Tshirt Neckline sew-along

[dehart]

the Allison way. Got to give credit where credit is due. :)

Here's my tshirt ready to have the neckline bound. It's hard to see on the blue, but I have marked the quarter points of the neckline. I bind the neckline after the shirt is entirely constructed but before I hem; not that it really matters, but I thought I'd mention that so everyone knows what they're looking at.
http://www.jaymelee.com/albums/neckline/necklinea.jpg


Here's the binding strip. It's 1½" by about 70% of the tshirt neckline measurement. This is a stretchy rib knit, the ratio of neckline to binding strip will vary depending upon how stretchy your fabric is. Less stretchy = higher percentage and vice versa (just to prove that I paid attention in high school physics, they're inversely proportionate ;) ). I have sewn the binding strip into a circle and finger-pressed the seam allowances open (you could serge the strip, but I like to do it this way so bulk is reduced). Mark the quarter points.
http://www.jaymelee.com/albums/neckline/necklineb.jpg


Starting at the middle of the back, sew/serge the strip to the neckline.
http://www.jaymelee.com/albums/neckline/necklinec.jpg


Stretch the strip (but not the neckline) to line up the quarter point marks. I turn the shoulder seam allowances to the back of the shirt. I do the same thing when serging the sleeves on as well so that seam allowance will lay flat and to the back of the shirt. When you get back around to the starting/ending point overlap a few stitches.
http://www.jaymelee.com/albums/neckline/necklined.jpg


Fold the binding strip around to the inside of the shirt.
http://www.jaymelee.com/albums/neckline/necklinee.jpg


Inside view.
http://www.jaymelee.com/albums/neckline/necklinef.jpg


Coverstitch or twin needle the strip into place. I start slightly behind the right shoulder seam. If you use a twin needle, especially with a stretchy fabric you'll probably need to do as many of the following as possible with your machine ~ adjust your presser foot pressure, increase the differential feed, use a walking foot, starch or otherwise stabilize the area before sewing.
http://www.jaymelee.com/albums/neckline/necklineg.jpg


Continue around the neckline, folding and adjusting the strip into place as you go.
http://www.jaymelee.com/albums/neckline/necklineh.jpg


I overlap the coverstitching slightly.
http://www.jaymelee.com/albums/neckline/necklinei.jpg


Here's a better view off the machine.
http://www.jaymelee.com/albums/neckline/necklinej.jpg


Then I take the shirt to the sewing machine and sew back and forth over the overlapped stitches to prevent the coverstitching from unraveling.
http://www.jaymelee.com/albums/neckline/necklinek.jpg


Trim the excess binding strip on the inside of the neckline as well as any stray threads and...
http://www.jaymelee.com/albums/neckline/necklinel.jpg


... you're done!
http://www.jaymelee.com/albums/neckline/necklinem.jpg

[faithhopelove]

great pics and instructions :)

have you tried doing just 1in strips so you don't have to trim? I was scared to, but did it the last time and it worked out perfectly. I always get so nervous when trimming... scared I will cut into my shirt, came close a couple of times lol

[akmeg]

That's an awesome sew-along! Thank you so much, it was needed!

[Yma]

Wow! That was awsome! Thank you, that made everything really clear. Now I really REALLY want a coverstitcher!

[arasmama]

great pics and instructions :)

have you tried doing just 1in strips so you don't have to trim? I was scared to, but did it the last time and it worked out perfectly. I always get so nervous when trimming... scared I will cut into my shirt, came close a couple of times lol

The problem with this is it takes a little more than 1" at the shoulders and the seam where you sewed them together, mostly where you sewing them together. Although, if you straight stitched instead of serging you might be okay.

I sometimes don't fold the 1.5" over snuggly. I fold it so the edge of the ribbing just covers the serging on the inside, it give you a wider binding and then you don't trim either. That is how I did the recess cross shirt in my gallery.

And I never mark it in quarters. Way too much work :)

[faithhopelove]

Thanks Allison, that is so true about the shoulder seams. I really need to start doing it this way again. I was having major troubles when it came back to the beginning of the circle again... but, I didn't serge on first. AND, it was when I first got my coverhemmer and my tensions were off and kept skipping over seams.

Also, I never quite knew how big to make my circle... lol. So I just did the long strip before sewing up the 2nd shoulder. It's too bulky that way though.

[bluerosemama]

This should be saved for sure! I love this... thank you so much! It makes it so much easier to know what to do before hand. Thanks!

Val

[heather4285]

i didn't know there were so many ways to attach the neck to a tshirt! i have not tried that way. i usually just cut out the strip about two inches, fold it in half and serge it on. then i use my machine to stitch it down-just below where the binding meets the shirt. i saw that somewhere and it works pretty good. i like the look of this one, although i don't have a coverstitcher. i do have a few twin needles i could try it with. just talking to myself LOL
thanks so much for adding variety to my wardrobe LOL

[Pam]

Great pictures and directions! Thanks so much Jayme.

[PrettyMe]

Awesome!!

