Tutorial – Sewing a v-neck facing

Facing is a great way for beginners to finish a neckline since you end up with no visible stitch along the neckline. Here’s how to sew the facing when you’re working on a v-neck garment.

Always fuse the facing pieces with interfacing. This will help it not only keep its shape but also keep it in place on the inside of the garment.

1. Depending on what kind of fabric you are working with, you might want to staystitch the neckline. This will help keep its shape. Especially lightweight fabrics benefit from a reinforcing stitch.

2. Stitch shoulder seams

3. Stitch shoulder seams of facing pieces.

4. Press both seams open. Pin facing along neckline, right sides facing, notches and shoulder seams matching. Stitch in place along neckline.

5. Reinforce the v with an additional stitch starting and finishing about 1″ (2-3 cm) from the corner. Clip into the v, clipping right until but not through the stitch.

6. Press the seam open, seam allowance and facing pointing away from the garment. Attach seam allowance to facing by understitching about 1/16″ (1-2 mm) from the seam. This will help keep the facing on the wrong side.
7. Turn facing to the wrong side and press so that the shell fabric slightly rolls into the inside.

8. To help keep the facing on the inside attach it at shoulder seams. A few stitches back and forth is enough. Sew from the right side along the shoulder seam, so that the stitch disappears in the crease of the seam.