Welcome to Day One of the Cappuccino Dress + Tunic sew-along! It's Selfish Sewing Week, so this is the perfect opportunity to get some sewing done just for yourself. And what better way to do that than with the Cappuccino pattern? Whether you're making the dress or the tunic, it's an easy-to-follow
Pullover design featuring a stylish V-neck and a crossover neckband. Enjoy the process and have fun sewing along with your fellow sewists!
Today, we'll be focusing on assembling the neckband and preparing the pockets (only for View A). Let's dive right in, shall we?
**Getting Started**
First, transfer all markings and fuse interfacing onto the wrong sides of your fabric pieces according to the pattern instructions. Don't forget to staystitch the front and back necklines.
**Assembling the Neckband**
1. Pin one back-neckband piece to two front-neckband pieces at the shoulder seams, right sides together, aligning the shoulder edges. Stitch the shoulders with a 1/2" seam, matching notches and lockstitching or backstitching at the start and end of each seam. Trim the seam allowances to 1/4" and press the seams open.
2. Repeat Step 1 for the other set of neckband pieces.
3. Align the two sets of neckband pieces with right sides together, matching notches and shoulder seams. Stitch the inner curved edges with a 1/2" seam, lockstitching or backstitching at the start and end of the seam. Trim the seam allowances of the inner sewn seam to 1/4".
4. Press the seam allowances toward the neckband’s facing and under stitch the facing. Then press the neckband flat, wrong sides together.
5. Fold the neckband flat, wrong sides together, and baste along the open outside edge and the notched, lower front edge, stitching 1/4" from the edge. Trim the excess fabric from the longer of the two edges (under stitching may have caused one side to be slightly wider).
6. Overlap the two short ends of the neckband, matching the notches, and baste the edges together with a 3/8" seam.
**Preparing the Pockets (View A Only)**
1. Pin one pocket facing to the center-front panel, right sides together, matching notches and dots. Stitch along each pocket facing’s top curved edge with a 1/2" seam, lockstitching or backstitching at the start and end of the seam, and stitching precisely to the large dots at the top of the pockets.
2. Trim the seam allowances to 1/4" and clip along the curved edge of the center-front panel up to the dot.
3. Under stitch along the pocket curve by pressing the pocket-bag facing away from the front panel and stitching the seam allowances to the facing. Repeat to attach the other pocket bag.
That's it for today! If you have any questions about these steps, feel free to ask them in the comments. See you tomorrow for Day Two, where we'll prepare the pieces for assembly, assemble the front dress/tunic, and attach the neckband.
Are you ready for Day Two of the Cappuccino Dress + Tunic sew-along? Yesterday, we assembled the neckband and prepared the pockets. Today, we’ll be preparing the pieces for assembly, assembling the front dress/tunic, and attaching the neckband.
We've got a lot of sewing ahead of us today, so let's get started!
**Preparing the Pieces for Assembly**
1. Stitch two rows of gathering stitches 3/8" and 5/8" from the top edge of the dress/tunic’s center-front panel, between the dots you transferred from the pattern. Leave thread tails several inches long for pulling.
2. Pin the neckband’s lower front edge to the top edge of the dress/tunic’s center-front panel, right sides together, matching the center notch. Pull up on the gathering stitches to match the width of the neckband’s lower front edge to the center-front panel’s top edge. Stitch the neckband to the dress/tunic front with a 1/2" seam, backstitching or lockstitching at both ends. Finish the seam allowances using your preferred method and press them toward the neckline temporarily.
3. Pin the two back dress/tunic pieces together at the shoulders, right sides together, and stitch the center back seam. Press the seam open and finish the seam allowances using your preferred method.
4. Pin the dress/tunic’s side-front panels to the back at the shoulders, right sides together, aligning the raw edges and notches. Stitch the shoulders together with a 1/2" seam, lockstitching or backstitching at both ends. Press the seam allowances open and finish them using your preferred method.
**Assembling the Front Dress/Tunic**
1. For View A only, pin the front panel to one side panel and pocket facing, right sides together, matching the notches, pocket placement dots, and V-neck dots. Stitch the side panel to the front panel and pocket facing with a 1/2" seam, stopping and lockstitching or backstitching at the center panel dots. Take care to stitch precisely through the large dot at the top of the pocket. Repeat with the opposite side of the front panel and the second side panel. Do not finish the seam allowances yet.
