enough as the fabric pools.

2) Underarm

It is expected that the fabric at the underarms will bunch together when your arms hang down, as this excess fabric allow you to raise and move your arms freely. It is also normal that the underarm area initially feels too tight, especially if the wearer is more used to loose-fitting garments such as t-shirts.

However, there should not be too much bunching. You might need to experiment a little to determine where the excess fabric is from in the underarm area. Prominent drag lines that goes almost horizontally from the sides towards your chest might indicate that the upper-chest is too large. If drag lines go in all directions from the underarm, you might need to reduce the circumference at the armpit and/or the general circumference of the sleeve.

3) Side slits

The side slits need to look just closed when you are standing straight, which is generally achievable on average body shapes (Figure 8). Even through it becomes unnoticeable once the wearer is walking, open side slits are seen as unbecoming. The commonest reason for open slits is insufficient easing or darts at the bust and the hips, which pulls CF and/or CB upwards. Viewing from the side, check each edge of slit to see if it hangs perpendicular to the floor. If it hangs away from the perpendicular line, pinch away around 1cm at the side of hips (on the front or back side, depending on which edge you are checking) and see if it is corrected. It is uncommon to find the edges overlapping, but this would be caused by too big of a bust dart or too much shrinkage during shaping.

Figure 8. Quarter view for another qipao I made.

4) Bust and waist

It is normal to have some slight drag lines from the BP downwards and sidewards, especially if you are making a qipao without bust darts, because of the hip curves. It can be reduced with a larger bust dart (or more easing) and more positive ease at the hips.  

5) Back

If the fabric bunches up horizontally across the back of the waist, the back is too long compared to the front. In this case, shorten the back, stretching the side seams at the waist so that the side seams match those of the front. Another possible reason is a tight hip measurement, which causes the fabric to bunch up.

If the back part seems too loose and there are drag lines from the side of the waist downwards to the CB, the hipline on the pattern is higher than the actual hipline, i.e. the garment is too loose at the area just above the hipline.

6) Sleeve cuffs

If you feel that the sleeves are too loose or straying away from the arms, try reducing the cuff width or easing the cuff a little when you finish it during the sewing process.

Pattern adjustments can only do so much. Sometimes it is really easier to adjust the posture than to adjust the pattern. For example, I have hyperextension, and I know I should avoid locking back my knees for the side slits to close nicely. Additionally, drag lines at the underarms will be inevitably be more prominent on people with sloping shoulders. If I pull my shoulders up and back in a ‘shrug’ motion, some lines will go right away. This is not to say that sloping shoulders are ‘unhealthy’ or not beautiful—as they actually make the shoulder lines look smoother—just that people should be not too stressed about making everything ‘perfect’ and wrinkle-less. Whilst we tailor the qipao to complement our bodies, there is no single ideal form!

[onegirlatelier]

January, 2025 | Making a 1930s Qipao: Cutting out the pattern

7. Cutting out the pattern

I will discuss cutting now, since some people might like to fit directly using the fashion fabric instead of doing a preliminary fitting with a calico toile. See Sections 8 and 9 for fitting.

Prewash and press all the fabrics, including scraps for lining, interlining, and other support, that you plan to use. Check if the weft and warp are perpendicular to each other, and correct if needed.

Dressmakers all have their preferred way of cutting. For some, it is not even necessary to have a paper pattern, as they draw directly on the fabric and cut with a regular seam allowance. Traditionally, the fabric is folded once vertically and once horizontally, so that only a quarter of the whole pattern (e.g. front right) is drawn on the fabric. The folded fabric is also partly pulled, folded, pinched, and shaped with steam before all four layers are cut at once, so that there would be enough room for seam allowances at the chest opening, as stated in Section Two, and with extra length in the front to accommodate the bust. I should like to demonstrate this with photographs in another post! Other makers prefer to draw the front and the back separately, or even the entire pattern, before cutting. Some makers thread-trace the entire piece anyways, so drawing out the entire pattern would not really be an extra hassle.

I personally use a disappearing ink pen to draw the entire pattern, and thread-trace everything, including any marks. I thread-trace because the ink usually disappears sooner than I am able to complete the qipao, especially if I steam-shape the fabric in the sewing process. In my experience, it is okay to iron areas with disappearing ink (even if the packaging says otherwise), but test first on a scrap of fabric.

I suggest leaving a wide seam allowance for areas above the hips, so that you can adjust the fit if needed. You might have noticed that seam allowances are unnecessary along some edges. I just prefer to keep them at this stage and trim later, in case I need to slightly enlarge the pattern.  

I leave the neckline traced but uncut until I am ready to work on it. I stabilise the neckline with large running stitches before cutting, and once cut I aim to finish the neckline as soon as possible.

In addition to the main body piece, you would need to cut the collar and the modesty panel. The collar needs to be cut from the main fabric, the interfacing and the lining. Depending on the design, it may not need a seam allowance along the top and side edges.

Last but not least, you will need to cut out the bias tapes for the binding and decoration, if you are making them yourself. You can pre-fold and press them at this point or later when you need to use them.

[onegirlatelier]

January, 2025 | Making a 1930s Qipao: A brief explanation on steam-shaping

6. Shaping

For a non-silk/wool fabric, you will need bust darts unless you (or the wearer) have a very small cup size. The back darts help eliminate drag lines (if any) and shape the back without using the stretching/shrinking method. You can also decide whether you want back darts later when you have finished the gown. Pin/glue/tape the dart parts and check that the side seam on the front piece can line up with the side seam on the back piece, marking the hip points for alignment.

For silk and wool, the darts could be replaced by shaping by stretching/shrinking the fabric with steam. This is done on the side seams: if you have not tried this technique before, imagine using steam to shrink ‘away’ the dart, or stretch the fabric to ‘add a gusset’. Shrink at the underarm, bust (front side only), hips and cuffs, and stretch at the waist. The bust and hip areas must be sufficiently shrunk for the slits to close just right when the wearer is standing. For the front piece, I shrink from about 10cm above the hipline to about 20cm below, so that the fabric curves following the protruding curves of my thighs.

Section Five demonstrates the way to make a pattern with bust darts. To make it dart-less, disperse the bust dart on each side into three or four smaller darts and draw a gentle curve (Figure 6).

Figure 6. Removing a dart.

Personally, I find that the silks I buy in China and Japan are more loosely woven and easier to shrink or stretch. The silks produced in the UK or Europe seem more tightly woven and harder to shape. (I have steam-shaped quite a bit of wool since my last qipao – so my skill might have been improved!) If the fabric is difficult to shape, consider adding back chest darts.

See Section 10.1 for the exact technique of using a steam iron to shrink/stretch fabrics, which is done after the fabric is cut but before any seam is permanently sewn.

[onegirlatelier]

January, 2025 | Making a 1930s Qipao: Drafting the pattern

I'm back with the rest of this series!

5. Pattern-making

Despite the different types of neck openings, traditional ‘flat-cut’ qipaos without shoulder piecing or waist darts use the same basic pattern. Here are the measurements to take:

Horizontally:

Circumference at the base of the neck. There is no precise point on the human body to indicate where to put your measuring tape. That is okay. Just make sure the neck opening on the main piece is where you want the collar to sit. Speaking from experience, it is better to measure a bit higher up the neck to make the collar sit snugly. (Add positive ease: around 1cm.)

Neck circumference. Measure at the intended height of the standing collar. (Add positive ease: around 1cm.)

Upper-bust circumference. Measure just below the underarms. I find this to be especially important if you have prominent back muscles, but it is also generally needed to avoid excess underarm wrinkles.

