Well, I couldn't restrain myself. I had to make another Lady Skater Dress. I've worn my previous, ahem, 3 dresses quite a bit. I've had my eye on this dress, but the fit isn't the most flattering on me.
I happened to find almost the exact same color ponte knit at Joanns, so why not another Lady Skater?
This time I made a boatneck. In a nutshell, here's what I did for the neck.
I brought the scoop neck up and widened it, making it dip a little bit lower in the front. Before sewing the shoulder seams, I applied some Steam-A-Seam Lite to neck. I turned the neck to wrong side, sewed the shoulder seams, then top-stitched all the way around.
Okay, now for the fun French Cuff. Measure the circumference of the sleeve you want to add the cuff to. Cut a shape like below using the circumference and your desired cuff length being sure to add your seam allowance (SA). My cuff length was about 4 inches.
Apply a lightweight interfacing to the wrong side of half the cuff. With right sides together, fold the cuff in half and sew the sides.
Turn the cuff to the right side and press.
This step is really important, so follow along carefully. Turn your dress sleeve inside out. Fold your cuff in half, matching the angled side. Align the fold of the cuff to the seam of the sleeve.
Pin the cuff to the wrong side of the sleeve, all the way around, so the angled sides end up directly opposite of the sleeve seam.
Sew the cuff to the sleeve.
Turn your sleeve to the right side.
Fold the cuff back, press and add a cute button.
Hope this tutorial makes sense. It's really pretty simple once you sit down and actually do it. And, it's adds a really nice touch to a simple dress.
It looks great! Sounds so easy when you explain it :)) I just finished sewing a similar skater dress from a BurdaStyle pattern. Maybe I'll follow your tutorial and add those fun cuffs!
ReplyDeleteWow! Gorgeous!! I've got a Craft Gossip post scheduled for later this evening that links to your tutorial:
ReplyDeletehttp://sewing.craftgossip.com/tutorial-french-cuff-and-boatneck-lady-skater-variation/2013/10/14/
--Anne
nice!! (did you use steam a seam on your other lady skater dresses too?)
ReplyDelete~ Tracy
Hi Tracy. I didn't need to use the Steam-A-Seam on my others because I finished the seam according to the pattern and it had a banded neck. My fabric didn't roll, but it really helps when it does and for this neck, just made it easier to get a nice straight neck. Otherwise it would have required a lot of pins and I really hate pins!
DeleteThis is awesome and you look gorgeous as usual. Thanks so much for taking the time to create a tutorial and share it.
ReplyDeleteI just recently bought this pattern and am looking forward to making it for the first time. When I find a style I really like, I too want multiples. However, when I saw you on craftgossip.com, I couldn't wait to check out your post/tutorial. I LOVE BOATNECKS, and the cuffs are also really nice. Well done, and now I really can't wait to make it with these revisions.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing. This is really great, I will try to do this. Beautiful dress!
ReplyDeleteHope you don't mind, I have shared on SSB https://facebook.com/sassysewingbees
ReplyDelete