Jackie part II

So I have just finished the bodice! I lined and stitched it all on machine - no hand sewing whatsoever - thanks to this awesome tutorial I found on BurdaStyle which shows you how to do this cool inside-outsidey magic seam thingy. In the end I found it easier to follow than the one on Threads I referred to in my previous post.. not sure if they even do the same thing, but I will be using this method a lot going forward.

I did use the Threads quick-lining technique to start with - it basically involves cutting your lining from the garment pattern pieces and sewing the facings to the linings and thereafter treating it as one unit. Here is a pic of the lining with the facing pinned to it. I have never sewn lining fabric before - slippery little sucker...

The inside-outsidey magic seam thingy I used for sewing everything together. The picture to the left was taken after I'd sewn the neck and armholes and before I'd sewn the side seams. I have left the back open as once I have made up the skirt bit (hopefully that will be a lot less fiddly and time-consuming) and joined the skirt to the bodice there will be a zipper there. Hopefully I've left enough of a seam allowance. The lining technique is awesome and for this project has worked well - I'm really chuffed with the results of my first attempt at lining something! I think when I sewed everything together I should have trimmed the seam allowances down at the armholes as there is a little bit of bulk there... but I gave it a good iron and it seems fine. I've been amazed at how easy the silk dupion has been to iron. Which makes up for the fact that it FRAYS ALL OVER THE GODDAMN PLACE. Ugh.

I'm really glad how the straps turned out - I hate hand sewing (it's always slipstitch isn't it?!) and the pattern for Jackie calls for hand sewing at the shoulders. Yawnarama. But the inside-outsidey magic seam thingy lets you sew the whole lot on the machine then turn it the right way and press it. It looks much neater and more professional than my hand sewing, that's for sure...

I didn't do anything with the seams on the inside - just pinked the edges - maybe I should have used some seam binding or something? I did that for the seam joining the silk bits of the upper and lower bodice and it looked very neat but you can't see it as it's hidden by the lining. Hopefully it will be ok, I can't see me wearing this dress every day! Though if I can finish the skirt bit I'd like to wear the dress for my cousin's wedding at the end of May... but first I have to figure out how to make the skirt...