Don McCunn's Blog

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Hi,
More on this outfit later. But for now I am posting a quick message to answer a question on the Yahoo Group Sewing Dance Costumes.

This is an outfit made from Lycra Velvet. It has a subtle butterfly pattern in it, hence the name. I chose to cut the fabric so that the fibers of the velvet point upwards. This tends to make the garment look darker in photos. If the fibers were pointing down, the pattern would probably be more obvious in photos but the garment would not be as rich in real life.

The description of how this garment is sewn is in response to a question that has occurred as to what is the best way to sew trim and straps for swimsuits and this type of garment. I experimented with several techniques for making athletic bras and this is my ultimate solution. One problem I encountered is that some commercial garments I examined combined the straps with the arm opening. When I tried this, the arm openings gaped open. I found combining the straps into the necklines as shown here to be a more effective solution.

1. Cut arm and neck openings with no seam allowances. This will be the finished edge after the trim is applied.
2. Cut trim from fashion fabric 1-1/2″ (cm) wide by slightly longer than the arm opening.
3. Pin the trim to the arm opening along the edge of the arm opening, good sides together.
4. Sew with a 1mm zigzag using a 1/4″ (6mm) seam allowance.
5. Turn the trim to the inside of the garment and baste in place to create a 1/4″ (6mm) trim as seen from the right side. The photo above shows this step from the inside of the garment.
6. From the good side, stitch in the ditch, then trim the excess seam allowance of the trim.

7. Cut a strip 1-1/2″ (cm) wide by the length of the combined neck openings and shoulder straps plus 1″ (cm) for seam allowances.
8. Cut 1/4″ elastic the same length as the fabric for Step 7.
9. Form a loop of the elastic overlaping the ends by 1″, then zigzag.
10. Form a loop of the fashion fabric from Step 7, good sides together, then sew with a 1/2″ (cm) seam allowance.
11. Zigzag the elastic to the edge of the wrong side edge of the fashion fabric loop.
12. Pin the fashion fabric loop to the body of the garment, right sides together, matching center front, center back, and other sewing notches, see photo above.

13. Sew the loop to the neckline edges using a 1mm zigzag stitch as shown in the photo above.

14. Turn the fashion fabric for the neckline trim to the inside of the garment and hand baste in place as described in Step 5, see photo.
15. From the good side, stitch in the ditch around the necklines using a 1mm zigzag.
16. Zigzag around the strap and neckline trim. This is decorative top stitching of your choice. I recommend a wide zigzag or three step zigzag. In Lycra velvet such as this garment, the stitching is virtually invisible.
17. Trim the excess seam allowance from the strap/neckline trim fabric.