Marfy 2240. Awh...not another coat

Marfy 2240

Yeah, okay, you're right..not another coat but I got to tell you that on average we always get cloudy days here 9 months out of the year, so, I need coats!!!!!

I have been putting this off like stupid crazy, but I found the fabric I was looking for and I am at peace with it.

Originally, I bought a periwinkle coloured fabric which you might have seen from this post A Roadside Flower Story and it turned out I didn't have enough metres to do this coat, so, instead I changed my mind and went with a boucle acrylic fabric of pink origin and a white cotton twill, (hmmm. who would have guessed), so this time I think I bought too much.  But that's OK!
So, yes, I am making two versions here:  The pink boucle and the white twill (with blue lining)

So let's examine the finished product shall we....





Size 46
Knee length
Lined of course even though it isn't obvious
Pleated over/under collar with lining
Centre back seam
3 pleats on lower half
Top stitching on bodice and lower pleats
Five 28-30 mm buttons third one down is a seam buttonhole
I'll skip the hat
Sleeves shows lining but that can be changed
Pleated where pocket lining is???

Cute isn't it???!!!!

This SO reminds me of the very favourite coat that Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge wore some years back.  Here is the visual:

Isn't this coat freaking adorable? I really liked the flare at the waist line. However Marfy 2240 isn't a double breasted coat but the collar makes up for that alone!

I really like that the front pleats will enhance an hourglass figure to make a waist seem smaller, and that is everything isn't it??

I got to say that any topstitching I do may not show up very much unless I get a darker thread.  Working on that. Or I can use some heavier weight Z twist perle thread and hand stitch my topstitch...hmmmm.

For the lining on the white twill, I picked out a colour that was aptly named "BLUEBERRY", which was a close fit to the picture above.

What you'll need to do:

You'll need 3.5 m of 1.44 m wide fabric and about 3 m for the lining safely

Front Bodice: Cut 2
Side Front Bodice: Cut 2
Lower Front: Cut 2
Side Back: Cut 2 (cut 2 lining)
Back: Cut 2 (Lining cut 1 on fold(altered) with standard pleat)
Pocket: Cut 4 lining only
Upper/Under Collar: Cut 1 on bias fold (same for interfacing,lining)
Upper sleeve: Cut 2 (Cut 2 for lining)
Lower sleeve: Cut 2 (Cut 2 for lining)
Front facing: Cut 2 (cut 2 interfacing)

Onto the instructions already.....geez

Since I have 2 versions I will probably toggle using both source pictures, so, you are seeing the same thing done for each, nothing has changed.

Step 1 LAYOUT  Sorry about the lighting, it's gray here a lot!!!




Side back, Back, Front bodice, Under sleeve

Over sleeve, Lower Front, Side bodice

Collar piece which is both under and over collar cut 1 on the BIAS fold. Same for lining.
(Here I have a 1:1:sqrt(2) special triangle to make sure my fabric is folded on the true bias)

I used a 2 cm add on allowance and hem allowance in all places except the collar, pocket seams and arm hole areas.(I only add a 1 cm seam allowance)  I need all the space I can get.  My shoulders are quite narrow so, increasing that would be tragic.  All seams will be sewn with a 1 cm seam allowance thus increasing the overall size of my garment.

I have to overlock my fabric pieces because I am getting crazy amounts of fluffage.(extreme fabric dust) for the boucle but not for the white twill.

Step 2 Centre back seam.

With right sides together, sew the centre back seam where it says "seaming half back".  No match point letters here.  Just the straight edge running all the way down from neck to knee hem is your centre back seam.


Step 3 Lower Front Halves

Pleating

Mark or transfer your pleat lines for both sides on the lower fronts. 

IMPORTANT:       Mark your pocket placement line on both sides.  Mark notches where the seam buttonhole will sit.

DO NOT cut out the pleat area.  Cut piece as it is intact and whole(see piece in layout).

