Banded surplice neckline May 4, 2008

As promised, here is a quickie tutorial for adding a band to the neckline of a surplice top as I did on my Cosmopolitan Dress. I love this type of finish because it is so easy and neat.

STEP 1: Once you determine the finished width of your band you will need to cut down the front neckline. My band is 1″ wide so I altered the neckline as follows:

- 1/4″ seam allowance already on my pattern
- 1″ finished band width
+ 1/4″ seam for attaching band to neckline
——-
- 1″ total removed from neckline

STEP 2: Measure the length of the neckline *on the seamline*. Yes, the photo shows me measuring at the cut edge - I was trying to pose with the left hand while the right was operating the camera! The length of the actual band will depend on a) the stretchiness of your fabric and b) your bust size. I initially cut my band 2″ shorter than the neckline but that turned out to be too long so I cut another inch off.

STEP 3: Draft band pattern: cut pattern twice the finished width (two x 1″=2″) plus *two* seam allowances ( two x 1/4″=1/2″) by the length determined in STEP 2. The bands should be cut with the greatest amount of stretch along the long edges.

Sewing is easy: fold the band wrong sides together, lengthwise. Stretch to fit neckline, serge. If you are unsure about the length of your band you should check the fit by basting it in first. I’ve done this so much that I can judge it by feel alone. If you are worried about everything being perfect even you can quarter-mark the neckline and the band. I don’t feel it’s really necessary to do that because the distance is short. Once you’ve done your permanent stitching press the seam allowances towards the garment.

I elected not to run the band around the back neckline because a) it’s easier and b) I have long hair and no one will ever see it anyway.

I serged elastic into the back neckline. To finish everything neatly sew your shoulder seams (which I cut down to 1/4″) making sure the back neckline goes 1/4″ past the finished band. Turn the back neckline snugly over the band and serge. If you are having trouble visualizing this and own Jalie 2449 it is the same finishing method. Hopefully the photos are pretty clear.

Mitered Hem - HP Cosmopolitan Dress April 30, 2008

I just adore the Hot Patterns Deco Vibe Cosmopolitan Dress and have made it several times. The scarf-style shorter sleeve is especially nice because it is covered up yet still cool enough for our steamy South Florida weather.

To achieve a really nice, neat finish on this type of sleeve it is necessary to miter the hem. This is extremely easy to do and, in my opinion, best worked out on the pattern before the garment is cut. Do this once and you’ll never have to think about it again!

The first step is to mark the hemline at the bottom of the sleeve and on the slit - in this case, 5/8″.

Next, fold up one hem allowance,

then the other. You can already see how much bulk you would need to deal with here if you were to not miter the hem.

Draw a line from the point where the hems intersect to the foldline (point). Carefully lift the top layer and mark a dot at the intersection on the underlayer.

Here I have drawn both lines from hem intersection to foldline in red. These are the seamlines.

You will need to add a seam allowance - I have added 1/4″ here.

Then trim off the excess beyond the seam allowance.

After finishing the hem edges as desired (I’ve just serged) simply line up these two edges and sew your 1/4″ seam.

Trim away the bulk at the point - this is especially important on a very peaked hem such as this.

Here is the finished miter, before pressing. Your point presser comes in really handy for pressing the seam open before turning. If you don’t have one you can use your bamboo point turner. It’s neat, bulk-free and very easy to do! I’ll post a photo of the completed dress as soon as I finish up.

Elasticated blindstitched neckline finish February 26, 2008

I really love making and wearing surplice neckline tops and dresses. To prevent the neckline from gaping I usually serge a plain lingerie elastic to the wrong side. Once turned in the neckline can then be topstitched or, as I often prefer for a dressier finish, blindstitched by machine. This is by no means a couture - or even fine - finish but it is very nice on sportswear.

First, the machine. This is a true blindstitch machine with a curved needle. Mine is a portable TacSew T-500 that is not as expensive as you might think. I use mine quite a lot. It’s great even if all you do is hem with it!

Here’s a link to the T-500 on All Brands. $399 is a great price for this machine! I see it locally for $600-800.

