OMBRELLE the dress - Sewalong

(Photo credit: @xanniebelle)

A breezy dress with puff short sleeves, a crew neck, waist and bust darts, and a concealed zipper in the back. Make it in a light and natural fabric for a true summer classic.

(Photo credit: @jadesovic2)


Terminology
For a definition of the words ending with an asterisk (*), refer to the "terminology" section of the document "Instructions-A4-Letter.pdf".


Sewalong

Front bodice:
1-With RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER*, fold the front bodice (A) to match up the dart notches on the side seams. Sew from the notches and finish in the fold, according to the dart marking. Press the darts down.

Tip: do not backstitch in the fold of the fabric. Instead, knot the thread trails that are left at the end of the seam.




Then, repeat the step with the waist darts and press to the center front.




Front waist:
2-With RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER*, sew the front waist (B) to the bottom edge of the front bodice (A). Be sure to match up the corresponding notches. Then, edge-finish the seam allowances* and press down.




Front skirt:
3-With RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER*, fold the front skirt (C) to match up the dart notches on the top edge. Sew from the notches and finish in the fold, according to the dart marking. Then, press the darts to the center front.




4-With RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER*, sew the top edge of the front skirt (C) to the front waist (B). Be sure to match up the corresponding notches. Then, edge-finish the seam allowances* and press up.




Back bodice:
5-With RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER*, fold each back bodice (D) to match up the dart notches on the bottom edges. Sew from the notches and finish in the fold, according to the dart marking. Press the darts to the center back.




Back waist:
6-With RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER*, sew each back waist pieces (E) to the bottom edge of the back bodices (D). Be sure to match up the corresponding notches. Then, edge-finish the seam allowances* and press down.




Back skirt:
7-With RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER*, fold each back skirt pieces (F) to match up the dart notches on the top edges. Sew from the notches and finish in the fold, according to the dart marking. Press the darts to the center.




8-With RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER*, sew the top edge of each back skirt pieces (F) to the back waist pieces (E). Be sure to match up the corresponding notches. Then, edge-finish the seam allowances* and press up.




Invisible zipper:
9-Fuse* the stay-tapes on the center back seam allowances* of the dress. Place the tapes between the neckline and the zipper marking, at 0.3cm (⅛”) of the fabric edges.

10-Edge-finish the center back seam allowances* on the back pieces. Then, open the zipper and, with its face against the right side of the fabric, pin one zipper tape to one side of the center back seam. Place the zipper teeth on the seam line, meaning at 1 cm (⅜”) from the fabric edge, and the top stopper at 2.5 cm (1”) below the neckline edge.




11-Install the invisible zipper foot and sew close to the zipper teeth by inserting them inside the grove of the zipper foot. Sew from the neckline edge and end at the zipper marking.




12-Before sewing the other side of the zipper, close it again and mark the second tape next to the waist seams.




Then, separate the zipper and sew the second tape to the other side of the centre back seam, matching up the markings with the corresponding seams. Close the zipper.




13-Install the zipper foot. With RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER*, sew the back skirt pieces together at the center back seam, from the zipper marking to the bottom edges. Press the seams open.




Shoulders & side seams:
14-With RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER*, sew the front and the back of the garment together, at the shoulders and side seams. Edge-finish the seam allowances* and press to the back.




Gathering the sleeves:
15-Pick one sleeve (G) and baste* the sleeve head, between the notches. Sew first at 0.6 cm (¼”) from the fabric edge, then at 1.2 cm (½”). Be sure to leave long thread trails at the end of the seams. Then, pull gently the thread trails to create gathers. Repeat this step with the second sleeve.




16-With RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER*, fold one sleeve (G) lengthwise and sew the underarm seams. Repeat the step with the second sleeve. Then, edge-finish the seam allowances* and press to the front.




Elastic on the sleeve:
17-Mark the knitted elastics and the bottom of each sleeve in four equal parts. Then, sew the elastics to the wrong side of the sleeves, flush on the bottom edge, using a zigzag stitch. Start on the underarm seam and stretch the elastic as you sew to match the corresponding markings. Finish by overlapping the elastic ends by about 1 cm (⅜”).




18-Fold the elastics to the wrong side and sew in place with a zigzag stitch or a double needle. Be sure to stretch the elastic as you sew, in front and behind the presser foot, to remove any creases in the fabric.




Attaching the sleeves:
19-With RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER*, thread one sleeve (G) through the corresponding armholes and pin together, matching up the corresponding seams and notches. If the sleeve head does not fit yet into the armhole, pull again on the thread trails to gather the sleeve even more. Then, use your fingers to distribute evenly the gathers and sew together. Press the seam allowances* toward the body. Repeat this step with the remaining sleeve.




Neckline binding:
20-With RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER*, sew one long edge of the neckline binding (H) to the neckline edges. Be sure to match up the corresponding notches. Note that the centre back seam allowances* should be flat. Then, trim the seam allowances* to half.




21-Under-stitch* the binding.

Then, fold its short sides at 1 cm (⅜”) to the wrong side and fold down the entire binding inside the garment. Press the finished edges.




22-Conceal the raw edges of the binding by folding them underneath. Fold in order to get a 1 cm (⅜”) wide binding and pin it in place.




Then, edge-stitch* the fold. Press the neckline.




Button & buttonhole:
23-Fold the round elastic in half. Then, insert the ends to one side of the center back, between the binding and the garment. Sew in place by topstitching at 0.6 cm (¼”) from the centre back, catching also the elastic.

24-Sew a button on the other side of the center back, on the right side of the back bodice, catching also the binding. Place the button so that its center is 0.5 cm (¼”) from the center back and the neckline edge.




Hem:
25-Fold the bottom edge of the dress at 1 cm (⅜”), then at 2 cm (¾”) to the wrong side. Sew the folded edges in place and press the hem.

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