Turning and bodice points

[Margaret]

OK - there has got to be an easier way to do this. 

I have sewn my bodice right sides together and am now in the process of turning it right side out.  I trim the excess seam allowance from around the front point but it is still a pain getting it back to a nice point.

Anyone have any good tricks to get a nice sharp point when you are turning it?

[Taffy Saltwater]

Snip off the excess tip of the point, iron the seams, and I gently use a knitting needle to push out the corner - be careful, this is also a good way to make a hole in your fabric.

[gem]

Yep, Taffy's got it.  It *sounds* counter-intuitive, but you don't actually want the point to come to a point on the inside.  Snip it off so it looks like the flat side of a triangle.  Not too close to the stitching.

(Yet another one of the spatial mysteries of sewing that Gem will *never* understand)

[Margaret]

*sigh*  That's what I usually do - maybe I just don't cut off enough of the extra fabric...

Thanks for the tips ladies!   

[verymerryseamstress]

Margaret, hi!

There's actually a little wooden tool you can buy exactly for the purpose of making nice, crisp points on your turned clothing.  I always call it my "pointer" but it might have another name.  It looks like a flat wooden spear, about 5-6 inches long and an inch or so wide, curved at one end and pointed at the business end. 

I love mine! 

And on days that I lose it amidst the clutter, I use a capped ball-point pen.  The cap point is not so sharp as to poke holes through the fabric, but still pointy enough to make the turned points nice and crisp. 

I trim the excess fabric too - but be careful on fabrics that fray, like those miserable brocades - snipped corners tend to cause more problems than good on those materials, even when flatlined.

[Margaret]

Do they sell the pointers at JoAnn Fabrics or do I have to look in a more specialized place?

I'm working on a Vic style corset right now and the point is vexing me.

[LadyMeg]

I'm not sure if this is *exactly* what verymerryseamstress is saying, but there's a tool in either the sculpting sector or the paints that looks like what is described.  The point isn't so spear like, more of a slant and a bit "softer" (not so sharp a point as a spear like end).  We have them at my campus bookstore with the art supplies around the sculpting and charcoal.  That might work and maybe we're talking about the same thing?  lol.

[Pascal]

It also helps if, instead of stitching down oneside to a point, then rotating and stitching down the other side, you stitch almost all the way to the point, rotate half-way, take one stitch, then rotate the rest of the way to continue stitching.  Instead of your stitched point being "zero stitches" wide, it'll be "one stitch" wide.  Trim the seams accordingly, then turn out (the pointer mentioned is a handy tool).  The extra stitch at the point will give you some room to keep the seam allowance from bunching and thwarting your pointing efforts!

I do this a lot for points of shirt collars.

[Lady Kathleen of Olmsted]

  Getting that elusive poerfect corner  point on bodices, collars, cuffs, etc., is a challange indeed.

Like everyone here, I sew from corner to corner, backstitch where the point will be, trim excess off, and hope for the best.

The challange comes in when there are thicknesses to consider. Sometimes I use the seam ripper to pull things thru. That works as well on lighter fabrics.

[Marietta Graziella]

Pascal has it!  I don't even remember where I learned that trick but it works.  The thicker your material, the more space you need at the point for those seam allowances to smush. 

Instead of this, \/   Stitching should look (sort of) like this.  \_/     For thicker fabrics, take a couple of stitches at your point.  \__/   Trim.  Iron Iron Iron!

[verymerryseamstress]

Here's the critter of which I speak!

http://www.taunton.com/threads/pages/t00028.asp

"Bamboo point turner/creaser forms crisp corners and seams"

[verymerryseamstress]

One step further, a place to buy it:

http://www.amazon.com/Dritz-Point-Turner-Creaser-5-Plastic/dp/B000AMBA02

[Abigail Fairbottom]

Hey Mags,
I don't have the 'magic tool' (OMG--don't say eet!  ).  I usually use the sharpening steel from our cutlery set.  What I want to add, however, is depending on the fabric I am using, I sometimes put a little No-Fray on the stitches before I turn. 

[Margaret]

I vill say eet!  Abigail no haz zee tooooooool!!



Thanks for all the hints and everything - I appreciate it.

[GirlChris]

A tip I picked up from my aunt for getting really sharp corners.

After you've turned the point, take a pin and catch some of the fabric inside the point from the right side- aka the bits that aren't turning through properly. Use  it to pull the point out. I don't know if that makes ANY sense written out, but it works nicely.