Vintage Flair Pintucks and Pleats Dress

after selecting your fabrics and pattern, determine how wide your bodice piece should be, how many pintucks you would like and how wide you want them to be. I chose to do three pin tucks on either side with each being a total of half an inch or 1/4 inch when folded over. this means I needed to add a total of an inch and a half to either side of my piece of fabric before cutting. since my bodice piece was cut on the fold I folded my Fabric and inch and a half wider. measure and mark your pintucks on the fabric and sew them before cutting out your pattern piece. To sew pintucks draw three parallel lines for each one the middle line will be the center and the two lines on either side are sewn together.

continue following pattern instructions for sewing the bodice. I decided to make my dress lined so I cut two of every piece of fabric. stitch together first of the top of the shoulder seam. then so around neck hole and down each side of the back, around each arm hole leaving the side seams open for the next step. clipped corners and curves turn right side out and so side seams at underarms.

Follow your pattern instructions to determine the width and length of skirt or measure to find the best fit adding for hem allowance. a rectangle shape works best. The fabric I have chosen for my skirt is an old bed sheet. Lightweight cotton in a bright spring floral.

match back seams, center front and sew. finish seam with zig zag, serger or pinking shears. Or fold inner lining over and stitch down.

I decided to add a Peter Pan collar ( free templates online) with lace trim and faux pearl buttons to finish off the vintage look.