Shift Dress Sew Along: My Completed Dress

Here she is! You've seen the fabric up close and personal over the last few weeks, and now you can see it in its full glory. It's Anna Maria Horner's "Garden Social Climber."

When cutting, I tried to make sure the dominant part of the print was running along the center of my body for visual balance. I was a bit more successful at the back than the front at doing this. There are just so many seams at the front! 

I hope you've come to love the pattern as much as I have as we've been sewing. It's such an easy dress to put on and feel sensational in. It was particularly warm on the day we snapped these photos, but I've been wearing it this winter with pink tights and a white cardigan. It's been great fun. 

Why Include Plus Sizes? 

As we're wrapping up, I want to take a moment and share with you why I felt it was important to include plus-size sewists in the Shift Dress Sew Along. I haven't seen very many sew alongs that do, and the more I looked around, the more I saw there's a lack a fashionable plus-size patterns and not a lot on how to modify ones that aren't to fit you. I was tickled pink when Carolyn agreed to create the tutorial for our sew along.

I get a little teary eyed to down right emotional if I stop to think long enough about what sewing really means to me. I've been sewing since I was 12, and it has gotten me through some truly terrible times and lots of dress sizes. It has also helped me to come to love and appreciate my body just as it is, and strive to flatter my figure and celebrate it rather than hide it away. Every woman deserves to feel that, and if sewing can help make that happen, I'll create whatever tutorials you think you need to get there. And if I don't know, we can learn together!

That being said, please let me know what you think of the sew along! Could I do anything to improve the tutorials, or were there any others you'd like to see? What did you think of the pace? You can simply leave a comment with your feedback or email me.

Upload Your Dress by Feb 24

I would love to share everyone's dresses! Please upload them to the Flickr Pool or leave me a link in the comments by February 24. That way you get a bit more time to finish up, and I can post a parade at the end of the month! 

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Shift Dress Sew Along: Hemming

Guess what?! After today, you're going to have a finished shift dress! Well, what are we waiting for?! Let's get sewing!

 

The pattern calls for a 1 1/4" hem for both the sleeves and the bottom hem of the dress. Try it on to make sure you like that length. I start by sewing 1/4" from the edge. This gives me a guide for when I'm pressing. You'll see my trusty painter's tape as a guide for straight stitching. 

Press under the 1/4", using the stitch line as a guide. 

Now fold under the extra 1" and press. A sewing gauge comes in handy here to make sure it's even all the way around.

And then it's a bit more hand stitching! There are lots of different hem hand stitches, but I like the blind one best.  You're grabbing 1 or 2 threads on the dress, then a larger chunk on the hem, which won't be seen on the outside. You could also choose to do this by machine if you like.

Source

Repeat for the other sleeve, as well as the bottom hem of your dress.

Share Your Dress With Us!

Congratulations! You just sewed a shift dress! There are some decorative options as well, such as a belt and trim on the neckline that I won't be covering, which means this is the end of our sew along. I can't believe it!

Upload your dress to the Flickr pool or leave a link to a blog post in the comments to share your dress. I'd love to do a parade of everyone's garments if we get enough! I'll share mine with you next week.

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Shift Dress Sew Along: Sleeves

Today we'll be tackling the sleeves! If you've decided to go with a sleeveless version, follow the method that we used for neckline facings to stitch your armhole facings. 

First up, stitch two rows of basting stitches between the notches on your sleeves, inside the seam allowance. This will help you when you're easing the sleeve into the armscye (armhole). You can already see it's folding up a bit, just laying on the table. 

Now pin, stitch, press, and finish the sleeve seam. 

Pin the sleeve into the armscye. You want to hit all the main points before you begin the easing process. So pin, 

• The top of the sleeve cap to match the shoulder seam. Make sure to pin your shoulder seam flaps down so those stay open. 
• The side seam to the sleeve seam, lining up the seams so you get a nice tidy line. 
• The notches. 

Then, pull on the bobbin threads of your basting stitches to ease the rest of the sleeve into the armscye. When you're done pinning, you'll see a bit of wobbliness on the sleeve side. That's good, as long as you don't have folds in your fabric that you'll be stitching over.

Stitch the sleeve seam. Check to make sure that you didn't get any puckers or folds. If you do have some folds in your fabric, grab your trusty seam ripper and give it another go! And don't despair. As they song goes from Damn Yankees, "Why should we curse? We've gotta get better cause we can't get worse." Except curse if it makes you feel better. 

Once you've ensured there's no folds in your seam, press the seam allowance towards the bodice. 

