Vogue 8455 With Hong Kong Seam Finish

I just completed Vogue 8455, which recently went out of print but I had in my "pattern stash." I made it from a poly suiting from the bargain table at Hancock's, it cost a whopping $1.00 a yard. The reason that I selected this is because this was basically a muslin. I didn't make a muslin because I was concerned about the fit...Vogue patterns typically fit just fine...but because I wanted to practice on improving my skills and starting to finish the interior seams in a nicer way. I set this as a goal for myself this year; now that I am fairly competent in the actual construction of the garments and have mastered some necessary pattern alterations, I wanted to start with a simple pattern to begin to develop skills with specialized seam finishes.

Since I don't have a serger, the kinds of seam finishes that I can do are french seams, flat-felled seams, I can apply seam binding, or I can do a Hong Kong finish. After some research (check out this tutorial from the Timmel Fabrics website), I decided that the Hong Kong finish would be the best to start with.

I am actually quite happy with how well the Hong Kong finish turned out, and how easy it was to learn. Here are the completed interior seams of the skirt:


Here is how I did it...

First I cut bias strips from pre-washed cotton broadcloth using a ruler and a rotary cutter. I cut the strips 1 1/2 inches wide.

After assembling the skirt, I applied the finish. I started by sewing the bias strip to the seam allowance on what would be the right side of the fabric:


I then "flipped" the bias strip over the seam I just made and pressed it down:


Then I turned the skirt over so I could iron from the other side:


"Wrap" the bias strip around the seam allowance, and press down:


Then back to the sewing machine. Instead of "stitching in the ditch," like in the tutorial, I used a thread that matched the bias strip and stitched juuuust at the edge, like you would with seam binding. I just thought it was prettier that way, the results are the same.


Then turn the seam over and trim away the excess fabric, right along the edge of the seam you just made. The bias fabric won't ravel because it is cut on the bias:



Here is the finished seam:


I also did the same treatment on the inside waist band. Since according to the instructions, the seam allowance would be pressed under and the band hand stitched along the fold, I cut off 5/8 in from the bottom of the band. I then applied the same treatment to the band as on the seams and then hand stitched it down. It really doesn't serve any purpose, other than looking pretty:


I also found a mistake in the instructions. There are two version of the skirt, one with vertical pleats, and one with pleats that are angled. I made the version with angled pleats. The instructions tell you to baste the pleats, and then match the pattern mark in the center of the pleat to the basted seam and stitch down. But that only works for the vertical pleats. The way the pattern is drafted, if you did this with the angled pleats it would make the top edge of the pleats so uneven, you would have to trim back the top of the skirt to even the fabric.

But, if you fold the pleats to the side, they match the top of the fabric perfectly:


Based on the drafting of the pattern, rather than following the instructions I folded the pleats to the side and stitched them down.

Here is the finished product:


And here is a similar skirt from Ann Taylor, the original price was $109.00. I got mine for a whopping $7.00, and that includes the pattern (on sale for $3.99) and the zipper. The pink binding was made from scraps left over from making a messenger bag.