 Fold the pleats in the direction away from the centre front.  Note the B match point on the second pleat.  Baste across each pleat on each side for now. Press pleats. It is suggested that the pleats are edge stitched down that doubles as a top stitch.

Bring lines together towards the CB.  Baste pleats and stitch a permanent stitch

Step 4: In seam pockets

I am going to have to serge my pocket lining because I know acetate lining frays like crazy!

At first, where the placement line is on the lower front of the coat kind of threw me off because it doesn't really sit very close to the seam line so, in looking at the conceptual drawing, how are we doing this??
Well, in zooming in on the picture, and looking at how the pocket pieces will fit at the seam line, it looks as though I will have to pleat again!!!  Anyway, that is what I see and I assume I can do anything to make it work, and hence look in good and acceptable in public.

With right sides together, place the pocket lining along the T seam(front-side back). Pin the pocket lining on both front and side front. Sew the lining and T seam between the length of the A placement corresponding line on the front. (In other words, do not have a larger opening for your pocket than the length of your A placement line).

Press this seam towards the pocket and sew pocket pieces together on each side of the jacket.

Now, what to do with this A placement line on the front of the jacket?  Going back to what I just wrote, we need to bring the placement line towards the pocket edge.  The picture shows that the pocket opening along the seam line is next to the last pleat on the front.

After basting the A placement line in line with the pocket hole, I whip stitched these together because it doesn't even show from the outside and it makes for a very strong bind.

Step 5: N match point seam

This is the seam that joins the side back to the back piece.  With right sides together, match notches and fit curve of side back to the back piece. Press seam out. Remember to stay stitch if it is needed.  I don't do it if I can avoid it-yeah I am bad.



Step 6: Bodice B seam

Mark your centre front(CF) line with corresponding buttonhole placements and do not forget the seam buttonhole (third down from top)

Sew with right sides together the bodice pieces with the labelled B match point.   Match notches and curve.  Press seam out.

Bodice Front and bodice side front joined at the B match point
to make the top bodice assembly.

Step 7: Bodice assembly join to lower front halves

With right sides together, join bodice piece to lower front sections.  Press seam out. Match the B match point with the pleat with the seam line.

DO NOT forget to leave a space where the buttonhole sits on the right side of the coat. Re-enforce the stitching where you would start and stop to leave a hole.  This side you want to press seam out because of the seam buttonhole.

The left side of the left front of coat can be stitched all the way across because there are no buttonholes on this side.

Top bodice assembly sewn to lower front half.  This is the Left side of the coat.
B matchpoint seam joins with the middle pleat.

Step 8:  T seam matchpoint Front to Side Back

Now that you have the bodice L an R halves joined to their respective lower halves, now it is time to sew the T matchpoint seam. 

With right sides together, sew the front assembly to the back assembly.  Start and stop sewing above and below the pocket opening by re-enforcing your stitching. Press seam. 


Step 9: Shoulder Seam

Sew the shoulder seam by joining right sides together and pressing seam.  There is no matchpoint here.

Step 10: Sleeves.  Typical two piece assembly

Mark by marker pen or clipped notches the 2 most important parts of the upper sleeve.  There is a notch on the front area and the apex of the sleeve where the grain line is.  This will be the only grain line notch to use as a functional notch.

Mark where the FRONT of the sleeve is, otherwise, we won't know what L and R is here.

With right sides together, sew the N seam matchpoint joining lower and upper sleeves together so that the sleeve is one assembly for each L and R pieces.

Now that this is sewn together, press N seam out (Outer sleeve seam), and sew a gathering stitch between notches. (Or in my case from outer seam to front sleeve notch)

Sew the inner sleeve seam and press out.  Fit sleeve into armhole matching  front notches and apex sleeve notch to the shoulder seam.

Two piece sleeve assembly for the R and L sleeves.

