Portfolio Dress Sew Along: Day 4

Welcome to Day 4 of the Portfolio Dress Sew Along hosted by Gwenny Penny and Pickup Some Creativity!

If you are just joining us, click here for Day 1, here for Day 2, and here for Day 3. We would love for you to join our Flickr group so you can share your dress with everyone. Today you'll start over at Pickup Some Creativity for Steps 24 and 28 through 31 with Chris. Then come back over here to finish your dress (hooray!) with me on Steps 32 and 33.

Step 32: "On OUTSIDE, sew buttons to RIGHT back neck band opposite loops."

To figure out exactly where I needed to sew my buttons, I lined up my back neck band pieces, with the button loops overlapping the right side. I made sure the back neck band pieces themselves were not overlapping and then pinned the button loops in place.

I took my water soluble disappearing ink pen and marked a dot on the right back neck band right in the center of each button loop. I then sewed my buttons onto the right back neck band, centering each button on the dots.

The pattern calls for 3/8" diameter buttons, but I used 1/2" buttons, and they work perfectly.

Step 33: "Mark length. Press up hem along marking. Mark depth of hem; trim evenly. To EDGE FINISH the raw edge... stitch under 1/4", zig-zag, OR overlock/serge. Slip-stitch or machine-stitch hem in place, easing in fullness."

This is how I determined whether or not my hem was even... I hung the dress on a hanger and hung the hanger on the wall. I grabbed a yardstick and measured from the floor up to the bottom of my dress at several different locations to make sure that the bottom of my dress was even before I started hemming.

The bottom of my dress was even, but if yours is not you will need to trim it so that it is even. You can use this same method to mark where you would like your hemline to fall, then press the hem to the wrong side of the fabric along this marking. Technically the hemline should be marked while you are wearing the dress, but a lot of times that just is not possible. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't ask my husband to pin the hem of my dress for me :)

The pattern directions recommend that you start by finishing the raw bottom edge by stitching the bottom edge up 1/4" or zig-zag stitching the bottom edge or overlock stitching/serging the bottom edge. After finishing the edge using one of these methods, the directions call for either slip-stitching or machine-stitching the hem in its final position. There are several methods for hemming a dress or skirt. You may want to check out this post on general Tips and Techniques for Hems from Sew, Mama, Sew.

I used a different method than that shown in the pattern... This tool is a sewing and knitting gauge, and it is one of the most useful sewing tools that I own. If you don't have one, just use a measuring tape or ruler.

The hem allowance on the pattern is 1 1/4". I went with 1" because the length before hemming seemed almost perfect to me. I didn't want to go much shorter. Using my sewing gauge to keep things even, I pressed the hem up 1" to the inside of the dress.

Next, I tucked the raw edge under to the fold and pressed again.

After pressing the hemline all the way around, I machine-stitched the hem about 3/8" from the bottom edge.

Here is the finished hem of my dress when it's hanging...

OK, drum roll please... Your dress is done!!! Try it on and take some pictures to share with the Flickr group.

Come back tomorrow to see the finished dresses that Chris and I made. We will also be sharing some tips and tricks that we learned along the way. And don't forget that Chris and I will be featuring your dresses next Friday, May 6th. As always, 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!