The Value of a Flexible Sewing Plan, with Susan Khalje | Episode 99

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Value of a Flexible Sewing Plan, with Susan Khalje

Sewing With Threads, Episode 99
Date: March 3, 2026
Host: Carol Frazia
Guest: Susan Khalje, Contributing Editor, Threads Magazine

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Episode Overview

This episode centers on the value of planning and flexibility in sewing, featuring renowned couture expert Susan Khalje. The conversation covers everything from designing patterns inspired by vintage garments, the creative process of working with luxury fabrics, teaching couture sewing, the transformative power of trims and details, and the distinctive inspiration Susan draws from Paris. It is a lively, technique-rich discussion designed to encourage all sewists—regardless of level—to approach projects thoughtfully yet with the mindset to adapt and pivot as challenges arise.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

Susan’s Latest Pattern Projects

• Vintage Evening Coat [02:00–05:39]

  • Inspired by a 1960s trapeze-shaped, black wool coat from a vintage collection.
  • Universally flattering design: “Everybody who tries it on, it fits and it looks great. And I don't quite know why.” (Susan, 02:25)
  • Unique collar construction, period details (union label), back pleat, and rhinestone bows.
  • Patterns developed with patternmaker Julian Cristofoli in Paris.
  • Video Instruction: Instead of lengthy written guides, Susan provides thorough video walk-throughs for each pattern.

• Upcoming Patterns [03:27–03:49]

  • Lace blouse in development.
  • Potential tuxedo jacket pattern: Emphasis on shawl collars, satin details, and considerations for working with specialty fabrics.

Approaching Patterns and Instruction

• Instruction Methodology [06:09–09:22]

  • Susan favors in-depth videos over written guides because couture methods are complex:
    “If there were written instructions, honestly, it would be a book.” (Susan, 06:12)
  • Videos range from introductory overviews to hours of hands-on demonstration.
  • Dedicated studio in a renovated country barn, equipped for filming and storing materials.

• Teaching & Workshops [07:25–08:16]

  • Students often use Susan's patterns in classes, especially complex pieces like the Parisian jacket with notched collar and gusset.
  • Flexibility in learning: “People often do [workshops].” (Susan, 07:26)
  • Fabric variation discussions and underlining techniques are part of video instruction.

The Time and Mindset of Couture Sewing

• Planning and Process [12:10–13:49]

  • The majority of couture sewing is preparation, not time at the machine.
    “Time on the machines [is] probably, I don't know, 2% of the whole process.” (Susan, 12:26)
  • Emphasizes forethought: “I think you have to have a plan… things always change … but I like to have it well figured out.” (Susan, 12:59)
  • Iterative problem-solving and experimenting with details (e.g., bound buttonholes).

• The Necessity of Flexibility [14:08–16:39]

  • Problems will arise: “That pivoting is something that I think you get very used to, because you know things are going to come up…” (Susan, 14:08)
  • Mindset development—growing from frustration to confidence in problem solving.
  • “If I bring a problem, you never get upset.” “That’s because I know that we can figure it out.” (Susan, 16:06)

Paris as Inspiration

• Old & New in Paris [16:42–19:25]

  • Paris’ seamless blend of heritage and innovation supports both tradition and creative reinvention.
  • Importance of patrimoine: “...the way they meld the past and the future kind of sinks in… That's a wonderful thing to perceive.” (Susan, 18:38)

• Fashion and Shopping Culture [19:36–23:55]

  • Great value on personal presentation; careful attention in selecting wardrobe pieces.
  • Memorable anecdote: The attention given to a customer finding the perfect hat.
  • Shopping is about quality, not quantity, with attentive service ensuring proportion and fit:
    “Shopping there would be more about quality rather than quantity.” (Susan, 21:25)
  • Stories of bespoke accessory makers, including a custom lace parasol for her daughter’s wedding.

The Creative Process with Luxury Fabrics

• Planning with Vicuna [24:18–29:22]
  • Article in progress for Threads on sewing with rare, luxurious vicuna wool.
  • Meticulous consideration before cutting or sewing: balancing the fabric’s precious nature with practical wearability.
  • Underlining experiments: Sandwiching flannel between two layers of silk organza to control bulk and avoid “drag lines.”
  • “You want this to be a luxury garment… but you don't want to make something that's so precious you're never going to wear it… So you have to kind of straddle that line.” (Susan, 24:54)

Details Make the Difference: Trims, Buttons, and Final Touches

• Transforming a Garment [31:36–33:55]
  • The right buttons and trims can elevate an otherwise plain jacket:
    “The jacket is… like an uniced cake. ...these trims and buttons go on and it just goes into the stratosphere…” (Susan, 33:33)
  • Susan stocks a vast array of trims and buttons for her classes; stresses the importance of variety and thoughtful selection for each individual's style.

