Finishing off the Cherry Gingham Dress

I've finally finished this dress and worn it for photos!

Last we spoke, the dress was all together but needed finishing touches (hems, buttons, zipper etc) but I'd made the bias tape.  So really, there wasn't a lot to do, but its always the finishing touches that take the time!

I did mention in a previous post that I was changing the way this dress closes.  Because I like my clothing fitted (ie. tight) I find that buttons end up gaping, so with that in mind, I decided to sew the fronts together and put in fake buttons and instead have a zipper in the left side.

The plan when sewing the fronts together was to not make it look too obvious...  I started out by pinning the fronts together:

Then I ran a line of stitching 2/8ths of an inch in front the edge of the right front from where it meets the gingham on the shoulder, to just below where the skirt is sewn together in the pattern instructions.

Then I finished the stitching line down the front of the skirt on the front piece only.  And finally, I went back to the top and sewed a line of stitching on the right side, so what I had was this:

Then I stitched the buttons on so they looked like they were keeping the dress closed, and sewed the bias on the sleeves and the bottom of the skirt.  I just love the way it looks on the sleeves!

Now, a word of warning for anyone else thinking of sewing the fronts of their dresses together...  Make sure you can still get your head through the neck hole!!!!  This didn't even cross my mind when I came up with this idea, and thankfully my head juuuuust fits...

So now - the photos of me wearing the finished Cherry Gingham Dress!!!

A fitted dress with NO GAPING!!!

Gotta love a dress with a pocket...

Ok, so the back is a bit wrinkly... but I have been wearing this all day, so in reality its not that bad... and don't you just love the gingham bias tape finishing the skirt!!!

This is a great dress pattern, and really easy to sew up.  I would like to make it up again in a rayon because I think it would also be fabulous in a fabric with a lovely soft hand and drape.  I'll put it on the list shall I!

Beccie
xxx

The Simplicity Bias Tape Maker

I was given one of these little gadgets for Christmas last year and its taken me almost a whole year to find the perfect project to make be break it out of the box.  The project, of course, is the Cherry Gingham Dress.

You may remember that when I was cutting out the dress I had a light bulb moment and also cut out a bunch of bias strips.  Well, yesterday I turned those strips into bias tape - and it was EASY and FUN!!!  I thought I'd share how easy it was with you just in case you want to put one of these little machines on your Christmas list.

Cut out the strips
I have no photos of me doing this bit - but I did have a photo in this post where I made piping.  All you need to do is cut out diagonal strips from your fabric, with the strips running at a 45 degree angle from selvedge to selvedge.  The strips need to be twice as wide as the tip you are using.  The machine comes with a 1" tip, so I cut my strips 2" wide.  Doing this on gingham was easy because of the checked pattern.

  
Sew the strips together end to end
Line the strips up so they make a right angled corner, and then sew diagonally across the corner.  The hardest thing about this step (on fabric that doesn't have an obvious right side) is making sure that all the seam allowances end up on the one side of the strip you are making.

Cut the corner
Cut the seam allowance down to 2/8ths of an inch or so on each join

I really need a new ironing board cover - this one is ugly...

Press the seam open
I think the hardest thing about this step is not burning your fingers...

Wrap the bias around the spindle
This bit was a bit of a brain strain.  You need to wrap it around the left hand end of the spindle with the fabric right side up in such a way that when you load it into the machine the fabric comes over the top of the spindle, not out of the bottom like it is in the photo.  Thankfully I worked out I was doing it wrong well before I got much wound on.  Depending on how much bias tape you are making, this can take a while.  I was making a fair bit, and my wrists were a bit sore by the time I'd finished winding, and the spool was so fat I had to take the grey foam out of the machine so it would sit in properly...

Put the spindle and the guide into the machine and poke the end of the tape through the tip
I used the 1" tip that came with the machine, mostly because I didn't want to buy a different tip if I didn't like the machine.  It was pretty easy to get the fabric through the tip.  I used my thumbnail in the slot to feed it through, but I'm sure you could use any number of things to do that if you don't have thumbnails.

