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How to sew an invisible (concealed) zip

How to sew an invisible zip. An easy invisible or concealed zip tutorial

How to easily sew an Invisible zip

Inserting a zip can be a bit daunting and an invisible zip (sometimes called concealed zips) even more so. But honestly fear not, here’s an easy way to insert invisible zips without a load of fuss. Invisible zips are actually my favourite zip to use because when they’re closed they are, well, almost invisible.

If you are new to invisible zips, don’t panic. I don’t always get it right first time – and I still unpick sometimes. Practise makes perfect or so they say, and if not perfect, practise at least makes you familiar with the process. So, round up some scraps of fabric and do a few tests before jumping into your garment. It’s also much easier to insert a zip in a stable fabric such as cotton poplin than a shifty, slippery satin or chiffon!

This is a simplified version of a post I originally shared for The Barcelona pattern, which explains how to stripe match, seam match and shorten an invisible zip. It’s a little bit more advanced due to the nature of the matchy – matchy process but you can see that invisible zip tutorial HERE.

This method closes the seam before you insert the zip rather than after. My normal method of invisible zip insertion (stitch down each side of zip, stitch up from the bottom to close the seam) was fine and dandy (and if you prefer/are happy with that method, carry on – we’re not doing brain surgery here) but I felt this one was just easier and better to help avoid the dreaded bump at the base of the zip situation.

For this example I am inserting an 20cm (8″) invisible zip and placing it into a 17cm (6¾”) opening in a centre back seam of a skirt that has a 1.5cm (5/8″) seam allowances.

INVISIBLE ZIP TIPS

  • An invisible zip is always stitched from the top down to the bottom.
  • Invisible zips are placed RS of zip to RS of garment.
  • The coil (teeth) sits right on the CB line.
  • You never get to use the entire length of an invisible zip. You lose around 2.5-3cm (1″) as you can’t stitch right to the bottom because the zip puller is in the way. If you have a 20.5cm (8”) zip the finished length will be about 17cm (7”)
  • Invisible zips are very easy to shorten. I often shorten an invisible zip after it I have sewn it in and always with the zip closed. You could do it before hand but remember it must be longer than your actual opening. If in doubt insert the zip and chop it off carefully shorten after. (Tips on how to shorten an Invisible zip HERE)

TOOLS

  • Invisible zip (Also called a concealed zipper)
  • Invisible zipper foot
  • Regular zipper foot
  • Usual machine presser foot
  • Fabric marking pen/chalk implement of choice
  • The usual sewing stuff; iron, thread, pins, scissors, sewing machine

ABBREVIATIONS

WSU: wrong side up / WS: wrong side / RSU: right side up / RS: right side / SA: seam allowance / CB: centre back

How to sew an Invisible zip

1. SPOT FUSE the seam allowance to stabilise the area.

Apply a strip of lightweight fusible interfacing along the seam where you will be inserting the zip. I make mine twice as wide as the SA (seam allowance) and 3cm (1″ or so) longer than the finished zip length.

2. Press the zip.  

Open the zip and lay on the ironing board with WSU. With a cool iron press the coils (the teeth) flat to uncurl them so they are easier to sew. WARNING! If your iron is too hot, the teeth will melt. Close the zip.

3. Close the seam.

With RST pin the seam together from hem to the notch at the base of the zip opening.

Start at the hem and stitch the seam closed with 1.5cm SA, using your normal machine foot, stopping at the zip notch with a backstitch.

Neaten the raw seam edges.

Press the seam open.

Gently press the seam allowance of the zip opening which will give you a guideline to help place your zip.

4. Place the zip.

It’s really easy to get an invisible zip twisted as you pin it in place. The RS of the zip will be facing the RS of the garment.

I find the best way is to lay the garment with WSU facing you, and then fold and pin the SA into place.

Place the zip FACE down onto the garment, so WS of the zip is facing you.

Open the zip a couple of inches and pin the zip tape to the SA on each side of the opening with one pin.

This is just to place the zip without twisting it, we will pin the zip accurately to stitch in the following steps. 

NOTE – The zip tape will be narrower than the 1.5cm SA.

Open the zip so the puller is all the way to the bottom.

