THE Q & A SERIES
How to sew a flat neckline with vilene shields
Hi Emily,
I am making the top out of very slippery material. I successfully cut it out using tissue paper but am really struggling to get the curve of the neck to lie flat. I pressed it ok but when I sew, especially along the neckline it puckers out of shape. Any tips?!
Anne
Altrincham, United Kingdom
Hi Anne,
What is probably happening is that the neckline is stretching, which makes it almost impossible to get it to lie flat. When working with slippery or delicate fabrics, as well as staystitching the neckline, it can be a good idea to use Vilene tearaway shields to help your neckline remain flat
WHAT IS A VILENE SHIELD?
Tear-away Vilene shields are a sewing aid used to prevent stretching in areas like necklines and armholes, during garment construction.
WHEN TO USE VILENE SHIELDS
In a lot of cases, staystitching provides enough stabilisation to prevent a curve from stretching, but if you are using a fabric that is prone to stretching, is particularly delicate, or have seams cut on the bias or close to the bias, your fabric may need extra stability. That's when Vilene shields come in handy. It also provides an opportunity to check that your fabric hasn't stretched - and if it has, you can use the Vilene shield to guide you when steaming the seam back to its original shape.
HOW TO CREATE VILENE SHIELDS
Some patterns will include the shield pattern ready for you to use. At other times you may feel the need for one and it hasn't been provided. Or, if you’ve hacked the pattern the original shield pattern may no longer work.
It's safe to say that when working with fabrics prone to stretching, curved areas like necklines will require Vilene shields. You can draft these at the cutting stage. But you might also find the need for one once you start sewing the project and notice particular areas stretching. You can always go back to the pattern, draft the shield and then steam the fabric back into shape.
You can draft the pattern on pattern paper so you have it to use in the future or can draft directly onto the Vilene and cut.
HOW TO DRAFT A VILENE SHIELD PATTERN
Step 1
Place a piece of paper onto the neckline. If you would like to make a full piece (as opposed to a piece that will be cut on the fold), leave enough space to create the full piece. Use pattern weights or pins to hold the paper in place. Trace the neckline CUT LINE. Use a French curve if you have one.
Step 2
Draw straight lines from the neckline down the shoulder STITCH LINE and CENTRE FRONT line the width you would like the shield to be. We suggest making it 2.5cm - 4cm (1in - 1½in) wide.
Step 3
Measuring from the neckline, mark the shield width in regular intervals between the two lines marked in STEP 2.
Step 4
Join the broken line with a smooth curve. Fold in half and transfer the lines to the other side or pin through the paper and cut it out.
Step 5
Label the pattern piece - FRONT VILENE SHIELD CUT 1 TEARAWAY / VILENE ONLY. Mark at CENTRE
FRONT neckline. Repeat this process for the BACK to create the back neck shield.
Step 6
When making shields for other seams, consider the order of construction when creating the shield.
For example, for the shoulder on the Jacob dress, the hems are sewn before the shoulder seams are joined (due to the drawstrings) so the shield needs to stop at the armhole STITCH LINE.
HOW TO SEW WITH VILENE SHIELDS
Step 1
Staystitch the neckline on the FRONT 6mm (¼in) from the edge. Start at the shoulder on each side and stitch towards the CENTRE FRONT.
Repeat on the BACK neckline.
Step 2
Follow instructions to join shoulders and any other elements required before finishing the neckline.
Step 3
Turn the bodice inside out. Pin FRONT NECK VILENE SHIELD to the inside of the neckline, lining up
the CENTRE FRONT notch and the edges with the shoulder seams.
Repeat on the back with the BACK NECK VILENE SHIELD.
Step 4
Attach binding / facing using the method given in the instructions. We have a tutorial about how to bind a neckline here.
Step 5
Carefully remove the Vilene shields before you trim, clip and grade the seam allowance.
I hope that’s helpful, Anne!
You may also like to have a look at these blog posts about cutting tricky fabrics - Issue 7 - Cutting linen (and other tricky fabrics) and Issue 87 - Tips for working with delicate fabrics.
Happy sewing!
Emily
RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS ISSUE
The Jacob dress pattern is currently only available in our Curated by ITF subscription. It will be released as a standalone resource later in 2025. More information about our Curated by ITF subscription can be found here.
Cutting linen (and other tricky fabrics) - blog post here.
Tips for working with delicate fabrics - blog post here.
How to bind a neckline - blog post here.
For more issues of the Q & A series, you can check out the archive here.
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