Easter Dress - Part 3

Pleats and Trim

Today I was able to work more on the pleats and the front trim. Below you can see the front from yesterday, all pleated and pressed:

Since the dress front was ready, I needed to work on the lining. I decided the lining needed a small facing of green right along the front in the center of the neckline between the yokes. I wanted to keep the color consistent all along the neckline edge should any of the inside show. To add a facing for this type of bodice, this is what I did. First, I pleated the lining and then cut a strip of the green silk and pressed under one edge. You can see it just laid in place below.

Second, I pinned it in place and stitched the folded edge to the lining:

This lining piece with attached facing is now assembled with the front and yokes as I did the back. After pressing (and a few alterations, keep reading for that), I understitched the facing to keep it from rolling out.

This afternoon when my daughter came home from school, I tried on what I had assembled so far. This was primarily to determine where she wanted the trim to be positioned. I also checked the neckline at the same time, and needless to say, it wasn't bra friendly. As you can see from the photo below, I ended up taking out a little over 2", which is more than I thought it would be when I was pinning it up.

Now, of course, you know that taking that much out of the yoke is also taking that much out of the front armhole. I then had to recut the armhole to make it match the back and the original pattern:

This in turn will change the length of the side seam, but I will fix that when stitch the side seams and make the hems. I can simply trim off the amount at the bottom edge of the back.

Lastly today, I was able to stitch the trim in place, here it is all ready to stitch:

Here is the front, complete with alterations and trim:

I still need to make the ties and stitch the side seams. I need to check with my daughter to see if she wants ties that make a knot or a bow. Tomorrow I should get that done, along with the hems, and then I will only have the sleeves to make.

Parting Shot: Seen Better Days! Simplicity 4275 from 1953, below, has definitely seen better days. The pieces and instructions are all there, so it really isn't a problem. This is your basic fitted round necked bodice with peter pan collar and large skirt sort of vintage pattern, although it does have a square neck and a sleeve variation. My daughter likes the sleeveless square neck version.