Start on one side of the zip (it doesn’t matter which side) and place the top stop on the stitch line. In this case it would be 1.5cm from the top edges as we have a 1.5cm SA at the waist edge (I’ve marked the waist stichline with a red pen line) and pin the tape to the SA.

Keep the zip coil positioned ON the pressed CB seam line.

Once you have pinned one side of the zip in place, tack next to the teeth coil to hold in place.

On the zip tape, mark the base of the opening so you know where to stop stitching.

5. Change to an invisible zip foot.

Take a look at your zip foot and you will see 2 grooves or channels on the bottom of your invisible zip foot –  yours may not look exactly mine but you’ll get the idea.

The coils of the zip will sit in one of these channels depending on which side you are stitching. Choose the groove furthest away from the SA and so that you are stitching through the zip tape right next to the coil.

Start with a backstitch at the top of the zip and stitch close to the zip coil. Roll the coil away from the needle with your fingers as you stitch so it sits perpendicular to the zip tape as you sew.

You need to stitch as close to the coil teeth as possible but do not stitch on the coil as your zip will not close!

Stop with a backstitch when you get to your mark at the base of the zip opening.

*I prefer to use an invisible zip foot but many makers like to use an ordinary zip foot.

Now to repeat with the other side of the zip.

Make sure you line up the top stops on each side of the zip or it will look uneven and stepped at the top when it is closed.

Pin and tack into place. Starting at the top with a backstitch, stitch the other side of the zip using the other groove of your machine foot, again stopping with a backstitch at your mark at the base of the opening.

Close the zip to check puller will run up and down smoothly and all looks good before continuing. Getting the puller to the right side can be a little bit fiddly sometimes, but I just remove any tacking that’s in the way and get the pointy, end bit of the puller to poke through to the right side first.

If you have stitched on the teeth of the zip it won’t close so you’ll need unpick that section and re-stitch. But please remember that there is no such thing as the sewing police – if you’re happy to wear it, it’s good enough!

6. Anchor the zip to the seam allowance

(If you need to shorten your zip, do that first – see the other Invisible Zip tutorial here)

The point of securing the zip is to reduce the strain on the zip and also to stop the tape flapping about. Make sure you are only stitching zip tape to SA and you are not stitching through the actual garment. 

Change to an ordinary zip foot (sometimes called a half foot). There’s two ways to do this step, it’s mostly personal preference but Option 1 is probably the stronger of the 2.

OPTION 1 / Anchor the full length of the zip tape to the seam allowance. Start at the top and machine stitch the tape and SA together.

OPTION 2 / Anchor the zip tape to the seam allowance at the base of the zip for just a few centimetres. You can do this bit by hand if you prefer.

Press

Give your zip a gentle final press.

NOTES / I discovered the original version of this technique a while ago, when it popped up in my Instagram feed from Threads Magazine. The YouTube video is demonstrated by the delightful Kenneth D King. I’ve adapted the original technique a little bit to help with stripe matching, I only close the CB seam to the bottom of the zip opening. The original method also closes the zip opening using a machine basting stitch. I also prefer to use an invisible zip foot, it’s just what I’m used to, but Mr King uses a generic adjustable zipper foot. The original video can be viewed here: YouTube LINK: Imperceptible Zipper by Kenneth D. King.

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Sewing Stripes – how to match stripes.

How to match stripe. Stripe matching tips & Tricks. The Barcelona Dress in Blue stripe linen

Stripe matching tips & tricks

How to cut, match and sew stripe fabric.

The Barcelona dress…. all the stripes in all the directions!  Stripes can be tricky little blighters, on the move when you think you’ve got everything straight! It does take a bit of extra work to get matching stripes but good stripe matching starts with accurate cutting out, take your time in the beginning and you’ll be halfway there.

PSA: I would like to point out that I did not get those stripes looking like that first time, I practised on samples and I unpicked. Sometimes do a lot of getting it ‘wrong’ before it goes right. I’m OK with that! Try not to suck the joy out of sewing yourself a dress by setting unrealistic expectations of perfection, it’s overrated. It’s supposed to be fun! If a stripe isn’t perfectly matched does it really matter? (It doesn’t) The other thing to remember is that you are your own worst critic so be kind to yourself! Oh, and by the way, Barcelona is delightful in a plain fabric too!

