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Finishing my little black dress - #1249

10/22/2014

11 Comments

 
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Little black dress ... nearly finished!  Well, you can see it actually IS finished and worn once, already.

I got to attend a cocktail party (the perfect event for a little black dress) the night before the Nobel prize in Physics was awarded. Three honest to goodness Nobel Laureates were there in person, very exciting.  My husband is a physicist, so that was my "in".

Anyway, let me show you the inside of this dress.

Also, I'm going to re-sew the underarm area of the sleeve. I got a couple very nice, but corrective messages from people who's opinions I respect.
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I used an invisible zipper, which I love to use.  If you invest in a good metal invisible zipper foot, they are so easy to put in. EXCEPT, I never can quite get the two sides to exactly line up, so I always put the zipper in BEFORE sewing up the rest of the seam it's going in. See the slight unevenness at the top of the zipper and the cooresponding unevenness at the bottom of the finished seam?  That little bit of a discrepancy can be trimmed away. The important thing is that the seam is smooth at the bottom of the zipper, and it is.

Share any tips if you know how to get those two sides to match up ... please!
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Now I'm going to trim away the extra large seams along the sides.  Read my blog about fitting if you want to know more about this.

First I draw a line 5/8" away from my stitching line and then ...
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cut.

I've already decided that this fabric does not need to be finished on the cut edges. I have already thrown it into the washing machine and have been handling it a lot and it hasn't frayed one teeny weeny bit. Why spend the time? And quite often the shadow of serged seams can show through to the outside after it's ironed, which I don't like ... who does?
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Another way to keep the shadow of a seam allowance showing is to iron your seams over a seam roll. This is my mother's handmade seam roll. She made it while she was in an apparel design program.  Inside is a rolled up magazine which is then wrapped with some kind of padding and covered in 100% wool.  

I have to confess it is very tempting to open it up to see what old magazine is inside, but it's a great seam roll and my mom made it!
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Here is the seam roll in action.  The majority of the pressure goes at the actual seam and is less at the edges of the seam allowance to prevent those cut edges making an impression through to the outside of the garment.
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Just to be decorative, I used my scalloped pinking sheers to trim the edges of the neck facing. I also, tacked the facing to the shoulder seams to keep it in place.
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If you remember, I cut this dress 2 inches longer than the pattern. I figure it can always be trimmed away, but is truly impossible to add back on. Anyway, this allowed me to make a slightly deeper hem than the pattern indicates.  I like a 2 inch hem on a narrow skirt, but usually not any deeper than that.

And I LOVE soft rayon hem tape. Unfortunately you can't buy little packs of it anymore.  I have 4 big rolls in various neutral colors so I can use it on most projects.
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This double knit is so easy to slip stitch. Just the right amount can be stitched into without showing to the outside!
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The rayon hem tape make a good stabilizing finish for the front slit, too.  This is important, since I didn't finish any of the seam edges.

And because I didn't finish any of the seam edges it is super easy for me to open up the underarm seam where the sleeve meets the dress.
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This diagram shows how I sewed up the side seam through the armscye. And this photo shows the index of the actual garment just before I picked it all apart.
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First I opened the seams about 2 inches in all 4 directions and then re-stitched them so the sleeve to dress seam is sewn last. This will make the dress hang better under the arm area. This is very important when sewing with a woven or tightly fitting garment, or heavy coat.  Even the people who wrote the nice but corrective comments saying I really should have sewn the sleeve this way in the first place said, it was probably OK to have done it the other way with a knit, but I don't want to set a bad example, so I changed it. Didn't take too much time.

Now I have a friend who has gently suggested I shorten it a bit. Hmmm That would take a little more time.  But, I love this. I'm always complaining that because I work at home all by myself, I don't have any office friends. But you are all becoming my office friends! Thanks.
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And ... REMEMBER ...
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11 Comments
Lisa Logan
10/22/2014 04:29:32 am

You asked for hints, about getting the zipper in evenly? I have found it helpful to take a chalk marker to my zipper seam allowances and mark matching notches about every 3" along the zipper opening. I sew in one side of the zipper, zip it shut, then use the chalk marker to mark the notches on both sides of the zipper tape. Then when I sew up the other side, I make sure to match all the marks on the seam allowance to the marks on the zipper tape. This method helps keep both sides of the garment perfectly aligned.

Reply
Andrea
10/22/2014 05:05:07 am

Thanks! will try next time. Pinning wasn't working, kept slipping just a tiny bit. I'm great at lining up regular zippers, but I haven't used invisible ones as much. But, I'm going to more now.

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John Yingling
4/15/2016 12:06:54 pm

One more tip: add a 3/4" strip of fusible knit interfacing to stabilize the seam before sewing in the invisible zipper. This will eliminate any ease that might occur and cause a misalignment. And be sure to mark at intervals. Good luck!

A Sewing Life link
10/22/2014 04:36:35 am

You look beautiful in your dress! It's fun to see your construction process, and especially your Mom's seam roll.

The sleeve length and that lovely slit are nice details.

Reply
thegoosemother
10/22/2014 09:08:32 am

I agree with your friend about the hem. The dress is beautiful and you look fabulous in it. You have attractive legs and you need to show about 2 more inches of them and then there should be a perfect balance in contrast. The Goose

Reply
Andrea
10/22/2014 10:02:10 am

OY! she will be happy. But, I worry if I shorten the dress, that makes the dress part stubbier and will make me look wider. I guess I need to pin it up and look at it.

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thegoosemother
10/22/2014 11:29:11 am

I e-mailed a "photo-shopped" photo of you in the dress. More skin showing will do the opposite of what you believe it will do. It will actually appear more slimming. Look at the photos side by side. The dress looks good on you, but you wear the dress - don't allow it to wear you. See what you think. The Goose

John Yingling
4/15/2016 12:08:14 pm

Hem it just above the knee cap.

AJ link
10/22/2014 01:16:27 pm

You look amazing!

Zipper: I always baste in my zipper first to make sure everything lines up. Sometimes it takes some adjusting but it's been working for me. I will definitely try that chalk marking technique Lisa suggested! Here is my method: http://confused-kitty.com/tutorials/invisible-zipper-tutorial/

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Jehanni
10/22/2014 04:34:28 pm

I must ever-so-humbly disagree with Coco--I have never had an LBD, and don't expect to have one... the color on me always makes me look flat and dead. As an artist, I have a strong aversion to out-of-the-tube black paint, and prefer a "living" color like ultramarine blue and burnt umber blended together to a rich depth. Just saying. For clothing, I also avoid black (though all the rest of you in the world on whom it looks good--congratulations!) I think this dress would look stunning in navy, deepest egplant, or darkest spruce green. ;-)

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Mi link
10/23/2014 07:43:24 am

I love it! I think this dress is extremely flattering on you.
I can't quite picture it shorter, but I think the length now is lovely!

Reply

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    From Andrea 

    I am a commercial pattern maker who is now "sewing over 50"!
    I love to sew and hope to encourage others to come back to sewing.
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