Need Help with SlipStitching?!

I was ALMOST finished with my [McCalls M5915] Apron Pattern when I came to a halt. The final step is to add the waistband to the top of the half apron where I've created these nice little 'gathers'. "Pin front waistband to skirt. Adjust gathers." Okay.

"Baste." - - Basting is just loose stitches that will come out later right?

Now it says to 'SLIPSTITCH pressed edge of waistband over seam.'

I dont know how to slipstich? What does this mean? HELP!

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Permalink Reply by Casey Sew on May 15, 2011 at 2:08am

Hi Hattie,

Instead of baste.. just pin and then machine stitch the front waistband to skirt.

Then the idea is to turn up the inside seam allowance of the waistband and the skirt. Then run a hand stitch along the folded edge which will attach the waistband to the inside without it showing on the outside. I just do this by running the needle through the fold of the waistband (the seam allowance) for a couple of mm then pick up a few threads from the skirt seam and then back to the waistband and so on. (to learn a true slip stitch I'm sure you'd find some online tutorials if you google it)

The other method you can do (which involves no handstitching) is to 'ditch stitch' instead of the slip stitch. Pin the inside waist very carefully so that the folded edge covers the seam by about 3mm. Then on the outside machine stitch in the ditch... ie right in the seam, pulling the fabric apart as you go (so that the stitching will get hidden in the ditch) The idea is to catch the inside waistband at the same time. Inside will look like a row of topstitching.

Hope this helps. I'm not so good at putting this into words!

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Permalink Reply by Hattie Salas on May 15, 2011 at 3:25pm

Casey - Thanks for the info! It was very helpful. I just had a really hard time w/it and found matching thread, ended up pinning the waistband on and then doing a row of stitching really close to the bottom edge. It came out fine.