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Member since 2/6/17
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Posted on: 5/1/17 3:42 PM ET
I'm taking Suzy Furrer's Patternmaking Basics: The Bodice Sloper class. It's a really wonderful class so far, my first at Craftsy, and I am currently constructing all of the pattern pieces and then attempting my first fitting.

My question has to do with the princess seams. I've been reading up on how to construct princess seams correctly, and all about stay-stitching near the seam line. Can I baste these instead?
And further, is basting or stay-stitching a better method here?

My main concern is that I want to learn as many couture and hand stitching techniques as possible, and not rely on "fast" sewing techniques. I certainly don't want to waste time, but I want to focus on the quality of my sewing above everything else.

I should say, too, that my ultimate goal here (besides knowing how to and having a working bodice block & sloper!) is to customize a dress form. I want to cover the form in my a moulage of my body shape and pad with cotton.

Thanks!
  
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Posted on: 5/1/17 3:55 PM ET
In reply to doitstellar
The two serve different purposes.

Stay stitching is meant to be permanent. It is sewn just inside the stitching line, at normal length, to stabilize. E.g. on necklines.

Basting is temporary stitching, sewn at a long stitch length (or by hand -- I almost always baste by hand), and is generally removed.

edited to add: I don't personally stay-stitch princess seams; but I have found they are easier to sew well at 1/2" or smaller vs 5/8" which is standard with many patterns.
-- Edited on 5/1/17 at 3:56 PM --
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Member since 2/6/17
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Posted on: 5/1/17 4:02 PM ET
In reply to KSmithSews
I was initially reading that they serve two different purposes as well, and then found other forums and threads where people remove their stay-stitching before the garment is fully constructed. Then I started wondering about the actual differences between the two stitches and if they could be used interchangeably.
  
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Posted on: 5/1/17 4:36 PM ET
They are different: stay-stitching a way to stabilize an edge so it doesn't warp or stretch out while handling or sewing. Basting is a temporary stitch/tack to hold pieces of fabric together. You could very well be stretching a bias edge by basting if you don't stay stitch.

I neither stay-stitch nor baste princess seams, but I also have a smaller cup size.
  
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Posted on: 5/1/17 6:14 PM ET
Okay, I should be stay-stitching. I watched a few videos and saw a the differences up close. You guys are right about the basting being too wide and loose. I don't want to run the risk of not stay-stitching and end up with my pieces off grain or warped.

Thanks!!
  
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Posted on: 5/1/17 8:08 PM ET
In reply to doitstellar
I'm also going to suggest you want to watch Margaret Islander's video for an extension service conference here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zyTaEfo-J0

What she's teaching here (and Janet Pray, her niece and current owner of the company also teaches on Craftsy, I believe) are industrial sewing techniques modified for home sewing equipment. Watch how she handles fabric as it feeds to produce specific results, and how she uses her knowledge of how sewing machines feed fabrics to produce specific results like crimping for a rounded corner or for sleeve caps or princess seams.

Hand sewing is not always quality sewing. Learning how to use your tools frees you from a lot of time wasted by things that add little or no value to your sewing. I so wish I'd been taught these methods when I was learning, as it probably would have saved me hundreds to thousands of hours in sewing time over the years.

  
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Posted on: 5/1/17 8:09 PM ET
Also stay-stitching is inside the garment and you will not see it. Stay-stitching is usually used to prevent facings from creeping to the outside. Facings around neckline are often stay-stitched. I am not sure what would be the purpose of stay-stitching the princess seams. Could it be that instructions were referring to top-stitching? Top-stitching will make princess seams flatter because it will hold SA put, but it will also make the seams more visible and prominent, which is not always a great thing for princess seams.
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Posted on: 5/1/17 9:25 PM ET
In reply to Nata
Nata, I think you may be using "stay stitching" for what I know as "understitching" when you talk about using it to keep a facing from flipping out of a neckline: http://www.sewing.org/files/guidelines/12_211_understitching.pdf
  
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Posted on: 5/2/17 3:05 PM ET
In reply to kayl
Wow, this was a great video! The way she explains how the machine works the fabric is so helpful! There are just so many nuances to learn, how to hold the fabric, pin it, feed it into the sewing machine.
I've saved this for future use, but I'll have to search out more videos by Margaret Islander, too.
  
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Posted on: 5/2/17 7:58 PM ET
In reply to kayl
You are right, I confused the two. Stay-stitching is the line of stitching along curved/bias edges to prevent them from stretching while being handled. I don't stay-stitch princess seams. Actually, I hardly ever stay-stitch anything. I just try to handle the seams gently. It usually work for me.

Does anybody else find stay-stitching crucial?
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