May and June: 5748 part 2

Let's cut! Btw, that last piece of pie last night was amazing.

So I looked at the cutting layout in the pattern instructions and it just didn't work for me. If your fabric has stripes, plaids, geometric patterns, etc., you may want to follow their directions to better help you match them. Mine doesn't.

I wanted to do the biggest piece first, to make sure I had enough (I've made this mistake before!). That meant the skirt front piece that needs to be cut on the fold. It's too big to go on the fold that the fabric comes on. I opened the fabric and folded the end of it in the opposite direction.

The center of the fabric is the natural fold line. There's enough room on the side there to fit the back bodice piece in. Let's do that. If yours doesn't fit, there will be enough left at the end!

Notice those little triangles? They're to help you line up pieces. I've gotten to a point where I feel comfortable not using them for the most part but I used to ALWAYS use them. I did cut them on the skirt back pieces because it can be hard to figure out which goes where without the fold like on the front skirt piece.

Once you cut out the bodice piece, you need to mark your darts. You can do this with chalk, disappearing ink marker thing or pins. I like pins. I just fold up the pattern half way through the mark and pin all the way through both layers of fabric.

Then I transfer my pins to the wrong side of the fabric on both pieces. I use the pin holes from the first marking as a guide.

Back to cutting (or do the cutting all first and come back to this section to pin after you cut both bodice sections - if you need to indulge in that juvenile act of defiance).

Keep folding the fabric in the same direction so you have just enough to cut another skirt section.

If you're doing the bow, you have room on the side to put that in.

Cut them out, I'd recommend cutting the three triangles on the back piece. That's not a threat or anything.

Then fold your fabric back the way it came. Put your front bodice section on it, pin and cut.

Then do your markings.

First step with just one set of pins in.

After transferring to the wrong side.

Here's what I was left with - it's enough to do a dress for one of my girls with some supplemental fabric.

I also had a decent sized scrap pile. Perfect! I need pockets! For my Dr. Seuss dress, I didn't remember to pockets in until I had already sewed one of my side seams. Of course I couldn't be bothered to pull the seam apart! So that dress has one pocket. My thanksgiving dress from the last post has no pockets because I forgot. I'm not forgetting this time, hooray!

So grab some scraps, you'll need 4 pocket pieces. I don't have a pattern piece, I just kinda wing it based on other pocket patterns. Most importantly, I always use my hand as a guide, nothing is more annoying than too small pockets (like one of my favorite dress designers! I seriously can't get a whole hand in.)