Catch up here:

The A-Line Dress Sew-A-Long Start

Layplans, fabric, pinning and cutting

Overlocking and final preparation

DARTS & INVISIBLE ZIP.

If this is the first time you are putting an invisible zip in to a garment do not be afraid! Our application is so easy you will never look back! We will say upfront that practice makes perfect so, if this is your first invisible zip, why not do a test run on some spare fabric? You can always unpick it and reuse the zip if you only have one zip. The more times you do an invisible zip the better and easier it will get.

Last suggestion – when you do get to the zip section, read the whole section and look at the pictures and then start from the beginning. Sometimes, something makes more sense when you have seen how the whole thing comes together.

Remember – feel free to tackle everything in one sitting or take your time and split it over the next few days. Also, if you get stuck at any point reach out to us either by commenting on our posts or pop us an email to hello@theavidseamstress.co.uk (we love hearing from you so don’t hesitate!)

Right, let’s get started..

You’ve already marked your dart notches and point (if you haven’t – quick! go do it!)

To help illustrate the next step we’ve drawn the whole dart onto the garment. This shows you the “triangle” of fabric that you are going to be pinching and sewing. If you put a pin into the dot and then pinch the two “notches” together you’ll be able to fold the piece to create the sewing line. Those two lines should meet up on either side to create the perfect dart.

Here’s a little cheat guide… we like to draw the dart sewing line to get the perfect straight line. With a ruler and a fabric marker draw from the dart “notches” to the dot, making sure that the line extends perfectly off at the dot. When you sew this dart, sew from the notches to the dot, making sure that you don’t panic at the end and go off the edge with a curved shape (we’ve done it plenty of times and this means you’ll have a little bulgy dart on the right side). Sew confidently and right off the edge of the fabric .. but here’s the tricky part… we need to close off those last stitches. You can do this by:

• giving yourself long threads and then tying a little knot at the end of the dart point. Do a double tie and then cut (not too closely) to the threads
• if you are feeling more confident, as you are sewing towards the end of the dot, do a quick reverse stitch – you only need to reverse two stitches!

Don’t forget – practice makes perfect with sewing! The more you sew the better you get! If this is the first dart you are sewing why not practice on some scrap fabric first and start with the waist darts before venturing on to the front bodice darts. Waist darts always get ironed/pressed to the side seam. Darts are a staple step in many clothing constructions so the practice will be worth it.

Now, on to the bust dart. With a bust dart, there is more fabric that forms the dart. Using the same technique as above, place a pin in the dot and two pins at your notches/lines. Then, pinch the two lines together so that they meet. You want to work on the side of the dart that means you can sew from the side seam to the dot.

Sew the bust darts and then press them down towards the waist. You can now overlock this side seam edge. Take your time when pressing this as getting the dart crisp will give your bodice a more professional look.

When you look at your dart from the front can you see how it creates a bust shape? The tip of the dart isn’t creating a bulge – this is down to how you sew the tip on the wrong side of the fabric.

BACK BODICE

Ok darts done! Let’s move on to sewing our back bodice pieces on to our back skirt pieces. Ensure that you sew the CB (centre back) notch of the back skirt to the CB side of the bodice. In other words make sure the side seam side of the skirt is matching up with the side seam side of the bodice. Pin, ensuring that your edges are perfect on each other and sew using a 1.5cm seam allowance.

TIP – it’s really important that you start and stop sewing on an accurate 1.5cm seam allowance, otherwise these two back bodice/skirt pieces aren’t going to match up together which is going to affect your zip (nobody wants that!). Take your time, sew as slow as you need to. It might take a little longer but you’ll thank us when your pieces match up perfectly.

Once you have sewn the two back bodice pieces to the two back skirt pieces, place them together and check that they are exactly the same. You can now press open the seam allowances.

INVISIBLE ZIP

Deeep breath. We are now going to do the invisible zip! In our instruction booklet the instructions to insert the zip have been done using the standard zipper foot for a sewing machine. For this tutorial we are using a invisible zip foot. The differences in finish between using an invisible zip or a standard zip foot are pretty remarkable. This little gadget isn’t expensive and it going to turn your invisible zips into works of art!

Here’s the little beauty now, sitting alongside an invisible zip.

Preparing the zip
When you unzip an invisible zip you will notice that each side of the zip “rolls” to the side. With an iron and on a warm, but not hot setting, iron the zip so that each side lies very flat.”

Place the left side of the back dress with the right side facing you (follow the picture). Place the zip right side down on to B and place one pin in place at the top (the neck line). The unpinned side of the zip will be on the left. Look strange? bear with us!