ODETTE SEW-ALONG #7 - THE FINAL ODETTE SEW-ALONG POST!

 

Woohoo this is the final Odette sew-along post and we will finishing off our Odette's today.

As usual you can find all the previous sew-along post here.

First up we will stitch up the bodice insert for all Odette versions.

BODICE INSERT

Following the same process for applying lightweight fusible interfacing to our waistbands we will be doing the same thing to our bodice inserts to give it a bit more structure and support to the buttonholes.

 Grab your bodice insert and interfacing pieces.

Following the manufacturers instructions for your lightweight fusible interfacing, apply it to the wrong side of one of the bodice insert pieces.

Right sides together pin the bodice insert pieces together.

Stitch the pieces together and leaving a 1'' opening along the bottom edge.

Trim seams and grade each corner.


Turn the insert right side out and give it a good press.

Slip stitch or top stitch the 1'' opening closed.

Hopefully you have picked out some super cute buttons for your bodice insert?
Hand stitch your buttons in place on the bodice insert, where marked.

On the front bodice create the buttonholes where marked, stitching through the shell and lining fabric.Attach your bodice insert to your Odette dress!

HEM ( ALL VERSIONS)

 Try on your Odette dress and mark your preferred hem length.

Turn the raw hem edge up 1/4'' to the wrong side and stitch it down.

Turn the hem up another 1'' the wrong side and press.

Catch stitch the hem in place, easing in the fullness of the skirt of you stitch.

Below is what your finished hem will look like from the right side.

STITCH THE BODICE LINING DOWN
( ALL VERSIONS)

Now onto the bodice lining that has been just hanging there the whole time! But before you stitch the bodice lining down at the waist you need to stitch it down to the zipper tape. So you can either slip stitch this down or use your machine. If you choose to use your machine i will have a tutorial on how to do this coming up on the blog soon.

OK, back stitching the  bodice lining down at the waistline. On the inside of the dress pin the bodice lining down to the bodice shell. Just the same with stitching the bodice lining down to the zipper tape you have two options as well with the waistline. You can either hand stitch it down or using your machine 'stitch in the ditch'.

I opted to hand stitch my bodice lining on this particular Odette i made, below is the finished product.

VIEW B&C

Folks who are stitching up View B&C versions of Odette may be wondering how to finalize the bodice lining at the armholes. Well its easy! 

On the inside of the bodice turn the bodice lining under to the wrong side and pin in place. This is easier to do if you use your dress model. Now you can simply hand stitch each bodice lining armhole down, again using your dress model while doing this makes it easier.

And that's it for the Odette sew-along, i hope you enjoyed it! You should have yourself a superb Odette dress to wear.

In the coming days i will have a pattern hack and some tutorials for the Odette dress so keep an eye out for those.

You can also show off your finished Odette in the Flickr/group as well on the Facebook sew-along page. Use the hashtag #odettesewalong on the social side of things so i don't miss any of them!

Abby

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BILLIE JEAN SEW-ALONG # 10 - BOTH DRESSES - HEM & FINISHING TOUCHES....

Good morning sew-alongers!

Today's sew along is the last one for the Billie Jean sew-along, so today we will be hemming our Billie Jean dresses and all the final finishing touches, and then we are done! Very exciting!

For the last time here are all the previous sew-along posts:

#1 - Getting started
#2 -  Full Bust Adjustment
#3 - Assemble the bodice
#4 - Assemble the skirts
#5 - Dress 1 - Bodice to skirt
#6 - Attach the lining
#7 - Dress 2 - Side seams and attach bodice to skirt 
#8 - Dress1 - Centre back seam, skirt vent & Lapped zippers
#9 - Both dresses  - Side seams & Hand stitching 


OK, lets get started:

Step 1 - Both dresses - Hand stitch the bodice lining to zipper tape edge 

This step applies to both of the Billie Jean dresses, we need to hand stitch down the bodice lining to the zipper tape, to finish off this edge. I recommend using a 'Slip-stitch' to do this, and it what i use to always hand stitch my bodice lining down at the zipper tape edge.

So a little run down of a 'slip-stitch':

A 'Slip-stitch' is an almost invisible stitch formed by slipping through the thread under a fold of fabric. 

There are different types slip-stitches, I  will  using an 'Uneven slip-stitch' to attach the bodice lining to the zipper tape. Which is basically joining a folded edge to a flat surface IE bodice lining to zipper tape edge.
 Below is an example of  an 'Uneven slip-stitch'

*A slip-stitch is usually invisible once done, for demonstrative purposes i have pulled  the stitch open slightly in the photo for you to see it properly and how the slip-stitch threads through the fold of fabric.


