Valentines Day Skater Dress + mini tutorial

A couple weeks ago I volunteered (and/or threatened under fear of death) to test the long awaited and much proclaimed Skater Dress pattern from Amanda of Kitschy Coo. She generously (and in fear for her life) agreed and sent it over and I promptly made 3.

 I'll show you the other ones later but first up is my Valentine's version. I decided to go with a big heart on the front, which I know is not immediately what you think of when you think V-day, but I like to live outside the box like that.

There might be a million tutorials for reverse appliques, but I thought the internet needed just one more, so here's how I did it.

Because I was replacing a great deal of the thick heavyweight silver interlock with a very flimsy slub jersey, I wanted there to be as much stability as possible.  So instead of just cutting enough jersey to fit behind the applique, I recommend cutting a whole second front bodice piece.  Then layer them on top of one another.

And pin.  (coordinating pins not necessary but infinitely cuter)

Then print or sketch out the applique design.  I freehanded half a heart and determined the correct size by laying the paper right on the bodice. 

Lay your stencil on the bodice where desired and trace around it with a water or air soluble marker.  If you have lots of distractions (ie: kids), I recommend water soluble.  Who knows when you'll get around to the next step.

 

Then hand or machine stitch directly on the line you drew.  I use the triple stitch on my sewing machine which is meant to give susceptible seams extra enforcement, but also gives a nice highly-visible stitch line for machine embroidery.  You could also use a fancy embroidery thread and change your needle appropriately.  Variegated thread might be fun too.  Oooh, how fun would metallic thread be?  Ok, now I'm literally getting distracted by shiny things.  Back to business.

Now, ever so carefully, separate the two layers and cut a small hole in the top fabric only.  My pink layer is uncut underneath.

Then carefully cut out the shape with a small pair of scissors leaving a small, even edge of fabric around the stitch line.  You can get closer to the stitch line than I did, it's totally up to you.  Knit tends to curl at the cut edges though, so I didn't mind leaving a bit of excess.

Then just treat the two front bodices as one and sew up the rest of your garment as usual.  If you're concerned about them slipping around, you can baste them together around the edges within the seam allowance.

Here's my little Valentine in her new dress!

This one is very bossy during a photoshoot.  I get an estimated one shot my way before she starts calling out orders.  This time she told me to just keep "pressing the button" and then started voguing.  These poses were all done within a second of one another, just to give you an idea of how ridiculous she is.  She's 4.  So very very 4.

I {heart} this pattern so much!  I made the size 3/4 and you can see it's a perfect fit.  The only thing I did differently on this version was to hem the sleeves instead of using the sleeve hem band.  I love how it is such a nice blank slate for all kinds of fun fabrics and embellishments.  Keep an eye out for it at Kitschy Coo soon!  (Amanda accepts all forms of bribery if you need this pattern like, yesterday)