A quick little post about stay tape.

I'm putting a brief little tutorial together to help a fellow Historical Sew Fortnightly dressmaker who is fitting an 1870 bodice pattern. 

Ok so we are going to address the gap that often happens here between the bust and shoulder of a collar. 

You want to crowd or ease a piece of stay tape inside the seam allowance to make the fabric slightly curve or cling to the body.

The stay tape will be slightly shorter than the seam. You can actually lay the tape very snug to the body from point to point. I'm simply cutting it about 1/2 inch shorter to demonstrate.

 

Note when you pin the end of the tape to the end of the fabric seam there is more fabric than tape- this is just what your going for. 

Pin it to death. I use a term from electronic repair called half-splitting I pin the ends, then the middle, then split each side in half and pin and so on and so on. You want there to be no pleats or wrinkles on the center tape stitch line. 

Stitch it! See how it sorta pulls that fabric in? Since this is stay tape it's not going to give or stretch- taming the gap. 

Typically you will be facing this edge. Again this is just a quick tutorial to get the idea across. Fold back your edge (facing) and press- don't iron! We are not ironing sheets- rubbing your iron back and forth across your fabric distorts it. Press, lift, press, lift, and so on. The more delicate your fabric the more crucial that is. 

See? Those wrinkles are not seen on the neck line and it is subtle but this seam now pulls into the body. 

Goodbye gap. 

I hope this has helped, I apologize for the slightly wonky photos I will correct that when my home internet tech (grumble grumble) fixes an issue. I'm leap frogging from my phone at the moment. 

Did you have the chance to play with stay tape today? 

Until next time.