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Friday, April 6, 2012

Simplicity 2305 Cynthia Rowley Dress B

I'm making the dress in Satin and blue but I can't really understand the instructions that well and am looking for help and updates of my dress will be up soon :)


6 comments:

  1. Hi there! Okay, I've pulled out my instructions and will do what I can to walk you through this. :)

    In Step 6, it had you add two rows of basting stitches (as long of stitches as your machine will do) along the bottom edge of the sleeve. I know they don't have you gathering this part yet, but I recommend you do. To gather, hold onto the bobbin threads and slide the fabric along the threads. Don't pull the threads too hard or you'll pull them out! And don't stress about the final length, we'll come to that in step 8. This is just preliminary gathering.

    Here's a good tutorial on gathering fabric.

    In step 7, they have you attach the interfacing to the sleeve cuff. I completely disregarded this step, but regretted it a bit because the sleeve cuff is pretty floppy. Also, make sure that you press under 5/8 inch on the unnotched edge of the cuff. You'll need that done for step 9.

    In step 8, this is were you're attaching the cuff to the sleeve.

    a) You should have notches on both the sleeve on either side of the gathered area, and notches on the cuff. Line these notches up.

    b) You've already started to gather the fabric by the stitches here. Either tighten up or loosen the gathers to make the gathered sleeve the same length as the cuff.

    c) Pin the cuff to the sleeve. Use a lot of pins to keep the gathered side from shifting about. Remember to have your pins alined
    perpendicular
    to the seam edge!

    d) The instructions recommend that you baste this seam before you sew it. I've never done it, but it may help you keep the seam straight. When I do baste first, I usually do it by hand, but you can by machine too. See next note for tips.

    e) Remember to change your machine stitch length back to a shorter stitch. I recommend puttin the gathered side down against the feed dogs, since the feed dogs pull the bottom fabric more, and this will help keep the fabric layers even. Stitch 5/8" from the edge of the fabric.

    f) Press your seam towards the cuff. Trim or grade the seam so that it's less bulky.

    For step 9, fold the cuff in half, wrong sides together, and bring your pressed cuff edge to cover the stitches and the raw edge where the sleeve is attached to the cuff.

    Pin this down from the OTHER side of the fabric. You do this because you're going to stitch this from the RIGHT side of the sleeve. You do this because your seam will show from the outside, and you want to make sure it's as even as possible. Make sure that the inside cuff is overlapping the stitch line enough to catch the inside cuff edge in the stitch line.

    And as it says in the instructions, on the outside, stitch the cuff close to the seamline, catching the pressed edge of the cuff on the inside.

    This method is very similar to using bias tape. Here's a pretty good bias tape tutorial
    if you'd like to see how it's done.

    I hope this helps. If you have any questions about any of this, please don't hesitate to ask. Good luck with your dress!

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  2. If you are doing a skirt, you will need to trim and grade at the waist for either a waistband or a facing. You will trim the seam allowances to 3/8". The seam allowance that will be farthest from the front of the fabric should be trimmed to 1/4". Interfacing should be trimmed to 1/8". This makes the seam allowances less bulky, and they will lie flat.

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  3. Heather (April6) has given you excellent instructions for Step 8. I would strongly suggest as a beginner that you do hand baste the cuff to the sleeve and then remove the pins before sewing on the machine. That way you do not have to worry about pins as you sew. I always place my gathers against the feed plate when stitching too. Check to see if you like the length of the cuff. It was too long for me and I shortened it before sewing.

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  4. I have yet to make this pattern. You got some valuable advice above! I think I may have to bookmark your blog for my own future reference!

    I got all of those patterns with the hopes of moving into sewing clothes within the next few weeks. I may go to a sewing studio for extra guidance.

    Good luck sewing this dress. I look forward to seeing it all completed!

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  5. I'll post here and on your website. It looks like you're making view B. Here's my take on Steps 8 and 9.

    The idea is to enclose the raw edge of your dress with the band detail. Think of the band as a taco shell and the dress pieces as the filling. Another way to think about it is that your band will end up being folded kind of like double-fold bias tape, if you've ever seen it.


    I applied the interfacing to the band, but ended up ripping it off.

    Working on large flat surface really helped me.

    Start with the WRONG side of your dress (front or back piece) facing UP. So, you're starting with the part that is against your body.

    Arrange the band on top of your dress. The WRONG side will also be facing you. Pin the band on the dress.
    Only stitch between the dots (basically just the bottom).

    Turn your dress piece over so the RIGHT side is facing up. Make sure that the curved edges are notched.
    Reach underneath and fold the band up and over.

    The RIGHT side of your dress piece should be facing UP and the RIGHT side of the band should be facing up. Press, so that it's all flat.

    You should have pressed the inner edge of your band in Step 7. If not, go ahead and turn it under. Stitch along the inner edge of the band to close everything up. Don't stop at any dots. stitch a complete U. Stitch as close as you can get.

    Happy sewing!!!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Laeh
      Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you so much, I'm only 16 and I'm learning and you have put it into simple terms for me and have three questions: in step 8 it says something about trimming the seam, what does that mean and I don't have to sew all round the edges of the band but only between the dots and I did the stitch at 1.5cm and one more question I was wondering if you would help me along the way with finishing this project because you have so far been a great help! Thank you Thank you again :) :) :) :D
      Sofia

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