Technical Sketch
Knits, High Waist Seam, Full Length, Full Circle, Armhole Princess Seams High Waist Bodice,
Center Back Seam, Short Bishop Sleeve, Wide Scoop Décolleté, Back Straight Seam with No Back
Vent and Invisible Zipper 22" Closure Length, No Ruffle, Neckline Facing
Sewing Instructions
Sewing Princess Seams on the Front
- With right sides together, pin Side Front sections to side edges of Center Front, matching
notches, then stitch, clipping into curves where necessary so they lie flat. Finish the seam
allowances separately and press open.
- Staystitch the neckline on the Front.
Sewing Princess Seams on the Back
- With right sides together, pin Side Back sections to side edges of Center Back, matching
notches, then stitch, clipping into curves where necessary so they lie flat. Finish the seam
allowances separately and press open.
- Staystitch the neckline on the Back.
Sewing the Shoulders
- With right sides together, pin Front to Back at shoulders, then stitch. Finish the seam
allowances separately and press open.
Sewing Side Seams
- With right sides together, pin Front to Back at Sides, then sew underarm seam to end of bodice.
Finish the seam allowances separately and press open.
Setting Waistband
The Waistband comes as one pattern piece that is cut twice. One pattern piece is the outer
waistband and the other is the waistband Facing. Apply fusible interfacing to the wrong side of
waistband, following manufacturer's instructions.
- Stitch Front and Back waistband sections together at sides.
- Repeat for the waistband Facing.
- With right sides together, pin the waistband to lower edge of bodice, matching notches and
aligning centers and side seams. Stitch.
- Turn in seam allowance on the upper long edge of waistband Facing. Press. Trim the pressed
edge to 3/8" (1cm).
- Pin the right side of waistband Facing to wrong side of bodice at the lower edge, matching
notches and aligning centers and side seams. Stitch, then trim seam allowances. Press seam
allowances toward waistband.
Sewing Bishop Sleeve
- Gather lower edge of the sleeve: stitch at 1/2" (1.3 cm), using long machine stitches, then stitch
2nd row 1/4" (6mm) away inside seam allowance, leaving long thread tails at the end of each
stitch. Pull thread ends and evenly distribute gathers.
- Apply fusible interfacing to the wrong side of the cuff. Pin one edge of the cuff to the sleeve,
right sides together. The sleeve’s underarm seams and the ends of the cuff should match. Evenly
distribute any gathers to fit the cuff and stitch.
- Press the unsewn lengthwise seam allowance toward the wrong side of the cuff. Press the
seam allowances toward the cuff.
- Easestitch the sleeve cap between small circles, leaving long thread tails. Stitch at 1/2" (1.3
cm), using long machine stitches, then stitch 2nd row 1/4" (6mm) away inside seam allowance.
- Match and pin the underarm seam and the cuff seam, right sides together. Stitch. Fold the cuff
along the center foldline, matching wrong side to wrong side and stitchline to stitchline. Pin.
From the right side of the sleeve, topstitch the cuff in place.
- Insert one sleeve into the armhole, right sides together, matching notches and seams. Match
the center sleeve notch with the shoulder seam. Adjust the ease of the sleeve cap, by pulling
thread tails, then baste and stitch. Serge the seam. Press seam towards the bodice.
Sewing Skirt Center Back Seam
- Stitch Back sections together at center back, leaving open above the zipper notch.
Sewing Skirt Side Seams
- Pin skirt Front and Back sections together at right side seam, then stitch. Press.
- Stitch left side seam, leaving open above the notch. Press.
Sewing Skirt Side Seams
- Pin skirt Front and Back sections together at sides, matching notches.
- Stitch at Side Seams from waistline down to the hem.
- Press seam allowances toward back.
Hem
- Turn up the hem along foldline. Zigzag stitch hemline around circumference of the garment
(pic. 1) or sew with a double-needle from the right side of the garment (pic. 2). Press.
Attaching Bottom to Bodice
- With right sides together, pin bottom to waistband, matching notches, centers and side seams,
then stitch.
- Stitch again 1/4" (6 mm) away inside seam allowance. Trim close to second stitching. Press
seam toward waistband.
- Pin the pressed edge of waistband Facing to the bottom's waist edge and slipstitch over seam.
Setting the Invisible Zipper
Note: Use special invisible zipper foot when stitching invisible zipper. Zipper can be trimmed
(remove the excess zipper length from the bottom, secure the new end of the zipper by stitching
over the zipper teeth using a bar tack).
- Open the zipper. From the wrong side, press the zipper coils flat so that the two rows of
stitching show.
- Open zipper, on outside, pin zipper to one of the opening edges, face down in seam allowance,
placing zipper tape flush with the upper edge of the fabric and zipper teeth on seamline.
- Stitch the open zipper tape close to the teeth, starting at the top of the edge and stitch until foot
meets the zipper pull. Backstitch at the beginning and the end.
- Close zipper. Pin remaining zipper tape to the other opening edge, placing zipper teeth on
seamline.
- Open zipper. Stitch close to teeth, until foot meets the zipper pull.
- Close zipper and pin Back sections together below zipper. Position and lower needle slightly
above (about 1/4" (6mm) up) and to the left of zipper stitching. Stitch remainder of Center Back
seam.
- Stitch or hand sew each end of zipper tape to seam allowances, keeping the garment free when
stitching.
Neckline without Facing
Mock Coverstitch (pic. 1)
- Using an overlock machine, serge the entire edge of the seam allowance.
- Turn in seam allowance and press.
- Sew two rows of medium size stitches, 1/4" (6mm) apart from one another.
OR
Zigzag Stitch (pic. 2)
- Turn in seam allowance and press.
- With a short stitch length, zigzag seam allowance at raw edge.