Bust circumference.

Under-bust circumference.

The positive ease for the bust circumferences can vary a lot. I prefer a snug fit so I start with 2cm. I’ve also seen a positive ease of 10cm that works very well. It is important to breathe in and expand your chest when you take the measurements.

Waist circumference, only if you want the gown to hug your true waist – I often think it is the most flattering when the narrowest part of the gown is just below the chest.

Hip circumference. Observe the shape of your hip area. Some people might need to measure the beck and the front separately so that the side seam is not pulled backwards. Or perhaps the widest point of the curve looks different from the front and the side—in this case, you will need two measurements to make sure the hip area is not too tight. (Add positive ease: 8-10cm. It can be smaller but then it would be difficult to sit down.)

Armscye circumference. Hold your arm horizontally, place the tape at the armpit, and measure around where your arm joins the shoulder. (Add positive ease: around 4cm.)

Circumference of the top of your arm, a little bit down the armpit. Take this into account if there is a significant curve at the biceps/triceps.

Circumference of the cuff. Measure around your arm at where you want the sleeves to end. In the 1930s, sleeves tended to hug the arms snugly instead of pulling away. This is achieved with a small positive ease for the cuff circumference: 3-4cm.

Tongxiu/length of sleeves. Since a 1930s qipao does not have armscye seams, there is no measurement from armscye to cuff. Instead, hold your arms horizontally and measure from one cuff to the other.

Vertically:

Length of the upper body in the front. Measure from the top of your shoulder (at the base of the neck) over the curve of the breast to the natural waistline.

Length of the upper body in the back. Measure from the top of the shoulder, over the scapula to the natural waistline.

Total length of the qipao: measure from the CB at the base of the neck to where you want it to end. Fore reference: I am 160cm tall. A total length of 120cm would be just short of ankle length for me, and I prefer 130-135cm for a 1930s qipao.

Height of side slits. I prefer to start the slips approximately 25cm below the hip, depending on how loose the qipao is and what movements I expect to do whilst wearing it. Keep in mind that when one sits down, the qipao would ride up quite significantly.

Height of standing collar.

Figure 5a and 5b illustrates how to use these measurements to draft a pattern for the front and the back.

Figure 5a. The front and back of a qipao. This basic pattern shows a bust dart: as a general rule, the amount you take it for this dart equals the difference between the lengths of the front and back upper body measurements, so that the side seams match. The dart is usually replaced with steam shaping (shrinking) if working with silk or wool, and if it is small. See Section 6.

The shoulder lines will be slightly slanted when the entire qipao is cut in one piece; that occurs naturally when you slant the pattern to make room for seam allowances at the chest opening. In other constructions, this is optional. I like to slant the shoulder lines a teeny tiny bit to reduce the bulk at the underarms, but not too much so that arm movements remain as free as possible.

Figure 5b. Draft the neckline and standing collar, too. You might want to fit the neckline first before drafting the collar. For the collar, the greater the ‘tilt’, the more snug the upper edge will sit against your neck.

A good qipao requires so much attention in the pattern-drafting and cutting process. The key is to individualise the pattern to the wearer’s body—not everyone has a belly curve or wants a fitted waist. Some people might need to accommodate prominent quad muscles on their thighs, as is in my case, or other curves. Additionally—even if this is rarely said—sometimes it will be easier to correct your posture than the pattern if you are after a specific ‘look’.

Finally, you will need a modesty panel under the opening, so that nothing is revealed if the opening gaps (which it will as you move). For the modesty panel, use the back side of the main body to make the pattern for a strip of fabric around 5cm wide, to be placed under the front panel. You may use the front side of the pattern as the guidance instead if the bust area is curvier. There is no dart on this panel, so if you are using chest darts, cut and piece the pattern before you draft the modesty panel.

After obtaining the basic pattern, adapt it to the style of qipao you want to make. Figure 5c shows a qipao with slanted neck openings on both sides. Since this is cut in two (main) pieces, there is no need to slant the pattern to make room for seam allowances at the chest opening.

Figure 5c. The area above the bust in the front is cut in one piece with the entirety of the back. Add a general seam allowance to the chest opening (at least 5cm) so that effectively you cut the main body and modesty panel for this part in one piece. There is a separate front piece. The modesty panel down the right side needs to be cut separately. Letters in the small case indicate matching seams.

[vincentbriggs]

Hello! I was watching your newest waistcoat video and was struck by how well-behaved your thread seems to be. I recently did some handsewing and my thread was endlessly twisting, knotting on itself, etc. Are you using a specific kind of thread when handsewing? All tips appreciated as I'm an utter beginner! Thank you!

Hello! In that video I used silk thread, cotton thread, and linen thread, and I waxed all of them. I also used heavy polyester for sewing on the buttons, but I don't like to use it for actual seams, as it tends to twist a lot and the wax usually kind of balls up into little grains onto the surface rather than sticking smoothly to the fibres. For more tips, The Dreamstress has a nice post of hand sewing advice!

~ Huh why did I save this as a draft and forget about it for over a month? Oops.

[onegirlatelier]

I can recommend a specific thread - Patchwork Coton #50 by Fujix. Ltd. It is a 100% cotton that has gone through some sort of process (waxing?) to make it strong and smooth for patchwork. It is rather stiff compared to 'normal' threads and at first it is not the easiest to use. But as you draw the thread through fabrics a few times it becomes less stiff and *just right* for me.

I've been using it for all my projects for nearly a decade (where I don't need a silk thread)!

Unfortunately, it comes in a limited range of colours. Which is not a big issue in my historical projects since I hide my stitches as much as possible. The only other thing is that it will shrink upon washing, so it's best to keep your stitches loose (you'll need to experiment and find the right spot).

It is a Japanese brand so I'm not sure how accessible it is to folks in other parts of the world. Highly recommend a try if you can!

[onegirlatelier]

January, 2025 | Making a 1930s Qipao: Materials and tools

The masterlist for this series on qipao-making is here.

4. Materials and tools

Most qipaos in museum collections are in silk, including satin, crepe, velvet, georgette, and silks with woven patterns. Other natural materials were also used. Wool was one choice for colder weathers (other choices included quilted cotton and adding thicker linings). Cotton was more affordable and more suitable for everyday wear, even though cotton qipaos do not survive in collections as much as silk ones. I have not seen a historical qipao in viscose, but there is no historical reason to exclude this material. A thin, non-scratchy linen would work too, though the finished dress would never be as flowy as silk. In any case, I would recommend something drapey, which would be more forgiving to imprecisions and mould to the body.

Amount of fabric to buy: For a traditional qipao with an opening down one side only and no shoulder seams (i.e. the entire qipao is cut in one piece), you would need to buy double the length of your finished dress plus a generous allowance. For example, if the qipao is 130cm long, it would be safe to buy three continuous metres of fabric. For a qipao with openings on both sides and no shoulder seams (i.e. there is a front piece and a back piece, like the one I am making), you would need one dress length, plus around 30cm and a generous allowance. The fabric needs to be wider than the tongxiu (measurement from one cuff to the other). If you are making a long-sleeved qipao and the fabric is not wide enough, the piecing is usually positioned about mid-arm.

Recently, it has been popular amongst Chinese qipao wearers and makers to buy vintage kimono fabrics for their good quality and beautiful designs. The traditional kimono fabrics are around 30cm wide. In this case, two widths of fabric are seamed at the CF and CB. This is done after the pre-wash, but prior to drawing and cutting out the pattern pieces. If you factor in the seam allowance for the front opening and make a small fold on the right side of the neck portion before this step of seaming, there would be no need to slant the pattern as discussed in Section Two. Japanese people I’ve spoken to have mixed views on using kimono fabrics for non-kimono purposes, so it’s best to consider the cultural significances carefully before making such a decision.

