The Slicing Technique and Vogue V9271 (Julio Cesar)

As a custom dressmaker and sewing teacher, my business is meeting with people – up close and personal. Enter COVID-19. With no sewing classes and limited custom work, I made masks and dug into my stash of fabric to sew something for me.

One of my projects combined 3 fabrics – a lightweight linen, cotton voile scraps left from another shirt and a cotton shirting for the bias tape. I even had the buttons! Vogue 9271 by designer Julio Cesar is an oversized shirt with a contrasting overlay using the Koos slicing technique. Julio was trained by, and worked for Koos van den Akker in New York and is putting his own spin on Koos’ collage techniques. I met Julio several times during our visits to the Koos workroom on the ASG New York tours.

The overlay is stitched to the shirt front with multiple parallel rows on the bias grain and then cut between the rows. It produces a wonderful texture. The cut edges do get a little fuzzy as the threads separate, but bias does not ravel. The more textured it gets the better I like it!

This pattern falls into Vogue’s very loose fitting category. I used size XS (finished measurement at bust 52 1/2”) when I normally would choose size medium. If you don’t care for the oversized look, try this technique on any shirt pattern by creating your own overlay piece. I’ve also used the technique on this simple rayon top and as part of many of my collage jackets.

If you would like to learn some of my tips and tricks for this slicing technique, I will be teaching a 40 minute Zoom class on Friday, July 17 at 1.00 PM. Class fee – $15.00

Email me at marla@marlakazell.com for details and to register. I’ll send you an invoice through Square which you can safely pay online with a card or you can mail a check.