STEP 1: Put the lingerie elastic through the serger for a couple of stitches to secure it.

STEP 2: Insert your neckline edge and serge the elastic on.

STEP 3: Turn the elastic in and machine baste into position on your conventional machine. This may seem like an unnecessary step but it takes so little time and ensures that the elastic doesn’t twist or slide around during blindstitching.

STEP 4: Blindstitch just catching the edge of the elastic with your needle.

Now you can remove the basting stitches. I use a really loose top tension to make it very easy to take out.

After blindstitching:

The finished product! I used contrasting thread here but had I used matching thread and a white elastic the finish would be virtually invisible. The busier the print, the less noticeable the tiny stitches will be. Also, a blindstitch has plenty of stretch to it making it perfect for hemming knits as well as wovens. It’s great if you are making a top or dress out of a fine knit such as wool jersey or cashmere where you don’t want to use a coverstitch or twin needle.

Here’s how it looks on a real garment:

You can read more about the dress HERE on my personal blog.

Now, I have not tried this technique using the stretch blindhem stitch on my conventional sewing machine. I imagine it would work okay as long as you get the settings just right. I would experiment on scraps first. Better yet, treat yourself to a true blindstitch machine!

Issey Miyake wrap coat February 15, 2008

This Vogue pattern 1476 was in my stash for several years now waiting to be made.
The coat takes a lot of fabric 4,5 meter which should not have visible difference in a right and wrong side and finally I found the fabric on sale a woollen tweed 80 % wool 20 % acrylic for only  € 7,95 per meter.

And since I needed a lot of fabric the fabric weight was important too ,so if you want to make this pattern look for a kind of drapery fabric.

This pattern although it looks quite unusual is very easy to sew.

 

The pattern has only a few pattern parts but need a lot of space for the layout. I used two tables side by side for the layout and cutting.
The fabric is cut on the crossgrain instead of the usual length grain.

Since I am nearly 6 foot  (1.81cm) I lengthened the pattern at the coat and sleeve part and add some length to the yoke part.

  

Vogue gives instructions how to sew this pattern but I did not like to do a lot of top-stitching so I skipped that part. Since my fabric is very easy to ravel I start serging all the seams first. I used a three thread serger seam which makes it easier to fold that line to the inside and press it down.

I lined the yoke/ sleeve part and the pockets , also made an inside pocket from the lining.

I also altered the pockets design, the pockets pattern is a rectangle shape, but I decided after I made and lined them I did not like them. So I made a new pair of pockets, the instructions are not for lined pockets just fold the seam allowance in and top-stitch but I like my pockets lined so I did.

       

The inside pocket is stitched behind the outer pocket which I thread traced first to know where to stitch the inside pocket.

 

 Also added a pair of tailored shoulder pads,( sewn  between the lining and the fabric) to balance the wide of the coat.

Fused strips of  interfacing at the front edges at the seam allowance, which are cut on the crossgrain for stability.
I did not top-stitched the facing of the sleeve hems, but bind the edges with bias cut lining and hand-sewed the hem facing.

I lined the yoke/sleeve part which is helpful to wear the coat it slides more easily over the garments like a sweater since there is a lining attached.
The lining is sewed by machine sandwiched between the yoke and back coat pattern, and hand stitched along the neckline and sleeve part.

  
I sewed a loop at the neckline for when I travel by train where there are no cloth hangers around.
I did use a large 3 cm snap to close the coat.

  
Sewed the male part at the underlay and the female part at the overlay but decided to remove them and switch to a different way of attaching the snap because I did not liked the visible way of the snap when the coat is worn without the closure.

Te large 3 cm snap has a deep hollow part that was visible from the outside( imprint)

The female part is sewn from the inside with a backing of a circle of silk organza for stability and the male part is pushed between the wool threads so that part is only visible and useful.

 
The female snap part, which has a deep hollow side I filled with 2 pieces of felt so it does not leave imprints after sewing the snap on.

            

Also a backing from silk organza is used for reinforcement.

   

Covering zipper for furry fabrics December 30, 2007

If you want to use a zipper with a faux or real fur fabric it can be difficult to open and close the zipper because of the hairy fabric.
You can prevent this by covering the zipper teeth with a piece of tape.
 