(3 January, 2026 Edit: Someone kindly asked about using kimono fabric. I can try to clarify this a little. Fig. 4a below shows a general scheme: the dotted line near the slanted opening indicates the overlapping area, and the dotted line down the right side indicates the modesty panel. Piece the fabric along the CB and the CF; ideally, the pattern should match to make the central seams inconspicuous, but it isn't always necessary. As I see it, there are three possibilities depending on the print of the kimono fabric and how much you have:

1) There is no print or woven pattern, or only a small repeat, and there are only two three-metre strips of fabric. First, match the back. Also draw the lines for the collar, sleeve, underarm, and slanted opening in the front right section. Then, pinch and fold the fabric slightly as indicated, whilst matching the pattern along the CF. Re-draw the slanted opening and proceed to draw the right side and hem. Cut between the two lines for the slanted opening, slightly closer to the re-drawn one. You will need a separate modesty panel (unless the chest circumference is very small and the sleeves are short, in which case it might be possible to cut the modesty panel in continuation with the back right part and draw the front right part on the same strip of fabric). 2) The pattern is really hard to match, for example a big sprig of flowers, but there are only two three-metre strips. It is difficult to match both front and back in this case. A wide binding or edge decoration would work, if you sew very carefully. 3) There are more than two strips of fabric. You can cut the modesty panel together with the back right piece, and use another piece of fabric for the front right. - end of edit)

Around five metres of bias tape is required for a single row of binding in the usual places: collar, neckline, sides, hems and cuffs. The width of the bias tape depends on your design. You would also need around 35cm of cord, made from a bias tape, for a pair of the simplest knot-and-loop closures, and there would usually be ten to twelve pairs of them. More is required for elaborate, decorative closures. When I make the bias tapes myself, I usually buy one metre of each colour I plan to use and more if there are multiple rows of the same colour. If you buy a premade tape, you will need to decide whether it needs a prewash.

You will need a small piece of lining for the collar. I prefer a non-fusible cotton lining, which feels comfortable tight around the neck even though it is less stiff, but a stiff fusible lining or a nylon one is better for a satisfactorily smooth look.

Most makers also use fusible stay tapes to stabilise the side seams after the steam-shaping. I have been using thin silk or cotton ribbons and manually sewing them on, which also works.

Some people prefer the knot-and-loop closures to look stiff and smooth. To achieve this, you can either starch the fabric (before cutting out the bias strips) or encase a strip of yarn or ribbon in the cord as you make it from the bias tape.

You will need the usual tools such as scissors, pins and needles. It is essential to have a good steam iron. These days there are mini irons available, which is especially handy for the pressing the finer areas, but they don’t seem to be as well-made as the big ones in my opinion.

The main fabric I use here is a silk crepe de chine from Liberty and the motif is inspired by the television series Bridgerton, which is set in the early nineteenth century. It amuses me to think about the history of the pattern. Liberty, opened in 1875 by Arther Lasenby Liberty, was initially famous for its display and retail of garments, shawls and embroidered pieces from China, Japan, India and many other regions in Asia [4]. Later, he substituted the imported textiles with fabrics manufactured in Britain. Although it is hard to say whether there was an ‘aesthetic’ of the prints of Liberty fabrics, some of the initial designs were inspired by Indian botanical patterns, and some others displayed traces of the Arts and Crafts and the Art Nouveau Movements, which were both influenced by Asian art, and they also serve as references for many subsequent designs [5]. The taste for Chinese fabrics was not restricted to the late nineteenth century. The popularity of Chinese decorative arts and western adaptations of them, described as chinoiserie, can be observed throughout the second half of the eighteenth century and remained much in vogue in the early nineteenth century [6]. Chinoiserie in western textiles, as well as the western influence on Chinese silk design, has been increasingly researched in recent years. Considering the origins of this floral pattern and those of qipao, the use of a Liberty fabric for this project is much more interesting and complex than ‘an English pattern on a Chinese dress’.

Endnotes:

[4] Anna Buruma, ‘Liberty & the Business of Embroidery’, The Journal of the Decorative Arts Society 1850 - the Present 33 (2009): 74.

[5] Sarah Nichols, ‘Arthur Lasenby Liberty: A Mere Adjective?’, The Journal of Decorative and Propaganda Arts 13 (1989): 79.

For one example of the numerous papers on the Asian influence on Art Nouveau, see: Clay Lancaster, ‘Oriental Contributions to Art Nouveau’, The Art Bulletin 34: 4 (1952): 297.

[6] Leanna Lee-Whitman, ‘The Silk Trade: Chinese Silks and the British East India Company’, Winterthur Portfolio 17: 1 (1982): 21-22. One example of chinoiserie in textiles is the interior décor of the expanded Buckingham palace. See: Christopher Maxwell, ‘Chinoiserie at Buckingham Palace in the Nineteenth Century’, The Burlington Magazine 149: 1251 (2007): 383-92.

[onegirlatelier]

January, 2025 | Making a 1930s Qipao

Hello people! After a super long hiatus I'm back. I took a long break from non-academic writing; the 1% writing energy not sucked up by academic resulted in words that were way too personal to exist, haha. Amidst the winter woes, however, I did make something nice: this 1930s qipao!

Originally this was going to be a guest post somewhere else, but now I'm just going to do it here on Tumblr (before gathering the courage to have a go at my website again). Also, I read comments and tags and you guys are the absolute best.

This is a long ass article, to make it more manageable I will divide it into several installments, and put a master-list here so you can jump to the sections (links will be added as I post):

Historical background and introduction to the pattern (in this post after the pictures of the finished garment)

Materials and tools

Pattern-making

Shaping the fabric

Cutting the fabric

Adjustments and fitting issues

Making the qipao (part 1, part 2, part 3)

1. Introduction

Qipao, as it is known today in Chinese Mandarin, is a type of dress for women that originated around 1920 in mainland China. Its exact origin is unclear and a subject of debate, as it bears resemblance to both the dress of the Manchus, the ruling ethnic group of the Qing Dynasty (approximately 1644-1912), and the Han, the ethnic majority of China. One possibility, discussed by Eileen Chang in her 1943 article ‘A Chronicle of Changing Clothes’, is that the Chinese women of the 1920s adopted changshan, a long gown worn by (both Manchurian and Han) men, in their pursuit of gender equality [1]. This would explain the alternative name for qipao, cheongsam, which is the transliteration of the Cantonese pronunciation of changshan.

Whilst qipao has been considered a ‘traditional’ garment of China, it reflects the westernisation of China in the early twentieth century. Following the First Opium War and the Treaty of Nanking in 1843, foreign settlements established in port cities, particularly in Shanghai, and many aspects of western, modern urban life were introduced to this city [2]. The modernist or abstract, geometrical prints on many qipaos provides one such example. In addition, Chinese women’s pursuit of gender equality, as reflected in the wearing of qipao, parallels the feminist movements in Europe and America of the same era.

In this article, I am going to introduce the construction of a qipao and outline the process of making a 1930s qipao. I will clarify the historical accuracy of a material or technique whenever possible.

2. Two main approaches to patternmaking

From the 1920s to the 1940s, qipaos were widely adopted in mainland China, especially in major cities such as Shanghai. They were also popular amongst Chinese immigrant women in other parts of the world. After the 1950s, qipaos continued to be worn outside mainland China, incorporating more tailoring techniques from the West, until the recent revival of the traditional silhouette.

