When making my first Wiksten skirt it took me a bit of time to figure out how to finish off the
corners of the skirt and the lining at the hem. I used this tutorial from Fashion Incubator as a starting point. When I worked it out I
took some photos as I went along. I then went the whole hog and
turned it into my first proper tutorial.
I followed my tutorial when
making my second Wiksten skirt and the corners came out fine. I even used it on my latest make to sew the corners of a vent on a lined skirt. I'm
fairly confident it works so I thought I'd put it out there.
If you know of any other
tutorials dealing with this area please provide a link in the
comments. I'm always interested to read other ways of doing
things.
So on with the tutorial.
Firstly I have made it available as a PDF download here. Please let me know if the link doesn't work.
Just in case cloud storage
disappears I have set out the tutorial in full below. The references
to 1.5 cm below refer to the seam allowances used so this will change
if you use a different seam allowance.
Hemming a lined skirt with
a placket
This tutorial describes how
to finish off the bottom corner of a lined skirt with a placket. The
lining is loose rather than sewn into the hem.
The following steps should
already be done.
The placket is attached to
the outer skirt stopping just shy of 1.5 cm from the bottom of the
placket. (Update: this is actually step 1 of the tutorial).
If you're topstitching the
placket you can either do all the topstitching at the end or
topstitch up to about 3 inches before the hem depth and do the rest
at the end.
The lining is hemmed.
The hemmed lining is
stitched to the placket facing.
The hemmed lining (with
placket facing attached) is stitched to the outer skirt along the
waist, down the length of the placket and halfway along the bottom of
the placket. (Update: see step 1 for sewing the bottom of the placket).
The outer skirt is hemmed
stopping around 2.75 inches before the placket. (This gap can be
smaller if your hem is shorter. My hem is 2.25 inches. The purpose of
the gap is to leave enough room to finish off the placket).
Tip: I thread traced my seam
allowance (using long basting stitches) on the bottom of the placket
and placket facing in advance. I then used this thread traced line
as the guide to hem my outer skirt as this line also marks the fold
line for the hem.
Step 1 – start of tutorial
Sew the bottom edge of the
placket, stopping just shy of the finished width of the placket. In
my case I stopped 1.5 cm from the edge, being the seam allowance.
Don't sew all the way to the edge. (The stitching to the right in
the picture below is the thread traced basting mentioned above). Use
pins to move the rest of the fabric out of the way if necessary.
Press.
 |
| View from the other side |
Step 2
Preparing to turn through.
I've been experimenting with Tilly and the Buttons' method
(http://www.tillyandthebuttons.com/2012/11/how-to-shape-sharp-corner.html)
of not cutting the corners diagonally before turning through. I
graded my seam allowances and then pressed them towards the back of
the skirt (ie towards side with the lining attached). Alternatively
you can trim the corners.
After turning through,
press.
Step 3
Tack together all the seam
allowances that meet at the bottom edge of the placket and the bottom
edge of the outer skirt.
In the next photo I've put a
white headed pin in the seams I'm going to tack together. I tacked
using a small zig zag stitch, lowering the feed dogs and doing a few
stitches. This can also be done by hand
 |
| Bonus photo: not in the PDF download |
Step 4
Fold the lining back onto
the placket facing, right sides together. Loosely tack the lining
onto the placket facing just to keep it out of the way.
 |
On the right is the the
part of the hem of the outer skirt not yet stitched down
|
Step 5
This is where it's important
to have a bit of the outer skirt un-hemmed before the placket as
mentioned at start of the tutorial.
Stitch the side of the outer
skirt hem to the side of the placket facing, right sides together.
In the photo below I have pinned where I will sew, with a 1.5 cm seam
allowance. You can also see my tacking in this picture from step 3,
on the left of the picture next to the red headed pin. To the left
of the picture you can also see the stitching from the long seam that
joins the placket and outer skirt.
This isn't the easiest part
to sew by machine but it can be done. Here is a picture of the work
in my machine before sewing. That green pin at the back was there to
keep the fabric out of the way.
Step 6
Step 7
Finish / complete any
topstitching on the placket.
Step 8
Hand stitch the rest of the
hem on the outer skirt. (You can't see the top of the hem in this
picture as it's underneath the lining).