Personal Sewing Stories: Successes and Challenges

• Most Worn Garment [29:35]
  • “I've got a black linen dress… you can dress it up, you can dress it down… That's an old standby.”
• Least Worn Garment [30:15]
  • A French-style jacket that never came together: “I just can't get the right trim and buttons for it.”
• Last-Minute Makes [34:02–36:10]
  • Mother-of-the-bride and groom outfits—left until the 11th hour due to prioritizing sewing for others.
  • Anecdotes about bustling a wedding dress on the day of the ceremony:
    “I had packed needles and thread in my purse because I knew we would be bustling this on the fly.” (Susan, 34:53)

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Notable Quotes

• “We're not old, we're just vintage.” (Carol, 01:27)
• “You learn what to do... I've been trained, so I think I make it easy for my editors and the people behind the scenes.” (Susan, 10:57)
• “Couture, I'm afraid. But... it's a question of taking your time and not expecting to rush it through the machine and be done.” (Carol, 11:48)
• “When you start something, things always come up. They do, yeah. That's kind of part of the fantasy. That's part of the fun, that's part of the creative process getting going.” (Susan, 13:33)
• “What are the possibilities? ... Almost always something else you can do. ... You do have to have that bank of possibilities, I guess, in your head.” (Susan, 16:06)
• “You don't want to look like you have something that's better on a sofa.” (Susan on trim, 32:20)
• “You want it to be for you. ... You want to think about how you want to look, how you want to present yourself, how it will make you feel, the confidence it will give you.” (Carol & Susan, 24:13–24:17)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Vintage Coat & Pattern Development: 02:00–05:39
• Teaching Couture via Video: 06:09–09:22
• Time Spent on Preparation vs. Sewing: 12:10–13:49
• Developing Problem-Solving Skills: 14:08–16:39
• Parisian Inspiration & Shopping Culture: 16:42–23:55
• Working with Vicuna and Experimentation: 24:18–29:22
• Details and Trims in Couture: 31:36–33:55
• Personal Sewing Highlights & Last-Minute Makes: 29:35–36:10

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Tone and Takeaways

The conversation is warm, humorous, and rich in technical wisdom. Susan Khalje’s passion for both the artistry and problem-solving sides of sewing comes through in every segment. She encourages sewists to plan, experiment, and accept inevitable pivots as part of the creative journey. The episode is both a practical guide for those interested in higher-level sewing and an inspiring narrative on how flexibility, creativity, and attention to detail can transform not only garments but the sewing experience itself.

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For more, visit ThreadsMagazine.com and look out for Susan’s upcoming article on vicuna and information on in-person tours and classes.

Transcript

[Threads Magazine Announcer]

You're invited to join the 2026 threads Folkwear Sewing Challenge. It's open to all, no matter what your sewing skill level. Contestants need to construct a look that updates traditional American garment design using a folkwear pattern or patterns from their vintage line. Folkwear is offering a discount on these patterns through April 1st. To find out the challenge rules and how to enter with photos and details about your sewn look, go to threadsmagazine.com A panel of experts will choose one winner to receive a prize package and bragging rights, of course. Join our Threads Folkwear sewing challenge by April 23rd. We can't wait to see what you've created.

[Carol Frazia]

Welcome to Sewing with Threads, the monthly podcast with the staff of Threads magazine. I'm your host, Carol Frazia, and I'm joined today by contributing editor Susan Kalge. Susan is, of course, well known to our readers and listeners. She's worked in custom couture. She's hosted the HGTV program so Much More and published the classic book Bridal Couture. She teaches nationally and internationally and leads couture focused trips to Paris and an online couture sewing club. Susan has been writing for Threads since 1996. She is the longest serving contributing editor Threads has ever had. Welcome, Susan.

[Susan Khalje]

Make me sound ancient. Thank you. Delighted to be here with you.

[Carol Frazia]

I'm glad you're here. And I will say that if you, if you ever get any group of Threads contributors or readers together and add up how many years of sewing they have among themselves, you reach 100 in about two and a half people. So we're not old, we're just vintage.

[Susan Khalje]

Seasoned. We're seasoned.

[Carol Frazia]

Seasoned, exactly. But that doesn't make anybody stagnant. And it's always really great to talk to you, Susan, because you always seem to have something new going on. So. So let's start out with Patterns. You mentioned you're doing something with patterns, and we would love to know what you've got going on with that.

[Susan Khalje]

