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Sunday, November 20, 2011

Empire Waist Surplice Or Wrap-Over Dress

This is a new dress I sewed for my little girl. It is a surplice dress with empire waist.


A close-up of the dress:

Back of the dress:






If you want a tutorial on how to sew a surplice dress let me know by leaving a comment under this post.

I have linked this up to the link party here.

You can find lots of free PDF printable sewing patterns on this page on my blog.

You can also click the Free Sewing Patterns Page at the top of this blog page (under the blog title) to find more free sewing patterns.

Click the below links to browse through all the pattern drafting and sewing tutorials on my blog.


sewing tutorials  



Tuesday, November 8, 2011

A-Line Dress with Peter Pan Collar---How to Attach a Pocket




We have almost finished making the A-line dress. The only thing left is to attach a pocket on the left front. However, this step is optional.


Now on to how to draft and sew a pocket.

Take a 8-inch long and 3.5-inch wide rectangular fabric (preferably of the same color as the collar). These measurements are for kids' sizes 2 and 3. For kids over these sizes, you may have to increase the length and width.







Fold it in half upward and mark 0.25-inch seam allowance on the sides and the bottom. Shape the bottom of the pocket as shown in the image.





Sew along the seam line.


Turn the pocket inside out, fold inside 0.25 inch at the top, and top stitch or whip stitch by hand (if you prefer).


Now pin it in place and sew over the sides and the bottom. Sew as close to the edges as possible.







Sew buttons and buttonholes on the center back of the dress and you are done!



Note: I preferred to have double layers of fabric for the pocket. If you prefer a single layer, take a 5-inch long and 3.5-inch wide fabric, leave 0.25-inch on the sides and the bottom, and 0.75 inch hem allowance at the top, shape the bottom of the pocket, hem the top, turn under the 0.25-inch allowances on the sides and the bottom, and pin the pocket to the dress and sew. The pocket measurements are for 2- to 3-year-old kids.





Follow these links to read the other parts of this tutorial:

How to Draft the Pattern for an A-Line Dress?

How To Sew An A-Line Dress

How To Draft A Peter Pan Collar

How To Attach A Peter Pan Collar


You can find lots of free PDF printable sewing patterns on this page on my blog.

You can also click the Free Sewing Patterns Page at the top of this blog page (under the blog title) to find more free sewing patterns.

Click the below links to browse through all the pattern drafting and sewing tutorials on my blog.


 






Friday, November 4, 2011

Tutorial---A-Line Dress with Peter Pan Collar---How to Attach a Peter Pan Collar




Using the Peter Pan collar pattern (see this link) cut out four collar shapes (two collars and two facings).
Draw 1/4 inch seam line from the outer edge of each collar.
Join each color and its facing with right sides facing together.





Clip the curvy corners (as we did when we attached piping to the armhole), and then turn the collar inside out.

Pin the collars to the neckline from center front to back of the dress.


Sew the collars to the neckline once you have positioned them well.







The last step is to sew a bias tape to hide the raw inner edge of the collar. Cut 1.5-inch wide bias strip from the same fabric you used for the collars. The length of the bias strip can be a few inches more than the neck. Fold the bias strip in half, place it above the collar on the right side of the dress, and pin it around the neckline. See the images below.


Sew the bias strip leaving 0.5 inch of the strip (hem allowance) on both the corners of the neckline and cut the excess.




Turn the neckline to the wrong side. Clip from the top up to (but not into) the seam line to stretch the neckline to give your collar a nice shape.
Fold inside the 0.5 inch hem allowance you left on both the corners of the neckline and pin them.

Press the folds using your thumb. Remove the pins, fold down the bias strip, and pin it around the neckline.

To avoid the bias strip showing up on the right side, you need to pull it down and pin on the top as well as on the bottom of the strip. I didn't pin on the top before I hemmed it. Therefore you could see the strip peeping out a little (in the image second from last).


Hem the bias strip.


Your Peter Pan collar is ready now.



Tomorrow we will see how to attach a pocket to this dress.

Follow these links to read the other parts of this tutorial:

How to Draft the Pattern for an A-Line Dress?

How To Sew An A-Line Dress

How To Draft A Peter Pan Collar



You can find lots of free PDF printable sewing patterns on this page on my blog.

You can also click the Free Sewing Patterns Page at the top of this blog page (under the blog title) to find more free sewing patterns.

Click the below links to browse through all the pattern drafting and sewing tutorials on my blog.