Slip-stitch your bodice lining to the zipper tape edge, starting at the bottom of the zipper.
The same process applies to both dresses bodice lining.

HEM  - BOTH DRESSES

Lets hem our dresses! The same process of hemming applies to  both Billie Jean dresses and the Dress 1 lining.

First up you will need to work out your skirt length on your Billie Jean dress. There is enough room to move in both of the dress skirts to allow to you shorten as much as you want. My preferred  dress skirt lengths are either just above the knee or just below, which measures around 25-26 inches. There are many ways to mark your hem length, i use a my dress model which has a hemming tool already attached, but use what ever method suits you. Once you have your chosen skirt length, we can start:

Fold up the bottom edge of the skirt 1 cm and press.

Fold the hem up again 1 inch and press down.
 You will now have your hem nicely pressed ready to be stitched, with no raw edges showing.

Stitch your hem in place, by stitching along the top edge of the fold hem edge.

* Repeat these steps for the Dress 1 lining, but make your lining 1 inch shorter then the dress shell.

If you are sewing up Dress 1 of the Billie Jean dress, this is last little sewing task to do before you are finished! With the wrong side of the lining facing the wrong side of the dress shell, tack a few stitches at the top of the lining skirt vent to the top of the dress shell skirt vent, to keep it in place.

Last but not least, give your Billie Jean dresses a final all over press.

Phew we are done! This is officially  the last sew-along post, but you have until tomorrow to finish off your Billie Jean dresses and  upload your photos of them onto FLICKR, for me to collate and show off in a finale on the blog, and giveaway some prizes!
I hope you have sewn yourself some beautiful Billie Jean dresses, and feel lovely and glamorous while wearing them!  Most of all i hope you all had heaps of fun, i know i did and thank you to all that participated, it has been such a cool experience! I cant wait to see all the pretty dresses!

And if you haven't heard, because you may possibly live under a rock of some sort....the brand spanking new Bluegingerdoll pattern, MAE  has been released!

And to celebrate its release, a 10% discount is available  on the WEBSITE or in  ETSY shop for this week only!

Use the coupon code:

*** LOVELYMAE2013 ***

And take advantage of the discount! Woo hoo!
Free worldwide shipping is also available in the shops!

I am very proud of the new sewing pattern, MAE and i hope you love her too!

Abby
xx

BILLIE JEAN SEW-ALONG- # 9 BOTH DRESSES - SIDE SEAMS & SOME HAND STITCHING....

Howdy sew-alongers! This week we are so close to the end of the Billie Jean sew along! So lets get started.

This sew-along post we will stitching up the side seams on Dress 1, and  throwing in a little hand stitching on Dress 2.Before we start, below are all the previous sew-along posts for you to eye-ball if you need:


#1 - Getting started
#2 -  Full Bust Adjustment
#3 - Assemble the bodice
#4 - Assemble the skirts
#5 - Dress 1 - Bodice to skirt
#6 - Attach the lining
#7 - Dress 2 - Side seams and attach bodice to skirt 
#8 - Dress1 - Centre back seam, skirt vent & Lapped zippers

Step 1 - Dress 1  Side seams

Open the dress lining away from the dress shell. Right sides together, pin the dress shell front to the dress back at the side seams, and do the same for the dress lining, make sure to match up all  of the waist and underarm seams.

Stitch the dress shell and dress lining side seams together in one continuous seam, starting from the hem. Repeat on  both of the dress side seams.
Finish the seams and press.
Turn your dress shell and lining right way out, and your done!

Dress 2 - Hand stitch the bodice lining to the waistline seam

Have you got ya needles and thread ready? We are going to be hand stitching the bodice lining on Dress 2 down to the waistline seam.

I have used an 'overcast stitch' to attach my bodice lining to the waistline, which helps to fold under the raw edge of the bodice lining, so you get a clean finish.

It is basically a diagonal stitch, spaced at even distance apart,  all the whole around the waistline and i find it to be the easiest way to stitch the bodice lining in place at the waistline and the most secure.

First off you need to pin your bodice lining in place, by folding it under so you get a clean edge and all raw edges are concealed and pinning it down to the waist line.

Starting from the either side of the back edge zipper opening, you can begin hand stitching it in place.

Woo hoo next blog post will be the last of the Billie Jean sew-along, we will be tackling the final task  the dress hems for both of the dresses and a few finishing touches here 'n' there.

 Wednesday the 7th of August is the official last day of the sew-along, so make sure you have your photos uploaded to the FLICKR GROUP so i have time to collate them and show them off on Friday 9th August! And giveaway some super cute prizes to the bestest Billie Jean dresses!


Abby
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