And now on to my favourite knit neckline finish. Binding! Now be warned – this is not your standard neckline binding, this is my method. I like it because it feels nice and sturdy/thick, all the raw edges are enclosed and there is no trimming off edges and things at the end – plus since the steps are similar to the collar band, some people find it less confusing.
If you prefer a traditional neckline, I’ll show you how to do that next week (we’ll be using the same pattern piece as you use for Megan Nielsen binding cover today).
We’ll start with the shoulder seams sewn and pressed again.
Fold your binding in half lengthways and sew 5/8″ from the raw edge. press.
Fold your binding in half widthways, so that seam is enclosed, and with right sides facing outwards. Press.
Make sure you have marked the notches on the neckline and notches on the binding piece. As with yesterday, the notches on the binding piece are halfway between the centre front and centre back (seam) of the binding piece.
Now pin the raw edge of the binding to the raw edge of the neckline, matching up the notches. Make sure that you pin the binding to the wrong side of the fabric (inside of top). This is important!
Now stretch the binding to fit the neckline, and sew 1/4″ from the raw edge all the way around. You’ll notice that you don’t need to stretch the binding piece as much as you needed to stretch the neckline band yesterday.
Press the binding upwards.
Now fold the binding over the neckline edge encasing it. And pin in place. Note we are not folding the seam edge over too – we are just encasing the edge in the binding.
Topstitch around the edge – and don’t forget to press the neckline really well – this will help set the binding and make it conform correctly to the curve. As you may see in the above picture, my binding looked a little weird before pressing – but now it’s perfect!
Now you’re done, and you have a nice sturdy neckline!
LOOKING FOR MORE BRIAR POSTS?
- How to sew the curved patch pocket
- How to sew the square patch pocket
- How to sew a neckline band
- How to sew a neckline binding (the Megan Nielsen way)
- How to sew a neckline binding (the traditional/standard way)
- The easiest knit neckline around
- Inserting the sleeves & sewing up the side seams
- Hemming
- Variation: How to draft elbow length sleeves
- Variation: A Valentine Briar sweater
- Variation: Centre front seam
- Variation: Side pocket Briar (by MadMim)
- Variation: The easy way to go sleeveless
- Variation: Leather elbow patches
- Variation: The dress
- Variation: Leather shoulder patches
Don’t forget to tag your creations with #MNbriar and @megannielsenpatterns when sharing on social media, and check out what everyone else is up to!
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