We're delighted by all the photos of your Zinnia skirts that have already started flooding our inbox. They all look great and you're certainly not making an easy task of choosing a winner!
This week, in Part 8 of our Zinnia Sewalong, we'll be showing you how to attach the waistband for Version 1, the gathered skirt. And at the start of next week, we'll do the same for Version 2. Nearly there folks!
Okay, Version 1 waistband here we go.
STEP 1 - The first step is a bit of preparation work: Take your gathered skirt and, with the right side facing up, stitch a straight stitch all the way along the 5/8" seam line. That's along the middle of the three gathering stitches.
This will hold your gathers in place whilst you attach them to your waistband.
STEP 1
STEP 2 - Now take your waistband and fold it in half lengthwise, right sides facing. Press.
STEP 2
STEP 3 - Stitch at either end at 5/8".
STEP 3
STEP 4 - Notch the waist band at each corner. Make sure you don't cut into your stitching. You probably want to keep the notch away from the stitching by around 1/8".
STEP 4
STEP 5 - Press open. Your fabric should come to a point at the top as shown.
STEP 5
STEP 6 - Now it's time to pin your waistband to your gathered skirt. The important thing here is to line the two small dots up with your side seams. Our dots are blue; we've made the image below a bit bigger so you can see them.
Once you've lined up the dots with the side seams, pin at these two points to secure the waist band in the correct position.
STEP 6
STEP 7 - Once you've secured it in position, continue to pin the waistband along the whole length at approximately 1" intervals. When you get to the end, your seam should align with the edge of your button placket.
STEP 7
STEP 8 - With your gathering facing upwards, baste your waistband onto your skirt along the 5/8" line. You can see from the image that I'm just following the blue stitching I made at the start.
STEP 8
STEP 9 - Now, before proceeding to stitch anything permanently, you'll want to make sure that all your gathers are distributed nice and evenly.
Once you're happy, turn the skirt over and open the waistband out. You'll see the underside of the basting stitch. Sew along this stitch to secure your waistband in place permanently.
STEP 9
STEP 10 - Fold and press the remaining raw edge of your waistband, wrong side to wrong side, at 5/8".
STEP 10
STEP 11 - Turn your waistband right side out, using a point turner to ensure the corners are turned through.
Tuck the gathered seam allowance into your waistband, along with the top of the button placket. The edge of the placket should sit nicely on the inside edge of your waistband.
STEP 11
STEP 12 - Pin your waistband to the gathers so that the edge of your fold sits exactly on the 5/8" stitch line (the blue stitch in my image below). Then press your waistband, being careful not to press the gathers.
STEP 12
STEP 13 - Hand tack or machine baste your waistband in place at around 1/8" from the folded edge. I went for the hand tack method because I did this on an airplane in the middle of the Atlantic!
Once you're satisfied that everything's looking good, slipstitch along the fold. And finally…remove all your basting stitches that are visible from the right side of your garment. Then, go make a cup tea for a job well done!
STEP 13