Sewing instructions for the Ophelia dress

27 avril 2018

Clothes that can be worn to the beach in the summer, to the theater in the evening, or even on a shopping trip with a friend are quite rare. You can sew the pattern for our Ophelia dress in as many variations as there are occasions to wear it. It's an all-rounder that you'll feel absolutely comfortable in. This dress is already a favorite of our new collection. We've created a sample in a great mix of printed fabrics. This really brings out the look with the attached cuffs, raglan seams, and waist tie.

The length at the center back is: 95-101 cm, depending on the size.

The Ophelia dress with tie belt and raglan sleeves is sewn from a cotton fabric with polyester content .

Required materials:

We recommend a flowing viscose, silk, cotton or polyester satin, opaque, as the dress is unlined.

Sizes 34-40: Outer fabric 1.55m (140cm wide)
Sizes 42-50: Outer fabric 1.95m (140cm wide)
Sizes 34-40: Contrast fabric 0.45m (140cm wide)
Sizes 42-50: Contrast fabric 0.50m (140cm wide)

Cutting:

Seam allowances are included - 1cm wide or as marked!

Cut the pattern pieces out of fabric and transfer the notches from the pattern.
In addition to the description, the colored brackets in the pictures show you where a seam should be sewn.

1x front part in the break
1x back part in the fracture
1x front sleeve opposite
1x back sleeve opposite
both cuff parts opposite each other (here cut across the FDL)
2x strips for the binding tape
1x strip for belt eyelets (this will be halved later to create 2 eyelets)
1x strip for the neck hole

Sewing instructions:

Seam allowances are included - 1cm wide or as marked!

Transfer the dart markings to the front piece. Place the two side pins right sides together and pin in place.

The right needle indicates where the dart should end. Sew the two darts with your sewing machine, and when you get close to the end, choose a very small straight stitch so you don't need to tack the seam end.

Fold the darts upwards, iron them, and pin them in place for later. Now sew the four sleeve pieces to the main pieces by placing two back sleeves on the back piece and two front sleeves on the front piece. Make sure to notch the markings.

Sew each of the four sleeve pieces right sides together to the matching main piece. Next, place the matching sleeve pieces of the front and back pieces right sides together and sew the upper arm seam. Then, iron the upper arm seam and the raglan seam.

Then, close the inner arm and side seams in one go. Repeat on the other side and press the seams. Fold the hem of your dress inward by 2 x 1.5 cm each and stitch it in place.

Fold the neckline strip in half lengthwise, right sides together, and close the side seam. Iron the strip, left sides together, left side together.

Pin it to the neckline, right sides together, so that all three open edges line up. Sew it in place. Then, carefully notch the seam allowance at the curves, just before the seam, and fold the ironed edge of the strip inward, over the just-closed seam. Stitch the strip in place twice.

Now it's time for the cuffs. Fold each narrow piece onto a wide one with its side seam right sides together. If you like, you can neaten the edges. I did this so the next pictures are easier to see. Mark the notch at the top and bottom of the pattern. Sew the side seam of the cuff from the top to the notch, tack the seam, and then sew from the bottom notch to the bottom edge.

To make it easier to see, I folded the center opening to the side with two pins. I'll remove these in the next step. Pull the two center points of the opening to the left and right, respectively, so that the seam ends of the just closed seam meet in the middle. Pin this securely.

Now sew the left edge of the cuff to the center point (seam ends), lift the presser foot with the needle down and then sew the right edge of the cuff.

Turn the cuff right side out and stitch both edges close to the edge. Again, leave the needle in the center until you've turned the cuff accordingly and then stitch the second edge.

Pin the cuff to the sleeve, right sides together, so the slit lines up with the top sleeve seam. This is what your sewn-on cuff will look like. Repeat these steps for the other cuff.

Iron the strip for the belt loops like bias binding: first iron both long edges toward the center, then iron the two new edges directly together. Stitch this close to the edge and then fold it in half to create two belt loops.

Then fold it in half lengthwise, right sides together, and close the side seam to create an eyelet. Sew the eyelet to the back of your dress, following the pattern markings, so that the short open edges disappear under the eyelet when sewing together.

Place the two belt pieces right sides together and close one side seam. Then unfold it again and fold it in half vertically, right sides together. Close the two short side seams and the open, long edge. Leave a turning opening of about 6-8 cm in the center. Turn the belt inside out, iron it thoroughly, and close the opening by hand with a blind stitch.