Lapel Help!

This the one?

like a seam allowance trimming issue. Sometimes you have to"buzz cut" them to get things to turn and lie correctly. (Fray checksubstances are your friend. Apply before turning, don't rush it.) HTH

--Karen D.

> Sounds like a seam allowance trimming issue. Sometimes you have to> "buzz cut" them to get things to turn and lie correctly. (Fray check> substances are your friend. Apply before turning, don't rush it.) >> HTH

Thanks for the advice, Karen.

Sorry, I should have said V7828. I assumed all Vogue pattern numbers had a V in front. This is it:

'7828'&page=1I am a bit worried about trimming the insides yet in case I need to unpick it. I think I will sleep on it and see how I feel in the morning. I can't find my unpicker, either. :o( You are probably correct, but I have never had a problem like this before. My lapels haven't always looked perfect but never this bad. And I have been so much more careful this time, given I am using £13 dupion instead of my usual bargain bin cotton. :o) Thanks again, Rowena.

Dear Rowena,

First, throw away your unpicker. They cause more grief than help. Second, if this is a lapel similar to that on a tailored jacket, especially in dupioni, your best bet to make it perfect is to do it by hand. Since you haven't trimmed yet, you can do it. Here;s how. Sew the under collar to the blouse, making sure that you carefully stop and backstitch exactly where the collar meets the lapel. Sew the upper collar to the lapel facing. All of this can be done on the machine. Press in the seam allowances on both units around the outside edges, and press open the neck edge.

Starting at the breakline (where the lapel turns over), hand sew the lapel to the facing, with the under side facing you. IThe underneath edges should be about a scissor's width away from the folded-in edges of the top as you sew. Continue around the collar. Before enclosing the neck edge, go inside and trim where necessary.

It doesn't take all that long to do by hand, and the results are great. I just finished a tailored jacket using this method.

Teri

Hi Teri,

Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately this pattern is a bit of an odd one in that the collar is not attached to the facing. Instead, the two pieces of the collar are sewn and turned inside out, and then sandwiched between the garment and the facing (there is no yoke). I was quite surprised by how untidy the interior of the blouse looks, especially for a Vogue pattern.

In the end I took both your and Karen's advice. I unpicked it, sewed it back together by hand (watching the seam allowance of my dupioni evaporate as I did so!) and then turned it right side out. It looked rather better so I sewed over that with a long machine stitch and tried again. It looked a little bit worse. :o/ By this stage I was fed up, so I just trimmed the interfaced seam allowance back to a few mm, turned it back and then pressed the living daylights out of it. It doesn't look too bad now; much better than before. I am afraid to topstitch it though in case something else goes wrong.

I hardly ever work with silky, satinny fabrics. I can sew a 24 point Mariner's Compass block that sits flat but do you think I can make a nice lapel on a silk blouse? :o/ Very vexing!

Anyway, thanks again to you and Karen. :o)

Rowena, Aussie in London.

Dear Rowena,

I guess my instructions didn't go far enough. When using my method, the sewing by hand is done from the outside, with the seam allowances already safely tucked away. Also, you can sew the collar as you would on a suit jacket, i.e., the undercollar to the outside; the upper collar attached to the facing. I use lightweight fusible interfacing on BOTH sides, not just where the pattern says. This eliminates the clutches in your stomach from fraying, and gives a nice, crisp finish.

Teri