Oh, gosh. Lots of exciting things. A number of years ago, we referred to Before COVID in the before time, but it was then I bought a beautiful vintage coat from a friend who was selling off some of her collection. And I bought it because, well, because I wanted it, but also because I thought it would make a beautiful pattern. And it has, and we just released it and we're just about to film the video that will go with it. And, you know, it's amazing. Every now and then you come across a garment that looks great on everyone, because I've Taken this thing to classes to sort of see people's reactions and honest to God, everybody who tries it on, it fits and it looks great. And I don't quite know why. It's, I guess it's from the 60s. It's a trapeze shape, it's black wool. And it has the top of the sleeves are sort of. They go in kind of at a triangle. So it's not really a tight set in sleeve and three quarter length sleeves. And it's such an interesting treatment for the collar. So it's got a jewel neck and then there's a band, a curved band, which kind of sits on the top of the coat. And that's the collar. It's the cleverest thing. And you know, what really amazes me is this thing has a union label. You know, you've seen them in old garments. It's got a Ladies Garment Workers Union label sewn into the side seam. So it's not as if this was a couture garment from France. This was American made. And it's just wonderful. So anyway, that pattern has just come out. It's the vintage evening coat. And like I said, we're about to film the video, which I'm very excited about. So there's that. And then we've got a lace blouse coming along. And one more that we've just thought about, you know, because you always have to think, okay, this is great, but what's next? And somebody suggested the other day a tuxedo jacket, which I think is a great idea. You know, they're interesting because they have that satin fabric on the lapels, which was. Because when men wore them, their cigarette ashes could be brushed off easily. The satin, that's apparently why it's satin. And a shawl collar is good because it's, you know, you see them with notch collars, you see them with shawl collars, but the shawl collar is nice because it's awfully hard to do a clean notched collar in satin. It just is. Right? It's. I, you know, I know you're nodding your head because it's really hard to finesse that. I don't care who you are. So I think a shawl collar with the right proportions would be really beautiful. So that's kind of down the, down the pike a bit.

[Carol Frazia]

Those sound really wonderful. I am very curious about this coat. Now. I think the 60s, the 60s were. It was a great decade for things that had a surface level simplicity. But there's really some kind of really great cutting to make those clothes hang well. And as you say, the proportions are often very flattering for a lot of different shapes and sizes.

[Susan Khalje]

Yeah, it's true. And it's got a lot of interesting touches, you know. So what happens when we decide on a pattern? The garment or the sketch goes to Julian Cristofoli in Paris to do the pattern. And that's when you sort of see the little interesting things in it. So, for instance, the center front, it's got very beautiful, decorative sort of these. My version, big rhinestone bows down the front, but there are snaps, and the center front seam extends slightly beyond center.

[Carol Frazia]

Okay.

[Susan Khalje]

Which is interesting. And there's also a pleat at the back, but it doesn't open all the way. It gives the appearance of a pleat. You don't need the extra fullness, but it somehow defines the back of the coat. I don't know, there's just something amazing about it.

[Carol Frazia]

Yeah, I can see that. I mean, I love a coat with a back pleat. I feel like the more fullness you can have, the more drama there is. But at the same time, the idea of breaking up a broad expanse can be very nice, as long as it's not, you know, you don't want to necessarily break your body up into millions of little pieces, but a little bit, it can be really a good look for all kinds of body types. Yeah, that sounds wonderful. And you mentioned videos. Now, do these patterns come with written instructions, or are the videos the instruction that goes with them?

[Susan Khalje]

Good question. You know, they don't come with written instructions for a couple of reasons. When I do something, it's from a couture perspective. And if there were written instructions, honestly, it would be a book. I mean, there would be. It would be very, very long and complicated. So what we do with each of our patterns, and I think almost all of them have this. There's sort of a. It's up on the website, kind of a 20 minute. I walk you through it, I tell you what's what. I show you the whole thing. This is what you have to look out for. It's kind of an overview, which I think is sufficient. If you had a moderate degree of experience, it would be sufficient to get you through the pattern. But then we also do a video, and that's where I really, really get into it. And, you know, those are. Gosh, I don't even know how long. But, you know, that's when you get into hours of instruction. And as a teacher, that's where I can really go to town and talk about every single thing that I can think of to make this a success.

[Carol Frazia]

That sounds actually really wonderful. And I have another few questions about this whole experience of sewing these patterns. When people get their hands on them, they can go through your videos. Will you also teach them live? Will you give workshops where people can come in and just go through it one by one?

[Susan Khalje]

People often do. You know, we have a coat that we call the Parisian jacket, which is beautiful, really, really lovely. But it's got a notched collar, it's got side seams, there's a gusset in there. It's, you know, it's probably our most complicated thing. And I have a lot of students who come to class and do that.

[Carol Frazia]

So with something like the Parisian jacket or this coat, or maybe even you're thinking of this tuxedo jacket. When you teach the coat, for example, in the video, you'll use a specific type of fabric for it. And I'm imagining that it could be versatile enough that you could use a number of different kinds of fabric. So how do you cover the various ways that you might have to handle them? Is that something that people need to kind of know a little bit? Like, if you show it in wool and they want to try a brocade version? They need to know about brocade a little bit.

[Susan Khalje]

Well, they do, but they also need to. Yeah. And I do kind of talk about what. What different things work. We talk a lot about underlinings. Big, big exciting subject for me. So I refer to different things, you know, different underlinings, what you might use. Yeah, yeah, that's kind of part of it.

[Carol Frazia]

That sounds great. And you say you're doing videos. Do you have a studio for video?