Step 11: Collar

This part was a bit confusing when I first looked at it, but after looking at the drawing, and reading the directions on the pattern piece I realised that I only needed to cut 1 on the fold.  It says to "Fold in Double" and what I did was to create the under collar, I just needed to fold lengthwise along the middle to create the finished collar.  So, let's look at what to do:

1. Cut with seam allowances, 1 piece on the bias fold.  Do the same for the lining and interfacing.
2. Transfer all pleat lines onto the fabric and lining.
3. Fuse or sew interfacing to the wrong side of the over/under collar piece
4. Press pleats on fabric and lining separately. For both sides and ends pleats are pressed towards the CB.  You will need to form mirror image pleats on both sides of your fabric and lining.
5. Baste pleats temporarily until you are ready to sew it to the coat.
6. Sew with right sides together, the collar and lining together leaving one long end open to turn right way out.(Or sew 2 short sides but  long ends are basted)
7. With right sides together, pin the collar/lining assembly to the coat matching CB, notches ending at front of the coat (C matchpoint). Sew and press.
8. DO NOT Press the centre fold line along the long side PLEASE.  The picture shows it kind of fluffy and bouncy.

The pleats are folded as mirror images on L and R sides of the far end of the collar.
The middle length is your fold line
Pleats are directed towards the centre back of the collar(middle).

Basted long end is joined to the coat. (Remember that the non pleated area is the CB)
The end of collar assembly should end at the C matchpoint of front jacket

Step 12: Pockets Front Finish A Placement Line

In finishing the pockets  we have to do some more pleating.  Now, as mentioned before, the placement line A was quite a distance from the T seam line opening, so I think there may be another way to do this, but you can alter things if you see fit.

Take the placement line A and bring this line towards the T seam. Baste the pleat down along the opening, press and sew down within the seam allowance.  This should hold the A placement pleat.
You can sew it down carefully not catching the other side and sewing shut the pocket opening, so what I did was whip stitch it into place.  I did this only because I know it is a sturdy stitch or you can slip stitch it, which evidently bugs the crap out of me.

Step 13: Facing/Lining

Fuse or baste interfacing to the wrong side of both right and left sides of the front facing.
I would suggest to serge or zig zag the edges to keep fabric from fraying.
Mark a corresponding buttonhole placement on your facing to join to the seam buttonhole.

I marked the position on the facing where the seam button hole is on the fashion fabric.

The lining for the front section can be done in 2 ways.  This is the only other piece that is drastically different from the rest of the pattern pieces and this was not in the package, so what I did was use the front bodice piece and sew it to the lower front but had to omit the pleats.  Using the existing pattern piece(facing) and side back, the difference in area would be the newly assembled front lining, which was done the same as in Marfy 9609.  You could also draft an entire single piece including both front pieces but that I didn't want to do.  Either way, you will need to cut 2 of each piece for the lining.

The pieces for the modified front lining.  I assembled them in 2 pieces
but you can draft an entire section as one piece.
Notice how the front pleats are not needed here.

With right sides together, sew the front lining to the facing and press with the seam towards the facing.

Step 14:  Lining Centre back pleat

Since the back piece for the lining is cut on the fold, form your desired pleat width for ease of wear and sew down in 3 places along the length of the centre back pleat.
I chose 3 cm for my pleat distance on either side of the centre fold.  It is really up to you what you want your lining centre back pleat to be, although you can still mirror your fashion fabric directions and sew a centre back seam.  I do suggest to make a pleat only because it allows ease of wear and increases the comfort level a bit.
Hey, if you have the energy, you can hand sew a small chain here because I have seen that in higher quality overcoats.

Step 15: Lining Back Side Back

Sew the N seam matchpoint is done the same for the fashion fabric.  See step 5.

Step 16: Lining Side back to Front Assembly

Sew the lining as you did in step 8 except sew the entire length of the T seam.  This will trap the pockets between the fashion fabric and the lining.

Step 17: Lining Shoulder seam

Sew with right sides together, the facing/front lining shoulder section to the corresponding shoulder seam on back piece.  Press seam out.