2. For View B, pin the tunic front panel to one side panel, right sides together, matching the notches and V-neck dots. Stitch the side panel to the front panel with a 1/2" seam, stopping and lockstitching or backstitching at the center panel dots. Repeat with the opposite side of the front panel and the second side panel. Do not finish the seam allowances yet.
**Attaching the Neckband**
1. Carefully clip into the neckline at each top corner of the side-panel fabric only (not the dress-front fabric) without clipping through the dot or your stitching. Press the stitched seam allowances down, away from the neckline.
2. Pin the basted edges of the neckband to the neckline of the dress/tunic, right sides together, matching the notches and seams. Pin the finished seam allowances at the bottom edge of the neckband out of the way for this step. Stitch the neckband to the dress with a 1/2" seam, starting and stopping and also backstitching or lockstitching precisely at the dots.
Hint: You might like to hand-baste this seam before stitching it in order to remove the pins and eliminate any possibility of shifting as you stitch.
3. Finish the stitched seam allowances along the neckline and front seams using your preferred method. Finish each center-front section below the neckline separately from the neckline itself, so the seam allowances can be pressed in different directions. Then press the front seam allowances toward the center front, and press the neckline seam allowances away from the neckline, so they all lie smoothly.
4. For View A only, turn the dress right-side out, and pin the pockets into place at the side seams, matching the notches and pocket placement dots. Press the pockets flat and baste the layers together along the side edges with a 3/8" seam.
Tomorrow, we’ll move on to Day Three where we’ll be finishing up the dress/tunic.
We’ve reached the third and final day of the Cappuccino Dress + Tunic sew-along. Today, we’ll be finishing up the dress/tunic.
It’s getting very exciting because we’re so close to the end. Let’s get started!
**Preparing/Attaching the Sleeve**
1. For View B, sew a line of basting stitches 5/8" from the sleeve’s bottom edge, which will serve as a folding line for the sleeve hem. To prepare the sleeve for hemming, fold and press the fabric’s bottom raw edge to the basting line on the wrong side. Then fold and press again along the basting line to enclose the raw edge and create a narrow hem. Unfold the hem, keeping the creases in place for finishing the sleeve hem later.
2. For View A, pin the sleeves to the dress, right sides together, matching the notches and edges. Stitch the sleeves with a 1/2" seam, lockstitching or backstitching at both ends. Finish the seam using your preferred method and press the seam allowances toward the sleeve.
**Sewing the Side Seams**
1. Pin the dress/tunic front and back together at the side seams and underarm seams, right sides facing, aligning the raw edges, notches, and hem edges. Unfold the sleeve hem (View B) and join each side seam and sleeve with one continuous 1/2" seam.
2. Clip the seam allowances only at the underarm curve on each side, taking care not to clip through the stitches.
3. Press the seam allowances open or toward the back and finish them using your preferred method.
**Attaching the Sleeve Band (View A)**
1. Fold each sleeve band in half lengthwise, right sides together, and press a crease into the center. Sew a line of basting stitches 3/8" from the sleeve band’s bottom, un-notched edge. Fold and press the fabric to the wrong side along the basting line.
2. Unfold each sleeve band’s edge and pin the short ends of the sleeve band, right sides together, matching the short edges and notches. Stitch the short edges together with a 1/2" seam, backstitching or lockstitching at both ends. Press the seam allowances open.
3. Pin the sleeve band’s long notched edges to the sleeve’s raw edge, right sides together, matching the seams and notches. Stitch the band in place with a 1/2" seam, backstitching or lockstitching at each end of the seam. Trim the seam allowance to 1/4" and press the sleeve band and remaining seam allowances away from the sleeve. Repeat to attach the second sleeve band and sleeve.
4. Fold the band along the center crease and pin the folded edge to cover the stitching line from Step 3, pinning from the right side of the sleeve. Edgestitch the seam to finish the sleeve band, catching the folded edge in the seam.
**Finishing the Dress/Tunic**
To hem the dress/tunic, sew a line of basting stitches 5/8" from the garment’s bottom raw edge, which will become the fold line for its hem. Fold and press the fabric’s bottom raw edge to the basting line on the wrong side. Then fold and press again along the basting line to enclose the raw edge and edge stitch the innermost fold to create a narrow hem.
You're done! Thank you for joining us during the sew-along. We hope you'll add photos of your completed Cappuccino dresses and tunics to the Liesl + Co Flickr group—we'd love to see what you’ve created!
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