How are everyone’s Floreat dresses or tops coming along? Are you ready to add the neckline facing to your sleeved versions? If you’re making a sleeveless version, we will cover the facing for that one in a separate post!
If you’ve never done a facing before, it is just a method of finishing the raw edge of a woven neckline using a piece of fabric that is the same shape as the outer fabric. It’s super simple, and you’ll get through it in no time!
Let’s get to it…
Apply lightweight fusible interfacing to the wrong side of the front-facing and two back facing pieces.
Place the front-facing piece in front of you with right side facing up. Lay down the back-facing pieces with the right side facing down (right sides will be facing together). Line up the shorter ends together (the shoulder seams), and pin them in place.
Sew the two seams 5/8″ from the raw edge.
Press the seam open.
Finish the raw edge of the outer curve of the facing using your preferred method.
Have your garment in front of you with the right side of the fabric facing out.
If you are using a slit opening, flip out the seam allowance at the centre back.
If using a centre back zipper, unzip the zipper and flip out the zipper tape and seam allowance so that it is all flat.
Place the facing down on top of the garment with right sides together. Line up the neckline and centre back edges. Pin.
Sew in place 5/8″ from the raw edge.
Start along on side of the centre back, pivot and continue along the neckline, then pivot once more back down the centre back.
Trim the corners.
Either clip into the curve of the neckline every 1-2″ (up to, but not through, the stitches!)
OR…
…you could instead use pinking shears to trim back the seam allowance along the neckline. This will both trim and clip into the curve all at once to create a nice smooth curve!
Press the facing and the seam allowance up and away from the garment. Under stitch along the facing, close to the seam. This will prevent the facing from rolling to the outside of the blouse.
Note: you won’t be able to understitch around the entire facing, since the centre back seam is stitched. Just under stitch as much as you can.
Turn your facing to the inside and press well.
Secure the facing to the blouse by stitching it to each of the shoulder seams seam allowances. You can do this with hand stitching or by “stitch on the ditch” in the shoulder seam from the right side.
If you’re using a zipper – then you’re done with this step!
If you’ve made a slit opening back, you can now sew a hook and eye at the top of the slit opening.
LOOKING FOR MORE FLOREAT POSTS?
Here’s the full list of Floreat posts and tutorials:
- Pattern tester round-up
- Inspiration + Ideas
- Waist tie and separate belt
- Center back: zipper and slit options
- Pockets and seams (sleeved dress and blouse versions)
- Neckline facing (sleeved versions) (this post!)
- Sleeves
- Sleeveless version: facing and seams
- Hemming
- Bonus: Knit version
- Inspiration: Floreat as maternity
We absolutely love seeing what you make, so don’t forget to tag your creations with #MNfloreat and @megannielsenpatterns when sharing on social media, and check out what everyone else is up to!
DON’T HAVE THE PATTERN YET?
