Seams and Edges in a Garment: A Practice-Led Research

Abstract

Seams and edges in a garment transform the personal being into one proper to be presented to others not only by constructing the garment but also setting where it begins and ends. In my practice-led research, I have chosen edges applied to armhole finishing, to highlight these significant areas and learn more about them. I have kept a journal of my practice based on a reflection on the making process as it was taking place. This reflection has directed the ensuing practice and research, helping to reach a conclusion. I have also captured my making action more objectively by filming it. As I watch this documentary, I see that I am constantly turning the garment over at the openings in order to finish it. This process is also applicable to the wearing of the garment, which is linked to the socialization of its wearer. Each time we put on or take off a garment we cross and re-cross this boundary. This article concludes that it is through repetitive crossing the boundary of these openings that garments are made and the individual becomes socialized.

Keywords:

• seams
• edges
• armhole finishing
• garments
• practice-led research

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 There are functional, social and/or cultural reasons why a garment must not reveal too much of the body.

2 “Research could be FOR practice, where research aims are subservient to practice aims, THROUGH practice, where the practice serves a research purpose, or INTO practice, such as observing the working processes of others” (Rust, Mottram, and Till 2007, 11).

3 “Making involves conceptualizing, a research process that includes inspiration, idea development, trends and fabric research, working with sketchbooks, design, (a wearer’s size and measurement for a made-to-measure garment), pattern making or draping, cutting, sewing, toile, fitting and alterations, finishings (notions and trims), a prototype sample garment (line planning, range building, costing/pricing, grading for mass production) and production (Hopkins 2012; Cole and Czachor 2009).” (Kim 2019b, 451).

4 The maker may decide to do this after pattern tracing.

5 “A French seam is a narrow enclosed seam that looks like a small, neat, tucked seam from the wrong side.” (Cole and Czachor 2009, 167).

6 “An underlining covers the entire fabric piece, while an interfacing is applied to the facings and individual garment pieces, such as collars, cuffs, pockets, and waistbands, so they hold their shape. A stabilizing tape gives lightweight support because it is applied to the garment seamlines only.” (Cole and Czachor 2009, 75).

7 For more details about seaming and hems, see Cole and Czachor 2009, 137–187, 415–419.

8 For further details, see Warwick and Cavallaro 2001, 23–45.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Hye Eun Kim

Hye Eun Kim has a MA from the London College of Fashion and a PhD from the Royal College of Art. She is a designer, researcher and assistant professor in the Department of Fashion Design at Dong-Eui University, Korea. Her work has been exhibited internationally including China, France, Italy, Korea and the UK. Her main interest is fabric and its changes from an anthropological viewpoint, through garment making and wearing in material culture. She has published several articles in international and Korean journals on these issues. Her research was published in Textile Cloth and Culture in 2019, with the title "The Wearing Process as a Rite of Passage" (Volume 17, Number 1, 100–109) and "Calligraphic Practice by Tacit Knowledge between Imagination and Realization in Garment Making" (Volume 17, Number 4, 442–453). [email protected], [email protected]