[Susan Khalje]

We do videotaping now. Yeah, we do. It's great. So I live in the country. I live on a farm, and we have a barn. We have a large, actually built by the Mennonites, a big bank barn, one of those big red barns. And upstairs there's a studio. And it's crazy. You know, you go to this barn, and the last thing you would expect back on one kind of a third of the upper part of the barn is this beautiful studio. We've got big French doors, so you go into it. And, you know, I have an online store. So that's where we stock all of that stuff. There's room for that, but there's also a big table, the lights, the whole bit. Yeah, it's wonderful. I haven't timed it, but it's probably two minutes from the house. So, yeah, it's Great.

[Carol Frazia]

So who does your. Who's your cameraman or camera woman?

[Susan Khalje]

My camera woman, Jenny Karwaski, who works with me, and I've got Megan Plesko. So they do the filming and editing.

[Carol Frazia]

And can I ask, how many hours of taping do you do to get down to the hours of footage that you need to teach? Just out of curiosity, I don't think people know that there's often many, many, many more hours sometimes of taping.

[Susan Khalje]

Yes and no. Fortunately, you mentioned earlier so much more. I've got a lot of experience with filming and I always say I'm kind of like a trained seal because I've done so much of that that I'm very good at setting up a shot, doing what has to be done. So, yeah, there's certainly editing because you have a close up camera and a distance camera, so you've got to flip between those two. But what we film is there's not a whole lot of cutting stuff out or doing stuff again. It's really pretty much good to go. I don't flub up too often.

[Carol Frazia]

Okay, so Carrie, who's our technical producer, she's not. Nobody can see her or hear her, but she's on every one of our podcasts and she's also the producer for any videos that we have done for threads and including ones that I've been in. And she knows that it takes me multiple takes for even the simplest thing to thread a needle. To thread a needle, she needs like multiple takes. So I am very impressed. Susan, I am not camera ready.

[Susan Khalje]

No, seriously, it's only because I've done so much of it and with so much more. You learn what to do and you just learn to set up a shot and you learn to. I've been trained, so I have to say I think I make it easy, easy for my editors and the people behind the scenes to. To put it together.

[Carol Frazia]

I'm sure you do. I'm sure you do. And also when you get a working relationship with the people who do the, the recording and the editing, it. It helps quite a bit. They know what they're, what they're going to be getting into.

[Susan Khalje]

Absolutely. Yeah.

[Carol Frazia]

So. So you said that you think that somebody with medium amount of sewing experience would probably be okay with your patterns.

[Susan Khalje]

Absolutely. Yeah. I think as long as you take care to do them.

[Carol Frazia]

Yeah, yeah.

[Susan Khalje]

I don't think they're that hard.

[Carol Frazia]

That sounds very encouraging to me. I like the sound of that. I know that there's definitely people, including myself, who are sort of, oh, my Gosh, it's couture, I'm afraid. But I do know from talking to you and other people who have expertise in this area that it's a question of taking your time and not expecting to rush it through the machine and be done.

[Susan Khalje]

Exactly, yeah. Yeah. I think, in fact, it's so funny, the time you spend on the machine is probably the least of it because there's so much other stuff. You know, there's the hand sewing and the basting and the prep and all of that. Gosh. I think if you probably did it by percentage time on the machines, probably, I don't know, 2% of the whole process.

[Carol Frazia]

I think that's true. Well, when you're working on a project of some sort like. Like this one, what percentage of time do you spend in the beginning part, before you've even really cut the fabric, for example, versus how much time you spend sewing it? And by sewing it, I mean, with all of the pressing and the molding

[Susan Khalje]

and all that, too. Yeah, gosh, probably as much as that. I mean, I think it's fun to prepare it. I think it's really. It's really fun to kind of get. Get an idea for something in your head and then think, oh, how's this going to look? Is this going to work? I think you have to have a plan. I mean, I don't. I would not want to start a project and think, well, we'll see what happens when we get to that point. I think things always change. They modify along the way. But, yeah, I like to have it well figured out. And, yeah, I do experiments and, you know, let's say I want to do bound buttonholes, how are they going to work on the fabric I chose, is there a better option, you know, what might work instead? Because things always come up. They do, yeah. So I think I do spend a fair amount thinking about it. But again, that's kind of part of the fantasy. That's part of the fun, that's part of the creative process getting going. Yeah.

[Carol Frazia]

And I've seen you with some of your students helping them solve a problem that came up partway through, even with all the planning. Something can be different from what you expect, and you need to change whatever it is, and you need to always be able to think flexibly about how you have other solutions for it or how you can fix what went wrong. So, yeah.

[Susan Khalje]

Yeah, that pivoting is something that I think you get very used to because, you know things are going to come up and you just kind of. Okay, well, what can we do instead? Or what might work better? Or what hadn't we thought of? Or, oh, okay, let's do this. So that's a big part of it. And, you know, this is funny. My husband and I were building some shelves the other day, and. And if it didn't work right the first time, he got really flustered. And I think I even said to him, have you ever built anything in your life? But I'm so used to, oh, let's try this. Let's turn that piece of wood around. Oh, maybe the screw goes here. Oh, let's try another screwdriver. It's so expected, you know, that, you know, you're going to pivot. You know, you're going to have to. To try something else.

