Friday, July 15, 2011

How to put on a knit neckband without measuring!

I have been trying to locate a video that describes how to put on a neckband without actually measuring the opening or the band.  Much to my dismay, I can not locate this lovely video. So, I have attempted to recreate how she showed me ages ago how to do this.  It is a super quick method and my neckbands always come out hugging the neck.  It is way easier than measuring everything under the sun, subtracting a percentage, sewing it in the round and then pinning it in fourths.  That just exhausts me, saying all of that.  I am only a patient sewer if the tediousness produces really good results.  Here is the video and the final steps, I will show you in the pictures.  I am not much of a video person and my daughter (camera woman) is cheap help (ha)...bear with me. Tip:  Click on the pics for a close up.
VIDEO
The video ends when I have the neckband pinned. This pic is the sewn neckband. I sewed the neckband together at the ends and to the opening with a 3/8th width seam allowance. You can use a lightening stitch (tiny zig zag) to attach it.  I used a regular straight stitch. I do not usually have popped seams for some reason. I stretched the band to fit the neck opening between pins making sure to match the edges up well.



Here is a close up of the tiny dart I used to make the v neck.  If the dart is too bulky, just cut it on the fold so that it lays flat when pressed.

I cleaned up the edges with a serger (optional step).





Pressed, but do not leave it this way.  The seam allowances need to be sewn down.

I sewed the seam allowance down with a zig zag stitch. A double needle stitch, a cover stitch or another decorative stitch works well too. No gaping!

Shoulder is well hugged!

Back of neck is also well hugged!

((Sewing hugs from me to you!))

7 comments:

  1. Thanks for the helpful video! I've never actually thought about distributing the stretch differently along the neckline depending on the curve. I've also not done a v-neck in the round before.

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  2. It looks so easy when you do it ;-) I will certainly try this method, thank you for taking the time to make the video and pictures.

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  3. Nice finishing off and love the video. I have just discovered I can make tee shirts better than the bought ones so this was really interesting.

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  4. I can't wait to get home to try this! thanks!

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  5. Beautiful job!! I have a question about your last step. You said you used a zig zag to stitch down the seam allowance, but it looks like a single top stitch. Is there a way of doing it so it doesn't look like Vs?

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    1. I am usually not so long to reply to something but I forgot that my comments came on the blog and not just the You Tube site. Anyhoo, You can really use any stitch you want to. I vary this stitch all the time or I just coverstitch it. It is nice if the top stitch has some built in stretch if the neck opening is smallish. Many times I have just used a straight stitch too.

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  6. Great tip - I can't wait to use this!!!!

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