Sew Along: Shirt. Bodice, cuffs and hemline.

Hi!

We are back again after sewing the raglan sleeves and the collar of our shirt. Let´s continue today with the bodice, the cuffs, and the hemline. Today we finish our shirt, so if you are ready, let´s the party begin!

PLACKETS

Let´s start by sewing the sleeve and the side of the bodice where the placket is placed.

To do that, face the placket as we show you below. First, match the sleeve edges and secure using a pin:

Now, take the lower edge of the placket. The back part of the placket, the one that is in the bodice back, should be remain folded, so it will meet the placket front part:

Secure with pins as it is shown:

Now let´s sew making an “L” shape closing the lower part of the placket and also the rest of the bodice and sleeve part.

SEWING THE SIDE SEAMS

Once we have sewn the collar and the placket, it is time to sew the side seams.

Face front and back bodice, right sides together. Secure first the sleeve intersection point with the bodice side and from that point, start securing with more pins.

To distribute the fabric, use a pin to secure the sleeve intersection point with the bodice side, a second pin to secure the end of the sleeve and a third pin to secure the end of the side. After that, distribute the fabric. Using this technique we avoid to stretch or to pull and distort the garment.

Baste and sew using 1cm seam allowance. Backstitch at the beginning and at the end of the seams. Press the seams and overlock.

ATTACHING THE CUFFS

Time to prepare and sew the cuffs. First, sew by its shorter side, using 1cm seam allowance and with a width zigzag stitch. After that, cut by the pivot point to be able to turn it around easily. Turn it around and make the edges meet.

Now, sew the cuffs to the shirt. Divide the length of the cuff into 2 parts, from the seam, and mark that division using 2 pins. Do the exact same thing with the sleeve. Now, with the sleeve on its wrong side, introduce the cuff as it is shown in the pictures below, facing right sides and matching the seams and the pins.

Keep the edges well aligned (this is very important to keep its width uniform).

Secure with pins and sew by 1cm seam allowance. Start sewing by the inner seam and pull the cuff slightly from pin to pin (the cuff is a little bit narrower than the sleeve). Press the seams and overlock.

ADVICE: if the fabric is printed, take into account its direction so once you sew the cuff, the print is uniform through the whole sleeve.

Once the cuff is sewn, you can, optionally, make a decorative stitch as we did with the collar.

SEWING THE HEMLINE

Now, we sew the hemline of our shirt. Let´s start by marking a line, which is twice the width of the final hem (4cm in total), from the lower edge. So what we do is to fold 2cm hemline from the lower edge. Be sure to be very precise, because the line you draw must be parallel to the shape of the hemline.

Fold the hemline towards the line you have just drawn, press slightly to create that fold.

The back is curved, so use the iron to place the looseness in place, steam it. Be sure to keep that curved shape.

Secure with pins. Place them perpendicularly to the hemline and leave a space of 5cm between them.

Now, use the twin needle in your sewing machine (take a look at your sewing machine instructions to place it and thread it correctly). Using this needle we sew two parallel stitches on the right side of the garment and a zigzag stitch by the wrong side.

Use cello tape or any other thing you can use to make a mark to indicate you the edge where you should place the hem to sew all the layers together.

Use washi tape to mark, in your sewing machine, the seam allowance we have to use so the twin needle stitch stays in place. To do so, place the hem of the garment as it is shown in the picture and lower the needle, but without introducing it in the fabric, and check it goes by 2cm from the edge. Place the cello or washi tape by that point and the, place the garment on its right side and use that mark to sew.

Sew on the right side of the shirt. Thanks to the twin needle you will have a straight stitch on the right side and a zigzag by the wrong one.

PLACING THE SNAPS

We are almost done! We just need to give the final touches by placing the snaps. The snaps have to be placed in the marks indicated in the pattern, so transfer these marks from your paper pattern to your fabric. First, mark the one which is placed in the collar, and then the ones which are placed in the placket. You can adjust the marks a little bit if after once the garment is sewn, something has been diverted.

You can use snaps that are hand sewn to the garment, or the ones which are placed by pressing. In this case, we are using the second ones. You can place them using some pliers, as Nati, from  Momita´s blog use to sew our jersey pyjamas here.

We are using a kit that uses a hammer to place them.

Place the washer on the outer part of the placket, center with the mark which is in the collar:

Turn it over and press until the “thorns” appear, helping yourself with the piece that it is included in your kit, as we show you in the picture:

Place the other piece centered on the thorns on the wrong side of the placket of the front bodice. This step is very important because if it is not centered, once you use the hammer, the trorns will not match and it will not be well secured.

Now, place the piece included in the kit as it is shown in the picture:

Use the hammer to secure both pieces together. Use something below, like a newspaper os a magazine, to avoid damages on the table:

Do the exact same thing with the other front placket. Once you have both snaps attached, do the same process in the sleeve to place all the snaps.

And it is done! Our lovely baby shirt is finished!

You can leave or your doubts in the comments down below. If you joined the sew along using SlowTaller packs or buying the Anise pattern on our website, remember that you can send us your doubts and comments to the email address we provided you.

And that´s all for today´s post! In the next one, we start with the pants, see you soon!