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Girl's Dress Video Sew-Along Lesson 1: Tools Needed



Make Your Daughter a Dress Lesson One Tools

Welcome to July Flowers Video Sew Along and Lesson One: Tools! I am so glad that you are joining me for these sewing tutorials. We will be using classic and heirloom sewing techniques to go step by step through the process of sewing the July Flowers dress.

I promised in the introduction that I wasn't going to assume you knew anything about sewing. I prepared these lessons for the beginner sewist. So the focus of this lesson is what tools you need to successfully make your daughter a dress and what additional tools may be helpful but are not necessary! You will find my reasoning in the video, but for those who prefer to read, the list is below the video!





Necessary Tools to Successfully Sew the Dress:


Necessary Tools for sewing a dress

1. Sewing Machine that can do a straight stitch, zig zag and make a button hole.

2. Iron - nothing fancy but a steamer won't do.

3. A package of hand sewing needles known as Sharps, size 7 or 8.

4. Pins - glass head pins won't melt if touched by the iron.

5. Dress making shears

6. Tape Measure

7. Ruler - if purchasing, a clear one that can be used with a rotary cutter is a great investment, but the school ruler you have around the house is fine.

8. Seam Ripper - mistakes happen. It's part of the process.

9. Fabric marking pen

10. Pressing cloth - a simple square of muslin, men's white handkerchief, nothing fancy but will protect your iron when using interfacing - I forgot to mention this in the video!

11. Interfacing. I recommend French Fuse, French Baby or German Interfacing. I like a lightweight knit interfacing even with woven fabrics.

12. Of course you need the pattern! If you haven't purchased it yet, it comes as a printed pattern or a pdf download.

Optional Tools, not necessary, but helpful to Sew the Dress:


Optional Tools for sewing a Dress

1. Ironing Board - you can press on a folded up towel, but an ironing board is helpful!

2. Glue Baste It - I use this all the time. I like Roxanne's.

3. Binding Clips - helpful to hold bulky fabric rather than pins.

4. Long Tweezers - they help in all sorts of ways.

5. Spray Bottle of Water - You use with interfacing and just to get a professional finish.

6. Magnetic Pin cushion - helps corral those pins!

6. Piping Foot for your machine - enables you to accurately stitch along the piping cord.

7. Piping Ruler - has groves for the piping. Allows the seam allowance of the piping to be accurately trimmed. The seam allowances of the July Flowers dress are 1/2 inch so purchase a ruler that trims to 1/2" seam allowances.

8. Piping cord if you wish to try the optional piping. I will also discuss in the upcoming lessons.

Start gathering your tools, tomorrow I will be back to cover how to determine which size dress to make, fabric choices, and the additional notions needed to make the July Flowers Dress!

July Flowers Lesson 1 Tools Pin

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