STITCHING TERMS

RS/WS: Right side(s)/wrong side(s) of the fabric. The right side usually has the print, design or texture and the wrong side is usually plain or duller in appearance.

Machine tack: Use a long stitch length to hold a section in place. Don’t backstitch at the start and end.

Finish the seams: Finish the raw edges with a zigzag stitch or an overlocker. Some sewing machines have specialist overcasting stitches that can also be used.

Press: Pressing fabric is placing the iron down holding it for a few seconds, lifting it and placing it down again. Ironing is the movement of sliding the iron back and forth to remove creases.

Understitch: Stitch close to the seam line usually on the side that will be on the inside of the garment such as the facing. This will hold the seam allowance in place.

Topstitch: Stitching usually from the right side of the garment to hold seam allowances in place or can be used for decorative purposes.

Toile: A test garment, often made from calico or muslin to check the fit or test a pattern before the real fabric is used. Known as a muslin in the US.

Stay stitching: Stay stitch to prevent a curved or bias-cut edge from stretching out of shape. Sew a straight seam, using 3mm stitch length, 7mm from the edge. The stitch can stay in. Try to prevent the fabric from stretching out while stay stitching.

Bag out: Bagging out means sewing the edge of the main fabric right sides together with a facing or lining piece, then turn wrong sides together and press the edge. Understitch or topstitch after.

For more sewing terms, visit gathered.how/sewing-glossary pairs. This means that the lining will have a centre front and a centre back seam. This aids in reducing a lot of fabric waste. Please note that if you are cutting a reversible top, you might want the lining layer to be cut on fold. If you are cutting facings instead of a lining, you can cut these as a pair as well.

Step three The Frankie Top is loose fitting, slightly cropped and it has deep armholes. Raise the armholes by 4cm (B cup) or 2.5cm (DD cup) if you don’t like them low.

Step four From the main fabric, cut:

Front Body (1) (select either B or DD cup): One on fold

Back Body (2) (select either B or DD cup): One on fold

Step five From the lining fabric, cut:

Front Body Lining/facing (1) (select either B or DD cup): One pair – adding 1cm seam allowance to the centre front seam. Cut the lining (not facing) 1cm shorter than the pattern (this does not apply if you are making a reversible top).

Back Body Lining/facing (2) (select either B or DD cup): One pair – adding 1cm seam allowance to the centre back seam. Cut the lining (not facing) 1cm shorter than the pattern (this does not apply if you are making a reversible top). Step six Cut around all your pieces, then cut/mark all notches and mark the dart. You can mark the asterisk only, or all of the dart lines up to the asterisk with an invisible pen/chalk to guide you when sewing the dart.

Step seven If your fabric doesn’t have a clear RS and WS, consider marking the WS so that you know which is the RS.