How to Sew a "Better" Elasticated Casing !

 

The blouse shown above in soft cotton batik is one that I made a few years ago from this now "vintage"  HotPatterns.com design that I tweaked a little bit to have a closer fit.  This exact HP style (shown below) has been re-designed and is now offered as the  HP1169 Classix Nouveau Refined Peasant Blouse...and can be seen here on the HotPatterns website.

Another great peasant-style top is this one from Carla Crim, "The Scientific Seamstress" 
 The basic differences between the 2 patterns is that the HotPatterns style has a lovely "couture-like" flowing silhouette, with sophisticated details.  The Meghan Peasant Pattern from "The Scientific Seamstress"   has a silhouette that is both relaxed yet fitted, with pretty sleeve style options, neckline options, and top-tunic-dress length options.  I've made them both, and I like the Hotpatterns style for soft flowing fabrics, and I like the Meghan for fabrics like lightweight cotton and soft washed linen.

OK..we know Elastic is on sale, we've got patterns to choose from...Now about those Elasticated Casings...

Making a casing for elastic is certainly one of our easier sewing tasks. Turn, stitch, insert elastic...done!  Sewn this conventional way, we end up with a perfectly acceptable casing that looks something like the photo below, after the elastic is inserted.  Fine...yet a little "bubbly and wobbly"...but something we have come to accept with elasticated casings.   
   (OK..a word here about "elasticated".  I am old enough to remember when *everyone* just said "elastic casing", then one day I started to hear elasticated this/elasticated that...so...today I choose to use the word, elasticated every so often...with a few plain "elastic casings" thrown in ;)  But yes, this is indeed just our old friend "the elastic casing" fancied up a bit)

By taking one additional construction step, you can achieve a "designer" look to an elastic casing garment. A very simple step that will result in a flat, even-edge casing every time, like the one in the finished garment shown....here is a close-up photo--  

 

So what's that extra construction step?  Edge-stitching!

After the casing is folded to the wrong side of the garment and stitched along the BOTTOM edge (leaving an opening to later insert the elastic, of course)....All that we need to do next to lend that "designer touch" is to edge-stitch the TOP fold of the casing...all the way around, as shown below--

By taking this one easy extra step, our elasticated casings lose the bubbles, 

and gain some designer panache!

Quick note from Pam....

Thank-you very much for shopping at my store and thank-you for continuing to follow my blog.  I have not blogged for a long time because of illness.  I am dealing with it in every positive way I possibly can, and I look forward to being able to teach you more "tricks of the shirt-making trade" as soon as possible.  Thanks again for continuing to follow me here and on Facebook. I appreciate it more than you know...and and I will be back...I promise  :)