Cutting, Pinning and Overlocking...

Hello Ladies and Gentlemen....

With another sunny day in London I cracked on with my next sewing project and am well pleased with my progress... I'll blog on this soon but as it is a gift for a good friend it'll have to be kept under wraps for a little while longer! 

In my last bloggie I got to the point of pinning the pattern to the fabric. So, armed with fabric scissors I snipped out the pattern - slowly and carefully to make sure it was as accurate as possible. With the pattern still attached the fabric the darts needed to the drawn on. As I wanted a more vintage skirt, I put all the darts on the skirt - this gives it more shape and shows off those dangerous curves. This part is a little fiddly and takes patience - the best way to do this is to put a pin through the dart pattern (where the little circles are) all the way through to the pattern from the wrong side of the fabric. By putting the pin through you will be able to see where the dart goes and be able to mark with tailors chalk on the wrong side of the fabric. Once marked, remove the pins and join the tailors chalk together to make a 'V' shape. A great link to show this is called Accurate Darts without Permanent Mark posted on Thread Magazine website - link below. Do this for all darts.

 

Trying on for size

With my pattern pieces successfully cut out I was eager just to pin the pieces together, but this wasn't the case - the seam needed to marked on the wrong side of the fabric. When marking the seam, I used a hemming ruler to measure 1.5cm along the edge to ensure the seam would be equal on the inside. A great blog on marking fabric is by Tilly and the Buttons called Marking and Cutting Fabric - link below. Once marked with tailors chalked I pinned the pieces together, also not forgetting to pin the darts (when pinning the darts, align where the tailors chalk is and pin it - it'll make a mini 3D triangle) and for the first time I could actually visualise the skirt.  Top tip: Before going on, do try on what you have pinned. Be careful not to stab yourself when doing this but this will help to see how the skirt will fit and check the length. With some assistance, the waist of my skirt had to be taken in a bit to make it more snug. This was simply pinned on both sides. As the waist was altered the darts needed to be checked but I was lucky as the alignment was still good. With the skirt ajusted I gently wiggled out of it and went and make the slight alterations. To ensure this was accurate, where the new pins

Marking with chalk

were I marked with tailors chalk on the wrong side of the fabric before removing them. This shows a line which will need to be drawn and again measured 1.5cm to get the seam correct. Top tip: If any alterations are made at this stage it is good to pin the pattern back on the fabric when cutting out the alterations. This will save time when you make the skirt next time as the measurements will all ready have been done!

Overlocking bliss!

With the fabric cut the edges needed to be tidied in order not to fray or damage the fabric. There are numerous ways this can be done however we were fortunate enough to have overlockers. I've never used an overlocker before so Claire-Louise showed me how to use it and I was amazed by this machine. It first cuts the fabric then encapsulates the edges by weaving four threads around them - it was flippin' fantastic and now on the wants list! Top tip: If you don't have an overlocker another way to tidy the edges is with a zig-zag stitch. Let one stitch go into the fabric and the other fall out of it so it catches the loose threads. This is good but won't work on all fabrics, so please check before trying! The pieces of fabric were overlocked on three sides (leaving the top) and I was ready to join the pieces together.... but that is for another day and another blog.

Again, I learnt so much in a short amount of time. From cutting the fabric, marking darts, using overlockers and again that patience is crucial when learning something new. Next time I will look at sewing, facings and invisible zips!

Top tips:

• Equipment: Pattern, dress makers ruler (or a long ruler), hemming ruler, tape measure, scissors, tailors chalk, pins, overlocker (or a zig zag stitch) and a mirror to look at your garment under construction.
• Before going on, do try on what you have pinned. Be careful not to stab yourself when doing this but this will help to see how the skirt will fit and check the length
• If any alterations are made at this stage it is good to pin the pattern back on the fabric when cutting out the alterations. This will save time when you make the skirt next time as the measurements will all ready have been done!
• If you don't have an overlocker another way to tidy the edges is with a zig-zag stitch. Let on stitch go in the fabric and the other fall out of it so it catches the loose threads. This is good but won't work on all fabrics, so please check before trying! 
• Patience!!!!!!!!!!

Useful websites/ blogs:

• Thread Magazine website - http://www.threadsmagazine.com/item/4513/video-accurate-darts-without-permanent-marks
• Tilly and the Buttons - http://www.tillyandthebuttons.com/2013/01/marking-cutting-fabric.html

Happy Overlocking x