LESSON ELEVEN

Making Casings

Sometimes when you’re sewing, you need to make a casing. This is a long, narrow pocket that you pull elastic or ribbon through. One of the projects in this book that needs a casing is My Very Own Skirt. The casing and the elastic make the skirt’s stretchy waistband.

Instructions

  1. 1. First, you need to leave an opening in the casing to pull the elastic through. It should be about 2 inches long. Here is a casing on a doll skirt. The opening is on the side.
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  2. 2. Attach the elastic or ribbon to a large safety pin or a bodkin. Push the safety pin into the opening in the casing.
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  3. 3. Use your thumbs to push the safety pin through the casing. The fabric will bunch together as you do this.
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  4. 4. Gently pinch the safety pin where it is inside the waistband to hold it in place. Then pull the bunched fabric over the elastic or ribbon.
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  5. 5. Repeat steps 3 and 4. Keep going, and pretty soon the top of the safety pin will come out of the opening. You want to end up with both ends of the elastic or ribbon sticking out of the casing.
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    WHAT’S NEXT?

    For the projects in this book, the directions will tell you what you need to do once the ribbon or elastic is through the casing.