Faced and bagged linings and hemlines lend such a beautiful finish to outerwear projects, but mastering them can be a bit tricky for sewists the first time they encounter these couture techniques. Come along for a closer look at finishing the unique hemlines of garments such as the Cascades Cloak, lined Flourish Dress Coat, Grove Coat, and adult Pixie Coats.
What's so special about faced/bagged linings?
Common in menswear, suits, and other garments, faced + bagged linings offer the wearer much more comfort, allowing the lining to shift with the body's movements against the outerwear's exterior and allowing for more range of movement. In addition, using facings that match the garment's exterior provides a more seamless look when worn, preventing contrasting linings from peeking out.
But Grove doesn't have a facing on the bottom...how are the techniques the same?
In truth, Grove does have a bottom facing - it's just "cut on", rather than being separate! The "magic corner" technique in the pattern is what folds this cut-on facing to the inside, to be finished much the same as our other patterns with a separate facing. Throughout this tutorial, when we refer to "hem facing", we will be referring to this turned-up bit on Grove.
A look at the anatomy of a hem facing
We will be demonstrating this technique with a mocked-up version from scraps for simplicity, but you can imagine this as the bottom, center-front corners of Cascades, Pixie, Grove, or Flourish. The brown represents a garment's exterior; the gray, its facings (which would be folded up as a continuous piece of the outer on the bottom in Grove); and the teal is the garment's lining.
At this point in the construction, your lining pleat or "magic corner" will have created a folded edge on your lining, which will overhang the edge of your hem facing. On the right, in this photo, is the front facing which will be finishing your front edge.
Understitching your hem facing
Before actually securing the hem facing up, you will need to decide if you would like to understitch it first. This will help prevent the facing from rolling towards the outside of the coat, and is generally considered optional, but beneficial. It does not replace the need to secure your hem facing up.
We've shown the basic technique of an understitch before; but to complete the understitch in this context, you'll open up the layers of your coat or cloak, to work between the outer and lining. You'll be stitching through three layers of fabric - the facing itself, and the seam allowance of the garment's exterior and facing. Your garment's exterior (except for the seam allowance) should never be under your needle, but you will see the original seam line on your pressed-over seam allowances.
Just to the facing side of the coat's original exterior-to-facing seam, you'll stitch through these three layers for as long as you can (on the right, in this photo). You won't be able to get all the way into the corners - that's OK. I've used a contrast thread for visibility, but in a well-matching thread, it won't be noticeable.
Once your coat or cloak is turned out completely, you'll see the understitching on the facing side, but not on the exterior. Continue from here as per your pattern's tutorial, until it comes time to secure your hem facing up.
Securing the hem facing - 3 ways
The next point which can cause a bit of confusion for sewists new to the technique is what to do when it comes to actually securing the hem facing up. In essence, this is the same as stitching up a typical hem - we're just using a facing instead of a double-turn.
There are three ways to do this: two involve hand sewing, and one by machine. We'll show them all in detail in the coming sections. However, all three stitches will be done in the same place, underneath the lining fold here, with the facing laying flat against the coat's exterior.
Once again, I will be completing these techniques in a contrasting yellow thread for visibility, but you should use a well-matching thread instead.
Hand finishing technique #1 - Ladder/Blind Hem Stitch
The first way to secure your hem facing, and the most invisible, is to use a ladder/blind hem stitch from inside the layers of the garment. We've shown the ladder/blind hem stitch here on the blog before, but in this case, you'll use it to secure the facing to the garment's exterior, taking only small "bites" of the exterior for an invisible finish. You could also use a herringbone or catch stitch, if you prefer.
Hand finishing technique #2 - Buried Running Stitch
An easier alternative, which is just as invisible from the outside and well-hidden on the facing side, is what we call a "buried running stitch", sewn by hand. This will be worked from the facing side of the hem, and will not require reaching in between the coat layers.
For this technique, you'll make an unbalanced running stitch under the lining fold, right at the top of the hem facing. You'll leave large stitches on the facing side, while taking only tiny little stitches through the facing + exterior layers, as shown here. You'll be catching only a few threads of each fabric with this stitch. Because the large stitches are left on the facing side, they will be hidden by the lining fold, so you should focus on choosing a thread that best matches your garment's exterior.
Machine Finishing Technique
If hand-sewing the hem isn't something you'd like to do, you can sew the hem facing up by machine - it is faster, but visible from the garment's exterior, similar to the look of a wide hem. If you don't mind this look, then this option will be one you can consider.
For this finish, simply lay your garment's hem under the needle of your sewing machine smoothly, with the lining folded back to expose the top of the facing. Stitch as close as you can to the facing-to-lining seam, so that the final stitch will be hidden underneath your lining fold.
A comparison of the results
Each of these techniques will provide a different level of "invisibility" and finesse to the final finish, which may help you decide which you'd prefer to do. In this photo, you can see what each will look like from the inside - my ladder-stitched section is nearest to the lining pleat on the right, and totally invisible; the buried running stitch can be seen in the centre; and the machine-stitched lined on the left.
However, you can see that once the lining fold is let go, it covers all of these finishes completely from the inside. Even with the most haphazard of running stitches left inside, you won't see a thing unless you pull back that lining fold! (This Grove Coat of mine is here to prove it, as a real-life example...we don't always stitch perfectly either!)
The main difference in how each of these finishes will look is on the outside. I've turned my sample over, so that the ladder/blind hem stitch is on the left; the buried running stitch is in the centre; and the machine stitch is on the right.
You can see the hand stitches because I have used a contrast thread on a thin poly-cotton, but when the thread matches the fabric, they will all but disappear. This is especially true in a slightly thicker fabric or one with a bit of loft or nap, like you would often be using for a cloak or coat. Take my Pixie Coat for instance - you can't see them a bit!
I hope this has helped demystify this unique hemline style, and has provided you with more confidence tackling these intermediate-level garments. While these finishes may take a little more time, the result is absolutely worth it for a garment you'll treasure for a long time to come!
If you have any additional questions, we'll be happy to answer them - just reach out anytime, or visit us in our community spaces such as the free T+T Treehouse community or Twig + Tale Chat on Facebook!
