Free Wrap Dress Sew Along: Day 1
| September 26, 2011 | Posted by Karen under Free patterns, Sew-Along |
Is your sewing machine dusted off? Got your 2 1/2 yards of fabulous knit fabric? Washed and dried your pretty fabric??? Yes, you have to! Matching thread? Ball tip (knit) sewing machine needle? Downloaded the free pattern from Burda Style? Or you can download it straight from the creator of the free pattern at Confessions of a Frabricaholic!
Is the free pattern not your size or even close? Not good at grading a size of a pattern? Do not despair! This free pattern was adapted from the New Look pattern 6674. You can still easily follow along with the New Look pattern. The free pattern does include 5/8 seam allowance and uses a knit fabric, so do remember that in sizing. Even by decreasing your seam allowance you can add a couple of sizes. Want to try your hand at grading a pattern up to your size? This lovely woman on Burda did that with this very dress pattern! And she recommends a helpful sewing website to help you with the task. There’s no reason at all that you can’t follow along with me now!
Okay enough with all that! On with the show. Remember when you print your pattern, select NONE when it asks to fit to page. You don’t want to scale the page at all. Measure the test box on the last page to see if it measures 4″ x 4″. If it does, then you’re ready to put it together.
PUTTING THE PATTERN TOGETHER:
*Cut off right side and bottom of each page along the straight black line. This allows you to piece it together properly.
On a large surface, dining room table or clean floor, you will match up 1a to 1a, etc. Make sure you line up the notches and the dress edges, overlapping right edge of paper over left.
*Once all lined up and put together, securely tape the pattern along paper edges and especially corners.
*Cut out the dress pieces along the black lines.
CUTTING THE FABRIC!
Find the right side (printed) and wrong side of your fabric. This can be tricky if it is a solid knit. I had a tough time with my fabric being a solid brown. Look real close and examine the texture and that will help you. Fold your fabric in half with the (right) printed sides touching, making a long rectangle on your table.
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picture is sideways  |
*Place the back pattern piece right along the fabric fold and pin securely in place. Do not cut the fold!! It will open into one large back piece.
*Place the front pattern piece in the same manner, but not on the fold. You are cutting 2 pieces at the same time.
*Do the same with the sleeve piece. **Make sure that all your pieces are lined up directionally the same on the pattern, as in the above picture. You don’t want your sleeve, or front piece at angles, because then the stretch of the knit will lie differently on those pieces of your dress! You don’t want that. Imagine an arrow, and that arrow needs to go up and down, parallel with the fold. ***
I added an inch to the length of my dress so that it would fall below my knees. To do that, simply follow the curve of the pattern, with a ruler, mark your desired length. That will be the line you cut.
*Using the width of the fabric, cut out the binding, using the template provided. You should have three 2 1/2 inch wide by 45″ long pieces.
Like many of you, I am a time crunched gal, and therefore my sew-along projects are set up in short increments. We do a little each day. I have found this keeps me from rushing through my projects, they turn out better (less seam ripping) and I enjoy the process with less stress and drama! I know many of you may want to rush ahead. And please feel free to do so. But this is all for me today. Don’t despair though, in a few days we’ll have a fun new dress! Feel free to leave a question in the comments section, or if you don’t like to leave comments, send me an email. Trust me you are not the only one. I get emails all the time with questions. It is my goal to be an encouragement and blessing to you. On the upper right side of the blog page is an envelope. Simply click that to send me an email.
What do you think? So far so good? Make sense? Clear as mud? Let me know how your progress is going! I love hearing from you.
See you tomorrow!!
