February Sew-Along Update I

1. Like last time the first step in the process was to cut out all of the required pattern pieces, set them to the right size and iron them out.

2. Next I laid out my fabric (after washing and ironing it) and placed the pattern pieces onto it. Then I made sure they were on the grain, pinned them, and cut them out. 

3. Once everything was cut out the first step was to prepare the pleats on the front side pieces and baste them down. (This time around I surged each piece and marked the notches etc. as I went).  

4. The next step was relatively difficult. I had to fold all the pleats on the front skirt section and baste them down. I found the lines for the pleats to be a little confusing and it took me a few tries to get them to sit right. 

5. Next I sewed the front side pieces to the front skirt section. So far so good.

6. The last step for this week was to attach the centre front piece to the side pieces and the skirt. This step was relatively difficult and I had to redo the bottom section after I sewed it the first time. It was difficult to line up the notches and the bulk of the pleats. I am really glad I fixed it though, sometimes I am a really lazy sewer and leave things and they don't look as good as they could. I think this is a bad habit that I started when I was first sewing, I really just wanted to get things done. I have been trying to get out this habit lately, and I am pleased to say that I have found myself fixing mistakes more often.

This is where I am going to leave you for this week. I am moving a bit faster on this one than January's project because there are more steps and it is a slightly more difficult. I will be back next week with another update!