Simple Sew Brigitte dress Sewalong. 6: Sew the side seams

Hi again.  Hopefully you now have your sleeves set into your dress.  Today should be quite straightforward: we are going to sew the side seams of your dress and hem the sleeves.

Line up your side seams then, right sides together, from the bottom of the sleeve, up the arm and then down to the bottom of the dress.  Pin in place, and stitch.

Side seams pinned together

You can now finish the raw edges of your side seams.  The instructions advise you to finish each raw edge separately and press the seam allowances apart, but I overlocked them together and pressed towards the back.  The only problem with my method is if you had to unpick for any reason- it’s easier if you don’t have to also unpick the overlock stitch!

Once both of your side seams are sewn and pressed, you’ll need to hem your sleeve.  These instructions weren’t even included in my pattern, which is a bit of an oversight!  I simply overlocked the raw edge, folded under 5/8″ and stitched, but a narrow hem would work nicely here too.

Hem your sleeve

That’s it for today – simple!  We’ve only got the zip and the bottom hem left to do, yippee!  Come back on Friday for tips on inserting concealed zips.