Tutorial, part 8 - Shoulder Point Trim

For rounded trim (a la Admiral Dougherty in Insurrection), place the shoulder point trim (piece X) on the bottom of the shoulder point, perpendicular and right sides facing.

Keeping the trim secure at the bottom of the point, pull the sides of the trim up so that the bottom edges are flush with the bottom edges of the shoulder point, turning the corner as sharply as possible. 

Sew the trim onto the shoulder point, turning the corner as sharply as possible. 

Press the trim down, then turn free edge of the trim under, and press.

For mitered trim (a la Admiral Ross on Deep Space Nine and Admiral Paris on Voyager): place the shoulder point trim (piece X) on the shoulder point, right sides together, edges flush on whichever side is on your right.

Holding (or pinning) that length of trim in place, fold the remainder of the trim upward, then rotate so that it is parallel to the other bottom edge of the shoulder point - also so that said fold is a perfect extension of the shoulder point's "center" quilt line. Press the fold.

Unfold the trim, then stitch all the way to the crease you just pressed and stop. 

With the needle in the fabric, lift the presser foot and rotate the shoulder point so that the crease is facing you. Lower the presser foot and stitch to the edge along the crease line.

Fold the remaining length of trim BACK DOWN from the bottom corner of the shoulder point (how you pressed it before).

Fold the remaining length of trim upward again, with its lower edge flush to the edge of the shoulder point.

Resume stitching from the bottom corner of the shoulder point to the other edge, beginning exactly where your previous stitch ended. 

If there is some excess trim, that's okay. 

On the underside of the shoulder point, your two stitch lines should meet exactly at the "center" quilt line.

Fold the shoulder point in half(ish) along the "center quilt line" and sew the miter closed in the same manner as done on the front - that is, stitching a straight line from the folded edge of the trim (¾" from the bottom corner of the shoulder point) to the pivot point of the previous two stitch lines. 

Cut out as much bulk as you dare.

Press the trim away from the shoulder point and turn it under. 

Cut off any excess trim at the outer edges of the shoulder point.

The miter should be completely vertical and aligned with the "center" quilt line.

Repeat for the other shoulder point.


Once attached to the sleeve, the machine-sewn miter will look beautiful!

We'd like to extend a special thank-you to Kenneth King, author of Cool Couture, as his online "mitering a Hong Kong finish" tutorial was instrumental in helping us reverse-engineer this mitering process! 

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