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Can someone give me an overview of lining and fusing in shirts

8744 Views 49 Replies 18 Participants Last post by  Alexander Kabbaz, 
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Fusing?

Why are you so against fusing?

Trevor L. Furbay
Proprietor

ROMUALDO TAILORING CO.
www.romualdo.com
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CrackedCrab
^^ I disagree with your opinion as to what constitutes an acceptable dress shirt. In addition to the Mercers (both straight and button down collars) I have a number of Charvet MTM shirts with a medium-wide spread collar for which I specified the softest possible collars and cuffs. I beleive these too are unlined and unfused, and are as soft or softer than the Mercers (much higher quality shirtings of course).

The Charvets look great with or without a tie. I take all these shirts to a laundry that hand presses, to avoid the sometimes undesireable creasing that occurs in pressing these types of collars and cuffs. But I think this is worth it for the comfort they provide while wearing. I generally feel the choice of collars and cuffs in this context is a personal preference. Sure a stiff, fused, lined collar presses better and looks very sharp, but in my opinion they are also uncomforatable and can feel sharp against the neck and wrist as well.
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Alexander Kabbaz
CrackedCrab said:
^^ I disagree with your opinion as to what constitutes an acceptable dress shirt. In addition to the Mercers (both straight and button down collars) I have a number of Charvet MTM shirts with a medium-wide spread collar for which I specified the softest possible collars and cuffs. I beleive these too are unlined and unfused, and are as soft or softer than the Mercers (much higher quality shirtings of course).

The Charvets look great with or without a tie. I take all these shirts to a laundry that hand presses, to avoid the sometimes undesireable creasing that occurs in pressing these types of collars and cuffs. But I think this is worth it for the comfort they provide while wearing. I generally feel the choice of collars and cuffs in this context is a personal preference. Sure a stiff, fused, lined collar presses better and looks very sharp, but in my opinion they are also uncomforatable and can feel sharp against the neck and wrist as well.
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As a bespoke maker, it is not I who makes the decisions about your shirt. It is you. I have made dress collars as light as you describe and, though I may not like them, I'm not the one wearing them. What I like and consider acceptable is absolutely unimportant. G. Bruce Boyer's personal collars are a fine example of your preference.

As for your liking how the collar feels, the leaf should not be touching your neck. In the arena of 'feeling' we have gone as far as to make unlined collar bands, the interior lined in silk charmeuse.
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Alexander Kabbaz said:
Most firms make top center plackets with interlining; some do not.

As for requesting "types" of woven interlinings - it is not likely to be your choice. Woven interlinings range in price from under $1 per yard to $30-40 per yard. It is unlikely that your maker will stock any outside the quality/price range in which the firm trades.

This is almost never done for the interior seaming will show through. There may be 3 shirt fabric pieces sewn together or a very soft interlining - neither of which are acceptable in a dress shirt. Or it may have a very soft piece of non-woven fusible interlining which you probably won't be able to feel.

If you really want to know, wait until the shirts are in the discard pile and then cut the collar open.
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Is it pretty standard for custom shirtmakers around Ascot Chang quality and above to use decent quality woven interlinings? What about Jantzen?
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Alexander Kabbaz
sartorial_1 said:
Is it pretty standard for custom shirtmakers around Ascot Chang quality and above to use decent quality woven interlinings? What about Jantzen?
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Jantzen - I doubt it. The interlining would cost them more than the shirt fabric. Ascot - I don't know. Possibly.

Caveat/Fact: Most of the Asian shirtmakers source Chinese interlinings. The better interlinings are Swiss and German.
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Alexander Kabbaz said:
Most firms make top center plackets with interlining; some do not.

As for requesting "types" of woven interlinings - it is not likely to be your choice. Woven interlinings range in price from under $1 per yard to $30-40 per yard. It is unlikely that your maker will stock any outside the quality/price range in which the firm trades.

This is almost never done for the interior seaming will show through. There may be 3 shirt fabric pieces sewn together or a very soft interlining - neither of which are acceptable in a dress shirt. Or it may have a very soft piece of non-woven fusible interlining which you probably won't be able to feel.

If you really want to know, wait until the shirts are in the discard pile and then cut the collar open.
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OK - If this is the case then the shirt that I am getting fitted for probably does have a woven interlining in the placket.

This probably means that the fact that the placket doesn't open up like most shirts when the top button is unbuttoned is due to the overall cut and style of the shirt - not because of a lack of interlining or poor quality interlining in the placket.
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Alexander Kabbaz
sartorial_1 said:
OK - If this is the case then the shirt that I am getting fitted for probably does have a woven interlining in the placket.

This probably means that the fact that the placket doesn't open up like most shirts when the top button is unbuttoned is due to the overall cut and style of the shirt - not because of a lack of interlining or poor quality interlining in the placket.
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Plackets can't "open up". They are sewn down on both sides. You may be referring to a plain or French center. Most of those are not lined.
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Alexander Kabbaz said:
Plackets can't "open up". They are sewn down on both sides. You may be referring to a plain or French center. Most of those are not lined.
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Sorry for the misnomer. I get all of my shirts made with a top center placket. I think you said in a previous post that most top center plackets are lined.

I wore an older custom shirt to my tailor the first time and he pointed out that the placket on the shirt that I was wearing was fused. The placket was a bit flatter and thicker than the rest of the shirt and really didn't look quite right IMO, but I had grown accustomed to it.

The tailor asked me if I wanted the placket on my new shirt to be fused or unfused so I said unfused in order to avoid the slightly odd looking placket style on my older shirt.

So maybe I would prefer a fused placket that is done well or maybe my tailor got carried away and not only made the placket without fusing but also made the placket without interlining.

If I like my front center with a neater opening (without it folding over on itself) then should I ask for fused placket or maybe a stiffer interlining? This tailor is high end so I think he would do fusing as well as anyone.
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Alexander Kabbaz
Fused=Interlined.

But the answer to your question is that you should as him to place the first front button 2" below the collar button instead of the traditional 3". Or have him make this collar for you (which cannot be made for dress shirts):
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Alexander Kabbaz said:
Fused=Interlined.
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A fused placket will always be interlined but an interlined placket will not always necessarily be fused, right?

Do you think an unfused placket with a thin interlining of medium stiffness would look better than a fused version of this same placket if this is possible?
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Alexander Kabbaz
.yes.
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