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Continued from first page:

By applying this same technique to simple garments, you can achieve a modern sense of elegant simplicity. After selecting your fabric, you will need to determine the best texture and color for the edge trim. Cashin garments are trimmed in both suede and soft leather. Today we have the convenience of artificial suede fabric such as Ultra Suede.

Smooth leather may also be salvaged from skirts or pants you’ve discarded or found at thrift stores and then cut into binding strips. Colors range from a very light contrast of tan or gray to black and navy. Leather can also be dyed to match the fabric. When sewing with lightweight suede or leather, a conventional size 12 needle is usually sufficient.

The finished binding width on Cashin coats is between 1/2” and 3/8” wide. We will make some samples using imitation suede fabric cut to a specific width.

Leather trim: This project uses a narrow strip of imitation suede.  
It is possible to measure and mark the suede with a soft pencil so that it is cut in an even line.  
A metal ruler and cutting wheel are also good tools to use when cutting an even width.  
Extended lengths can be made by simply sewing two ends together.
Do not use an iron to press leather. Use hand pressure to lightly stretch or smooth areas.

Sample #1:
For medium weight wool, cut suede 1” wide for 1/2” wide edge.
For thick wool, cut suede 1 1/2” wide for 3/8” wide edge.

Length: Measure all hem edges around the garment with a string or measuring tape to determine desired length of suede.

Samples: Prepare several samples to adjust the width of suede, thread color and sewing machine technique to your liking.

Cut fabric samples 4” wide by 8” long. This is a good size to keep mounted in a binder for future reference as well.
Step #1: Lay the suede strip down the fabric edge, or hem edge, with the fashion fabric face up.

Step #2: Machine sew the suede to the fashion fabric, 1/8” from the cut edge for medium weight wool, and 1/2” for thick wool.



Step #3: Trim away any loose yarns.  Roll the suede to the back side, covering the cut edge of the fabric.  Make sure that the suede strip covers the stitch line by at least 1/2”. 











Step #4: Do not pin leather in place.  Practice rolling it under by hand and holding the fabric to the back.  Sewing on the front side, stitch in the ditch down the edge of the binding.  Your stitching should be against the suede, but sewn in the wool.

Step #5: Turn the fabric over, face down.  Check to be sure that all of the suede edges are caught by the line of stitching. There should be about 1/8” of extra fabric in the seam allowance. If more is seen, trim this away by holding your scissors at a slant, cutting close to the stitching, but not catching the wool fashion fabric.

Curved Edges and Notched Lapels

Leather will stretch around wide curves if you sew it close to the edge.  

Sew close to the curved edge for a tiny seam allowance.

When folding to the back side, smooth and lightly stretch the leather around the curve. If the fabric you are using is loose or tends to unravel, stay-stitch on your sewing line before applying the leather trim. That should help stabilize the curved surface. 











Be careful not to shorten the curve, or that edge will curl or create a “bag effect” in the fabric.

Trim closely on the reverse side after stitching in place.

More Tips for Sewing with Cashin Style

Seam Lines
Cashin coats are often soft and unlined. To create a clean interior, she usually used flat fell seams.  

Often the width between the two seam lines is broad enough to accommodate the fullness of thickly textured wool.
Seam allowances are 1” wide on thick weight wools.

The inner seam allowance should be trimmed to about 1/2” wide; the longer 1” wide lap is folded over that.  Trim the garment BACK seam allowances, leaving the garment FRONT seam allowances 1” wide.

When sewn, the enclosed seam allowance is pressed towards the back.

The flat fell top stitching is sewn about  1/2” from the original seam line. This should be sewn on the inside, so that the stitching follows the edge of the flat fell  fold.

On one example, the first line of stitching was sewn down the edge of the fold to stay-stitch the bulky wool fold in place over the trimmed 1/2” inner layer. 

This was then pressed flat to the body of the garment. Then the flat fell stitching forms the second line of sewing. The stitches are sewn over the same folded edge to create the usual welt seam that is flat to the fabric.

Garment Construction
After cutting, soft or loose wool should be stay stitched around all cut edges to stabilize those yarns.  A zigzag stitch can create a barrier to prevent unraveling.

Sew both shoulder and side seams using flat fell seams before adding the leather binding.

Leather Binding 
Measure the garment edges to determine length of binding. The leather strip is joined at the following locations: center back, center front roll line, and side seams.

Using synthetic suede, you may be able to cut longer lengths than the leather that was used on the originals. 

If you must have joins, use a string placed around the edge to determine where you will place your joins. Mark the string with a black pen dot, so that you can then measure that distance and cut each leather strip the correct length.

Make Your Own

Use this production flat of the SAMPLE CASHIN COAT to create your own Bonnie Cashin coat.

For this medium coat, the center bust placement is about mid-way between shoulder and armhole curve level. By using the photos and diagrams, you should be able to draft your own garment. 

Make muslin or denim fit sample to be sure you like the fit. Note the ease or extra fabric that the coat has, which allow for movement and style.

Here are some distinctive details to note when drafting your copy:
The Center Front edge is 2” wider than the CF line.
The center bust point level is about mid-way below the shoulder line height and the armhole curve.
The coat Front is cut wider than the Back at the full hem width.

Pattern Design
The Cashin sample garment is cut flat. 
The sleeves are cut in one piece with the body, without set-in sleeves. 
This wide “T” shaped garment is also cut in one piece across the back, no center back seam is used (possible with wools of widths over 53”). 
Raglan sleeved coat patterns would be good for this project as well.  Current sewing patterns that would adapt to this style are:
Butterick 5093 and 5104
Vogue 2472
Simplicity 3959

Drafting the Pattern
If you decide to draft a pattern, or need to check a purchased pattern, use a sweater or long-sleeved T-shirt to determine the correct ease and size for your own version. 

Lay your sweater flat over the pattern. You will see the ease extending around the edges. This photo shows the amount of ease that the Cashin sample coat has. 

The black garment in the photos is a cardigan sweater with a medium fit. There is an even amount of ease down the sides, and a smaller ease on the sleeves.

The original Cashin coat has a pocket on each side seam that are faced with wool.  The original closures are toggles, which will be covered in the second part of this article.

If you make up this wonderful pattern, we want pictures!!!

Jennifer Orsini is the chair of the fashion department at Pasadena City College in Pasadena, CA, and has designed costumes for the stage and screen. She can be reached at pccfashion.orsini@yahoo.com.
Model: CJ Jacobson