For the example I used a piece of satin bias tape, which was pre folded but I pressed it open and folded it again in half and sewed the covering tape with a loose tension so I can remove that stitching after I have sewed the zipper in the garment. I used a different colour because it is easier to see which tread has to be removed later.
This is not necessary, if you do not want to remove the first stitching use a matching colour thread and a normal tension. You can use any other piece of tape or a strip of folded lining fabric.
I sewed the tape that covers the teeth of the zipper with the zipper tape on top:

Sewing machine feet October 14, 2007

Last week I found a very informative UK website which shows a lot of different machine feet not only in text but also via a video-clip for each feet. 

I think it is worthwhile sharing this website with you . Maybe your machine feet looks a bit different due to another brand sewing machine but still it can be helpful if you know how to use the feet you own or want to purchase.

Enjoy this learning opportunity from the UK website, click at the link beneath and scroll down a bit till you see the long list of the feet.

Learning how to use these feet is just one click away.

Sewing machine video tutorials and short movies to help demonstrate sewing accessories

Sewing a French dart June 18, 2007

A French dart is a bust dart coming from the side seam pointing upwards, it is not a straight dart but it is shaped one.

This is an example of a French dart sewn in a linen blouse.( you see the inside of course)

Sewing a French dart is not difficult but needs a bit of extra care due to the way the dart is placed because the dart is not on the straight of grain lengthwise or crosswise, it can stretch during sewing and handling like pressing. The dart needs a reinforcing to stay in shape.

A way to prevent stretching this French dart out of shape is to add a lightweight piece of stay-tape to the stitch line.

 If you do not have the light weight polyester stay-tape you can also use a piece of lining cut at the cross or lengthwise grain or cut a bias cut piece of lining which you steam press and stretch during the pressing so it will not grow anymore.The advantage of using a bias cut lining it will not fray, like a crosswise or straight of grain will do.

Place the tape for reinforcing the dart at one of the dart stitching lines and sew the dart from the widest point (side seam) towards the end.I did placed the stay tape at the seam allowance which is the one heading towards the center front.

The next step is pressing the dart open till about ½ inch (1 cm) from the top, the point can be pressed open by using a toothpick which you can insert at the point, press the last ½ inch with the toothpick inside the point over a pressing ham or the end of the ironing board.

 It will depend if the garment will be lined or not and what kind of fabric you use to decide how the seams are going to be finished.

For example if your garment is a blouse or dress and will be unlined and your fabric is a light to medium weight you can finish the seams by serging both seam allowances together.Press the dart downwards.

If your garment will be lined no finishing is needed, or if your fabric does fray easy using your pinking shears to stop the fraying.

               

  

 

Circular ruffle neckline finish May 4, 2007

 Some of you will remember that I made a skirt with inset godets for my mother which I did a post on this blog.

 I made a blouse from the same fabric and finished the neckline with a circular ruffle.

 I used the instructions how to measure and draft a pattern for a circular ruffle from the book

 “Couture the Art of Fine Sewing” by Roberta Carr.

 I used 3 circular ruffles for the neckline and because I did not want to finish the outer-edge with a serger.

 I doubled the patterns ( cut 6 circular patterns) and lined the collar with the same fabric for a neat finish.

 Anybody who have used a circular ruffle on a garment knows that if you want to use a facing the ruffle   tend to turn upwards toward the neck and that was not my goal, so I needed to cheat a little or used  common sense, because I was planning to use a facing instead of a bias binding.

 A ruffle which is bind with a bias binding will fall towards the garment.

The ruffle is sewn at the neckline and I did sew a hairline away from the stitching line around the neckline. I pinned the facing on top of the ruffle matching seam allowances and turned the garment inside out so I had a stitching guide from the first stitching of the ruffle  I sewed the facing a hairline inside the previous stitching.

Grade, clipped and pressed the seam allowances from the blouse, ruffle and facing.

