Knit Wrap Top Sew-Along #7: Final Steps!

Ready to finish your top? I promised to show you a cool trick to hem your sleeves by machine, and here it is. This is a good trick to know for hemming any lined sleeves by machine.

You'll be starting with your top right side out, and you'll have two sleeve layers inside each other.

Turn in the seam allowances on the sleeves (in just one little spot) the way they will be sewn. So the seam allowances will be turned in and facing each other.

Next, dig into the sleeves a bit so that you can pin the seam allowances this way from the inside. Don't worry too much about how this is done, just that the two layers are pinned together the way they will be sewn.

Remember that opening you left in the waistline? Dig in there with your hand and pull out the sleeves that you pinned. They'll look like this.

Now, pin the sleeve raw edges together all the way around. It's funny looking, like two elephant trunks touching and then getting pinned together at the edges.

Take to the machine and sew around the edges you pinned. Use a straight stitch and stretch the fabric as you sew. I'm pulling up the two sleeves here so you can get a better idea of how the sewing works.

Here's what you'll have.

Push the sleeves back into the opening and put one sleeve inside the other. The sleeve hem is finished! You'll want to give it a little press.

Repeat the above steps with the other sleeve.

Next, we're going to edgestitch the side opening for the ties. Remember these?

Make sure those seam allowances are turned in, pin them in place, and then edgestitch around the opening.

Your final step is to hand stitch the opening at the waistline closed. A slip stitch or ladder stitch is great.

Hey, your top is finished! Give it a light press, lightly pressing all the edges flat. It's ready to wear!

Knit Wrap Top Sew-Along #6

Okay, we're honing in on the final steps of our B6285 wrap top sew-along. Unfortunately, this project just gets harder and harder to photograph--at points it just looks like a big tangle of jersey! I'll use a mix of the pattern illustrations and my photos, but if anything is unclear, please ask me about it.

After the last steps, you should have two tops: one has the ties attached and other does not. Now we're going to stitch these two tops together!

Take the top with ties attached and bundle up the ties so that they stay out of the way--they will not be involved in the next steps, and they need to stay between the layers and not get caught in ANY stitching. I suggest rolling them up into little ball-like bundles and securing them with a large pin. Here I am holding a bundle. (See? So hard to photograph!)

Now, grab the top without ties. Put the two tops together, right sides together and pin all around the outer edges. The sleeves do not get involved in this step, and the tie "bundles" stay out of the action too.

When pinning the front edges, adjust the gathers on the non-tie top to fit the other piece.

Make sure your seam allowances stay open and your darts pressed toward center back.

Pinned all around, your top will look kinda like this. Note how the sleeves are just hanging out bunched up in the armholes, doing nothing. 

The trickiest place to pin and sew is the center back neckline, were two seams meet. Don't worry too much about this during the pinning.

We're going to sew all the way around the outside edges of these pieces, leaving a three-inch gap to turn everything right side out. The back waistline is a great place to do this. Find a spot and give yourself X-marks so you know where to begin and end your stitching.

Here are my X-marks, between one of the back darts and side seams.

Start sewing the two pieces together, using a straight stitch and stretching the fabric slightly as you go. Start at one X-mark, and end at the end other, leaving your three-inch gap unsewn.

Keep in mind that you will be pivoting at the corners at the front (above and below the gathers).

When you get to the center back neckline, where those seam allowances meet, stitch all the way up to the point, leaving the seam allowances free. Backstitch. Then "break your stitching." This means pull your project completely out of the machine and cut the threads. 

Re-start your stitching (don't forget to back stitch) on the other side of the seam allowances, pushing the seam allowances out of the way so they don't get caught. You'll have several lines of stitching that meet at one point, and your seam allowances will remain free.

This illustration shows it best:

In the large illustration you see the first side of the stitching at the back neckline, and then the small circle illustration calls out the other side. 

After you've completed your stitching, trim down the corners on the front and trim down the gathered seam allowances.

Now, you can turn the whole thing right side out and press. 

Important: for now, LEAVE the opening unstitched! In the next step, we'll need it to sew the sleeve hems. The next post will be the final one, and it will come on Thursday!

Knit Wrap Top Sew-Along #5: Steps 6-8

At this point, you should have two of the main top, as outlined in the last post.

Note: We're skipping step 5 in the directions (turning in the sleeve hem seam allowance) because I'm going to show you a nifty way to sew the sleeve hems by machine. 

So we are now on step 6! This is where we sew the ties. You cut out four of pattern piece #2, and now we're going to sew them together in pairs. Put two of the tie pieces right sides together and stitch them together, leaving an opening at the short end of the tie. Use a straight stitch and stretch the fabric slightly as you sew. 

Next, trim down the corners of the tie to remove bulk.

Turn the tie right side out. This is easy to do by just sticking your hand in and pulling the tie right side out. Make sure the corners are pulled out for a sharp appearance. Press the tie flat.

Baste the short ends of the tie together, using a long machine stitch (4-5mm) and a 1/2" seam allowance.

Repeat this whole process with the other set of ties. 

Next, we're going to baste the ties to the top where you created the gathering stitches. First, pull the bobbin threads of the gathering stitches. You want to pull them enough so that the ties will fit between the circles on the front piece. Adjust the gathers as necessary.

Pin the tie to the gathered portion so that it fits between the circles you marked after cutting. you'll have a seam allowance on the top and the bottom.

