Lesson 5...Sway Back Adjustment and Over lapped Zipper

A little late with this, this week!

Lesson 5...Sway Back Adjustment

If your tops or jackets bunch up above the waist like this in the back

 then you need to do a very simple adjustment that will make such a nice difference..Here's what to do.

Step1...If possible , have someone fold the excess fabric and measure the depth of the fold.

Step 2...Draw a line across the back somewhere above the waistline. Draw a second line above it that represents the amount of this measurement.

Step 3.... Either cut along the first line and place the bottom part along the second line or fold the pattern by joining the two lines together , fold up and tape.   (Does that make sense?). here, I've cut and moved up the bottom part.

Step 4...Your back side seam will now be shorter than the front side seam. Run a line of stay stitching 1/2' from the seam line just along where you altered the back. Make five clips 3/8" deep from the cut edge. This will help you stretch the back seam to fit the front seam.

NOTE: when sewing the front and back side seams together, place the front against the feed dog and the back on top. The feed dogs will take care of the excess length of the front. This is a great thing to know whenever you are trying to ease a longer seam into a shorter one!

Having said that , if you take off more than 1/2", you'll have a hard time to fit the back to the front at the side seams . Keep in mind that...

...Peggy Sagers of Silhouette Patterns wants you to shorten the front pattern piece as well as the back piece.

...Sandra Betzina of Power Sewing  does it the way I described it.

...Linda Maynard at Craftsy  tapers the adjustment to nothing at the side seams.

...then try the different methods and see which one works for you.


Demonstration : Lapped Zipper Insertion

1... Fuse 1" wide strips of interfacing to the seam allowance of each side of the garment . Machine baste the seam to the marking for the bottom of the zipper and finish the seam with regular stitches.
Press open the seam

2... undo basting stitches. Pin, hand baste or use Wonder Tape to affix the left side of the zipper to the edge of the left side of the seam. Using a zipper foot,stitch as close as possible to the zipper teeth.

3...Bring the right side of the seam over  to the left side so that it overlaps the zipper and the seam.
Pin , hand baste or use wonder Tape to hold it in place. Sew close to the zipper teeth on the right side  and across the bottom of the zipper to join the seam on the left side.

This zipper insertion method is great for dresses, skirts and pants that open on the side seam.

What really helps to achieve a great looking zipper is the use of fusible interfacing to stabilize the seam. It makes all the difference! You should try it!

This coming week, I'll share with you my tips on sewing darts and on achieving successful buttonholes. Please come back in a few days to check it out.