I am head over heels in love with this pattern. If you haven’t picked up the Penelope Peplum for yourself, what are you waiting for? Just do it. You’ll thank me later.
It’s so amazingly simple. I would bet anyone could sew this. See Kate Sew did an awesome job. I wish she designed every pattern swirling around in my head. Her instructions are very complete and make it a quick easy sew. I cut and sewed it up in 2 hours with a newborn baby, and while two other kids were napping. Oh, and since I did just pop out a baby two weeks ago, the best pictures you’re gonna get from me are from Instagram. Yep.
Anyways…I did a few mods and I want to share them with you.
First, I noticed a lot of people whining about the facing rolling up. I have two tricks that will prevent that.
Okay, after you iron on your interfacing to the neck facing pieces, you sew up the two facing pieces at the shoulder seams. But don’t serge the bottom edge…clean finish it instead. Just fold up the bottom edge and straight stitch around it (wrong sides together). I folded it up just enough so I could sew 1/4″ seam allowance around the edge.
Cool, now it’s ready to sew on to the bodice pieces. Go ahead and follow the given seam allowance in the pattern. Stitch that sucker down.
Now follow closely, this will blow your mind.
Lay the seam open, but press the seam allowance/raw edges towards the facing pieces. Now sew the raw edges to the facing with a 1/4″ seam allowance. Turn over and trim off any excess from the seam.
Now press the facing under and sew around the top edge of the bodice… I sewed just a little over a 1/4″ all around. And tack it down on the shoulder seams (stitch in the ditch).
BAM! You don’t have to do ANY more sewing. No handstitching the facing down in the front or back. Just put it on, tuck in the facings once and forget about it. I promise they won’t roll around or up. I wore my shirts all day without a wardrobe malfunction. hehehe.
But wait Rachel, why does this work? Well, it’s magic. Honestly, it’s that little extra step of stitching the facing to the seam. That’s where the real magic is. And clean finishing the edge of the facing. Do not skip that step…you won’t see the seam through the outside. It makes the facing “grippy” so it lays flat against the bodice and won’t roll up. Now, if you don’t want a neck seam on the oustide…just follow these directions and omit the “stitch all the way around the top edge…”. You still have to tack down the shoulders, and you’ll have to handstitch the lining down, but you won’t have a seam on the outside. But that trick is more for chiffon and wovens, or fancy dresses.
Oh, and for those just learning to sew knits…use a loose stitch, about 10-12 stitches per inch when sewing. I ever so slightly stretched the fabric while sewing it.
And for my black and cream peplum I lengthened the torso piece by 2 inches. I like that length on me.
Now go forth and sew yourself a dozen Penelope Peplums! And remember, facings are your friend. 🙂
