Sandra Betzina Bias Dress Sew-Along ( V1101 )

This is the first in a series of posts to accomodate my sewing ladies. They wanted to make this pattern ,V1101, as a tunic for  a summer project.

 The pattern is Out of Print and is not available on the BMV website. But if you are interested,and own the pattern,  please join us and at the end I'll post all finished pieces at Sew Passionista by DIANA.
I made it up as a dress, took many photos along the way and will attempt to guide you on this bias garment journey. Here is my sleeveless version.

.

First let's decide on suitable fabric. On the pattern envelope , the list of suitable fabrics includes linen, silk, rayon crepe and lightweight denim. I'd like to add that this pattern will work best with a fabric with plenty of drape. My linen was medium weight and it hangs really well. You will need a contrasting colour for the facing pieces which show through when you do the chenille effect on the bodice.

Wash your fabric and for some pointers on bias garments, look here at my post based on techniques learned from Sandra Betzina herself. It includes how to iron your fabric to prepare it for your bias cut garment. 

You will be cutting this garment on one layer of fabric so don't fold it. If you are unsure about placing the pattern pieces on the fabric, each piece has a grainline drawn on it so use that as your guide and not the center front and center back lines. You will thus be cutting the pieces on the bias. ( So to clarify, the grainline on the pattern pieces will be parrallel to the selvedge, thus the center front and back will be on the bias. )

This will get you started on your way to making your bias tunic/dress. Leave the facing pattern pieces on the fabric because next time , I'll explain how to draw the chenille lines. Check back in a few days and I'll have the second post ready.

Have Fun!