It is useful to look at some defining characteristics of a qipao that have been more or less consistent despite the changing of styles. In general, a qipao has a standing collar that opens at the centre front. The opening then slants towards the right underarm and extends down the side seam. There is a separate strip of fabric sewn to the right side of the opening, under the opening and all the way from the neck to the bottommost button, which acts as a modesty panel and prevents exposure of skin during movement. A qipao is often fastened via knot-and-loop closures (also known as knot buttons and loops) on the right side and remains open at the bottom, which is matched by a slit at the left side. In the early twentieth century, it was usually worn with a slip underneath, the lace trimmings of which would be visible as the lady moves. These characteristics are exemplified in this photograph of Ruan Lingyu, one of the most popular film stars of the 1930s (Figure 2a).

Figure 2a. Photograph of Miss Ruan Lingyu. 1930s. Author unknown.

In the past decade or so, there has been a renewed interest in qipaosin China. The more traditional style, common before the 1940s, is called ‘flat cut (平裁)’ as it is not shaped via darts and the pattern is entirely two-dimensional. The later, more westernised design is often dubbed the ‘Hong Kong style (港工)’ as it was popular after the 1950s in Hong Kong as well as in other regions with Chinese communities, such as Singapore [3].

The ‘flat cut’ style has a smooth, flowy quality. Whilst the 1920s qipaos were commonly calf-length and rather relaxed, the 1930s styles were longer and hugged the body more closely, similar to the slender and elongated lines of the evening gowns in Paris of the same decade. For me, two characteristics define the ‘flat cut’ style. Firstly, there are no darts. Secondly, the entire qipao is cut in one piece, reflecting the availability of fabric with an increased width, since Qing clothes were still pieced with centre seams.

Perhaps more importantly, the pattern puzzle presented here speaks to the confident manipulation of fabric. The seam between the modesty panel and the right side of the slanted opening should be just about hidden underneath the left side of the opening. This would be impossible to achieve if the centre front (CF) and centre back (CB) aligned exactly with the warp of the fabric and the shoulder lines the weft, since a small amount on each side is needed as seam allowance. Different ways to solve this problem rely on the same two principles. Firstly, one or more of the CF, CB and the shoulder lines is slightly slanted from the warp or the weft (Figure 2b). Secondly, the neck seam (where the collar is attached) is drawn asymmetrically, with the right side ending very slightly above the left side at CF. When the piece is cut and the sides are aligned, there would then be a small overlap of around 1-2cm at the slanted opening to serve as seam allowances. The overlap can be increased by gently stretching the fabric with a steam iron.

Figure 2b. One way of arranging and cutting a qipao pattern. Note how the CF and CB slightly deviate from the direction of the warp (indicated by the double arrows), so that there could be enough fabric for the seam allowances at the diagonal neck opening. Made by author.

The ‘flat-cut’ style is more suitable for a small-chested wearer, as shaping is limited. In contrast, the Hong Kong-styled qipao is shaped via bust, waist, and back darts to hug the body as closely as possible. The Hong Kong style often ends just below the knee and has higher slits, too, for the ease of walking. Zippers appear much more frequently on the Hong Kong style than on earlier qipaos.

There is no impermeable line separating these two categories. Historically, methods of closure, decoration, the number and placement of darts, etc. would have been dependent on the factors such as the age and the body shape of the wearer, as much as the era and fashion.

3. Design options

Whilst a qipao most commonly opens from the neck to the right underarm, there are also other styles. For example, a qipao could have symmetrical front openings from the neck to the right and left underarms, although only the right-side opening extends down the side. There is no need to slant the pattern in this design since the pattern is divided into a front piece and a back piece. Although there is insufficient evidence for a religious or cultural taboo, we usually avoid a slanted opening towards the left side only.

There are countless variations of bindings and edge decorations, with a range of confusing names. For our purpose, it will suffice to recognise the design possibilities of multiple rows of bindings and decorations (e.g. a narrow row sandwiched between two wide rows) combining binding with applique and piping.

For this article, I will be demonstrating the making of a 1930s qipao with symmetrical front openings, due to the limited length of the fabric I have. I plan to have one wide row of binding and a narrow strip between the wide binding and the main fabric. My qipao will be unlined.

Endnotes:

[1] Eileen Chang, ‘A Chronical of Changing Cloths’, translated by Andrew F. Jones, Positions: East Asia Cultures Critique 11: 2 (2003), 435.

[2] Leo Ou-Fan Lee, Shanghai Modern (Harvard University Press, 1999), 7.

[3] Lee Chor Lin, In the Mood for Cheongsam (Editions Didier Millet, 2012), 9. It is unclear whether the names ‘平裁’ and ‘港工’ are academic terms. They are widely used according to my own observation.

[onegirlatelier]

July, 2024 | Gown inspired by a 1920 Madeleine Vionnet

Hi there! This is a short post with a few pictures, just to say that my recent article for Foundations Revealed has been published. The gown was made couture from the start to the finish i.e. I took the time to ensure that its quality was as high as I could possibly achieve and exactly what I would expect if I had a few grands to spend on an actual Vionnet or like, Armani Prive etc.

In the article, I discuss:

bias-cut (very briefly) and hankerchief dresses of Madeleine Vionnet

my intepretatrion of a design sketch, found in the book Madeleine Vionnet by Betty Kirke

choice of fabric and other materials

pattern-making

the sewing process in detail with lots of pictures, including all the finishings and inner workings

sources (further reading/reseach)

The FR website does require a subscription. I feel so embarrassed for self-promotion but sometimes my labour does need to be compensated to pay bills and buy food : (

I will make a full post here after I get back the copyright (in about six months). I also know that there is some, hmm, tea about FR. I shall just say that the staff and writers I've been in actual contact with are simply great and I am very thankful.

Meanwhile, here are some pictures for you!

[onegirlatelier]

July, 2024 | Simple Pink Day Dress

Hey there! It’s been a long time. I have been spending the majority of the spring on academic work, but I did finish a few items and will be making more fibre things over the summer. Today I will be writing about this simple pink dress with just enough details for a clean and high-quality finish.

I should clarify that the design is based on an old Margaret Howell dress—so it is not my own. The original dress was in linen and came in two colours (mid-blue and black), and it looked fabulous on the runway. I wish I could find it, or afford it, or had the body to feel comfortable in it…But I thought it would also be nice to make my own.

The dress has no waist seam, and the waist shaping relies entirely on the belt. It has a simple V neck in the front and a deeper faux wrapped neckline in the back. The maximum waist measurement is fixed. The front and back necklines are stabilised with bindings cut on straight grain. The armscyes have bias binding. There is an opening on the right side seam to allow the belt to draw through. You may add a button to further close the back neckline if the shoulders tend to slip off (it works for some people; for me it doesn’t.)

Pattern

The pattern is easy to draft. We start with a basic bodice block that fits exactly.

Draft the pattern on a folded half of the front:

Rotate all darts towards the waist. Leave the darts ‘open’ i.e. do not add sewing lines here as they will be gathered when you wear a belt.

Add 1cm to the underarm width, i.e. in total 4cm added to the underarm circumference.

Add 5cm to the waist, i.e. in total 20cm added to the waist circumference.

(Adjust Steps 2 and 3 based on your desired positive eases.)

4. Draw the neckline on the front.

5. You might want to adjust the armscye—for many people, fitted bodices with and without sleeves require different armscye shapes. This includes raising/lowering the underarm point and increasing/decreasing the shoulder width.

