Victory Patterns Sewing Tutorials

How to stitch in the ditch

January 31, 2018 1 Comment

When it comes time to finish the inside edges of a garment, such as the inner edge of a waistband, cuff, collar, binding, etc, you can choose to secure the edge with a hand stitch or a machine stitch technique known as stitching in the ditch. This tidy stitch is fast compared to a hand sewn slip stitch and can save you a good bit of time.

How to gather fabric

January 31, 2018

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to sew a gather stitch, how to take up the gathers and finally, how to attach the gathered edge to a corresponding piece. This gathering method explains how to sew a gather stitch with three rows of basting, which is suitable for larger gathered edges or for full gathers. This tutorial is taken from the pages of Boundless Style. You can find this tutorial and many others in Boundless Style.

Fancy Seams tutorial

January 31, 2018 1 Comment

The type of seam that choose to sew can not only make a garment look beautiful from the inside out, but they can also enhance the life of a garment, as well as your pride in what you've made. This little guide will give you a basic rundown on a few seam finishes starting with the basics, and then we'll get into the fancy stuff! I'll give you some pointers as to when to use each seam finish. When you make clothing with beautiful seams, you'll be so much happier wearing it!

Stabilizing Seams

January 31, 2018

Some seams need a little extra TLC to prevent them from stretching out and losing its shape, or to give the seam extra durability. Some examples of areas that you would commonly reinforce are armholes, necklines, bias seams, or areas like the shoulder that bear the weight of the garment.

Finishing curved edges

January 31, 2018 4 Comments

Finishing curved edges

If you’ve ever had to hem a curved edge, you’ll know how tricky it is to turn, press and stitch it so that it looks neat and tidy. Curved edges are tricky for a few reasons. They involve a bias grainline, which causes the fabric to stretch out. Also, depending on the kind of curve you are working with, whether it be concave or convex, the fabric edge will be longer or shorter in length compared to the area it is being folded to, indicated by the red dashed line in the following diagram...

Concave and convex curve examples

In the instance of a concave curve where the fabric edge is shorter than the area it is folded to, the bias grainline will stretch, allowing you to manipulate the fabric. If it is a severe concave curve, you can clip the seam allowance to prevent puckering.

In the instance of a convex curve, the length of the fabric edge is longer than the area it is folding to, so you have to manipulate the fabric to make the lengths equal.

Here’s a tutorial for finishing curved edges.

Single Fold Hem

(I recommend that you finish the edge with a serge or zig-zag before starting. This demo is left unfinished so that you could see the stitches more clearly)

Basted edge of curved hemline

Sew a baste stitch 1/8” from the fabric edge, leaving a few inches of thread at one end.

Examples of stitches on curved edge

Sew a second row of stitching at the intended seam allowance for the hem.

Gathering the curved edge

Pull on one of the thread tails from the stitch closest to the edge, drawing the fabric just enough so that the folded edge lays flat onto the fabric.

Ironing the curved edge

pressed curved edge, ready for hemming

Distribute the gathers evenly and press.

Turn the fabric towards the wrong side, pressing along the second stitch line. This stitch acts as a folding guide and helps in achieving a crisp and even fold.

The topstitched curved hem

Topstitch the hem within the seam allowance.

Double Fold Hem

Sew a basting stitch ¼” away from the fabric edge. Sew a second-row ½” away from the fabric edge.

Ironing the first fold of the double turn hem

Turning the fabric towards the wrong side, press along the first ¼” stitch line.

first press of double turn hem

This helps to create an even crisp line to fold along the stitch.

Pressing the second fold for the double fold hemSecond fold of double fold hem

Press again along the ½” stitch line

Press again along the ½” stitch line.

finished double turned curved hem

Topstitch along the hem within the seam allowance. Feel free to remove the stitching along the folded edge after the hem is complete.

How to make self covered piping

January 31, 2018

Adding piping to your seams can add such a special touch. It's worth the extra bit of work as it can make your seams more prominent and beautiful.

Piping comes in lots of different colors and is usually in a basic cotton fabric, but it looks extra fancy when you create piping covered with self-fabric. Whether your pattern calls for it or not, you can add piping to seams if you want to spruce up the design a little. Here's a tutorial to show you how to cover store-bought piping with self-fabric.

Finishing edges with bias binding

January 31, 2018 1 Comment

Hey, let's talk about one of the best edge finishing techniques ever: Bias Binding!!! Who, what, when, where, why is binding you ask?!? Binding is a bias cut strip of fabric with pre-folded edges. The fact that it’s bias cut makes it ideal for finishing curved edges.

How to sew an Understitch

January 31, 2018

If you've ever sewn a pocket bag or a neckline facing and you find that the inside parts keep peeking out, trying to steal the spotlight from your beautiful the garment, it's likely because you haven't sewn an understitch along the seam of the finished edge. An understitch is used along edges where you have inner linings or facings that you want to remain concealed on the inside of the garment. This stitch that will help all those inner parts to stay put, leaving you with crispy clean finished edges!