Tuesday, September 2, 2008

a laborious day.


i spent the entire day working on the built by wendy dress.
it was pretty tedious, especially transferring the markings from the pattern onto the fabric.

it was smooth sailing until i got to the inset and the yoke facings.
i decided to take a break from sewing before i gave up altogether.
this pattern is definitely NOT for beginners.

this labor day was really nice and relaxing though (despite sewing difficulties...sewing is still a hobby after all):
- breakfast, lunch, dinner in the garden
- watermelon slices
- watching penelope with the fam
- sleeping in till 9 am

it's 12:39 am and in a few hours i have to be at work.
bah.

4 comments:

Tini said...

Hi there,

I do have a step by step method but it is in German, you can find it under www.sewnsushi.de and then click onto "Sewing secrets" and then on "der godet" (which means gusset) The pics might be helpful.
you might want to do a search for y-seam (that's from quilting) or sewing in gussets though!

And maybe this video helps too
http://www.taunton.com/threads/pages/tvt002.asp

Beth said...

Hi Melissa,

Thanks for visiting my blog. I'm assuming this post is about the dress you asked about. The zipper was kind of tricky. I referred to instructions for a "Decorative exposed zipper" in the Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Sewing. In the directions there is not a center back seam so I had to fudge it a little. In the directions, the zipper is applied and then ribbon is sewn on. I did it differently because I wanted the bias to cover the raw edge.

It's been a while, but I think I cut away some of the fabric because the denim was so thick. Then with right sides together, I pinned the bias strip around the opening for the zipper and machine stitched in place. Then I folded the bias strip around the raw edge and pressed. Next I would have basted the zipper in place and finally top stitched it down. It wasn't very easy so if you're a beginner you may not want to attempt it.

Good luck with your sewing. You have a lovely blog!

melissa said...

tini, thank you for the resources! i've kept them in my bookmarks for future reference. i'll be making another built by wendy dress soon, and this will definitely help!

beth, thank you! :) this is actually for another built by wendy pattern. luckily it doesn't require zippers. i'm going to make the same dress you made as soon as i'm done this one!

Jill said...

Hi Melissa! Thanks for your comment on my felt food. Its so nice to see that someone actually read my blog(its a little new) :) I didn't use a pattern, just a couple of bowls from the kitchen for tracing. I'm off to look around your cute blog! Thanks again!