[Carol Frazia]

That is a mental trick that people, I think, may grow into also. I mean, some people will have it always. Some people will never have it, but a lot of people don't have it when they're young and they grow into it. They suddenly realize, oh, I have skills. I can solve these problems. I can actually diagnose the problem and come up with some solutions and try them and have the patience to do it. And, you know, I think about when I was young, just learning to sew. And I mean, my mom was very good at sewing, and so I had her there always to refer to. But I generally just opened a pattern and tried to make it. And if the. If all I knew was what was in the pattern. And that's the case when you first start out, you don't know much more than that. And it doesn't go right, then you're very high and dry. I mean, there's just nowhere to go from there. Yeah, you're just like, I cut the sleeve off or hit a brick wall. Yeah, exactly. And so having somebody there who could say, well, you know, you'll have to take that facing off, cut it again, and put it on the right way. Let's try this, then it's okay. And I think I feel bad for people who are still struggling in those early stages and haven't realized that they need to stop and say, I can do something more with this.

[Susan Khalje]

What else could I try? Yeah, yeah. What are the possibilities? And, you know, my students say, oh, gosh, you know, if I bring a problem, you never get upset. Well, I think that's because I know that we can figure it out. Yeah, there's always. Almost always something else you can do. Well, let's try this. Let's look at that. Oh, well, you know. Yeah, but you do have to kind of have that bank of possibilities, I guess, in your head. Yeah.

[Carol Frazia]

And you accrue those as time goes on, I'm sure. Well, yeah, when you see it, when you see enough clothes and you make enough clothes, I think you do get to that. Right.

[Susan Khalje]

You've kind of seen everything.

[Carol Frazia]

When we get to the end, we're going to have you reveal things that you've thrown in the trash because they didn't work. But I won't ask you right now. Instead, let's talk about Paris, because I know that you've been there and you're probably going to be going there again relatively soon. What's been good in Paris?

[Susan Khalje]

Oof. Well, yeah, I was there in November. Well, in the first place, it's just so beautiful. There's that. But I think the thing that really resonates with me, I have a wonderful friend, Lindsay Tremuta, who's a journalist, and she did an article the other day and asked me to contribute a little bit to it. And you know, what did I find so special about Paris? And the thing that I think is amazing is the way it combines the old and the new. And I think it does it in ways large and small, more than any place I know, obviously, you know, revering the past. I mean, look at the place. Go into any museum, any beautiful place that's been restored. You know, they really honor the past. But this is where new fashion comes. This is where all kinds of new creative stuff happens. And you know, you'll go into somebody's apartment. And I have a friend who has a beautiful apartment. And there are these orange sofas, canapes, I think the French would call them, these sort of orange. Very modern looking orange velvet sofas. And yet there's very classic furniture as well. And they somehow. Damn, I don't know how they do it. They somehow combine them both. I wonder if it's because. And this is something that I really. I don't hammer my participants over the head of it, but it becomes kind of obvious that there's so much. There's a wonderful word patrimoine in French, patrimony, heritage. And you'll go in a premises and there'll be a picture of, oh, there's my father and my grandfather and my great grandfather, all of whom were in the business. And yet the person there today has to think of new modern ways to keep the business going. So I like to think that that whole sense of somehow the way they meld the past and the future kind of sinks in. I think That's a wonderful thing to kind of perceive when you're there.

[Carol Frazia]

I find that very interesting. I also have to say that when I was in Paris, I lived with a family who also had one of these. Their apartment was in a 19th century building with all of those carved fireplaces and the molding and everything. They also had an orange canopy. It was leather, and I loved it. I felt the same way about it. I'm just like, who would have this? You know, I come from New England. Nobody would have that, but it just was. It made perfect sense.

[Susan Khalje]

Yeah, they do it. I don't know how they do it, but they combine the old and the new. So that's one of my favorite things to see.

[Carol Frazia]

And how about, were there any new trends in fashion that you were picking up that people were wearing on the street that seemed like you'd love to adopt that or bring it home with you?

[Susan Khalje]

I don't. I was thinking about that, and not particularly. I do think what I. What I do think there is is a feeling that how you look is important and it's worth noting. I remember once walking by this. It was in the seventh, very lovely arrondissement, and it was a hat shop. And there was a woman in there who just looked at an ordinary person trying on a hat. And the attention that she got from the person selling it to her and the importance she gave to this hat was kind of amazing. And I do think that seeing people dressed in a certain way and taking care with the way they dress and the fact that choosing a hat that you're going to have a very long time is important. I think that kind of permeates you. I call it the Paris effect, where suddenly, yeah, it does matter what scarf I choose. It does matter that I want the right shoes to go with this outfit. So I think that kind of overarches the whole experience. And you do see people and you realize, oh, yeah, they took a little extra care to put that outfit together. So, yeah, so I think that sinks in.

