tutorial: blindstitch and catchstitch

We have posted a new tutorial on blindstitch and catchstitch to the tutorial section of the blog.

tutorial: hem facing

The hem facing has become a sort of signature feature of many Oliver + S patterns.

It all started with our very first pattern, the Tea Party sundress. I strongly prefer neat, simple solutions to design problems and was dreading the hem on the flared skirt of the sundress; in order to finish it using conventional sewing methods, the excess fabric from the flared skirt would need to be eased into the narrower part of the skirt when the hem was folded up to finish it. Generally, this results (for me, anyway) in much gritting of teeth and, very commonly, a crummy-looking hem, both on the outside and inside of the garment. It seemed much simpler and cleaner to create a separate pattern piece for the hem.



And it worked so well, now we use it on many of our other patterns, too!

Visit our hem facing tutorial for a little demonstration of the hem to show you how it is sewn.