Lets Sew - Part 9 - Sewing around curves

Good Morning! Now that we have you sewing straight seams it is time to take a look at curved seams.  You will want to use these on necklines, armholes etc   You basically have two types of curved seams - concave and convex - or ones that curve inwards and ones that curve outwards!!  Some people like to refer to them as valleys and hills - it doesn't really matter what you call them and once you know how to go about sewing them it doesn't make any difference!!

The first thing to remember is that they are curves - they are not straight and all the pulling and tugging in the world won't make them so.  You can see what happens in the photo below - it just makes you get a lot of folds and makes it most difficult to sew without ending up with puckers and pleats.

So when sewing a curve you have to follow the curve! I am going to use my 1/4" foot ..  As I sew, following the curve, I will make adjustments just like we did when we were sewing a corner - I will leave the needle down, lift the Pressure foot and adjust the fabric.  I will then proceed carefully, repeating the adjustment when ever it is required.  It really is that simple!!

Now we have our curved seams all stitched up we need to turn the seam

Oh dear!  Not very attractive is it!!  Don't worry - this is easily fixed as well.

When your curve is inwards - snip                      When your curve is outwards - cut out a v

Some people love using Pinking Shears on their curves.  Pinking Shears are special scissors that have a serrated cutting edge and make cutting the v's so easy!!

After you have snipped and v'ed, roll the seam between your thumbs and fingers.

Now sometimes you will notice a pattern asking you to 'under stitch' your curved seam. This is done to keep the facing and main piece from rolling open and helps it to sit flat and, unlike top-stitching, it is not visible on the outside of the project.

To do this, press the seam towards the facing (I have marked it with an F) and sew through the main fabric and the seam allowance, on the right side.  I am using my Stitch in the Ditch Foot and you can see the blade is running along the edge of the seam and the needle is moved as far as it will go to the left. This will ensure that it sews on the facing. Sew carefully along the seam, pulling the seam open as you go.

This photo shows the underside with the stitching on the facing side of the seam:

and this is our two curved seams stitched and understitched!

Neat isn't it!!

Now that we have curves sorted how about another sewing room Project??

Until next time
Nanny