Facings can get a really bad rap in sewing, and I think that’s largely due to a few crucial finishing steps being left out. When done well, a facing can be a really beautiful function finish for a blouse or dress.
Today I’ll be showing you how to finish the neckline of my Dove blouse with the included facing pattern pieces, but these instructions work equally well for all garment facings.
Firstly you’ll need to cut out your facings and attach lightweight fusible interfacing to the wrong side of the Front Neckline Facing and the wrong side of the Back Neckline Facing.
But here’s a hot tip! Instead of cutting out the interfacing before attaching it to the fabric, try block fusing with this tutorial. It will save you a lot of time and fuss and help you be more accurate
Place the Front Neckline Facing and Back Neckline Facing right sides together so that the shoulder seams line up.
Sew along the shoulder seams 5/8” (1.5cm) from the raw edge. Press the seams open.
Finish the raw edges of the facing by your preferred method. At this point, I think it’s worth mentioning that I’m showing you a very standard method of finishing the raw edges of a neckline facing. In a few days I’ll share some different ways that you can finish the raw edges of a neckline facing that are different from the above instructions, so keep that in mind if you’d like to wait and see the other methods.
Can you see the light pencil marks on my facing above? As I showed you in my tips for sewing a perfect V neckline, it’s quite helpful to draw in the seam line on the v-neck, ¼” (0.6cm) from the raw edge, before attaching to the neckline, as this will make it easier when sewing the neckline.
Turn the blouse right way round, so that the right side of the fabric is facing outwards. Place the facing over the neckline with right sides facing each other. Attach the facing to the neckline by sewing ¼” (0.6cm) from the raw edge around the neckline, pivoting at the v neckline.
Clip into the v neck, being careful not to cut through the stitches, and clip along the back neckline edge being careful not to cut through the stitches.
Press the facing and seams away from the neckline.
Understitch along the edge of the neckline facing to prevent the facing from showing on the right side of the blouse.
Turn the facing towards the inside of the blouse. Press the neckline well ensuring that none of the facing is showing along the neckline edge.
Hand tack the facing to the shoulder seams and the centre front seam. This will help prevent the facing from flipping to the right side of the garment during wear. Or for a more casual look (as I did above) try topstitching the facing in place on the right side of the garment.
Stay tuned because next up I’ll be showing you three ways to finish the internal edges of your facings beautifully. You’ll want to sew facings on everything!
LOOKING FOR MORE DOVE POSTS?
Here’s the complete list of Dove Tutorials:
- How to sew French darts
- 4 ways to sew beautiful centre front seams
- How to sew Neckline facings (this post!)
- 3 ways to sew finish the raw edges of a facing
- How to sew flared cuffs
- How to set sleeves
- How to hem flared sleeves
- How to sew a hemline facing
DON’T HAVE THE PATTERN YET?
