How to Sew an Armhole and Neckline Facing

[@colleenglea]

Hi. I'm quite used to making my own patterns and cutting freehand. I've done this since a very young age and designed my own lines of clothing whilst working as a fashion designer. I use commercial sewing patterns on my blog because I want to introduce people to the basics of fashion sewing and encourage them to learn. Fashion courses mainly teach you how to draft pattern blocks. I'd advise you experiment placing fabric onto a mannequin and cutting out armholes to learn shaping and fit.

[@colleenglea]

Always happy to help fellow fashion sewers.

[@spjcbjp]

Thank You so much for this video! I struggled all last weekend trying to figure out how to do this on a garment I'm making....and I was missing a step. I'm not sure I would have ever figured this out...new to sewing!

[@colleenglea]

I love the white peplum jacket! A fantastic collection - well done.

[@colleenglea]

Thank you. It's always my pleasure to teach and great to hear you find it useful.

[@colleenglea]

Thanks and good luck in all of your fashion sewing adventures.

[@colleenglea]

Thank you for the kind words. Always appreciated.

[@moniker12]

This is genius! And so clearly demonstrated. Yours are the best sewing tutorials on KZbin. Thank you, Colleen. I would be lost without you!

[@gdedmonds2001]

I have never understood the shoulder seam assembly (pattern directions, sewing books or the internet) until now and I sew well, I missed that and never knew how to do it. Your videos are very informative and well appreciated. Thank you for taking the time to share.

[@mars2000d]

Thank you so much! I read and re-read the pattern instructions and would not have figured it out without you!

[@Feeoryne]

You are a great instructor!!! I am so glad I've found you! I understand the way you teach!!!!

[@1tribble]

Oh my goodness you just solved all my problems! I love doing tops and dresses and I kept struggling with messy shoulder straps at the seam... the part about reaching through and grabbing the shoulder strap tops and pulling them inside out and sewing them and then turning it right side out again is the piece I was missing! Thanks so much... gotta go and makes some more tope!!!

[@lulusewingvlog]

Wow! I finally understood this method of lining. I was working on a summer dress with knit fabric and sew some blogs but I found still joining shoulder seams confusing. Your video made it really clear. Thanks!

[@Nkg2111]

OMG I love u, u are a genius I'm a fashion design student and I have a dress that has a cowl neck and no CB seam and I had no idea how I could line it with the problem being I could not bag it out but with ur technique with attaching the shoulder will work perfectly THANK YOU !!!!!!!!!!!! It has been bugging me for like 2 weeks trying to work out how to do it :D now I know YAY!!!!!

[@colleenglea]

Thank you and good luck with your studies.

[@lisahalmshaw1275]

I know I’m a bit late to the party but THANKYOU for this demo. I bought a simple New Look pattern for a shift top but this all in one facing has had me beat. I have sat through so many KZbin demos today but THIS is the only one that makes sense. So clear and concise. I’ve got this! Woohoo.

[@colleenglea]

You are so welcome Lisa! Thank you for the kind comment, sew happy you enjoyed my tutorial.

[@zhenry88]

Thank you for this awesome tutorial!!! I have been stuck on this part of dress trying to figure out the directions in the pattern and you made it plain. Thanks!

[@MelissaGemini]

Thank you so much. You are so clean and clear on the steps. You have been such a wonderful help.

[@27tish]

Oh My Lord, you wouldnt know how much i have wanted ot learn how this is done and for you to make it look so simple.Thanks alot. Just thought i'd let you know thgat any challenges i have with sewing i check your blog first and there are no other sites as helpful, easy to follow, thorow and wonderful as yours.I have been doing very well with the neck and armhole but when it came to closing the shoulder i would end up leaving the raw edges on the inside because i didnt know how to hide them. thaks

[@CaptainBix]

I love the way you stitched the shoulder seams together! Thanks!

[@latinamexicana]

thank you!!!! i was searching for this for a couple of months ..and the answer was so easy!!!..now to make more clean finish garments

[@colleenglea]

Thanks so much. Good luck at fashion school.

[@colleenglea]

My pleasure. Happy to help.

[@colleenglea]

Thank you. Just happy I could help.

[@BarbeeSpeaks]

Mind blown!!! Thank you SO MUCH! I HATE free sewing neckline and armholes. This looks amazing!

[@colleenglea]

Thank you.

[@colleenglea]

Happy to help as best I can.

[@colleenglea]

Wow! A truly wonderful comment. I'm so happy that you find my blog and tutorial video's so useful. Don't forget, any problems - just ask! As for those raw edges, make sure you're working on the WRONG side of the garment. That should then hide them within when pulled through to the right side.

