Casings

A casing holds a drawstring or a piece of elastic inside a closed tunnel of fabric. Usually used at necklines, waistlines, sleeve edges, or hemlines to help control fullness. Garments with casings are easily adjustable for good fit. Casings are frequently used in easy-to-sew patterns since they are easier to construct than cuffs or waistbands. Casings are also used in home decoration when sewing some curtain styles. The curtain rod goes through the casing before hanging the curtain.


A self-casing is constructed in a similar manner as as hem. Fold over the edge of a garment and stitch in place.

How to Sew a Self-Casing

1. Turn under raw edge 1/4" and press.

2. Turn casing to the inside of the garment along the fold line. Pin in place. Press outer edge of the casing.

3. Stitch close to the inner, pinned edge. Leave an opening to insert elastic as directed in the pattern guide sheet. If a header line is indicated, stitch along that line. Once elastic is inserted, adjusted and secured, sew the casing opening closed.

Darts

Darts are triangular folds of fabric stitched to a point. They are used to give shape to fitted clothing and are another method of controlling fullness. Darts should point toward the fullest part of the body. Well sewn darts usually end about 1" from the curve to which they point. Single-pointed and double-pointed darts are the two basic types.

How to Sew Darts

Single-pointed Darts
1. Fold with right sides together, matching marked stitching lines. Pin the small dot markings together and put one pin exactly at the point.


One pin at the point


Pin through the dot on one side,

Then match the dot on the other side.


Do the same for the second set of dots.

2. Stitch from the wide end to the point. The last 2 or 3 stitches should be as close to the fold line as possible to create a sharp point without bubbles. DO NOT BACKSTITCH. Leave a longer thread tail than usual.





3. Tie the threads using a pin to slide the knot as close as possible to the point of the dart. Trim thread close to the knot.

Double-pointed Darts
1. Start at the center and stitch to the point on each side. The books say to overlap the stitching lines at the center about 1". Clip the dart at the center (widest part) and clip again as needed along the fold so it can be flat.


All darts should be pressed before crossing with another seam. Press the dart flat, then use a tailor's ham to press vertical dart folds toward the center and horizontal dart folds toward the bottom. For wide darts or for darts in heavy fabric you should follow the pattern guide sheet.

Gathering and Easing Fabric

Gathering and easing are used to control fullness along a seam line.

Gathers: soft folds of fabrics formed by pulling up basting stitches to make the fabric fit into a smaller space.

An area to be gathered is marked on the pattern with "gather" or "gathering line" on the seam line. Notches or dots mark the beginning and end of the area to be gathered. Usually gathers are 1/2 or 1/3 of the original width. It takes more yardage to create full gathers in sheer or lightweight fabrics than in heavier ones.

How to Gather

1. Adjust stitch length to basting stitch (6-8 stitches per inch)








2. Stitch the first row of basting next to the seam line in the seam allowance. DO NOT BACKSTITCH. Leave long thread ends. For gathering long areas, start and stop stitching at the seams.




3. Stitch the second row of basting 1/4 inch away in the seam allowance. DO NOT BACKSTITCH. Leave long thread ends.



HELPFUL HINT: Tie each set of threads together to make it easier to pull the right ones at the right time.


































4. Pin the fabric edges, right sides together, matching all pattern markings and seams.

5. Pull up both bobbin threads from one end. Gently slide the fabric along the threads to gather half the section. Repeat from the other end until the gathered section is the proper length.

6. Wrap the threads in a figure 8 around a pin to secure.

7. Distribute the gathers evenly. Pin in place about every 1/2 inch.

8. Stitch with standard stitching along the seam line, gathered side up. Make sure the gathers are even on both sides of the needle to keep folds from catching in the seam.

For heavy fabrics, you can zigzag over a narrow cord held 1/4 inch inside the seam line. Pull cord together. Stitch along seam line. Remove the cord.

Easing: most often used at shoulder seams, sleeves, yokes, and waistbands. The most common eased seam is a set-in sleeve. The finished seam should be smooth, without any gathers or tucks.

Pin Basting: if there is only a slight difference in the fabric lengths, pin baste the right sides of the fabric together with the longer side on top. Place pins every 1/2". This keeps the fabric from shifting. Stitch with the longer side on top, gently easing in extra fullness as you stitch.

How to Ease Stitch

To ease in fullness, use one or two rows of ease stitching. Use the same technique as for gathering.

1. Stitch close to the seam line with long machine stitches extending stitching slightly beyond markings, leaving long thread tails.

2. Stitch a second row 1/4" away in the seam allowance for set-in sleeves.

3. Pin fabric with right sides together and eased side up.

4. Pull up thread between markings and distribute fullness evenly.

5. Stitch with standard stitching along seam line, leaving a smooth seam.