Last year I started working on a wool knit dress, but then spring was comming and I was not in the mood anymore to sew a warm winter dress. Now I have started working on it again, and maybe it will be finished before the winter is gone.
When I hemmed the sleeves to the length I liked, I was left with only a small hem allowance. This hem allowances is far too small to attach a lining properly with a jump pleat. I remembered that Susan Khalje explained in her Craftsy class “The couture dress” what to do in such a case. And this is what I did:
- Catch stitch the sleeve hem allowance in place
2. Cut a bias strip from the lining fabric. The strip is approximately 3” wide and long enough to go around the sleeve with a little overlap. Turn one long side up and press.
3. Pin the strip to the sleeve hem with the folded edge towards the hem. The raw edge is enclosed.
4. Attach the strip with fellstitching
5. At the end overlap the strip folding the raw edges under
6. Secure the overlap with fell stitches
7. Attach the raw edge of the strip to the sleeve with catch stitches
8. Complete! Now there is enough room to install the sleeve lining properly
I hope this little tutorial is helpful for you. I think this technique can also be applied to the hem of a skirt or dress.