cinema/hide-and-seek dress sew-along, day 3

Day three of the Cinema/Hide-and-Seek Dress Sew-Along is now here! Yesterday we got started with the pocket welts and yoke. Today we will be attaching the skirt, assembling the side panels, attaching the pockets, and assembling the dress.

We have a lot of sewing to get done today, so let’s get started!

Attach the Skirt

1. Stitch two rows of gathering (basting) stitches along the top of the front skirt 3/8” and 5/8” from the raw edge, starting and stopping about 1/2” from the skirt’s side edges and leaving thread tails several inches long for pulling. Repeat with the back skirt.

   

2. Pin the back skirt to the back yoke, with right sides together, matching the center notches and the raw edges. Pull the gathering threads to cinch up the skirt to match the width of the yoke. Distribute the gathers evenly, then pin and stitch the skirt to the yoke with a 1/2” seam, backstitching or lockstitiching at both ends. Attach the front skirt to the front yoke the same way.

   

   

3. Finish the seam allowances together, using your preferred method, and press them toward the yoke. Remove any visible gathering stitches from the top of the skirt. Edgestitch the front and back bottom edge of the yoke to finish it, catching the seam allowances in the topstitching to secure them.

   

   

Assemble the Side Panels

1. Pin one front side panel to its corresponding back side panel at the shoulders, with right sides together. Stitch the shoulder with a 1/2” seam, backstitching or lockstitching at both ends. Press the seam allowances open and finish them using your preferred method. Assemble the second set of side panels the same way.

   

   

Attach the Pockets

1. Pin one pocket welt to one side of the front skirt, positioning it between the two dots, with the welt’s folded edge facing center front and the welt’s and skirt’s raw edges aligned. Stitch the welt to the front skirt with a 1/2” seam, backstitching or lockstitching at both ends. Repeat the process with the second welt on the opposite side of the front skirt.

   

2. Pin one pocket to cover the welt, with right sides together and matching the dots, and stitch through all the layers along the edge with a 3/8” seam, starting and stopping at the pocket piece’s top and bottom dots, and backstitching or lockstitching at both ends (stitching near, not through, the dots). Press just the pocket away from the front skirt, leaving the welt against the skirt panel. The stitching for the welt pocket will be visible next to the pocket crease. Repeat the process with the second pocket on the opposite side of the front skirt.

   

   

3. Pin the second set of pockets to the front panels, with right sides together and matching the dots and the raw edges. Stitch the pockets in place with 3/8” seam, matching the dots, starting and stopping at the top and bottom edges of the pocket, stitching near but not through the dots, and backstitching or lockstitching at both ends. Press the pockets away from the side panels.

   

4. Finish the sewn seam allowances just at the seams where the pockets are sewn to the front panels and front dress, leaving the pocket bags’ remaining unseen seam allowances unfinished for now.

   

Assemble the Dress

1. With right sides together, pin one side panel to the center dress, matching the shoulder seams, notches, pocket and pocket-placement dots, and hems. If necessary, clip into the seam allowances of the yoke to release the seam allowances and to help match the opposing curves. Stitch the center dress and side panel with a 1/2” seam, pivoting at the pocket dots to stitch around the pocket bag. Pin and stitch the second side panel to the opposite side of the center dress the same way.

   

2. Carefully clip into the seam allowances at the pocket bags’ corner pivot points, clipping through all layers up to the dot and being careful not to cut into your stitches. Press only the pockets toward the side panels. Press the welts toward the side panels and finish all seam allowances together using your preferred method.

   

   

3. If desired, edgestitch along the side-panel seam, pivoting to stitch down the short end of the pocket welt and stopping there, backstitching or lockstitching to secure the stitching. Then start stitching again at the other short end of the welt and pivot to stitch down the remaining length of the side-panel seam, again backstitching or lockstitching at both ends of the seam. Alternatively, you can edgestitch only the top and bottom edge of the welts on both sides, backstitching or lockstitching at both ends.

   

That’s all for today! If you have any questions on any of the steps, please ask them in the comment section. See you tomorrow for day four.