Put the tape through the bit that irons it
That chunky cream coloured thing that the bias tape is running under in the photo lifts off really easily so you can pull enough tape through to have a few inches sticking out the other end.  This also gives you a bit of an opportunity to make sure everything is moving as it should.  One thing to double check is that the little stopper at the end of the rest (the tall thing next to the spool) is at the edge of the fabric to keep it in place.

Turn it on and wait for it to warm up
This took barely a minute, which gave me a minute to check the heat setting (there are lots of different options).  And when the light went green, I hit the run button!

 
Its making bias tape!
I'll admit it, I was pretty excited at this point.  The little motor started going and bias tape came out of the machine!!!  One thing to note is that I found it was a good idea to keep the tape coming out of the machine taut because it has a tendency to jam.  I found out because it happened when I was taking photos, but luckily I was able to clear the jam with the machine still running so I didn't ruin any of my tape.

And there you have it - SOOOOO EASY!!!  I wasn't sure I would like the 1" bias tape, because I usually use 1/2" bias tape...

But I've always liked the statement that a different coloured bias tape makes to a hem, so wider bias will make more of a statement I figure!  I pinned some on to the skirt so you can get an idea of what it will look like when its finished.  I'm so excited to sew it on now!!!

So I am totally in love with this little machine!  Do any of you have one?  Is anyone tempted to ask for one for Christmas?

Beccie
xxx

The Cherry Gingham Dress

Some of you will be thinking 'its about time she got around to this one' and I agree - it is!  I decided the weekend before last that I'd really like to do something for myself and this one was just begging to be made.

I measured the bust and the waist on the paper pattern and it looked like it would fit so I set about cutting out the pattern pieces.  I'm making view 2 on the right with the exposed buttons, but of course I'm making changes!

Because of the way I like my clothes fitted (ie tight), buttons tend to look strained, so instead of using the button front, I'm putting a zipper in the left side seam and sewing up the fronts so it looks like the buttons are functional, but aren't.  Its a win win!

One thing I was super happy about was that this pattern has NO DARTS!  Instead, there are gathers at the waist and the shoulders.  Oh, and there are bound button holes, which of course I chose to do in gingham.

These are the ones on the skirt - more on that later - and I was super happy to find perfectly matched buttons in dark red.  Not in my stash unfortunately, in the shop.  Why is it that there are never the buttons I want in my stash???

Anyway!

The bodice went together easily, even though it seemed to take a long time.  I think that's because I hadn't sewn this one before, and gathers take longer than darts, and bound button holes take a while too...

I really like the detail of the gathers at the shoulder, or maybe its the fabric combination that really makes it stand out, but I think it looks great!

Strangely, while there are facings for the fronts, there is no facings for the rest of the neckline.  So I grabbed a scrap of gingham and made a length of bias to finish it off.  Then I got an idea...

I cut lots more bias strips, and when the dress is together I'll use my Christmas present from last year (which I haven't used before) to make bias to finish the skirt hem!

But back to the construction.

Putting the skirt together was challenging.  Not because it was hard, but because I clearly wasn't thinking.  First step was making the bound button holes - which I made on THE WRONG SIDE of the fabric, so the back of the button hole was on the front of the skirt.  Sigh!  So I chucked that piece in the fabric pile and cut another.

Second time around I paid attention long enough to get the button holes in the right way, but stopped concentrating and put them in the left front, not the right front.  Of course I didn't notice this until I had the entire front of the skirt made.  I held it up against the bodice and noticed it went right over left, and the skirt went left over right.  SIGH!!!

Thankfully I had enough fabric to cut both fronts out AGAIN, but that was it - no more fabric, so no more  mistakes!  (I just want to point out that I've never made this many mistakes on the one thing!  This is so unusual for me!!)  So I put my super-concentration head on and paid attention and got it right.  So it really is true - THIRD TIME LUCKY!!!

I put the rest of the skirt together and attached it to the bodice.

Oh, and there is a pocket on the right hand side - in gingham of course!

But that is where I stopped.  I need to put in the zipper, sew up the front, attach the buttons, and hem the skirt and the sleeves with gingham bias (that I'm yet to make).  And the reason that I stopped is that I got super excited about an idea to make a dress for a wedding I attended last Friday evening.  If you've been following my Facebook page, you'll know exactly what it looks like.  For the rest of you, you'll find out later this week.

I hope you had a lovely weekend.

Beccie
xxx