Step 18: Lining Sleeves

Assemble the two piece assembly of the lining sleeves just like the fashion fabric as in step 10.  Fit sleeve lining into the armhole area.

Step 19: Lining Collar attachment

With right sides together, sew the facing/lining assembly to the basted collar and fronts. Press and topstitch the facing the centre front from the collar matchpoint to the hem area.  This can be optional but may give it a nice look.

Trim the top corner area and clip the curves making a better look.

*** At this point, the coat should sandwich the collar between the lining.  This small stretch along the collar area when I attached it was a huge pain as the number of layers caused my machine to literally come apart where the needle housing is attached to the shank.  I may suggest to use a thinner fabric to lessen the burden.

Baste the collar assembly to the neckline but don't finish these edges.
Sew the lining over this to sandwich the collar between neckline and lining
See how it is folded like in the picture?  DO NOT press the long centre front fold  line.
It is supposed to look fluffy!

Hem

Normally when I look at the pictures of the finished product, I would imagine that the pattern would generally stop there and you would add the hem allowance.  Well, I did add 2 cm, but as it turns out, I really didn't have to because even without the allowance the piece went WAY BELOW my knees and I have to trim off 5.75 inches!  I then gave myself a new hem allowance of 1.25 inches, and I know I should be metric but this coat is LONG and I am 175cm tall!  Therefore, this coat is sitting at 7 inches higher!  WOW! And that is still below my knees a little bit!

Anyway, having trimmed the massive excess away I serged the bottom of my hem and attached the lining.


Also, attach the lining to the sleeve hem as you see fit.  I think the length of the sleeve could have been a bit longer or adding a french cuff would have been nice.  I probably could draft one but I am way too lazy right now!


Buttons and Buttonholes

Machine buttonhole where your buttonholes will sit on the centre front line. The pattern pieces have this clearly marked.  The seam button hole was a bit tricky in that I had to make a separate buttonhole on the facing and I then secured it to the seam opening inconspicuously .  The other 4 were straight forward.

Hand sew the buttons on the corresponding left centre front line.  Remember us girls!  Button holes are on the right side, buttons on the left!

I chose an off white 28mm laser cut button that looks like this:

And that is it!  See you for the next post!



Bye!!!!

 After making this coat and its silly pink doppelganger, I do urge you to think about using lighter softer coating fabrics as the bulky layers of the collar presented a massive huge problem for me personally as my machine is showing its limitations and age.  This was not a hard problem to overcome it was just that I got so frustrated by wasting pointless hours when I could have been reading??!!! 

A night fantasy garden- Marfy dress pattern 9921

Sewing Marfy Dress Pattern 9921 Size 50

Yeah, this dress was and still is pretty popular!  It was featured on the front of their catalogue for Spring/Summer 2006, which I didn't know about because I wasn't sewing Marfy patterns just then, but....whoa what a cute dress!

Then, this one was on my 'wishlist' for like FOREVER!!  I finally bought it and I am not sure if it is still available but oh well.

Now, I know I am an embroidery queen of sorts so I looked at this and I love the flowers they put on their conceptual finished product.  But, I am going to do something similar.  I am going to bead a similar outline based on a picture and then wear it out hopefully in public. I may or may not do a scalloped hem.
It is also hard to see from the picture if the embroidery was done by machine, by hand, or the fabric had this already woven.  My guess it could be handiwork but I can't zoom in enough to know for sure.

OK, here is the picture I wish to translate onto my fashion fabric

This presents a simple beading outline of a structured image.
This should work

Now, as you may extrapolate from a section, you can make this extend in any direction you want.  Which is exactly what I am going to do.  Here is what you may want to consider:

1. Decide right off if this is an evening or day time dress.  This will dictate what bead colours and textures you will choose to be most appropriate.
2. Choose your bead types and colour scheme.  I have Crepe de Chine silk here so I am not going to destroy this future work of art with tacky and gaudy beads.
3. Choose the correct weight of bead.  DO NOT use plastic pony beads.  They wreak of tacky or cheap for evening gowns or dresses.  They are not useful for this kind of project.
4. Use shiny, crystal, or any AB(Aurora Borealis) finish bead.  Some beads may exhibit opalescence(mother of pearl) like shine.  If you are using crystal, don't get beads that are too large(weighty)

