How to Sew a Party Wear Gown

Hey  friends how are you. I am back here after a long time.In this post I want to share how I stitched this simple and  elegant party wear gown. I designed and sewed this gown for my daughter to wear to a party. She liked it very much. Even her friends admired it a lot. I hope you would like it and also try to sew it.

I prepared the pattern according to the body measurements I required. For the neckline, I wanted to have a mandarin collar with small curve as a continuation. 

The neckline width is kept 2.5" and depth of the neckline for collar  is 4". The depth of the hole (or the curve I mentioned before) is 3". Back neckline depth is 0.5". Flare of the dress at bottom measures 16". I cut the pattern on double folded paper.

Pattern

 Next, I opened up the pattern and placed it on the fabric a little diagonally as in the figure below. I then cut the bodice parts separately. (Sorry, I forgot to click a photo for this step so i drew one instead so that you can get a clearer idea. :) )  I also cut the lining cloth similarly. I used Chiffon fabric for the dress and Satin fabric for the lining. These fabrics that I have used were so slippery , I had a hard time with them. So I cut the fabrics with the help of my daughter!

Firstly, I attached the front part with the lining and joined the back parts also similarly. Next I sewed the curve part below the neckline by attaching facing and then attached the shoulders. Then I stitched the collar with satin cloth and attached to the neckline.

After that I attached the sleeves and joined the bodice parts along the length of the fabric. I thought of adding a velvet ribbon at the bottom and it came out of pretty well!!. On one side,  I embellished with a flower (the big pink rose i bought from a local shop here) and on the other side I embroidered bullion roses with chain stitch stems and leaves. Bullion roses n the bullion knot stitch have been my daughter's favorites since she was a kid... so she insisted that I made these on her dress. :)  Lastly I closed the collar with a nice button, But I took these photo before stitching the button so I cant show you!

   It was a great task completing this dress within a day! It was a sudden plan and my daughter wanted it for a party the next day..

Detailed Tutorial - Palazzo Pants

Palazzo pants are trendy now-a-days. They can be worn with a long kurti or even a short top or a t-shirt. So lets learn how to make one.

DRAFTING and CUTTING

Front pieces

A-B    =     D-E     =     width of bottom of the pant + 2"

Width of the bottom can be kept as much as desired. you can keeep it more if you want it loose. Usually the bottoms of palazzo pants are quite wide but i preferred medium width. So, I've taken 12" +  2" (seam allowances)

AD    =      BE      =      length of your pant (please note: do not add 1" for seam allowance here as we will atttach a separate waist belt)

BC    =       Crotch length obtained by Total length (AD=BE)/4 

Draw a line MC parallel to AB

O is the mid-point of AB.

P is the mid-point of DE. Join OP. This line crosses the above line at R.

G to 2   =    0.5"

take your hip measurement. Divide it by 4. Add 2". this is the MC length. Let this be 'm'. now mark 'm/2' from R both sides and mark "M and "C".that,is, R is the mid-point of MC.

For example if your hip measurement is 40, then 40/4 = 10 + 2" = 12".then 12/2 = 6" = MR = RC.

AF     =   TM + 1" Join MF with a curve.

FG     =    (Your waist measurement + 2)/ 4

Draw a straight line from G to H.

Draw a curve from G to C as in this fig.

Measure 14" (your knee length)from E and mark N. 

Knee width, LK = MC-1" such that S is the mid-point of LK. ( in the example above, LS=SK = 5.5")

Again take the points z and z' just like L and K above but ZP = PZ' = MR = RC (i.e. 6" in the above example). 

Now cut along FM , MT and TD. Also cut along GC' and C'E. The front pieces are now ready.

Back pieces

Place the cut front piece over folded fabric for cutting back pieces. The red lines indicate the front piece and the blue lines indicate the back pieces in the given fig. Mark S such that GS = 1" and T such that CT = 2". Mark S' such that E'S' = 1.5" now join T and S' as shown. Mark A' and D' cut along the line. Also cut along STS'. Now, you obtain two back pieces.

Fig. Cutting the pieces

STITCHING:

Join the crotch areas of the two front pieces. Also do the same with the back two pieces. 

Now, join the outer side edges of the left front and back leg pieces together and stitch along the length. Do the same way to the right-sided pieces also Next, take a strip of cloth of width = twice the desired width plus 1". length would be that of your waist measurement + 1". This is your waist belt.
Attach the belt to the waist and insert the elastic.  Now stitch the bottom edges in double fold. Lastly close all the open edges of  the leg pieces (obviously except for the bottom opening!!)

* For more information on how to attach the waist belt, you can refer to my earlier post legging stitching method

And.. your palazzo pant is ready!!

How to Cut & Stitch a Princess-Cut Kurti

Hello everyone.. Time for another tutorial. This post would tell you how to make a princess cut kurti. This kurti is very similar to the straight-cut kameez/kurti only difference being in its shape. It has a little A-Line kurti-like shape. For drafting please check out the straight cut kameez tutorial sewing post.

Princess-cut kurti

1. You have to note few alterations.

    0-8     =    half shoulder

    0-7     =    3.5" (or about 3 to 4)

    8-A    =    shoulder slope

    1        =    midpoint of AB

    7-2     =    11" (or 10.5")

    3        =     as far from the mid-line as is 7 (0-7) (3.5")

    5-6     =     hip + 3" (Hip measurement is as said in the above (straight-cut kameez) tutorial (RS))

    4        =     midpoint of 5-6

    6-7     =     seam allowances 1.5"

    

Fig.1

CUTTING

Draw the draft on the fabric and cut along the yellow dotted lines in fig. 1.

