I made another Jalie 3023 bathing suit. This time, thanks to a suggestion in a comment on my original suit, I took some photos of the strap attachment which was the only confusing part of the whole process. Hopefully this little walk through will shed some light on things. One thing to remember is that the seam allowances are all 1/4" (6mm) on this pattern.
Pinning and adjusting the straps is pretty self explanatory, so I'll skip going through those steps. And there you go, the tricky part is done! I hope my photos and step-by-step helps you out!!
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Starting at the 3rd bullet under the "Straps" Section: (I will copy the pattern instructions & show them in italics and my notes will be normal font)
- Pin right side of strap to wrong side of armscye as shown, matching:
- Marks with neckline/armscye corner (my note: aka edge of bodice at top of yoke) and side seams
- Strap center back seam with center back of tank top (mark the center back of the bodice too)
Here you can just see my little blue mark on the strap lined up wit the top of the front yoke.
Right side of strap is touching the wrong side of bodice.
Pin like crazy and stitch.
- Fold upper part of strap (unsewn above neckline) by 6mm (1/4") to wrong side and pin
Flip your seam open (the seam allowances will be toward the right side of the fabric).
Then pin 1/4" or 6mm of the upper strap toward the wrong side as shown and pin like mad.
What you are doing is folding all of the raw edges of the strap toward the inside of the strap.
- Fold strap wrong sides together, butting raw edges and pin
Fold the strap. Bring the unsewn raw edge to the edge of the seam allowance (remember this is 1/4") at the bodice and to the small 1/4" (6mm) folded bit that you pinned in the previous step.
See how all of the raw edges will find themselves safely tucked inside the finished strap?
A closeup of the above step
- Fold wide part over narrow part to hide the (original strap-to-bodice) stitch, pin and topstitch with right side of tank facing up
Folded and pinned
Seam allowance and narrow folded part are now tucked inside the strap
Topstitched. I used a twin stretch needle.
Pinning and adjusting the straps is pretty self explanatory, so I'll skip going through those steps. And there you go, the tricky part is done! I hope my photos and step-by-step helps you out!!
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TA-Da!
I remain in awe of your swimwear sewing skills! You give me the inspiration necessary to hopefully give it a go this summer. :)
ReplyDeleteThat was weirdly worded. Haha. You know what I mean! :)
DeleteThanks for your helpful photos on the strap construction! I'm just making the suit today.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad it helped!
DeleteThank you, Thank you, Thank you!!!! I just got done making this top tonight for my DD and I couldn't figure those instructions/pics out!!! I winged it but now I see your way to do it and it totally makes sense now. LOL. I am printing this out and keeping it for next time with my pattern. You rock!
ReplyDeleteThanks Kristin, I'm so glad it helped you out. :)
DeleteThank you so much for the great tutorial....you have really cleared explained it well!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much; your pictures were so helpful for me! I used a shortcut and used glue stick instead of pins and it worked like a charm! Happy swimming!
ReplyDeleteMeigan, you're a genius! I've never seen such a construction, and could not figure it out from the Jalie instructions. But I'm wondering if anyone else has this problem: with the second edge (shown in photos three and four) not being caught in the final stitching the inside of my strap is bunching up. It's kind of a lumpy mess! Any ideas on how to remedy this? I realize that this comment probably won't be seen more than two years later!
ReplyDeleteThat is weird. I'd use more pins and if necessary hand baste everything before you do the final stitching.
DeleteThanks so much for replying Meigan! I must be missing something very obvious, but to me it looks like the two raw edges just meet -- no overlapping. So when the wide part is folded over and stitched (cover stitched in my case), the edge of that wider part will miss getting caught in the stitching. I did pin like crazy, so I don't think that was the problem. It's just my misunderstanding of what exactly gets pinned or basted before it gets stitched. I plan to use this pattern for my granddaughter also so I will have to keep working on it. BTW, I love your suits and they are so flattering on you!
DeleteCan't find markings on the strap pattern piece to match neckline and side seams. Help!!!
ReplyDeleteThe markings should be little lines on the strap pattern piece. If you can't find them, fold your strap in half to find the midpoint. Mark the midpoint of the back and pin those 2 points together -strap to the back. Then pin along the bodice working toward the front.
ReplyDelete