Now, as for my fabric plans, I have already chosen what I am using which is similar to the concept.  I bought a dark navy silk crepe de chine and as for the front bow it is a peacock jewel tone blue shantung silk.  My bow is a lot darker than the one in the concept which I perceive to be a light sky blue.  But who really cares right?  OK, here we go:


Pieces to Cut:

Front Cut 1 on fold
Back Cut 2 on the grain
Bodice Front Cut 2 on the grain
Ribbon tie Cut 2 on the grain
*Belt cut 2 on fold (one for facing) 

*Optional.  You can choose this or the ribbon ties if you want the belt as shown in the conceptual drawing with the floor length option.

I may toggle between showing pictures of my toile piece and the actual fabric.  I did this for photographic purposes. I also lost some images of this project due to a old and then faulty hard drive.

I have serged my fashion fabric because silk frays like crazy.

Ribbon tie pieces

You may want to add interfacing to the ribbon tie or the belt option to the wrong side of the fabric.  With my shantung fabric, I didn't need it.  However, you might if you pick a lighter weight fabric.

With right sides together, match sides and sew all along the open edge because the straight end will be open.  Clip corners and turn right side out making the tip as sharp as can be.  Press out.
I did this similar approach with my DIY sew-along belt Silk Black Belt

The straight end is completely open.  The ribbon piece fold line is the centre line

Please leave ribbon ties for now.  We will come back to this later.


Back Piece

With right sides together, sew the centre back seam the whole length. There is no zipper in this seam, which is actually located on the left side of the dress. Press seam out.

On each back half, sew the shaping darts on the wrong side of the fabric.  Press darts towards the centre back seam.

Centre back seam sewn  with darts pressed towards CB

Next sew gathering stitches where the shoulder seam is for L and R halves of the back piece.  Set your machine stitch length to at least 4 mm.(Long)


Lower Front... V match point dart

In looking at the lower front there seems to be this oddball dart that joins at the front bodice at right angles...YIKES.  Excuse the picture quality....


Mark your dart lines and it may be wise to also make the centre fold line where the dart is.  This will be important trust me.



This dart has the centre line marked.  At the top of the dart
is the V match point.

 Place the straight end of your ribbon tie into the dart placed below the seam allowance(the bodice still needs to be attached) and loosely baste into place. When the dart is sewn into place the ribbon tie will be secured. (I placed the points of the ribbon ties downward)

I know this seems unorthodox to do this insertion this way, but there are other ways.  I think for myself I hate cutting too much fabric and it spells disaster for me, but I felt right about doing it this way.
When all is said and done, press darts towards the centre front.

Place the straight end of ribbon tie into the dart at the centre of the dart
Then , sew your dart as usual

Bodice Front

With right sides together, sew the bodice R and L halves in the centre front up to the notch.  Press seam out and within the seam allowance, along the lower bodice, sew a gathering stitch. 
From the distance from V point to V point (darts) with right and left side of the lower front, gather to fit bodice.
Sew the side of the bodice to the front and pivot at the V point, continue sewing the gathered front and continue until the other side is complete.  You may have to clip the V point for a sharp pivot but may not be necessary. (Basically you are sewing the bodice to the lower front in a U type shape)

Sew a gathering stitch along the shoulder span analogous to the directions from the back piece.
***Be careful not to catch your ribbon ties or belt.

Sew the centre front up until the notch.  Then sew a gathering stitch

Sew along side, then pivot at the V match point and continue.

Shoulder Seam


With the shoulder seam, the pattern piece says to reduce the width to 4.5 cm.  Why this distance I don't know exactly, but perhaps it was theoretically derived somehow.

