Bias Rose Tutorial and sewing Simplicity 2599

We have been having such unusually warm weather this week that I felt like sewing something Springy. The top is a version of Simplicity 2599 that I have sewn once before. I love this pattern because it is sized for cup sizes and you cut it out by the cup sized piece. There are separate pieces for A,B,C,and D cups . I lowered the neckline of the pattern and trimmed it with some charcoal grey crochet. The pattern included a rose but it has too many steps to it so I'm going to show you how to make a rose with a softly frayed edge . The secret to the frayed edge not shredding after washing it is to cut the rose pattern out on the bias grain because fabric edges that are cut on the bias grain don't shred! I've been a little preoccupied about bias garments lately since I have been doing so much research for the wedding gown I'm making. So here is a fun little project incorporating it.

The skirt is nothing much really, just two rectangles of cotton sewn together and gathered and then tacked on to this fabulous waistband elastic I found last year in Paris and have been waiting to use. 

This is the bias cut rose trimmed with the crochet trim. It's a little hard to tell the edges are raw but after washing they should get nice and fuzzy.

Making the Rose

 Take a long piece of paper about 25 by 6 inches and fold in half. I use packaging paper I buy for a dollar a roll at the 99 cent store for patterns. It's nice and thick for patterns although you do have to iron it first to flatten it. Draw a line 1 1/2 inches up from the fold the length of the paper and taper to points at each end.

Fold your cross grain over your straight of grain to find the true bias line. You can iron it and place your pattern on the line and trace it and cut it out.

 A diagram from Craftstylish on finding the bias. Click here to read more about it.

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 The rose piece cut out. It should be quite stretchy since it's been cut on the bias.

Sew along the straight edges with a basting size stitch, around 4 to 5 mm and then gather the strip.

Gather it until it is about 6 inches long. Tie the threads together to secure the rose.

Now gather the rose around your finger with the sewn part on the bottom. It should look like a flower now. Hand sew it from the bottom to secure the flower so it doesn't come apart.

Simplicity 2599

The first version of simplicity 2599 I made. It was made with a silk by Anna Sui and has neck ruffles.