Facings are used to finish the raw edges of neckline, armscyes, sleeves, pockets, etc. They literally “face” that part of the garment. When you design a garment, part of your planning includes the closures and the finishing you will use. If you don’t have a collar or a cuff in your design, for example, then facing serves as an elegant finishing to the raw edges of your creation. To achieve a sophisticated look, use these haute couture techniques to apply the facings.
Step 1 – Cut the facing
A facing is just a duplicate of the part of the garment it faces. It's easier to see it when you layout these patterns next to each other.
The easiest way to cut the facing of the neckline is to trace the neckline pattern. Apply the facing pattern over the garment pattern, and you will see that they are actually duplicates of each other.
Step 2 - Prepare the facing:
Stitch the ends of the facing at the seam allowance. Press the seam open. Stitch the lower edge of facing ¼” from the un-notched edge. Trim the edge to 1/8”. Overcast. Overcasting the raw edges produces the most subtle and sophisticated effect because there is less bulk showing on the right side of the garment.
Step 3 – Attach facing to the garment
Pin facing to the garment right sides together matching all the markings and notches.
Stitch on your machine. Trim the seams as follows: trim 1/4” on both seam edges, and trim a further 1/8” on the seam closest to the body. The idea is to reduce the bulk as much as possible and to minimize the edges showing through the fabric after pressing. So, the longest edge will be on the outside of the garment to minimize the bulk. If the fabric you are using is very thin or if it frays a lot, you can just trim both seams to ¼”.
Step 4 - Turn the facing
Turn the facing to inside. Press. Baste the seamed edge to make sure that facing lies flat against the garment. Blind-stitch the facing to the underlining. If you are not using the underlining, you need to slip-stitch the facing to the garment making sure to pick only one thread on the garment so your stitching doesn’t show on the right side.
