Sew a Super-Quick and Comfortable Spring Dress with NZP’s NEW! Crepe Knit Fabrics

Sew a Super-Quick and Comfortable Spring Dress with NZP’s NEW! Crepe Knit Fabrics

Looking for a fresh new addition for your spring wardrobe? Sew a super-simple empire elastic-waist dress with a scoop neckline with our NEW! Floral Crepe Knits! Like other knit garments, this completed dress is stylish and comfortable to wear. Nancy Zieman’s knit dress and top collection, M7353 from The McCall Pattern Company, sews up quickly – from just three main pattern pieces!

Choose View C Cowel Neck, or View B Scoop Neck. Then choose one of our four NEW! limited edition Floral Crepe Knit Fabrics and stitch a beautiful new knit pull-over dress! And/or wear as a tunic–when you pair with leggings.

Nancy’s McCall’s M7353 Pattern is available multi-sized 6–14, and multi-sized 14–22.

Depending upon your fabric choice, this quick-to-sew fashion can be made for daywear, your next vacation, casual lunch dates, or even evening wear.

Sew A New Spring Dress in 4 Hours!

With Nancy’s McCall’s M7353 Dress Pattern, the sewing time is minimal! In fact, the dolman-sleeve style eliminates setting in sleeves. How speedy it that! Plus, we know you’ll enjoy Nancy’s elastic casing technique; the elastic is sandwiched within the seam – eliminating the traditional topstitching step.

Sew a Super-Quick and Comfortable Spring Dress – with NZP’s NEW! Crepe Knit Fabrics

• 3 yd. NEW! NZP Limited Edition Crepe Knit Fabrics
• Nancy’s McCalls’ M7353 Dress Pattern
• Clover’s 5-in-1 Sliding Gauge
• Clover’s Curve Ruler Set
• Clover’s Flex ‘n Glide Bodkins
• Clover’s 6-in-1 Stick ‘n Stitch Seam Guide
• Clover’s I Sew For Fun Heart-Shaped Pins
• Clover’s I Sew For Fun Marking Pen
• Clover’s Hot Ruler
• Clover’s Heart Shaped Magnetic Pin Cushion
• Pellon’s Easy-Knit Interfacing, 5 yd. Pack
• Eze-View Press Cloth
• 1/4″ Elastic
• Schmetz Chrome Jersey Stretch Ball Point Needles Size 80/12 or
  
• Schmetz Stretch Ball Point Needles Size 75/11
• Schmetz Ball Point Stretch 4.0 Double Needle Size 75/11
• Open Toe Presser Foot
• Iron

Layout Pattern on Fabric

• Choose one of NZP’s four NEW! limited edition Floral Crepe Knit Fabrics, and layout pattern pieces following the pattern guide sheet.

Deanna from Team NZP chose the NEW! limited edition Grape Floral Crepe for her new spring dress! Our New Floral Crepe Fabrics in Grape and Teal feature a beautiful floral design – that repeats every 24″. Purchase 3 yards to make Nancy’s McCall’s M7353 Pattern in any size, 6-22.

• After laying out the bodice front, bodice back, and skirt pattern pieces, slide the pattern pieces up or down and position the floral repeated design where you’d like. Pin pattern pieces in place.

Deanna chose to locate the center of the floral repeat at the empire waist line. The photo above shows the skirt front already cut out and placed on the skirt back pattern piece – before cutting out skirt back, this helps align the repeated floral design on both the front and back skirt panels.

Before cutting out the fabric pieces, Deanna turned the scoop neckline into a round neckline – by raising the center front neck opening 1″ – using Clover’s Curve Ruler. She also lengthened the bodice front and bodice back, adding 1″ for a fuller bustline, as most patterns are drafted for a size B-cup. 

Sew Our Spring Dress

Before sewing your new spring dress, cut several 1/2″ wide bias strips of Pellon’s Easy-Knit Interfacing – to stabilize neckline, sleeve hems, and lower dress hem!

•  Using the Eze-View Press Cloth, fuse 1/2″ wide bias strips of Pellon’s Easy-Knit Interfacing to wrong side of bodice front and back – at neckline.

• With right sides together, align front and back at shoulders. Pin.

  Be sure to place pins parallel to cut edge – when seaming dress with a serger!

• Stitch shoulder seams. Press seams flat, then press towards bodice back.

  If you don’t have a serger handy, stitch our spring dress with a sewing machine set for a wobble stitch. A wobble stitch is a slight zigzag stitch set at 2.0-2.5 length and .5 width. This stitch appears as a straight stitch from the right side, while providing a slight amount of stretch to the seam.

• Follow pattern instructions for adding neck facing, or simply fold under 1/2″ at neckline and pin.

• Insert a Schmetz Ball Point Stretch 4.0 Double Needle Size 75/11 into sewing machine, and thread sewing machine with two spools of thread – guiding both threads through the machine guides as one thread, and separate threads at needles.
• Attach an Open Toe Presser Foot to sewing machine.

• On right side of fabric, topstitch neckline with Double Needle stitching!

