Lingerie Sew-Along: Bust dart and Gathers Part 13

 For our next installments in the Lingerie-Sew-Along we will be working on the bodice pieces, darts and optional gathers, and attaching the bodice pieces to the slip pieces.

To see how to sew a dart, or just to get a look at how the same three darts looked in the Pauline bra pattern, click here.

You have two options with the bodice pattern pieces for this slip. You can either sew the darts as instructed, or you can replace the bottom 3 darts with gathers. I have chosen to use the gathers as the fit is more forgiving to the bust contour, and the gathers provide the illusion of fullness at the bust (and let's face it, I can use all the help I can get in that department.)

There are 4 darts on the bodice piece, the single one at the top, and the set of three at the bottom. Sew the dart at the top as you normally would.

To make the gathers: on the pattern piece only, pin the darts in place and measure the width between the first and third dart. If you haven't made any adjustments to the size of your pattern, this distance will be 1 1/4".

On your bust pieces, mark the outside leg of the two outer darts with a pin. You should have two pins, about 3 1/2" apart. You will gather between these two pins.

Sew a long stitch (5 cm long) between the two pins, about 1/8" or 3 cm from the edge of the fabric. Do not back-stitch, but leave your threads hanging out enough to grab onto securely.

Do the same again another 1/8" from the stitches you just made. You should have two parallel lines of stitching running between the two pins.

Pull on the top threads to gather the stitches until your gathers section is 1 1/4" long (if you haven't moved your darts in resizing).

Secure the threads by tying them. You may need to adjust your gathers so that they are a bit uniform and even.

Now you can just pin your first bodice piece to the slip front, RIGHT sides together (just like we did with the bra).
Match your notches and make sure to leave a bit at the point in the center to make room for the seam allowance of the other bodice piece.

Make sure that your gathers aren't bunched or pinched when pinning. Also check to make sure that your gathering stitches are hidden in your seam allowance before you sew.

The first bodice piece sewn to the slip front from the WRONG side.

The first bodice piece sewn to the slip front from the RIGHT side.

Now you can sew the second bodice piece to the other side of the slip front. Below I have marked with a pin at the center front where I want my stitching to stop so that it doesn't overlap the seam allowance of the other bodice piece.

Bodice joined to the slip front from RIGHT side.

 Tada! This is going to turn out nicely indeed!
Any questions? What fabrics are you sewing your slip from? Are you using lace? Any contrasting combinations?

Next post: Sewing the side seams and facing the bodice sections.