Emery Dress Sewalong: Darts, Shoulders, & Bodice Side Seams
Today on the Emery Dress Sewalong, we have finished all our preparation, and it is time to start assembling! This is the moment when things start to take shape, which after all our prep, is a very satisfying step in the process. Okay, let’s get started!
DARTS
Sew the Darts
At one of the darts, fold the fabric down the center of the dart. Insert a pin at the apex, through all the layers, perpendicular to the fabric. Pin along the dart legs through both layers of the fabric. Make sure the pins are lined up with the top and under layer leg markings. Place the head of the pins toward the apex so you can pull them out easily as you approach them while sewing.
Using a regular stitch length, sew along the dart starting at the edge of the seam, sewing towards the apex, making sure to stay on your chalk line. Remove your pins as late as you can to keep the layers of the fabric in place.
Stop sewing when the distance from the foot to the apex is around 1/2" or so. Turn the stitch length down to 1.0. Remove the pin and stitch with this small stitch length for the remainder of the dart as you trail off the fabric.
Your stitch will look like the above photo, with a regular stitch length all the way, and the remaining 1/2" or so sewn with a short and tight stitch. Do not knot the threads and do not back stitch! Both of these will create a bump at the apex, leaving behind an undesirable point on the dart. Especially unwanted on your bust dart! Trim your thread and trust me when I tell you that it will not come undone.
Repeat this step on all of the darts on the bodice front, bodice back, and the bodice lining pieces.
Press the Darts
Once all the darts are marked and sewn, it's time to press them!
Place your dart on the pressing ham with the apex of the dart at the smallest point of the ham. Glide the fabric along the ham until the curve at the apex is smooth and is laying flat without any puckers or bunching. Press the bust darts down, and press the waist darts toward the side seam, away from center. Press the neck darts on the back bodice toward the side seam as well.
You should now have a set like the photos above for both the main fabric and for the lining.
SHOULDERS & SIDE SEAMS
Sew the Seams
Place the bodice back pieces on the bodice front, right sides together. Match up the shoulder seams and pin in place. Match up the side seams and pin those as well. You can do each seam one at a time if you prefer, or pin them all at once as I did pictured here.
Sew each seam at the 5/8” seam allowance, making sure to backstitch at the start and end of each seam.
Press the Seams
Press all the seams open on both the bodice and lining. If you have a sleeve board, it can greatly help with pressing the shoulder seams, as you can slide the armhole on the board, seen below.
Grade the Seams
Grade the seam allowances on the lining by trimming them in half. This way the edges of the seam allowance on the bodice and lining are not sitting at the exact same place, creating unnecessary bulk.
And that’s it for today! You should now have a bodice like that pictured above for the outer, and a identical one (aside from the slightly smaller seam allowances due to grading) for the lining. Next we move onto the pockets, gathering the skirt, and attaching it to the bodice!
And remember, you can always see all the Emery Dress Sewalong posts at this link under the Learn tab above!