Tutorial 3: The Bias Way to a Neat Neckline for the Dolam Dress

Onwards to the neckline! This is quick and easy tutorial on how to finish a neckline on a jersey fabric for the dolman dress.

To make the pattern for the dolman dress go to:

Tutorial 1: Pattern for a Super Easy and Comfy Lone Sleeved Dolman Dress

For cutting and sewing instructions got to:

Tutorial 2: Cutting Some Shapes and Sewing them Together for the Dolman Dress

I always find necklines challenging and difficult to get neat and tidy especially on jersey and stretch fabric. After a lot of trial and error in the past this is the method I came up with for finishing necklines using bias tape. This is my go to method for necklines for most things I make so here it is!

MATERIALS NEEDED:

- Bodice of dolman dress
- Matching fabric for the the bias tape
- Iron
- Ironing board
- Pins
- Sewing machine
- Matching thread
- Measuring tape
- Clear sewing ruler
- Rotary cutter or scissors
- Cutting mat

1. First things first - lets measure how much bias tape we need for the neckline. Using a flexible measuring tape measure around the opening of the neckline both front and back. The bias tape will be the same length as the neckline. Add 6/8" to the measurement for seam allowance when you sew the bias ends together.

2. To make the bias tape lay out a piece of the jersey fabric and line up your clear ruler so it runs at a 45 degree angle to the grainline. This is called the bias of the fabric - it has the most stretch so is perfect for the neckline finish. Hopefully the picture below explains how to cut on the bias better than in words!

3. Once you have found the bias cut along this line using your rotary cutter or scissors. The width I use for bias tape is 1.5", I would say this is minimum you would want for jersey fabric as it can be tricky with the stretch. The wider it is the easier it is to sew but it just depends how you want the neckline to look as you will see a line of stitching on the front of the garment. With the bias tape at 1.5" the line of stitching will be 1/2" from the edge of the neckline.

4. To the ironing board! Take your freshly cut bias tape and ready your iron. You will need a measuring tape at this point. Fold over 3/8" of the bias tape and iron along the fold all the way along. The wrong side of the fabric is showing in the picture below. This can be tricky as its a small amount but once you get started it gets easier.

5. Sew the two ends of the bias tape together so it makes a circle making sure you do right side to right side using a 3/8" seam allowance. Then trim the seam allowance to 1/8". Place a pin on the half way line of the bias tape - the seam line marks the other half line. Do the same on the neckline using one of the shoulder seams as a mark, which is where you will want to line up the seam in the bias tape.

6. Pin the unfolded edge of the bias tape the neckline with the fold facing up. If the bias tape is a little small just stretch it to fit evenly. If its too big you'll want to take the bias tape in at the seam as you don't want to stretch the neckline and get a wavy finish.

7. Sew the bias tape to the neckline using a stretch stitch (which looks like a wonky zig zag stitch on my sewing machine) with a 3/8" seam allowance. Be careful not to stretch neckline when your sewing as this makes annoying waves in the fabric that are difficult to undo. Make sure you use a ball point needle and use a longer stitch length if your fabric is super stretchy like mine.

8. Cut away the seam allowance to roughly 1/8". This reduces the bulk around the neckline. If your neckline is very curvy cut a few small triangles in the seam allowance on the most curved bits to make a smooth line being careful not to cut through any stitches.

9. Iron the seam open to get a nice neat finish on the edge of the neckline. Fold the bias tape to the wrong side and pin. Make sure that the fold you made with the iron previously stays folded up. So you should not be able to see any raw edges at this point. The picture below shows the wrong side of the fabric.

10. Sew along the edge of the bias tape as close to the fold as possible, roughly 1/8". Again use the stretch stitch on your sewing machine and a longer stitch if you are having trouble with the fabric stretching as you sew. Use a ball point needle.

Wrong side 

Right side

Voila! That's your neckline finished nice and neatly. Iron lightly to make sure its nice and flat and your done.

Next step sewing the elastic into the waist and getting top and skirt united into one dress! Stay tuned for my next tutorial!

Questions and comments are always good with me!

Ivory and Lace

On to my next design. This dress has a princess seam bodice and a half circle skirt. The whole dress is overlayed with an ivory flower lace. The main fabric is a cotton and polyester blend, which has the benefit of not wrinkling and is the perfect weight for this design. I have lined the dress with a rayon bemberg lining that breathes beautifully and feel soft against the skin.

Let me know what you guys think. As always comments are very welcome!

On With The Satin Goddess

Finally I have had the time to make the pattern for the Satin Flower Dress! This dress will be one of the most complicated designs I have attempted yet. It has the scary strapless element that needs to somehow defy gravity! What I really do not want is a dress that you have to constantly keep pulling up - no-one wants to wear that! This means that the bodice needs to be very well constructed and fitted to make sure it stays in place.

