Ice Cream Social - Bodice Construction.

Bodice Construction

For those of you doing View A, make sure you've attached your pockets before this step. I have two blog posts today and its important to do them in the right order. It will make your life easier!

And now, for everyone, we're going to look at bodice construction. I'm going to offer a suggestion regarding garment construction order that would have helped me out. I've followed the directions as written, but next time would change things up. Again it's a personal choice. If you are brand new to clothing, then follow the directions exactly as written. Either way, let's look at what's remaining in our garment construction:

According to the directions, our basic plan of attack is:

View A
- sew side seams of the bodice piece
- hem sleeves
- attach the yoke
- attach the panels for double hem, inner then outer
- blind stitch the final hem

View B
- sew side seams of the uppermost bodice piece
- hem sleeves
- attach the yoke
- attach extra panels of colour
- hem final band

View C
- sew side seams of the bodice
- hem sleeves
- attach the yoke
- hem the bodice

I am going to suggest you modify that at bit and first add all of your panels to the bodice before you sew the side seams.

My suggestion and plan for next time is:

View A
- attach both panels of the double hem to the bodice, outer then inner
- sew side seams of uppermost bodice piece
- hem sleeves
- attach the yoke
- blind stitch the final hem

View B
- attach extra bands of colour
- sew side seams of upper most bodice
- hem sleeves
- attach the yoke
- hem final band

View C
- Exactly as above!


What I'm essentially proposing is that you attach the remainder of the dress in place before you sew the side seams.

Pros:
- When you sew your side seams, they will all line up perfectly and from the outside, you won't have to worry that you're slightly crooked, misaligned the seams or have made your colour/hem tubes just slightly the wrong width.
- If you know how to construct side seam pockets like the ones in the Oliver+S playdate dress, you could add them easily during construction just after assembling all of the panels.

Cons:
- This does make the dress a lot more bulky for gathering and attaching the yoke. In the largest size, this might be unwieldy, but in the dainty ones I've been sewing it isn't a problem at all.
- The other down side is that bulky seam methods like french seams or encased seams could be "bunchy" in the double hem of view A. It definitely works best with a flat seam method.

This choice is up to personal preference. If you're brand new, you just follow along in the order the directions instead of charting off course!

I'm followed along in order this time and starting with the seams, so for now I'm only talking about seams and sleeve hems.
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All About Seams
I was shocked to learn how many options there are for seams in garments. Serged seams, encased seams, straight seams, flat fell seams, hong kong seams, faux serged seams... the list goes on and on.

As I mentioned I've never had a dressmaking course. I first encountered the magnitude of seam options last year with Hoppo Bumpo's seam along. She put together a 9 week mini-sewing tutorial on types of seams used in garment construction. I was fascinated by all of the techniques have been trying different ones with each Oliver+S garment that I make.

The Oliver+S website also has a series on seams including straight stitch seam finishing, pinked finished seams and French Seams. For my first two ice cream dresses though, I opted for the simpler zigzag over the raw edge finish for my seams. For this dress, I went with French Seams because I was assured they worked around the gentle curves in this dress.

ValleryK has shown us her encased seams in the flicker group. Aren't they gorgeous?

Regardless of the method you choose, make sure your final seam line falls 1/2" from the raw edge of the fabric that's been cut.

French Seams
I went with french seams as described in the Oliver+S tutorial. I missed the photo of pressing the seams open for some reason.

Hemming the Sleeves.
After finishing the seams, we move on to hemming the underside of the sleeves. The directions suggestion sewing a basting line 1/2" from the raw edge to use a guide. Although this takes a little time, it will definitely help you get even folds on your hem. It will save time with the seam ripper later and should be worth it. Always baste with a really long stitch so you can easily remove the threads later.

Have I mentioned just how much I love my #10 Bernina Edgestitching foot? I use it for practically everything. As the french seam was a bit bulky at the sleeve, I had to carefully fold it to one side when doing my hem.

And that's it for the bodice! How easy was that?? I'll be back again with gathers and attaching the yoke on Tuesday. We'll take the weekend so everyone can catch up and ask questions.

The next giveaway will be at the end of the sewalong. I don't want to say too much, but I know someone has a bit of Flea Market Fancy fabric sitting around looking for a new home... and some patterns too!

Speaking of patterns, I'm going to do a little shameless self-promotion and mention that all patterns are on sale at Badskirt this week including the Oliver+S range that we stock.

Keep those photos and questions coming!