Today’s the day we start sewing! First up is sewing the shoulders. As an overall note: I’ll be showing you how to make the Christine Jonson pattern, which is very similar to other classic wrap dresses, so the steps should be the same. However, if you’re making a fixed wrap dress (which doesn’t actually open), the steps may be different, so you should consult your instructions.
If you’re not using the Christine Jonson pattern: first sew any darts or tucks, and sew the front bodice to front skirt pieces (left and right), and back bodice to back skirt pieces.
Now, let me introduce you to the joy that is Wonder Tape. It’s basically double sided sticky tape that holds fabric together and then dissolves when the garment is washed (it also doesn’t gum up your sewing machine needle). The first use is helping us do the shoulders really precisely! It can be hard with slippery jersey fabrics, and this way you don’t have to worry about the pieces shifting or hitting the serger knife with an errant pin. However, if you prefer then by all means use pins, or wonder clips or even nothing!
So: put a strip of Wonder Tape on the right side of the back shoulder, so that it will be within the seam allowance.
Peel off the backing of the tape
Place the front wrap piece, right sides together, onto the back piece – the tape will stick the two pieces together and stop them shifting while you sew (although bear in mind it’s not a strong bond, so be careful with the pieces!).
Now, over to the serger/sewing machine. Sew that shoulder! If you’re serging, remember to leave a tail of threads at each end – you don’t need to deal with them because they’ll be cut off by other seams coming up.
If you want, you can insert clear elastic into the shoulders as well, to stabilize them further. To do this, you can stick on the elastic with yet more tape and serge over both bits of fabric and the elastic to secure it into place. Or, you can serge first, then put the elastic on top and serge again. Note that the elastic should *just* be caught in your stitching, and will mostly be in the seam allowance. As you can see below, I haven’t used clear elastic because I find that the knit stay tape is sufficient to avoid stretching.
And, repeat for shoulder 2. Done! You can now drape it over your shoulders and swoosh around in the mirror admiring your almost-dress.
Up tomorrow: the neckline. Any questions for today?
I”m having the same problem, they just don’t line up. Can you tell me where the matching points are?
Huh that’s strange, I didn’t have that problem. Are you bearing in mind that it wraps all the way around and therefore it won’t meet in the middle?
Do the side seams match? That’s where I’d start, and then you can adjust the bodice or skirt front pieces to match (trim off a little bit, assuming it is little). Or you can email Christine Jonson – she’s very responsive!
I don’t suppose you could post a picture of the two pattern pieces overlapped so I can see how they line up. Or can I send you a picture of mine so you can tell me where I’ve gone wrong? (Note, its a 5/8″ SA so I drew a 5/8 seam line on each and am matching up those seam lines). When I do it the side seams line up just fine. My problem is where the dotted line on the front skirt is. The bodice is a 1/2″ short of the end of the seam line of the skirt front. So if I just extended it another 1/2″ I’d have to redraw the bodice front to make a totally different angle. And there is a line on the bodice called center front. What is that supposed to match up to? Where is the center front of the skirt? That CF bodice line is 5″ from the dotted fold self facing line of the skirt. (I’m making size medium).
The centre front should be aligned to your center when the wrap dress is worn, if that makes sense. Im not sure of your exact problem but if it was me I’d probably trim 1/2 inch off the front skirt to make it match up with the bodice, assuming you can spare that 1/2 inch when you wear it
Oh, that seems like a good solution. And now that I think about it, would I even be giving up a full 1/2″, since that part will fold back on the dotted line. I could just make the fold back narrower than the pattern intended. I could just split the difference if it becomes an issue. Does that make sense?
Yep, exactly! I actually emailed Christine Jonson and she said that it could be to do with the fact that she lines the bodice which effectively takes the seam allowance off the bodice… but I think your solution works 🙂 The nice thing about wrap dresses is due to the way they work – and the fact that they’re knit – the “fitting” isn’t as precise as you normally have to do in a woven.
Thanks so much for your efforts and answering my questions.
I’ve cut and traced the pattern pieces and am considering following your lead by attaching the front/back bodice to the front/back skirt. When I lay the front bodice on top of the front skirt (using 5/8 SA), the angled edge doesn’t meet neatly with the skirt. If I use a smaller SA (1/4), the edges meet. How did you join these two pieces?
Many thanks.
Which patten are you using? Some patterns actually use a 3/8 seam allowance which could account for the discrepancy
D’oh! I’m using the Christine Jonson pattern.
Huh, I’m not sure why you’re seeing that – have you traced the same size bodice and skirt? This is not the “correct” answer, but frankly I wouldn’t worry – I would either use the smaller SA or shave a little bit off the edge of the skirt so it lines up. The joy of knits and wrap dresses is that if you’re only 99% accurate it doesn’t matter 🙂