Step-by-Step - Aylwen's method using the Irish Threads pattern

1. Work out what design you want - whether it will be a lower-priced repeatable design or a much higher priced custom design. Either way, the designers must be paid, unless you're using a free design from Colleens site, in which case you must let Colleen know you are using the design. Her only condition for their use is that a photo of the finished dress must be sent to her for publication on the site.
2. Work out your colours and fabrics. I have a page of links to fabric companies on my links page. Allow an approximate 5m of base colour and then half to one metre of each applique colour. These days most people try to avoid using more than 3 colours in the design. I also allow for 2-3m of skirt lining,
3. Take the measurements of the dancer.
4. Make up a cotton bodice with sleeves. Make all seam allowances 2" so you've got room to adjust to fit.
5. The front of a bodice is marked with single notches and the back with double notches. Your front armhole will have a single notch and this matches the single notch on the sleeve. The back will have a double notch, which is matched to the double notch on the sleeve. It is important to have the correct notches together; otherwise you will end up with the left sleeve in the right armhole and the right sleeve in the left. It does make a difference and the sleeve will hang towards the back of the body.
6. Fit this to the dancer, change if necessary. When it fits correctly it is kept and becomes the bodice lining.
7. Now you either go to a photocopy shop or use your computer (I use photoshop 7) to enlarge the design to fit your pattern, or you can trace off your pattern and send it to the designer to draw up to size for you. I really recommend this last method!
8. Trace around all the pattern pieces onto cotton shapewell with a pencil, transferring all seam and fold lines.Label each piece well.
9. Cut them out.
10. Pin these pieces onto the wrong side of the fashion fabric and cut it out.
11. Overlock/serge these two pieces together on all outside edges. This helps to stabilise the fabric ready for appliqueing.
12. If using lycra or a stretch fabric you may wish to back it with a non-stretch fusible cotton interfacing to prevent the fashion fabric stretching during your sewing. If the fashion fabric is transparent back it with an appropriate-coloured backing. ie. do not back black glitterdot with white.
13. Some people may want to preshrink their fusible interfacing - at this stage I do not. However, I've placed instructions at the bottom of this page for those that wish to do so.
14. Draw/enlarge the design to size and trace it onto Vliesofix. If part of the design goes under another part, I will add an extra 3mm to that edge that goes under. Keep each colour together, and label each piece accordingly.
15. Place the sheet of vliesofix onto the wrong side of the chosen colour applique fabric with the glue side against the fabric. Use a hot dry iron and iron on the paper side to adhere it to the fabric. When it is cool cut out the design with small sharp scissors.
16. Separate all the little pieces into their own bag - ie. a bag for the bodice, a bag for the side front panel and so on. Pin each bag to the prepared piece waiting already.
17. Using a piece of transparent Gladbake or similar baking paper, put it on top of the enlarged-to-size design. Carefully peel the backing off the vliesofixed pieces and put them onto the Gladbake, remembering which part is an over and which part is an under piece, and making sure that the extra 3-4mm is underneath the over piece.
18. Using a steam iron, iron the applique pieces down. Remember to always use a piece of Gladbake between the iron and the applique pieces as most of the fabrics can melt under direct heat. Do not use greaseproof or tracing paper as they can adhere to the vliesofix permanently. Gladbake never sticks, it can always peel off. We can send you a sample if you do not know what Gladbake is.
19. Peel the design in one piece off the gladbake and place it carefully onto the good side of the prepared fabric piece. Make sure that the glue side is down against the fabric and that the design lines up properly.
20. Put a sheet of clean gladbake on top of the design and press down with a steam iron to adhere the applique to the fabric.
21. Set up your machine to a zig-zag or satin stitch to your desired width but no length (ie. no space between each zig or zag) to achieve a smooth satin stitch. Set a low tension so that the back threads do not have a chance of coming through to the front of the design. The satin stitching is usually done so that when the needle comes across to the right hand side of the stitch it sits on the outer side of the applique.
22. Metalfil needles are great with embroidery threads. Jeans needles are recommended for seams and shaped hemlines.
23. Place a sheet of heavy duty tear-away backing behind the fabric before you stitch.
24. Once all the applique is finished cut out the stiffening. We use Vilene fusible non-woven heavy weight interfacing, #1085 in Australia. Each country uses different codes, so it will be labelled differently overseas.
25. Get out the original pattern sheet and trace all the skirt and pleat pieces onto the stiffening, but minus all the seam allowances. Trace your cape and crown pieces onto it as well. Be very careful that you do not have any pieces fold or go into any seam allowances. We cut out the pieces of stiffening a quarter to half a centimetre less on all seam lines and fold lines. ie. our inverted kick pleats consist of 3 separate parts - one thickness on the sides and 2 thickness in the centre.
26. If you are using a non-fusible stiffening then leave a few tabs to go into the seams for stability.
27. We use 2-3 layers of Vilene #1085 for the front panel, 2 layers for the sides, back, cape and base of an inverted kickpleat, and one layer for box pleats and sides of inverted box pleats. To reinforce the front, side and backs boning may be attached between layers of stiffening.
28. Once you have finished appliqueing the design onto all the required pieces, start to put the dress togther.
29. Attach the kickpleats with a straight stitch to each side of the front panel, following the seam line drawn on the shapewell. Then attach the side fronts to the kickpleats.
30. Place the front of the skirt face down, fully opened out onto a open surface - ie. dining table covered by heaps of towels, and apply the stiffening to the underside with a very hot steam iron.
31. Now is the time to cut out the shaped hem in preparation of binding or embroidering it. If I embroider it, I paint modge podge on it when I'm finished to seal the threads.
32. Turn over the skirt so the design faces you, then place the prepared lining face down on top.
33. For a shaped bottom sew the two pieces (right sides together) together at the sides (1/8" from sides) only. Turn through and carefully iron the seams flat.
34. Do the same to the back skirt.
35. When the two pieces are done, place them right sides together and sew togther at the side seams. This seam can now be bound.
36. By hand, overstitch the hem so theat the lining and skirt stay together. Now either bind or sew the edges with a satin stitch. I will sew the hem at least twice. When its done I paint it with modge podge and leave to dry.
37. Put together the bodice, then attach the sleeves. Remember to clip the sleeve seams or it will be too tight on the shoulder.
38. Attach the zipper to the back of the bodice - I prefer to use open ended zippers.
39. Attach a collar or bind the neckline - I prefer to pipe the neckline.
40. Sew the bodice to the skirt, starting at the front panel. Make sure everything lines up.
41. Finish sewing the zipper to the skirt or leave - lots of dressmakers here only attach the zipper to the bodice.
42. Attach your mock bodice and sleeves to the bodice - seams left inside.I handstitch the lining to the bodice, covering up all the seams.
    

