Welcome back ladies - hope you are all fresh-faced and bright-eyed! Today we are going to work on finishing up the First Look of the elastic waist-ed Cricket dress.We don't have as much work today, so feel free to finish your first and start another! Louisa has already requested many more of these for her wardrobe!
If you are just now joining us, check out these other 2 posts to catch up:
Yesterday we left off after construction of the bodice. Your homework was to attach the sleeves. Now we are back with sleeves on and ready to go! You should have the sleeves completed (cuffs attached) and side seams sewn. So, let's start from there!
First, grab the elastic. You want to cut the elastic 1" less than your child's waist measurement. In my case, Lou's waist is 21". So, I cut my piece of elastic at 20". As with my patterns, when I am using measurements please don't confuse mine with yours. I just find it is easier to instruct with actual numbers.
Then, you want to divide the elastic into 4ths and make marks. All those allergic to math, don't stress out. This is the hardest it gets. So, for me I am going to make a mark at 5", 10" and 15".
Those quarter marks will be our very best friends when we go to sew the elastic to the dress. Promise. You will love them so much you will forgive me for making you think fractions. :)
Okay, put your elastic aside and bring your dress over to a flat surface with wrong sides facing out. Here you will see the white line that I made yesterday for the waist. Now, for the last of the division. You want to measure along the waist line you drew and divide it in half. Mine measured at 14",
so I will make a mark on my waist line at 7.5". Flip the dress over and do this for the other side of the dress as well.
All of these marks are about to make sense. I promise. What you will do is start your elastic along a side seam. Then, you will stretch the elastic along the waist line you made so that the first mark on your elastic lines up with the center of your dress (front or back). Then, still stretching, the halfway mark on your elastic should line up with the other side seam and then the last mark on your elastic should hit the halfway mark on your waistline on the other side of your dress. I don't know if it is because I am up late with the Crickets (heeeeee, I couldn't help myself) or what, but that sounds way more confusing than it is. Trust me.
Okay, now it is go time! Take your elastic and your dress over to the sewing machine. You will be sewing on the WRONG side of the dress, and make sure that you are not sewing the front to the back of your dress. That would not be fun. Start your elastic on one of the side seams. Stitch it in place with just a few stitches so that it stays in place. I recommend using a zig-zag stitch to sew the elastic so that the stitch has some stretch with the elastic.
THIS IS WHEN YOU NEED TO HOLD YOUR MOUTH JUST RIGHT. Trust me.
Once the beginning of your elastic is secured to the dress at a side seam, you want to pull the elastic so that the first mark on your elastic matches with the halfway of your dress front or back. In my case, my 5" mark on the elastic will be stretched to meet the 7.5" mark on the waistband of my dress.
Then, you want to stitch the elastic as you stretch it to the dress using a zig-zag stitch. As I said, hold your mouth just right and take your time. You are so close to being done but trust me when I tell you that you don't want to have to use the seam ripper on zig-zag and elastic. What I usually do is hold the elastic behind my presser foot to give it some tension with my left hand. Then I hold my elastic stretched to the correct point with my right hand and sort of sandwich the dress between my fingers so that I know I only have one layer being sewn. Clearly my left hand is taking the photo here, but this gives you an idea of how I roll.
Once you get to the first mark on your elastic, place your needle in the down position and then reconfigure the fabric so that the halfway mark of your elastic will now be stretched to meet the other side seam. Remember to keep the elastic on the line you drew for the waist. Once there, again drop your needle down and regroup to stretch and sew to the next mark and so on. You will do this until your elastic comes back around to where you began. Continue to stitch the elastic down with the zig-zag stitch until it is all in place.
Guess what ladies...you have so done it. It is almost time to turn that dress right side out and admire your new creation. But first, let's get that hem done. Sadly for me (with this fabric) the hem was the part that made me say the most bad words. But honestly, if you have a thinner fabric, do yourself a favor and grab the interfacing to line the hem with as shown on page 23 of the pattern. I would not have survived had it not been for interfacing on this dress!
Once hemmed, you are at your last and final step! This step also happens to be my fave, the button! You will place your button the same way you would in the pattern, so I won't go in to too much detail here. However, I was thinking about something as I looked at this picture.
That button came from one of my many trips to my fave antique store. Since I bought the buttons while I was there and used them for my business - I can write off the rest of my purchases there, right? I mean all the furniture and pieces I come home with, they are accessories to the purchase crime right? Haaaaaa. Gosh, don't I wish!
Okay girls - you are done. And I cannot wait to see what you create! I will be back here tomorrow to go over the Second Look of the Cricket with elastic waistband. I would love to see you back! And remember, keep watching for the album to show up in the brownie-goose lovers group on facebook so that you can upload your photos for a chance to win some BG patterns and a gift certificate to Hawthorne Threads! The album will be created on Friday and you have until the following Sunday 10/12 to enter your photos!
Peace out ladies - see you tomorrow to start on this one right here!
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