LA BREA tee | Sew Along Day 3

DAY 1 | Preparation (sizing + adjustments)

DAY 2 | LA BREA view A basic bodice

DAY 3 | LA BREA VIEW A BIAS BOUND EDGE

DAY 4 | LA BREA view B basic bodice

DAY 5 | LA BREA view B bias facing + hem

LA BREA Sew Along | Anne of @sewanemone | halfmoon ATELIER

written by Anemone (Anne) Harris

 

Welcome to Day 3 of the Sew Along - the day you finish your View A of the LA BREA tee. Let's get started! 

STEP 5
You will now bind the neck and arms with bias tape.  Choose one of the below methods for this.

Method 1. Align and pin the bias tape approximately 1 cm (⅜”) from the raw edge, right sides together.

LA BREA Sew Along | Anne of @sewanemone | halfmoon ATELIER

Method 2. Trim off 1 cm (⅜”) seam allowance along the entire top edge of the top (shoulders, neck and arm openings). Be sure not to completely trim off the markings at the shoulders.

LA BREA Sew Along | Anne of @sewanemone | halfmoon ATELIER

This will allow you to align your bias tape right to the raw edge of the top.

LA BREA Sew Along | Anne of @sewanemone | halfmoon ATELIER

Proceed as follows for both methods (I’m using “method 1” in the following steps): 

Open bias tape and fold one short edge in by 1 cm (⅜”). Starting at one back shoulder notch, align and pin the bias tape approximately 1 cm (⅜”) from the raw edge, right sides together.

LA BREA Sew Along | Anne of @sewanemone | halfmoon ATELIER

Align and pin the bias tape in this manner along the entire opening, shoulders, armhole, front and back neckline.  The corners can be a bit tricky.  I use several pins to wrap the bias around the corners.

LA BREA Sew Along | Anne of @sewanemone | halfmoon ATELIER

I found it helpful to put my finger under the main fabric, to assist in curving the bias strip around my finger (and around the corner).

LA BREA Sew Along | Anne of @sewanemone | halfmoon ATELIER

Check the back after to ensure everything looks smooth, adjusting pins as necessary.

LA BREA Sew Along | Anne of @sewanemone | halfmoon ATELIER

After pinning along the entire opening, overlap the ends of the bias tape by approximately 1.5 cm (⅝”).

LA BREA Sew Along | Anne of @sewanemone | halfmoon ATELIER

Stitch at 2 cm (¾”) seam allowance (0.5 cm, ⅜” if using method 2) all along the shoulders, armband neck openings.  You will be stitching right in the fold of the bias tape.

LA BREA Sew Along | Anne of @sewanemone | halfmoon ATELIER

 

STEP 6
If your notches are covered by the bias binding use tailor’s chalk or a wash out fabric marker to extend shoulder notch to the right side of the bias tape.  These markings will help match up the shoulders in the last step.

LA BREA Sew Along | Anne of @sewanemone | halfmoon ATELIER

Trim the seam allowance to 0.5 cm (3/16”) and press the bias and seams away from the tee being careful not to press out the fold lines in the bias tape.

LA BREA Sew Along | Anne of @sewanemone | halfmoon ATELIER

Fold bias tape around the seam allowance and pin in place, binding all raw edges.

LA BREA Sew Along | Anne of @sewanemone | halfmoon ATELIER

Edge stitch or stitch in the ditch to secure.

LA BREA Sew Along | Anne of @sewanemone | halfmoon ATELIER

Press your binding to get your corners flat and smooth after stitching.

LA BREA Sew Along | Anne of @sewanemone | halfmoon ATELIER

 

STEP 7
Match up the notches at either shoulder, front overlapping back, and pin.

LA BREA Sew Along | Anne of @sewanemone | halfmoon ATELIER

Edgestitch the shoulder, between the markings at the  rounded corners of the neck and arm openings, along the fold of the bias tape.  Be sure to backstitch at the beginning and end of your edgestitch.

LA BREA Sew Along | Anne of @sewanemone | halfmoon ATELIER

Place another line of stitching, parallel to the first stitch line, on the other edge of the bias binding.  Don't forget to backstitch!

LA BREA Sew Along | Anne of @sewanemone | halfmoon ATELIER

CONGRATULATIONS! You've finished your La Brea View A!

LA BREA Sew Along | Anne of @sewanemone | halfmoon ATELIER

That's it for View A of the LA BREA tee Sew Along. Come join me on Day 4 of the Sew Along for View B!

 

LA BREA Sew Along | Anne of @sewanemone | halfmoon ATELIER

Anemone (Anne) is a lover of all things sewing and fabric and regularly tests patterns for halfmoon ATELIER. She lives in Saskatchewan, Canada with her spouse and their two adorable and hilarious dogs. You can follow Anne’s sewing adventures on her Instagram account @sewanemone.

@sewanemone on Instagram

 


2 comments

  • I’m so glad you found this post helpful, Janis!
    One way you could get the bound edge look, without actually binding the edge, would be to do the following:

    1. Fold the bias in half length-wise, wrong sides together, so that the raw edges meet. Press.

    2. (following Method 1. Step 5 above) Align and pin the bias tape so that the raw edges of the bias tape are approximately 1 cm (⅜”) from the raw edge on the right side of the basic bodice. Do this around the entire top edge (neck, shoulders, arms)

    3. (following Method 1. Step 6 above) Stitch at 2 cm (¾”) seam allowance all along the shoulders, armband neck openings (note that you are sewing through two layers of bias and one layer of bodice). If your notches are covered by the bias binding use tailor’s chalk or a wash out fabric marker to extend shoulder notch to the right side of the bias tape

    4. Trim seam allowances to approx. 0.5cm (3/16"). Press seams toward the bodice. (If using woven fabric, you’ll want to finish your seams with either a zig-zag stitch or by top-stitching these to the bodice.)

    5. Follow along with Step 7 above.

    Hope that helps!

    Meghann Halfmoon
  • Thanks so much for doing this!!!! It was really helpful. I have to say I tried a woven in view A and I’m finding it really difficult to work the bias binding. I’m wondering if I can do a form of the bias binding where there aren’t as many folds…. I think all the fabric makes it difficult.

    Janis

Leave a comment

Please note, comments must be approved before they are published