(By now we have the bodice part of c.)

For the back:

6. Draw the ‘wrapped’ neckline, taking into consideration the width of the belt. Depending on your body shape, you can just ignore the tiny shoulder dart on the basic bodice pattern, or take it into account when you sew the binding.

7. Leave the waist dart ‘open’ and adjust the underarm and waist as in the front. This doesn’t have to be exactly the same as the front, but note that the neckline gap will become harder to control as the width of the bodice increases.

Skirt:

8. Extend the bodice to make the skirt. It is a little tricky for a dress without a waist seam, because the front bodice is often wider than the back to accommodate the chest, whereas the back of the bottom is usually wider than the front for the hips. This can be compensated to some extent by adding waist darts or making the back skirt expand wider than the front (i.e. closer to a quarter circle than a rectangle), but note that neither the back nor the front skirt can be too wide as the waves would not hang in a correct distribution.

9. The lengths of the front and back skirts also depends on your chest and hips.

10. The skirt in the back is divided into two asymmetric panels – see the illustrations.

Belt:

11. The belt is two ribbons of 4*140cm, so cut two rectangles of 10*142cm, with 1cm of allowance.

Fabric

Choose a drapey fabric if making a longer skirt. Soft silk, cotton and viscose would work well. Linen tends to be crisper so I would suggest reducing both the width and length of the skirt if using pure linen. Alternatively, you can reduce the width of the skirt but keep the length by adding a slit.

I cut my patterns along the cross grain, because for some reason this fabric is much stabler on the weft than on the warp. Proof that you don’t always cut along the straight grain!

Making the dress

(All seams unspecified are French seams.)

Finish shoulder seams.

2. Add binding to the front and back necklines. I controlled the neckline gapping by easing the main fabric into a straight-grain ribbon binding. I eased 1cm on each side of the front and 1.5cm on each side of the back.

(Above: the front, seen from the outside.)

（Above: the back, seen from the outside.)

3. Finish the side without the opening. For me, this was the left side.

4. Finish the side with the opening. First, check that the opening is at the correct height. Then just treat it as a skirt side slit from both ends. Add a ‘stopper’ to stabilise the opening.

(Left: the opening seen from the outside. Right: the opening seen from the inside.)

5. Finish the armscyes with narrow bias binding.

6. For the belt, finish the ribbon that goes on the ‘upper’ side. Sandwich it at the waist line between the two back panels and finish the back seam (a French seam). I closed both short ends of this ribbon before attaching it to the body, but, in hindsight, the end that goes in the body doesn’t have to finished.

(Above: where you attach the ribbon, seen from the outside.)

7. Sew the ribbon of the other side, leaving the width of the overlapping part of the bodice open. Finish one short end. Turn it to the right side.

8. Attach the unsewn width of the belt to the bodice piece that goes under. Finish the raw edge of the short edge. If you have left the short end of the other belt open, you will be able to see it here and should encase it as you attach the ‘under’ ribbon.

(Above: ribbon attached to the 'under' half of the bodice and then sewn onto one short end of the other ribbon, seen from the inside.)

9. Check the length and finish the hem. I did a simple twice-folded hem and steam-pressed after each fold, before sewing it down with whip stitches.

There you go😊 This post consists mainly of brief notes; however, if you would like some further explanation, let me know and I’ll try my best!

[onegirlatelier]

April, 2024 | Shetland lace shawl

Hi there! It’s been a while. I’ve been kept busy by all my university work…and this shawl.

The shawl is knitted to celebrate the wedding of my friend (now friends, I should say). A wedding is really the perfect excuse for all the heritage crafts and heirloom projects that might seem too serious to gift in other occasions. I did ask the recipient beforehand if she would like it, though, and I was so, so honoured that I got an enthusiastic ‘yes’. I’m sure this sentiment is shared by many makers, whatever gift they are making.

Shetland fine openwork, a knitted lace, seems to have emerged with the beginning of the reign of Queen Victoria, who championed and popularised the craft. It was probably spread from the Isle of Unst to other parts of Shetland. What surprised me the most when I first read about it was that Shetland shawls and other lace pieces were largely exported as luxury items and rarely worn by islanders themselves. Women bought yarn from spinners and knitted mostly in their homes. They then took them to local merchants and exchange the finished objects for goods or (commonly after the 1880s) money to supplement the household income. The ‘supplement’ nature of this work probably means it was not compensated as much as a job outside the home would be for the same hours and skills. Besides, it was not always easy to spin an even 1-ply yarn at 1600 metres per 100 grams. For a piece of knitting with a large ‘plain’ area (i.e. only knit stitches), the unevenness was impossible to hide but could only be discovered after the area was worked. Then the maker had to either frog (unravel) the area or continue with the risk of the whole piece not being able to sell.

Whilst it is very reasonable to point out that Shetland ladies did not usually wear this type of lace (I’ve been to the Scottish Highlands once, in summer, and it was not fine lace weather), I imagine that at least for some, it wasn’t just about making money. Some sort of fulfilment must have been from the satisfaction of having a piece ‘properly done’ by continuing and adapting a traditional pattern, technique or material. I think this sort of satisfaction is also why many modern knitters are willing to spend hundreds of hours on lacework.

Intricate handknitted lace items can still be bought today (a quick search on Etsy would show many are form eastern European countries with a long and prominent craft tradition), but many are knitted for friends or family members. It always makes me so happy to see people share the gifts they have made, whether big or small, simple or complex. I joke with my online craft friends that no handmade fibre project can claim to be so unless they have a hair or two woven into it. It is the proof of existence for the maker, who tries to go against the irregular nature of handicrafts and, at the same time, accepts it. It is about wrapping up hours, weeks or months in one’s life, along with the songs they have listened to and the perfume they have worn and the memories they have made, and putting it squarely in someone else’s hands and saying: ‘All this, for you.’

A Wedding Shawl

I have not read anything about there being a standard form of ‘wedding shawl’ in the Shetland tradition. However, there is definitely a category of square shawls with similar sizes and a few construction methods. The samples I’ve seen mostly measure 1.5-2m on one side and have three parts: a central panel, four borders and a strip of edging. It is worked flat in garter lace from centre out.

Neither is there a standardised yarn weight. A widely available yarn is the Shetland Supreme Lace Weight 1-ply by Jamieson and Smith, which weighs at 400m/25g. The Queen Ring Shawl examined by Sharon Miller used a yarn at 700m/25g. From my experience, if you want the shawl to be a true ring shawl (i.e. you want to be able to pull the shawl through a ring) at the size of the Queen Ring Shawl (210cm on the side), go for 700m/25g or finer.

I chose a rectangular shawl because I had very limited time, but I did enlarge it because for me, an abundance of fabric does mean an abundance of cozy happiness.

Pattern

Shell Grid and Spider Webs Puzzle, pattern No.19 in the book Shetland Knitting Lace by Toshiyuki Shimada.

The names of the motifs are confusing. One motif (or two highly similar motifs) might just have two different names if they are produced in two different regions. Names do not mean everything, but I’ve had fun trying to match the motifs with names according to this article by Carol Christiansen at the Shetland Museum.

The double yarnovers (YO's) in the diamonds were called Cat's Eye, but perhaps the 'Spider Web' in the pattern name is referring to the three rows of double YO's in the centre panel. It has a really simple but effective edging.

Yarn

Mermaid Lace, in colourway #naturel, sold by Great British Wool in the Netherlands. This yarn is 75% merino and 25% sea algae silk. ‘Sea algae silk’ seems to be a semi-synthetic plant fibre like viscose, with algae involved as part of the raw material. (At this price point I don’t think it has anything to do with sea silk, which is fibre produced by actual shells.) The brand name for the most popular product of its type is probably Seacell.

