Padded Body-Form Hangers for Tailored Jackets
Purpose
Hanging storage is a good option for tailored garments that have an inherent three-dimensional, constructed structure. Hanging such garments on padded hangers allows the garment to maintain its shape as it was designed and worn. The padded hanger provides support by reducing the amount of strain on the garment and supports the garments structure. Typically, padded hangers are made by covering wooden, wire, or plastic hangers with polyester batting or polyethylene pipe insulation. The padding is then covered with a cotton or muslin slip. Although these hangers are a good way of hanging garments, additional padding can be incorporated to further increase the effectiveness of the hangers. This project was developed to modify typical padded hangers so that they were better suited to support tailored jackets; such hangers included a padded torso and a pair of padded arms.
Figure 1. Typical padded hangers were modified to create body-form hangers that were better suited to support tailored jackets.
Author(s)
Priscilla Lo
Royal Ontario Museum 100 Queens Park Toronto, ON, M5S 2C6
Kristiina Lahde
Royal Ontario Museum 100 Queens Park Toronto, ON, M5S 2C6
klahde@rom.on.ca
Photo Credits: Photos taken by Priscilla Lo
Publication: 2017
Description
The newly designed hangers utilized the wire hangers covered with polyethylene pipe insulation as the basic support, but instead of a muslin slip, a padded body-form was used as a cover. The form provides support for the entire interior of the jacket and also alleviates stress on the shoulder area by distributing the jacket’s weight across a larger surface area. The body form is made out of muslin and padded with ¼ inch thick polyester batting. The form consists of a padded torso and a pair of padded arms. The torso is slightly cinched to create a waistline and also has an extended neck piece. This piece covers the wire twist of the hanger and reduces the risk of snagging. The pair of arms is attached to the torso by tying them around the neck of the hanger with cotton twill tape. This allows the length of the arms to be adjustable depending on how long or short the twill tape is tied (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Wire hangers covered with polyethylene pipe insulation were used as the basic structure for the body-form hangers.
Materials
- Wire hangers
- Polyethylene pipe insulation
- Nylon ties
- Muslin
- ¼ inch thick sheets of polyester batting
- Twill tape
Construction
Creating the Basic Wire Hanger Support
1. Cover wire hangers with polyethylene pipe insulation.
2. Secure pipe insulation in place with nylon electrical ties (Figure 3).
Figure 3. Wire hanger covered in pipe insulation and held in place using nylon ties.
Creating the Patterns for the Torso and Sleeves
1. Create a torso pattern with a ¼ inch seam allowance. The neck piece should be long enough to cover the wire twist of the hanger and the length of the torso should be at least 2 inches longer than the garment’s torso. Ensure that the width of the shoulders is wide enough to accommodate the width of a wire hanger covered with polyethylene pipe insulation.
2. Create a sleeve pattern with a ¼ inch seam allowance. The length of the sleeve should be at least 2 inches longer than the garment’s sleeve. Ensure the sleeve pattern has both an elbow dart and a shoulder dart (Figure 4).
Figure 4. A torso and sleeve pattern was created for the padded hangers.
Creating the Torso
1. Wash and iron the muslin.
2. Cut two torso pieces (front and back piece).
3. Finish the raw edges of the two torso hems. Finish the top edge of the neck pieces.
4. Sew the front and back pieces of the torso together along the sides, up to the finished edge of the neck piece.
5. Turn the muslin torso right side out and iron seams to ensure that they are flat and smooth.
Creating the Sleeves
1. Wash and iron the muslin.
2. Cut a pair of arms (right and left arm) (Figure 5).
Figure 5. Sleeves were cut from the pattern.
3. Finish the raw edge of the sleeve hems.
4. Since the shoulder head of the sleeve is unfinished, a zig-zag stitch is added to prevent fraying. Sew the shoulder dart after the zig-zag stitch (Figure 6).
Figure 6. A zig-zag stitch prevents the shoulder head from fraying.
5. Two pieces of twill tape 16 inches long were sewn onto the inside of the sleeve, each placed 1.5 inches from the shoulder dart (Figure 7).
Figure 7. The twill tape is sewn on the inside of the sleeve.
6. Sew the elbow dart.
7. Sew the sleeve together so that the darts are on the inside of the sleeve when turned right side out. Iron the seams to ensure they are flat and smooth.
Padding the Torso and Sleeves
1. Cut two pieces of polyester batting 2 inches shorter than the torso pattern. No batting is needed for the neck portion.
2. Sew the batting in place along the top edge of the shoulder leaving a 2 inch space in the center for the hook of the hanger to be inserted.
3. Place the batting over the wire hanger covered in pipe insulation. Place the muslin cover over the batting.
4. Cut two pieces of polyester batting 2 inches shorter from the head of the sleeve pattern, one for the left sleeve and one for the right sleeve.
5. Insert padding into the muslin sleeves.
Hanging Garments on the Body-Form Hangers
1. Lay the garment flat on a clean table and insert the padded sleeves into the arms of the garment.
2. Place the hanger with the torso in the right position and tie the arms accordingly.
Comments
A Practical Guide to Costume Mounting by Lara Flecker has a great sleeve pattern on page 106. The pattern can be adapted to any length. Additional padding can always be added to the torso and arms if needed. Alternatively, less padding can be used by using a thinner piece of polyester batting.
Literature cited
Canadian Conservation Institute Textile Lab Staff. CCI Notes 13/5: Hanging Storage for Costumes, 2009. Web. https://www.cci-icc.gc.ca/resources-ressources/ccinotesicc/13-5_e.pdf. Accessed November 17, 2015.
Flecker, Lara. A Practical Guide to Costume Mounting. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. 2007.
Adapted from
Canadian Conservation Institute Textile Lab Staff. CCI Notes 13/5: Hanging Storage for Costumes, 2009. Web. https://www.cci-icc.gc.ca/resources-ressources/ccinotesicc/13-5_e.pdf. Accessed November 17, 2015.
Keywords
tailored jackets, mounting, padded mounts, hanging storage, body-form