Thanks Jayme (& Allison :) )

[Sacha]

Very cool! And the double needle makes it look so nice... Now, how do you thread a double needle? I only have one spot for thread???

[missiesgot3]

Oh wow! thanks for that sew along. I was just getting ready to go out and sew up a t-shirt too. I wish I had a cover sticher. How can I convince my DH that I need a Cover Sticher and an Embroidery machine. Especially when he can't convince me we need a $3000 lap top :-?

[Cheryann]

Those are great pics.....you and Alison have convinced me to sew the necklines the *right* way. :D Thanks for posting this Jayme....you always do such awesome pictorials.

~Cheryl

[carolinerenee]

Thanks for doing this. I had always wondered how to make this kind of neckline!

[Jillbert5]

Thank you for posting this!!! I've been scared to try bound necklines but you explained it so clearly that now I'm itching to try it out!

[StacyT]

Thanks!! That is awesome.... :D

[Maribel]

thank you! I love lots of pics in sew alongs...I need the visuale aids badly!

[Bobolots]

I love this - it makes the shirt look so professional. Thanks so much. I'm bookmarking for when I get a coverstitch.

[Mommatothebear]

AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME! I have a few shirts for me that i havent bound yet.. Once I get my machones set back up (I'm moving my sewing room.) i'm doing this!

[jamiea]

Awesome. Thank you!

[fournavybrats]

i did this for the first time a couple weeks ago and love it .... i was to afraid to try it before ... no clue why now

[FloridaJewel3]

awsome thank you~!!!!!!

[Samantha]

That's great. I wish it were as easy to bind the necklines on wovens. I just did that and you have to handsew it down - not fun.

[onecraftymama]

Very nice instructions. The pictures make everything so clear. Thank you. theclap

[mamato7]

very nice.. that's how I used to do it too until I got my binders.. now it's a onestep operation :) But when I get lazy and don't want to mess with the binder..I revert back to this method ~it's virtually fool proof ! The binders,on the otherhand, take some getting used to.

[just peachy]

Coverstitch or twin needle the strip into place. I start slightly behind the right shoulder seam. If you use a twin needle, especially with a stretchy fabric you'll probably need to do as many of the following as possible with your machine ~ adjust your presser foot pressure, increase the differential feed, use a walking foot, starch or otherwise stabilize the area before sewing.

Can you elaborate just a bit on this part...please.

[cinnamama]

You are awesome! Thanks!

[Kathya]

Nice job. it is pretty easy the way u sew it. it actually motivates me to want to sew on knit. Thanks

[needtosewagain]

Bumping :)

This is a great tutorial, Thanks!

[rjalmom]

I've got a shirt in the works for DS. I'll have to just use the double needle because I don't have a cover stitcher. I'll have to try this when I bind the shirt.
Thanks Jayme (from the other Jayme, lol) and Allison

[tuffykenwell]

Thanks for that!

Steph

[MaryLillian]

I definitely need pics to walk me through this. Thanks for a great tutorial!

[Underwhelmed]

Oh my gosh, I've just had a "Duh!" moment. This looks way easier than the way I've been doing it. Can't wait to try it out...

[beaner18]

this looks great! i'm new to sewing, so don't know all the jargon, but I'm wondering if this can be done with just a regular sewing machine and a twin needle...what is a cover stitch??

[DaffyV]

exelent tutorial. you just took the scary out of necklines for me. thanks

[jcburningham]

thank you!

[charvey]

Your tuutorial helped me out so much on this shirt i had to make thanks

[davechan2003]

that's excellent. Something I've always wanted to know. And now I def need that cover stitch machine!!

[Frank]

Wow, that doesn't look nearly as hard as I thought it was! Maybe sewing knits isn't as far off in my future as I had imagined?!

[Mamaof3]

Thank you- it takes the guess work out of the measuring- as I've been doing forever, lol.

[Yuliana]

Wow what a great tute. One question from a beginner sewer haha. Can I use my regular sewing machine for this? Do I really need a cover stitcher or double needles?

I am planning on doing tshirts for my boys this weekend.

[barbles]

Oh wow! This is exactly the tutorial I needed! Thank you for posting it!

[christine_sews]

Wow. That's a great pictorial. Thanks.

[DUMPDUCK3]

Yep ...great tutorial

[mtandg]

oh man such a great tutorial...

[mtandg]

oh man such a great tutorial...bah funny did not see it was from so long ago well still it is a great tutorial...

[Erin22]

Sweet tutorial--thank you for sharing! This was just the technique I wanted to try on the tee I'm sewing right now :) and you've made it very clear!

[ialady44]

The pics are all gone. ?? ?!!!

[sewingmel]

The pics are all gone. ?? ?!!!

It is in the free patterns section under techniques. Anytime the pictures are gone, check the free patterns section. If it is listed in downloads, that allows the generous pattern donor to delete the pictures from her hosting site.

[lentylka1]

I can't see it in free patterns section:(

[sewingmel]

http://www.sewingmamas.com/b/downloads.php?do=fil e&id=63

[lentylka1]

Thank you:)