[@colleenglea]

The solution you mention sounds about right.

[@deedeesteele1801]

Again, your tutorials are just the best. Thank you so much for them all. So many times I have had to refer back to your tutorials before I can finish a garment. Hugs.

[@colleenglea]

Thank you so much for your comment!

[@colleenglea]

Happy to help as always!

[@JustineAbbitt]

This is the best tutorial ever for one piece facings. I will link to you in my post.Thanks.

[@dyahdhan8422]

THANK YOU SOOO MUCH ! I spend 4hours just to do bias taping and then i yt u, there ! I found it ! Tqsm ! It saves some much time and fabric !

[@colleenglea]

No problem at all.

[@capnjan9835]

Thank you so much for your well done videos! Clear, concise and professional, both your technique and the video itself.

[@colleenglea]

Thank you for taking the time to leave a nice comment.

[@colleenglea]

Glad I can help a little. Thanks.

[@lynn8307]

Thank you, thank you for showing a tutorial on interfacing. I haven't sewn in a very long time and my mom was always close by to help. Your tutorials are nice to watch and very helpful. I feel much more confident in trying this myself. thank you

[@colleenglea]

Thanks Lynn for taking the time to leave a comment.

[@barbaralies]

Wow, what a great help. I just sewed a dress where the directions told me to do this through the armholes and some other bizarre stuff. With the next dress, I used YOUR method and it works GREAT!!!! I just finished top-stitching the neckline and may not need to top-stitch the arms.

[@colleenglea]

Happy to help. Thanks for your comment

[@dawndurbin8076]

Hello, I just want to tell you how much I appreciate you and the help you have given me. I look for your instructions on you tube when ever I need help with my sewing. Thank you

[@colleenglea]

Thank you so much Dawn for your very kind comment.

[@kerryamp582]

Thank you for loading this vid - nice and easy to understand & a very good technique to know !!

[@colleenglea]

Thanks for the request. It's on the request list.

[@colleenglea]

My pleasure. There will be plenty more video tutorials to come.

[@colleenglea]

Thank you. My pleasure.

[@colleenglea]

@sugarcandie44 Glad I can help. Thanks so much for the comment.

[@colleenglea]

@aashi12 No problem. I'm just glad my tutorial video's are of help.

[@colleenglea]

@3838bbla In this tutorial I used facing to hide the raw edges so therefore the seams did not need to be covered by lining fabric. It is possible to neaten raw edges by using lining or another fabric but not in this case. I will be making a sleeveless dress with lining over the Christmas period so keep tuned.

[@levone5121]

Great tutorial! I will definitely refer back to your video when making a garment needed this. Thanks!

[@colleenglea]

Thanks so much Justine.

[@colleenglea]

That's nice to hear. Thanks

[@colleenglea]

My pleasure, thanks.

[@missarcene]

Your microphone is working great. I always hear you. I really want to learn how to sew well.

[@colleenglea]

No problem at all. Thank you.

[@sunflower7985]

Very easy to understand,you explained it so well. Thank you.

[@colleenglea]

Happy to help. Thanks.

[@colleenglea]

Thank you so much, you're very kind.

[@colleenglea]

Haha! Thanks so much. Good luck in your course.

[@colleenglea]

Thanks Kerry.

[@colleenglea]

Glad to be of some help. Thanks for letting me know.

[@colleenglea]

I have a couple of machines. For my tutorials I use a Husqvarna computerised machine and a Janome basic model.

[@iaap-sanjuan4211]

i'm convinced God sent you to me. Whenever I don't understand something in a pattern, I look to your videos and there you are with the easy solution! I/m just now sewing my first sleeveless top and wasn't sure how to close the armhole facings. Thank you so much for your as always, clear, simple and concise instructions!!!!

[@colleenglea]

Thank you so much for your compliment!

[@umojaify]

you are the best!!! more detailed than the patterns!! now i know what to do moving forward..thanks

[@colleenglea]

My pleasure.

[@flaxyjan2375]

Thank you for a well presented and very helpful video. You kept me from throwing my attempts at a dress in the bin !!

[@colleenglea]

So happy to hear that Flaxy Jan, it's nice to know that you kept going and I'm sure the dress looks amazing on you. Thanks for commenting.

[@colleenglea]

Yes, no problem. I've has a couple of requests for this technique so will film a tutorial in the coming weeks.

[@svetlanatsichla4284]

Thank you very much! Your tutorial is a big help for my project.

[@abcameo]

I knew there had to be a better way--thank you so very much! I just shared your link with my Facebook sewing group.

[@colleenglea]

Oh thank you so much.

