Here is the Stunt Dress... I am ready to rock!
The dress feels so good! The cotton is heavenly, I really like the fit, the dress has pockets (Erin would be proud of me! She loves pockets and stunt dresses!) and though the fabric is loud and not age appropriate, I might even wear it in real life because I don't care what people think. I might even make another one next summer.
I am just as proud of the innards. I have figured out how to bag it and do minimal hand sewing. I took pictures as I have not seen this RTW finishing method anywhere.
Start with an almost finished dress. The lining which I made from the toile, don't mind the Crayolas washable marker's marks, is all attached. I used the method described by Saraï from Colette Patterns to sew a facing to the invisible zipper, sewed and topstitched the top and pressed the allowance at the bottom. At this point, you have the choice to whipstitch the bottom, stitch in the ditch or turn it all inside out with the skirt inside. Which is what I did, pin.
Sew real close to the waist going as far as you can near the zipper tape, serge the allowance or zigzag and trim (you can leave it as is, but it'll be a bit bulky).
Open up the side about 3 inches (when I know I'll be bagging, I sew part of one side with a longer stitch) and pull the dress out.
Voilà! Minimal hand stitching here...
...and a little bit on the sides there. Press.
I still have to figure a few things out about this method. In RTW, there is no hand stitching at the zipper tape at all, if you know how to do that, I would love to hear from you. Also, can you do this with the straps all sewn in? I had a doubt, so I attached them to the back after.
This is the shot where you see what I was saying about the fit. Just the right amount of ease, can be worn from morning to night. I love it.
Lovely princess seams were obtained with my new pressing tools! I love them too, get some.
