Ascot SEWING GUIDELINES SIZING

Pattern Guide: Cravat (Ascot)
SEWING GUIDELINES
All seams and edges sewn at 3/8" (0.95cm).
SIZING
For the basis of the crav at I custom-scaled down piece
1 7 of the Burda 3403 pattern. I also rev ised the fold
pleat lines to accommodate a tidier finish for such a
smaller v ersion of a men's crav at. The pattern I prov ide
is the result of this custom scaling. If y ou use this
pattern as it is, it will create a crav at measuring
approximately 1 9" (48.2cm) in full length and tie neatly
around a 7 " (17 .8cm) neck.
For the crav at shown in my photos, Floppy Bunny
wanted a longer length for his crav at, so I extended the
pattern's length by an extra 2" (5cm) at the centre seam:
this makes a crav at measuring 23.5" (60cm) in full
length, to tie around a 7 " (1 7 .8cm) neck.
You can also m ake a few m odifications to the pattern that I
prov ide:
- to extend the length, just extend the paper pattern at the
centre seam
- to shorten the length, just reduce the paper pattern at the
centre seam
In either of these cases, y ou m ay also wish to adjust the
lengths of the fold pleat lines accordingly , for the neck.
FABRICS
As recommended by Burda 3403 pattern: Silk,
brocade, lightweight wools, moire.
I bought a piece of Liberty of London's Tana
Lawn fabric 1 called 'Gigi Garland Blues' v ia eBay ,
measuring one large fat quarter 1 8" x 26.5"
(45.5cm x 67 cm). For Floppy Bunny 's crav at I
cut a piece measuring 18" x 1 2" (45.5cm x 31 cm).
TOOLS
Pins (ideally silk pins), scissors, basting thread,
needle, sewing machine, fine thread, marking
pencil or tailors chalk
Optional: dressm aker's tracing paper (I printed m y pattern onto
Translucent Vellum Paper 2 so that I could see the fabric's design v ery
clearly under the pattern, to pick out the colours and shapes I wanted
at the front of the crav at.)
Optional: rotary cutter, with m at (e.g. Om nigrid) to cut m y pattern
and fabric with v ery straight lines!
3/8” (0.95cm)
Centre Seam
Not to scale
Fold Line
4
2/8” (0.6cm)
5/8” (1.6cm)
3
2
2/8” (0.6cm)
5/8” (1.6cm)
1
1 http://www.liberty.co.uk/fcp/departmenthome/dept/fabrics?resetFilters=true
2 http://www.ctpub.com/productdetails.cfm?PC=829
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Pattern: Cravat (Ascot)
11” (28cm)
PRINTING
When printing this page of the document make sure
'page scaling' is not selected in the printer settings.
Measure the pattern after printing to double-check.
This page should be printed 'landscape'.
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Instructions: Cravat (Ascot)
1. Print out the pattern on paper (or dressmaker's tracing paper). Print out the
pattern guide on paper.
Optional - m ake any reductions or extensions to the pattern as y ou require, as suggested
abov e.
2. Fold y our fabric in half, with right-sides facing each other. Place the paper
pattern onto the fabric. If the fabric has a design on it, check y ou hav e y our
fav ourite shapes/colours at the pointed sections of the pattern in the direction y ou
want them.
3. Pin the pattern to the fabric through both lay ers of fabric, enough to secure the
pattern so that when y ou cut the fabric the pattern stay s in place. Or y ou can chalk
around the pattern and then cut; depends on y our sty le I guess! I used a rotary
cutter and mat for all the straight edges and outer points, and scissors for the inner
points.
4. I kept the pattern paper attached to the fabric while I basted the centre seam;
but y ou could remov e the paper pattern from the fabric, re-pin the 2 pieces back
together and then baste the centre seam.
5. Remov e pins. Stitch the centre seam (using a sewing machine).
Optional (depending on the fabric) - with the iron on a low setting, press the seam open.
1 0. Pin around the edges. Baste. Remov e pins. Press carefully with an iron on a low
setting. (I placed a tea-cloth between the Ascot and the iron to protect the fabric).
1 1. Hand stitch the open seam section to close it up completely .
1 2. Next, decide which side of the Ascot will be the 'inside' (facing the neck) and the
'outside' (this will hav e the neat pleated finish and may be v isible when worn).
Lay the Ascot fully out with the 'inside' facing towards y ou: create the first pleat by
bringing the second fold line to the first fold line, as shown on the arrows on the
pattern guide. Pin it together; then create the second pleat by bring the fourth fold
line to the third fold line. Pin it together.
Check the pleats on the 'outside' and re-adjust to neaten. Baste. Remov e pins.
1 3. Press carefully with an iron on a low setting. (I placed a tea-cloth between the
Ascot and the iron to protect the fabric.)
1 4. Lay the Ascot with the 'outside' facing
towards y ou. As shown in Figure 2, there
Are three sections marked as - - - in the
Centre back and at the sides, where y ou
stitch along (using a sewing machine) to
secure the folds.
6. Measure and chalk out the fold pleat lines on the fabric. Use the measurements
prov ided on the pattern guide. Baste along the fold pleat lines.
7 . Fold the fabric in half lengthwise, as shown in Figure 1, with right-sides facing
each other. Baste the edges together and then stitch (using a sewing machine),
leav ing about 2" (5cm) open, again as shown in Figure 1. Secure ends of seams.
Trim seam allowances and trim corners diagonally .
Figure 2
(extract image from Burda 3403)
1 5. Remov e all the basting. Tidy up any thread ends.
1 6. Now it's ready to smartly tie up on y our fav ourite friend!
I referenced Tom Sawy er Waistcoats3 for ideas on how to tie the crav at, which I
found to be v ery useful.
Figure 1
(extract image of Burda 3403, w ith my pleat modification)
8. Remov e basting from the edges only .
9. Turn the Ascot right side out. Y ou may need to gently tease out the pointed
sections to create a nice finish.
3 http://www.tomsawyerwaistcoats.co.uk/subprod/how-to-tie-a-cravat-0001283.aspx
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