Do I need extra fabric to match stripes? 

Truthfully, you might! The Barcelona dress has it’s stripe costings based on a 2cm wide stripe with all the pattern pieces cut in one direction (a one way lay / with a nap) but I can’t do a costing to cover every stripe on the planet so you may need to allow more or less depending on your fabric.

Even and uneven stripes image

Even or uneven stripes?

Start by looking at your stripe fabric. Is it EVEN (also called symmetrical or regular) or UNEVEN (also called asymmetrical or irregular)? To check, fold back a corner and if the stripes match across the diagonal fold they are even, if they don’t they are uneven. Why is this important? Because even stripes can be cut in either direction but uneven stripes need to be cut in one direction with all the pattern pieces facing the same way and will most likely (but not always) take more fabric. I actually prefer to cut everything in one direction if possible / just a preference no actual logic.

How to match stripe. Stripe matching tips & Tricks. which way do your stripes run?

Lengthwise or horizontal?

The next thing to look for with stripes is which way does the stripe run? Is it a LENGTHWISE stripe – does it follow the direction of the selvedge/grainline along the length of the cloth? Or is it a HORIZONTAL stripe that runs ACROSS the fabric? Again these will make a difference in how you lay up your pattern. If you look at The Barcelona pattern you will see both the STRIPE DIRECTION and the GRAINLINE marked for this reason because depending on the stripe direction of your chosen cloth they may or may not be running in the same direction! You can cross reference the 2 lines to make sure your pattern is cut with the stripes running in the right direction and is on grain .Make sure you keep the grainline parallel to the selvedge.

Guesstimate!

If I am ever unsure about the amount of fabric to buy I’ll lay it all out and measure it. I use washi tape or masking tape and actually mark the width of the fabric on the table or half the width and pretend it’s on the fold. For stripes I also mark the pattern repeat and then lay out the pattern as if I was going to cut it out to give myself an idea of how much fabric I need.

I think my way will be more accurate but it’s not always possible to do a full layup of a pattern when you are in a fabric shop so I’m including a couple of ways I’ve come across on the old internet for general ‘rules’ of guesstimating the extra you may need for stripe matching.

  1. Allow around an extra half a metre for smaller stripes and 1 metre for wider stripes or those with a big repeat.
  2. The other way is to count the main large pattern pieces and multiply that number by the width of the stripe repeat. So 4 main pattern pieces (front bodice, front skirt, back bodice, back skirt) x stripe repeat of 5cm = 20cm of extra fabric.
  3. If in doubt buy a bit extra on top of those!

Make a full pattern

How to match stripe. Stripe matching tips & Tricks. How to cut a full pattern piece 1
How to match stripe. Stripe matching tips & Tricks. How to cut a full pattern piece 2
How to match stripe. Stripe matching tips & Tricks. How to cut a full pattern piece 3
How to match stripe. Stripe matching tips & Tricks. How to cut a full pattern piece 4

I find it easier to lay up stripes using a single layer of fabric. And it’s easier to do this if you have a full pattern. By this, I mean any pattern pieces on the fold should be traced so they can be cut without needing to fold the fabric.

  • Take a piece of paper, larger than your pattern piece.
  • Fold it to make a nice sharp crease. This will be your Centre Front (CF).
  • Place the CF of your original pattern piece right on the fold. Be accurate – if it’s not exactly on the fold you can add or lose millimetres from your garment before you even start!
  • Pin (or use weights) through the layers of paper, keep everything as flat as possible. I always trace around my pattern pieces with a sharp pencil and a ruler, as I feel it’s more accurate than just cutting out.
  • Transfer all the markings. This is where a tracing wheel is very handy. Draw the STRIPE DIRECTION/ grainline all the way across the pattern.
  • Once traced, remove the original pattern. Make sure the lines that are dissecting the CF fold (neck and waist) are doing so at a right angle (90°) or you will get weird pointy shapes at your neck and waist! While its still on the fold, I’ll repin to hold together before cutting out on my pencil line.
  • Once cut, mark in your grainlines/stripe direction and I like to circle my marker dots. Label and date your pattern piece so when you find the cat playing with it on the floor in 2 weeks time you’ll know where it came from.

