Y-seam in patchwork

Dear users, dear authors,
how does it work with the Y-seam? As far as I know, you need it when, for example, several straight seams meet in patchwork?

It depends on the patchwork, Josefa—for some projects it’s necessary, for others it isn’t. The Y-seam is also important when sewing a godet; here are a few pictures of godets on skirts I made—neither of these skirts exists anymore :-)

What is a godet?

Thanks, Josefa—I’m glad I’m not the only one who doesn’t know this.

But I think I spotted a sewn-in triangle on the second skirt.

I’m curious to see what Inge has to say about it. 

Exactly, it’s a sewn-in triangle in the lower third of a skirt. This also gives you enough legroom, and the skirt swings loosely around the legs, while at the top, around the hips, it fits close to the body. In the ’50s and ’60s, godets were very much in fashion, though they never disappeared completely—you still see them again and again in red-carpet dresses; they really do flatter the figure.

Best regards, Inge

I had a skirt like that once, too. I really liked wearing it.

So that's an A-line skirt, then?

So I’ve drawn some sketches of what a godet is and what an A-line is. An A-line is a slightly A-shaped flared skirt; with a godet, a triangle is worked into the lower half of the skirt, depending on how many—there can be up to ( godets, but usually there are only 2 or 4

Best regards, Inge

The shape is an A-line, but the construction differs slightly from a typical A-line skirt? Did I get that right?
Thanks for the sketch.

How do you cut out a regular A-line skirt without a godet?

For a regular A-line skirt, you cut along the fabric fold as usual—you usually have a pattern that you buy either in a store or online, though I usually create my own patterns.
The pattern will indicate how the pattern piece is placed and whether there’s a center-front seam, which makes it a four-panel skirt, or whether it’s cut along the fabric fold, which makes it a regular skirt with a front and back panel.

Best regards, Inge

The godet piece is cut like this: the corners are trimmed off, and it’s often cut across the grainline so that the godet stands out, but you can also cut it with the grainline.
The grainline refers to the direction of the fabric along the selvedge; it’s usually the warp thread of the fabric and is therefore sturdier than the weft thread

Best regards, Inge

Thanks for the info and the pictures.
I think I’ve got the hang of it, more or less. :-)

Inge, you explained that really well. Thank you so much