3 Ways to Finish a Bias Bound Neckline

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

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The Felicity Dress Sew Along {Sort of...}

Hey there guys!

I'm just popping in to give you The Felicity Dress 'dip-your-toes-in-when-you-feel-like-it' Sew Along dates (aka, What I'm planning to talk about and roughly when OR The Felicity Dress Reference Along).

Before I launch in, I just want to point out that the timeline below isn't your typical 'Sew Along' timeline. It's really stretched out. Like, I'll have a baby by the time it's finished kinda stretched out.

I've decided to do it this way because personally, if I'm not participating in a sew along, no matter how interesting/informative the content may be, I tend to find them, well, kinda boring.

When I was running The Bronte Top Sew Along, even though I was the one running it, I ended up getting so bored of solely posting sew along posts for several weeks straight (and I'm sure regular readers that weren't taking part must have been equally, if not more so, bored). It just completely took over and this is mostly why I've not run an official sew along for any of my other patterns since.

I feel like generally, sew alongs are more like reference guides, no body really reads them from start to finish and I think there are very few people that actually follow along in time with the sewing part (am I wrong?). I've found that generally, people like to dip their toes in here or there, they jump from one technique to another, based on their skill level and how quickly they like to sew. Some might 'sew along' in a years time when they finally find the time to stitch up the pattern.

Doing it this way not only allows me to really think about each topic and write in-depth about them without getting overwhelmed (and bored), but it also allows me to think and write about things that aren't sew along related in between, without feeling bad that I might miss a date or two. That also gives people who are reading my blog, but not taking part, a breather from a constant barrage of sew along posts and hopefully keeps the content a little more relevant and interesting to them.

Felicity is such a quick wee make and it really does lend itself to so many interesting techniques to talk about that don't just apply to this particular pattern. It also gives me a great excuse to talk about my very favourite thing - breaking the sewing rules!

So, while it's still a Sew Along in it's content, it's a sew along that isn't going to solely take over my blog. Having it stretch out over a longer length of time means that I can add in other interesting little discussion points as and when I feel like it (or as they pop up - so if you have any questions, feel free to sing out!) without feeling restricted. It also means I'll hopefully have a few pre-written blog posts for that hazy new-born-no-sleep phase (yes, just a phase...).

Maybe I should rename it The Felicity Dress Reference Along...?

Below are the topics I'll be covering along with a timeline. I'll be posting them once a week, and on the odd occasion, twice, depending on the subject -

Wednesday 11th March

Selecting Your Felicity Dress Fabric and tips for underlining & stabilising seams

Wednesday 18th March

Printing my PDF Patterns and some Trouble Shooting tips for when it's just not working!

Friday 20th March

PDF Pattern Piece 'Diamonds' and my thoughts on the subject

Wednesday 25th March

Lengthening & shortening bodice pieces specific to The Felicity Dress

Wednesday 1st April 
Small Bust Adjustments and Reducing Neckline Gathers

Friday 3rd April

Full Bust Adjustment and How to Rotate (Pivot) Darts

Wednesday 15th April

How to remove Yoke Pockets

Friday 17th April
How to grade patterns at the hips with yoke pockets

Monday 3rd August

Stitching up Felicity: Stay-stitching, stitching in back bodice darts and
Assembling the Front bodice (to clip or not to clip?)

Monday 10th August

Stitching up Felicity: Gathering the Front Bodice and attaching the Back Bodice pattern pieces

Monday 17th August

Attaching yoke pockets to skirts - should you top stitch, under stitch or neither?

Monday 24th August

Stitching up Felicity: Attaching skirt to bodice & thoughts on which way to press waist seams

Monday 31st August

How to Insert a Lapped Zip

Monday 7th September

Inserting an Invisible Zip

Monday 12th October

Stitching up Felicity: Making and attaching Bias Binding

Monday 27th October

Finishing your Felicity Dress, including a few fun ways to finish the back neckline binding

Monday 28th September

Pattern Testers Blog Tour and some of your Felicity Dresses

If you've made a Felicity Dress and want to be included, send me an email and let me know, I'd love to show it off here (with a link to you of course!).

