Easter Dress: Bodice and Wonder Tape!

Tweet So, I started last night on putting some of the pieces together for the darling little dress I'm making Grace for Easter.  I had already cut the pieces, which is a task I never look forward too - I don't have a proper place to do it except on the floor - not easy when pregnant!

Before I begin laying it all out for you, take a look below at the preliminary sketches to get an idea of what the dress will look like once constructed.

Bottom of dress should come just below knee - well, that's the goal!
And, I won't be using bias tape.  I need some pink!



Fabric Selections
Top two are HG cottons and bottom is a beautiful Poly Satin for trim


So I had bought some ribbon that was going to be really cute, but it wound up being too stiff to gather correctly.  Remember, I'm new to sewing!  Lots of mistakes are in my future.

So I'm beginning with the bodice as a lot of it can be put together with this amazing stuff called Wonder Tape.  I found it by looking at other blogs and they kept mentioning it's magical powers so I decided to give it a whirl.  WOW!!!!  It's going to make a ton of difference in my construction.  The great thing about it is, unlike other fusible tapes (which you need an iron for), this is a double stick adhesive, you can sew through it and it won't gum your needle and, AND!!!  It's water soluble so it's gone after one wash.  It's amazing!

So, first, I applied Lightweight Fusible Interfacing to the back of the two bodice pieces.  You can find fusible interfacing at pretty much any fabric store and can buy by the bolt too (way more expensive).  There are different kinds and weights, but not too many that you get crazy confused.  Just follow the manufacturer's directions when applying.  It's easy and I love it, especially for cottons.  It just gives a little support where you need it.

Next I needed to create a 1/4" seam on the long side of each front bodice.  I just applied the wonder tape and since it is perfectly a 1/4", it made for an easy seam!



Look at those clean lines!!!


Next, I applied wonder tape to the edge of some satin ribbon that was 5/8" wide and folded edge to edge.  This tape is probably going to help again because the ribbon is delicate and can really mess up when sewn alone.

Just peel off backing of tape and fold to edge

I then applied the tape to the back of the bodice on the long edge again and just stuck the ribbon on, edges facing inward.

I'm kind of...kind of, mimicking the look of piping...again, kind of.

And for the backing, which I need because:

1)  It will provide another anchor for the ribbon and will "house" the satin shoulder straps (in another post)

2)  The cotton's white part, isn't so white when alone and I thought the fusible interfacing might suffice, but it just needs another boost so we are using an old white sheet for the backing.  Very soft and thin.

And, 3)  It will just look so much more finished!

So I just did exactly the same thing for the backing as I did for the bodice, except for of course the seams will be facing.  However, I didn't use tape to hold it to the seam, I just pinned it.

The end result of this was something that was looking way cleaner than I could have hoped for had I not used the Wonder Tape.

I did more after this with the Poly Satin, but didn't take pictures because I made some mistakes and also made some discoveries.  Therefore, I'm probably going to have to cut more of the Poly Satin so it can look as good as I discovered it could....is that cryptic enough! 

So that will be my next post:  Mistakes and Discoveries on Polyester Satin.  I think it could make a great book!

And this is perfect timing to wrap this up because Grace just woke up!