Today we’ll be tackling the Webster Top & Dress’s all-in-one facing; which can be a bit fiddly but leaves us with a beautifully clean finish! Make sure you’ve sewn the shoulder seams of the outer shell and the facing, but not the side or center back seams.
Lay the shell out with the right side up just as you did when basting on the back straps. Place the facing on top, lining up the neckline with right sides together. Pin around the neckline, leaving a gap where indicated on the pattern. (This is where we’ll attach the other end of the back straps later.
Sew around the whole neckline, stopping and restarting at the two gaps. When you get to the point of the V in the front, leave the needle down and pivot the fabric to get a nice sharp point.
Snip into the seam allowance at the point of the V, right up to but not through the stitching line, to allow the facing to lie flay when finished.
Flip the facing out so both the right side of the dress and facing are visible. Press the seam allowance towards the facing and understitch the facing to the seam allowance 1/8″ from the seam you just created to help prevent the facing from rolling out. Make sure to leave the gaps you created in the last step unsewn!!
Now for the bit that makes this an all-in-one facing. Flip the facing back on top of the shell, right sides together, and align the armscyes. Pin and sew carefully around both armscyes, making sure the back straps are out of the way and not getting caught in the seam.
Next, we’re going to turn this right side out, which is a little tricky with an all-in-one facing. Starting from the front of the facing, reach in between the shell and the facing through the opening at the shoulder and pull the back through the opening until it’s all the way through. Repeat with the second side.
Press the facing flat, rolling it slightly in at the edges to prevent it peeking out, and congratulations! You’ve successfully sewn an all-in-one facing; your neckline and armholes are all finished!
That’s it for today! Next time, we’ll sew our side seams and center back seams and hem our dresses and tops.
I’m dying to make this, when will you be sending paper patterns to UK shops and which ones? USA to UK shipping is just ridiculous and my printer is broken!! I will be making a silk version and have the fabric all ready washed and ready to go!
Most of our U.K. suppliers buy through a distributor so I’m afraid we can’t tell you exactly when they’ll be available, although they have already shipped!
Also: U.K. Shipping is $6 (about GBP4) or you can print the PDF at a copyshop – see our recent blog post on places in the U.K. that print for as little as 75p (plus shipping).
Thanks Jenny, I didn’t realise your shipping prices were so reasonable, on some sites the shipping is almost the same as the pattern price. I will check some UK sites again to see if they have stock, I love your patterns and have a lot of them!
Everything had been going great until this part! How did my little back straps end up on the inside (between the facing and the shell) when I turned it inside out? Is there any way to fix this?
It’s hard to know how you went wrong without having been there when you were sewing. Make sure the straps are sandwiched between the RIGHT side of the facing and dress, and when you turn it right side out it will be correct. I’d recommend seam ripping that area and giving it another go