How Do You Attach A Bodice To A Gathered Skirt
A right-fit bodice complements your dressing sense. After all, it gives a combining image of confidence and comfort. A comfortable bodice produces flawless garments, keeping in mind your shoulders, neckline, waistline, and bustline. So, here’s your guide to attaching a bodice into your gathered skirt.
Although a gathered skirt is simple to DIY, sewing such a garment means you can attach your tight bodice to it. Thus, to ensure that your bodice gets sewed to your skirt property, here’s presenting this post. Through the given narration, learn how to attach your bodice to the gathered skirt.
Whether the sewing project is for your baby girl or yourself, you can use some hacks and get going. In this tutorial guide, you are going to learn about the tips and tweaks. So, read on and understand how easy it becomes to sew your bodice into a gathered skirt. Without further delay, let’s read on.
How Do You Attach A Bodice To A Gathered Skirt?
Contents
Who’d ever not agree that gathering a waist seam of the skirt to a bodice is a beautiful sewing practice? Almost everyone would agree to it. In fact, gathering involves a multitude of steps and some techniques.
So, even when you have your gathering experience, this tutorial guide is worth reading. As you know already, a gathered skirt is an easy DIY. So, switching to the gathered skirt means that you may sew your dress using the bodice from 2 meters of your chosen fabric!
For beginners, it’s better to use pattern pieces. The fact that it’s ideal for newbies is unquestionably undeniable because it works as a sewing hack for them.
Besides, you can even cut out some rectangles from the fabric freehand. Anything you wish for! So, if you want to make a gathered skirt and attach your bodice, keep reading on.
Step 1: Collecting The Sewing Essentials
The first thing that you need to perform is to collect all sewing essentials. Talking about the sewing essentials, here you require:
- A sewing machine
- An ironing board and iron
- Pins or tapes
- Threads
- Needles
- A rotary cutter or a pair of sharp scissors
- Your choice of fabric
Step 2: Cutting The Pieces
You already know that you need to wash a fabric that has a tendency to shrink after the first wash. Say, for instance, if you’re choosing cotton, you need to wash it carefully before sewing with it. Also, remember to dry it carefully so that you don’t face any challenges while sewing.
Now is the time when you require cutting the pieces carefully. So, after washing, it’s time for cutting the fabrics. As you can understand, you need the pattern pieces for your bodice, gathered skirt, and straps for your bodice.
Step 3: Making The Straps
Let’s start with the straps. Now, interline the strap part, where you will sew buttonholes together once your dress is complete. So, cut one rectangle of the fusible interface fabric.
Now, put it on its wrong side and press. Use the iron and ironing board for the purpose. Now, you need to fold the straps together towards the length side.
After doing so, you need to secure the pins & start sewing! Avoid sewing the short side where you don’t see the fusible interface. After this, backstitch at the end and beginning.
Once sewn, turn it to its right side and gently press to keep the final shape. Do it for the other strap too!
Step 4: Attaching The Straps
Once it’s ready, let’s start attaching them to one of the front pattern pieces. Use the right sides & secure it with pins.
One Quick Note:
The short part of that strap gets attached to its front pattern piece. When you select a printed fabric, the direction of your print should match the direction of the print in the front pattern piece.
Now, you need to attach the lining and secure it with pins. After this, sew shoulder pins, armholes, and neckline. For this reason, you need to use 1 cm of seam allowance & backstitch at its beginning and end.
Note: Don’t sew the side seams. Also, make some perpendicular cuts in curved areas. Reduce your seam allowance in that shoulder part.
Turn to the right, and get the final shape. You can use the pins for your help!
Step 5: Designing the Skirt
Once the top portion gets ready, it’s time to prepare the bottom one. For this, make two parallel seams with a stitch length wider than regular.
Pull one thread and leave the other! This way, you can secure & gather until the skirt length is the same as the length of your front piece.
Remember that the backstitch will have an elastic band on the waist. Create the channel by folding 15 mm towards the fabric’s wrong side & press. Re-fold 25 mm and then press again. Now, sew through edges.
Attach your elastic band and then distribute it along the channel. Do so in such a way that the gathering gets distributed uniformly.
Step 6: Attaching the Bodice And The Skirt Piece
Once you have the bodice alongside two skirt pieces (back and front), it’s time for attaching! What you need to understand is to attach the gathered skirt right to the front bodice. Make sure not to attach it to the lining!
Face your gathering piece (i.e. the skirt) and front piece without a lining piece. Align the edges. Just in case you want to gather a long piece of fabric, make notches right in the center of every piece and at every piece’s quarter.
By using the method, you get reference points, and you gather uniformly. Make notches match & secure with the pins. Ensure that you keep the piece that you are gathering atop so that you can better handle it.
At one end, secure threads around one pin. Pull that thread from another end and distribute gathers uniformly. Secure them with pins. Upon acquiring the desired length, you need to secure threads around the pin.
In case you are gathering one long piece, don’t secure around the pin in any thread edge. All you can do is pull it from both sides and distribute gathers before securing both ends.
Once your gathering is distributed & secured with the pins, all you require performing is to baste and sew by using the sewing machine with 1cm of the seam allowance.
Then, backstitch at its beginning and end. Lastly, press from the gathering towards your seam and softly squash gathers. After this, topstitch your seam and give it a perfect finish. Please avoid fraying the fabric by using a zigzag stitching method. Press gently.
Step 7: Attaching Another Skirt Piece
Now, attach another skirt piece and back skirt. No back piece of the bodice is there, so attach that back skirt piece to your front piece.
Put the sides together of your skirts, back and front ones. Now, secure with the pins, the sides of skirt pieces, front and back, and right sides together. Always start by the upper part. It is important that they perfectly match on that upper part.
Now, you need to face the bodice sides, even that facing part. Fold by 1cm to the wrong side & press along its lower part. Once you see everything is pinged properly, you need to sew by using around 1 cm of the seam allowance.
If you want to have an ideal finish for your upper part, opt for basting. And remember to start sewing from atop. Press seams open, and topstitch them. Alternatively, you can also use an overlocker for a great finish. The seams inside the lining don’t require getting finished. Only work on the sides.
After this, you need to finish the front bodice. For this reason, use a folded cm. Align that folded edge with the seam and secure with pins. Ensure that it’s properly covering the seam. Now, baste and gently press.
From the bodice’s right side, start stitching by its edge. Ensure that you stitch the layers together. Also, make an invisible stitch (in case you prefer it).
Step 8: Finishing The Skirt’s Hem
Now, finish the skirt’s hem once you’re happy with its length. Fold by 1cm and press & fold again by another 1cm. You may make a wider hem.
Also, remember to buttonhole at each strap’s end. Not to forget, adjust its length to the button’s length. Use the sewing machine instructions in order to make the buttonholes.
Finally, you can sew the button at the back waist’s center. You may also sew it on its inside or on its outside, depending on whether or not you want the button to be noticed. And that’s all you require understanding!
What Type Of Fabric Should You Choose for a Gathering Skirt?
The best fabrics are drapey and fluid. You can also choose wool jersey, double wool knits, and velour, other than lightly fitted materials like silk tweed, fine worsted wool, and wool crepe too!
Crafting has always been a deep-seated passion of mine, one that has flourished and evolved over the years.
I've dedicated considerable time to both studying and practicing in the realm of fashion and sewing, amassing a wealth of experience and skills.
It brings me great joy to share these insights and experiences with you all, hoping to inspire and foster a similar passion for the art of sewing.
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