View B Sash, Seams, and Hem

Who’s ready for all things Axel, View B?! I’m talking the sash, the seams, and the hem – all will be covered in today’s post. Everything except the waistband, which we will cover in a later post. This is my personal favorite version of Axel, with the cute little sash, and I can’t wait to walk you through it. So let’s go!

Sashes

You should have cut two sash pieces.

Take one sash piece, and fold it in half width ways, with right sides together.

Sew 1/4″ (6mm) from the raw edge along the long end and one short end, leaving the other short end open. (5/8″ (1.5cm) seam allowance i f you are using the older version with letter sizes).

Clip the corners.

Turn the sash the right away around through the open short end.

Reshape and press well.

Repeat for the other sash and set both aside for now.

Seams

Now lets get the skirt pieces. The Axel skirt is reversible, so front and back pattern pieces are identical. You will have 4 skirt panels in total.

Place two skirt pieces together with right sides together. Sew the center seam 1/4″ (6mm) from the raw edge (5/8″ (1.5cm) if you are using the older version with letter sizes), using either a zig zag stitch or overlock/serger.

Repeat for the other two skirt pieces. Press the seams.

There are now two skirt pieces. Open up each.

On one side, make sure you have transferred the markings from the pattern piece onto the right side of the fabric of the skirt.

P.S – you may notice from here, in some photos, that one side of my skirt doesn’t have a center seam. This is a hack I’ll be sharing later in the sewalong!

Take one sash piece, and place the open raw edge of the sash so that it lines up with the raw edge of the skirt side seam. Match up the top of the sash piece with the notch on the skirt. This should be down on the right side of the fabric of the skirt.

Pin in place.

Repeat with the other sash on the other side of the skirt.

Now place the other skirt piece down over top, so the right sides of the fabric are together. Line up the side seams.

Sew the side seams 1/4″ (6mm) from the raw edge (5/8″ (1.5cm) if you are using the older version with letter sizes), using either a zig zag stitch or overlock/serger. Press.

Turn right side out, and this is where it is at!

Hem

The hem of Axel is very simple – just fold under the hem once by 1/2″ (1.3cm) and press before stitching.

But to make hemming easier, I would suggest using a fusible hem tape. It holds the hem in place while sewing and also provides stability to reduce waviness. There are a few different kinds out there – Stitch Witchery is one where you have to sandwich it in between the fabric fold before pressing to fuse. Or there is this one pictured here, that I use.

Place the tape along one edge and press with your iron…

Peel back the paper…

Then fold up again 1/2″ (1.3cm) and press again. This adheres the fabric in place!

Topstitch close to the edge using a zig- zag stitch or twin needle, around the entire hem.

That’s it! Just remember – if you use a twin needle, you need to sew from the right side of the fabric!