​How To Sew A Bias Strip Curved Neck Facing

A bias faced neck finish uses a bias fabric strip to clean finish a raw fabric edge using similar to a regular shaped facing. ​Start by measuring and cutting the bias fabric strip. The fabric strip should be double the width of the finished facing plus two seam allowances matching the neck edge seam allowance. In this example, the initial fabric strip is cut at 2" wide.

1. Fold the fabric strip down the center with wrong sides touching and iron the folded binding to crease it in this position. 

2. If your neckline edge has a zipper opening, leave about 1/2" excess at one of the bias facing ends, and align the strip's raw edges with the neckline edge with fabric face sides touching, Insert a pin perpendicular to the edges  form the garment's right side.

3. Continue aligning and pinning and bias strip facing to the entire curved edge form the right side of the garment as pictured above. The pins should be inserted perpendicular to the edges. Since the fabric strip is cut on the bias, the facing is flexible enough to mold to the curved neck edge. 

4. Leave another 1/2" excess at the zipper closure and trim the rest of the bias facing off. 

If you do not quite feel comfortable stitching curved edges, it is helpful to replace the pins with a hand basting stitch, The hand basting will keep all the layer securely aligned and prevent them from shifting out of place during the machine stitching process.

5. Machine stitch the bias facing to the neck edge at the designated seam allowance- 1/2" in this tutorial.

6. Trim the seam allowance halfway down to minimize bulk in the finished application. 

7. Clip wedge (triangle-shaped) notches into the curved seam allowance layers as shown above. These notches will eliminate tension and ensure a smooth, well-defined curved edge with the bias facing is turned to the inside of the garment. 

8. Flip the bias facing to the inside of the garment and iron the resulting clean- finished edge. Insert pins perpendicular to the neckline edge to keep all layers aligned in this position. Again,  to keep the bias facing perfectly aligned during the stitching process, apply a hand basting stitch in lieu of pins. The hand basting will also provide a lot more comfort during the hand stitching process below. 

Note: Fold the binding ends inward at each zipper opening portion to fully enclose the bias facing's raw edges. 

9. To seal the facing layers slipstitch the folded facing edge to the wrong side of the garment surface underneath. You should only stitch through 1-2 threads form the garment surface as there should be no visible stitch on the garment's face side.

The finished bias faced neckline should be smooth and tension-free. The facing layer should lay flat against the garment layer.