Hello Everyone!
Let's talk about a few different ways you can finish the back edges of a bias bound neckline - one of the last things you need to do on the
Felicity Dress.
As always, there are a number of different ways you can do it, the following are just three of my favourites...
Hook and Eye
This is the simplest method of finishing off your neckline and results in two straight edges held together with a hook and eye.
1. Gently open out your bias binding, wrong sides together, tuck the raw edge in.
2. Press your bias binding back into it's original folds, leaving a nicely folded end with no raw edges.
3. Fold your binding over to the underside of your neckline, and hand stitch down.
Note - my binding is quite long because I was leaving extra length to show you the next two ways to finish it. Feel free to make it shorter (or longer!!).
4. Repeat for the other side and finish with a hook and eye.
Button and Loop
This method is very similar to the hook and eye method, except that instead of folding your bias binding over completely, you leave a little loop on one side to go around a button.
Note - you can modify this method using the plain hook and eye edges and adding a ribbon or your own threaded cord as the loop.
1. Follow all steps for the Hook & Eye method above for one side only. If you've inserted a lapped zip, make sure you leave the 'lapped' side of the zip free.
2. Instead of folding your binding all the way over, fold it in half, so that only a small amount is lapped over to the wrong side of your garment, and set it at a slight angle down. Hand stitch in place and sew a button onto the other side.
Bow and Snap Fastner
I think this is a lovely little detail that is so easy to add to a neckline - this is the method I chose for my final dress...
1. Follow all steps for the Hook & Eye method above for one side only. If you've inserted a lapped zip, make sure you leave the 'lapped' side of the zip free.
2. Instead of folding your bias binding to the underside of the dress, fold it over to the right side and hand stitch down.
3. Take a needle and thread and secure the thread to the binding in the middle of the 'bow' by passing through it once.
4. Wrap your thread around the bow until you are happy with how it's looking, then knot off your thread at the back. Stitch on snap fasteners.
Do you have a favourite method of finishing off bias bound necklines?
xx
J