I bought the yarn, because I had never worked with this fibre before and was curious. What I like: it was a little cheaper than a wool/silk blend and has blocked very well. The whole skein was continuous so I didn’t have to deal with a single yarn joint. What I do not like: it lacks the sheen and smoothness of real silk and doesn’t feel as strong, although it doesn’t shed. In conclusion, I’d rather use a traditional Shetland 1-ply or another natural fibre yarn.

It's also worth mentioning that whilst I prefer to support small businesses, it was disappointing to have received a 93-gram skein when I had ordered 100 grams. It was one of those days between Christmas and the New Year and I somehow did not contact the customer service, but I really should have.

Needle

2.5mm 80cm circular needles. See modification below.

Modification

This Japanese knitting book follows Japanese sizing for knitting needles. The suggested size was no. 1=2.4mm. I figured that I could use a 2.5mm since I knitted on the tighter side, and in any case it was probably okay to make the lacework a little more open by going up a needle size.

I am not going to give out the pattern, but it is probably necessary to explain the structure of this shawl. The centre is knitted first, and then an edging is knitted onto it by picking up either live stitches or the vertical edge of the centre as you go (see schematic below). The four ‘corners’ of the edging have short-row shaping to help it lay flat. I know that traditionally people can achieve this by other methods, but I haven’t tried any of those yet.

I enlarged the pattern by increasing both the width and the length. I casted on 133 stitches instead of 101 for the centre panel and knitted Part B 8.5 times instead of 5.5. The spider web pattern in Part B requires the stitch count to be (something dividable by four) plus two, so I made one central increase before the spider web to get 134 and a central decrease after it to get it back to 133. Due to the openness of the lace, the change of one stitch is not visible.

The enlargement meant I had to recalculate the edging as well, because the number of stitches available for pick-up changed. Originally, at each corner you do two repeats with four short-row shaping each. I did 1.5 repeats following the original placement of short-row shaping in order to make the total number of repeats fit the number of edge stitches on the centre panel.

The pattern says to Kitchener-stitch the last row of the edging to the provisional cast-on. It just didn’t make sense because that would be two rows too much (the Kitchener stitch row plus the provisional cast-on row). To make the number perfectly fit, I knitted only ten rows of the last repeat (there were usually twelve in each repeat). Then I Kitchener-stitched the end to the provisional cast-on, following the lace pattern. I am quite proud of this solution because it is completely invisible.

Somewhere in the pattern it said to purl (looking from the right side). It seemed strange because the rest of the lace was entirely garter. I knitted those stitches and so far I haven’t sensed a ‘mistake’.

The pattern originally calls for 45 grams of yarn. I estimated (based on the increase of stitches in the centre panel) to need about 80 grams. I ended up using 86 grams. Besides the inaccuracies in my estimation, it was probably also because I knitted much more loosely than expected as it was difficult to tension the yarn tightly at such a weight. Like I've point out in the Yarn section above, I was lucky not to have needed more than 93 grams.

The original finished size is 53*118cm. I ended up with approximately 70*170cm.

Conclusion

This shawl took about three months of my craft time i.e. one full day every week for three months and many mornings before I had to leave for university. Knitting outside my room just didn’t work because I was a) engaged in some other activities that made it difficult to steady my hands, and b) worried about putting a white shawl on any public surface.

The pattern itself is relatively straightforward. The first difficulty was, of course, to understand the instruction written in Japanese. Google translate was horrible so I had to rely on my knitting experience. Fortunately, much of the text description was also found in graphs and charts. Then I had to get my hands used to the tiny yarn. After that, it was only fiddly when I did the edging, because I had to turn about every twelve stitches, and by that time I was handling a giant cloud of stitches on my lap. It did give me a lot of time to go over my favourite documentaries and films, and the last bit of edging was surprisingly quick!

Traditionally, Shetland shawls could be sent back to the maker for maintenance. I think it only fair for me to offer that too because I don’t want a gift to become a trouble (same as how you do not use non-machine-washable yarn for baby knits).

In general, I am very pleased with this shawl. It does pass the ring test, despite not being a traditional wedding shawl size or thickness. I do have a whole lot of actual Shetland 1-ply in my stash, so I am really looking forward to taking my Queen Ring Shawl project out of hibernation in the near future.

Reference list for Introduction

Christiansen, Carol. Shetland fine lace knitting: Recreating patterns from the past. Marlborough: Crowood, 2024.

Mann, Joanna. 'Knitting the Archive: Shetland Lace and Ecologies of Skilled Practice'. Cultural Geographies 25, no. 1 (January 28, 2017): 91–106. https://doi.org/10.1177/1474474016688911.

[onegirlatelier]

Song Camisole, intro + tutorial | December, 2023

(Text below)

A camisole was the inner most layer of a Song lady’s outfit. Camisoles from the Song dynasty are simply named 宋抹sòng mǒ by modern historians (literal translation: Song camisole). The little camisole discussed in this post is based on the sample excavated from the tomb of Ms. Huang Sheng (full maiden name; she died at 17 in 1243 after being married for one year) in Fuzhou, China, hence it is in late Southern Song style. As far as I know, this is the only surviving sample of Song camisole in this style.

From the excavation report:

The artefact has one seam down the centre front. It has an outer layer and a lining, both in plain silk. It is 55cm long and 39-40cm wide. The shoulder ribbons are 34-35cm long, and the waist ribbons are 35-36cm long. From the report and the photograph which I can access, there doesn’t seem to be any dart. Perhaps Ms. Huang Sheng was flat-chested so a dart was unnecessary; nowadays traditional costume makers and wearers usually like a dart in the middle (usually via shaping on the CF seam) to better fit the bust.

I made this pink one nearly two years ago. You might be able to see a little bit of fabric being taken in on the top of the CF seam, which is the dart/shaping I was talking about.

Below is a tutorial for making one of these. It works for smaller bust sizes – you can add darts on the sides to do a full bust adjustment.

Pattern

You need two measurements:

The front half of your chest circumference (which is NOT the full chest circumference divided by two). If you want, you can add 1~2cm of positive ease to this.

The desired length. It has to be long enough to be tucked into a skirt.

The dart (for me) is usually 1~1.5cm on each side of the CF seam. If your fabric is wide enough, you can just make a dart and eliminate the CF seam. I’m not sure why the shoulder ribbons on the artefact are so short, since the common way of wearing this camisole the ribbons need to be at least 80~90cm. The depth of the armscye apparently depends on your body shape, but it shouldn’t be too low—usually the little side loops are on the same level as the bust point or just a little bit lower. The shape and size of the little triangles depend on your taste.

All figures in the sample below fit a pretty standard European size 36 with a total height of 160cm. (EDIT!! I made a mistake. It should be European size 34 i.e. bust circumference 80)

(Also: how you would arrange the pattern pieces on a traditional kimono bolt, if using kimono silk for this.)

Fabric

You’ll want something drapey and smooth that feels nice on bare skin. I’d always recommend silk, but a cotton/silk blend or a soft cotton also works fine. For synthetic fabrics, some viscose fabrics (or their eco-friendly relatives such as tencel) could work. For the pink one I made, I used repurposed kimono silk. The yellow one is a Chinese jacquard from a blend of silk and viscose.

