Tuesday 5 May 2015

Summer Top Sew Along Day 4: Bust Darts and Front Pleat

Today we get to do some actual sewing, in fact, one of the hardest bits of this whole top.

Bust Darts:

The bust darts are marked on the pattern


 choose your size and mark on the fabric (with tailors chalk/fabric marker/frixion pen).


To mark the bust point on the underside, stick a pin through the bust point and mark the other side.



Now, fold the bust darts, right sides together, so the lines you have marked are lined up, pin in place.

***When sewing remember to do a couple of stitches forward, a few back, then start the seam, this anchors the thread. Do this at the end as well (except for bust darts, only the start for them).***

Sew the darts, start from the outer edge and sew along the line.


 Instead of the forward back stitches at the end you leave a long tail of thread and tie them in a small knot then trim. This avoids any pointy boob issues!


Once you have sewn the darts press them (lots of steam) towards the bottom of the top.

Stay Stitching:


Stay stitching is a stitch that prevents the neck from stretching out of shape. Sew a line along the edge of the front and back pieces just under 1/4 inch from the edge.

Sewing the pleat:

Mark the pleat line on the fabric (both sides of the fold). You will need to put a few markings on the right side of the fabric or mark where the pleat line is with pins
.

Now, line up your pleat, wrong sides together, and sew down the pleat line.


Press the pleat flat, centre it on the seam you just sewed, you should have an equal amount of pleat either side.


The last thing you need to do now is to sew the pleat in place at the top and bottom.


This is just to anchor the pleat down while you apply the binding.

Time for a cup of tea, see you again on Thursday to sew your top together and try it on for the first time to check fit!


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