If you are just joining us, click here for Day 1 of the sew along and here for Day 2. If you haven't already, please join our Flickr group so you can share your dress with everyone. Today you'll start here on Gwenny Penny with me to complete Steps 17 through 19, then head on over to Pickup Some Creativity for Steps 25 through 27 with Chris.
Step 17: "Apply fusible interfacing to WRONG side of sleeve band (piece 10). Stitch notched ends of band. Fold band in half lengthwise and press, setting in a crease. Open out band. To EDGE FINISH unnotched edge... stitch 1/4" from edge, turn under along stitching and stitch OR zig-zag over the edge OR overlock/serge over the edge."
You have two sleeve bands (piece 10). If your fabric is one sided, the first thing I'm about to tell you can be ignored. Just iron your interfacing onto the wrong side of your sleeve bands. My contrast fabric, however, is plain white, so it doesn't have a right or wrong side. If you're contrast fabric falls under this category, make sure you iron your interfacing onto the proper side of the sleeve bands. You need to make sure that the notch along the long edge of the sleeve band is to the right on one piece and to the left on the other when you iron on your interfacing. Here's a picture to show you what I mean...
Take one sleeve band and pin the short edges right sides together, lining up the notches.
Stitch along this edge using a 5/8" seam allowance.
Press the seam open. Fold the band in half lengthwise with wrong sides together, and press to form a crease.
Open the band up. You now need to finish the unnotched edge. Start by stitching around the band 1/4" from the unnotched edge. Next, fold the fabric toward the wrong side (toward the interfacing) along the stitching you just sewed.
You can then finish the edge like you would a seam (see Chris's seam finishing tips from Day 2). I just stitched around the band again, but you could use a zig-zag stitch, an overlock stitch, or a serger.
This is what you should have now...
Step 18: "With RIGHT sides together, pin band (piece 10) to lower edge of sleeve (piece 9), matching seams. Stitch. Trim seam. Press seam toward band (piece 10)."
Turn your dress wrong side out. Turn your opened up sleeve band right side out. Slide the sleeve band (finished edge first) into the sleeve opening of your dress. Make sure the sleeve band seam and notch match up with the sleeve opening seam and notch. If not, switch to the other sleeve opening on your dress. Pin all the way around, matching up the seams and notches and aligning the raw edges of the sleeve and band.
Stitch all the way around using a 5/8" seam allowance.
Trim the seam down to about 1/4". Reach inside and pull the sleeve band out. Press the seam toward the sleeve band.
Step 19: "With WRONG sides together, fold band (piece 10) along crease. On INSIDE, pin finished edge of band (piece 10) over seam, placing pins on OUTSIDE. Finished edge extends beyond seam. On OUTSIDE, stitch in the ditch or groove of seam, removing pins as you come to them."
I found the instructions for this step to be a little confusing. After reading through it about twenty times, this is how I did it... Turn your dress right side out. Fold your sleeve band (wrong sides together) along the crease that you created in Step 17. This will tuck the finished edge of the sleeve band inside the sleeve. This part of the creased band is wider than the other part and will cover the seam inside the sleeve. Pin this finished edge of the band in place from the outside (right side) of the dress.
Now you are going to "stitch in the ditch". You are going to sew right where the contrast fabric of the sleeve band meets the main fabric of the sleeve. This will catch the finished edge of the sleeve band on the inside of the sleeve.
Go slowly and carefully. You want the stitches to be nearly invisible. Once you stitch all the way around the sleeve band, it will look something like this...
You can hardly see the stitches. Now you have one sleeve band attached...
Repeat Steps 17 through 19 for the other sleeve band. Should be a piece of cake the second time around :)
Now head on over to Pickup Some Creativity for Steps 25 through 27 with Chris. Time to make some button loops!
Come back tomorrow for Steps 24 and 28 through 31 on Pickup Some Creativity and Steps 32 and 33 here on Gwenny Penny. Again, if you have any questions, tips, or comments, please leave them in the comments section below so that everyone can benefit from the discussion. Thanks for sewing along!
3 comments:
The sleeve bands look wondeful, Gwen! I'm excited to see how your dress comes out.
thanks for this sew-along. Although I've arrived too late to follow it at the same time as you go, I'm going to use all of your `posts to sew my own portfolio dress.
Thank you! you're doing a wonderful job!
I thought this technique was very unique, worked well and will definitely use it in the future.
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