Fig. 2

Fig. 3 - After cutting

After cutting, you would have two centre pieces and four side pieces (both front & back).
STITCHING

Keep both the cut pieces A&B together correspondingly. Next, place the piece B over A in such a way that their right sides face each other and the points E and E+ coincide. Check out fig. 4 and 5.

Fig. 4

Fig. 5

Secure with pins and sew along the entire length. Repeat the same with the other side and back side pieces too.

Fig. 6 Pinning

Fig. 7 After joining the two side pieces to the center piece

For the remaining steps, please refer the straight-cut kameez sewing tutorial. The side seams and slit opening are optional. You can instead choose to sew the side edges together.

Hope this helps...!!

How to Stitch an 'A'-line Kurti

This tuorial is on making an "A"-Line Kurti. It is very easy and the draft pattern is quite similar to that of a straight-cut kameez/kurti except for that it widens as we move down and has a flare.  

You can find the drafting in this tutorial. You should note that here, the width AB is (hip + 3"). Hip measurement would be as mentioned in the above tutorial (RS). Take extra 1" along the whole length as seam allowance.

If you would like to give the bottom a curve shape as I've done, then you should mark C as  the midpoint of AB and also BD = 3". Join the points making a curve. YOu can therwise simply go with the straight pattern as it is also equally popular.

The edges of the sides can either be closed or left often as a slit. Further steps are similar to the one in the kameez sewing tutorial. 

Happy sewing!!

How to sew a neckline with bias strip

This is a tutorial on neckline with bias strip. Make a bias strip from this tutorial. Fold it in half width-wise. Place this strip along your cut neckline.

Secure this bias strip with pins with the right sides facing together in this figure below. (the raw edges are to be kept together towards the neck line)

Sew it along the neckline. Invert it towards the wrong side. Rest of the method is similar to the one described in the tutorial on stitching neckline'

To end, don't forget to hem/machine stitch the edges. That's it!

Simple Easy tutorial on sewing a bias strip

Hey sew-lovers! Time for another tutorial. In this post, we are going to see how to sew a bias strip.

We have to start with a triangular (preferably an isosceles one, obtained on folding a square in half  diagonally) (Fig.1)

Fig. 1

Draw parallel lines as in fig. 2.  The width of each piece and the total number of pieces is upto you to decide.

Fig. 2

Cut along the drawn lines. As said earlier, you can have as many poieces as you want... this would determine the length of your bias strip.(fig. 3)

Fig. 3

 Keep all the pieces horizontally and cut the extra small triangular pieces as in fig. 4

Fig. 4

THe next aspect is joining two pieces. Look at the two pieces in fig. 5. Keep the two pieces one over the other such that 'B' of the 2nd piece coincides over 'A' of the first piece. Take a diagonal stitch as in fig. 6

Fig. 5

Fig. 6

Then, trim off the extra triangular part as in fig 7.

fig. 7

Turn over. You must have got something like fig. 8

fig. 8

Keep adding the rest of the pieces in the same manner to increase the length. And the bias strip is done!!

Hope this tutorial helps.....

Sewing a Perfect Neckline - Quick Easy Tutorial!!

Hello Everybody... its been a while. So, today, i'm going to teach you the technique of stitching a perfectly neat neckline for your dresses and tops.. You could also check out the tutorial on stitching necklines in detail.

a) Firstly, you have to get an interface as it would make the neckline firmer. Fold the interface such that one leaf of the fold is about 2 inches more than your neck width measurement. the point would be 'O'. Mark your required neck measurement from 'O' ('A' in fig. 1). Then at 1" from 'A'  mark the point 'B'.

Fig. 1

b) Also mark the neck depth corresponding to point A n join the two points. at 1" from this point, mark another point. join this fourth point n 'B' as shown in fig.1. Take care the lines are parallel and straight. Cut along these lines. You will get a piece like the one in fig. 2.

Fig. 2

c) Now place the interface on facing (can be the same fabric as your dress or you can also choose another fabric if you want).. now keeping the sticky side of the interface over the wrong side of the fabric you took, iron over it carefully so that the shape's not disturbed. (Fig. 3).

Fig. 3

 Cut the extra fabric parallel to its edges.

d) Next, place this fabric piece over your dress with the right sides facing each other. The mid-point of the two fabrics should coincide. (Now, here u have to keep in mind that the fabric (front/back for whichever piece you are stitching the neckline) should not be cut anywhere for the neckline stitching)

Fig. 4

e) After this, secure the two fabrics with pins and then sew a straight line along the mid-line as in fig. 4. Another stitch along the inner border of the interface (yellow dotted line in fig. 5, yeah it is not that clear, I know!)

                                              

Fig. 5

 f) Now cut both the fabrics along the inner edge of the interface but about half an inch from the edge. See the fig. 6, you will understand better.

Fig. 6

g) Finally, you have to invert and turn this piece backwards so that it resembles the one in fig.7 Top-stitch over the inner border.

Fig. 7

h) Towards the wrong side it should look somewhat like this (fig. 8). You might want to hem the outer edge to secure it.

There you are.... ! Done with  the square neckline.. easy isn't it? You can sew any other shaped neckline other than the square one I have shown here. The procedure would remain the same.

Stay tuned for more posts and tutorials!!!