Joy arriving 6pm at tomorrow
Joy arriving 6pm at tomorrow
The one place that needs a little attention when making the Simone Camisole is the straps – a little attention to detail here can help to make your garment look really professional.
We’ve done this photo tutorial to give you an extra helping hand. So, are you ready to get a lovely finish to those Simone Camisole straps?
Jolly good! Read on…
ABBREVIATIONS | CB: centre back | CF: centre front | WS: wrong side | RST: right side together | RS: right side | SA: seam allowance
| FITTING THE STRAPS |
The strap pattern is a little bit longer than you really need. This in part because when the straps get turned through the ends can sometimes be untidy and look a bit ‘chewed’ up, but mostly because we are all unique so you may actually need your straps a little longer. Before cutting off any of the extra length, do a quick fitting so you can find your ideal strap length.
In the picture above I have pinned the strap and the seam is showing, so that will be the WRONG SIDE of the strap. It really doesn’t matter at this stage for a fitting, but it is something to be aware of when you are attaching your straps later and you can make sure the seam is out of sight on the underside of the strap.
STRAP FITTING CHECKLIST
Hurrah, you now have a finished strap length! The photos show both the strap options but you’ll obviously be making one or the other.
TIP | “Why do the straps have a 2cm SA at the back?” I hear you ask. 2 reasons – It’s for extra strength & stability, so the straps don’t pop out after a few months of constant washing and wearing. Trust me when I tell you that is a very annoying repair to do. And I like a back up plan. It’ll give you an extra bit of length in reserve should you decide “Oh, I wish I’d made these straps a little bit longer”. You can always trim the SA a bit more if you want to…but you cannot add it back on!
The camisole has a 6mm SA on the neckline and armhole and back edge and 1cm on the camisole ‘peak’ to attach the front strap. A 6mm SA is standard in industry for any enclosed seam as it turns better and negates the need to clip and trim the seam allowance. I’ve drawn in the SA/stitchlines with black pen for illustrative purposes.
BACK NOTCHES | The actual construction method is the same for both strap options, it’s just the back strap placement that changes. The strap placement is marked clearly on your pattern for each strap option so you can just clip the relevant notch. Should you happen to notch them all by mistake, as I have for this tutorial, don’t worry you can just ignore the ‘wrong’ ones for your strap option. I’ve marked the back notches for the wide strap in orange pen and the rouleaux strap notches in green pen so you can see which ones I’ve used and ignored.
WIDE STRAPS – attach at front |
WIDE STRAPS – attach at back |
| DOUBLE ROULEAUX STRAPS |
DOUBLE ROULEAUX STRAPS – attach at the front |
DOUBLE ROULEAUX STRAPS – attach at the back |
STRAP A – (the red print)
STRAP B – (the mustard print)
On this stitchline, mark the outside edges of the straps with chalk or fabric marker pen, it should be something that won’t leave a permanent mark.
So why am I being so pedantic about stitching to those intersect points?
Because I want to show you how to make a garment that you can wear and be proud of. The straps are one area where a little bit of knowledge and extra care will make all the difference to the finished result. Does this mean that it has to be perfect. No. This isn’t couture. The aim is just for you to be happy with it. So let me show you what we are trying to avoid…
To make the facing seam roll to the inside of the camisole the next step is to understitch.
Before we start, this isn’t an actual “how to make an elastic waistband” tutorial, that’s all covered in the Simone Maker instructions, but this is a few extra ideas and options that I thought may be useful. And while I’m writing with the Simone pattern in mind, you can apply these ideas to any elasticated waistband.
Getting an elastic waistband to fit can be a bit of trial and error. All elastics will behave slightly differently and we all have a preference as to how we like our garments to fit. And we have the added joy of elastic shrinking and stretching.
BUT OH MY, they can be so delightfully comfortable!
PRE-SHRINK |
My first tip is to check if your elastic is pre-shrunk. If not, pre-wash your elastic (check the wash instructions first but I chuck it in the machine with my fabric, start as I mean to go on as it were) or at the very least give it a jolly good steam with the iron to shrink it as much as possible. Polyester will shrink less than cotton covered elastics, some may not shrink at all, but we might as well not deal with the hassle of shrunk elastic after we’ve finished our garment.
FIND YOUR ELASTIC LENGTH |
QUICK METHOD TO SECURE THE ELASTIC |
The Simone waistband has a drawstring and 2 rows of topstitching through it, but sometimes you just want a quick clean finish. This is a good method if you are not adding a drawstring and prefer not to topstitch through the elastic and is a very effective way to prevent the elastic from twisting during washing and wearing.
FAUX DRAWSTRING |
If you use the quick method above to secure the elastic in the waistband you won’t be able to add a functioning drawstring, but you can add a fake one.
USING A NARROWER ELASTIC AND ADD A FRILL |
Got a narrower elastic in the old stash? Don’t go out and panic buy more elastic, here’s an easy solution that doesn’t involve altering the pattern.
REDUCE PATTERN WIDTH |
If you don’t fancy a frill, you’ll need to change the depth of your waistband casing pattern to use a different width of elastic.
Use this formula to calculate your waistband casing depth (the pattern length will stay the same).
METRIC | Elastic width x2 + 2cm seam allowance + 1cm ease = WAISTBAND CASING PATTERN DEPTH
INCHES | Elastic width x2 + ½” seam allowance + ⅜” ease = WAISTBAND CASING PATTERN DEPTH
EASE | There is 1cm ( ⅜”) ease allowed in the depth of the pattern to make sure (a) you have some wiggle room and can thread your elastic through the casing easily and (b) there is enough width to make sure the waistband will fold over to the inside of the trouser and cover the waist seam so you can ‘Stitch in the Ditch’ to secure during construction.
OPTIONS TO TOPSTITCH & SECURE A NARROWER ELASTIC |
Any waistband elastic should be secured by stitching through all the layers as this will help stop it from twisting after washing and during wear. If you are using a narrower elastic than the 4cm width recommended, it’s not a problem, but you might have to use a slightly different method than the one in the Maker Instructions.
I hope you enjoy these extra ideas to make the most out of your Simone Set pattern!
One of my favourite details of The Simone Camisole is the lovely gently shaped hem.
A shaped or curved hem doesn’t really like having a big hem allowance, it’ll look twisted and ‘ropey’ so a narrow hem is the best option. They can be tricky to finish neatly if you are working with a delicate or lightweight fabric, which is often the fabric of choice for a camisole. Different fabrics can require different construction methods so it’s always nice to have a little arsenal of alternative methods in your tool box should the need arise.
If you are ever in doubt of the best method to use just do a little test on a scrap of fabric. If you are testing the best way to hem a curve, remember to do your testing on a similar shape.
WS | wrong side of fabric RS | right side of fabric SA | seam allowance
TIPS |
Double Turn Hem | 1cm Hem Allowance
This is my usual method and the one that you will find in The Simone Maker Instructions. The benefits are it’s easy and works for most fabrics. It gives a small, neat hem with all the raw edges enclosed.
We have a tutorial for the Maria Apron Hem HERE – it’s the same principal but there are a few more photos.
Overlock and Turn |
An overlocker (a serger) makes the edge easier to fold neatly, especially if you are double turning the hem. If you don’t have an overlocker you could experiment and see how it looks with your neatening stitch on your usual machine. You can adjust the differential feed of your overlocker on curved hems so the fabric gathers slightly and this will help when you turn up the hem, but I didn’t find it necessary for The Simone pattern in this fabric.
Single turn | The first example is turned once so you can see the overlocking to the WS
Double turn | This example is turned twice so the overlocking is enclosed, giving a slightly more expensive looking finish.
Traditional Narrow Rolled Hem Method |
This is the usual rolled hem tutorial you’ll often come across. I usually use the first method I listed above because I’m not a huge fan of trimming SA (that’s most likely due to my industry training as it’s not a thing we would have done and I’m a bit lazy if I’m honest), but the benefits of this method is you can make a very narrow hem on trickier lightweight, sheer or slippery fabrics. It would be your go-to method if you ever needed to hem a beautiful floaty circle skirt.
You can of course use a special rolled hem foot, but I don’t own one so you are on your own if you go down that route!