Unlike the yoke trim, for this step, we recommend sewing the two pieces (½" gold braid and ⅛" gold/black piping) together beforehand.
To determine how much trim you will need for the bib/neckline, simply drape it around the garment and cut it to size, leaving about 1-2" excess at the bottom.
To effectively attach the ½" gold braid/naval lace to the ⅛" gold/black piping with ideal results, we offer the following tips:
First, stitch slowly and carefully to avoid having any skipped stitches or twists in the metallic thread, it can be rather fussy if you're anything but slow and deliberate in your stitching.
Second, you may want to lower the thread tension some.
Third, as you sew the two layers together, pull the piping back (toward yourself, away from the machine) as you sew; otherwise, you may find that even though you cut the gold braid and piping the exact same length, when you get to the end of the length of trim, the piping "shrunk" to be several inches shorter than the braid - not good! Gently pulling back on the piping as you slowly sew eases it along properly.
As you're gently pulling the piping back, also pull the braid slightly to the left; this will keep the edge of the braid nice and snug with the edge of the piping and help prevent any "gaps" between the piping and braid.
Pulling the two lengths of piping and braid in different directions while simultaneously paying attention to your actual stitch line, thread tension, and the sound of your machine to confirm each stitch locks and doesn't skip, as well as your speed via the pressure of your foot on the pedal, may all seem a bit overwhelming at first, but once you get in the rhythm of it, it's not hard at all.
Now that the two pieces are sewn together to form a single length of ⅝" trim, it's time to attach it to the jacket body!
TIP: Unfold the middle front body panel/lower bib panel seam allowance and lightly mark the seam line (⅝" from the edge) using your disappearing ink fabric marker.
This will serve as a guide when attaching the trim to the lower front jacket body.
Pin the trim into place only as much as necessary to secure it to the jacket body while sewing.
The centermost lower front edges of the trim should be flush with the centermost middle front body panel seam lines (which we lightly marked with our disappearing ink fabric marker - see above; the dotted line is where the centermost edge of the trim should be once attached).
The remainder of the trim should be positioned so that the centermost edges are flush with the bib/body and yoke/collar seam lines.
Let the length of trim overhang the bottom of the jacket by 1-2" (or however much excess is in the length of trim you cut; it'll get cut down to size later).
Beginning at the centermost lower right of the jacket, using your gold thread (and whatever needle gives you the best results), topstitch the braid into place as closely to the center edge as you can manage, keeping the clipped (lower front body) seam allowances and collar seam allowances free, but securing the bib/body seam allowances.
As you approach and stitch around the neckline, fold the collar out of the way as far as possible.
Again, the centermost edges of the trim should be flush with the bib/body seam lines (or perhaps just the teeniest hair over the seam line to further obscure it).
After the first row of stitching, we recommend stitching the second time from the lower left, again keeping the clipped (lower front body) and collar seam allowances free but securing the bib/body seam allowances.
The trim should look like this around the neckline (note the collar's seam allowance is free):
The underside of your jacket should look like this (note the clipped seam allowance is still free, but the bib/body seam allowances were secured by the topstitching):
Also note that this length of trim completely enclosed the raw edges of the front yoke trims:
Apply liquid fray preventer liberally to the lengths of trim that overhang the bottom of the jacket.
PREVIOUS: Jacket Tutorial, part 7 - Collar to Body
No comments:
Post a Comment