Serge the sleeve seam. Repeat the whole process for your other sleeve, and then admire your handiwork. It's really looking like a dress now! 

We're almost done! All that's left is hemming.

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Shift Dress Sew Along: Attaching Facings

Today we'll be applying fusible interfacing, attaching facings to the bodice, and understitching them.

Before we get started with all this facing business, go ahead and sew front and back shoulder seams and side seams together. To see how I sew and finish seams, reference the bodice front construction.

First, iron on fusible interfacing. If you're doing a sleeveless version, do this for your armhole facings as well.

When you're done, you'll have fusible interfacing on the wrong side of each piece. 

Next, stitch together the shoulder seam of the facings. Press open the seam.

Now you can clean finish the edge of your facings. I use the serger. 

Pin the facing to the edge of the neckline, right sides together. Fold over the edge of the facing to match it up with the zipper edge. 

*Update* Several readers suggested wrapping the facing around the zipper and stitching around the top for a cleaner finish. Here's a picture of that method from The Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Sewing. 

Source, p. 194

Stitch at a 5/8" seam allowance. Then clip about every inch or so, trying to get as close to the stitching as possible without cutting it. This will help you have a nice curve when you press it. Then trim and grade that seam. Press the facing, with the seam flaps going towards the facing. 

Now you'll understitch the facing down. The seam flaps should be already pressed towards the facing; take your fingers and and keep it pressed open as you sew. You're stitching the seam flaps down to the facing. This stitch will only show on the inside. It keeps your facing from flipping out.

Next, we'll be doing some hand stitching. I found this to be very challenging to photograph, so I've found some illustrations instead. 

On the zipper side, you'll be doing a slip stitch to attach the folded piece of fabric to the zipper. This stitch is almost invisible. You're catching a couple of threads on the inside of each one of the folds. 

Source

At the edges of the facing, you'll be attaching to the bodice with a catch stitch. You want to grab 1 or 2 threads when you catch the bodice front so you can barely see the stitches on the outside. So get cozy in front of the tele, and get to stitching! 

Source

Here's the inside of my bodice, with the catch stitching complete. Because I've also got a serged edge, you can barely see the stitching on the inside, too! 

It's starting to look like a real dress now! Next up, sleeves. 

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Shift Dress Sew Along: Installing a Lapped Zipper by Machine

I'm super excited about today's video tutorial. I had given up on sewing machine-stitched lapped zippers and switched to doing it by hand after so many failed attempts. When I learned this method in my pattern-making class, I was over the moon!

Here's an image to show you the difference it made in sewing lapped zippers for me. I will give you a high-level overview of the first method in the video, but here's an example of the "regular" method in more detail.

If you've had a hard time getting a consistent lap with the "regular" method, you'll want to see this! I also think it's a great method for first-timers to learn, too, since it's easier to get it right!

Watch on Vimeo | YouTube

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Video produced by Amanda Glaeser. 

Shift Dress Sew Along: Stitching Darts

In this video, I show you how to stitch the darts for Simplicity 3833. I cover how to sew the front dart in detail and then end by showing you how to sew the double point dart on the back.

Watch on Vimeo | YouTube

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Video produced by Amanda Glaeser. 

Shift Dress Sew Along: Bodice Front Seams and Topstitching

Today we'll be assembling the pieces that make up the front part of Simplicity 3833. These are marked as pieces 1 and 2 in your pattern. I'll go into more detail today on how I sew seams than any other day so you know the method I use the rest of the sew along.

Assembling the 3 Pieces of the Bodice Front 

With right sides together, pin and stitch the center front seam (piece 2). I use a piece of blue painter's tape to help me keep a consistent seam allowance as I go.

Press open the seam. 

Next, finish the edges of your seams. I serge each side of the seam flap separately so I can keep it pressed open. Don't have a serger? No problem! See alternative seam finishes from Sew Mama Sew. 

Here's what the seam looks like once finished and both sides are serged. 

Next, stitch the top of the bodice (piece 1) to the bottom of the bodice that you just sewed (piece 2). Take care to match the notches and center front. You'll see the dart legs are still open on either side when you finish. Finish the seam. Here, I've serged both sides together because I will be pressing both seam flaps the same direction. Press the seam.

Topstitching

Next you'll be top stitching the two seams that you just sewed. You can use a fancy edge foot for your topstitching that will help guide you. I like to use my regular foot. I put the edge of the foot up against the seam line, and then I adjust my needle all the way over to the left. I lengthen the stitch a little.

This is what the top stitching will look like when finished. I chose a contrasting pink thread. Go slow to make sure you stay even as you stitch.

That's it for today! Next up, stitching the darts. 

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