Sewing Tips | The Best Way to Sew Even Gathers in Leather

 

Sewing neat, even gathers, especially on sleeves and bodices, is easier said than done. Luckily, while making the Marmalade Jacket, I discovered a great way to create even gathers. Read on to learn this great trick!

Learn the best way to sew even gathered leather

The best way to create even gathers is to sew two lines of stitching — one on either side of the seam allowance — to hold the gathers in place. Unfortunately, vinyl and leather show every needle mark, making this impossible…unless you use this easy sewing hack!

Grab a roll of clear tape and get ready to make perfect gathers in leather with this unexpected solution.

Materials:

• Clear tape
• Thread
• Binder or fabric clips
• Seam ripper
• A project finished up to the gathering portion as indicated in your instructions

Note: The leather/vinyl you use must be thin and pliable enough to create gathers. If it is too thick you may want to try a button or or a heavier thread to create your gathering seams. Always test your leather before beginning a project to avoid disappointment later on.

Step 1:

Stitch two gathering seams as directed by your pattern. Make sure they are INSIDE the seam allowance area — about 1/8″ apart. For example, if your seam allowance is ½” the gathering lines should be sewn at ¼” and 3/8″.

Step 2:

Place your fabrics right sides together, matching the notches and marks on your leather in the area to be gathered. Place a clip at each notch. The leather to be gathered will be longer than the un-gathered portion.

Step 3:

Gather the leather by pulling the threads until the area needing gathering is the same length as the un-gathered section. Make sure the gathers are distributed along the entire gathering area, but do not try to make the gathers even at this point — you only need to make sure the fabrics are the same length.

Step 4:

Place a piece of clear tape over the gathers on the wrong side of your fabric. Make sure the center of the tape lines up with where the final seam will be. This will hold the gathers in place as you work with the leather and sew later on.

Step 5:

Open the fabrics and fold back the un-gathered edge.

Step 6:

Push the gathers around as needed to make them lay evenly over the clear tape. I found that the end of a seam ripper was helpful to push them side to side. As you work, un-stick and re-stick small portions of the clear tape. This will hold finished portions in place. (If desired, a second line of tape underneath the first can help hold the gathers in place even more securely.)

Step 7:

When you are satisfied with the gathering, stitch the seam as indicated in your pattern, leaving the clear tape in place as you sew. 

Step 8:

Remove the tape once you have secured your seam. Check your work, re-tape and re-sew portions if needed. Once the gathers are perfect, remove the tape and continue sewing the rest of your project.

Tips & Tricks | Decorative Topstitching

 

Before we start sewing, here is a review of the pattern pieces and markings needed to create this:

• The shirt front
• The front facing
• A placket piece that you will create

This method starts with a pattern that has a front facing instead of a sewn-on button band.

If your pattern has a sewn-on button band, you need to find the center front line and adjust your shirt front pattern piece. Create a facing, which is a copy of the front edge of the pattern as shown below. You’ll also make the 3″-wide placket. Your top button will likely be just at the bustline or slightly above, so that will determine the length of the placket. Note that there are dots that match on the shirt front, facing and placket pieces. This is where you will start and stop sewing the edge seams.

Before sewing, be sure to evaluate if and where interfacing is needed. It likely is in any lightweight fabric to support the buttonholes. In the silk blouse shown above, the front facing and both placket pieces are interfaced with lightweight fusible, but the blouse front is not. 

Hidden button placket tutorial

Step 1: Attach the placket pieces

Sew the placket pieces to the shirt front and the front facing. Sew right sides together, just between the marked dots. I’m using four colors of fabric in the example so you can see where the various pieces wind up when the placket is finished. On an actual shirt, the right/wrong side of the fabric will likely be more evident. 

Step 2: Clip and trim

Clip the seam allowance to the marked dots on both the shirt front and the front facing. Trim the seam allowance if bulky, as it might get caught in the buttonhole in a later step.

Step 3: Press and understitch

Press the placket pieces and fold under. For the facing, just press. For the shirt front placket piece, it helps to under stitch just between the dots to get a crisp edge there, as shown in the pink fabric. Then turn and press that edge as in the facing example.

Step 4: Make the buttonholes

The buttonholes are now sewn in the shirt facing/placket piece. Space the buttonholes evenly and have them start about 1/4″ – 1/2″ inch below the clip point at the upper part. The bottom buttonhole should be similarly spaced to finish about 1/4″ from the lower clip point. This will give your fingers room to get in there and actually do the button. When sewing the buttonholes, have the placket facing upward on your machine surface, as this is usually the neater side of a machine-made buttonhole and will be visible inside the placket. 

Step 5: Sew facing to shirt front

With right sides together, match the dots (the clip points) and sew the facing to the shirt front above and below the placket. 

Step 6: Turn and press front facing

The facing is attached to the shirt front, so now give it a good press. I like to press the seam flat open first and then turn the facing under and press the folded edge of the shirt.

Step 7: Stitch shirt front and facing together

To finish the placket, run a line of stitching down the shirt front, about 1 1/4″ from the front edge, which attaches the facing to the shirt front and also encloses the placket pieces, making the shirt front one unit. Generally the buttonholes are about 1/2″ to 5/8″ from the edge, on the center front line, so I like to sew the line of stitching twice that distance from the edge. 

There you go! A hidden buttonhole placket and a sleek front to any shirt or blouse. 

Since you only need the hidden buttonhole placket on one side of the shirt, you can attach the front facing to the other shirt front as usual, and continue with the rest of the garment.

