Lonetree Sewalong Pt 3: Applying Interfacing & Finishing Raw Edges

By Allie

Allie is the co-founder of Indiesew and creator of all things pretty on the site. Follow Allie and receive other Indiesew updates by subscribing to the blog.

It’s Part 3 of the Lonetree Jacket and Vest Sewalong and today we’re applying interfacing and finishing raw edges!

Just tuning in? Here’s the full Lonetree Sewalong schedule so that you can catch up.

• Feb 20 | Pt 1: Gathering Your Supplies
• Feb 21 | Pt 2: Cutting out the Pattern
• Feb 22 | Pt 3: Applying Interfacing and Finishing Raw Edges
• Feb 23 | Pt 4: Marking the Pattern Pieces
• Feb 24 | Pt 5: Sewing the Pockets
• Feb 25 | Pt 6: Sewing Side Seams, Drawstring Casing, and Shoulder Seams
• Feb 27 | Pt 7: Sewing the Sleeves and Cuffs (View A)
• Feb 28 | Pt 8: Sewing the Optional Hood
• Mar 1 | Pt 9: Sewing the Armscye Facings (View B)
• Mar 2 | Pt 10: Sewing the Facings and Collar
• Mar 3 | Pt 11: Sewing the Zipper
• Mar 4 | Pt 12: Final Finishes and Hem 

For this tutorial, I’ll be approaching my Lonetree Jacket and Lonetree Vest very differently. I’ll be using my serger on my Lonetree Jacket so that serger owners can see the process. But for those of you who don’t own a serger, I’ll be sewing my Lonetree Vest without one, achieving the same level of finish.

Just like we did when we cut out the pattern, I recommend dedicating an entire sewing session to apply interfacing and finishing raw edges. It's time consuming, but totally worth it.

Applying Interfacing

First, let’s talk about interfacing. In the Gathering Supplies section of this sewalong, I mentioned using a weft fusible interfacing for your jacket. Weft interfacing moves more fluidly than your typical fusible. I think it looks better (in that you can’t even detect it’s there) and allows the fabric to move more easily. When interfacing very large pattern pieces, like the front facing, this is imperative.

As I previously mentioned, I’m not interfacing any pattern pieces of my mauve pink Lonetree Jacket. But I do want to add more structure to some of my army green vest. The tencel fabric has so much drape that the collar and facings need a bit more structure.

If you’ve never applied interfacing to fabric, first check out this post. I apply my interfacing (bumpy side of the interfacing to the wrong side of the fabric) with a hot, dry iron and a press cloth. Allowing the iron to rest on each segment of the pattern piece for roughly 30 seconds ensures the interfacing will fuse entirely to the fabric.

If you have any interfacing extending beyond the edges of your fabric, simply trim it off with scissors or a rotary blade. Follow these steps for all of the pattern pieces you’d like to reinforce. Step 1 of the Lonetree instructions has the full list of pattern pieces to interface.

Finishing Raw Edges

With a Serger

For my pink Lonetree Jacket, I’m following steps 2 and 3 in the pattern instructions to finish the raw edges with my serger. I’m not cutting off any of the fabric here; instead I’m just running the serger blade right next to the raw edge of the fabric.

Below is a diagram of all of the pieces that I’ve finished with my serger. It takes some time to do this, but will make sewing much quicker, since we won’t have to finish very many seams!

Without a Serger

For my army green Lonetree Vest, I’m planning on flat-felling the side, shoulder, and inner sleeve seams so I’ll be leaving those raw for the moment. It isn’t entirely necessary to finish the raw pocket edges, since those will be hidden insides the pockets, so I’ll leave those too.

The only edges I do want to finish right now are the front and back facing edges that will be very visible inside the jacket and will fray if we don’t take care of them. For these fabric edges I’m applying ½”-wide bias binding.

To do so, simply press one folded edge of the bias tape open. Place the bias tape so that pressed-open edge aligns with the raw edge of the fabric. Sew with a ¼” seam allowance (or along the fold of the bias tape if you’ve used a different width).

Press the bias tape away from facing. Then press the bias tape up and over the facing so that the raw facing edge is sandwiched between the folded bias tape.

You can also press the bias tape all the way to the back of the facing so that it’s not seen, but I like the contrast of the bias tape on inside of the jacket. Repeat this for the opposite front facing and the bottom curved edge of the back facing.

Note: You can also finish the facing edges in one fell swoop once the front facings are sewn to the back facing. That would create a bit less bulk at the shoulder seams when we flat fell them.

Now that our pattern pieces are finished we’re ready to make all the necessary markings! We’ll be doing that tomorrow, so make sure you’ve got your tailor’s chalk or marking pen ready.

Are you sewing your Lonetree along with us? Use #lonetreesewalong on social media to join in the fun!