SewCieTea Dress - Some Construction Details/Mini-Tutorial

Thank you all for the overwhelmingly positive response to my SewCieTea dress the other day, I am truly touched. As promised, today I'm going to share some information on the construction of the dress.

Creating the pattern pieces
To add the contrasting band around the neckline I took my bodice pattern pieces (on the left below), and measured out from the neckline a consistent amount (in my case 1.5" plus 5/8" for the seam allowance already included) and marked that line on (shown in red in the middle below). Then I added the seam allowance onto that line and traced it off to make the new pattern piece (below right). Now repeat with the other bodice piece so you have one for the front and one for the back.

  

As you'll see in the construction steps below, the bodice pieces remained the same, as the contrast band was sewn on top like a facing, so leave them alone.


Cutting Layout
I played around a fair bit to try and get the most economical cutting layout for the dress, as obviously I  I didn't want to waste any of my Liberty fabric. Below is the cutting layout that I'd worked out as a plan...

As the skirt piece was only a quarter of the circle, with it cut on fold on the centre front and back (indicated by a dashed line). So, I folded the fabric along where the first of the dashed lines is and cut out that skirt piece first, carefully making the fold so that it was at just the right point so that I could fit the skirt piece on without any extra. After cutting out the first skirt piece I repeated the process with the second piece, carefully placing the fold to fit the skirt piece, and no extra.

After that I then planned to cut the front and back bodice pieces from each end as shown in the diagram above, however I managed to fit both pieces out of the first 'scrap', shown on the left in the above sketch.


Underlining
My initial plan was to line the bodice with some batiste, but the addition of the contrast band on the neck meant that I couldn't work out how to line the bodice and have the contrast band. This is because the bodice doesn't have a centre back seam, and I didn't want to be sewing the shoulder seams at the end. So, instead I used the method I will detail below, and underlined the bodice.

To underline the bodice, I cut out the two bodice pieces from the liberty, then smoothing it out carefully on top of the batiste I basted the two layers together by hand within the seam allowance and up the middle of the darts. Lastly I cut out the underlining to match the liberty.

Quick Tip: Coat your thread with beeswax when you're hand stitching, it'll make it smoother and less likely to tangle/knot. To coat the thread run it across the wax then 'melt' it into the thread with your iron, using baking paper to protect your iron and ironing board from the wax.


Construction - Contrast Facing
The first step of the construction was the same as all the dresses I've made; sew the darts. After sewing the darts I sewed the bodice and facings together at the shoulder seams. For the facing I just stitched it together with the 5/8" seam allowance and pressed it open (after fusing interfacing to the facing). For the bodice I stitched french seams to make it neater inside.

See how to stitch French Seams in this post

Then I prepared the outer edges of the contrast facing. To do this I wanted to fold in the seam allowances under in a nice smooth curve. To achieve this I used the same method as I would for hemming a curved skirt edge with a line of basting stitches near the edge, pulled up slightly to ease the larger edge into the smaller space

See how to ease in the edge like this in this post.

Next I gave the facing a press to make the fold a nice crease as a smooth curve.

Now to attach the facing to the bodice...

Pin together the bodice and facing at the neckline, lining up the shoulder seams, with the facing on the inside, with the RIGHT SIDE of the facing against the WRONG SIDE of the bodice as in the below photo.

Stitch all the way around the neckline at the 5/8" seam allowance...

Trim the seam allowance and clip the curve...

To have a nice neat fold at the neckline, next I understitched around the neckline (just like I showed how to understitch the pocket in this post) using my topstitching foot, with the guide down the seam, and the needle moved slightly to the side (to the left in the below picture):

  

Understitching the neckline like this means that when the facing is folded to the outside it will curve around nicely and the insides won't peek out:

The last step for the facing is to topstitch around the outer edge of the facing, again I use the topstitching foot for this, lining up the guide with the edge of the facing and moving the needle across about 1/8" over the facing.

The inside of the neckline will then look like this:

I deliberately kept the bobbin thread navy for the line of topstitching around the outer edge of the facing, even though it means that I now have a line of navy stitching on the inside of the bodice, as I didn't want to risk any white bobbin thread peeking through on the outside if my machine's tension wasn't perfect.

You may have noticed that using this method meant that the armholes aren't finished yet, so to finish the armholes (after stitching the right side seam, and the top inch or so of the right side seam) I finished the armholes with bias binding, but instead of stitching the inner edge down by machine I stitched it by hand only to the underlining so that it's invisible from the outside.

See how to stitch on bias binding in this post, just ignore the stuff about the collar.

The last construction tip that I have is for sewing the circle skirt to the waistband. Because of the curve it can be a bit tricky to do this. What I did was add a line of stay stitching just inside the seam allowance and then clipping at intervals up to the stay stitching (shown above), as then you can pull the skirt pieces to the length of the stitching line much easier.

The hand picked lapped zip
A few of you asked about the hand picked zip, and rather than re-inventing the wheel, here are some resources that I've found particularly useful for learning how to do a hand picked zip:

- This tutorial from Tasia was the first I followed to do a hand picked zip, but a centred one.
- This tutorial from Gertie talks about putting in a lapped side zip.
- The threads article that Gertie references that talks about how to do the hand picking.

As in Gertie's tutorial, I added a placket to the skirt front piece to enclose the raw edge and make the single layer there a little more sturdy (I didn't find I needed to for the bodice). I stitched the back side of the zip, which is under the 'lap', by machine, slightly differently from Gertie as the liberty holds a crease well, I stitched it on and just pressed it back, rather than topstitching by machine like Gertie does.

I hope you've found this further information about the construction of my SewCieTea dress useful; if you have any questions please ask them in the comments below, and if you use any of the tips share with me what you create!

Hollyburn Sew-Along - Finish the Waistband and Extras

Welcome to the next post in the Hollyburn Skirt Sew-along! Incase you've missed any, here are all the posts so far:
- Inspiration (Part 1)
- Inspiration (Part 2)
- Choosing a view
- Sizing
- Choosing and Buying Fabric
- Changing the Length
- An Interview with Tasia
- Pattern Alteration - Removing the Pockets
- Pattern Alteration - Piping on your waistband
- Prewash and Prepare Fabric
- Thoughts on Grading Up in Size
- Choices to make before starting to sew
- Cutting Layout and Cutting
- Sewing the Pockets
- Skirt Seams
- Zipper (Unlined Skirt)

- Zipper (Lined Skirt)

Today we're going to finish off the inside of the waistband, and if you're doing them, the button tabs or belt loops. 

Finishing off the Waistband
To finish off the inside of the waistband we need to attach the inside edge of the waistband to the waistband seam. You can do this either by hand or by machine.

I'll be demonstrating how to do it by machine, if you want to do it by hand, there's a great tutorial here by Tasia on how to slip stitch it by hand.

First you need to pin the waistband along the waistband seam, lining up the bottom edge of the waistband on the inside of the skirt just below the seamline on the outside. If you have lined your skirt, you can do exactly the same thing.

It'll look something like this when it's pinned:

Now you want to sew a line of stitching in the ditch between the waistband and the skirt to secure the inside of the waistband to the rest of the skirt. I used my topstitching foot for this:

When you're done, this is what it should look like from the outside, can you see the line of stitching just below the waistband:

And it should look something like this from the inside, with a line of stitching along the bottom of the inside of the waistband:

Does that all make sense? If not, why don't you take a look at the last section about ditch-stitching in this post, Tasia has explained it really well. Feel free to ask any questions if you still have any though.

Please Note: In the following photos I am using pink thread on black fabric- this is because I was just taking the photos for this tutorial not to put the tabs or loops on my actual skirt, so chose fabric to contrast so you could see the stitching easier. You should use thread that matches your fabric!

Button Tabs
As we discussed earlier in the sew-along, one of the two additional options in the pattern are button tabs. If you're doing the button tabs, you should already have cut out two of the tab pattern pieces (piece 9) and interfaced them.


Fold the tabs in half, RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER, matching the notches and corners:


And sew around the edges of the piece with a 1.5cm (5/8") seam allowance:


Now trim the seam allowances, including trimming down the corners to remove the bulk from there:


And turn it the right way around:


And press:


Now finish the raw edge. This isn't essential, but if your fabric is prone to unravelling is a good idea so you don't get unravelled threads popping out:


Now pin it onto your waistband. You'll be lining it up with where you want the straight edge to go (probably above your side seams) but FACING THE WRONG WAY (ie towards the back):


Please excuse my fake (and wonky) waistband I made to demonstrate sewing the belt loops and button tabs. Obviously, you'll be sewing it onto your actual skirt.

