Lessons

Lesson Info

Basting the Cape

So now when I turn my binding tape even with this edge of the cape and now have a three quarters bound trap is oid shape, so now we're going to switch gears completely and do something that's fun? Ah, a very different approach and we're going to use our long basting stitches to gather the top of the cape, which is going to be giving it it's more dramatic effect for this will switch to a straight stretch knows exact for a few minutes and then we will set the length to the longest possible, which is for and then since it's a straight stretch it doesn't have any with differences or requirements take your thread tales and pull them this is a little more than you need but make sure that they're nice and long show one to have some grip on them move the binding tape out of the way you can just fold it write down so you've only got your cape fabric and then you're going to just so a straight basting stitch, which is a huge length never meant for anything permanent or for joining fabrics in a d...

urable way and you're just going to stitch forward ah little ways away from the raw edge in a straight line and then we're going to tug the's basting such is to create gathers so I'm going to drop my needle and just stitch forward with these big stitches as you can see, it will start to gather a little bit just a cz you go but try not to let it get to bunch e I like to hold the other end of my cape so that has just sort of a neat little ah it just it just advances the fabric more evenly and then similarly on the injure sewing towards get the binding tape out of the way by folding it down stop at the edge and then pull your threats of that you have a nice long thread tail at each end so now we have the top of the cape has basting stitches from side to side there's no binding to stop at the edges it's very easy tio access the basing stitches and take one thread and just gently you don't want to pull two harder you can break it I'm suddenly start easing some of the fabric closer together. You may have done this in garments sewing in which case for a really you know nice organized gather for something like a skirt or a dress you might do two lines of basting stitches uh a fraction of an inch apart that are parallel but for something like this cape which is ultra simple, one line of stitches did fine for me and saves a little time but you'll gently pull so that you end up with your fabric very bunch at the top this's pretty flexible but I like to get it so it's about twelve inches you're moving it which is right about here you're essentially moving out from to even this out you're moving this from twenty four inches to twelve inches so it's about half of its original length and it's gathered in a pretty even fashion it's doesn't have to be exactly measured so but I like how this is kind of falling in a neat even fashion so now take your binding tape and pennant over this raw edge where you like you're basting do this on both sides to kind of seal your work and I'm going to use my zigzag stitch and my same settings backto length lucy too and stitch forward just to seal this up in a neat way you will use back search for this just to make sure it's a good even catch but when you stretch off the edge you won't need tio because it's going to be caught in your capes collar thiss the last little bit of this you can end up with a lot of threads at this juncture because you've done a lot of sewing right in this one spot but the altar moist so don't get too discouraged if it's messy right now it doesn't say something is girl she there it's e I'll just try to be great color on the orange will go right with my eyes very go so I've got a force of threads here get rid of a few of them, but now the cape is all ready to put the collar on for color piece going to go back to the this's my scott baric go back to our original collar it's a very simple construction who we're gonna press under a quarter inch long ways this long rectangle when I just pressed to the wrong side a quarter inch and that's going to be so that will be the end of our the base of our collar with a neat folded edge instead of a raw ad showing I'll do the same thing on the other side so and now when a press the same I'm not both ends like and then take scissors and trim the corners so there's not quite so much chatter going on there, I'll do the same at the sand in pressing this I'm just going to again turn this excess fabric that won't show, but we'll just create some ball commerce itching. So now that I've got this problem, I'm going to sew excuse me not so yet press this long ways so it has a neat clean's uh top edge so thiss collars just a really simple little top I think this should be super fun if it was where a contrast fabric maybe matching the binding maybe something totally different, but I decided just go with blue so I'm gonna press this at the halfway point so I know my no my center and similarly I'm going to end gently handle the basting threads and tell you've sealed it with a color because of the thread breaks that will come ungh gathered and then you'll just stitch it again so thiss here's my center just measured it on my cutting map and found a good reference spot and I'll put my pen in there and then I'll use my fold that I found beget the center of my collar and all I'm doing here is pressing this open collar right over the basing and the binding