For both front and back sides, gather and measure until you hit the 4.5 cm distance(watch your seam allowance).  Sew with right sides together the shoulder seam.  Make sure that your gathering stitch becomes secure and won't undo by tying a knot on either side.  (One way to do it)

A match point seam RS

This is the side seam.  The right side seam can be sewn all the way through.  The left side has the zipper, which I strongly urge you to place an invisible zipper in place with a finished edge.
Finish the LS (Front and Back) of the A seam but DO NOT sew this seam yet.  Later....

A match point seam LS

As mentioned before, use your preferred finishing technique for the front and back aspects of your side seam A.  This prepares the seam for the zipper installation.
Sew with right sides together a seam from the hem until the notch. Reinforce the seam at the notch.
Place the invisible zipper next to your finished edge so that it lines up with your seam allowance.  This time I only added a 1 cm seam allowance and therefore I placed the edge of the zipper tape along the fabric finished edge. Baste zipper in place testing the top part so that it closes at the underarm area without using a hook and eye closure. If you want it, fine.
(You will be adding a lining, so account for this extra space).
With invisible zippers, they may be too long for this dress, but not to worry, you can shorten it.  It makes it a lot easier to sew in the zipper.


Beading Embroidery Frames

I feel that making the theme of the dress more nocturnal and somewhat fantasy like by putting leaves on that are not natural in colour.(ie blue). It won't look bad-here I'll show you






An antiquated project of mine of a Regency dress in 2005.
This is the CF of the bodice-at the time not completed.

This picture was taken many years ago (2005) on a Regency style dress that I made to see the Opera of Mozart's Don Giovanni. This happens to be in unnatural hues but against the navy blue Dupoinni, it actually turned out pretty good.
See, I know what I am doing.....however, you may have noticed from the above pictures that this Marfy dress will have matching blue of the ribbon ties instead of a mixture of blues I did with my older project.
And as such, I will keep plucking away until I am finished.  I chose the thread for the leaves to be the same colour as the silk tie on the dress. It is actually a perfect peacock blue-green and the cast-on roses are a sapphire blue, which in real life you could never get this colour in a rose.

OK, beading is not quite like your traditional style embroidery but you still have to use a hoop.  Otherwise your beading work will become slow and frustrating.  Beading will become regimented and faster when you do use a hoop, and you will be amazed at how quickly the work can become less of a chore and more enjoyable.

Frame 1 at the CF of the bottom hem of dress.
I have my hem line basted at 2 cm so that I don't go below this.

 

Yeah, I know, We don't quite see the full picture here yet, but don't you worry, I got ideas stashed up my sleeve.

Frame 2
See how natural light changes the colour of my fabric?

Frame 3
See, the multitude of directions one can go?

Front bodice beading mess.  It isn't really, but a random assortment of rochaille
and delica beads.  Sparkle Sparkle Sparkle!!!
See the gather along the lower bodice seam?

Frame 4.  This is the part where it starts getting higher on the dress
and differentiates. 

Finished major work to the front Sept 24,2013 16:00h PST

An albino fuchsia that poops golden pollen or nectar

Cast-on blue roses with a crystal centre

Now that the front is done for the most part, I still have to bead the raindrops on it.  I would imagine that the bodice seam containing all of the sparkly mess would be like a gutter of water and it will rain on the dress motif.

Front area where it is raining the most as a soft drizzle-like we don't get that here!

On the bottom of the front there appears to be beaded snow drops(Galanthus nivalis) which of course exists in real life, but not in crystal form.

Getting plans for the back of the dress....and don't be surprised that it took me this long between work and school.

Not much for the back but, need to sit down without a bead jabbing you in the behind
You can imagine that this vine is in the process of growing upwards.
Beading completed November 21, 2013 21:30h PST

I have no way of knowing exactly how many frames I ended up doing-possibly about 15.
I went through 2 full bobbins of Nymo beading thread, now that is using your supplies!!!

Onto the final phase.....You know you're finishing a project when...

You attach the lining.

