Workmanship

In the world of tailoring and shirtmaking, what separates the men from the boys, if you will, is the issue of "fusing."

Fusing is a non-woven paper or plastic product saturated with glue which bonds the cloth you can see, to an interlining which you don’t. The interlining is critical to the look of a garment-- It gives the garment structure and shape.
 
 
Why are garments fused?
 
Because it's a tailoring shortcut that makes cloth easier to work with.  Very fine wools, for example, are very difficult to tailor the old-fashioned way.  By fusing lightweight, supple cloth like Super 120 wools, the cloth becomes more rigid and, therefore, easier to work with.
 
What is the “old-fashioned” way and why is it better?
 
No fused or glued garment can be shaped to the body like a traditionally made garment. They are generally flat, shapeless and devoid of personality. Plus, there is the added nuisance of the glue gradually separating from the cloth over time creating a cockling that is unsightly.

Saint Laurie does not fuse its coats or shirts. Instead of gluing pieces together, our interlinings must first be basted to the top cloth by hand. Basting is a way of attaching cloth to an interlining with temporary stitches that will be removed after the parts of the garment are sewn together.
 
Our interlinings are woven from naturally resilient materials that can be molded to the shape of a person’s body. In each and every one of our coats is a canvas which is a mixture of wool and camel hair. It is lightweight, yet “bouncy.” On top of this foundation is a sturdier piece of canvas, made of wool and goat hair which forms the coat’s chest. In the shoulder area a woven material containing horse hair is sewn into place to keep the shoulder pad from collapsing.
 
Similarly,  our shirt collars are given support by Swiss webbing woven from fine cotton and the undercollars of our suit jackets are made from Irish linen.

How can I tell if a garment is fused?
 
First get an idea of how thick the actual cloth is.  In the case of a shirt, you can feel the cloth on the body of the shirt.  For a suit, feel one layer of the trouser leg.  Then try to separate the collar of the shirt from what’s underneath or pinch the front of the suit coat.  If the cloth won’t pull away or feels much thicker than what you had felt originally, the garment is fused.