Friday, July 10, 2009

Adding your own cuffs and following Lutterloh cuff directions




This is a very good question. Hems of a garment with a slant have to be treated so they fold up to the slant. What I do is tape a piece of paper wider by 5 inches than the pant at least 6 or 7 inches long onto the bottom area needing the hem.

Then all you do is fold that paper up just as if you were hemming the shorts for a cuff. Cut along the side seam following the shorts line. That will give you a perfect hem on a slanted seam. This will look very odd when you cut out your fabric but it turns out really. It helps to put in your seam allowance first. How long does it need to be?

If I'm not making a cuff I like a hem on shorts that will give some support to the area and keep them smooth on my leg. A 2 to 2 1/2 inch length on a short is perfect for me. So then you need a 1/2" fold over so I would Add a Three inch length to this short.

For a cuff you must take into account the extra needed to fold forward on the outside. I hope the page I put above will help you. It's from my favorite sewing book. Nice clear drawings and plenty of choices on how to do a project.

It is The Readers Digest Complete Guide to Sewing

Yes we welcome questions and Ann will always look them over and add anything I've missed and visa Versa.
If you send your e-mail in a comment we can send you a lot more to work with. We will not post any comments with e-mails as we pre-screen the comments
P.S I don't have the pattern you have referred to but does it have some cm markings on the side of the cuff on the pattern? It should so you know how deep it should be. If not make it about 2.5 to 3 inches




Ya know Sally, the more I look at that pattern the more I think Fonnell is closer to your answer. Below is a photo of a pattern with a similar cuff treatment to yours:
Your pattern has three rows of hatch lines all indicating a facing is called for. The odd zig zagging at the bottom of your pattern is because they have already added the extra length for turning that Fonnell described above. You add the desired hem allowance that Fonnell mentioned and the folds form the facing. These Lutterloh patterns sure do make you think, huh?


F. The dotted lines are fold lines, there are three. Could the angle of the hatching be to help you fold it inward, rather than outward. As I look I can see the cuff apear. I've checked all the guides and seperate made facings are marked with hatch marks and ST. On the knit garments the hatches show a folding in for self fabric facing and there are no St (facing) markings

2 comments:

  1. ann is correct these patterns can make you look twice for sure. Those shorts would be very short if the pattern included the hem. lutterloh tells us they don't add in hems so I think your hatch lines and that stitching line is for folding the hem you make up to it. If the shorts seem long (hold the paper pattern up to you to check) then maybe the hem is in the pattern but it isn't angled enough to fold into a cuff.

    Let us know how it turns out so everyone will know.

    Thanks for posing this wonderful question

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  2. I'm wondering if Ann is right about cutting a separate facing and sewing it on (I actually dreamed that last night). I have emailed Lutterloh to find out. Hopefully I'll hear back and I'll let y'all know. It just isn't very clear no matter how long I study the pattern.

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