Red Pink: Week 6

 This was a busy week of bringing the first ensemble to life in the final fabrics. Pattern pieces needed to be drafted for the neckline and armhole all-in-one facing as well as the inside snap placket. The back part of the facing was as simple as tracing the existing seam lines at the top of the dress side back pattern piece, but drafting the the front part of the facing was a bit more complicated. I needed to omit the pleats. And I wasn't quite sure what that would do to the shape and angle of the facing armhole. I tried a couple of different ways of flat patterning to accurately replicate the curve over the bust. 

I traced the neckline, shoulder, armhole, and a short section of the side front pattern piece.

Then I taped the pleats shut, and used a pattern wheel to trace the resulting curve.

Here it is drawn in pencil.

When I finished that, I realized changes might need to be made to the armhole and neckline shape and/or angle. I drafted another front facing with the pleats drawn in, slashed them, and closed them, but that opened up space in the armhole that didn't seem right either. After thoroughly confusing myself, I decided to cut the facing pieces from the first draft of the front facing and put it on the form with the side front piece of the dress. The neckline placement was spot on, but the armhole and side seam needed to be revised.

With the pleats of the dress machine basted in place, I pinned the shoulder and neckline of the dress and facing together, flat on the table, and traced the dress armhole onto the facing using tailor's chalk. I could then cut the excess material away.

I used the trimmed facing piece to alter my pattern.

And used the altered pattern to recut the other front facing piece.

And here is the resulting all-in-one facing. I used a matching cotton rose print from by quilting fabric stash as a sew in interfacing. The interfacing I purchased specifically for this project was marked incorrectly at the store as 100% cotton. I pre-washed my fabrics for this project, so when the interfacing came out of the dryer extremely staticky, I discovered it was actually polyester, or a cotton poly mix. Since I am using all 100% cotton fabrics in this collection, I drew from what I had, and I actually really love the little matching roses. If anyone looks closely at the underside of the facings, it will be a nice little surprise. And if I have enough left, I will also use it to bias bind the side seam allowances.

Since this dress is intended to be a high end piece with quality construction, a lot of time was spent on seam finishing. Denim piping with 2mm cotton cord was inserted between the dress front and matching lining. The corduroy sides of the dress are also sandwiched between the plaid outer fabric and lining so all the raw edges of the curved front and back seams are completely covered. This made for a lot of bulk that needed to be trimmed away before pressing. 

Here is the dress and lining fabric, pillow-cased around the corduroy side pieces. Below are images of the trimmed and notched seams.

All the excess bulk trimmed away resulted in a beautifully pressed seam with no underlying ripples.

Some areas needed hand basting to lay right while sewing and avoid puckers and folds in the seams. The  back side of the corduroy snap placket was also hand basted to keep it aligned with the placket seam, and then hand sewn to cover the raw seam allowance. 

Inserting the snaps was a bit nerve racking, since it can't be undone, but it went really well. I made myself a small sample first as a test and practice piece.

And here are photos of inserting all nineteen snaps along the front curve. I made a separate pattern piece as a snap placement template for the front of the dress.

Once the holes were punched in the front of the dress, I aligned the proper placement of the neckline, and pinned the curve along the seam of the snap placket. 

I used chalk pencil to mark each punched hole onto the inner snap placket, made small adjustments to a few of the markings, and then punched those holes as well. 

I then used a table press to apply the snaps, which was a really fun and therapeutic process. I absolutely love using my press.

And here is the finished dress! I'm absolutely thrilled with how it turned out. The 100% cotton corduroy and plaid poplin were really wonderful to work with. I have a final fitting with the model tomorrow. Enjoy!