[Carol Frazia]

Do you notice a difference in the shopping experience? You were talking about this woman trying on the hat. And I am not much of a shopper, and I live in a place where they're aren't a lot of stores really. I mean, there's sort of big box stores, and I can't think of a place where I would buy clothing. There's like an Ann Taylor, you know, and that you go to a store like that where there might be somebody coming over to say, would you like that in another size? But that's about it. And you're lucky if you get that. It's, it's almost all sort of self service. Is there something better when you go to a place where there's somebody who will actually pay attention to you and help you?

[Susan Khalje]

I think there is and I think shopping there would be more about quality rather than quantity. And if you buy something, you're, you're, I mean, go, go the right kind of store, but you're given a lot of attention. Remember years ago, I wanted to get a pair of cufflinks for our son. And you know, those little knot cufflinks, you see them everywhere. And I went in the store and I was, you know, ready to just grab anything. And the, the salesman said, what colors does your son like to wear? And I probably thought whatever's clean. But, you know, then I said, oh, he, he likes blue. Oh, well then. So it's, it's just a different concept. It's not as if they're, you know, throw it in the bag and try to rush you out the door. It's, it's done with more care, I think. Yeah.

[Carol Frazia]

My copy editor, Jeanine Clegg, took a group to London in last summer and she wanted to buy an umbrella at a nice umbrella shop. And she went in and she was just sort of browsing and looking at things, and she's picked one that seemed to be pretty okay for what she wanted. And the person came over and said, is this what you're looking at? She said, yeah, it would be better if it were something else. And he took so much time with her and said, she's, I don't know if you remember Janine, but she's very, very slender and very delicate boned. And he said, I think this umbrella is too big for you. I think we need to get you one that is in a better proportion for you. And like a thin umbrella. I mean, this is really interesting. And she came home with this most beautiful umbrella. It's exquisite.

[Susan Khalje]

There you go. Which she will do, treasure and have forever. In fact, we visit a wonderful person in Paris. Speaking of umbrellas, Michel Horto, who is a parasolery. His specialty is making umbrellas. And this is where the movie people come to get their parasols and umbrellas. And a number of years back, he made a parasol for our daughter to wear with her wedding gown. And he needed to know what is the style of the dress, how will she be wearing her hair? And the umbrella, it was a parasol, actually was made in this. It is a Japanese style. Because the proportions fit her. So it's all very planned. This is a very, very prescribed, very special thing.

[Carol Frazia]

Oh, that's lovely. I hope she still uses it.

[Susan Khalje]

Well, it's out of lace, so she doesn't. Out of lace.

[Carol Frazia]

Well, that is not going to help too much.

[Susan Khalje]

It's treasured. It's treasured, but it's a work of art. It's really extraordinary. But the proportions had to be just right and the height had to be perfect. So, yeah, I can understand that. That person would have said, no, no, no, this is perfect. Too big for you. You'd be overwhelmed by it. Yeah, I get it.

[Carol Frazia]

Oh, it's wonderful. And then, of course, as you say, you treasure it because you feel how special it is and how it is so much for you. Which is. Which is wonderful, you know? And then that all comes back around to people wanting to make their own clothing because you want it to be for you. You don't want to just get whatever it is, and you have to. And you want to think about how you want to look, how you want

[Susan Khalje]

to present yourself, how it will make you feel, the confidence it will give you.

[Carol Frazia]

Yeah, exactly.

[Susan Khalje]

Yes.

[Carol Frazia]

So here's. Here's a little. A little question where we will talk about something without giving away everything, but Susan will be writing an article about Vicuna. I hope I pronounced that right, for the fall issue, and she's working on planning a garment for that. Can you give us a little bit

[Susan Khalje]

of a. Oh, sure.

[Carol Frazia]

Little intro.

[Susan Khalje]

Talk about a lot of forethought that

[Threads Magazine Announcer]

goes into a garment.

[Susan Khalje]