Topstitching knits with a Double Needle produces a professional appearance, and allows seams to slightly stretch – without breaking threads!

• Press neckline with Eze-View Press Cloth.

• Using Eze-View Press Cloth, fuse 1/2″ wide bias strips of Pellon’s Easy-Knit Interfacing to wrong side of sleeve hems.

• With right sides together, align front and back at underarm seams. Pin.

• Stitch underarm seams.

• Fold under 1/2″ at sleeve hems and pin.
• On right side of fabric, topstitch sleeve hems with Double Needle stitching.

• Set bodice unit aside.

• With right sides together, align pockets to skirt front, and to skirt back. Pin.

• Stitch pockets to skirt front and skirt back. Using Eze-View Press Cloth, press seams flat, then press towards pockets.

• Align skirt front to skirt back, matching pockets and side seams. Pin.
• At sewing machine stitch side seams with a wobble stitch, leaving an opening between dots.

• Stitch pocket outer edges together to side seams, pivoting stitching below pockets and stitching to hem.
• Turn pockets toward front, along side-seams. Pin. Machine baste pocket tops to skirt front.

• With right sides together, insert bodice unit into skirt unit. Pin.

• Insert a Schmetz Stretch Ball Point Needles Size 75/11 into sewing machine.
• Using  Clover’s 5-in-1 Sliding Gauge, attach 6-in-1 Stick ‘n Stitch Seam Guide to sewing machine – place at 7/8″ from center needle.
  

• Stitch bodice to skirt with 7/8″ seam allowance.
• Optional: Grade bodice seam allowance to 1/4″ – to eliminate bulk in seam. Be sure to not trim away skirt seam allowance!
• Press waistline up towards bodice. Pin.

Insert a rotary cutting mat into dress, and pin waistline seam to lower bodice. The rotary mat prevents inadvertently pinning through all layers! 

• Using Marking Pen and ruler, mark stitching line 3/4″ above stitched waist seam. Stitch along marked line to form elastic casing, leaving 2-3″ opening for inserting elastic.

• Stitch one end of elastic to a fabric rectangle. Stitch and backstitch through the elastic and fabric several times. Thread opposite end of elastic through locking eye of Clover’s Flex ‘n Glide Bodkin.

Our New Spring Dress is complete!

Spring Dress Supplies Listing

• 3 yd. NEW! NZP Limited Edition Crepe Knit Fabrics
• Nancy’s McCalls’ M7353 Dress Pattern
• Clover’s 5-in-1 Sliding Gauge
• Clover’s Curve Ruler Set
• Clover’s Flex ‘n Glide Bodkins
• Clover’s 6-in-1 Stick ‘n Stitch Seam Guide
• Clover’s I Sew For Fun Heart-Shaped Pins
• Clover’s I Sew For Fun Marking Pen
• Clover’s Hot Ruler
• Clover’s Heart Shaped Magnetic Pin Cushion
• Pellon’s Easy-Knit Interfacing, 5 yd. Pack
• Eze-View Press Cloth
• 1/4″ Elastic
• Schmetz Chrome Jersey Stretch Ball Point Needles Size 80/12 or
  
• Schmetz Stretch Ball Point Needles Size 75/11
• Schmetz Ball Point Stretch 4.0 Double Needle Size 75/11
• Open Toe Presser Foot
• Iron

Visit the NZP Online Shop for the Nancy Zieman’s Timesaving Sewing Tools, patterns, fabrics and more at shopnzp.com!

Visit shopnzp.com, or click the “shop” tab

at the top of the NZP blog, anytime!

Shop NZP’S NEW! Limited Edition Crepe Knit Fabrics at shopnzp.com

Shop NEW! Nancy Zieman Products Gift Cards at shopnzp.com!

Shop Nancy Zieman’s Sewing Tools  & I Sew For Fun Sewing Notions at shopnzp.com!

Shop Knit Fabrics & Cotton Quilting Fabrics  at shopnzp.com

Shop Books & Patterns at shopnzp.com

Shop Elastic, Cotton Webbing, Zippers & More at shopnzp.com

 For a chance to be the random winner a Flex ‘n Glide Bodkin from Clover, please leave a comment below. Clover will give away one Flex ‘n Glide Bodkin to one US resident in the 48 contiguous states. Winner must reply within 30 days to the official giveaway announcement email message – sent from Nancy Zieman Productions. Email Team NZP at [email protected].

Happy Sewing!

Team Nancy Zieman

Nancy Zieman Productions. LLC.

Content in this feed is © copyright 2020 by Nancy Zieman Productions, LLC and may not be republished without written permission. You’re welcome to forward the email to a friend or colleague but it’s not okay to add the RSS feed automatically as content on a blog or other website.
The FTC requires us to tell you that Nancy Zieman Productions, LLC has provided products by other companies in the course of doing business. The FTC requires us to advise you to take this information into consideration when reading this posting.

Make sure you are subscribed to Nancy Zieman Productions, LLC enews mailing list so you won’t miss a thing. Sign up at nancyzieman.com/blog/enews. And join us on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest!

Save