Turned the facing to the inside but not all of it , I left a 1/4 inch (5 mm) visible on the outside which looks and act as a binding .The facing is sewed by hand in the ditch with tiny invisible stitches .The wide of the finished ruffle is 1 3/8 inch ( 3,5 cm)

Detail ruffle collar ,

The finished skirt and blouse,

Bound Buttonhole Triangular Shape March 29, 2007

 

I learned about this triangular shaped bound buttonhole in 1993 when I bought the book

  Couture the art of fine sewing  by Roberta Carr. I have made these kind of triangular buttonholes several times , the one above was done in a raincoat .

 I made an example to show you the steps  how to make such a triangular buttonhole and kept my text to a minimum because of copyright issue. 

   Step 1, measure the button length and space between the edge and the buttonhole.

 Step 2, mark and transfer the lines ( horizontal and wide) on the interfaced fabric .

Step 3, thread trace the buttonhole length and wide on the patch.

 

Step 4, draw the triangular button lines.

Step 5, stitch using a tiny stitch length start anywhere on one of the long lines  and stitch 2 diagonal stitches at the corners and at the point, overlap the beginning of the stitches with a few more stitches. I used a red thread for easy viewing.

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 Step 6, draw lines so you can slash the patch in 3 sections . The lines of the patch marked in red, cutting lines inside the buttonhole in black. 

                 

  Step 7, turn patch section 1 to the inside and press .

Step 8, press patch section 2  along the stitching line.

   Step 9, do the same with patch section 3 as above.

Step 10, wrap patch section 2 and 3 around the horizontal slit edges on the inside and press from the inside .

 Step 11, stitch the triangular tab to the patch through all the layers so it will be permanently attached.

Step 12, cut away excess fabric of the patch.

Done.

                               

                 

  

Godet skirt in semi sheer fabric March 24, 2007

I sewed the previous post godet 6 panel skirt pattern for my mother. The fabric she bought is a semi sheer stretch seersucker. I used some silk organza pieces to reinforce the fabric on some stress points and thought it would be helpful if I share this fabric sewing process.

The lining skirt prevents see-thru.

 

A three thread serged seam finish on all the seams of the panels and godets except the godet hems and waist seam allowance was done prior the actualy sewing . I used Serafil thread 120/2 which is a German brand thread to use on the serger or blind hemming machine , it is very expensive about US $ 16.00 per cone of 5000 meter but well known in Europe for its outstanding quality. 

I used a size 60 sewing machine needle and  alterfil thread which prevents puckering seams because this thread is covered with a special coating.

The next step in sewing was hemming the godets; I pressed the 2 cm (⅜ inch) hem allowance and stitched with a long stitch and a loose tension close to the edge about 3 mm ( ⅛ inch) a helping stitch guideline only..

Cutting off the excess hem allowance with an appliqué scissor. And fold the hem 3 mm (  ⅛ inch) in once more and used a silk thread to stitch the final stitch line.

 

I removed the first stitching line because it was a only a help line. to sew the tiny baby hem.

Prior of sewing  the panel seams till the beginning of the godet inset mark, I pinned a small piece of silk organza at the end of the stitching line overlapping the beginning of the godet inset line. This to prevent a stress point. I marked this piece on the picture with a yellow line. Because I wanted the sheer stripes to match on the panels I pinned the seams using the sheer stripes as a guideline .

   

The small organza piece is hardly visable on the skirt fabric (so I put pins to show you the location).

Another piece of silk organza also cut on the grain, but with finished serged edges is used to reinforce the zipper opening for the invisible zipper.  

 

Matching seams on the panels parts.

Panel hem 4 cm ( 1 ⅝ inch) and godet hem 5 mm ( ¼  inch).

Godet inset in skirt, to keep the top of the godet seam allowances attached to the panel seams I fused a tiny piece of fusible sheer hem tape on the horizontal seam allowance.

 

The panel hem is 4 cm wide and stitched by hand using a size 12 needle, the tiny size needle helps to do an invisible hem stitch, just passing one or two threads from the  right side fabric.I sewed the hem by folding the allowance for 5 mm (¼1inch) backwards so the stitches are covered by the hem allowance.

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Detail view of the skirt.