Cream Vintage Dress - Part 2

The saga of the cream vintage style dress/tunic continues! 

My next step was to cut out the skirt panels. I originally cut six, but realized this would really make the skirt too large for a dress of this tiny-ness and delicacy, so I eliminated one.

I spent quite awhile thinking about how best to do the hem and eventually I decided to sew right sides together at the bottom and turn out and iron to create a practically invisible hem.

I then lined up the tops of the lining and eyelet and gathered, then sewed into the eyelet side of the waistband. On the lining side I ironed over the raw edge and hand sewed it down to create a completely finished interior as well as exterior.

The dress so far! Looking nearly complete, right? But not quite.

I still had to add a zipper, straps and a bow. Below are the pieces for the zipper and bow.

Pieces with the edges sewn.

Gathered the larger rectangle to form a bow shape.

Looped the narrow rectangle around the larger one to secure and finish.

Stitched in place and tacked to a safety pin so that bow can be moved/removed as wearer desires.

Attached in ideal position at waistband.

To add the straps I slit open the top of the bodice slightly, inserted the end of the strap, and sewed shut.

And voila! The finished garment! My sister will wear it as a layered piece, but some girls could use this style without layers as a sundress (although boning might be a practical addition to the bodice for support).