This technique can be used on any fabric, but it is especially useful for stretch fabrics that make buttonhole sewing very tricky.

credit: craftsy.com

WALLET ORGANIZER TUTORIAL

 

Supplies:

– Fabric (I used 3 different prints but that’s optional)

– Fusible Interfacing (I used Pellon 911FF-Featherweight and Pellon Craft Fuse)

– Cotton Batting

– Thread

– 5/8″ Braided or Knit Elastic

– Usual Sewing Supplies: Rotary Cutter / Mat / Ruler, Scissors, Hand Sewing Needle, Soluble Fabric Pen, Pins or Binder Clips, a Walking Foot is helpful if you have one.

– 3″ x 5″ Memo Pad

– Printable Pattern Piece – Download here

A Few Notes on Interfacing:

I used two different fusible interfacings for this project but you can easily substitute what you have on hand. I chose a featherweight interfacing for the pocket pieces to allow a bit of flexibility/ease in the pockets and chose Craft Fuse for the wallet outer/lining pieces to give the wallet more stability.

Instructions:

1/4″ seam allowance used throughout the project.

Step 1: Cut The Following from your Fabric / Interfacing / Etc:

Wallet:

– 1 Outer wallet fabric: 8.75″ wide x 6.25″ tall

– 1 Lining Fabric: 8.75″ wide x 6.25″ tall

– 1 Batting: 8.75″ wide x 6.25″ tall

– Craft Fuse: 8″ wide x 5.75″ tall

Card Pocket:

– 1 Fabric of your choice: 7″ wide x 6.25″ tall

– 1 Fusible interfacing: 5.75″ wide x 3.25 tall

Memo Pad Pocket:

– Fabric of your choice: 5.25″ wide x 7.5″ tall

– Fusible interfacing: 3.5″ wide x 4.5″ tall

Curved Pocket:

– 2 Fabric of your choice: use printable pattern piece*

– 1 Fusible interfacing: cut .25″ smaller than pattern piece

Note: Print Pattern Piece with no Scaling at 100%

Elastic:

– 1 6.5″ long

Step 2: Fusing Interfacing / Preparing Pockets

Now that you’ve got all your pieces cut, you’ll want to fuse interfacing to the corresponding pieces according to the manufacturer’s directions.

Main/Lining:

– Center the interfacing in the middle of each fabric piece so that you have an even 1/4″ border of fabric around the edge. This will help reduce bulk in the seam allowance.

Curved Pocket:

– Center interfacing on the fabric piece that will face out once placed onto wallet lining and fuse. Place both curved pocket pieces together (right sides touching) and sew along the curve. Clip curve and flip fabric over so that wrong sides touch. Press. Topstitch along the curve.

Card Pocket:

– Fold the fabric piece in half width wise and press to create a crease. Unfold pocket and place interfacing on one side of the pocket-line up edge with the crease. Fuse. Fold pocket piece again (wrong sides touching) and topstitch along the folded edge. Find the center of the pocket and draw a line down the middle.

Memo Pad Pocket:

– Fold down the top long edge of the pocket 1/4″. Press. Fold pocket piece in half width wise and press. (the 1/4″ folded edge will be the top of the pocket). Unfold the pocket piece and place interfacing on the wrong side of fabric. Place the interfacing so that the top edge slides underneath the folded edge of the pocket and so that it lines up with the crease of the pocket. Fuse. Fold pocket in half again and stitch as close to the top edge as possible. See photos below for clarification.

Step 3: Attaching Pockets

Place your lining piece right side up. Using the photo above as a guide, place your memo pad pocket on the lining in the bottom right hand corner. The raw edges of the pocket will line up with the right and bottom raw edges of the lining. Pin or clip in place. Sew along the left side of the pocket to the lining, as close to the edge as possible. Make sure to reinforce your stitches at the top of the pocket. Baste around the bottom and right edges of the pocket.

Next, place your card pocket on the left hand side of the lining. Pin or clip in place. Stitch along the line you drew earlier to attach the pocket to the lining and divide it. Baste along the other 3 edges.

Finally, you’ll take your curved pocket and place it on top of the card pocket. Pin or clip in place and baste along the sides and bottom of the pocket.

You may find that the pockets stretch a little when being sewn on. If so, flip your lining piece over so that the wrong side is facing up. Using your rotary cutter/ruler, trim off excess pocket using the lining piece as your guide.

Step 4: Attaching Elastic

Take your outer wallet piece and place it right side up. If you’re using a directional print, make sure it’s not upside down. Measure in 1″ from the left and make a mark at the top and bottom of the fabric. Place your elastic to the right of the marks. Sew elastic in place making sure to sew within the 1/4″ seam allowance. Your elastic is slightly longer than the fabric piece so you’ll need to line up the bottom edges of the elastic with the top and bottom edges of your fabric.

Step 5: Putting it All Together

Stack your pieces together in this order:

– Cotton Batting (bottom layer)

– Lining piece with basted pockets right side up (middle layer)

– Outer wallet piece with elastic attached right side down (top layer)

Clip or pin layers together. If at this point you notice things don’t line up perfectly, unpin the pieces and trim any excess using your lining piece as a guide. You don’t want to cut anything smaller than your lining. Put your pin/clips back in place and continue below.

If you have a walking foot, I highly recommend using it here to keep your layers from shifting. Sew around the wallet. You’ll be leaving a 3.5″ wide opening to turn the wallet right side out on the side with the memo pad wallet/elastic.

Before turning your wallet right side out, clip the 4 corners carefully and trim back the batting to the seam line on all sides except the side with the opening. You may also want to trim the seam allowance down to 1/8″ on the edge with the curved pocket/card pocket. Turn right side out and press well. Slip stitch the turning hole and then topstitch close to the edge along all 4 sides of the wallet. You’ll need to move the elastic out of your way while topstitching. . . a little tricky but it can be done. That’s it! You’re finished.

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you’ve enjoyed the tutorial and don’t forget to enter the giveaways below.

credits to: lbg-studio.com