5. Damn Good Dress Tutorial – Prepare Your Front Top

5A‭. ‬Mark the dot on your Front Top pieces‭. ‬With right sides together‭, ‬pin 2‭ ‬of your Front Top pieces together for the left side‭ ‬body and 2‭ ‬of your Front Top pieces together for the right side body as shown above‭. ‬Pin along the neckline and the center front‭ ‬opening up until the notches‭.‬

5B‭. ‬Sew using 1/4‮!(‬‭ ‬seam allowance along the neckline‭, ‬then pivot your needle at the corner where your dot is marked and use 1/2‮!(‬‭ ‬seam allowance along the center front opening‭. ‬Make sure to add backstitches at the start and end of your stitch lines‭, ‬especially at the center front notches because there could be extra strain on that area during wear‭.‬

Pivot your needle‭ ‬means to leave your needle down‭ (‬through your fabric‭) ‬while you lift your presser foot up and rotate your fabric to line up the‭ ‬next edge you would like to sew‭. ‬This creates a sharp corner and allows you to sew 2‭ ‬edges in one go‭.‬

5C‭. ‬Trim your corners at a 45‭ ‬degree angle in order to reduce the bulk of the seam allowance when you turn your piece right side‭ ‬out‭. ‬This will also result in sharper corners‭.‬

5D‭. ‬Clip your notches at the center front‭, ‬going as close to your stitch line as possible‭.‬

5E‭. ‬Clip your curves along the neckline to release any tension when you flip your pieces right side out‭.‬

5F‭. ‬Turn your pieces right side out and push your corners out with a point turner or the end of a dull pair of scissors‭ (‬very gently‭!).‬

5F‭. ‬Turn your pieces right side out and push your corners out with a point turner or the end of a dull pair of scissors‭ (‬very gently‭!).‬

5H‭. ‬You will now finish sewing your center front seam‭. ‬Take the top layer of both sides of your Front Top pieces‭.‬

5I‭. ‬Flip one layer over the other so that right sides are together‭.‬

5J‭. ‬Match the edges of your top layers and of your bottom layers as shown‭.‬

5K‭. ‬Pin your top layers together along the raw edges and pin your bottom layers together along the raw edges‭.‬

5L‭. ‬Sew using 1/2‮!(‬‭ ‬seam allowance on your top layers‭, ‬continuing your stitch line directly from above‭.‬

5M‭. ‬Repeat the same on your bottom layers‭.‬

5N‭. ‬Press your new seams open‭.‬

5O‭. ‬Turn your Front Top right side out and give it one more press‭. ‬It should be in one beautiful piece now‭!‬