Fun Extras

These are a few little extra tutorials that I thought I'd throw in as and when I had time. The maternity skirt will probably come a bit sooner though...

• Making and inserting piping into the Yoke Pockets
• Adding a lining to skirt sections
• How to make a peplum top from the Felicity Dress Pattern
• How to make a Maternity skirt from the Felicity Dress Pattern

PHEW! Are you exhausted by that list? I'm actually excited, I've already written a bunch of them and can't wait to share them with you.

And of course, the obligatory blog button :) If you're taking part, feel free to grab the code below so that you can let everyone know.

<div class="Jennifer-lauren-vintage-Felicity-button" style="width: 200px; margin: 0 auto;"> <a href="http://www.jenniferlaurenvintage.com/2015/03/the-felicity-dress-sew-along-sort-of.html" rel="nofollow"> <img src="http://i1289.photobucket.com/albums/b516/Jenniferlaurenv/Felicity%20Sew%20Along%20Button_zpshwqjjeoh.png" alt="Jennifer Lauren Vintage" width="200" height="200" /> </a> </div>

The Felicity Dress pattern is available to download 

directly from my Etsy Shop.

xx
J

Bronte Top Sew-A-Long - Finishing the Neckline

Guys, we're almost finished!!

Today I'm going to be showing you two ways to finish off your Bronte neckline. You see, if you don't secure the underlap to the overlap in the shoulder area, you will get bunching when wearing it, which doesn't really give that smooth shoulder we're after (and I reckon it'd be pretty annoying actually).

There are other ways you could secure it, but the following are my favourite ways -

Buttons

Everybody loves buttons. I like to use three buttons down each side of my top, but I've seen some lovely versions that have just one in the corner etc. It's also totally up to you whether you use buttons or other notions as well.

Steps:
1. Measure out your binding overlap from the bottom of the sleeve to the top of the overlapped binding (where it's hitting 10cm in the photo below). Mark out where your buttons will sit evenly along the binding.

Note - it may be easiest to sew the two end buttons on first so you can get the middle button exactly in the centre.

2. Thread your needle with a double thread and a knot at the end. Place your first button on your binding.

3. Starting from the underside, thread your needle up through both layers of binding and through your first button hole. If you have a 4-holed button like mine, I like to stitch it down making an X in the centre with my thread, but feel free to stitch it down however you choose.

4. Stitch through your button holes 3 to 4 times each, secure your thread on the wrong side with a knot and repeat for the rest of the shoulder line. Then do the other side.

Invisible Hand Stitches

Popping in some invisible hand stitches will give your Bronte a clean yet finished look if you don't want to decorate it with anything.

Steps:
1. I like to sew my invisible hand stitches into the seam (photo a) rather than the top stitching (photo b), but either is fine. In fact, you could carefully sew over your top stitching with your machine if you prefer not to do any hand finishing.

a) Sew into your seam (my preferred method).


OR

b) Sew into your top stitching.

2. Double thread your needle and knot the end. Starting at the sleeve end, bring your needle up through the seam, through all layers, from the underside.

Note - try to find a thread that matches your Bronte fabric as much as you can, this will help hide those stitches. It was really hard to find something that matched my purple-grey fabric, but this thread still becomes invisible with some careful stitching.

3. Pull your thread all the way through until it stops at the knot.

4. You only need teeny tiny stitches on the outside of your Bronte, so now, go back in as close as you can to where you came out.

Note - don't pull your thread too tightly otherwise you'll get little tell tale dents along your neckline binding.

5. Where is that stitch? Invisible, that's where it is!

You don't need to worry too much about how far apart your stitches are on the underside (mine are about 1cm apart), just make sure the stitches on the outside are small so you won't see them.

6. Continue your small 'outside' stitches all the way along until you get to the end. At this point, you can choose to tie off your thread OR if you're like me, you can stitch the binding down at the corner as well...

