Hey, everyone! This is Lomi, and today I'm making a fantasy dress for
Little Firal! This pattern is designed for Minifees but will fit other slim minis too,
because it's made to use really stretchy fabric. I'm using a crushed velvet.
I begin by pinning the front side and front center pieces together with right sides together.
As always, this pattern is available on in my website's pattern archive
and is free for personal use.
Using a needle designed for stretchy fabrics can really help with your success in a project like
this, so make sure your equipment is ready for it. That's kind of a recurring theme in this video,
actually, but... we'll get to that. Right now, I sew the front sides to
the front center, backstitching at the beginning and end of the seams.
I actually ran out of bobbin thread on the very first piece, so... Right away,
right? Make sure everything is ready before you start sewing.
After the front is completed,
the front and back pieces go together at the shoulder with right sides together.
I sew the shoulders shut, backstitching at the beginning and end of each.
Because this is for a smaller doll and the fabric is kind of thick, I trim the seam allowances
closer to the new seams and then finish them with a zigzag stitch to keep them small and tidy.
Finishing with a zigzag is completely optional because of the material I'm using--a knit fabric
like this won't fray, but I like how clean it looks on the inside when it's finished this way.
After the seams are finished, it's time to assemble the sleeves.
The upper and lower sleeves go together with right sides together.
Since the fabric stretches most horizontally, it's easiest to pin the ends first,
then the middle, to ensure nothing gets stretched out of shape.
I sew both sleeves together the same way.
After the sleeves are sewn, I finish the seams with a zigzag stitch.
To attach the sleeves to the body of the dress, the sleeve and dress go together with right sides
together and I pin the ends of the sleeve's bell shaped top to the ends of the arm hole in the
dress. The bell curve is a lot bigger than the arm hole, because it's made to be slightly gathered,
which adds just a hint of volume at the doll's shoulders. I use a needle and thread to gather
the top of the sleeve so that it shrinks to the right size to fit in the top of the arm hole.
I pin the material in place and repeat the process for the sleeve on the other side.
The sleeves get sewn into the shoulder of the dress with a regular straight stitch.
I use a pair of tweezers to help guide the gathers. I'm also finding that the tweezers
are awesome for removing pins without pricking myself in tight places, so even though I've only
used them for small doll clothing in the past, I'm kind of enjoying using them for everything now.
After the sleeves are in, I finish the new seams with a zigzag stitch.
Optionally, at this point, you can add some trim to the seam where the upper and lower
sleeve meet. I love the color combination of blue and gold. Blue and silver would have been
more accurate for this character, but I don't have as much trim in silver to choose from.
Before the sleeves are sewn shut, it's a good idea to finish the end of the sleeve
by turning the edge in by a quarter inch, pinning it in place, and then sewing it down.
This is an optional step, of course, and can be left, but I find that knit fabrics that aren't
hemmed tend to roll up badly and that won't always look nice. You can counteract this by
weighting the edge down with a trim sewn to it, but I want a gap between the end of the sleeve
and the trim I'll be using, so hemming the sleeve is the best option for my project in particular.
Your preferences may vary, and the material you choose may have different needs.
After my sleeves are hemmed, I add some trim along the edge of the big sleeve bell.
This particular trim likes to try and fold up on itself as I sew,
so it ends up being kind of a pain to work with, but I like the end result.
At this point, I feel obligated to emphasize how important it is to check your materials
before sewing. When I made this dress, I had every intention of using the eye side of a hook
and eye tape so the back could be laced shut. Turns out, I didn't have any,
but I didn't know until it was too late, so the next sequence is an exercise in frustration
as I end up having to insert a zipper in probably the hardest way possible.
If you use a zipper to close your dress, it needs to be done now.
You'll begin with the dress flat, the sleeves open and the back open. The zipper gets installed
first, so it can be sewn in with the dress flat and wide open, so it can be done easily,
with no fabric in your way. Then the lower part of the back seam can be closed.
This would be the correct, and easy way to install a rear zipper closure for this garment.
Is it how I do it though? NO, it's not, because I didn't check my materials to make sure I had
what I needed when I started. So now you get to watch me struggle.
Ideally AFTER your zipper is installed, you would then close the sides of the dress by pinning the
bottom edge of the sleeve closed, continuing to the side of the dress, and pinning the whole side
of the dress closed. Now the side of the dress and the bottom of the sleeve can be sewn shut
all with one seam. Backstich at the edge of the sleeve to ensure the stitches won't come undone.
Both sides get sewn closed the same way.
Then, I finish these new seams with a zigzag stitch.
To prepare for the hook and eye tape I absolutely do not have and at this point do not realize
I don't have, I fold the edge of the back opening in by a quarter inch and sew it down,
just the first four inches or so of the top, on both sides.
Then I discovered I don't have any hook and eye tape. It would have been so easy
to just lay it on the inside and sew it in place while the back is open,
but this is what I get for not double checking I had everything. So now I put
the zipper on on side of my opening, switch to my zipper foot, and sewing that first side in
is pretty easy since it's just a matter of sewing straight. And I see that's not in focus,
but my camera's having issues lately and that's just the kind of month it's been.
The second half of the zipper is the hard part. Because of how it has to be positioned,
I have to sew on the inside of the dress while it's right side out,
going down from the neck line, and also making the hole in which I'm working smaller by moving
the zipper head so I can get the presser foot past it. Using the tweezers to keep
the fabric out of the way while I sewed inside the tiny neck hole ended up being a life saver.
It worked in the end, and I was able to fold the back of the dress closed and sew from the bottom
of the zipper to the hem to finish it as I planned originally, but man, it was not a fun surprise.
After the surprise zipper is set, I finish the neck by folding it
to the inside by a quarter inch, pinning it, and sewing it down.
I keep the needle about an eighth of an inch from the top edge of the dress,
which gives a really clean and polished end result.
Last up is hemming the bottom of the skirt.
Like with the sleeves, this is optional because knit fabrics won't fray,
but the sewn hem always looks a little nicer.
I start at the back and go all the way around the bottom edge of the skirt.
Isn't it pretty?
At the very end, I decide to use some gold leaf trim I've been saving for a long while.
I'll need to press the dress later to make the leaves lay flat, but I sew the trim
on with a zigzag stitch using clear nylon thread on top so it doesn't distract from the gold.
And that's it! A little gold ribbon to tie around the waist just to look pretty,
and this dress is now complete. Despite the unexpected surprises,
it was still a fun project, and I like how it came together in the end.
That's all for today, though. Thanks for watching!
Bye.