Today we have
Marnae (who is more-commonly known as goldenbear in the
Flickr group) joining us today at Project Run and Play......
Hi all, I’m Marnae (aka goldenbear80) from the flickr
group…and I feel totally humbled to be here today! I am a Veterinarian (grad of
The Ohio State University…go Bucks!) but am currently a stay-at-home-mom to 4
children 7 and under and a 5th due at the beginning of January. I stay busy, but love to squeeze projects
(sewing, cooking, crafting) in when I can. I didn’t start sewing until I was
pregnant with my first, and have basically learned by trial and error. My blog
(The Powell Family) is a way for me to document my families’ adventures…and
share a bit of my creativity along the way.
Please overlook my dark pictures (most were taken at night!) and my poor
tutorial writing skills!!! I usually just make things up as I go along, and I
have never written a tutorial before…so, apologizing aside, here we go….
I have loved the vibe of this Retro Bow J.Crew dress ever
since I saw it a few weeks ago:
I love the portrait collar, clean A-line silhouette,
pleats….and of course the subtle bow. I flip-flopped back and forth between
this dress and a few other projects, not because I didn’t want to make this
dress, but because I thought I may be biting of more than I could chew. And
perhaps I have. But, I thought I’d give it a try anyway...and it turned out
great! Let’s just hope I can explain how I made it well enough that you can
give it a go too!
Materials/Fabric choices:
I chose to make this dress from a stretch poplin, and in a
color that works for both winter (with an off-white sweater/shirt and
silver/black shoes), or summer (no sweater and strappy sandals). But I think
any fabric with some substance (i.e. corduroy, lightweight denim, sturdy
cotton, or even some special occasion fabric- taffeta) would work great. You
don’t want rayon type fabrics or anything too light, or the collar and bow
won’t work as well...but don’t go overboard and use home-décor weight either.
Just a nice, sturdy fabric that will give the dress some shape and definition.
I used approximately 1 ½ yards (54”) fabric to make a size
5-6. You will also need coordinating thread, 1 coordinating button and some
elastic for the button closure. To finish the partial lining I also used some
hem tape to cover the serged edge—other options include bias tape or simply
turning the edge under and sewing to make a clean hem. Piping for the bottom
section is optional.
Pattern:
Any basic A-line pattern will work for this dress. I opted
to make my own pattern using a tank top that fits my daughter well.
In a nutshell, turn the shirt inside-out, fold in half, trace around the armhole and
neckline (adding a ½” seam allowance), and then slightly extend the shirt out
to create an A-line shape to the desired length, plus a seam allowance for the
hem. I wanted a chunky hem, so I added on 2 inches. Refold the shirt (so now you are tracing the
back neckline, armholes), and repeat, making sure that the back neckline is
slightly higher than the front. Now that you have a basic pattern, we are going
to modify it a bit. Add 2 inches to the
FRONT CENTER FOLD ONLY, and extend the line all the way to the bottom of the
dress. This will give you an extra 4
inches (when you unfold the fabric) to make your front pleats with. I also drew a line 6 inches up from the
bottom on the front and back and drew a straight line across. This will be a
separate pattern piece that you will reconnect to the dress. Make sure and add
a ½” seam allowance to the bottom of the main dress piece and to the top of the
bottom dress piece on both the front and the back (I usually just eyeball this
as I am cutting out the dress). This
dress is also partially lined, so we need to create bodice lining pieces.
Simply trace over your front (***trace front without adding extra 2 inches to
center fold***) and back dress pieces to about 2 inches below the armpit, and
straight across the bodice of the dress. Whew, hard part is done.
