The Peplum Shift Dress | Part Two
I am back with the second instalment on this lovely sewing project. I had so much fun making this dress and as a result of the Great British Sewing Bee I found myself strangely trying to work to a clock...."
7 hours left people!" It was as if Patrick and May were in the room spurring me on...I wish! Anyway, I managed to finish but hit a few hurdles along the way.....
Stage Three | Sewing together
I had no problem following most of the Simplicity instructions for this pattern, in fact I was hurtling along at a great pace until it came to attaching the facings (front and back). This presented a few issues for me as some of the diagrams on the instructions weren't clear as to wrong and right sides of the fabric- this confused the heck out of me at times. I persevered and managed to fathom it out after a few unpicking sessions.
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| Stitching the sweetheart neckline- this turned out beautifully! |
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| The fitting process- so much easier when you have a mannequin which mirrors your size |
Once the facings had been figured out, the dress went straight onto the mannequin to stitch the final seams. As you can see, this process can really help achieve a great fit- especially if you have a mannequin which is pretty much the same size as you.
TIP! Pad out the mannequin to your size in specific areas....one big giveaway is the bust area- if you are lucky enough to need a bit more fabric here then why not put one of your bras on the mannequin for the fitting process??? Stuff it with a bit of padding and you're away! This will save a lot of unpicking further down the line. Of course, if you know that you always need a bit more fabric in a certain area then it is advisable to alter the pattern before the fabric is even cut.
If for example you are a size 18 bust measurement but a size 12 everywhere else then you would draw on the front and side front paper pattern pieces of this dress with a line tapering from size 12 on the hips and waist up to size 18 on the bust.
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| Here is the sweetheart neckline once the dress is right side out |
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| Back view |
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| Front view |
Stage Four | Finishing touches
The final stage to any dress is always the finishing touches.
- Catch all hems and facings down- in the case of the hem- I hand finished this with a catch stitch. This allows the garment a lot more 'move' and is a very popular vintage method.
- Press, press press! As you can see from the pictures...my dress could do with a proper press and iron but I was so eager to get the blogpost finished! Pressing really does make the garment sparkle and when you have spent so long making something it really is a joy to see it in all its glory!
Next time.....Simplicity Collars Pattern!