Stitch the ties to the top with a long basting stitch and a 1/2" seam allowance.

You now have both ties attached to the top!

In the next installment, we'll sew the lining to the top. And then we're practically done!

Knit Wrap Top Sew-Along #4: Sewing Steps 1-4

Ooh, I'm already loving how my top is going to look in purple roses! Okay, how did everyone do with cutting and marking? At this point, we can move on to sewing.

A few preliminary pointers:

• Start by prepping your sewing machine. Make sure you have a jersey needle inserted and thread your machine with all-purpose poly thread to match your fabric. 
• For the entire top, we will be using a straight stitch. However, at times we will slightly stretch the fabric to ensure that stretch is built into the stitching. 
• Do a test seam with some scraps of jersey. If your fabric is not feeding through the machine properly, there are a few things you can try: 1) holding the fabric taut in front of and behind the needle, 2) using a walking foot, and 3) reducing the presser foot pressure and/or thread tension. 

Today we're just focusing on steps 1-4 in the pattern directions.

In step one, you'll make two lines of gathering stitches between the circles on both sides of the front opening. Use your longest machine stitch. The first row of stitches should have a 1/2" seam allowance, and then the second should have a 3/8" seam allowance. Do not stretch the fabric as you sew. 

Step 2! Next we'll sew the darts in the bodice backs. Use a 2.5 mm stitch length and stretch the fabric just slightly as you sew. Fold the dart legs together, and then stitch from the edge of the fabric towards the point of the dart. Tie off the threads at the point (don't backstitch) and finger press the darts toward center back.

Step 3: Stitch the bodice pieces together at the center back, up to the circle. Stretch the fabric slightly as you sew. Press the seam allowances open.

Step 4: Fold the sleeves down so that they are right sides together and then stitch the underarm seam. Stretch the fabric slightly as you sew. VERY IMPORTANT!: you must leave an opening between the circles on the right side seam. (This means the right side as you wear the top.) 

Clip into the underarm curves. This ensures that the curve will not bunch or wrinkle once it's turned right side out.

On the left side, stitch the entire seam and ignore the circles. You have what is now starting to look like a top!

Extra credit! If you have extra sewing time right now, repeat all these steps on the second set of pattern pieces. VERY, VERY IMPORTANT: leave the side opening on the OPPOSITE side on this set. It's the lining, so it's worn wrong side out. 

Questions? Please ask! In the next installment, we'll sew the ties.

Knit Wrap Top Sew-Along #3: Cutting and Marking

B6285 wrap top with the ties knotted in the back

Ready? Okay! Time to cut and mark our B6285 wrap tops.

Now, the most important thing I want you to know is this: This top is self-lined. That means it looks the same on the inside as the outside (anyone want to try a reversible one?!). This also means that you need to cut doubles of everything--it's like making two tops. 

Here is what I suggest. We're going to cut and mark one set of pattern pieces, and then repeat this process for the lining set. If you're in a rush, you can try making two double layers of fabric and cutting both sets at once, but it gets tricky and less accurate when you're cutting four layers of jersey.

You only have two pattern pieces.

Piece #1 is the top front and back. There's no shoulder seam, so it's all one piece. Piece #2 is the tie.

They get cut out on a double layer of fabric, with the selvages matching at the top and the fold at the bottom.

So lay out your fabric on your table with the right sides together, and place the pieces like this. Make sure the fabric is as smooth as possible, and that it doesn't twist as you're laying it out.

See how the selvages are on top of each other at the upper right corner? And then the fold is at the bottom.

After the pieces are pinned in place, cut! This is a great time to use serrated cutting shears (they grab the jersey so it doesn't slip around) or a rotary cutter.

Once you've cut around the two pieces, start by clipping into any notches. It's much easier to just make one little snip into the point of the notch rather than try to cut out the triangle shape of the notch.

Next, transfer any circles, like the ones on the end of the ties. I like to do this with a disappearing ink pen. First, place pins into the center of the circle.

Then, use your marking pen to make a circle on both wrong sides at the pin point.

Other important circles to mark are located at the Center Back on piece #1 (above the triple notch):

And the side seam of piece #1, where there are two circles.

Next, mark your dart on piece #1. It can be difficult to use a tracing wheel on knits, so here's how I do it. First, clip into the legs of the dart.

Then, mark the little circle at the top of the dart, using the pin method as above.

When you take off the tissue, you can use a ruler and your marking pen to connect the clips to the circle.

Alternatively, if you're feeling gutsy, you can just use the clips to fold together the dart and then stitch in a (hopefully) straight line to your circle point when you sew the dart.

Okay, now all your circles and darts are marked, and you have made little clips into all the triangular notches. Remove the pattern tissue from your cut pieces, and then repeat the whole process so that you have two sets of everything!

Now you have two pairs of pattern piece #1 and two pairs of pattern piece #2.

Next time, we'll start sewing! In the meantime, let me know if you have any questions.

Update: in response to the FBA issue! Here's a quickie idea. Cut along the green lines indicated in the photo below:

Slash and spread to get the required extra width and length. You will need to make a side bust dart to account for the extra length on the side seam, so that it matches the back side seam.

Keep in mind that even if you're busty, you may not need an FBA since this is a knit and can also be worn below the breasts, as in the photo at the top of this post.