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 BunnyPoindexter.com 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'. BunnyPoindexter.com 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 BunnyPoindexter.com