 And definetely, buy about 1.5 m of lining of 1.4 m wide (55").  I happened to be real different here and buy a navy blue bemberg.  I also wanted to add a bit more weight to the whole dress because silk crepe de chine is really light in weight.  But it has a good drape to it that on later projects will determine if I need a bias cut front dress.

While I was beading my dress, the weight of the beads diddn't make the dress  too saggy, which I was afraid it would.  When I test wore it for fit I feel comfortable wearing it which is always a bonus.

Pieces you'll need to cut: Use the same pattern pieces as the fashion fabric

Cut 1 front piece on the fold
Cut 2 bodice front on the straight grain
Cut 2 Back on the straight grain

*Add your applicable seam allowance as well. In my case I added 1 cm.

For the hem of the lining, cut it flush with the pattern piece omitting the added on 2 cm hem allowance(in my case).  We won't need it for the lining.

Lower Front Lining:

In the same manner as above, sew the darts (on the wrong side of fabric) at the V match point but omit the part where I inserted the ribbon.  Sew the angled dart as usual.


Bodice Front:

As mentioned above, sew the two bodice halves right sides together until the notch in the front.
Sew a gathering stitch along the bodice front as well.  Fit bodice front from V point to V point.


Back:

As with the fashion fabric, with right sides together, sew the whole length of the centre back seam.  Sew double shaping darts on the wrong side of the fabric. Press darts towards the centre back.

A Seam RS

Sew, right sides together as the fashion fabric the whole length of the seam.  Press seam out.

A seam LS

Sew with right sides together, the seam up until the lower notch on the side.  Now, Marfy did not specify where to stop sewing and reinforce your end to match the zipper, at this point, you can always make an inference as to where you want the zipper to begin.  I naturally chose the lower notch because often I find it helps getting into dresses easier that way when the zipper length is longer, but your chosen length is a variable but keep in mind the method has to match your fashion fabric.

Shoulder seam

Sew a gathering stitch of the front and back pieces and reduce your width to 4.5 cm regarding your seam allowance as well.  Sew with right sides together the shoulder seam connecting the back to the bodice front.

Attaching the lining to the fashion fabric


With the lining shell put together just as the fashion fabric, with right sides together, attach the lining front neckline to back and sew the whole circumference.  The top of the dress is fully attached, to the lining.

I basted my attachment first because as I have learned with bemberg, it is kind of slippery, and just going in and sewing with the pins in place is really annoying. I also do this so that the seams match and the seams are sewn out and flat.  A little trouble doing this can save you time and frustration.

Now press this seam and understitch the entire circumference so that the lining doesn't pop out when it is finished.

Attach the lining to the zipper with a regular zipper foot, and sew on the side that shows the stitching from the fashion fabric(wrong side) so that the stitching from the lining does not interfere with the other stitching line and that the lining will not get caught in the zipper teeth.
It serves as a very good reference.

I sandwich attach the lining to the armhole area by pressing under the seam allowance from the lining and the fashion fabric, baste the lining to the fashion fabric and edge stitch together.  Now, under most situations it is not a most professional technique, but I think it is fine plus it also serves as an understitch as well. 

Hem:

Finish lining hem and fashion fabric hem in the way that suits you best.  I always hand-blind stitch my hems for my fashion fabric(beading present) and edge stitch my lining hems turned up the exact same allowance my fashion fabric has.  As mentioned before, I added a 2 cm hem allowance on the fashion fabric and also turned up 2 cm on my lining so that the lining will not be lower than the fashion fabric.
I regret that at this time I do not have a good template for a scalloped hem. I did not do this.  I should look for some and where to look?  In a scrapbooking store maybe?

Anyway, that is it!

This darn dress took me 2 years partly because I have school work and a harsh mistress(job), but also I had to re-think my design on the dress a couple of times and it got benched.  Sad huh?  This dress rocks and I wish I had completed it earlier than now, but as fate would have it, things work out they way they are supposed to and I guess this was meant to be!

Bye for now!!!