Thursday, February 10, 2011

Crepe Sew-Aong #16: It's a Dress!

I told you we were close!

So, last time you sewed your skirt front and back sections at the center seams. Now it's time to do your pockets and side seams. Finish your pocket edges.
Pin and sew your pockets to the skirt pieces as directed by the pattern instructions. The instructions are great, so just read carefully and you'll be golden.

Don't forget to press the pocket out after stitching.
Pin your front and back skirt pieces together, pinning all the way around the edges of the pockets.
I like to draw in my stitching line where I have to pivot.
Stitch down each side seam and around the pockets. Follow the purple line!

I finished my side seams by zigzagging together and then trimming. Press these seams to the front.
 Now, finish the back side edges of the skirt. Measuring carefully, press under first 1/4" and then 3/8".
Edge stitch this hem. This just means stitching very close to the fold. (You could also slipstitch it to the underlining for an in visible hem.)
Now for the waist seam! Pin the bodice to the skirt, right sides together. Stitch carefully, making sure your darts are facing the right directions as you sew.
 I finished my waist seam with some folded-over pre-packaged bias tape.
All that's left is the skirt hem. Try your dress on and determine if the 5/8" hem allowance is the length you want. Once you've adjusted your hem, press and sew it in the same manner as the back edges. (Pressing under 1/4", then 3/8" and then edge stitching.)
And your dress is done! Snip off any final threads, make sure your facings are all tacked down, give it a final press and take some lovely pictures! Don't forget to post them in the Flickr pool. I'll be taking some action shots of mine this weekend.

I'm still around for questions, of course. (I know there are some I haven't gotten to from the last post, but I'm on it!)

Hope you've enjoyed these Sew-Along posts!

20 comments:

  1. Gorgeous! You did such a fantastic job.

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  2. It looks great. I love the print. ~Sewjourner

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  3. Lovely! I've just been watching the sew-along, and having a great time learning. One thing - can you cover evening up hemlines? Maybe it's just me, but I always have uneven hems on my newly-finished skirts and dresses. Plus I need special hemming anyway, because my hips are wide (so the skirt's longer in front and back) and uneven (shorter on the right than the left). Currently, all I can do is let it hang for a day or two, then plead with my mother to use a big ruler and laboriously measure from the ground and mark every few inches. I have one of those chalk hem markers, but haven't practiced much or had a lot of success the few times I've used it. I'd LOVE some advice or tips on hemming!

    ~ nuranar on LiveJournal (OpenID always gives me errors)

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  4. Your dress turned out just beautiful. I enjoyed following along.

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  5. Gertie, I have been reading your posts off and on for around a year and a half. I am not a sewer, I am a knitter. You have inspired me to learn to sew. I have bought my first machine (i'm 37yrs old) and the dress pattern and will be going back in time to follow along with your Crepe Sew-Along. Thank you very much. - Sam

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  6. Great tutorial and just in time to figure out how to add pockets to your father's lounge pants!

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  7. Your dress turned out gorgeous, as all of them do! Can't wait to see it on you!
    I have a couple of questions (sorry): By enclosing the waist seam in binding are you not adding a lot of bulk poking on your waist/belly? (don't know if that makes sense). Maybe with a cotton lawn it's fine but for a medium weight cotton it might be too much?Second question:I got seam binding instead of bias binding. Shall I just use it the same way? Folding and sewing?

    I confess I'm a bit rubbish with bias bindings!

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  8. Gertie, I've been sewing along and I hope to borrow a camera to post the result (if it works out) this weekend. I have a question about the seam finishes. The french seam and the zigzag/trim method don't allow the seam to be pressed "open". RTW clothes have seams that are finished closed, but pressing seams open looks so much better from the front side -- or am I doing it wrong? Can you elaborate here? Also, why press seams open on the bodice and not on the skirt? What is the rationale? Thank you for your efforts. I'm looking forward to seeing your dress on!

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  9. Another beautifully made garment. You really do a fantabulous job!!

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  10. Wow - it looks totally ace! I wish I'd been sewing-along with you guys now! Have been following posts though. Can't wait to see it on!

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  11. Your dress is really pretty. The pockets are especially clever and useful!

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  12. Would it work to finish the waist seam using a french seam?

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  13. BEAUTIFUL! And it will be so fun to see it on you. Garments come to life on a person.

    Here's an idea... maybe you can create a sew-along "index" based on a picture with you in the finished dress, where you point with an arrow to the finished pocket and link to the tutorial post about pockets, point the the skirt seam and link to the french seams tutorial, point to the bust dart and link to posts about bust fit and dart placement, etc. What a fun way to round out the whole sew-along experience.

    Thanks for all the work you put into this for your readers. You give us the skills and confidence to sew!

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  14. Love it! I'm deifnitely over thinking this, but to do the wrap do you pass both ties through the side seam slit and then wrap it around?

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  15. Julia, you pass the right side tie through the left side slit. You don't need to pass the other tie through a slit because it's the one on the outside. You then wrap both ties around front and tie in the back.

    Gertie, I jus caught up on the sew along. I should be posting pics of my finished dress today (or tomorrow if I can get the boy to help me with a photo shoot). I'm not sure how I should have made the edges of the waist seam look nice. At the armhole flipping the facing up while sewing the side seam took care of that, but it didn't seem to be the appropriate solution here. I ended up folding the bias binding around the side. Was that the right solution?

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  16. How do you finish the waist seam with the bias tape?

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  17. I love the way you show each step with such detail. I am having trouble with what should be the easiest part of the dress. I can't get the top and bottom to match up. I have too much material on the top.I hope you have an idea what I am doing wrong.

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Thanks for your comments; I read each and every one! xo Gertie

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