Now cut:
1-front main dress piece (on the fold)
1- back main dress piece (on the fold)
1- front facing (on the fold)
1-back facing (on the fold)
1-bottom back piece (on the fold)
1-bottom front piece (on the fold)
Assembly:
***Use ½” seam unless instructed otherwise
Let’s start with the 2 lining pieces. Serge/zig-zag across
the bottom edge of the front and back lining pieces; this will stop the
material from fraying. You can either leave as is, or cover the serged edge. I
choose to cover the edge with some vintage hem tape that just happened to match
perfectly to the dress. Simply lay the tape over the edge of the lining (on the
right side) and sew along the top and bottom edges of the hem tape to secure.
You could also sandwich the edge between some coordinating bias tape, or simply
turn the edge under and sew to create a nice clean seam.
Take the front and back main pieces and pin the shoulders
together WRONG SIDES facing. Now, pleat
the front so that the front and back pieces match up and lay flat. You could do
one box pleat in the center, or several pleats (I did three) along the front. I
didn’t worry too much about measuring just made sure they were centered nicely
and fairly evenly spaced. Pin your pleats where you want them, then unpin from
the back piece at the shoulders and baste along the pleats to keep them in
place during assembly.
Take the main front piece and sew to the bottom front piece
right sides together (RST). Finish the seam (serge or zig-zag) and press seam
towards the top of the dress. Topstitch
¼” (on the side closest to the top) from the seam. Repeat for back piece. This
gives the illusion of piping…but real piping could also be inserted here if
desired (I just didn’t have the right color and was too lazy to make any!!).
Sew front and back main pieces RST at the shoulder seam
only, press open seams. Sew front and back lining pieces RST at shoulder seam,
press open seams. Mark the center back
of both the main back and lining back and draw a straight line approximately 4
½” down. This will be the line for your back cutout for the button closure.
(Ignore the keyhole marking and imagine a straight line down..I changed my mind
and opted for a slit rather than a keyhole opening in the back)
Now…we need to make the bow piece and the 2 collar pieces.
Cut out one 8”x 6” piece for the bow...or cut a rectangle to desired bow size.
(Note***If you are
not using a stretch material, I would recommend cutting the collar pieces out
on the bias. The bow does not need to be cut on the bias) For the collar
pieces, measure from the center back to about 3 inches past the shoulder on one
side (measurement 1), and then the center back over the other shoulder and
around the neck to the 1st measured point on the front (measurement
2). Add about 2 inches to measurement 1 and 4 inches to measurement 2. Use your
measurement 1 and 2 for the length of your strips, and 4” for the width. Please
excuse my crude diagram...but I hope it helps!
My measurements ended up being:
Measurement Collar 1: 8”x4”
Measurement Collar 2: 14”x4”
To make the collar pieces, fold the strip over RST so that
you have a 2” wide strip, iron in place. Sew the tube with a ¼” seam allowance,
leaving one end open for turning. Clip corners and turn, making sure corners
are pushed out well, press. To make the
bow, fold the 8”x6” rectangle in half to make a 4”x 6” rectangle; press. Sew
sides such that you have a hole in the middle of the long side for
turning. Clip corners, turn, press. Sew
opening closed (this will be hidden by the collar piece as long as you leave
the hole in the middle).
Now get ready for lots of pinning! Make sure your main dress
piece is right side out. Take one of your collar pieces and starting at the
center back pin around the neckline in the back, over the shoulder and around
the front neckline. Collar 1 should end maybe a 1/3 of the way around the
front, collar 2 should butt right up against Collar 1. Have them meet at the
neckline, then pin the tails away from the neckline (see photo as this is hard
to explain!)
Now take the lining,
turn it inside out and place it over the dress so that right sides are
together. Match up the lining and the dress at the shoulders and center front
and center back and pin, pin, pin!! Sew completely around the neck.
Fold a small piece of elastic/hairband (or whatever you want
to make a loop out of!) and insert it in between the lining and the back main
piece at the top (just below the neckline seam) and pin. (I forgot to do this,
and ended up hand sewing mine on…so don’t make my mistake!) Making sure the
front part of the dress is out of the way, sew around the line for the slit in
the back (using a small stitch length), about 1/8” from the line, reinforcing
the bottom of the slit. Make sure to sew
through the lining back and the main back, sewing them together. Carefully cut
down the line, taking care not to cut through your tight stitching line. Trim the neckline with pinking shears to
reduce bulk. Turn the lining to the inside of the dress and press the
neckline.