How am I going to do this you may ask... well the answer is I haven't fully figured that out yet! Its a working progress. What I do know is that I will be using boning for the first time and I will be adding extra support at the bust so it can be worn without a bra. I haven't quite figured out how I am going to do that yet but I'm sure it will all work itself out in the end!

First things first - the pattern. That I can do! To draft the pattern I used the following book, which I do use for most of my pattern construction. Its a great book with excellent and clear instructions on a whole host of designs and garments. Perfect for teaching yourself pattern making - which is what I have used it for.

I made the pattern for a Strapless Princess Bodice which is essentially just adapted from the simple sloper with a few alterations for contouring. I actually forgot to take any pictures of me making the pattern (sorry!), but here is the finished article.

Front pieces for the princess seam. 

Yes I know this is upside down! For some reason every time I try to import into the blog it flips, hopefully you get the general idea. Its not a very exciting pattern piece anyway.

With my pattern finally done I was on a roll and decided to go ahead and test it out on some muslin. So here is it all cut out and ready to sew together.

Look at me being all productive! Next step is to sew this together and if all has gone to plan, which of course it very rarely does, the bodice should fit perfectly! If not stay tuned for some potentially very tricky fitting problems and see how I go about fixing them.

All comments and questions welcome!

Making a Muslin is Essential Trust Me!

When you get a new sewing pattern it is always very tempting to jump straight in and cut it out of your expensive fabric - WAIT!! I know at first it may seem like a waste of time, but trust me I have found making a muslin actually saves time and a massive headache! Its a fabulous way of ironing out any fitting issues and also practicing any sewing techniques you not that familiar with. All in all a great thing to do and who doesn't want a perfectly fitting garment!

Tips

- Use a similar cheap fabric to your chosen fabric which has the same drape and cling

- Always iron the muslin or cheap fabric first before cutting

- Only cut the main pattern pieces i.e not the facings or collar  

- Make the seams slightly larger than the pattern in case you need to make it bigger

- When sewing use a long stitch so you can unpick seams easily if needed

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

Muslin or similar cheap fabric

Chalk

Pins

Sewing machine

Thread

Pencil

Measuring tape

Ruler

Scissors

Dress form is optional 

With my dress I only cut the top section pattern pieces because the skirt is flared so I will not have any fitting issues below the waist. I also decided to add the sleeves. Here is my first version. 

I finished the neckline with a quick narrow hem and I used an old zip to make sure it fitted correctly. As you can see it is a little high - well it is for me anyway! Everything else is fitting correctly so only the neckline to change. Phew! 

Lowering a neckline

STEP 1: Try the dress on yourself (or the person who will be wearing it) stand in front of the mirror and mark with chalk roughly where you want the neckline to be. 

STEP 2: Unpick the finished seam. To make sure the new neckline is symmetrical fold the the top in half along the center front ensuring the shoulder seams line up. Then get a different colored chalk and mark a curve the size of your seam allowance above the original chalk mark. For example my seam allowance was 5/8 inch. 

STEP 3: Cut along line and keep the cut off somewhere safe. Now re-do the narrow hem or whatever seam finish your neckline requires. Try it on! I noticed straight away that I now had a lovely gaping neckline! 

Right time to fix it....

STEP 4: Pin the excess fabric together so the neck fits how you want it. Put the pin close the center front. 

STEP 5: Take the garment off the mannequin or you! Then measure from the pin to the edge of the fold and multiply that amount by 2. For example mine was 5/16" which multiplied by two is 5/8". 

Now to back to the pattern....

STEP 6: Pin the cut off you saved in a safe place to the corresponding area on the pattern for both the front and back. Make sure the top of the fabric piece and pattern are aligned. Cut the pattern in the same shape as the fabric. 

STEP 7: Mark with a pencil roughly 3/8 away from the center front at the neckline. Measure the amount you want to lose from the neck from this point and mark. In my case this was 5/8. Then draw a line to the bottom of the center front from each mark. 

STEP 8: Cut along the line closest to the center front stopping just before you get to the bottom. Then close the gap by taping the lines together. This will make it uneven at the top but that can be smoothed out easily by adding a little bit of paper and continuing the curve. 

Now to test our new pattern piece.....

STEP 9: Cut out a new front piece from the muslin or cheap fabric (you won't need to cut a new back piece because you already trimmed it to the new shape). Unpick the old one from the front and replace with the new one (I told you those long stitches would come in handy!). Finish the neckline seam in the normal way. 

STEP 10: Try it on and voila a lovely new lowered neckline! 

Muslin made and fitted properly! On my next post I will go through a few sewing techniques that you might find useful that I use to create this dress. For example, gathering and how to do a narrow rolled hem. If you have any techniques you want me to include or questions about this post please add a comment. Thanks for reading and happy blogging!