You can trace all of your pattern pieces, to give you a left and right. You will only need to use a single layer of paper if the pattern piece is not to be cut on the fold. I don’t trace everything but that means when you are cutting in a single layer you have to remember to flip your pattern piece over to make sure you are cutting a pair. For example, when I cut a right back bodice I’ll mark a cross in pencil on the face side of the paper pattern, so I know which side I’ve already cut and then I’ll know to turn the pattern piece over to the other side before cutting the left back bodice.

Stripe Matching: Laying up & Cutting out 

So as we said before the trick to good stripe matching starts with accurate cutting!

So we are going to cut the fabric in a single layer with the Right Side Up (RSU), so we are in control of those stripes. It can be difficult to match them and keep them aligned when the fabric is folded and frankly I get really bored because it just wasted so much time trying to line them up and pin them together! You need a large flat area, it often ends up being the floor, and be sure that if you are using a table that isn’t quite big enough that any overhanging fabric is not dragging your lay off grain and making your stripes go skew-wiff.

How to match stripe. Stripe matching tips & Tricks. How to lay your pattern to match stripes 1

When deciding on where to match and place stripes, think about visually what will be noticed first. A wide dominant stripe will draw your eye to that point so consider this when placing your pattern and cutting out your fabric. It’s usual to match the CF, CB and side seams, so stripes run continuously around the body. Shoulder seams may not always match and the dart tucks on The Barcelona will not match because of the angle they are on.

How to match stripe. Stripe matching tips & Tricks. How to lay your pattern to match stripes 2

The Barcelona pattern already has the STRIPE DIRECTION marked on each pattern piece. It’s just a case of lining it up with the stripe on the fabric and keeping it consistent for each corresponding pattern piece. The underarm is an easy place to line up for bodices, and the hem is often a good place to start for a skirt or sleeve. If you have a bodice with a side bust dart, so it comes from the side seam, match your stripes below the dart.

How to match stripe. Stripe matching tips & Tricks. How to lay your pattern to match stripes 3
How to match stripe. Stripe matching tips & Tricks. How to lay your pattern to match stripes 4

If you need to add a stripe direction line to a pattern piece, draw it all the way across and in whichever direction you choose to have your stripes but MAKE SURE IT’S STRAIGHT!If you haven’t traced the whole pattern, you can chalk around one pattern piece and then flip it over to cut the matching piece. You can also stagger your pattern pieces rather than having them in a row straight across the fabric. Just make sure you are still placing them on the same part of the stripe. In the photo above both armholes are placed at the bottom of a white stripe each time.

Cutting the skirt

 The skirt of The Barcelona is cut on the bias grain to create a chevron at each seam. So the STRIPE DIRECTION LINE is at a 45° angle to the CF and CB seam. The same principle applies to lining up the STRIPE DIRECTION line and consistently placing it on a stripe for all pattern pieces.

How to match stripe. Stripe matching tips & Tricks. How to lay your pattern to match stripes 6
How to match stripe. Stripe matching tips & Tricks. How to lay your pattern to match stripes 7
How to match stripe. Stripe matching tips & Tricks. How to lay your pattern to match stripes 8
How to match stripe. Stripe matching tips & Tricks. How to lay your pattern to match stripes 9
How to match stripe. Stripe matching tips & Tricks. How to lay your pattern to match stripes 10
How to match stripe. Stripe matching tips & Tricks. How to lay your pattern to match stripes 11

As the seams are quite long I also made extra checks as I cut to be sure those stripes matched up. First, I cut the right front skirt panel, again placing the STRIPE DIRECTION line to the bottom of the white stripe. Then I flipped over the pattern piece to cut the left front, again aligning the STRIPE DIRECTION line to the bottom of the stripe and I pinned the pattern in place.

Before I cut it out I can double check my stripe matching skills by laying the skirt panel I have already cut ON TOP (fabric with Right Sides Together) of the pattern piece. I can see the stripes actually matched before I chop out the second skirt front. You can repeat this when cutting the back skirt. Before I unpinned the pattern piece from the fabric I copied and drew the placement of the stripes straight onto the pattern piece. I then transferred to the back pattern piece so I knew they’d match. I just placed the side seams of the back and front patterns together and used a tracing wheel and a ruler to mark them straight through.

