Once the seam is stitched and pressed, trim the seam allowances to 5/8” (1.5cm).To avoid ripples, press each seam in the same direction it was stitched.For necklines and horizontal seams, stitch from the centre out. When stitching vertical seams, follow the pull of gravity, stitching from neckline to hemline.

Repeat until the entire seam is stitched. Raise the presser foot, let the fabric relax, lower the foot and stitch again.

Stitch about 8-10” (20.5-25.5cm) then stop with the needle in the fabric.Gently stretch the fabric, putting one hand in front and the other hand behind the presser foot as you sew.Instead, stitch along the basted stitching line. Because the bias seam allowances tend to narrow during stitching, do not use the cut edge of the fabric as a stitching guide.At the start of a seam, insert the needle approximately 3mm/ 1/8” from the edge of the fabric and lower the presser foot to secure the fabric.Permanent stitching also requires some special handling: Hand baste the two sections together along the stitching line.Remove the bias section and repin it to the pattern piece – remark all of the symbols from the pattern piece.Before joining the bias edge to the straight grain edge, pin the bias section to a padded hanger and let it hang for at least two hours so the bias has time to “grow”.When joining a bias edge to one with a straight grain, use this method to eliminate puckers:.Leaving a 3” (7.5cm) unknotted tail, hand baste the stitching lines together for about 6-8” (10-15cm), leave a small loop to allow the fabric to stretch and repeat, until the whole seam is basted together.Working on a large flat surface, pin the two garment sections right sides together with stitching lines matching.It is wise to baste the garment together, allow it to hang for 24 hours, and try it on before doing any permanent stitching. Garments cut on the bias fit differently than garments cut on the straight grain. Stay stitch in direction of greatest stretch – the opposite direction to what is used for on grain fabrics.

Sewing bias