Flatstitch to keep your facings or linings in place
A flatstitch or undersititch can be used on many parts of the garment but it is especially useful for holding in place pieces such as neckline or armhole facings and inner lining parts.
It is nothing more than a stitch that is made around these parts of the garment such as a neckline facing and presses the seam allowance so that the piece tends to maintain its position. If you do not quite understand it, I assure you that it will be much easier as soon as you see the process in the following photos.
Let’s make an example of flatstitching by joining a strapless neckline facing in a body pattern.
As you can see the facing follows exactly the same neckline as the neckline on the body. Place both pieces right sides together and stitch a seam allowance.
The next step is to iron the seam allowance towards the facing piece. Once you have the seam allowance flat on the facing piece you can stitch along the seam line with a separation of 2-3mm. This is what we call flatstitching or understitching.
If the piece you’ve sewn has a curved shape, as in this case, you can make some notches before stitching so that the fabric can be handled more comfortably.
Turn the facing to the inside of the body and iron the seam.
It’s done. Remember that you can do this type of stitch anywhere on a garment when you need extra support to hold the pieces in place.
See you soon!
