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This is the third and final tutorial related to the [DIY Chevron Dress]({% post_url 2013-04-17-chevron-dress-tutorial %}). In this section, I will be showing you how to sew the dress from the cutout pieces that we drafted and painted in previous tutorials.
I mentioned previously the mistakes that I had been making when doing this whole dress, and this part includes one as well.
At first I thought it would look good to have strip of binding to finish the neck line. But it looked awful. So I went ahead and re-did the neckline by just hemming it over, and it looked a million times better. Therefore, you should ignore the photos in which there is binding at the neck. Also, I already mentioned in part one of the tutorial that the shaping for the pattern was a little off, so a lot of these photos will have a bodice that looks boxier than yours necessarily should.
You might be wondering why I feel it necessary to point out everything that went wrong during the whole process of this dress, and the reason is because while I screwed up many times here and there, the final dress still came out just fine and I’m very happy with how it went. The point is that you can make many many mess ups during a project, and still persevere to a finished project your happy with. This is something that you are making with your own hands—which means you can change your mind, or change the direction of the project, or fix anything even after the project is done if you’re not happy with it or if something went wrong. That’s the beauty of doing it yourself, you have all the skills you need to make something work out the way you want as long as you don’t give up on it!
When I sewed the dress, I used my serger for the seams and a sewing machine for the hems. If you have a serger, you’ll already know how awesome this makes sewing knit fabric. If you don’t, don’t fret—they’re pretty expensive. You can still use your sewing machine and a zig zag stitch. Or better yet, if your sewing machine has triple stretch stitch (it will look like three dashed lines running along side each other) use that! It creates a straight stitch that has a little stretch to it because it goes back over itself a few times. It used to be my go-to for sewing leotards and such, because zig zag stitch has a tendency to make less than smooth seams but triple stretch stich works like a charm. I usually still finish off the seam allowances with zig zag stitches, though, to give the seams more strength.
With right sides together, sew the shoulders together
Again, disregard the neck binding. It looked terrible when all was said and done.
Then sew the two bodice side seams up to the armhole opening.
Hem the arm holes by folding the fabric over 1/4 inch twice, pressing, and top stitching narrowly.
The neckline will be done the same way, however the V-neck needs a little extra attention. First fold the fabric over and press as normal. Then snip close to, but not quite to, the second fold.
The v when folded over will look something like this.
Once you have top stitched all the way around, turn the shirt inside out and fold it in half at the v. Stich aline across at an angle.
When it is finished you will have a nice, finished looking neckline.
With RS facing, sew the back seam of the skirt.
Hem the skirt bottom edge as you did the neckline and arm holes.
Pin the skirt to the bodice with RS facing, easing the fabric as needed. It is helpful to place a pin at two halves first, then quarters, then working pins in between. Sew a seam all the way around, and you’re done!
I hope this tutorial, along with the previous ones, were helpful or inspiring to you. Please let me know if there is anything I can clarify, and leave me a comment if you are thinking about or do make this dress! I would love to see your creations.