How to Make a Scalloped Edge With Lining

Hi everyone! A few years ago, (Actually more like 2015-ish) I was working on a costume that required a scalloped style edge, but it needed to be lined. I was stumped by this until I watched an old episode of Fans and Porter’s Love of Quilting. (In addition to seeing this on Fans and Porter’s Love of Quilting, I also saw something similar on Quilt in a Day, but it’s not exactly the same as what I saw on Fans and Porter’s show. Still, I wanted to mention it in case anyone wants to look for the tutorial there too.) In the episode, the guest explained how to make a scallop without bias tape and with a lining. Unfortunately, I cannot remember the episode’s number, who the guest was, or even what season the episode is from. Since I cannot find information about making scallops with lining readily online, I decided to make a tutorial explaining how to do it.

Disclaimer: This post was partially written two years before it was published. Because of this, I apologize if there inconsistencies in this tutorial.

Here is what you need…

• A disappearing marking pen or chalk*
• A ruler
• A calculator
• Paper and pencil (Or pen)
• Sewing machine threaded with matching or complementary colored thread
• Pins (If needed)

*Make sure that if you’re using a marking pen with ink that disappears with air you finish sewing the scallops within 24 hours. Otherwise, use whatever disappearing marking pen (Air or water) or chalk that will stand out against the fabric best. Also, do NOT use a permanent ink pen and always test the pen or chalk on a scrap piece of fabric before using it to make the scallops. This way you will know if it will stain the fabric

Ok! Here we go!

• Step 1: Baste the fashion fabric and lining together with a straight stitch.

The stitch line should be close to the edge of the fabric. I sewed 5/8 of an inch away from the edge of the fabrics. I used a size 4 stitch to baste the fabric, but use whatever large stitch you feel comfortable using.

 

• Step 2: Using the calk/marker, draw the stitch lines for the scallops.

Using the baste stitch as a reference line, mark the length of the scallops. The length of the scallops is up to you. Then decide the width each scallop, which is also up to you.

In order to figure out how many scallops you need to draw, measure the width of the fabric you are sewing scallops and divide it by the width you want the scallops to be. After figuring out the number of scallops you need to draw, draw them onto the fabric using chalk or a fabric pen. When you draw the scallops onto the fabric, make sure there is a small gap between each point.

For the example I’m using in this tutorial, the scallops was located on the sleeves of a costume jacket I made and the top of the scallops needed to be pointed instead of rounded. This tutorial it works fine for both.

Once I was done, the fashion fabric and lining fabric looked like this…

 

• Step 3: Sew on the lines.

With the sewing machine, sew on top the lines for the scallop shape. When you sew on the lines, make sure you do not use the same stitch length used for the base stitch. Instead, use something smaller. In this photo, I believe I used a 2 or 2.5 length stitch.

When I finished, it looked like this…

 

• Step 4: Trim the excess fabric off.

When I say “excess fabric”, I mean cut the fabric that is in between each of the scallops, or in the case of my example, the points. This is what my points looked like as I trimmed the excess fabric…

Once I finished the trimming, my sleeves looked like this…

If you are worried about how smooth your deign will lay once turned, then clip little V’s into the parts that won’t lay flat. doing this will allow the points to lay flat without a lot of bulk fabric in the seam. For the example I’m using in this tutorial, I didn’t need to do this. Also, make sure you don’t cut too close to the stitch line. This may cause the fabric to unravel and the seam to pop.

 

• Step 5: Turn the scalloped edge right side out and iron the scalloped edge flat.

The scalloped edge I made during this tutorial is actually the edge of a sleeve. Once I turned the sleeve, it looked like this before I ironed it…

If you used a fabric pen to mark the scallop lines for sewing, please make sure the lines are gone before you press the scallops flat. Normal fabric pen ink becomes permanent if ironed or exposed to heat. To avoid this, make sure the ink is completely gone before the scallops are ironed.

After making sure the fabric ink disappeared, this is what it looked like once I ironed the scallops and began to sew lace appliques onto each of the points…

Adding trim and appliques to the scallops is up to you. The sleeves needed it because it was part of the design, but you can chose not to add them if you do not want them.

 

• Step 5: Finish the garment!

After you finish pressing the scallops, then it’s time to finish the garment! In my example, the lining is already attached to the sleeve which caused me to invent a new way to attach the fashion fabric part of the sleeve to the rest of the fashion fabric pieces and the same to all the lining parts. I was able to do it, but it can be frustrating to do if you are following a pattern’s instructions without modifying it.

Here is what the finished sleeve looks like on my costume jacket…

Here is a close up of the scalloped edge of the sleeve…

And this is the inside of the sleeve with the lining…

 

That’s all for now! Thank you for reading!