The photos below give a good illustration of stitching in the ditch.
Notice that in both photos, I'm stitching between two garment pieces on the outside and that the needle is running exactly in the space or "ditch" between the two .pieces.
When would be a good time to use this technique?
...when a skirt or pant has no waistband ,you could stitch in the ditch at the side seams to make the facing lie flat and stay put.
...when your garment has a neck facing, you can stitch in the ditch at the shoulder seams so the facing will stay in place.
... when you are attaching the facings to a sleeveless garment, you can stitch in the ditch at the shoulder seams as well as the under arm seams so the facing stays where it should.
... you sometimes can stitch in the ditch at the neckline to attach the collar to the under collar when you have both a collar and a facing.That is what I'm doing in both photos above.
And I'm sure there are many times you will want to stitch in the ditch. But usually, it will involve a facing of some sort.
Now go sew something and have fun.
Diana, your sewing advice is very good! I like the pattern you used for this coat and saw the picture of it in your Flickr collection. But the pattern number isn't visible. Do you mind telling the pattern number? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteDawn
Hi Dawn, the pattern is a New Look 6518. I used View F but shortened it as you can see.Thanks for looking in.
ReplyDeleteDiana
Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI am so glad I came across your blog today. I have a passion to make my own clothing, however, I unfortunately never had someone that could teach me to sew! It is a skill that I truely wish I had, as I feel that I could save a lot of time looking for what I want in a store, just by making it myself (to be able to have control over the fabric quality and style would just be so awesome for me!!). Well, I am writing to you with hopes that you can help me with something. I came across this post today when searching for "how to sew a skirt".
ReplyDeletehttp://www.etsy.com/blog/en/2011/how-tuesday-sew-a-skirt-in-one-hour/
I was wondering if you can break this down for a TRUE beginner? Like no technical jargon whatsoever. Explain how I can make this skirt, like you were explaining it to someone who knows how to sew on a button, and sew together a pillow case. I can understand everything in step 1, but in step 2, when she starts talking about seam allowance, I get lost. :(
I would LOVE and be OVERJOYED to be able to make a skirt just like this. It seems simple, and I think I can do it with a little extra explaination. Could you help me Diane??
Thanks for the lesson, Diana
ReplyDeleteI was working on costing one garment for my customer when I noticed the T/P showing a stitch in the Ditch operation at collar. I didn't know what it means, googled it, and here I am