Tutorial---How to Sew an A-Line Dress with Peter Pan Collar

I made a dress for my daughter using the A-line dress pattern I have posted here on my blog, and I would like to share the step-by-step tutorial with you all. I tried the peter pan collar on the neckline of this frock. This is my first attempt on peter pan collar and I am quite happy with the result. Here is the finished dress:

Front:

Back:

A close-up photo of the fabric I used:

Tutorial starts....

Step 1:

Cut the front and back sides of the frock using the pattern given. The fabric I used is a cotton fabric which has bunny cartoons all over.

Fold the back piece into half vertically and cut open the center back. The back of the frock should be two pieces now.

On the bottom hemline, mark 2 1/2 inches from the center on both sides for buttonhole and button stands. You can see the green markings on the bottom hemline in the image above.

Step 2:

Make a small fold (about one-quarter of an inch) inside (to the wrong side) on both the back pieces as shown in the image below.

Fold again and hem. This fold should be longer than the first fold (that is, about 1 inch).

You could notice in the image above that the button and buttonhole folds are slightly lower than the neckline. To correct this, you need to reshape the neckline. First, draw the new back neckline such that the top edges of the folds fall on the neckline, and then cut along the drawn shape.

Note: I just noticed something. As you will be using your front and back paper patterns when you draft the collar, if you change the shape of the back neck as shown in Step 2, there are chances that the collar may not fit well on the neckline. I had no problem when I attached the collar. However, this may sometimes go wrong. Therefore, when you draft the back pattern of the dress, draft the folds such that they are higher than the neckline as in the image below. So that when you fold it, it will fall on the neckline, you can trim off excess, if any.

Step 3:

Join the shoulders.

Step 4:


Attach bias tape to the armholes.

First, fold the 1 1/2 inch width bias tape in half, and pin it on the right side of the armholes.

 
Sew in the bias tape, leaving a 1/4 inch seam.

Clip the seam every 1/2 or 1 inch. Be careful not to cut through the stitch. (You can also use pinking shears to clip the seam.) Clipping the seam will give the armhole a better shape.

Now fold the bias tape inside (that is, to the wrong side) and hem.

Repeat this for the other armhole.

Step 5:

Join the sides and hem bottom edge of the dress. Fold the the bottom hemline by 0.25 inch and then by 0.75 inch and sew along the folded edge 

To be continued tomorrow.

I have linked this up to the link party at canoeridgecreations.com.

Please leave your valuable comments in the comments section under this post. I would love to read your comments.

Follow these links to read the other parts of this tutorial:

How to Draft the Pattern for an A-Line Dress?

How To Draft A Peter Pan Collar

How to Attach A Peter Pan Collar

How To Attach A Pocket

You can find lots of free PDF printable sewing patterns on this page on my blog.

You can also click the Free Sewing Patterns Page at the top of this blog page (under the blog title) to find more free sewing patterns.

Click the below links to browse through all the pattern drafting and sewing tutorials on my blog.

pattern drafting tutorials 

sewing tutorials