Fusing
Fuse front neck, back neck and skirt front facings pieces.
Step 1
With right sides facing pin tie A to tie B on the diagonal. Stitch. Press seam allowance open.
Step 2
Fold tie in half along long edge with right sides facing and pin in place. You may want to mark in your stitch line first with some tailors chalk, like we have here, as a guide. Stitch around tie edge leaving the short end open. Trim seam allowance in half and clip at point. Turn through to the right side and press well. Repeat steps 1 & 2 for the other tie. Put ties aside until needed.
Step 3
Pin darts in place on both front pieces and stitch in place. Press dart excess downwards.
Step 4
Neaten side seam edges on both front and back pieces.
Step 5
With right sides facing, pin front dress pieces to back dress piece at shoulder seams. Stitch together. Neaten and press seam allowance towards the back.
Step 6
With right sides together, pin front neck facing pieces to back neck facing piece at shoulder seams. Stitch together. Press seam allowances open.
Step 7
With right sides together, pin neck facing pieces to front skirt facing pieces along upper straight edge, matching notches. Stitch. Turn to the right side and press seam allowance toward long edge of skirt facing. Neaten outer edges of facing pieces.
Step 8
With right sides together, pin facing pieces around neck edge of dress. Stitch. Trim seam allowance in half and clip around curves. Clip into the ‘V’ at centre back of dress, making sure not to clip through your stitch line. Under stitch seam allowance toward facings. Turn facings through to the inside and press.
Step 9
Pin back neck facing flat to dress back. Starting from one shoulder seam, topstitch around edge of facing piece, pivot at the ‘V’ and topstitch back up to finish at the other shoulder seam. Press.
Step 10
Pin open end of tie (that you made in step 1-2) to right side of dress front. Line up the top edge of tie with the stitch line between dress and facing. Make sure to pull skirt facing out of the way. Stitch tie in place with a 5mm/0.2” seam allowance. Repeat for other side.
Step 11
Fold skirt facing over tie and pin to dress along front edge. Stitch together, pivot at hem and stitch along hem to end of facing edge. Trim seam allowance in half, clip corners and around curve. Under-stitch seam allowance toward facing where you can. Turn facing through to the inside. Press edges well.
Step 12
Neaten sleeve side seams and hem edge. With right sides facing, pin sleeve head to armhole, matching notches. Stitch together. Neaten seam. Press seam allowance towards sleeve.
Step 13
With right sides facing, place a pin where front and back underarm seams meet up. Pin out to sleeve hem and down to dress hem. On one side of dress, leave an opening between the tie notches on the side seam. Press seams open.
Top stitch around the tie opening.
Step 14
Pin the sleeve hems up at notches. Stitch in place leaving a 2.5cm/1” gap to thread elastic.
Step 15
Cut your elastic according to the chart in your instruction booklet. Attach a small safety pin to one edge of your elastic and pin the other end to the seam allowance, right next to the opening. Thread safety pinned edge through the gap, threading through until it returns out the same hole. Remove pinned edge of elastic from seam allowance and remove safety pin from the other end. Overlap the two open ends of elastic and safety pin them together. Try the dress on to check the fit of the elastic at sleeve hems. Adjust accordingly then stitch elastic securely together. Stretch out the sleeve casing until the stitched part of the elastic is sitting within the casing. Stitch gap closed.
Step 16
Neaten dress hem edge. Pin hem up 3cm/1.3”.
Starting at the point where the front facing meets the folded hemline, stitch up 3cm/1.3” until you reach the neatened hem edge. Pivot needle and stitch all along hem until you reach the front facing on the side, pivot needle again and stitch down to folded hemline to finish.
Step 17
Press front skirt facing in place, then slipstitch along edge to secure.
Voilà!