Sew a line of stitching parallel to the raw edge of the tab, close to the edge (my line was about 1/4" away from the edge) to secure the tab to the waistband:


Now fold back the button tab along the line of stitching you just made, so it's facing the correct way. Sew a line of top stitching along the edge to hold the button tab facing the correct way:


And the last step is to sew a button on. Sew the button on through all the layers of the tab and the waistband:


And done! Huzzah!

Belt Loops
The other additional option in the pattern are belt loops. For making the belt loops you'll need to have cut out one of piece 8:


First finish one of the long edges of the button loop piece, I used a zig-zag:


Now you need to fold the belt loop piece into thirds, with the edge you just finished on the outside:


And pin it like that all the way along the length:


Now you need to sew two lines of topstitching along either edge of the folded belt loop piece, making sure that you catch the finished edge. The outside of the belt loops should look something like this:


And the underside like this (do you see how I've made sure to catch the raw edge in the topstitching):


Next, cut your belt loops into 4 equal pieces:


Now you need to pin the belt loops where you want on the waistband. I would probably place mine over the point where the pocket meets the waistband at the front, and a matching spot on the back. Fold under the raw edges like this:


Now sew a line of stitching near the edge of the top and bottom of the waistband. To make it nice and secure, I stitched back across the line of stitching to make two layers of stitching:


And when you've done all four, you're done!

Are you excited? We're almost done! Just hemming to go and we're finished! I know I'm excited! How is everyone done? Will you be ready to share your skirts with us before the 11th of Feb?

Missed any of the sew-along posts, or just want to re-read them? You can find the full list here.

Hollyburn Sew-Along - Pattern Alteration - Piping on your Waistband

Welcome to the next post in the Hollyburn Sew-Along! Incase you've missed any, here are the posts we've had so far:
- Inspiration (Part 1)
- Inspiration (Part 2)
- Choosing a view
- Sizing
- Choosing and Buying Fabric
- Changing the Length
- An Interview with Tasia
- Pattern Alteration - Removing the Pockets

Hi guys! First up, apologies that this post didn't go up yesterday, a combination of sickness and issues with internet access meant that it wasn't possible. Thankfully I added a little buffer time into the schedule so we're still on track.

Since it was requested after the inspiration posts, today I'm going to run through how you could add piping to your waistband. If you only want to add piping to the bottom of the waistband (in the seam between the waistband and the skirt) you won't need to make any pattern alterations, but if you want to put piping along the top of the waistband too, today I have a quick tutorial on the alteration you need to make.

So, the only piece you'll need is your waistband piece:

The waistband piece for the Hollyburn skirt is one piece that gets folded in half when you're constructing the skirt. However, if you want to add piping along the top of the waistband you'll need to add a seam in there, or there won't be anywhere for the piping to go!

So, on your waistband piece you need to mark where the new seam will be, which is lengthwise along the middle (shown in blue), all you need to do is join up the middle set of notches on the short ends:

Quick Tip: When marking your pattern piece, make sure you use a nice sharp pencil for accuracy, I've only used coloured pencils to make it clearer, you might be able to see my accurate pencil line underneath.

Now we need to add a new bit of seam allowance to our pattern piece, along the outside of our new seamline. So to the side of your new seamline, further away from the notches on the long edge of the  waistband piece mark your cutting line 5/8" (1.5cm) from the centre (shown in orange):

Before you cut, mark your notches on your new cutting line. You only need to mark the centre front notch, but I also marked the other notches for the side seams. Now cut along the line:

And you have your new waistband piece! Hurrah!

Remember to annotate your new piece with "cut 2" rather than 1, and you're alteration is done!

For sewing your piped waistband together, first you'll need the piping. You can buy piping pre-made, or you can make it yourself. If you're planning on making some yourself there is a great tutorial on it on the Coletterie here.

When it comes to the sewing steps, you'll need to sew your waistband pieces together along the seam we just created before attaching the waistband to the skirt. I won't actually be demonstrating how to sew piping, as again reinventing the wheel is silly, and there is a fab tutorial on the Coletterie here and here and by Sunni here.

If you were considering adding shape to your waistband, as per some of the inspiration photos, you'd do that with a very similar method; but instead of just drawing a straight line for your new seamline you'd draw whatever shape you want your waistband to be, and then add seam allowance to that shape.

Is everything clear? Apologies that it's a bit brief today, I'm still not 100% and my brain is struggling this evening! Any questions let me know! Is anybody already planning on adding piping to their skirt?

Missed any of the sew-along posts, or just want to re-read them? You can find the full list here.