wrap top + dress VONDEL | Sew Along Day 3

DAY 1 | Preparation DAY 2 | Pockets, wrap, v-neck, gathers DAY 3 | YOKE TO BACK/FRONT, FINISH NECK DAY 4 | Bodice sides, pockets, cuffs, hem

written by Kate Ng

This is the third out of four blog posts of this VONDEL dress Sew Along. After finishing the series of steps in today’s post, your fabric pieces will start to look like a dress! Last time we finished by making the gathering stitches on the front and back bodice pieces; now we can attach the yokes.

STEP 7: YOKE TO BACK
Match the notches on the right side of the outer (interfaced) yoke to the notches on the back. Pull the gathers on the back to fit between the notches. Pin along the entire edge of the bottom yoke and top of back bodice stitch together with a ⅜” seam allowance. Do not trim the seams.

When you flip up the outer yoke, the back bodice looks like this: 

Then turn over the back bodice / outer yoke so the innards of the dress are facing you. Then place the right side of the inner (uninterfaced) yoke on top, matching the long edge of the inner yoke to the long edge of the back yoke. Stitch with a ⅝“ seam allowance.

When you press the inner yoke up, all the edges of the inner yoke should match up with the outer yoke. 

In the picture below you can see I have folded down the top of the inner yoke, ready to attach the front which is the next step (step number 8).

STEP 8: YOKE TO FRONT
Going back to the image above, you can see the front and back of the dress wrong sides together, as if you were wearing it. I have pulled the thread tails on the front bodice to make gathers and matched the edge to the notch on the yoke (marked with a white circle). 

Now, where the edge of the inner yoke meets the bodice, fold it up (see picture - I have marked the fold with a black circle) and then pin to the right side of the bodice. In other words, the right side of yoke facing touches the wrong side of front bodice. Stitch with ⅜” seam allowance.

Next we need to attach the outer yoke to the front bodice using the burrito method. First, roll up the back and front bodice as shown. Then take the outer yoke and the front bodice, pin together at the edges marked with the white dashed lines, and stitch together with a ⅝” seam allowance.

STEP 9: FINISH NECK 
Finally, stitch the neck together. In the below picture I have sewed the outer yoke to the front bodice then squished down the burrito and pinned together the neckline. This is slightly tricky as the entire dress needs to be squished, you will need to use a little force. 

Before you stitch I’d recommend basting where you have pinned to make sure the fabric doesn’t shift about (because of the bulk) when you machine it together. After you have stitched the neck with a ⅝” seam allowance, trimmed down the seam allowances, snipped curves and clipped the corners, you can turn your burrito out. It should look like this:

Yay, your dress is together! We’re making really good progress, and it’ll just be the sides, cuffs and hem to go next time.

Kate is a sewist who believes sustainable fashion and sewing should be accessible to everybody. Awareness is key; the more we know, the more conscious we can be about our clothing and fabric choices. Follow her blog Time to Sew for interviews with fashion & sewing change makers, opinion pieces on the going-ons in sustainability, and posts about fabric production. Originally imported from Australia into the UK, Kate now sews and blogs from the Netherlands. @timetosew on Instagram