ODETTE SEW-ALONG #5 - Sewing time (All Odette variations)

Today we actually start sewing!  Instead of starting off slowly we will be jumping straight into a whole heap of sewing.

Find all the previous Odette sew-along posts here 

 ALL VIEWS - BODICE DARTS

First things first lets tackle those bodice darts. When you cut out your bodice ( front and back) pattern pieces you would have marked the darts with your preferred method. I marked my darts using wax tracing paper and rotary marking tool. On the wrong side of the bodice front (1) and the bodice back (2)  pattern pieces pin each dart in place. To do so, meet the marked lines o f the darts together making sure the marked lines match correctly.

Once you've pinned each dart in place you can start stitching each of them up. 
Start your  stitching from the wide end of each dart  continuing up to the narrow point of the dart, be careful not to stitch over your pins!

 Front bodice dart view. Sorry its a little hard to see the darts on this fabric.

Back bodice dart view

 Press the front bodice bust darts down towards the hemline and press the waistline down on the front bodice towards the center front of the bodice. On the back bodice darts press each dart towards the center back seam.  Also pressing each dart using a tailors ham will give you a  nice and clean finish.

 Remember to also stitch your darts on the bodice lining ( front and back) following the same steps above.

ALL VIEWS - SHOULDER SEAMS

Next up let's sew up the bodice at the shoulder seams. 

Again the below steps apply to the bodice shell and the bodice lining.

Right sides together pin your front and back bodice pieces together.

Stitch each shoulder seam together. Trim and press the seams open.

VIEW A - ATTACH BODICE LINING & SIDE SEAMS

These next few steps are for View A the sleeveless version of the Odette dress. If you're sewing up View B & C versions you can skip these steps until later in the post.  At this point you should have your bodice shell and bodice lining all ready to go with all the darts sewn up and each bodice sewn up separately at the shoulder seams.

Lay your bodice lining on top of the bodice shell right sides together. Pin the bodice lining and bodice shell together at the front and back necklines and at each armhole.

Stitch the bodice lining and bodice shell together at the neckline first, starting your stitching at the back center seam.

Once you get to the 'V' on the front bodice stitch all the way down to the where you marked the bottom of the slash line and pivot your stitching and continue on.

Pivot at the bottom of the slash point of the 'V' on the front bodice.

Continue stitching the remainder of the bodice neckline.

Below is the finished stitched neckline.

Grab your scissors and cut straight down the 'V' to the slash mark, or as close as you can get. You'll be cutting through the bodice shell and bodice lining fabric. If its easier before you cut you can simply mark a line from the top of 'V' to the slash mark for you to follow when cutting.

Clip the neckline seams  as well as grading the corners. This will help the bodice neckline lay flat when turned right side out.

Once the neckline is stitched up you can stitch the lining and the shell together at each armhole. Trim the armhole seams, I simply used my pinking shears to trim the seams.

TURN BODICE RIGHT STRAIGHT OUT THROUGH SHOULDER SEAMS

Now comes a little bit of a tricky part but once done a first time its a whole lot easier. These next steps are a tad hard to photograph, but i tried my best so i hope it makes sense!

To turn the bodice lining right side out you need to pull it through the shoulder. There's no delicate way to do this, simply pull the lining through the shoulder seams, one at a time until pulled right through.

 This is what you'll end up with when its pulled through.

What your bodice should look like when turned right side out.

BODICE SIDE SEAMS

OK, so you've gotten over the trauma of pulling your bodice lining right side out, now we will stitch up the side seams to finish off our View A bodices.

Pull the bodice lining way from the bodice shell and pin the  shell and lining together with right sides together at the side seams. See the pic below.

Below is what the bodice will look like from the outside when the side seams are pinned

And below is the view from the inside of the bodice with the side seams pinned.

Now simply stitch the bodice side seams up, stitching the shell and lining together in one continuous stitch. Now turn on your iron and  go ahead and press your bodice at the neckline, armholes and the side seams.

If you're sewing up View B & C of the Odette dress you will at this point have your bodice shell and bodice lining as separate pieces, unlike View A which have been now been sewn together. Simply pin and stitch the side seams together for both View B & C bodice  shell and lining. Finish and press the seams.

VIEW B & C SLEEVE PREPARATION


View B& C versions haven't had much love shown to them this sew-along post, so from here on in we are dedicating the next part of the post to them with prepping our sleeves. View A sleeveless Odette peoples we will meet up again tomorrow.


These following steps apply to the short and 3/4 sleeve versions of Odette but the photos show View B( short sleeves).


On the wrong side of each sleeve ( View B &C )  baste stitch two lines of stitches 3/8'' and 1/2'' along the sleeve top, between the notches and leaving long thread tails on each side.

Right sides together stitch each sleeve together along the underarm seam.
Finish the seams and press towards the back of the sleeve.

Remember the above steps apply to View B & C sleeves.


VIEW B - HEM SLEEVES

The below steps apply to the View B sleeves only.

Fold each hem sleeve to the wrong side 1/4'' and press down. Fold this edge up again another 1/4'' and press down again.

Stitch this folded edge down on each sleeve and press.



VIEW C - SLEEVE CUFFS

If you're sewing up View C the below steps apply to you. 

Right sides together stitch the shorter end of each cuff together. Trim and press the seams open. Now fold each cuff in half,  wrong sides together making sure that raw edges are even and press each cuff.

Grab your two sleeve pieces and right sides together align the raw edges of each cuff to the bottom edge of each sleeve. Pin each cuff in place.

Stitch each cuff in place. Finish seams and turn the cuffs down, pressing them on the right side.


 View B & C - SET IN SLEEVES

OK, now that we have prepped our sleeves for both View B&C we can attach them to our bodices.

Holding the sleeve towards you and right sides together, place each sleeve into the bodice shell armhole; match the notches and underarm seams of the bodice and sleeve.

Gently pull each thread tail, adjusting the fullness evenly around the top of the sleeve until the sleeve fits evenly into the bodice shell armhole. Pin in place.

I like to baste stitch my sleeves in place before the final stitching just to get the fit properly and adjust the sleeve into the bodice armhole if necessary. If you are confident that your sleeves are fitting and sitting perfectly then go ahead and stitch them in place to the bodice. If you have chosen to baste stitch them first, then make your adjustments, fix any puckers etc and then stitch each sleeve into their final position to the bodice.

Once the sleeves are stitched in finish them seams and  grab your tailors ham and give each sleeve a good press on the right side.

Now the sleeves are attached to our bodices for View B&C we can now attach our bodice linings. To attach the bodice lining for View B&C we basically follow the same steps as attaching the bodice lining for View A minus a few steps as we will be only attaching them together at the neckline only. We will finish off the bodice lining armholes for View B& C further down the track in the sew-along, so you can leave them as it at this stage. Simply follow the steps  under the heading:

 VIEW A - ATTACH BODICE LINING & SIDE SEAMS 

to attach the bodice lining to the bodice shell for VIEW B& C - neckline only.

PHEW! Was that the longest post or what!? Promise they’ll get easier from here.
 

See you tomorrow for some more sewing!

Abby

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