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comments (5) March 31st, 2011     

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Finish the Neckline

Before cutting the neck band, try on the shirt. Nothing more will be done to the cut edge of the fabric on the neck before it’s bound, so you can see whether you need to adjust the neckline so it fits closer to the body (this is simple to do with a binding strip). Measure the width of the bound neck edge on your T-shirt. Then follow the steps below to reproduce it.

1.Cut the binding. Cut the cross-grain binding four times the finished width. Trim it to the length needed. A 3:4 to 7:8 ratio between the length of the binding and neckline generally works well. Cut the ends at a 45-degree angle as shown below.

2. Sew the band ends. Stitch the ends of the strip together to form the neck band to form a circle.

3. Pin the band in place. With wrong sides together and raw edges aligned, fold the band in half lengthwise. Position the band’s seam off-center at the back, and pin-mark the band in quarters.

4. Sew on the band. With right sides together and pins and raw edges aligned, position the band over the neckline so the feed dogs can help ease in the longer garment layer. Stretching slightly, stitch the band to the neckline. Turn the folded edge up, and press. You can topstitch along the seam edge on the T-shirt for a clean finish if you like, and then press.

 

Add embellishments

The embellishment shown was made from hearts cut single layer, gathered down the center, and stitched randomly on the T-shirt.

Written by Judith Neukam
excerpted from SewStylish Spring 2010, p. 67

posted in: sewstylish feature, sewstylish technique, t-shirt, tee