Remember they need to match at the STITCHLINE!

It’s a useful trick to have handy if you are matching a long length of stripes, because technically the stripes are evenly repeated but actually, it’s a woven fabric and sometimes I’ve had to ‘encourage’ the stripes to do as they’re told! The STRIPE DIRECTION line does meet at the same point along the side seam because I made sure it does during testing, but if you are adapting a pattern this is one of those things you need to double check because if you can’t just randomly draw a line and expect it to match another one! It’s then just a case of cutting out the back skirt and methodically checking the seams will match.

Sewing with stripes

Troubleshooting

How to match stripe. Stripe matching tips & Tricks. How to sew and match stripes 1

 I’ve stitched my seams with my usual machine foot, but if you are having difficulty controlling those stripes, consider using a walking foot. A walking foot will feed both layers of fabric through the machine at the same time, helping to keep the stripes aligned. My new machine doesn’t have one, but my old one did. I will be buying one very soon! Start by marking in the seam allowance, the stripes need to match at the stitchline (I may have mentioned that before).

How to match stripe. Stripe matching tips & Tricks. How to sew and match stripes 2
How to match stripe. Stripe matching tips & Tricks. How to sew and match stripes 3

Pin every stripe so they are directly on top of each other. The more pins the less likely the stripes are to move as you stitch. Never knowingly underpinned is my motto! For the chevron, I placed the pins at an angle to follow the stripe direction. Remove them as you sew. Don’t tell anyone but I sewed over them with no ill effects but I’m pretty sure it’s a criminal offence so I’m not recommending it.

Tack or Baste

Machine baste (use the longest machine stitch you have) on the stitchline. If you sew to one side of the stitchline those stripes can still move. When you sew don’t rush and take your time!A machine baste is preferable but if you decide to tack by hand – they need to be small and tight stitches and it can be difficult to pull out randomly coloured tacking thread after stitching on top of it.

How to match stripe. Stripe matching tips & Tricks. How to sew and match stripes 4

Check the stripe matching. If anything has shifted, you could just unpick that section and restitch. Or not, depends how you feel sometimes near enough is the way to go! Machine stitch the seam closed with a 1.5cm SA with your usual stitch length on top of the basting.

How to match stripe. Stripe matching tips & Tricks. How to sew and match stripes 5
How to match stripe. Stripe matching tips & Tricks. How to sew and match stripes 6
How to match stripe. Stripe matching tips & Tricks. How to sew and match stripes 7

You may find that some machine basting stitches have strayed either side of your permanent stitchline. Remove any basting stitches that are not under the permanent stitchline. The ones that have strayed either side of the seam will hinder your seam pressing open neatly. Be careful not to pull out or break the permanent row. I did. I wasn’t careful enough. C’est la vie! Before pressing a seam open, always press seam allowance flat and together. I don’t know the science behind it, but you do get a better finish! Neaten the seam, press open and …stripe matching joy!

Aah…’Tis a stripe matching thing of beauty!

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The Barcelona – now in paper!

Great news! Our Barcelona pattern is now in print!

We have a very limited number in stock this week, as I managed to get a pre-order sent, but more will be arriving at the weekend so there is still plenty of time to make your party dress!

the Barcelona in green velvet, fully lined using this tutorial

Or will you make a cosy cord skirt with this tutorial?

and which back will you pick, classic high or sassy v?

 

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The Barcelona | lining tutorial – part 2

How to add a lining to the Barcelona Dress | part 2

| sewing the dress lining |

This is part 2 of our lining tutorial, in which we are adding a lining to the Barcelona dress. This is where we find out how to stitch her up!

You should already have your lining pattern ready, but if you missed it, off you go and do your homework! We’ll wait here for you…The Barcelona | Lining tutorial part 1

CUTTING & SEWING VELVET | Our dress is in (woven) cotton velvet, or as it’s sometimes called velveteen, so all the usual rules apply regarding sewing and cutting fabric with a nap (a pile). If you are working with a silk velvet or similar, these are even trickier, slippier fabrics and you are going to want to take more steps than I’ve listed below! Threads magazine has a good guide here. Of course, you are not obliged to use velvet, I’m sure your fabric of choice will be most delightful!

