Open Back Top

The Pattern- Its The Jenny Dress by The Fold Line. This pattern is designed for knit fabric. The pattern can be made as a dress with the open back top attached or the top can be made as a separate item. I made the open back top only. The instructions and photos provided  make  this is an easy top to assemble.
The Fabric- I used knit fabric  (about 75cm) left over from a previous project (Walkely Dress). Its has a blue background with a random green anchor print.
The Closure- The hook and eye that hold the back together was up cycled from an old shirt.
The Seams- I used a narrow zigzag stitch for the shoulder and side seams. The hems are stitched using a twin needle. I have used a twin needle before but this time I experienced problems with the threads getting tangled, so I stitched very very slowly and  what I thought would be a quick make wasn't.

 

The Raw Edge

The seam allowance is the excess fabric between the stitched line and the raw edge on the wrong side of a project. Unless finished the raw edge will fray during washing. Two quick and easy ways to finish the raw edge on woven fabrics like quilting  cotton are listed below.

Pinked- Using your pinking shears cut along the raw edge of the seam allowance. The hills and valleys stop the fabric from fraying.
If you don't own a pair of pinking shears another method is to use the zigzag stitch.
Zig-Zag- Set your machine to the following stitch zigzag, length 3 and width 4. Stitch close to the raw edge.

In my example I used my overcasting foot. I like using this presser foot because I can line up my fabric with the black tab on the right. This allows me to keep my stitching straight. The zigzag stitch falls right on the raw edge picking up the bottom thread to from an overlock stitch, kind of like wrapping the raw edge with thread.