February Sew-Along Final Update

Last I left off with having the zipper sewn in at the back of the dress. Here is the exciting conclusion of February's project! (If you want to see the finished product and not read through the last few steps just scroll to the bottom of the post.)

18. The final major section to work on are the sleeves. The first thing I did for these was to make two rows of basting stitches on the sleeves (in between the notches). 

19. Next I pinned and stitched the dart s in the sleeves. It is always really important to make sure that your darts are the same length. I measured mine against the pattern and each other to make sure they were all the same. I do this for darts everywhere on a garment. It is really noticeable (to me at least) when they aren't the same length. Another trick with darts is to tie off the pointed end instead of back stitching. It makes them less bulky and helps to avoid the "pointy" dart look. 

20. Once the darts were even I pressed them downwards. Afterwards I pinned the underarm seams together matching the top,bottom and notches. I then went to the machine and sewed them together. I checked that everything was lined up and then pressed open the seam with the iron.

21. The sleeve was then ready to be set into the armhole. This step is one of the trickier ones and I find it is really important to have your notches marked correctly or else the sleeves won't fit properly. I matched the underarm seams, the top and notches. Once these were secure in place with pins I gathered the sleeve in to fit. This sleeve was not meant to look gathered so you have to be very careful not to make puckers when pulling them in. Once I was satisfied with the fit I sewed them in place at the machine.    

22. The last step was to pin up the hem for the sleeves and the bottom of the dress. The sleeve hem was already measured out properly on the pattern (I just made sure they wouldn't be too short on my oddly long arms). The skirt hem though I had to measure out on my mannequin as it was rather uneven. And there you have it folks, another garment completed! 

Here are pictures of the finished product:

What I Wore:

Dress: Made By Me (see pattern here)

Belt: Fairweather

Tights: Ardene

Shoes: Spring

I wore the finished product out to the theatre. We went to see The Last Romance with Jamie Farr (who was amazing) at Theatre Aquarius. It was a very interesting an entertaining show, although the ending was a bit bittersweet. I am pretty please with how the dress turned out, in my opinion it looks better with the belt though. Also these tights are pretty sweet, sometimes it is hit or miss if pairs from Ardene will fit, but these ones were perfect. I also love these shoes and I don't get to wear them often enough. I can't wear them to work because my feet would be a mess, so it is nice to be able to wear them out somewhere. I know this is a long post already, but here is the last thing I promise. The project for next month is:

I am going to make Simplicity pattern 1775 view B (the one with sleeves). The black will be the sleeves and belt and the pattern is the rest of the dress. I think this time around I might just post update pictures with a brief description of what I have done. It is a lot of work doing the step-by-step and I am pretty sure no one is actually sewing these items along with me. If anyone objects let me know and I will post the step-by-step still. If not, I will just post the progress shots and I am always happy to answer questions if someone decides to sew it themselves. Thanks for reading!