Charles Kleibacker

7/30/2019 Charles Kleibacker

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Charles Kleibacker

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In honor of the lateCharles Kleibacker, here is another article from the pages of Threads

about this masterful designer.

by David Page Coffin

excerpted from Threads #99, p. 71
http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/11421/hands-on-with-kleibacker-lessons-for-working-with-a-bias/page/2http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/11421/hands-on-with-kleibacker-lessons-for-working-with-a-bias/page/2http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/11421/hands-on-with-kleibacker-lessons-for-working-with-a-bias/page/2http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/11421/hands-on-with-kleibacker-lessons-for-working-with-a-bias/page/3http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/11421/hands-on-with-kleibacker-lessons-for-working-with-a-bias/page/3http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/11421/hands-on-with-kleibacker-lessons-for-working-with-a-bias/page/3http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/11421/hands-on-with-kleibacker-lessons-for-working-with-a-bias/page/4http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/11421/hands-on-with-kleibacker-lessons-for-working-with-a-bias/page/4http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/11421/hands-on-with-kleibacker-lessons-for-working-with-a-bias/page/2http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/11421/hands-on-with-kleibacker-lessons-for-working-with-a-bias/page/2http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/11421/hands-on-with-kleibacker-lessons-for-working-with-a-bias/page/allhttp://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/11421/hands-on-with-kleibacker-lessons-for-working-with-a-bias/page/allhttp://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/11421/hands-on-with-kleibacker-lessons-for-working-with-a-bias/page/allhttp://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/11421/hands-on-with-kleibacker-lessons-for-working-with-a-bias#commentshttp://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/11421/hands-on-with-kleibacker-lessons-for-working-with-a-bias#commentshttp://void%280%29/http://void%280%29/http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/11422/charles-kleibacker-1921-2010http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/11422/charles-kleibacker-1921-2010http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/11422/charles-kleibacker-1921-2010http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/11421/hands-on-with-kleibacker-lessons-for-working-with-a-biashttp://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/11421/hands-on-with-kleibacker-lessons-for-working-with-a-biashttp://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/11421/hands-on-with-kleibacker-lessons-for-working-with-a-biashttp://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/11421/hands-on-with-kleibacker-lessons-for-working-with-a-biashttp://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/11421/hands-on-with-kleibacker-lessons-for-working-with-a-biashttp://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/11421/hands-on-with-kleibacker-lessons-for-working-with-a-biashttp://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/11421/hands-on-with-kleibacker-lessons-for-working-with-a-biashttp://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/11421/hands-on-with-kleibacker-lessons-for-working-with-a-biashttp://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/11421/hands-on-with-kleibacker-lessons-for-working-with-a-biashttp://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/11421/hands-on-with-kleibacker-lessons-for-working-with-a-biashttp://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/11421/hands-on-with-kleibacker-lessons-for-working-with-a-biashttp://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/11421/hands-on-with-kleibacker-lessons-for-working-with-a-biashttp://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/11421/hands-on-with-kleibacker-lessons-for-working-with-a-biashttp://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/11421/hands-on-with-kleibacker-lessons-for-working-with-a-biashttp://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/11421/hands-on-with-kleibacker-lessons-for-working-with-a-biashttp://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/11421/hands-on-with-kleibacker-lessons-for-working-with-a-biashttp://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/11421/hands-on-with-kleibacker-lessons-for-working-with-a-biashttp://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/11421/hands-on-with-kleibacker-lessons-for-working-with-a-biashttp://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/11421/hands-on-with-kleibacker-lessons-for-working-with-a-biashttp://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/11421/hands-on-with-kleibacker-lessons-for-working-with-a-biashttp://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/11421/hands-on-with-kleibacker-lessons-for-working-with-a-biashttp://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/11421/hands-on-with-kleibacker-lessons-for-working-with-a-biashttp://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/11421/hands-on-with-kleibacker-lessons-for-working-with-a-biashttp://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/11421/hands-on-with-kleibacker-lessons-for-working-with-a-biashttp://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/11421/hands-on-with-kleibacker-lessons-for-working-with-a-biashttp://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/11421/hands-on-with-kleibacker-lessons-for-working-with-a-biashttp://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/11421/hands-on-with-kleibacker-lessons-for-working-with-a-biashttp://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/11422/charles-kleibacker-1921-2010http://void%280%29/http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/11421/hands-on-with-kleibacker-lessons-for-working-with-a-bias#commentshttp://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/11421/hands-on-with-kleibacker-lessons-for-working-with-a-bias/page/allhttp://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/11421/hands-on-with-kleibacker-lessons-for-working-with-a-bias/page/2http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/11421/hands-on-with-kleibacker-lessons-for-working-with-a-bias/page/4http://w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Last summer, I spent a fascinating weekend in Columbus, Ohio, visiting designer, educator, and

costume collector Charles Kleibacker. On the second floor of his garment- and memorabilia-packed townhouse, we cleared a small work space, and I settled in behind the camera to record

an extraordinary and all-too-fleeting demonstration: the distillation of more than 30 years of

professional experience in the creation of couture-quality, bias-cut garments. Drawing from an

apparently endless series of overstuffed garment racks, Charles led me through the discoveriesand techniques that formed the cornerstones of his technical career, encompassing both the

behavior of fabric cut on the bias and the core procedures that he and his workroom staff

employed to control and exploit it to such expressive and practical ends. In the followingcollection of photos and commentary, I'll share with you what I learned.

Lesson 1 -Fabric cut on the bias is not symmetrical.No matter how balanced or similar the vertical and horizontal threads look on any fabric, they

always drape differently because they were each subjected to different tensions during the

weaving process. To demonstrate the effect of this difference on bias draping, Charles pins a

single piece of muslin on true bias (the 45-degree diagonal) to the center front of a dress form.As a result, one side hangs from the lengthwise grain, and the other hangs from the crosswise

grain. You can see how the folds on each side of center front fall differently. For Kleibacker, if

the object is symmetrical bias draping, a center-front seam is needed to create identical draped

folds on both halves (he omits a center-front seam only if he wants to create an asymmetrical

bias garment). The process starts with draping in muslin on one side of the form only, up to the

central seam. This half-muslin is traced and duplicated to create a wearable muslin for fine-tuning on a live model before creating a pattern. The pattern is then laid out and marked on two

layers of fashion fabric, pinned face to face, and thus mirrored for perfect symmetry.

A muslin square

pinned to a dressform shows the drapeof a true bias.


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A center-front seamon bias-cut fabric

allows identical

drape.

Lesson 2 -Pin and slip-baste from the garment's right side.Right-side pinning ensures absolute accuracy, as all seams are prepared and can hang just as they

will when worn. Careful pinning distributes ease and allows precise matching of design lines.Once pinned, Kleibacker slip-bastes seams by hand and then permanently machine-stitches them

from the wrong side. Slip-bastings are removed before the seam is pressed.

Garments are pinned

from the right side toensure accuracy.


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In the sleeveless muslin prototype for this garment, you can clearly see the painstakinglypinned easing typical of a draped, bias-cut Kleibacker garment beneath the bustline seam and the

neckline, which has been simply pinched on the right-hand side to show the exact amount of

excess length. The eased fabric is not steamed flat in the muslin but will be carefully steamed

and pressed to lie perfectly smooth in the fashion fabric.

Typical easing on aKleibacker neckline

is painstakingly

pinned.

Kleibacker is particularly fastidious about easing away any hint of gaping in a neckline. He

recommends that this be done to improve patterns that don't include it. Here, on his 1970sdesigner pattern for a wrapped dress, he has added both a seam and easing to the left-hand bodice

to eliminate the gaping in the unaltered right-hand neckline.

A seam and easing

eliminates gaping onthe left side of the

dress.


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Lesson 3 -Fabrics cut on the bias either have "drag" or "lift."