To be continued........

Dressmakers Supplies

Please note that we sell heavy-duty fusible vilene and heavy duty non-fusible shapewell swiss cotton for stiffening and backing skirt panels, lightweight fusible swiss cotton for backing bodice and sleeves, vliesofix and heavy-duty tear-away for applique and other sewing needs by mailorder to the general public anywhere in Australia, USA, Canada & the UK.

More hints and tips:

Aylwen just added a section on satin stitching below.

Sheryl Till has put together an excellent page with pictures and information about machine applique.
Sheri Lynn has put together an excellent crown making guide on the Colleens of Canberra site.(please note that this is a yahoo site and is sometimes off-line)

Shaped Panels for Advanced Sewers

I'll be adding pictures over the next few weeks for those of you wanting to know more about these and the different ways to make them. Be warned, these techniques are for advanced sewers only - please do not try them for your first dress.

Turquoise Dream	This is the front panel of a shaped panel dress. Click on it to see a higher resolution picture. More photos and step-by-step instructions on how to do it yourself will be added in the future. In this dress I've used turquoise diamond glitterdot, black diamond glitterdot, cerise holographic fishscale sequin, turquoise holographic fishscale sequin and white holographic dotted velour. All of these fabrics were purchased from Threads of Green. Many thanks to Elizabeth Davis for her custom design - it is copyright, and NO ONE is to reproduce it in any form.
	Making Ideas: Skirt - to be done like this one , together with a stiffened side front panel. Sleeves - to be cut-out like No. 5 , with stiffened edges of the cut-out.

Boys Waistcoats

Does anyone want me to do a "how-to" for these? This is a picture of a back of one that I'm working on at the moment.

NEEDLES: Use an embroidery needle in your machine, metalfil needles are ideal with their large eye that allows for the thread to pass through with minimal breakage or splitting.

MACHINE SETTINGS:

Stitch Width - the width depends on your own preferences - older style dresses used 10mm stitching - most work we do now ranges between 3mm and 4mm. A good width is 3.5mm.

Stitch Length - The average length that we use is between 0.4mm and 0.2mm. If you have the stitch too close the stitches will bunch up. You should not have to drag or pull on the fabric to get it through the machine. This picture shows the stitches too far apart.

THREAD TENSION:

The top thread should be pulled to the underside if your stitching. If you haven't tried this before, thread your machine with 2 different coloured threads. In a standard machine you will need to loosen the tension of the top thread. Machines and threads vary so it is always best to do a test run first.

An ideal satin stitch should be even and flat without any bobbin thread showing through on the good side of the fabric. If your top thread is looping underneath, however, you will need to tighten the top tension.

TYING OFF THE THREADS:

You will need to secure your threads at the beginning and ends of each row of stiching to stop them from unravelling. Here are a few methods to try.

PUCKERING:

If you do not use stabiliser under your work the fabric will pucker.

TEARING:

Do not use fragile fabrics unless they are backed appropriately. In this picture the lame is pulling away from the stitches because it is a non-woven lightweight fabric and the close stitches are so close they have cut the fabric.

MORE HINTS:

From Nicole Stals: "If you reduce the pressure on your presser foot (try saying that 10 times) it makes getting around the curves much easier.  The pressure dial (for those who have never used it) could be either on top of the machine or often inside the door you open to change your lightglobe.  It might be in other places on other brands but they’re the only two positions I know of."

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