I am seriously stuck on a girl's dress

[Deleted]

I am trying to attach a lined bodice that buttons up the front to a gathered skirt but I can't sew it around to the bodice. I am suuposed to pin the lining up out of the way, attach the skirt and then hand sew the lkining over the waist seam allowance. Nobody I know sews and I have been stuck for a week.

www.flickr.com/photos/8864722@N04/6049580953/

[Deleted]

sorry link does not work. I am not computer savy

[beverlya]

Hi!
This is what I do. after attaching the skirt to the bodice, iron it well, then turn under the lining and carefully pin it to the bodice/skirt, then I top stitch just above the skirt on the outside. That accomplishes two things, it stitches down the skirt seam, giving it a smoother look and it stitches down the bodice lining. I go very slow and use lots of pins.

I'd be happy to talk you through it. Send me a private message and we can exchange phone numbers if you'd like.

Beverly

[rachel]

I think, from what you've said, that you've got to sew it to the bodice without the lining (pretend the lining isn't there) and once it's sewn on, straighten the lining and sew that down. Does any of that make sense? I personally wouldn't do it this way but I think I know what it means... If I weren't on the other side of the world, I'd come and show you!

If you'd like, I could do it and take pictures to send you. That might help.

[manda]

Hi I've only been sewing for about a year and a half, but this is how I would do it: With right sides together, put the gathered skirt inside the bodice and pin in place. Fold up the lining a little farther than the seam line so that you do not catch it when you attach the bodice. Sew the skirt to the bodice. Pull the skirt out from the bodice so that it looks like an inside out dress. Press the seam towards the bodice, if needed. Now unfold the lining and fold it under enough that it is slightly below the skirt & bodice seam & pin it. This encloses the raw edges of the skirt/bodice seam. Now slip stitch the lining in place by hand. You can topstitch it on the outside of the dress directly above the skirt just to make sure it stays. I hope this helps you.

[moseshelper]

I'm not sure if anyone quite answered the question you're asking or not, so I thought I'd see if this helps. Basically, what the pattern is asking you to do is to sew the bodice to the skirt as if the lining didn't exist. So fold the bottom of the lining up on itself by a couple of inches or so and pin it. Then pin the bodice to the skirt right sides together and sew. After that, unpin the lining, fold the seam allowance toward the bodice and pin it in place. You can then either slip stitch the lining down or top stitch from the front as Beverly suggested.

I'm not sure if I've made that any clearer, but I hope you get it figured out.

Crystal

[beverlya]

Grandmadee sent me the photos of the dress pattern and it's complicated and kinda weird. The bodice overlaps for the button overlap, so when you overlap it, you can't move the lining out of the way. I'm not sure how to make it work. Their is a tutorial online but it doesn't make it clearer.

[Deleted]

We gave up and decided to treat the bodice and lining as one layer, pressed the seam allowance towards the bodice and top stitched the seam allowance to the bottom of the bodice.

Hubby does lots of origami and he can figure out complrx diagrams but even he said it could not work. The front edge of the lining does not move out of the way...

thanks so much for all your advice. I sure appreciated second eyes looking it over with me

grandma dee

[rachel]

I does sound confusing. Personally, I would give up on doing what they say and just treat the bodice and lining as one piece of fabric to sew it on to the skirt. It mayn't look so nice but it's much easier!

Both Manda and Moseshelper have written good explanations.