Sewing the dress

On a collarless light dress the neckline is finished with a facing, piping or a band. With a facing: 1) the inner edges of the facing, cut to the neckline shape, are folded 0.5–0.7 cm and sewn or overcast; 2) the facing is placed face to face with the dress at the neck edge and sewn with a 1.0 cm seam, the seam allowance being snipped; 3) the facing is turned to the dress side, the seam straightened and topstitched; 4) the facing’s inner edges are fixed by hand or on a blind-stitch machine. Piping is cut on a 45° bias to the warp and sewn with a 0.5–0.7 cm seam to wrap the neckline. For a band, notches are cut at the neckline corners so it does not pull; the band is turned out to make a narrow edge and topstitched. If the yoke is double, the upper and lower yokes are pinned face to face and sewn all round with 1.0 cm seam allowance. Joining the skirt to the yoke: the set-in gathers are joined and overcast, gathers spread evenly, right sides together tacked and sewn by machine. Setting the sleeve into the armhole: the extra width of the sleeve cap (ease) is spread mainly over its sloping parts and hardly at all at the bottom; it is tacked with small (about 0.5 cm) temporary stitches. A sleeveless dress must have a facing or piping on the armhole. The hem: a closed-edge turned hem (first 0.3–0.5 cm, then folded again), an open-edge hem, or a blind-stitch machine. Final finishing: hand-sewing threads are removed, extra threads trimmed, chalk lines rubbed off. Iron temperature must suit the cloth: man-made fibre and natural silk – low, wool – medium (through a damp cloth), cotton and linen – high, slightly damp. Safety: use the iron and machine only under the teacher; pass scissors closed when trimming threads; count all needles and pins at the end.