NAP | If you brush your hand up and down you can feel one direction feels smooth and one is rough. The smooth is the direction of the nap. I like to cut with smooth up and rough down as the fabric looks darker when it’s worn. Not everyone is going to agree with me here, many prefer to have the smooth running down the body, especially on a skirt as it does feel nicer when you smooth your skirt down during wear. With smooth running down it appears lighter, and I think it’s a bit too shiny, but it’s also supposed to wear better in the seat area. Whichever you choose, BE CONSISTENT and have all the hems of your pattern pieces facing in one direction.

CUTTING | Cut in one layer and one direction. Pin in the SA only so as not to mark the cloth.

PRESSING | Even though it’s velvet I did chuck it in the machine on a quick 30° pre-wash, as per the washing instructions. I was using curtains from Ikea with a washing label, so not really a risk, but do check the washing instructions of your fabric first! I then followed with a gentle pressing on the reverse only so as not to flatten the pile and make it go shiny. Use a spare bit of fabric as a pressing cloth underneath so the pile of your garment is always face to face with another piece of velvet. And PRESS rather than iron – lift in an up and down motion rather than dragging back and forth! Use steam, avoid over-pressing and use the tip of the iron when pressing seams. Gently press seam allowances (SA) open, avoid pressing the edges of the SA so as not to create an impression on the garment. If you do, lift the SA up and steam gently underneath and the impression mark may press away. And for the love-of-all-that-is-sewing allow your garment to cool before moving it after pressing! 

*In industry we used a needle board for pressing, which has hundreds of tiny needles poking up to support the pile of the fabric. I haven’t found it necessary to get one for domestic use, but useful to know if you are planning to sew a lot of this type of fabric.

POCKET BAGS | Cut them in lining – the velvet is will be too bulky.

SEWING | The seams can get quite thick, so press seam allowance open and grade the SA whenever necessary. Tack seams to prevent them from moving and shifting. Hold the fabric taut during stitching, but don’t stretch it. I used a walking foot to stitch the whole dress to help with creeping seams, but test to ensure you don’t get marks from the foot on the pile. A Teflon foot and a roller foot are also recommended but I don’t have either of those! With velvet be very careful with pins and pin in the SA. I pinned horizontally across a seam (as usual and without thinking) and it left an impression on the velvet. Test your stitching and choice of needle on a scrap of fabric to get the optimum results.

FUSING | The general advice is to use a sew-in interfacing so as not to crush the pile. I broke the rules and used a lightweight tricot iron-on interfacing, placing a scrap of velvet underneath so the pile is face to face before fusing. Again TEST on your fabric first!

Abbreviations |

SA | seam allowance    RS | right side    RSU | right side (of fabric/garment) up    RST | right sides together    CB | centre back    CF | centre front    WB | waistband

MAKE! | Start by making the main shell of the dress following the Maker Instructions included with your pattern.

THE MAIN SHELL |  Make the outer shell but leave side seams unstitched and the hem unfinished.

A little more info | I did not neaten the shoulder seams or the front darts. I neatened all the other seams open, as even though it’s lined the velvet was dropping messy bits everywhere. In a different fabric, I would have neatened the skirt seams open as the lining is loose at the hem, but would not neaten the bodice or waist seams.

  • Make the front bodice. Make neck dart tucks as instructions. Press front waist darts OPEN, do not neaten. (*If not making in velvet press darts towards CF as usual).
  • Make the back bodices with darts pressed towards CB.
  • Make the front skirt and attach pocket bags.
  • Make back skirt and attach pocket bags.
  • Attach the skirts to the bodices, neaten waist seam open.
  • Neaten back side seam (but not the front side seam) and CB seam.
  • Close back seam and insert the invisible zip (remembering you have a 6mm SA at the top edge).
  • Close shoulder seams, press open but do not neaten.
  • DO NOT CLOSE SIDE SEAMS

THE LINING | Make the lining but leave side seams unstitched and hem unfinished.

