{"id":42558,"date":"2015-02-06T09:20:20","date_gmt":"2015-02-06T14:20:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/?p=42558"},"modified":"2015-02-06T08:23:34","modified_gmt":"2015-02-06T13:23:34","slug":"reversible-rayon-roller-skate-dress-tutorial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oliverands.com\/community\/blog\/2015\/02\/reversible-rayon-roller-skate-dress-tutorial.html","title":{"rendered":"reversible rayon roller skate dress tutorial"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cotton + Steel fabrics have made a splash in the sewing world since their debut in 2013. \u00a0With their modern, bold prints, the thoughtfulness about different fabric types and print coordination, and their collaborative design effort, they’re a fun group to watch and their fabrics are wonderful to sew with.<\/p>\n

I was so excited to be asked to be a part of the tour to promote Cotton + Steel’s<\/a>\u00a0foray into fashion fabric: the Frock<\/a> collection of rayon prints! \u00a0In fact, the fabric inspired me so much, I put together a tutorial to make a completely reversible Roller Skate Dress<\/a> for you today.<\/p>\n

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I chose two coordinating prints, Gemstone Teal by Sarah Watts, and Pixel Print Neon by Melody Miller. \u00a0To me the gemstone fabric gives the dress a more vintage\u00a0vibe, and the pixel print is more modern. \u00a0I love that this one dress\u00a0has two completely different looks!<\/p>\n

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The rayon itself is so soft, so drapey and the colors are beautiful. \u00a0It was my first time sewing with rayon and it was a little slippery and shifty to work with, but still fun to sew and far\u00a0easier to handle than, say, silk. \u00a0I machine pre-washed it on cold and dried it on low in my dryer, because for a kid’s garment I didn’t want to have to rely on dry cleaning, so it needed to be pre-shrunk.<\/p>\n

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I decided to make the dress reversible, and not in a\u00a0“fold the hems under and topstitch” way. I wanted a nice and clean blind hem. \u00a0It worked!<\/p>\n

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The hem ends up longer than the pattern, but only a tiny bit. The pattern’s hem is 5\/8″ and this method will give you a 1\/2″ hem. \u00a0You could always sew the hem at 5\/8″ if you want. \u00a0It doesn’t matter, construction-wise. \u00a0Let’s get started!<\/p>\n

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First, sew the entire dress as instructed, but do not trim your lining<\/em> – both sides\u00a0need to be exactly the same length.<\/p>\n

Be sure to sew your elastic channel, add the elastic, do everything except the hem! \u00a0Okay I didn’t do the button until last. \u00a0But otherwise, the only thing you should still have to do to finish the dress is the hem.<\/p>\n

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Find and mark\u00a0the center front of both\u00a0skirts with tailor’s chalk\/disappearing marker.<\/p>\n

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Separate the dress layers so the whole thing is inside out.<\/p>\n

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Now the part that’s slightly tricky to explain. \u00a0Fold one skirt layer up so the right side is showing (similar to how you machine-sew sleeves on a bagged jacket lining<\/a>). \u00a0Then lift\u00a0the other skirt up and around, bringing the right sides together at your center marks, and pin. \u00a0Make sure the dress isn’t twisted and you’re matching front to front.<\/p>\n

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Continue pinning right sides together, matching side and back seams. \u00a0You’ll end up with a funny donut shape but it’ll work!\u00a0 Sew the hem, backstitching at each end, and leave\u00a0a 3-4″ gap for turning.<\/p>\n

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Gently pull the dress through the gap you left in the hem. \u00a0Finger press, then carefully press\u00a0your hem (rayon takes ironing well, by the way – just remember set your heat on low\u00a0test it on an edge first).<\/p>\n

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Slip stitch or ladder stitch\u00a0the opening closed by hand. \u00a0There are great videos on YouTube if you need a refresher on how to do this invisible stitch.<\/p>\n

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Sew your buttons on (I sewed mine a little too tight; you can put toothpicks under your buttons so they have a little slack if you need to). \u00a0I chose similarly sized buttons that both had two holes so it made it really easy to sew them simultaneously.<\/p>\n

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And you’re done! \u00a0Two light and springy Roller Skate Dresses in one!<\/p>\n

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If you use this tutorial to make a Reversible Roller Skate Dress, be sure to add it to the Oliver + S flickr group<\/a>. \u00a0Please let us know if you have any questions, and thanks for having us along on the tour, Cotton + Steel!<\/p>\n

Here are the other Frock\u00a0tour stops in case you missed them:<\/p>\n