As much as I love a frill (and they don’t come much frillier than Celia!) sometimes I just want something a bit more simpler. Take a closer look at the Celia Sewing Pattern here.
Just taking off the frill is a bit too simple though. Giving the hem a mitred corner gives a neat and clean finish to corners, and look great if they are top-stitched as well. Here is how it’s done.
- Draw on the original hem line
- Add an extra 5cm on from the hem line
- Draw on the side seam allowance
- Add an extra 5cm onto the side from the seam line
- Mark the split to end about 8cm or 3” from the finished hemline
I wanted to sew the hem by top stitching 4cm away from the finished edge to give a border to the hem and split, I thought it would look quite neat to have the split sewn with a gable (or point) above it. So I drew on the top-stitching line and created a gable over the split so the point of the gable was 4cm above the end of the split. I could then trim off the excess paper to give me the shape I needed.
Follow this tutorial on How to Sew Mitred Corners. Then, once the corners are completed, give yourself some guidelines for the top-stitching.
The hem and splits once sewn need a really good press – use a pressing cloth and plenty of steam if you need to.
This is a very straightforward pattern hack to achieve and I hope it shows how easy it is to adapt a pretty simple sewing pattern to include a few interesting details.
If you haven’t yet got your Celia Top sewing pattern then you can purchase yours here.
Happy Sewing!
Oh I like that. Very nice. I’m going to make Celia in stable knit and that’s a lovely finish. I find the neckline a bit too wide for me. Is there a simple way to do that adjustment?
Hi Evelyn, add on at the side neck point on both your front and back panel pieces and facing pieces, that will bring the neckline in reshaping your front neck drop as you go. If you need any further assistance drop us an email at hellosewmesomething.co.uk and we’ll be happy to help 🙂