Hello Sewing Friends! It’s Tamar from Tamar Hope Designs back on the blog with some more sewing inspiration for you!!! The more you sew the more confident you will become in taking a pattern and really making it your own. Every time you learn a new technique, you can add that to your toolbox of techniques that you can use to modify your patterns to make them match your vision. I was looking through patterns for Christmas outfits this year. As soon as I came across Lily, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it! Princess seams and bows!! I’ll take you through creating princess seams in this blog post, so you can add another technique to your toolbox!
A real princess seam will allow the dress to fit a curvy figure. Therefore, it will involve removing sections of the bodice in a similar way as darts. However, for a young girl’s dress, you can treat it more like colorblocking. It will simply add a little interest and give the dress some appealing lines.
There are two different types of princess seams that you can use. You can have the seam go from the shoulder to the waist. Or you can have the seam go from the armscye to the waist.
I chose to create seams from the armscye to the waist. To create these seams, find the center of the shoulder. Draw a line following the curve of the side seam (shown by the dotted line). To have your princess seam start from the armscye, draw a line from the lower third of the armscye curving down toward the first line that you drew.
Before you cut your princess seam line, cut out the lining pieces with the full pattern piece. Then cut along the princess seam line. Separate the two pieces on your folded fabric. Draw lines ⅜” away from the new pattern pieces. (This will be your seam allowance).
Ease the curved pieces right sides together. You will ease them together in the same manner that you ease a fitted sleeve into an armscye. Sew slowly with the center main on top watching to make sure there are no puckers in the center main fabric.
Press the seams toward the sleeves.
Finish the dress according to the directions in the Lily pattern.
Cut and sew the pieces for the Dahlia bow. Find the center of the bow strip. Place it ½” from the waist seam along the princess seam. Sew a line 1 inch long in the center of the bow strip along the princess seam.
Tie the bow following the instructions in the Dahlia tutorial.
And there you have it! I hope you enjoyed this sweet version of Lily, and learned how to add princess seams to your next dress!
Happy Sewing!
-Tamar