A little more info | Neaten the skirt seams open and the CB seam. No need to neaten the bodice lining seams. Press the darts in the opposite direction to the main shell to reduce bulk.

  •  Make the front bodice. Press the neck dart tucks towards the armhole. I pressed the front waist darts towards the side seam; if you are not pressing the main shell darts open, the lining darts will lay in the opposite direction to the main shell to reduce bulk.
  • Make the back bodices, making tucks instead of darts pressed towards SS.
  • Close the CF skirt seam and neaten SA open.
  • Attach the skirts to the bodices.
  • Close shoulder seams.
  • Neaten the side seams and centre back seams.
  • Close the CB skirt seam from hem to the zip notch.

ATTACH LINING | Now the fun starts!

This lining method bags out the neckline and armhole creating a clean finish with no exposed seams. The front and back armholes are sewn separately as it’s not possible to turn the dress through the armhole as with some other methods.

STEP 1 | NECKLINE

  • Place the shell and the lining with RST, and pin the neckline together, align at CF and shoulder seams.

  • To finish lining neatly at the zip; fold the CB lining SA to WS of lining. Place folded edge of the lining so it is set 1cm back from CB of the main shell.
  • Ease the back neck lining to fit the main shell if necessary.
  • At the CB/zip, fold the SA of the main shell to WS, so it lays on top and covers the folded edge of the lining.
  • Stitch neckline with 6mm SA.

  • stitch all the way around the neckline and gently press.

STEP 2 | ARMHOLES

The clever part of this method is that the front and back armholes are stitched separately.  It works really well as the dress is too bulky to pull through the armhole using a “burrito” method, and we have already closed the back seam with a zip – I always prefer to put a zip in a flat garment.

  • Line up the shoulder seams
  • Fold in SA at the shoulder so RST and pin to hold.
  • We are now working on HALF an armhole at a time – either the front or the back, it doesn’t matter which one you do first.
  • Follow your way along the edge of the dress from the shoulder to the armhole and at the underarm pin the SA so RST, making sure you haven’t twisted the bodice.

Hold together the bodice where you have pinned at the underarm and shoulder and pull the dress through so the WRONG SIDE is now facing you. Pin or tack lining and body RST along the armhole until you get to the shoulder.

  • Stitch the armhole seam closed with a 6mm SA from underarm and stop at the shoulder seam. Press the seam.

  • Pull the dress back through to the RS.

  • Now repeat to close the other side of the armhole, finishing your stitching EXACTLY at the shoulder seam to meet your first line of stitching.
  • Once you have completed both armholes, understitch on the lining. Start at the underarm and stitch towards the shoulder – you won’t be able to understitch all the way to the shoulder seam just go as far as possible.

SIDE SEAMS|

  • Pin the side seam of the lining and main shell RST, taking care to line up the underarm seam.
  • Close the seam with a 1.5cm SA – stitch around the pocket bag in the main shell as described in the instructions.
  • Neaten the front side seam (as explained in the maker instructions) but stop the neatening when you get to the lining.
  • Press the seam open
  • To stop the lining rolling out at the underarm it needs to be attached to the main shell. Line up up the side seams of the shell and lining so they are sitting on top of each other. Pin in the groove of the seam. Stitch in the ditch of the side seam just below the underarm for about 1.5cm (1/2″) to keep the layers together. Alternatively, you can stitch by hand on the inside of the dress through the SA to hold the layers together.

ATTACH THE LINING TO THE ZIP |

Turn in the lining SA at the CB and pin to the zip tape so it sits approx 1cm back from the zip coil.

Slip stitch the lining to the zip tape. You can then sew your hook and eye at the top of the zip.

HEM |

  • Allow the dress to drop for at least 24 hours before levelling and hemming.
  • The lining has a 2cm hem allowance and just needs the hem to be double turned and stitched; that is press the hem up once at 1cm, turn and press again so a total hem of 2cm hem has been taken and machine stitch. You can use the same method that is used to hem our Maria Apron pattern, shown here in this tutorial.
  • The main shell has a 3cm hem and is finished by hand.
  • Your Barcelona just needs a light pressing and you’re finished!

Don’t have the Barcelona pattern yet? Don’t leave it too late, party season is nearly upon us…