#lining knits

Solving the Facing Problem: Kwik Sew K3658

Knit tops, especially those made out of soft jersey knits have two problems. The first is with the facings. Knit facings tend to flop out of the inside of the garment and over to the right side. Understitching on the wrong side can help, so can tacking them at the shoulder seams. I once created a little tab attached to the end of the facing which then connected to a seam found a bit lower down. Another solution is to get rid of the facing in favor of a binding which can work well. But it presents the problem of getting the right ratio of binding per inch of garment neckline as you want it a touch smaller, but not too much.

This clever pattern solves the facing problem by making a facing/lining. Look at piece 1, then imagine 2 of them, right sides together, with a line of stitching starting at the center near where that 45 degree angle is located, then stitching upwards to the spot that marks the low point of the neckline you see in the illustration. These two pieces are then folded along that stitching line creating a facing that doubles the fabric covering the front bust line.

Which solves the second problem with a very soft knit: too much show-through at the bust line. You then sew the back of the neck pieces together and then baste the facing/lining to the front along the armhole and front side seam. When you sew in the sleeves and sew shut the sides, you keep the facing/front lining in place permanently.