[jodskiinca]

Are you guys getting sick of all of my questions??? LOL. Ok, so on page 6 of the instructions, in the Assemble the Side Panels section, it says this:

“1. Pin one front side panel to its corresponding back side panel at the shoulders, with right sides together. Stitch the shoulder with a 1/2″ seam, backstitching or lock stitching at both ends. Press the seam allowances open and finish them using your preferred method.”

Ok, I get it up until it says to finish them. How do I finish them, if they’re pressed open? That will show through on the outside. Wouldn’t I finish them and then press them to one side? Help!

Thanks for putting up with me. 🙂

Jodi

[Tamara]

Do you have a serger/ overlocker Jodi? I find it still doable to finish the seams with the overlocked edge and still have them pressed open. Otherwise you could do a small binding on each of the seam allowances. It won’t show through if you don’t have sheer fabric. You could even use a small piece of sheer fabric to bind the seams if that were the case.

Trust the instructions. It will work I promise!

[jodskiinca]

Ok, maybe I’m misunderstanding the instructions. What I’m thinking is that once they’re pressed open, I stitch it to the fabric it’s laying against. I have a serger, but don’t know how to use it, yet, so just zigzag. I could use the overlock stitch on my Baby Lock, too. So, am I actually supposed to just finish the edge of each seam allowance piece, separately? Instead of stitching them together before pressing them open? At least I’m learning, right? 🙂

[vothgirl]

When it says to press open then finish, it just means that after the two raw edges are separated from each other, you’d serge/zigzag the raw edges. Here’s a pic to explain:

As you can see in the photo, the seam allowances are not stitched to the fabric they’re laying against – you’re just finishing one thickness of fabric in order to keep it from unraveling.

However, I usually finish them together and just press towards the back since it’s faster and easier ;-). Tho it would probably be too bulky to do it this way with heavy fabrics.

Hope that helps!

[jodskiinca]

Got it! Thank you! That’s just what I did. 🙂

Jodi

[Tamara]

As you go along and gain more experience you will find the vest way to finish seams differ according to where the seams are and what fabric you use. I like to press my seams open at the shoulders especially if the bodice is lined as it seems to sit better and it is ultimately more comfortable. But as for things like side seams, I will most likely finish them together, again depending on a few elements that would otherwise determine a better result.

So glad the picture made sense to you – vothgirl is a dab hand at interpreting (she could be my sewing translator anytime!)

[jay_1965vw]

I would also do it in a different order to those instructions. I finish most seams that will be pressed open before I start assembling, that way I don’t need to worry about trying to overlock/ zig zag that narrow edge after the seams are sewn.

[Nicole]

Me too Jay.

🙂