Wonderland Dress Part 4

Ok so here we are! The last part of the Wonderland Dress!

Step 1: fold contrast arm bands in half (outside facing out) and iron down

Step 2: Place folded contrast fabric on sleeve, open end and bottom of the sleeve together. 

Step 3: Pin sleeve to band

Step 4: Sew the sleeve to the contrast band. 

Step 5: Iron the sleeve and band flat

Step 6: Ruffle the top of the sleeve the same way you did the skirt

Step 7: fold sleeve in half (outside in) sew up the end. cut off the excess

Step 8: Turn bodice inside out and pin sleeve to the outside of the dress. The inside of the Dress is facing you, so the sleeve will be inside the bodice. 

Step 9 sew the bodice and the sleeve together

Step 10: Fold the hem and iron down all the way around the dress. Then fold the hem and iron again. 

Step 11: if you don't want to learn to use a twin needle then hem your skirt and you are finished, if you do keep going. 

This is your twin needle. It will become your friend!

Step 11: place a bobbin of thread (same color) in front of your spool of thread. 

Step 12: line the threads up and loop them through your machine like one thread. 

Step 13 separate your thread and place one through each hole in the needle. 

One thread through each hole

Step 14: Sew a single hem line around the skirt, you will end up with parallel lines. Make sure the outside is facing up because the back looks like a zig zag and thats not the look your going for. 

See nice even hem line!

Look at your work and admire it! Sorry no model tonight she's too sick! 

I would love to see all your wonderland dresses! leave me a link to yours and if I get enough I'll do a round up next week. 

Thanks everyone for sticking through my first ever Sew-A-Long!

Wonderland Dress part 3

Hey Everyone!
Sorry this is so late, apparently I picked up a flu thats going around and had a really rough day.
Tomorrow's post will be a little late too because I didn't get any sewing done but i'm going to try to get it up earlier than today.
Ok well here we go on to part three, the skirt.

Step 1: Lay skirt tops with outsides facing in on top of each other lining up the edges. 

Step 2: Pin front of skirt to back of skirt. 

Step 3: Sew front of skirt and back of skirt together.

Step 4: Place contrast strips on top of each other with outsides facing in, and pin

Step 5: Sew Contrast strips together forming one continuous band.

 Step 6: Place contrast band and Skirt face to face at bottom of the skirt, and pin them together.

 Step 7: Sew skirt to contrast band.

 Step 8: Take both bottom trim pieces and lay them face together and pin the sides. 

Step 9: Sew the bottom strips together forming a continuous strip. 

Step 10: Pin the bottom strip to the contrast strip. 

Step 11: Sew the bottom band to the skirt at the white band as close to the edge as you can.

Here is what your skirt should look like now. 

 If you have a ruffler foot attach it to your machine now.

Step 12: using your ruffler foot sew around the skirt following the directions that came with your foot. 

If you don't have a ruffler foot, go here for step by step instructions on how to gather the top of your skirt.

 Here is what your gathered/ruffled skirt should look. 

Step 13: Turn your bodice inside out.

Step 14: Slide skirt (outsides together) into bodice so the waist of the bodice and the waist of the skirt meet. 

Step 15: pin bodice to skirt.

Step 16: Sew the bodice to the skirt making sure to cover your stitches from ruffling/gathering the skirt. 

 What your dress should look like now!

Ok so come back tomorrow for the last part of this sew-a-long! Tomorrow we will be doing the sleeves and attaching them to the bodice, then hemming the skirt. 

Part 4

The Wonderland Dress Sew Along Part 2

Welcome back! Here's Part 2 of the Sew Along. 

We are doing the bodice today.

Step 1: The ties. Iron the two ties flat

Fold the ties in half with the right side facing in. 

Step 2: Pin and sew along one edge and the long side, for both ties.

Step 3. Turn the ties right side out

Step 4: Iron the ties flat. 

Step 6: take the back bodice pieces and back lining pieces and lay them facing eachother. 

Step 7 place the elastic in a loop  along the edge of one side of the back bodice. 

Step 8: Pin lining to bodice outsides facing each other. 

Step 9: Sew along side neck and shoulder. do not sew arm holes

Do this for both back pieces. on the side with the elastic loop make sure you caught it by going over it twice. 

Step 10:  flip lining to the back side and iron flat. 

Step 11: Face both back sides together and pin. Sew to just above the edge of the lining. 

Step 12: Sew front lining to Front bodice the same as you did in the back, only sewing the shoulders and neck, not the arm holes or the sides. 

Step 13: Pin a square right in the middle. 

Step 14: Sew just inside of the pins to make a square. 

Step 15: Cut a square along the new seam.

Step 16: Lay back on front outsides facing in. Pin ties to the side seam. 

Step 17: Pin sides and shoulders. Sew Sides and Shoulders. 

Step 18: Use the covered button kit to make your button. 

Using the pattern on the back of the package cut your fabric for the button. 

Place the fabric and button front in the mold. Push the fabric into the center of the button. 

Place the back in the middle. Use the plunger to push the back into the button and make it stick. 

