INFORMATION SHEET

Date: January 14, 2019

Title: Applying Finishing Touches on Men’s Casual Apparel

Technical Terms:

Casual Apparel- an informal clothing worn for specific use

Finishing – the final set of operations and the process in sewing the garment

Hem- a finished edge made on a garment

Touches- modifications made by applying fine details on finished garments.

Tack- a fastening in needlework and a temporary stitch

Casual apparel is an informal wear for men, both young and old. The construction techniques used in making men’s apparel are
variations of dressmaking methods and it depends on the type of the garment constructed and the fabric selected for the design.

Men and boys apparel applied with Finishing Touches:

Polo shirt - an informal washable shirt with shorts sleeves

Polo jacket - 2 inches shorter than the ordinary polo shirt with buttons or garter to fit the hips

Polo barong - possesses 2 pockets placed on the lower part of the garment

Barong Tagalog - has long sleeve and used by men during formal gathering. It is considered men’s national attire

Executive polo with collar band - has one pocket and worn with a necktie or coat

Short pants - an item of clothing for most grade school boys and other men. It is made with or without buttons and with a waistband and
suspenders

Long pants - a lower garment with two separate leg sections that measures the length from waist to ankle
Finishing Touches

One of the important details of a constructed garment is the inclusion of finishing touches.

Finishing touches are fine and hand-finished details are required at specific points on a garment as reinforcement.

The following touches are final touches:

1. French tacks

They are like fine cord, and usually link a free-hanging to the main hem to prevent the from swiveling around or riding up. The tacks
are hand sewn between the two hems on the inside so that they won’t be visible.

There are several types of French tacks:

a. Blanket - stitch tack

b. Thread chain tack – is made by hand from chain of loops.
c. Machine chain tack- uses machine straight stitch
2. Bar tacks

These short, straight rows of reinforcing stitches are used to strengthens point of strain on a garment, and can be made by hand or
machine. Bar tacks are used across two adjoining areas of fabric that may be strained or split in.

There are two types of bar tacks:

1. Hand stitched bar tacks

2. Machine bar tacks

3. Arrowheads

These small triangular tacks are worked by hand or machine across a seam to strengthen it at point of potential strain. ( for example at
the top of pleats with an underlay on a tight-fitting skirt). It is best to use a matching color thread while a thick thread like buttonhole twist can be
effective for a hand stitched arrowhead.

Kinds of Hemming Stitches

1. Vertical hemstitch – a stitch that work from right to left.

2. Slanting hemstitch – this stitch is less stable than vertical hemstitch but is quicker to work. Form the stitches in the same way as vertical
hemstitch.
3. Herringbone stitch – this is used for joining the edges of facing or interfacing to the inside garment.
4. Catch stitch or Blind Hemming Stitch – it is done under an edge or through a folded edge. It can be used when hemming heavy fabrics
that stitch to prevent a ridge from showing on the right side of the garment.
5. Slipstitch – this stitch is used to attach a folded edge to another fabric layer.
6. Blind herringbone stitch – it works like hemming stitch from left to right of the garment , but just fold the hem edge back. Work the
herringbone stitches between the inside of the garment hem and the underneath fabric.
7. Buttonhole stitch – it applies a neat finish for hooks, eyes, buttons and snap fastening.

Worked Buttonholes
Buttons and buttonholes are decorative in addition to the purpose. Accuracy is necessary when marking your fabric if the buttons
are also done after the garment is finished.

How to make a hand worked buttonhole

a. Mark the position of the buttonhole indicating its length
b. Using small stitches, stitch about 1/16 inch from the mark
c. Starting at the center, slash buttonhole on center mark to ends. Overcast the edges.
d. Work the buttonhole stitch over the edges, working from right to left.

1. Start at the end and insert needle into slit bringing it out below stitching. Bring thread from the needle to the eye around and
under needle point from right to left.
2. Draw needle up to form a purl on the edge. Continue placing stitches close together so purls will cover edge.
3. At end towards garments edge, form a fan as shown , keeping the center stitch of the fan in line with the cut.
e. Make bar on both ends taking several stitches over the threads and through the garments cloth.

Fasteners for Men’s Apparel

The main purpose in concealing garment closing is to keep the closing flat and small. Closing is used in shirts and pants.
Fasteners are devices used to close the opening of garments and facilitate their wearing.
Suitable Fasteners for Men’s Garments
 Buttons
1. Two-hole button – a flat button with two stitching holes
2. Four-hole button – a tiny flat button that is usually attached with a thread shank.
3. Fabric cover button- made from a kit or made to order. This button matches the garment and has a shank button.
4. Shank button- it is made from plastic, bone or metals. This button has a shank at the back.
5. Ball button – an orb shaped and it has stitching hole pierced or molded across the back.
6. Dome button- a half ball button with a shank at the back and suitable for use with thick and heavy fabric.
7. Rivet button- a non-sewn button. This is attached by rivet inserted to the fabric from the wrong side.
8. Novelty button – may be an individual shape, or one of set or range and maybe flat but often has a shank

Hook and Eye- use to hold lapped ends of waistband.

Snap fasteners- used on flat surfaces where there is a little strain. These are commonly used in baby dresses.

Zippers- made with synthetic coils or polyester or nylon attached to woven tape.
1. Chain zipper- a medium weight zip with metal or plastic teeth
2. Coil zipper- a synthetic coils or polyester or nylon attached to woven tape.
3. Concealed zipper- zipper has teeth that are concealed on the underside.
4. Open-ended zipper-chain zipper separate at the base into two halves

Hem and Hem Allowances

One of the most important technique in sewing lies on the finishing of edges. The first and most widely used finish for an edge is
the hem.

There are four steps in making a hem of a polo shirt:

1. Mark the hem line. Mark the desired length with the tape measure using tailor’s chalk or pins.
2. Fold hem line. Turn hem to wrong side along marked line, matching the seam lines.
3. Marking hem depth. Turn wrong side out on a flat surface so that you can work from the hem side. Set the hem gauge for
desired hem depth plus ½ inch for finishing.
4. Finishing a hem. Insert pin at right angle to the hem edge, matching seam lines. Hand-finished with an inside blind-hemming
stitch. Machine stitching along hem edge is also satisfactory.