Vogue 1241: sew along, day #6

Today we'll put in the zipper and finish the back seam! Your dress is almost finished. As I mentioned in the end of yesterday's post, I went ahead and sewed the side seams before doing the back seam (step 28 in the pattern). I recommend you do the same. If you need to take your dress in or out bit, it sometimes works better to do so from the back than from the sides because the armholes won't grow or shrink in the process. That being said, for dart placement, etc. it can be better to take things in at the sides. Once you finish the back, you could still subsequently alter the sides. With this dress, I thought it would be difficult to alter at the sides because the gathered pieces are all at the sides, which makes it difficult to pin everything in place while wearing it (even thought there isn't any gathering at the side seam itself).

Try on your dress. This step should be in the pattern instructions, it's so important. Pin the back shut (it's easier to do this if you have help). Mark where the back seam/zipper should go to make the dress fit perfectly. For me, this meant a 1" seam at the top of the back (waist and above), and a less than normal 3/8" seam from my hips down. This corresponds to taking the dress in 3/4" up top and taking it out 1/4" on the bottom. Unfortunately, I got lazy and really only paid attention to the top 1" seam, so I took the dress in all the way to the bottom, resulting in a dress that fit way too tightly on my butt and legs. Once the zipper is in, you won't want to take it out to make changes! I ended up making my changes along the sides.

Unpin your dress and even out your markings. You can trim everything to a 5/8" seam if you're taking the dress in, or just remember to sew along the markings you made without worrying about the excess fabric.

Push the lining out of the way. If you stitched the back neckline all the way to the edge of the fabric, undo about 5/8" (or up to your markings) so the top of the zipper can line up with the top of the fabric.

Here, I've pushed the lining out of the way. My back neckline only goes to about an inch from the edge, so my zipper can reach the top of the fabric. The top of the zipper will ultimately be encased by that neckline seam. I saved the topstitching for last. In this photo, I've already started on the invisible zipper with the first step after ironing the zipper flat, pinning one side in place.

Vogue 1241: sew along, day #5

18. With right sides up, lap right upper front over left, matching centers. Baste.

If you followed my instructions and extended the base of the front panels, the width of the crossover shouldn't really change, but it could be too wide (if you extended it more than a little bit). If this happens, just chop off the pointy part to make it fit. Use the middle front panel (piece 9) to determine the correct width. Make sure you're overlapping at the center front.

Cross over the panels, matching center front. I did not extend the width of my panels when making this dress, so the points don't reach the opposite side. Your points could reach the opposite side, just make sure they don't extend the whole thing beyond the correct width. Baste them in place.

19. Pin LOWER FRONT (9) to lower edge of upper front... Pin lower front LINING to lower edge of upper front lining, right sides together... Baste between small circles. Stitch between circles, through all thicknesses.
I actually didn't baste the lower front to the upper front before adding the lower front lining. I just pinned carefully.

Pinned the center front panel. I actually didn't baste here, but I did do this before pinning on the lining panel behind it and then adjusting the pins.

Added the center front lining panel

This is what it looks like after sewing

Vogue 1241: sew along, day #4

10. Stitch dart in UPPER FRONT LINING (6). Press fold of dart toward center.

You should be a pro at this by now! Just remember, when stitching a dart, always start at the wide part and sew all the way through the point (off the fabric). Your last few stitches should be right along the fold of the fabric. Then tie a knot at the point instead of backstitching.

Dart in lining

Dart pressed toward center

11. Staystitch...

This should be self-explanatory by now.