In the past several months I've had several makes that were tragically bad, and so to being the summer sewing season I picked something I know I like and can make successfully: The Colette Parfait dress. This was one of the first patterns I ever made and I've always loved it.
I added piping to the gathered pockets:
The fabric is Liberty of London and it's sheer, so I omitted the facings and added a lining. I didn't understand how to do that when I first started, so I'm going to describe it here in case anybody needs it: It's overwhelming when you're first starting out, but it's actually really easy.
1. When sewing the Liberty of London fabric, I only used one front midriff piece and one back midriff piece. I put them front sides together with the bodice and skirt, and after stitching the seam I serged the seam allowance.
2. The invisible zipper is sewn to the shell fabric.
3. I used a simple white cotton for the lining. I put it together exactly like I did the shell fabric, with no facings and only one front and back midriff piece. I also cut the skirt pieces one inch shorter than the shell fabric so they don't poke out of the hem.
4. With right sides together and the edges serged, I places the lining fabric on top of the invisible zipper and sewed right down the zipper on top of the lining fabric.
5. Switching to a regular foot, I pinned the top of the shell and lining together and stitched right across the top. You'll also notice that I put my gathers right in the middle of the bodice instead of under each cup. I like it better that way.
Happy sewing!