tape edges you just want to catch this and pennant in place so that the gathers air needed even it doesn't have to be an exact fraction of an inch within and penn it from the center out I think that's the easiest because it's the best chance you have of making it evenly arranged and symmetrical rather than off to one side now I have my cape end like this you want add another few pins just in here because the basting stitches can move around a little bit it's certainly nothing too bad if you have to re so but it's kind of nice to catch some all the first time so now we're going to aa final threat change here's where I am now I've got a gathered cape upend collar and I need to use the blue thread that will match it instead of the orange door that will be a darker contrast so I'm just going to quickly change about my threat and bob in and then I'll stitch the son becky maybe you can speak to this too but I was told that my sewing machine dealer to never pull thread back up toe always pull it down just not to bring dust into the machine so I've gotten and not have it a good idea yeah cancer drayton correct so do you find now you're getting requests from your kids for certain yes my daughter is funny she loves color and going to the fabric store in social just of course she is very specific taste she loves pink and purple which I remember at that age my favorite colors were pink and purple in she'll just say um can I have a pink dress and purple skirt and you know never mind that I have sown or a couple of each of us there's always a new one a new fabric out that she loves and my son's favorite color is yellow so that's been kind of fun because it's such a pretty one too so if there's so much good fabric now I feel like when I was little my grandmother used to take me to the fabric store and let me pick out fabric for sundresses which I loved but I don't know if you guys from the fabric stores of back then where a lot of calico's and you know, just there weren't quite as many pretty things you know? So now that we're just blessed with all these totally gorgeous um yes, totally here, let me testes make sure its threat okay, great. So I'm gonna keep my sames exact threating that I had before on and this is what I'm going to d'oh I penned my cape across the gathers, but I'm also going to pennant at thes raw ends and I do it rate before I so it's sensa lee but I just wanted to make sure it can make these corners need and sometimes you pen things and set them down they can get snagged or tug, so just do it just the minute before I want to sew them so now I owe and not double check and make sure you're basting threads are all inside well inside this folds because it is a little heavier than a normal problem because it's doubled essentially so they can start to slide out like the's air, doing just a zay speak so it's a great idea to double check and make sure that all of your gathered fabrics are neatly secured, okay, so nandan is exact my cape shot my needle cut my zigzag on the where I like it and then this fabric scooting over little bits when I pick up my foot smooth back down and this is a little bit of a sandwich effect because you have kind of the double gathered fabric inside so I would take this one a bit slow just it's khun b finicky too so it's fine to re so it, but try to catch all your layers at the same time, which could be ahh a bit of a process. So now see how this looks from the other side? Yeah, looks great just try to keep everything moving along smooth and tucked in hey, I'm at the halfway point, so then when I finished my gathers, I want to stretch to my corner here keeps pushing forward, and then once I get the corner, I'm going to pivot, just as I did with my apple cakes it obviously this is a much bigger scale and not nearly as finicky got a few extra threads in here. I'm going to try to get rid off the one problem with doing all these kind of extras and bits and pieces that you end up with lots and lots of thread involved, so then I'll stitch forward to the top edge of my collar, and then I'm going to flip this in the easiest ways just to move it this way for my ninety degree pivot drop this and then I'll such the same way I've been going but I'm just going to go up on the folded edge instead of the raw edge so there's nothing to catch her you'll just want to follow the perimeter of the fabric all right? I'm almost to my next turns I want to just get again clear extra threads out keep going forward and then I'll stop one last time to a ninety degree prevette dropped us and then just to seal the deal I'll pivot once more and I'm almost back where I started but I want to do a little back searching to make sure this is nice and secure for lots of cape days right? So millions of extra threads of sign here the cape e really like it is this electricity electricity man maybe oh please fondle it thank you if you love if you only if you want tio polly and I've been such good friends all these years I suddenly got off you and then we'll add a velcro closure but there's also the option of a snap you just want to make sure that whatever you do it's very safe and not a choking hazard but the velcro stitch exactly the same way as the last in the skirts and you can s o in volker's very easy to find it any craft or fabric store and you'll just such one and a half here the corresponding half here and the fall in love with each other. Amazing.