The stakes are very high when you're working with Vicuna, which is extraordinary. It's just unbelievable. It makes cashmere feel like a scouring pad. Not quite, but it's just unbelievable stuff. Very rare, very special. And I'm going into a bit of the history of it in the article, which is fun to know about. You know, there are reasons why this is so extraordinary. So you kind of. Kind of brings in lots of thoughts. So it's a luxury fabric, and do you want this to be a luxury garment? But you don't want to make something that's so precious you're never going to wear it? What's the point of that? But you don't want to make something ordinary. Right. Because then it somehow doesn't fit with the specialness of the fabric, so you have to kind of straddle that line. And I've thought a lot about what to make. Well, it's kind of a jacket coat weight, so there's that. And I've settled on sort of a fingertip length coat. But I have some very wonderful. And I won't give this bit of it the very wonderful fabrics that a facing fabric. I have something extraordinary to go with it and something very special for the cuffs. And then, you know, you talked about planning things so you have to. I'm an educator so I want my article to be educational. In addition to this is how they harvest the vicuna. And it's got a bit of loft to it. So I've been doing some experiments with this. This jacket that I picked has some beautiful straight seams. It's kind of got a yoke that goes all the way around and then there's straight princess seams. So I thought of doing some kind of prick stitching, pick stitching down those vertical seams because I think that'll show up nicely. Top stitching on a machine is tough. It really is to get it to be perfect and you know, go over different amounts of seam allowances and stuff. Unless you've got a special machine for that, it you're just going to drive yourself nut. So I thought beautiful hand applied pick stitching, but where do you put that? You don't want too much. And closures. A bound buttonhole would be beautiful, but the facing is going to be a thicker fabric. So I think that won't work. So I've thought about that and also I mentioned, you know, underlining is a big, a big concern and I think I want to use flannel. But got to be careful with the flannel underlining because while it sort of grips the fashion fabric, it doesn't grip it always everywhere. So you can get kind of drag lines, internal drag lines, which just looks awful and lumpy. So I've decided I'm just about to start my experimenting with this of having flannel sandwiched between two layers of silk organza. But I don't want the flannel in the seam, in the seam allowances because that's going to get too thick. So I've kind of, I haven't done it, but I've got this picture in my head of the seam allowances of flannel cut off and it'll have to be basted into place and then this organza. So you talk about experimenting and thinking that's all part of what's kind of floating around in my head.

[Carol Frazia]

I mean, I think that's amazing. I can see this sort of special sandwich of underlining, interlining or quilted even if that it came to that Maybe, but you don't want to get more texture and then have it show through and. Yeah, but when you talked about the flannel causing drag lines on the fabric, I keep thinking these things have happened to me. And I thought, you know, and I thought I've done something wrong. But of course, it's not that I did something necessarily wrong so much as I did not anticipate that this problem would occur. And this is the thing. You need to sort of think about these things a little bit before you go forward.

[Susan Khalje]

Think about things. Now, maybe if you had a garment that had lots of seams and you only had little bits that had flannel behind them, you could control that. But this is a jacket. You know, they're going to be some. Some bigger panels, and I don't want drag lines in there. So that's. That's where I came up with this sandwich idea. I don't know. We'll see.

[Carol Frazia]

We'll find out. It will be really interesting to know. I'm very excited about this, and I'm sure you're going to wind up with something that's. You're going to love and that you will get really good wear out of. I hope.

[Susan Khalje]

I hope so.

[Threads Magazine Announcer]

Yeah.

[Susan Khalje]

They're excited about. Yeah. And it's. It's fun, you know, to. To put literally the pieces together. So there's the vicuna, there's the flannel, there's the organza, there's the buttons, there's this facing fabric. There's the trim for the cuffs. Beautiful lining, silk charmeuse lining. So I think. I think it'll be interesting.

[Carol Frazia]

I think it will be, too. Now, are you ready for a little lightning round? Susan, this is the lightning round, where I'm going to ask you, okay, what garment that you've made for yourself have you worn the most often or for the longest number of years in your life?

[Susan Khalje]

Probably. It sounds so dull. I've got a black linen dress. I think it was an old vogue pattern. It has darts, but the dart pickup is on the outside. It's got a sort of a deep, square neckline at the back. And it's great. You can dress it up, you can dress it down. The linen is so soft at this point that wrinkling isn't an issue. That's an old standby. You can wear it with a cardigan. You can wear it with a shawl. Just on its own. Fancy jewelry. Not fancy jewelry. So probably a black linen dress.

[Carol Frazia]

Okay. And what about the opposite? What have you made that you've worn the least.

[Susan Khalje]

You know, it's interesting. I do a classic French jacket class, Chanel jacket class, and the last one that I made for myself, it's kind of a blue and black flecked fabric and I just can't get the right trim and buttons for it. And I've worn it with. And I had a friend. Oh gosh. I had a friend crochet, sort of a whitish and cream trim for it, and it just didn't do it. So now half of that's off and I've tried something else. And you know, with these jackets, it's a class I teach and I bring a lot of buttons and a lot of trims and it all has to kind of lock together. You know, it's sort of a package that just. It all has to kind of click and you know it, what it does when you've got the right fabric, the right trim, the right buttons, the right pocket placement, the right everything, and it sort of locks into place. And I'm just not there with this jacket. I don't know, I. It may just go to somebody else. I don't know. That one's kind of frustrating because I just haven't found the right thing yet.

[Carol Frazia]

This is a follow up question on that. Not, not so much to do with your sewing, but I follow you on Instagram. Is it Susan Kalji? Susan Kalji, that's your Instagram.

[Susan Khalje]

I don't maintain that a lot, but

[Carol Frazia]

once in a while you'll do some highlights from classes you're teaching.

[Susan Khalje]

Yeah.

