Working with Linings: Bagging and Hand-Finishing

A lining serves comfort, durability and appearance at once. It encloses raw seams and structural layers, glides over other garments so the piece is easy to wear, shields the outer fabric from body oils and abrasion, and supports the drape of the garment.

Because it has to move with the wearer, a lining is never simply a copy of the outer garment. It is drafted with extra room so it can flex without straining the fashion fabric.

The lining must be slightly roomier than the garment so the wearer can move without the lining pulling the outer fabric. This is achieved with small pleats and folds built into the lining pattern, not by making the lining larger overall.

A centre-back pleat lets the back expand as the arms reach forward. A small pleat or fold at the hem, and ease across the shoulders, give the lining the slack it needs to sit smoothly while the garment moves.

Bagging is a largely machine-sewn method of attaching a lining, in which most of the garment is turned right side out through an opening left in the lining. It is fast, gives clean enclosed edges, and is widely used in both production and quality home sewing.

The sequence below outlines the logic; the specifics vary with the garment, but the principle of stitching the lining to the garment edges and turning through a gap is constant.

1. 1.Construct the garment shell and the lining separately, pressing each.
2. 2.With right sides together, stitch the lining to the garment around the front edges, neckline and hem as the design requires, leaving an opening in a lining seam.
3. 3.Turn the whole garment right side out through the opening.
4. 4.Press the edges crisply, favouring the seam to the inside.
5. 5.Close the opening by machine or with a slip stitch.

Even a bagged lining usually needs some hand-finishing, and a fully tailored garment relies on it. The lining is felled to the garment at the armholes, around the back vent, and at any point where a clean, flexible join is needed that machine stitching cannot reach.

Hand-finishing uses a slip stitch or fell stitch that catches only the lining and the seam allowance, so nothing shows on the outside. It takes time but gives the interior its couture quality and lets the lining move independently of the shell.

The lining hem is not stitched flat against the garment hem. Instead it hangs slightly shorter, attached with a fold of slack called a jump hem, which lets the lining and outer fabric move independently and prevents the lining from pulling the hem up or showing below it.

The fold of the jump hem typically sits a short distance above the garment hem, with the lining attached along a line that leaves this slack. It is a small detail that quietly prevents the most common lining fault.

Lining fabric should be smooth, durable and breathable, and its weight should suit the garment. A heavy coat takes a substantial lining, while a fine dress wants a light, fluid one. Antistatic and breathable qualities matter for comfort.

Colour and fibre are choices too: a contrasting lining can be a deliberate flourish, while natural fibres breathe better against the skin than some synthetics. Match the lining's care requirements to the garment so they launder compatibly.