Step 19: Sew button on back of bodice. 

Your bodice is now finished. 

Tomorrow we will put the skirt together. 

Again if you have any questions let me know. 

Part 3

Wonderland Dress Sew-A-Long Part 1

Post Edit: 5/26/11 I made a mistake on the band that goes on the sleeve, I forgot that it should be twice as wide as the pattern. SOOO sorry, I hope you all have enough fabric to re cut.
I'm so happy you are all here for my first ever Sew-a-long.

For the first part of this sew-a-long you will be making your pattern.
you will need:
A shirt that fits your child
the main fabric
the contrast fabric
pattern making materials (paper, pen, disappearing ink marker for marking fabric, scissors)
pins or weights.

Just a few noted before we begin. When Making my daughters clothes, I always make it a little bigger than I think is needed, its easier to take it in than to add to it. Some of the skirt pieces will be to long and will need to be cut, but again its easier to do than adding. I'm making this to a 24 month size. you'll need to size up for other sizes, but hopefully you will understand how by my instructions. If anything is unclear please feel free to leave a message or email me (address on sidebar). I haven't done very many tutorials and this is my first sew-a-long. I'm self taught and don't always use the correct jargon so hopefully you understand me=) Also I always try on each piece after its done before attaching it to the next piece incase I need to modify it.

Ok Ready to begin? Awesome!

Step 1. Fold shirt in half and lay on paper. leave 1/2 inch margin around shirt.

step 2: Trace around the shirt, stick close to the neck line but leave a 1/2 inch margin around the body and arm hole. 

Step 3: create a 1/2 inch margin on the outside of the shirt. Mark the bottom of the bodice 3 inches from the bottom of the arm hole. (note if making a bigger size add 1 inch to the bodice for each size up. ie 4 inches for a 3t, 5 inches for a 4t etc)

Step 4: draw a straight line from one side to the other of the bodice. This will be both the front and back of the bodice.  

Step 5: Sorry no picture 2 inches from the neckline draw a straight line across the bodice (Again adding an inch for each size up) this will be the lining. 

Now the skirt

Step 6 Use your bodice pattern to figure out your skirt width. The bottom of my bodice was 6 3/4 inches. I added 3 3/4 inches to that and that became the top measurement for my skirt. (for larger skirts take the bodice measurement and half it then add that to the bodice measurement {more or less, I added the 3/4 because I hate dealing with fractions plus with a ruffled skirt top it doesn't matter if its a little big})

Step 7: for the skirt I drew a very slight angle down the page to get my skirt 9 inches. (for bigger sizes I recommend adding an extra inch, but play around with it because it will ultimately be up to you how long you want it,)

Picture of the pattern (one edge is angled slightly one end is flat. The flat end will be on the fold.) You don't want your angle to be to severe because you will be sewing the two angled edges together. 

Step 8: The bottom band is 5 inches wide and the same length as the skirt. you will cut two on the fold. This piece will be out of the main fabric. 

Step 9: the contrasting band. 1 inch wide same length as the skirt. If making a bigger one, I would only add 1/4 of an inch for every size up. the band is supposed to be small in comparison. 

This will also be cut on the fold x2

Step 10 the arms. This is what gave me the most trouble the first time, and I actually made 3 sets of sleeves before I found one I liked. Using the bodice pattern to trace the Arm hole, mark one inch from the top of the arm hole. Trace the arm hole and a straight line two inches down and two inches across from the bottom of the arm hole. then a straight line to the top. This will be cut on a fold and then ruffled, so it may look big but could end up small. I recommend trying this on your child after its cut out to see how much ruffling you need . 

Step 11: the contrasting arm band. 2 inches wide and 1/4 inch longer than the bottom of the sleeve. 

Post Edit: When you cut this it needs to be double the height. IE cut on two folds. 

Step 12 trace around bodice on fold and cut out your front bodice.

Step 13: trace and cut the lining on the fold. this will be for the front.

Step 14: Trace and cut the bodice (not on the fold) for the back

Step 15: Trace and cut the lining (not on the fold) for the back

Step 16: cut two of the skirt pattern on the fold. 

Step 17: Bottom band. Trace and cut 2 on the fold.

Step 18: The sleeve. Trace and cut 2 on the fold.

Step 19: Contrast band. Trace and cut 2 on the double fold

Post Edit: The height will be twice as high as the pattern. Sorry I forgot this when I was doing this the second time. 

Step 20: Ties (sorry I forgot to take a picture of making the pattern for these) They are 18 inches long by 2 1/2 inches wide (add 2 inches of length  for each size up, I don't think its necessary to make them wider for larger sizes but you can)

Step 21: Trace and cut 2 arm bands on the fold

Thats it! your done making your patten and cutting the pieces for your Dress. Make sure if you are using a covered button you save a scrap of your contrast material for that. 

tomorrow we will do the bodice, including the elastic closure for the button, the covered button and the notch in the front of the neckline. 

Remember if you have any questions please feel free to let me know! 

See you all tomorrow for part 2!

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