Top stitch around the neck (under the collar), and around
the cut out in the back to help keep the lining in place.
Lay the dress out with the right side of the dress facing
down and the right side of the lining facing out. Now we are ready to sew
around the armholes to make a nice, partially lined, finished bodice. (Sorry I don’t
have pictures of this part!!!)
Take the
edge of the one of the lining armholes and fold it over the entire dress (so
now you see the wrong side of the lining). Continue folding it over the
opposite armhole and around and underneath the dress to the main armhole of the
dress(on the side you started from). Match up the lining of the armhole and the
armhole of the main dress RST.
Start by
pinning the shoulder seams together, then work your way down either side of the
armhole, essentially encasing the entire top of the dress within a tube. Sew
along the outside edge of the armhole.
Reach inside the tube and pull out the dress. And...you should have a
nice finished armhole!
Repeat for the
other armhole.
I learned this technique
by watching
Made by Rae’s awesome Washi Dress
partial lining videos found
here.
Sewing the armholes is covered in Washi
Dress Bodice lining part IV and V only.
Did you make it?
Yea!! So now that you have a wonderful, professional looking bodice, we
need to sew up the side seams. With the main dress RST, line up the side seams
and sew from the bottom of the armpit to the bottom of the dress on both sides.
Finish your seams and press. Not much
left, just got to finish the collar, attach the bow and hem!
I like to leave the hemming until last, so let’s tackle the
collar and the bow.
First, fold the collar over and press. Next take the bow
rectangle and twist it so that it forms a bow shape; press it when you like how
the folds lay. Set the bow aside.
As you look at the
neckline, you should have 2 tails hanging down. Take the longer collar piece
(collar 2) and extend it under collar one, along the neckline. Lay your bow
over collar 2 and position as desired. Now take the loose end from collar 1 and
wrap it around the middle of the bow, tucking it under the bow and pinning in
place.
Mark the ends of both collar pieces (where you will tack
them to the dress) and cut off the excess. Serge/zig zag the raw ends of the
collar. Reposition the ends of the collar and the bow and hand sew in place.
Now sew a stunning button on the back to close the slit, and
hem up your dress! I chose to hand stitch the hem in place (2 inch hem) so it
didn’t distract from the detail (piping or topstitching on the bottom portion
of the dress.)
I also added a belt to this dress, but honestly it was such
a work in progress, I gave up trying to take pictures to explain. I basically
made a tube with elastic threaded through one end, used a D-ring and Velcro to
make it removable. Sounds so much simpler than when I actually made it!! But,
you could just make a narrow belt that could be tied in the back, or even use a
store bought skinny belt.
To make sure the belt stayed put, I sewed on some belt loops
using 6-strand embroidery floss. Try the dress on your munchkin and mark where
you would like the belt to rest at each side seam using a marking pen (or I
just stuck a pin through).
Make a knot at the end of the floss and take a stitch into
the finished seam on the inside of the dress.
Then, using your pin as a guide, poke the needle through the
other side, make a loop, and come back through to the inside of the dress about
an inch or so from the first hole. Tie off your thread in the seam. Repeat on
the other side. DONE!!
Now, if you’ll bear
with me, a few pictures of the munchkin
And just a few more….
Wow, sorry that was long. And wordy. Hopefully it can be of
some use to someone out there!! Thanks for having me LiZ and Elizabeth. I have
learned so much as I have attempted to sew along with the experts the past two
seasons!
Don't want to draft your own pattern? Our
Alice Top & Dress Pattern would be great for this tutorial. Want to save this for later? Pin the image below:
