{Sewalong} Vest ~ Day 3

Day 3

Today we are finishing off the main parts of the sewing.  Attaching the lining, side seams, bottom hem and the topstitching. 

The trick with attaching the lining, is to use LOTS OF PINS.  My first two vests had a knit lining so it was very important to pin all the way around, quite close together to make sure the lining and the main fit together perfectly.

I pin at the main points first, like the shoulder seams, the point at the top of the front pieces, and the bottom of the curves...Then and only then do I start working my way around the rest of the edges.  This makes sure you wont have to undo all your pinning when you reach the end and realise that oops, you have a bit too much lining,  and you must have stretched something on the way around.

If your material is THICK, as my wool was, then I find it easier to just pin and sew the arm holes first, then when you pin and sew the neck you can push the hood up against the armholes to keep it out of the way.

oh, and make sure your hood is tucked neatly inside the whole thing.

When you pull the FRONT through to the BACK, push your fingers through from the back and grab one of the front pieces.  then pull it gently through being careful not to pull to hard or you may stretch your fabric out of shape.
NOTE: the hood doesn't get pulled through anywhere at this point.
 

With the side seams, it is imperative that the under arm seams are matched to make it look nice and tidy on the outside.

MUST LOOK LIKE THIS

NOT LIKE THIS - oopsidasiy

I'm loving what I've been seeing so far, keep up the great sewing and if you are up to date, then have a nice day off tomorrow, if not, then use the catch up day to do just that...catch up :-)