HENNA the bodysuit - Sewalong

A bodysuit with a fitted brief-cut bottom and a snaps closure at the crotch. The bodice features a loose and flowing silhouette that will suit silk perfectly.

Get your copy, measurements and required material for this project here!

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


Sewalong

Unless stated otherwise, sew at 1 cm (⅜") from the edge. Fabrics: To edge-finish with a SEWING MACHINE, sew with a zigzag stitch over the edge of the fabric to prevent fraying. To edge-finish with a 3-THREADS OVERLOCKER (SERGER), sew by placing the edge of the fabric close to the knife. Knits: To sew knits with a SEWING MACHINE, use a straight stretch stitch or a very narrow and short zigzag. To edge-finish the seam allowances, sew a second row of stitches close to the first ones, with a regular zigzag stitch. Then, trim the seam allowances close to the second row of stitches. With a 4-THREAD OVERLOCKER (SERGER), sew and edge-finish at once by placing the left needle marking at 1cm (⅜”) from the fabric edge.

Bust dart:
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.

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




Press the darts down.




2-Before you continue sewing, stay-stitch* the armhole and neckline edges on the front (A) and back (B) bodices.




Shoulders & side seams (bodice):
3-With RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER*, sew the front (A) and the back (B) together at the shoulders and side seams. Edge-finish the seam allowances* and press to the back.




Neck binding:
4-With RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER*, sew the front (C) and back bindings (D) at the short sides. Then, trim the seam allowances* to half and press open.




5-With RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER*, sew one long edge of the binding to the neckline edges. Be sure to match up the shoulders and the corresponding notches. Then, trim the seam allowances* to half.




6-Under-stitch* the binding. Then, fold it over to the wrong side of the garment. Press the finished edges.




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




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




Armhole binding:
8-With RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER*, sew one armhole binding (E) into a circle by joining the short sides. Then, trim the seam allowances* to half and press open. Repeat the step with the remaining armhole binding.


 

9-With RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER*, sew one long edge of one armhole binding (E) to one armhole edges. Be sure to match up the corresponding notches. Then, trim the seam allowances* to half. Repeat this step with the remaining armhole band.




10-Under-stitch* the armhole bindings. Then, fold them over to the wrong side of the garment. Press the finished edges.

11-Conceal the raw edges on the armhole bindings by folding them underneath. Fold in order to get a 1 cm (⅜”) wide binding and pin in place. Then, edge-stitch* the fold. Press the armholes.




Side seams (culotte):
12-With RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER*, sew the front (F) and back (G) culotte together at the side seams. Edge-finish the seam allowances* and press to the back. Turn the culotte right side up.




Leg bands:
13-With WRONG SIDES TOGETHER, fold the leg band pieces (H) in half lengthwise and press. Then, with RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER*, pin one leg band to the corresponding leg opening, stretching the band to match up the notches. Be sure that the raw edges of the band are lining up with the raw edges of the bodysuit. Sew together with the band facing up.




14-Edge-finish the seam allowances* and press them toward the body, bringing the leg band out. Repeat to the other side with the remaining leg band.




15-To maintain the seam allowances* in place, edge-stitch* the leg opening seams with a double needle or a zigzag stitch (optional).

Waist:
16-With RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER*, pin the bottom of the bodice to the culotte, matching up the side seams and the corresponding notches. Then, sew the bodice and the culotte together, stretching the culotte as you sew. Edge-finish the seam allowances* and press down.




Crotch opening:
17-On the wrong side of the garment, fuse* a piece of interfacing flush on the raw edges of each crotch.

18-Edge-finish the front and back crotches and fold them at 1 cm (⅜") to the wrong side. Sew the folded edges in place with a straight stitch. Press.




Snaps:
19-Using your preferred method, install three snap fasteners on the crotch so that the front overlaps the back. Be sure to place the socket (female) snaps on the wrong side of the FRONT crotch and the stud (male) snaps on the right side of the BACK crotch.

WELL DONE! You have completed Henna! Show us your take on this project using the hashtag #calicothenna. If you have any comments or questions, let us know by writing us an email at info@studiocalicot.com.

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