Sewing with stripes 101

Sewing with stripes might seem like a scary thing to learn however with a few industry tricks you will master stripes in no time!

When sewing with stripes the preparation of your pattern and fabric is just as important as the sewing technique. Below we have used our Clara Dolman Top pattern to create a chevron style top. Our Clara Dolman Top PDF Patterns is available on Etsy [esty.com/shop/Michellepdfpatterns]


Pattern preparation

To ensure a stripe match in the cutting and sewing stages it is important to mark a reference line for our stripe.

As we have created a chevron style with the stripes, we have added a seam allowance to the centre front and back to allow for seams. Mark 7mm (1/4 inch) from the centre front and back at the neckline and hemline. Join the markings with a line and extend the cut lines for the neckline and hemline.





Marking the reference line

To mark our reference line we have measured 10cm up from a page join and 10cm in along the page join on the front (or if you have a quilting ruler you can use the 45 degree marking). Join both markings with a line, extending to the edges of the pattern. Line up the side seams and copy the reference line to the back. We like to use a window or light box to help here.

 



Cutting your fabric

As we have a centre front and back seam now don’t forget to create pairs of your front and back pieces. Fold your fabric in half matching the selvedges and stripes with right sides together. When matching the stripes this might cause the fabric to be off grain slightly. You can gently pull the fabric back into shape if needed. Make sure your stripes are lining up between the top and bottom layers across the width of the fabric.  Now place the front pattern piece on the fabric and match the reference line to one of the stripes which will have your pattern at a 45 degree angle. Repeat with the back pattern piece and cut out the front and back.




Sewing the stripes

When sewing our stripes begin by matching your first stripe for the seam. We find not pining the seam helps with keeping the stripes aligned as we sew. When feeding the seam into the machine you want to keep the edge of the bottom layer to the right of the top layer by around 1mm to keep track of the stripes on the bottom layer. Now to sew the seam keep the stripe alignment of the stripes between the bottom and top layers off by around 1-2mm with the top stripe closer to the needle than the bottom layer (this will be trial and error as each machine is slightly different). This is as the feed dogs on the machine will feed the bottom layer ever so slightly quicker than the top layer and will realign the stripes as it goes under the presser foot. Continue sewing the seam and aligning each stripe as you reach it.




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