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Hemlock Tee: How to Sew a Deconstructed Jersey Neckline Finish

07/24/15

Not really a secret that I love the Hemlock Tee pattern from Grainline Studio. If you follow me on Instagram you’ll have seen a few of these pop up recently that haven’t yet been blogged. One you will have seen in my previous post. This one is just a simple grey jersey…

This would not be particularly noteworthy apart from the fact I wanted to let you know this jerseyÂ from Minerva Crafts is frikkin gorgeous! So soft. So drapey. Not too flimsy. Need more in my life!

I also wanted to share my favourite jersey neckline finish of the moment! I’m not a massive fan of conventional ribbed neck bands . I like my tees to look a little more deconstructed and I really like the raw edge of jersey fabric. The way it curls Â when you stretch it! But obviously Â a neckline still needs some stability. So recently I’ve been opting for this neckline finish…

It’s applied in exactly the same way as the pattern describes, with one exception. Instead of the folded edge of the neck band edging your neckline…you flip the band the other way round before applying it, Â and have the raw edge exposed instead!

Here’s a quick step by step. If you’ve never applied a jersey neckband before you may also find this useful as it covers the whole process…at least this is how I do it!

Take your neckband pattern piece and press it with some spray starch (helps stop the edges curling too much as you work); sew together the ends to form a loop then fold in half.

Taking the join as your centre back marker, mark your centre front point using a pin. Do this by folding the band in half with the join smack band in the middle. Mark the CF point with a pin on the opposite side.

Mark the sides with of the neckband with a pin too..

Have your tee right side out…

Pin the CF of your neckband to the CF of your neckline. I’m going for that raw edge finish on mine remember. So I’m lining up the foldedÂ edge of my neckband with the raw edge of my neckline. If you want the clean/folded edge finish to your neckline, then line up the raw edges of your neck band with the raw edge of your neckline. Savvy?

Pin the sides of your neck band to your shoulder seams and the CB of your neck band to the Â CB of your neckline. So your neckband is now pinned at both shoulders seams, the BB, and the CF of the right side of your neckline.

Serge to join. I work in 1/4 sections at a time. ie from pin to pin. Hold the layers of fabric under just enough tension for the neckband to match the length of the neckline. It will be drafted ever so slightly smaller than the neckline circumference which enables it to naturally want to turn to the insideÂ . Â So pull on it juuuust enough as it runs through the serger, but be careful not to stretch it out.

Press! Seam allowance/serged edge downwards…

Top/Edge stitch around the neckline to secure the seam allowance. So you now have a finished neckline with a raw edge detail (or if you attached the band the other way, a finished neckline with a clean folded edge!).Â If you want it a bit narrower you can start with a narrower band in the first place OR trim it down at this stage….

Make a notch/snip to the depth you want…

And trim!

I went evenÂ narrower on this one and part of me wishes I’d Â restrained myself a little, lol! After laundering, the edges will soften, and depending on how long you’ve left them, (ahem) curl a little too.

You might ask what the point is in lining up the folded edge of the band with the raw edge of the neckline in the first place. You could just attach the band as normal, trim, and you still end up with a raw edge. I just prefer to do it this way because I find it easier to line up aÂ folded edge with one raw edge, than it is to align 3 raw edges; and I find the inside finish cleaner this way too. Either way would work and it’s one of those cases of personal preference.

I’ve done a variation withÂ a twist Â of this on the hemlock in my previous post. The one I’ve yet to blog about! Then there’s one more that I’ve made; (and two more that I’m about to make). Plus my first stab at Suzy Pants and 3 completed Maya variations that are also unblogged!

I literally have too many blog posts to squeeze in before the launch of The Refashioners 2015.

Oh yeah, and I ought to refashion a shirt too, gasp!!

Dressmaking, finished garments, marilla walker, pdf patterns, Sewing, sewing patterns, tops

FO: Maya Top by Marilla Walker

04/21/15

This top has been sat unfinished for about 3 months. Seriously. I am a serial UFO’er. Â All it needed was the neckline facing and the sleeves hemming. I love the fabric and the style is right up my strata so why oh why have I taken this long to finish it? Simple answer is, there is no answer. Apart from I need to give myself a slap! I LOVE this top. Â The curved hem, the boat neck the kimono sleeve. I mean if ever a pattern was made for me this is it…

The fabric is an ebay purchase at Â£4.95 a metre. (You may recognise it from my banded tee) It has a veeeeery subtle metallic element to the lighter part of the weave. Nothing flashy. Like you could hardly notice if I hadn’t told you and you were standing right next to me. That kinda subtle. The overall effect is like a luxe tie dye if that makes any sense whatsoever?? I have no idea what the fabric content is and sadly the seller has run out, but hey ho, I like!

It’s not complex. But it is versatile. The pattern comes in two lengths (a dress and a top) with button through and hem variations and I’m already planning some customisations as this is the perfect basic to have a play with.

In terms of sizing it’s pretty spot on. What I would add is there is not a great deal of play with the size of the armhole. It’s snug. So if you’re cutting a smaller size than you normally would for some reason, blend it back up to your usual size at the sleeves.

You can introduce yourself to Marilla here (she’s lovely. Say Hi) if you haven’t discovered her yet, be sure to check out her blog!

Dressmaking, finished garments, grainline, hemlock tee, knits, Sewing, tops

FO: Hemlock Tee (& a haircut!)

09/09/13

So, the mission for some new tops for Autumn has begun in earnest. I’ve made 4 so far in the past week. First up is this version of Grainline’s Hemlock Tee. This is a heavyweight jersey. Not quite a sweatshirt. I guess you could say somewhere between a jersey and a ponte. So it’s toasty warm 🙂 I picked this length of fabric up from a charity shop for a mere Â£1 so it’s a super cheap and super quick make too.

Oh, yeah, and I had all my hair lopped off too. Bit of a spur of the moment thing. I spent the night before my appointment pinning hairstyles on Pinterest. Heck I just felt like a change and blow drying that bob everyday was becoming a faff. (Especially now my mornings involve a proper school run). Still getting used to it and can’t stop fiddling with it for the moment. It’s only been 2 days. You’ll probably notice the stark contrast in colour too. I haven’t coloured my hair for a few months over the summer (just no point!). So all the colour has been sun bleached Â out and this is the nearest I’ve been to my natural colour for some years (ahem, grey included! You can’t see it in these pics, but it’s there!)….

Anway, back to the Hemlock Tee. Seriously, what’s not to love about this pattern?! It’s quick, easy, FREE, and it chimes perfectly with my hankering for some slouchy, comfy tops for Autumn. In fact, if you saw my previous post you may have noticed it is almost identical to one of the inspiration pics I posted there…

I made some slight changes. I omitted the neckline band the pattern calls for and simply rolled the neckline under and narrow hemmed it. (Same with the hem and cuffs) I cut the ubiquitous high low hem, and added a patch pocket. I don’t have an overlocker so the whole thing was sewn on my standard sewing machine. As this fabric doesn’t fray there was no need for me to finish the raw edges. (I was going for quick rather than thorough 😉 Similarly, this is quite a stable knit; so neither did I have to employ any special stitches. I used a standard straight stitch on all seams and hems; and simply held the fabric under a small amount of tension (in other words I stretched it slightly) as it fed through my machine, and that seems to have done the job beautifully!

I spent so long avoiding knits. Â (Probably because my first attempt to sew jersey on my machine involved a cheap low quality jersey and a hungry feed dog….)
I thought they were preserve of sergers, but apparently not! Yes a serger provides a better finish, but I think as long as you choose a relatively stable, good quality jersey, they’re not the “be all and end all” of sewing with knits by any means…