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Sewing Angles and Curves

A Brief Tutorial

Tutorial: Sewing Unequal Angles and Curves

Curved and angled pattern pieces that don’t align exactly can be tricky to sew.

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I hope you can help me.

I am sewing a pattern that requires two uneven corners to be seamed together. One corner is wider than 90 degrees and the other is smaller than 90 degrees.

When I sew them together, I get a pucker of fabric on the wider angled piece that I can't make go away.

I'm trying to sew a cap, the style known as "driving" or "ivy".

The angle in question occurs where the top pattern piece meets the underside pattern piece.

Piece A has to join piece B where they are pointing towards each other in the photo I’ve attached.

I really appreciate your trying to help! I look forward to hearing back from you soon.

Cheers,

Anne

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I’ve done a little tutorial on sewing angles and curves using your example. And I do mean little " lol.

This would be a doll size driving cap. I only realized at the end that the problem with this is that I can’t put it on someone’s head to show how it would look.

But I think you can easily see that the method I used gives nice smooth curves and un-puckered angles.

Here are the two cut cap pieces. [There should be more curve to the brim but that part of piece A was cut off in your photo.]

The large piece will form the top of the cap. The rounded edge goes to the back of the head. The two side flaps fold down and are joined to the rounded strip which will hug the back of the head when the hat is put on.

Determine the seam on the hugger strip and hat top piece where they will be sewn together. Fold each piece in half to mark the center.

Place the pieces right side facing so the pins match up.

Work from the center to pin the hugging strip to the hat top. Notice that the strip stands away from the hat top.

Varying angles and curves in pattern pieces which are sewn together are designed to create the required angles in the finished item of clothing.

Attach the hugging strip to the hat top piece, sewing from one end to the other.

If you feel the pieces getting out of synch, hold them together both above and below the machine presser plate to help guide the assembly through the machine as you so carefully pinned it.

The result is a nice smooth curved seam at the back of the cap.

Now for the tricky angles.

Yes they are different - but by design.

The smaller angled piece may require that you cut a notch before pinning and sewing. With stretchy fabrics you can sometimes skip this.

If you do need to notch, be careful not to go too close to the seam line.

Match up the edges and pin starting at the angle and working toward the fabric edges making sure that the edges meet.

Though the pattern directions may suggest otherwise, due to the bulk at the angle I thought it best to start sewing from the matched edges and work toward the angle.

I used the technique described above to keep the pieces exactly aligned.

Use both hands to gently pull and guide the cap through the machine and you should avoid any puckering.

Trim the seam edges and clip the corners (at the angles). If you haven’t used a serger to bind the seams, apply fray check to the seams. Turn the pieces right side out.

I hope you now have a nice curved hat back which joins to the side flaps without any puckering.

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Recommended Reading

These books are excellent resources for sewers of all skill levels.

Sew to Success: How to Make Money in a Home-Based Sewing Business
By: Kathleen Spike

Simplicity's Simply the Best Sewing Book
By: Anne Marie Soto

Sewing for Dummies
By: Janice Saunders Maresh

The Complete Book of Sewing: A Practical Step-By-Step Guide to Every Technique
By: Chris Jefferys

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