[sewingbunny]

Hello!

I have now cut the fabric, but am now staring at the instruction for the first step.

How do I align the yoke (straight) to the top of the dress panel (slightly curved)? I have tried to curve the yoke to match the dress, but it is not working very well. Also, the yoke is slightly shorter than the top of the dress. Am I doing something wrong here?

I guess this is going to be a VERY long project!

Please help. Thanks in advance.

[Nicole]

Okay,I haven’t made this,so this is assuming a lot.

First,check that the yoke is the right way i.e. attaching the bottom of the yoke to the top of the dress.

You may need to ease these pieces,that not uncommon. Pin either side,then the middle,and gently stretch the two pieces to fit and pin. When you stitch gently ease the two together,when you trim the seam and press it up the yoke should sit nicely.

Finally,were you very fussy with your drafting and cutting? A wrinkle in the fabric can add extra fabric.

Sorry not to be more help,I guess its time I made this dress!

[Liesl Gibson]

As in the first illustration, you’ll just need to straighten out the top edge of the dress a bit so it aligns with the straight edge of the yoke. You’ll get a little bit of fullness in the middle of the dress–thus, the lines down the middle of the dress in the illustration–but if you’ve matched all the edges correctly when taping the pages together the edges will be the same length. If you’re a new sewist, this may seem a bit odd. But as you get more experience you’ll get comfortable with it–it’s the same concept as sewing two opposing curves together. If you’re nervous, baste with a long stitch to check first. That way it won’t be so difficult to take the stitches out if you’ve made a mistake. Once you’ve checked it and confirmed it’s ok, go back and stitch with a regular-length stitch and continue on.

I’m confident you can do it!

Cheers,

Liesl

[sewingbunny]

Thank you very much! Will give it a try now!

[Nicole]

Don’t you wish you could go back and delete your comment sometimes?

[Liesl Gibson]

I can do that for you if you really want. But we’re among friends, right?

[janimal]

The first time I made the Popover Dress, I took FOREVER pinning the top yoke to the dress panel! I pinned and eased and repinned! Now that I’ve made a few, I can pin one on in no time.

Fold the fabric of both pieces in half to find the middle, and pin them together there first. Gently tug on the yoke piece as you pin one side to the dress. You can them keep adjusting and repinning from there, keeping the center pin in place. Then work on the other side. Be patient with yourself and you can do it. And if the yoke doesn’t quite reach all the way to the end, that’s ok too. A teeny bit off won’t ruin the dress.