7. Bring your thread up through the very edge of the overlapped binding (try not to bring it through the top, otherwise you'll see it).

8. Pull the thread through and loop it around twice.

9. Tie your thread off and repeat for the other side.

And that, my friends, is it. Done. Finished. Finito. Until the next Bronte of course...

Have you finished a Bronte top? Why not upload it to the Flickr group or flick me an email so I can showcase a few?

xx
J

Bronte Top Sew-A-Long - Side Seams & Hemming

We're nearly there! Today we are sewing up the side seams of our Bronte tops and finishing up the hems...

Steps:
1. Right sides together, match the under arm sleeve seams, lining up raw edges, so that once your Bronte top is turned out the right way, you'll have nicely matching sleeve seams. Pin in place.

2. Pin the rest of your side seam together and stitch in place starting from one end all the way to the other. Repeat for the other side.

3. If you're making the long sleeve version or opted not to sew your short sleeve hem before you sewed your sleeve in place, turn up your hems twice, press and pin in place. You may want to try on your long sleeved version to make sure the sleeve is ending where you'd like it too. Make any adjustments at this stage.

4. Stitch in place and press your final seam. Repeat the same steps for the other sleeve and bottom hem of your Bronte top.

5. If you chose to stitch your short sleeve hem prior to inserting your sleeve, you'll have a little seam allowance where you stitched your sides together. Pin this allowance down toward the back and tack down to secure in place using either your sewing machine or a few hand stitches.

Next up we're going to be finishing up our neckline and then we're finished!!

If you're sewing along or have made a Bronte top (or an Afternoon Blouse) why not put your finished garment into the Flickr pool? I'd love to showcase a few of your creations sometime next week.

xx
J

Bronte Top Sew-A-Long - Basting Shoulders & Inserting Sleeves

For this section of my Bronte construction, I like to do each step to both sides of my top at the same time (er, because there are two sleeves, you need to do each step twice...) For the sake of this photo tutorial however, I haven't, but feel free to do them either at the same time, or separately, it's completely up to you.

If there is a difficult section of making your Bronte top, inserting the sleeves is probably it. Not that it's hard at all, but it can be a bit fiddly if you've never inserted a sleeve flat before, so remember to just take your time.

Steps:
1. With right sides facing up, place the back bodice shoulder section over the top of the front bodice, lining up the tip of the front binding with the single notch in the back armhole.  Pin in place.

Note - the single notch is marked on the photo below with a black line to make it easier to see.

2. The tip of the back neckline binding needs to be gently manoeuvred into place to line up along the raw edge of the front bodice arm hole. Do this without stretching your binding and pin in place.

3. To ensure my neckline stays nice and flat during the sewing process, I like to pin my under lap to my over lap along the binding lines, making a sort of triangle. Doing this will ensure that your neckline doesn't move at all when it comes time to put in your sleeve.

4. Baste your front and back pieces together along the armhole, stitching 3mm (1/8inch) in from the raw edge.

5. When doing the short sleeve hem, I like to do this before I insert the sleeve, however you are more than welcome to hem your sleeve after you've inserted it (as is done for the long sleeve version).

So, if you want to hem it first, turn your sleeve up and press it (twice) and stitch in place.

6. Both long and short sleeves for Bronte are inserted flat. Make sure you line up the single and double notches to make sure your sleeve is going in the right way around.

7. Right sides together, place your sleeve in the corner of the front bodice, lining up all raw edges and notches. Pin in place, and continue around the sleeve head.

Note - this is where it can get tricky! Remember, you don't need to keep your bodice flat when pinning, I find it easiest to almost scrunch my bodice up as I'm pinning around. Also, use as many pins as you like, ain't no judging round these parts...

8. Stitch your sleeve in place along the arm hole starting from one end and working your way to the other.

9. Trim out your excess seam allowance along your sleeve seam.

10. If you've only worked on one side of your Bronte top, then repeat the process above for the other side. Before you know it, you've almost got your very first Bronte top - easier that you thought huh?

xx
J