[Carol Frazia]

And I've noticed that you'll show students matching up the buttons and the trim and trying it on with their jackets. You know, I know that you help them sort of pair all those pieces together to make a really good jacket. Have you ever found one that you felt just you didn't have the things that would work for them and you sent them home without a good trim,

[Susan Khalje]

that would be pretty rare. And of course, what I like might not be what somebody else likes, but I really go to great lengths to have a lot of options there because it's hard to find the right buttons and trims. And let's say you go online and you buy gold buttons. Well, let me tell you, there are 9 million shades of gold. There's really bright gold, there's dull gold, there's silver gold, there's red gold, there's green gold, there's brown. And the size. And you know, you just have to present a lot of different options. Like if you go in a Fabric store. There's not one fabric. There are millions. So I try to stock. Oh, gosh, I think I have about 50 sets of buttons and lots and lots of trims. It's hard to find good trims. It really is. And very often people will buy a trim that looks more like an upholstery trim. And you, you don't want to look like you have something that's better on a sofa. Yeah. And I think I'm just more familiar with the possibilities and maybe taking things in a different direction. And I must say, one of the nice things about trims and buttons for these jackets, you can switch them out, you know, like me and my jacket. You're not stuck with that. So, you know, you can, you can always go to another option. But it's tricky. It's tricky. It takes a bit of thought. So I think we almost always come up with something.

[Carol Frazia]

It feels like what? I mean, it looks to me like I've seen them always come out. And it's interesting because sometimes a jacket will. You can find three or four options that all look pretty good. And then you just know that one of them is going to be the one that makes the person feel like, this is my trim.

[Susan Khalje]

Exactly. And that's what you want. And it's so funny, up until that point, you know, you do all this work for days and days and days and days, days. And the jacket is. I say it's like an uniced cake. No, it's really pretty plain. And then suddenly these trims and buttons go on and it just goes into the stratosphere and then you really have something that you're excited about again. Yeah.

[Carol Frazia]

And my final question for you is, what is the most 11th hour garment that you've ever made?

[Susan Khalje]

Well, for me, it would be mother of the bride and mother of the groom, which I am not the only one, I'm sure, having made both the dresses for our daughter and for our daughter in law. And the daughter in law one was that one we did an article about with those big, wonderful skins and that wonderful bias skirt. You know, you're so consumed with doing those that you kind of get pushed to the very end. And certainly in both those cases, I could have used more time on my own garment. Yeah. So I don't look back at what I wore with any great pride or fondness. Yeah, those. But, but that's okay. The attention was not on me. It was, it was on the, on the girls. So that's.

[Carol Frazia]

Well, there. That's the attitude to take. I I think that

[Susan Khalje]

in fact, online and our daughters just. I hadn't bustled it because it just really wasn't necessary till the very end. And there was a video circulating, I think, on Instagram of Kenneth King and me. He was at the wedding, and I had packed needles and thread in my purse because I knew we would be bustling this on the fly, on the spot. So there was a video of our daughter chatting away. And there, Kenneth and I, you know, we're sewing the. We were bustling the train.

[Carol Frazia]

Well, I. I have to say that my mom made my wedding dress and she was still adding beads on the day of the wedding. And this sounded crazy, but she left it on purpose to have a few things because she said, I know that's going to be a day when I'm going to be stressed out and I want to have something to do in the morning where I can just. I know that I can do it. It won't take a lot of thought. It will feel like I'm putting closure into this garment that I've made, and I won't have to be freaking out about other stuff. You know, I'll just do this and everybody else will deal with the other things. And that's how it happened. So that was actually fun. I mean, I wasn't nervous about it because I knew she would get it done, but other people were saying, your mother is still sewing your dress. And I said, no, she's got it under control. It's fine.

[Susan Khalje]

I think that that's probably the rule, rather the exception when it comes to wedding gowns, kind of last minute stuff.

[Carol Frazia]

Yeah, I think so, too.

[Susan Khalje]

Yeah.

[Carol Frazia]

Well, I think we're coming to the end of our time, Susan, and thank you so much for speaking with me. It's fun to talk with you every time and hear what you're up to.

[Susan Khalje]

So much fun. I can't thank you enough. This is. This has been a joy. And I think I'll be seeing you at the threads event.

[Carol Frazia]

That's right. In May, we're going to have a tour in New York City. There will be some more information about this online, so people can be looking for that. And Susan will join us one of the mornings there for a shopping trip to Mendel Goldberg. And that's a store with really, really special fabrics. And you'll have Susan's expertise. And Alice also, who owns the store and is the buyer for this store, will guide our travelers around and help them pick exactly the right thing for their needs.

[Threads Magazine Announcer]

Yeah.

[Susan Khalje]

Very exciting to be doing that. Yeah.

[Carol Frazia]

Yes, I think so too. Well, I'd like to thank everybody for tuning in and listening to us again today. And if you would like to find out more about threads, Visit [e-mail] Thank

[Threads Magazine Announcer]

you to our guests for joining us and thanks to all of you for listening. Please remember to send your comments, questions and suggestions to thhreadsmagazine.com and please like comment and subscribe wherever you are listening. Until next time, keep on sewing with threads.