seam, I decided that a video had to be made. This pattern is just to cute to be sitting in the back of
your closets. It will be posted soon. In the mean time, I will share a few photos.
First let me say that I am not a seamstress. I have fairly little experience with sewing patterns. I have sewn a few. I have also sewn a couple patterns that were considered moderate to hard. I have never had such a difficult time as I had with this one. I am not quite sure how simplicity considers this an easy to sew pattern. It is far from it. What does "easy to sew" on a pattern mean? I would like to think that it means someone with very little to no experience could pick it up and work through it. I think that is far from the case with this pattern. The directions at poorly written, the pictures of the collar are terrible, and some of the pattern pieces just don't line up. Enough of that, on to what your waiting for.
Here is the neckline set into the front of the dress. I have already sewn the left side in.
A few suggestions here: pin,pin,pin! That curve is tricky and you do not want your fabric slipping. Line up the shoulder seams first! The notches do not line up on the collar and you do not want to match up the center back like it says to in step 6 of the pattern. You should have extra fabric in the center back. Sew with the interfacing facing down. Now you can manipulate the fabric as you go and prevent any pinching. Using a short stitch will also help.
This is how the back looks pinned. I would also suggest that you pin and work in small sections. I wound up working each side of the neckline first, then up/down seams on the front, and lastly the gathering and front horizontal seam.
One last thing. The back of the neckband...remember when I told you not to match the back center seam like step #6 says to do? Here is why. We already hemmed the the center back up in step #3. There is no longer a seam allowance there. We have to add the neck band above that. To do that, we then pin on the lining to the neck band and sew up the back (step 8) and then turn the lining inside (step 9). I have read and re-read this pattern thinking that I missed something about how to finish the back of the neck band. This is what I came up with. I hope it makes since to you too.
I hope this will help you get your project completed. Disclaimer: Keep in mind that I may have misinterpreted some of the pattern due to inexperience. I will try to answer any questions you may have. If you have any suggestions on this pattern or if I have done something incorrectly, please let me know.