Fabrics such as crpe, jersey, and charmeuse are among the fabrics that can be said to "drag" or

"drip" on the bias. Fabrics such as taffeta, chiffon, broadcloth, and organza float or "lift" on the

bias. Either type can be adapted to create a beautiful garment, but drag is better suited to

revealing the form underneath, and lift is better suited to conceal it.

Soft fabrics (left) and crisp fabrics (right) drape quite differently.


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Lesson 4 -Ease a neckline by pinning it to a length of seam tape.

No matter how plunging the necklines on his dresses, Charles always wanted to be sure thewearer would be comfortable in the dress without the neckline gaping. The technique for easing

away a gaping neckline is tedious but not especially challenging. It requires the seam allowance

of the neckline to be used as a hand-overcast self-facing (so the neckline edge is a fold, not a

seam) with the fabric eased into thin, stable rayon seam tape. To determine the length of the tape,pinch the excess fabric at the neckline into a small fold, measure the adjusted neckline, and then

mask this measurement on the tape. Pin the tape at each end of the neckline, and ease the

fabric to the tape with closely spaced pins.

The neckline is easedinto measured seam

tape.

First, pin to ease the

excess into the seam

tape.


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Next, make a row of tiny, permanent running stitches just to the inside of the neckline fold,using a very short needle and a single strand of size-A, matching silk thread.

Then, use a short

needle to sew theexcess to the seam

tape.

Carefully press from the inside of the garment to render the easing invisible.

Press from the wrongside for a smooth

surface.


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Properly pressed easeis invisible.

Seam tape also

prevents stretching.

In the Kleibacker studio, all neckline (and top back edges to many designs) were eased withseam tape to reinforce them and prevent any possibility of stretching. For the muslin, the

seamline at the bust was eased differently. Here, a tiny hand-sewn running stitch was made bothat the seamline and just above it in the seam allowance. These two threads were pulled to the

desired measurement. The fabric was carefully pressed on the wrong side and then pinned to the

corresponding seamline for slip-basting.

To Slip-Baste A Right-Side Pinned Seam


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After carefullypinning any seam

from the RS to

establish its position

or to arrange an eased

seam, slip-baste byworking a short

needle through thebottom layer, using a

running stitch that

comes up into theedge-fold of the top

layer.

When ready to sew,

turn garment insideout, and unfold the

seam allowance.

Then machine-stitch

on top of the slip-

basting. Slip-bastingsmust be removed

before you press theseams.

Lesson 5 -Baste some bias seams before cutting, and stretch them while machine-stitching.

After transferring the seamlines from the pattern to the layers of fabric positioned right sides

together as described in lesson 1, the bias seams were always hand-basted while still flat on the

cutting table and before the pieces were cut because bias edges tend to stretch once cut. Certain


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bias seams, typically center-front and center-back seams, edges of sashes and bands, and the

narrow cording often called "spaghetti straps" were also stretched during the machine-stitchingprocess, ensuring the seams would never break. (Bias seams joining asymmetrical pieces were

usually not stretched.) To allow for this intense stretching, such seams must first be hand-basted with short, overlapping running stitches. To do this, start at the seam end with a knot,

baste about 6 inches, and cut the thread. Then, without knotting the end, baste another 6 inches,overlapping the last few stitches of the preceding basting. Repeat about every 6 inches, tightly

securing the basting at the very end. To make spaghetti straps, cut true bias strips 3/4 inch

wide, fold them in half lengthwise, hand-baste with overlapping running stitches, and thenstretch as strongly as possibly while machine-stitching along the center of the strip. Turn without

trimming the seam allowances, allowing them to fill the turned tube. For maximum skinniness,

stretch the straps on the ironing board, pinning the ends. Steam heavily by holding the ironclosely above them, restretch, and let them dry.

Sew shortoverlapping lengths

of basting stitchesbefore stretchingfabric, and stretch the

strap while machine-

stitching.


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Stretch the strapwhile machine-

stitching.

Charles Kleibacker

stretches a bias band

after it has beenmachine-stitched to

make sure it shows

no signs of broken

thread.


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1972

Charles Kleibacker

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