Hi Everyone! In part 4 we wrap up the topic of seam finishes with a look at two more finishing techniques: French Seams and Felled Seams. You can use these types of finishes in any pattern design, just remember to cut the extra seam allowance if needed to easily work in one of these techniques.

Watch the overview video for this months topic:

Patterns Used For this Topic:

Liberty Jane Mindil Beach Dress (for the sew along)

Other pattern designs that feature the hong kong finish or are a good choice for this type of seam finish:

• LJ Schoolboy Blazer
• LJ Hello Oscar
• LJ Abbey Road

For French Seams, these patterns work well:

• MVC Rosalie Dress - (includes many of these edge finishes throughout the pattern instructions)
• LJC Killara Dress (French seams could be used at the shoulder seams and binding the armscye would also work well)
• LJC Kings Canyon Top (French seams could be used on the raglan seamline)
• LJC Roebuck Bay Top (French seams could be used at the side seams)

Week Four Task:

• Watch the Seam Finishes video and follow along as Melinda shows you how to create these types of seam finishes.
• Practice the techniques on some scrap fabric. Test out a few methods to get really comfortable with the process. Practice it on a scrap fabric as shown in the video, then move to apply that finish to a doll clothes design with 1/4" seam allowance. Tip: A straight seamline will be the easiest to use these techniques (shoulder seams, skirt side seams, etc.)
• Jump over the SWC Facebook Group for conversation and project sharing.

Here's a tutorial breakdown of how to sew a French Seam:

French seams truly are fabulous. Originally from couture, they're fairly widespread amongst the sewing community -- and for good reason! They wrap the raw seam allowances in fabric, creating a smooth, beautiful finish on the inside of your project. And they aren't nearly as hard as they look!

For this tutorial, I'm using scraps of fabric with a 1/2" seam allowance. You can adapt this technique for almost any seam allowance size, but you will need at least 3/8" to work with. So, if you are using a pattern that has 1/4" seam allowances, like most doll clothes patterns do, just add an extra 1/4" to the edges you'd like to french seam. While you can adapt it to curved seams, straight seams usually yield the best results. 

Start by pinning your two pieces of fabric together, RIGHT SIDES OUT. This is totally backward from normal sewing, so just take a deep breath and keep going!

Sew your first pass at 1/4", then trim the seam down to 1/8". 

Next, press the seam open, and refold the fabric around the seam allowances. Now the WRONG sides should be out, and the right sides should be together, like normal.  Press this new fold flat, being careful to keep the seam at the very edge of the fold.

Pin along your new, folded edge, and stitch again, this time at 1/4". Notice how we've finally used up all of our original 1/2" seam allowance?

Open out your fabric one more time, and press the french seam to one side. Congratulations! You have now officially completed a french seam! 

And from the right side -- who would guess such a beautiful seam lurked beneath? :)

Hi Everyone! 

This week we will continue to work our way through the sew-along for the Mindil Beach Dress. We all work at a different pace and have different time allotments dedicated to sewing. This is a time to slow down a bit and work together to finish up this fun project! If you're finished, I'd love to see your dress and hear your thoughts, tips, or trouble spots that may have challenged you. Your feedback will be invaluable to the group and will likely help someone who is still working on their project!

I've seen a few finished dresses pop up on Facebook, which has been exciting! If you haven't shared yours yet, please do! If you aren't finished yet - that's perfectly fine! I'd love to see where you're at in the process. Do you have questions? Please ask them.  

Do you have ideas for ways to hack this pattern - I'd love to hear them (or see them!) One of my favorite things about sewing and designing is tweaking and modifying designs to create something a little bit different. Could this dress have different sleeves, a higher neckline, a longer skirt length, an alternate back opening finish like buttons and loops? So many things to think about and so many great ideas to create something a little bit different each time! 

I'd love to see what you've accomplished!  

I'm adding a video this week to show a cute alternative for this dress. The sleeveless variation is a fun and easy hack - perfect for warmer summer days! If you've already sewn up the original design, I'd encourage you to try this alternative as well!

Watch the video below to see how to sew the sleeveless variation - Begin watching at 3:25:

Still working on sewing the original design? Here are those videos too:

Patterns Used For this Topic:

Liberty Jane Mindil Beach Dress (for the sew along)

Week two task:

• Follow along and let's sew the Mindil Beach Dress!
• Jump over the SWC Facebook Group for conversation and project sharing.

