Alphabet Adventures - "S is for Sharks Teeth"

Today is brought to you by the Letter S and "Sharks Teeth." Confused as to where I'm heading with this? Sharks Teeth is a sewing technique that involves creating blind tucks in fabric, then snipping the tucks in intervals before folding in the raw edges created and sewing them in place. Hmmmmm....maybe it will just be easier to show you. Photos coming in the next couple of hours. I'm sewing now. :) :)


Sharks Teeth Tutorial



Step 1 - Create a series of blind tucks 3/4 inches wide. Each row should just meet the next row. How many tucks to do depends upon your design. For this skirt, I decided to do three rows.



Step 2 - Slash the tucks at intervals 1.5 inches apart, cutting up to, but not past the seamline. Alternate the slashes so that the cuts on one row meet the middle of the "tooth" on the next. It should resemble the way bricks are laid.



Step 3 - Turn the cut edges to the back of the "tooth" so that the raw edges meet in the middle, folding at a 45 degree angle. Press neatly. Repeat for all teeth.



Step 4 - To catch and hold the folds in place, restitch the horizontal tuck seam in a wide zigzag being sure to catch the raw edges underneath the tooth. I used a decorative tulip stitch on this skirt. It is headed to Guatemala as part of The Hundred Skirt Project. I was concerned that the shark teeth be durable to hold up to the more aggressive laundering they will receive at the orphanage (the girls sometimes do their own laundry using concrete washboards!).




Step 5 - Press teeth and assemble garment.

You can see an example of a child's dress with a Sharks Teeth bodice here.