Learning About Sewing On The Bias

 September is Sewing On The Bias with Sewing With Cinnamon. My main sewing on the bias is making piping for daughter or following the layout on a doll's dress that calls for a piece or two cut on the bias. 

When Shari Fuller did lesson 1 I thought it wasn't going to be an exciting month. Just do a pattern or 2 on the bias. But no. She started to talk about the layout of the pattern pieces in lesson 2. Balance of the pieces when you lay them out. She designed a pattern for this project. It is a simple dress with cap sleeves. It really isn't about the dress, it is about the layout. 

I knew that to cut out pattern pieces on the bias you needed to cut them out in a single layer. What I didn't realize was the how and why of laying them out. She showed the pattern pieces cut out in this picture. 

She shows the two back pieces cut at 90 degrees to each other with one at the same angle as the front piece. She called it balancing the pieces. That got me thinking and researching as she stated that balancing it doesn't let the garment twist.

Bias has two directions. That is important to know. The Pattern Place shows it in this diagram. 

The author states that the garment’s bias grainlines must meet in opposite directions. This is to avoid twisting on the body and have a balanced result. 

More researching took me to Seamwork's web page. She explained balance in a similar way. If you cut both the pieces in the same direction, the piece has a tendency to twist around the body. Turning the pieces opposite direction tends to avoid the fabric twisting. With two authors saying the same thing, I totally understood the why. 

The grainlines need to meet in the opposite directions. Shari showed this in her post. 

I went searching for a simple shift dress I could make on the bias. I finally found one at Phoebe and Egg. I will be using the basic dress and making my own front and back facings for it. It doesn't need to be fancy when learning to sew on the bias. It needs to be a pattern I can learn the how and why techniques on. 

Next comes choosing the fabric. Threads Magazine talks about using a fabric with a tooth (grabs each other) rather than a slippery fabric when starting out. I will be looking in the doll's stash for a lighter weight cotton for my first try. I don't think I have the right weight of linen but will look and use it if I do. Both have a tooth which will be good for the first time. 

The two pattern pieces I need are printed out I once I find the right fabric, I will start to lay out the fabric and give it a try. 

Happy Doll Sewing..........................................................................