Under stitching

Under stitching is done on the right side of the facing very close to the seam. It holds the facing and the seam in place

Clipping

After attaching the facing to a curved edge seam is clipped at intervals before turning the facing towards wrong side .By doing so curved seam will lie flat when the facing is turned inside. This gives good finish to the garment.

Ease

Easing is done while joining two cloth pieces in such cases where one of which must be longer than the other to get good finish. While attaching bias strip to a curved edge easing is done.

Basic stitching terms

Stay stitching-

Stay stitching should be done as soon as the paper draft is removed from the fabric .It is a line of regular machine stitch done on curved or biased edges. It prevents the curved edges from losing their shape. Stay stitching is done on single layer of the fabric. It is usually done 1/8” from the seam line with in the seam allowance. On deep curves it should be done on seam line

I did it !

To day at last I managed to bifurcate my blog in to two,one for sewing and the other for embroidery. Thanks for "cute n cool blog stuff" by Itkupilli which helped me to do this.

Basic stitches that one should know

Tacking

Tacking is a temporary stitch used to hold two or more layers of fabric. Length of the stitch need not be small. It can be of ¼” or ½”It is removed after permanent stitching is done. It should be not done be where the permanent stitch .It should be done close to permanent stitch line but behind .Tacking can be removed by clipping the stitch 3 “ or4”intervals. Care should be taken not to put permanent stitch on the tacking. It can be stitched with single or double thread, knotted at the end; evenly spaced stitches are made by taking the needle in and out of the fabric. Line of tacking is ended with 1 back stitch or a knot.

Running stitch

Method of doing running stitch is similar to tacking. End of the thread is knotted. Small stitches are made by passing the needle in and out of the fabric. Stitches should be small and evenly spaced. It is used to make gathers.

Overcast stitch

Overcast stitch is used to keep raw edges from unraveling

Hemming

Hemming is used to finish the hems.

Catch stitch

Catch stitch is used to hold a raw edge against a layer of fabric. It is worked from left to right.Take needle out at the point A on the fold. Take a small stitch at BC on the single layer .Once again take a stitch DE on the fold. And continue.

Slip stitch

Figure 1

I like this stitch very much.It gives perfect finish for the hems.Slip stitch is used to make invisible hem. It will not unravel as most of the stitch is hidden under the layer if fabric. It is worked from right to left with a single thread fastened with a knot hidden inside the hem. Bring the needle out through the folded edge at point” a “; pick up a few threads of the flat single layer of fabric at “ bc ” and then work through the fold again at ” d “ . Slide the needle along, come out of the fold at “a’ “ to make the next stitch. This stitch is very useful in attaching sari fall

Back stitch

Back stitch is the strongest stitch which can be used when garments are hand stitched
Bring the needle out at A insert needle at appoint B, behind A (1st step).Bring the needle out at the point C (2nd step) one stitch AB is formed. Once again insert the needle at the point A (3rd step) and bring the needle out at D (4th step) 2nd stitch CA is formed. Continue like this. Dotted line signifies the thread behind the fabric.

Fairies costume

Fairy’s costume is nothing but a skirt with plenty of gathers with wings .It can be mini, midi or maxi skirt. It can be with puff sleeves or sleeveless. It looks good if it is stitched with thin material with matching satin lining. Pastel colors are suitable. Bodice is stitched first .Then the skirt portion is attached. Gathers should be more .It will be nice if the width of the skirt is thrice the chest.
Wings are prepared separately.

Bodice front and back

Keep A-C on Fold. A-C = Waist length + ½”.
A-O =¼ chest-½”.
From the points A, O, and C draw perpendiculars.
A-B = ½ shoulder width + ¼”
A-N =1/12 th chest +¼” or to taste
A-I =1/12th chest +½” or to taste
A-H = 1½”. Shape back neck N-H and front neck N-I as shown in the figure
O-D =¼chest +1½” .O-D =C-E
M-E =1/2” .Join D-M.
B-G =½”. Join N-G
F-J =1”.Shape G-D back armhole and G-J-D front armhole as shown in the figure.
L is half of C-M.A dart of 1/2” is taken along the line K-L as shown in the figure.
Add 1"+ 3/4"extension along the line A-C at centre back of the bodice for button stands.Shown by shaded portion in the layout.

Sleeves

M-N= ¼ chest +1½”.N-P =sleeve length+2” for puff +½ for folding
N-P =M-O.
M-Q = 1/12 th chest+¾”.Join Q-N
O-T=¾”Join Q-T
S-T = ½”M-R = 1/12th chest. R-U =¾”.
Shape Back arm round Q-R-N, front arm round Q-U-N and P-S

Skirt .

Gathers should be more .It will be nice if the width of the skirt is thrice the chest. You can stitch full length skirt or knee length skirt.

Wings

Take two aluminum hangers. Cut and remove the hooked portion and straighten the wire. Cut a template of a wing with a card board. Keeping this as a model, shape the aluminum wire. Prepare two wing shapes with the wire. Cover the wire with thin gold ribbon with the help of glue. Cover the shapes with tissue material or netted material. Join the two wings in the middle. Two straps stitched with the material of the dress are attached to the wings as shown in the figure( purple one in this figure), distance between them being equal to shoulder width. After wearing the dress tie the wings at armholes. Take one end of the strap under the armhole and take the other end above the shoulder and tie in front it like a bow. Do the same thing for the other side also.

Stitching peasant top

Join front and back of the bodice to right and left sleeves as given 1-2 to 3-4,5-6 to 7-8,9-10 to 11-12 and 13-14 to 15-16.Attach 1½” bias binding to the neck keeping right sides together .Fold over and stitch .This is the casing to pass draw string. Make a small button hole in middle of the front to pass draw string. Fold over the edges of the sleeves to make the casing for elastic, Pass elastic of the length equal to sleeve round and secure the ends to the sides of the sleeve by 2 or 3 back stitches. Join sides of sleeves and bodice .Fold the bottom by ½” and stitch. Pass a draw string through the neck casing

Make your own peasant top

Bodice front and back

A-B= ½ shoulder+¼”
A-P =length of the top +1½’
A-O = 1/12th chest
A-H =1½”
A-L =1/12th chest+1½”
A-C =¼chest-1”
Draw perpendiculars from C and P
C-E= ¼ chest +1”+½”
C-D =A-B
Join B-D
Mark F on the line B-D such that D-F =1”
Join O-H and O-L back and front neck shapes as shown in the figure. Mark G such that O-G = 1”
Join G-F and produce. From the point E draw a perpendicular E-N to the line G-F produced.
Produce E-N to M such that N-M =E-N
Shape E -F-G as shown in the figure LIPK is extra material 2” wide for gathers in front. And HIPK is extra material 2” wide for gather at the back. Width can be increased or decreased according to taste.

sleeve

A-B= ½ shoulder+¼”
A-O = 1/12th chest or to taste
A-H =1½”
A-L =1/12th chest+1½”or to taste
A-C =¼chest-1”
Draw perpendiculars from C
C-E= ¼ chest +1”+½”
C-D =A-B
Join B-D
Mark F on the line B-D such that D-F =1”
Join O-H and O-L back and front neck shapes as shown in the figure. Mark G such that O-G = 1”
Join G-F and produce. From the point E draw a perpendicular E-N to the line G-F produced.
Produce E-N to M such that N-M =E-N
B-R = sleeve length +2"
R-Q = sleeve width+1/2"
Join M-Q.
Shape M-F-G as shown in the figure
SRTO is extra fabric ,O-T =S-R= 2" wide for gathers. It can be varied according to taste.