Thursday, October 20, 2011

Sewn With Love-A Lined PlayDate Dress

Lining the PlayDate dress.
Its not that I don't appreciate a lined dress with bound seams. I do-really! Its just not the highest priority to me.
Along as the seams are finished and the garment is well made,I am happy.

However,a dear friend has recently had a beautiful baby girl and I wanted to make her a dress AND she does appreciate an inside as perfectly finished as the exterior.
(And she is an amazing sewer)
So I wanted it to be perfect.

So here we go.....




Here's the yoke I prepared earlier.




Cut a second dress from the lining fabric(I use a cotton rich poplin)except for the yoke.
Sew it as directed except for gathering the sleeve ends rather then tucking and sewing a narrow hem rather then making a hem facing.


Place the two dresses right sides together.
Match the side seams and the centre front and back seams and pin the yokes together.



Baste the yokes together with a large stitch and a narrow seam allowance.
Check for tucks and then sew again with a normal stitch length.


Random cuteness.


Pull the lining through.


Press the seam really really really well.


Baste the seam in place.



Unroll the folded cuff and match the lining and the sleeve edges.


Using the dress sleeve hem fold lines,fold once....


And then a second time.
Pin in place.


Pull up the gathering threads to fit the lining to the sleeve.


As before,using the pre-folded hem lines,fold and pin the hem.
Leave the loose threads for now,snip them off when the hem is finished.
Tugging on them may cause the hem to be wonky(that is a technical term,on my blog anyway)!








Hem the sleeve.
I chose to hand sew.


Finish the hem facing.
I hand sewed that as well.



Isn't it neat?
Very proud of my self!



The dress so far....


No seams visible.


Now to attach the yoke.....


Pin the yoke to the dress at the shoulder seams and centre front and back.
I tapped the seams with my little hammer to soften them.

Continue pinning and easing,this was fiddly and took some time but was not that hard!

I didn't seem to take a photo of the pinned yoke.....I think I was too excited to be so close to finishing!



This is the pinned inside.
Topstitch the yoke in place s l o w l y lift the foot if you encounter tucks.
I sewed the complete yoke with out using the pedal,I just turned the hand wheel. (But my machine is industrial and very fast)!


The yoke stitched in place.
Hurrah!


All the seams inclosed.


The finished dress.


Zara and Elsa designed the dress.
I would have sewn a white yoke with ruffles and little buttons.
The Twins declared Claire far groovier then that!
The yoke of choice is natural linen piped with a blue linen(that I soaked for 2 hours in salt water to set the colour) and finished with a faux tab and a painted mother-of-pearl button.
The button has a little bird to match the blue bird in the print.


The fabric is a Japanese linen that I purchased especially for this little girl.
It was lovely to sew but frayed terribly.

This dress was sewn with so much love.
I imagined the little girl wearing it and I hope she will often.


I struggle sewing for others. I second guess myself and fret about my choices.


I enjoyed fussing with my finishing on this dress and I may line it again if I used a fine fabric.


But I am not a convert
Well,not completely.....


Thanks for stopping by


x N

15 comments:

  1. This is a fantastic dress Nicole!! It is so well made! I love the lining and the inside of the whole dress is so amazing! I love the yoke and the button on the front is a great detail. What a wonderful gift!

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  2. It's absolutely perfect, Nicole! Inside and Out!

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  3. Thank you Sharon!
    It has taken me over a week to finish it which was so frustrating but I wanted it perfect!
    It went in the mail today....fingers crossed she likes it!

    x N

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  4. Thank you Cindy,thats so sweet of you!
    I am really nervous now.....

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  5. It is perfect, and Claire will love it!

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  6. This is GORGEOUS! I know she will treasure it.

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  7. This is a truly lovely dress, Nicole....Claire will love it. You are a special friend indeed!

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  8. Ok, your method for lining the dress/hiding seams here is ingenious. My way doesn't even come close to being as good, and you know how I like to hide a seam!

    Your friend will be amazed at how it is finished, and because she sews, she'll be ringing you to tell you how wonderful the dress is and probably asking how you managed to finish it so well.
    Such a gorgeous dress for a little girl.

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  9. Thank you Susanne!

    I hope she wears it lots and doesn't save it Camille,the linen doesn't need much of a press.
    Thank you!

    Thank you Justine,I really enjoyed channeling my cluckiness into this one!

    Thanks Angela,it ended up a bit bulky with some many layers but they flattened with a bash of my hammer!

    Did you blog your lining? I would love a peek!

    x N

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  10. That turned out so beautifully! Wow! I don't know if I'd ever be ambitious enough to line a dress, but thanks for the very detailed instructions in case I ever am.

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  11. Thanks Brittany!
    It is not something I do as a matter of course but it was worth it for the result.
    I would definitely use this option if I was sewing with a wool.
    Thank you for your lovely comment!
    x N

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  12. Oh goodness,me too now!

    I hope you like it and please don't save it for best!
    I always like to dress Zara up for her appointments,I hope it will be useful for that.
    I hope it arrives soon Darling Girl!

    xxx N

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