Sew an All-In-One Facing (5942 Views)

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  Step 1 of 11

  Many sleeveless dresses and tops with facings present sewers with an interesting problem. It can seem almost impossible to cleanly finish both the armholes and the necklines while sewing the shoulders in place as well. It is especially tough to do this if you want to finish something without any hand-sewing. Which is why I have decided to share with you all a way to sew an all-in-one facing, and have illustrated with my version of the Azalea dress. The Azalea dress presents an even more interesting problem, with its side zip as opposed to a center back zip. To begin, notice that I have sewn the body and bodice of the dress together and sewn the facing pieces at the right side seam (Right when worn. The left side of both the dress and the facing are left open to later insert the invisible zipper.

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  Step 2 of 11

  Sew the facing side seam. Press flat.

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  Step 3 of 11

  Place facing onto bodice and pin edges together, making sure seams and notches match up. Sew along these seams, but leave 2" open at the top of the side, neckline, and armhole openings (Sew as shown in the pink line.)

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  Step 4 of 11

  Trim and clip the edges to but not through the stitches you have just sewn to reduce bulk.

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  Step 5 of 11

  Understitch the facing to the bodice, catching the seam allowances underneath. This will help keep the facing down when the garment is complete. This is much like the ditch stitch. Fold the garment so right sides are on top of each other, but the facings are still turned out. Turn the front shoulders right side out. Pull the right front shoulder through the right back shoulder as shown above, with right sides touching, without twisting or rotating the straps.

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  Step 6 of 11

  Pull through as much as possible, turning the front strap inside out as you pull it through. Sew the shoulder seams.

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  Step 7 of 11

  After sewing the shoulder seam, it should look like this.

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  Step 8 of 11

  Sew the rest of the seams that you had earlier left open. This is easier if you pull the front strap all the way through the back strap, until to the point where the stitches end. Also, be careful not to catch any of bulk from the part of the strap that is not pulled through.

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  Step 9 of 11

  Trim and clip the excess.

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  Step 10 of 11

  Press flat. Repeat for other strap.

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  Step 11 of 11

  When you are done, you can continue with sewing in the zipper and then attaching the facing to either the lining or closing it onto the bodice. Voila!- clean, finished armholes and necklines, with NO HAND SEWING!