If you are using redeemed kimono silk (or new kimono silk) with a width of approx. 33cm, one meter is about enough. This is very convenient because one meter is a common length of kimono sleeves and you can find fabrics sold in individual lengths in stores that specialise in this. If you are using a Western fabric, you only need to consider the length of the ribbon and whether you are willing to cut it on the weft. If cutting on the warp, you’ll need one meter. (They don’t need to be cut on bias though you can.)

You also need a lining fabric for the main body. I usually use a half-half cotton/silk blend about 12momme thin (I buy it in bulk because I use it for a lot of things.)

Sewing

First, sew the ribbons.

I starched the yellow fabric for the ribbon part because it was just so slippery and refused be folded. After I starched it, I was able to fold it right side out and sew with an invisible stitch. However, I would recommend starching as little as possible and making your starch as diluted as possible, because starch can be SUPER hard to wash out and leave your silk stiff.

Sew the CF and the dart, if any, respectively for the lining and for the shell.

Sew the little triangles. If you cut your triangles on grain, the hypotenuse edge is likely on bias, which means it is likely to be stretched out, leading to a gaping neckline (which is a pet peeve of mine). There are two ways to prevent this. A) Since you have a lining and a shell, you can cut the lining with its hypotenuse edge on grain, so that each of the three edges of the triangle is stabilised by one layer of fabric, which is what I did for the pink camisole. B) You can add a tape to the seam allowance, which is what I’m showing in the yellow camisole. I used a thin silk ribbon (usually used for silk ribbon embroidery) and pinned it to the seam allowance, making sure not to stretch the seam so that it’s at the right length. You can sew it down to both layers of the allowance or just one.

After stablising the hypotenuse edge, you can sew the triangle by placing the fabrics right side together and sandwich the shoulder ribbon in-between. The bottom edge needn’t be sewn. Turn it right side out when you finish.

I also add tapes to the underarm edges, which are also on bias.

Place the body layers right side together, sandwiching the triangles, loops and waist ribbons between them (baste in place if needed). Sew all around, leaving only a small opening on the bottom edge so that you can turn the whole thing right side out.

I do a little fold for the bottom edge so that the lining fabric does not show.

I whip-stitched close the small opening. It is also possible to do an invisible stitch, if your fabric is stable enough.

And there you have it~

When I wear the camisole, it is never without an outer layer of clothing that covers my back, which is mostly for historical accuracy, and unfortunately for safety and privacy too because I can never know if someone decides to pull the ties loose. So that’s my last bit of suggestion!

[onegirlatelier]

Floral vest | November, 2023

This vest is a Frankenstein of two patterns—the construction is from the Ophelia Slipover by Toshiyuki Shimada 嶋田俊之and the floral pattern from the Flower Yoke Pullover by Erika Tokai 東海えりか (@erika_tokai on Instagram). Both patterns are listed on Ravelry but only available in printed books.

Now, it is not my genius idea to piece these two together. I think it was first done by a fellow Chinese knitter and designer, who is XS KNITTING on RED and XS_KNITTING on Wechat. I have both pattern books but she did provide very detailed instructions on how to combine the two patterns for this vest. I mostly followed her notes – see modifications below.

Overview of the construction

Make a provisional cast on with a waste yarn.

Knit colourwork in the round from bottom up, ending at approx. underarm level. Decrease on the sides as instructed. You will later steek the fabric at the sides so the pattern includes the additional allowance for steeking.

Knit the front and back yoke sections flat, following the instructions for neck and shoulder shaping. (There is no armhole shaping in the yoke part.)

Sew together the front and back yoke parts, pick up stitches to make the neckband.

Reinforce the steek and cut. Pick up stitches from the steeked edges to make the side bands. Sew the bottom bit of the side bands together.

Pick up stitches to make the hem.

Needles

(all 80cm circulars)

Colourwork: 3.00mm

Yoke: 2.75mm

Neckband: 2.75mm, bind off with 2.5mm

Side bands: 2.5mm, bind off with 2.25mm

Hem: 2.75mm, bind off with 2.5mm

Yarn

Biches & Bûches Le Petit Lambswool 248m/50g, in white and light pink. This is a 2-ply woolen spun, slightly rustic but soft yarn. It softens even more after washing and blooms too, making an incredibly light but hearty fabric. I always thought it was produced in Europe since this is a French brand, but the Lambswool range is actually spun and dyed in Scotland. Hence it is a little less local than I thought (and their website doesn’t say where the wool material comes from), but I’m also happy to support Scottish mills that produce less chemically treated yarns in small batches.

Another nice thing is that each of my skeins/balls actually weighed 55g, so there was a little surplus than what I paid for.

Yardage

I took detailed measurements just in case you (or future me) are worried about having enough yarn, or thinking about doing differently coloured bands, etc.

As can be seen, the bands and hem take up quite a bit of yardage.

Modifications

Colourwork

I think I followed the instructions entirely for the colourwork.

Yoke

I knitted one more row at the bottom of the front and back yokes respectively, because I somehow started from the wrong side and the pattern started from the right side. The shoulder seams are done with Kitchener stitch instead of a three-needle bind-off. Therefore I think I had about 104 rows in the yoke instead of 100 in the pattern, which means I picked up 84 stitches instead of 80 for the side band at the yoke section.

First block and felting

After I finished the yoke, the colourwork looked rather uneven. Since the yarn I used was thinner than the Shetland yarn in the pattern and I knitted the colourwork loosely to match the instructed gauge, the fabric was also quite loose and not as supple as I wanted. The good thing is that the finished garment (using the required gauge) had quite a lot of positive ease for my body measurements. So I decided to shrink the garment slightly by hand-felting it.

To felt a wool garment, you need one or more of the following: high temperature, moisture, agitation, soap. Here’s what I did to felt it as gently as possible. The half-finished main body had no live stitches at this point so I just soaked it in icy cold water as how you would normally block a knitted garment, but without soap. Then I just use my hands to agitate the fabric until I felt that it had first evened out and then tightened up. Trust me, without hot water or soap you need quite a lot of agitation to felt a garment—not just swishing it around.

I’ve also seen people putting their work into a pillow case into the washing machine on a hot drying cycle and stopping every few minutes to check if it’s felted enough. I have no confidence in operating my washing machine but you can try.

The result was satisfactory enough for me to go ahead.

Neckband

Neckband was finished with a tubular bind off with two rows, i.e. one pair, of reinforcement (the ‘tubular’ bit’). To do this, you would first use a slightly smaller needle to switch the ribbing from 2*2 to 1*1 as you knit across (see Suzanne Bryant’s video). I used a needle one size smaller but I think I could’ve gone down two sizes, as the finished neckband feels a little too loose.

Side bands

I reinforced the fabric using the crochet method and then steeked it. Some people recommend the hook to be one size smaller than the knitting needles, but I used a 1.5mm and it worked well for me. It;s absolutely possible to steek with an even number of stitches (many tutorials say you can only do an odd number of stitches).

Using a 2.5mm circular I picked up stitch for stitch for the colourwork and 84 for 104 for the yoke. One stitch is added at either ends. There was no stitch decrease after picking up. I finished with Italian bind off which is another kind of invisible bind off like tubular bind off, just without the ‘tubular’ bit.

To do this: On the 15th row (wrong side), I knitted the first 35 sts (which were not bound off) using the 2.5mm needle in 2*2 ribbing. Then I switched to 2.25mm and switched the ribbing to 1*1 as I knitted across, and finished by knitting the last 35 sts using the 2.5mm needle again in 2*2 ribbing. On the 16th row (right side), I knitted the first 35sts in the 2.5mm needle and 2*2 ribbing as usual. Then I adjusted how I held the project so that I could pull the working yarn to the opposite side (front/back side) of the garment and start the sewn bind off from the wrong side.