[@inhimdaily84]

God bless n ty for such and awesome, detailed, clear video! necklines are my nemesis lol.

[@colleenglea]

Thank you

[@colleenglea]

Thank you!

[@colleenglea]

Glad it helped.

[@colleenglea]

@SuperFrancescaG Glad to be of help.

[@aashi12]

so nice to receive your mail i am glad ... soon i am making dress for my self i hope that your this vedio will help me alot...

[@colleenglea]

@micashift123 No problem. Thanks for the comment.

[@deedeesteele1801]

Priceless tutorial! Thank you Colleen G. Lea

[@colleenglea]

No problem at all.

[@marisaelskamp4497]

I don’t know what I’d do without your help. I tried for days to find how to do this part of my dress and finally found your tutorial. I used fine silk and I’m having such a hard time, I’m glad though I didn’t just throw the dress out. Lol., kept trying. I can’t wait to get back to it to clean it up better at the edges then try to connect the shoulders. I think you went in 5/8 of an inch it was hard to tell. To play it safe I used a straight stitch and increase the length to 3.5 so I can take out mistakes. Also I had a lot of fraying problems which did not help.

[@colleenglea]

You'll get there. Sounds like you're right on track.

[@colleenglea]

@blaney2u Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment.

[@colleenglea]

@judibooty40 Hi I have looked at your pattern but I'm not sure which view you are making. Here are a couple of very quick and easy solutions:- 1. Sew the neckline facing first then trim and grade. 2. As your sleeve is already attached, you will have sew the armhole facing to the sleeve and bodice then sew through all thicknesses again. Once done, neaten the raw edge. I hope this helps.

[@colleenglea]

Thank you.

[@colleenglea]

You certainly can use the same fabric. It all come down to personal choice, the sewing project your creating and the weight of the fabric.

[@colleenglea]

Thank you so much.

[@TNJSRP]

Never knew how to do this. Thank you so much!

[@colleenglea]

No problem JadaM P! Glad I could help.

[@colleenglea]

@spjcbjp Hi Thanks for leaving a comment. Its always great to hear from viewers who I've helped. Colleen

[@ngozielufe877]

I just stumbled across your page Oh my Goddd You have the best tutorials ever😭 Thank you ❤️

[@colleenglea]

You’re welcome Ngozi.😊 Sew happy you enjoy my tutorials.

[@colleenglea]

It's done that way as I'm following the grain line of the fabric. Thank you for your comment.

[@colleenglea]

Thanks for your comment. Always happy to help.

[@colleenglea]

@Leslily83 Hi. Thanks for the kind comment. I currently have two or three machines which are used. For this particular video, I used my Husqvarna.

[@DisneyMarian]

Thank you so so much for this tutorial! I can finish my dress :)

[@looseleafbekky]

BRILLIANT video, thank you!

[@ritella59]

Many thanks from Rome!

[@colleenglea]

No problem at all. It's my pleasure.

[@anuronali1]

this is awesome. i took ages to do this and thanks heaps .

[@christineandre9353]

Thank you! Just what I needed!

[@colleenglea]

Glad it helped Christine, sew happy you enjoyed the tutorial.

[@julieannaClark]

Thank you! Gosh! I would have sewn my facing completely wrong without this video.

[@זמירהבלולו-ח5י]

Very good explanation. Thank you very much

[@ninjamike2111]

Hey Colleen, i just wanted to say thanks again for this technique i used it thru out all of last year on most of my garments during my course ( all distinction Woop Woop) I have a video of my fashion show ill post it as a resopnce to this video, the dress i talked about originally ( as pudginudgi) its the short black one with the lace panels. :) Nick

[@campanitabonita69]

OMG thank you, thank you, thank you, you don't know how much you helped me with this tutorial. I am learning how to sew (beginner sewer) and I purchase a pattern to make a blouse and of course the directions from the pattern are so complicated to me because I feel like they are written in another language lol! I got stuck with my project and I started looking for help in different sewing blogs, Facebook sewing groups with no luck :( until I found you. I am sending you a BIG hug

[@colleenglea]

Thank you. Happy to help. Thank you for your very kind comment.

[@FarinaBroadley]

Thank you so much, this has just solved a pattern for a sleeveless top I was stumped on!

[@sugarcandie44]

ur videos are a real great help. thankyou so much!!

[@doreentarry8819]

Love this tutorial, thank you.

[@colleenglea]

Thank you for commenting Doreen.

[@colleenglea]

@levone5121 Thank you so much fo the kind comment.

[@qormi1000]

So that's how they do it. Thank you Colleen.

[@aashi12]

thanks for teaching facing!!