Sienna Dress: Continued

Project: The Sienna Dress

Challenge: Sewing with knit fabric

The Sienna dress pattern is a download and the first one that I have ever used. I love it. I always want to make more than one size in a pattern I like and it is so frustrating to have to keep buying the same pattern just to make another size. With the downloaded pattern, I can store it on my computer and print it out as many times as I need to. Worth every penny. You have to piece the pattern together, but I can make a size 6 to 12 month dress today (which I did) and make a size 5 dress tomorrow. LOVE IT (I already said that didn't I).

One of the most obvious rules to sewing with knit is to change your needle (or needles as I mostly used a serger) from a standard needle to a jersey ball point needle which is made to sew knit fabric. Obvious, yes, but not something I knew when sewing my first knit project oh so many years ago. Told you I had a lot to learn this year. 

Ashley gave some good advise in her pattern about sewing knit fabric. I used one of her recommendations about using spray starch on my fabric after cutting it out. I really think that it helped keep the shape of the fabric when I serged the pieces together. 

This pattern was really quick and gave some tips for making it easier, like using the already existing hem of the shirts so you don't have to hem the bottom of the dress or the sleeves. 

Brilliant 

I also used my serger to create a decorative element to the dress by sewing some pieces of the dress  with the wrong sides of the fabric together. Basically the seams are the on the outside of the dress. 

For tomorrow: pictures of finished dress and hopefully modeled by Lily Bear (we will see if she wants to cooperate.)