Next week we will look at a sewing a french seam and how to incorporate that into an existing pattern design.

Hi Everyone! 

Are you ready to sew the Mindil Beach Dress? This week I have a set of step by step sew along videos that will walk you through the entire assembly of the dress. We will follow the pattern instructions with the addition of the hong kong binding technique!

Watch the overview video for this months topic:

Patterns Used For this Topic:

Liberty Jane Mindil Beach Dress (for the sew along)

Week two task:

• Follow along and let's sew the Mindil Beach Dress!
• Jump over the SWC Facebook Group for conversation and project sharing.

Next week we will look at a few other variations that we can do with this pattern too!

Hi Everyone! Let's talk about finishing well! One of the most overlooked things in sewing garments can be the interior finish work. This is especially the case when it comes to sewing for dolls. I learned early on that the key to success was to finish well, and not just well, but exceptionally well! Providing a beautifully finished interior elevates the overall design and adds to the recipients' overall appreciation and admiration of your work. The attention to detail in this area goes a long way!

Throughout this 4 part topic, we will cover a variety of ways to finish the seam allowances using a standard sewing machine! 

• Part 1: Overview and Hong Kong Binding Tutorial
• Part 2: Sew Along for the Mindil Beach Dress (part one)
• Part 3: Sew Along continued - alternate variations explained
• Part 4: Tutorials for French Seams, and other basic finishes

I'll be demonstrating these methods while sewing the Liberty Jane Mindil Beach design to help illustrate how the basic techniques and methods are used. Follow along to understand my thought process, hopefully watching me in action will clarify any concerns or issues you may have with these types of techniques.

It's going to be a fun course! Are you ready? Let's go...

Watch the overview video for this months topic:

Patterns Used For this Topic:

Liberty Jane Mindil Beach Dress (for the sew along)

Other pattern designs that feature the hong kong finish or are a good choice for this type of seam finish:

• LJ Schoolboy Blazer
• LJ Hello Oscar
• LJ Abbey Road

Hong Kong Binding Tutorial and Practice Assignment

Below you'll find the video tutorial for how to sew a hong kong binding. I've also included a short image/text tutorial for your reference.

Week One task:

• Watch the overview video.
• Watch the Hong Kong binding video and follow along as I show you how to create this type of seam finish.
• Practice the technique on some scrap fabric. Test out a few methods to get really comfortable with the process. Practice it on a single layer of fabric as shown in the video, then move to apply that finish to a sewn 1/4" seam allowance.
• Jump over the SWC Facebook Group for conversation and project sharing.

More On The Hong Kong Binding:

Follow along as I show you how to do a fairly easy, couture edge finish binding the raw edges of your seam allowance using bias strips. 

All you need is some fabric to finish, and a few strips of bias.

It's important to use bias for this technique for several reasons. First, cutting the fabric on the bias (or, 45 degrees from the straight grain) gives it greater flexibility. Bias also doesn't fray, which is a plus since this technique leaves one edge of the binding unfinished on the back of the seam allowance.

Step 1: Lay a 1" wide strip of bias over your edge to be finished. Stitch along the edge at 1/4" seam allowance.

Then, press the strip away from the fabric, and wrap it around to the back. The key word here is wrap, you don't want to make extra bulk for yourself by folding up the seam allowance underneath the binding. (You can trim the seam allowance down if you need to.)

Step 2: The binding should overlap your first line of stitching by about 3/16" or so; pin it down, and then from the right side, machine-stitch next to the original binding seam. Ta da!

Alternate Ways to use this technique: You can do a hong-kong finish on curved edges, like this one:

(Getting a smooth curve is much easier if you pre-press the bias strip into shape.) 

You can also substitute strips of tulle for the bias strips; this is especially handy for binding delicate fabrics, like lace or chiffons.

Or, if the binding fabric you want to use is really lightweight, and you don't want to have a raw edge on the backside, you can cut a wider strip of bias, fold it in half, and then proceed as normal. Just make sure the folded edge is the one you wrap to the back. :) 

Next Tuesday - Part 2: We will kick off our Mindil Beach Dress sew along. Gather up the supplies needed to be ready to go.