It is absolutely not necessary to do all this. Some people make a very simple knitted bind off. This is purely because I want an invisible bid off and the ribbing pattern made it easier to do it this way. Also see illustration.

Then I Kitchener-stitched the 2*2 ribbing to make the side seam.

Hem

I took out the provisional cast on and transfer sts to a 2.75mm needle. My side bands were slightly wider than instructed so I picked up more side stitches for the hem too. 336 sts I think. I did 2*2 ribbing and finished with a tubular bind-off with four rows, i.e. two pairs, of reinforcement.

And that's it! I'm really pleased about this little vest and might make more in different colour schemes in future.

[onegirlatelier]

I'm thinking of doing a free-but-please-donate pattern/tutorial because I'm so worried and furious (but basically that'll just be a post with an extra sentence at the top?)

Who do I think I am I've never ever written a craft thing for someone else despite having constructed many things according to the wearer's specific needs and measurements, but I might give it a go anyways because otherwise it's just an idea waiting to be buried under other stuff in my head right RIGHT

[onegirlatelier]

October, 2023 | Two-pieced skirt from Southern Song Dynasty (intro+tutorial)

Introduction

(Note: for now I’m not making a bibliography for this article, but if you are interested I’m more than happy to send the sources.)

The two-pieced skirt (liǎng piàn qún) is a type of skirt from the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). It is also known as xuàn qún (literal translation: circle/swirl skirt). As far I know, there are two sets of surviving samples of these skirts, one from the tomb of Ms Huang Sheng (this was her full maiden name - she died at 17, one year after getting married, in 1243) and the other from the tomb of Ms Zhou (also her maiden name - she died possibly at 35 and was buried in 1274). The main stylistic difference between these two sets of two-pieced skirts is that those of Ms Zhou had a relatively large difference between the hem and waist measurements (the hem is 15~20cm wider than the waist circumference), whereas those of Miss Huang Sheng had a small difference (approx. 10cm).

Below is a diagram showing the construction. The skirt is composed of one upper piece and one under piece. Each piece consists of two panels which are trapezoids or (roughly) rectangles. For the sake of convenience, we shall call them the centre panel and the side panel. You can see that the centre panels of the two pieces overlap, and the whole thing is fixed onto a waist band. All surviving samples have relatively wide waist bands—about 10-14cm in width. One strip on each side of the waist band is used to tie the skirt.

Pattern details

The modern common agreement is that the panels are usually right trapezoids (trapezoids with two right angles). I don’t know whether this is historically accurate, as some people think they were pentagons, but I doubt we can ever find out from what is currently available, just because the fabrics had been damaged and distorted over time. Assuming that they are right trapezoids, there are two different ways to piece the panels: you can sew the edges with two right angles together, or you can sew together the opposite edge with two non-right angles together (see diagram). They yield different results. A skirt made with the first method would have more of an A-line and more flowy. One made with the second method would wrap more snugly around the torso and give an H-shape.

You might have noticed that the centre panel is a bit wider than the side panel. This is because the centre panel would be worn in the back and the side in the front. A good starting point is to make the centre panel 10cm wider, but this of course depends on one’s body shape.

Another modern agreement is that the skirt better compliments a flat body shape with gentle curves (as has been the mainstream high-class aesthetics for the female body for a very, very long time right up to now). The most prominent issue with a difference between waist and hip measurements is that the skirt will bunch up at the lower back. To alleviate this issue, darts are used on the sides. Another way is to wear a petticoat, some underpants, or just something around the waist to enlarge the waist measurement. The skirt is not designed to accommodate a large difference between waist and hip circumferences (>30cm probably, though it starts to get difficult at 25cm).

Applying your measurements

(Numbers, when applicable, are in centimetres.)

You need your waist and hip circumferences. The skirt is usually full length. I like to make it as long as possible without the danger of tripping. It could be made shorter for thicker stiffer fabrics or a more modern look. Keep in mind that the skirt has a very high waist.

The length of the waistband is usually 1.7-1.9*waist circumference. In any case, it cannot be shorter than 1.3*hip circumference or it won’t close properly.

Now that you have the length of the waistband, you can calculate the upper edges of the panels. Let a be the length of the waistband, b the finished upper edge of the side panel. Then the finished upper edge of the centre panel is roughly b+10. Using the information discussed in the previous section, we have an equation: a=2b+b+10. This is your starting point—adjust as needed.

Triangular darts. There are a few ways to make them and this is just one of them. Let c be the width on each side of one dart. c=(hip-waist)/4. This means each dart will eliminate half of the (hip-waist) difference, and there are two darts.

c+b= total width on the upper edge of the panel. The bottom edge (i.e. the hem) of the same panel would be about 5cm wider than the upper edge.  

The width of the waistband. If you would like to wear it without folding, 6-8cm is good. If wearing with a fold (which sometimes also helps reducing the bunching at the lower back), make it 10-14cm. Note that you need to cut the waistband doubling the width plus allowance.

The ties are usually 2-3cm wide. As for the length, try start from waist circumference+0.6*skirt length. I like to make it 20cm longer because I like long billowy ribbons. Like the waistband, you cut the ties doubling the width since you will fold it in sewing.

Then you would have something like this:

(measurements used: waist 65, hip 89)

Be careful that you need extra fabric because of the fold created at the dart. (You’d need less fabric if you cut away the excess fabric in the dart.)

Fabric suggestions

This is important. Very very important. Because only the right fabric is worth your time and produces the desired result.

In general, choose something soft, drapey and that conforms to your body. Two or three centimetres of difference in calculation hardly matters when you use a good silk.

Silk: a Chinese specialty called Luo is probably one of the best. Other types of soft drapey silks of medium weights are all fine. I don’t like the right side of silk charmeuse because it reflects the body curves a bit too much.

Viscose: use silk as a guide. I find that twill weave or crepe tends to be more drapey than plain weave.

Cotton/linen/wool: some of these are fine too. If using a thicker wool, only use it for the top piece and use a thin fabric for the under piece of the skirt.

An extra note on cutting out the pieces:

If you are making a skirt with contrasting colours/prints, pay attention to where you cut so that the best part of the pattern of the under piece can actually show through the slit.

Construction

Piece together the side panel and the centre panel, using French seams to make the side seam. Sew all the way from top to bottom.

Sew the dart and press it towards the back. (Alternatively, you can cut away excess fabric, or even make a pocket at the side seam.)

Do Steps 1 and 2 for both the upper and under pieces. Finish the allowances on the sides by folding twice and doing an invisible edge stitch. Leave the hem unfinished.

Lay the upper and under pieces together, baste and check fit. Sometimes the centre panel don’t overlap perfectly and that’s fine.

Finish the ties, including the shorter edge not attached to the waistband.

Sew the outer side of the waistband to the skirt panels by laying them right sides together. Press open.

Fold the waistband right sides together and sandwich the tie in between. If wearing the waistband unfolded, you need to attach the tie along the top of the waistband on the under wide and in the middle of the waistband on the upper side (see picture). Sew. Do this for both short edges of the waistband.

(You can interline the waistband if the fabric is too soft. I used a non-adhesive cotton interlining and cut it without allowance and stitched it onto the allowances of the skirt panels. Whatever method suits you should work.)

Turn the right side out and finish the inner side of the waistband by folding in the allowance and using an invisible stitch/felting stitch.

Finish the hem. For the corner, I prefer to do a three-fold corner so that I don't have to trim away the excess.

Wash and press. Et voilà!