Women's Dresses/Cottagecore Mini Dress Sewing Pattern: Balloon Sleeves (A4, Letter, Plotter)
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Step-by-step technological process of sewing the garment.
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3. Sew lower sleeve seam
- Sew the lower sleeve seam, serge, and press.
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4. Finish sleeve hem
- Finish the sleeve hem. If gathered with elastic, treat it like the top edge, with a hem width matching the elastic width. If free, use a double hem.
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5. Insert elastic into sleeve
- Insert elastic tape into the upper sleeve casing. The tape length is 22-27 cm per sleeve depending on size. Secure the tape at the sleeve cap.
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1. Finish Straps 005
- Fold each strap in half lengthwise with the right side in, sew along the long edges, turn right side out. Press the seam open using a slanting stitch, smoothing allowances. Optionally topstitch. Secure one short edge of the strap by stitching or hand-sewing with a hidden stitch. Press.
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2. Sleeves 004
- Turn/press the upper sleeve edge seam allowance to the inside 5-7mm. Fold the elastic casing inside along the notches and baste, then topstitch. Press.
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7. Sew side seams
- Back 003 and Front 001 sew along the side seam. Overcast the seam, then press.
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8. Sew sleeve to armhole
- Sew the sleeve to the armhole, matching the notches—this is important. The elastic of the sleeve should be included in the seam. There will be 10mm of free armhole on the back (for attaching the lining to the back), and 40mm on the front (for casing treatment at the top of the bodice).
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9. Position and secure straps
- Position and secure the straps on the back (refer to the strap placement on patterns 002) with the open edge of the straps facing the top edge of the back.
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10. Sew back lining to front lining
- Back lining 006 sew along the side seam with Front lining 001. Overcast the lower edge of the lining.
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11. Align lining with back
- Align the lining face-to-face with the back. Sew the lining along the top edge of the back. Turn it right side out, adjust the straps, and topstitch the allowances on the lining 1-2mm. Press. If needed, secure the straps.
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12. Sew lining along armholes
- Fold the lining face-to-face with the back again and align along the armhole edges so that after sewing the armhole and cap are inside the lining (closed edge). Tack/sew the lining along the entire armhole, including the protrusion for the casing on the front. Turn it out, adjust, and trim the armhole allowance to 5mm if necessary, or notch the allowance at the bottom of the armhole.
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13. Baste bodice lining
- Baste the bodice lining and bodice wrong side to wrong side along the top edge (to secure layers). Bind the neckline in the bodice with bias tape.
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14. Prepare top edge casing
- Along the top edge of the bodice (similar to the sleeve casing treatment), baste/press the allowance to the wrong side 5-7mm. Then fold the casing on the wrong side along the notches and tack/topstitch. Press.
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15. Topstitch bodice lining
- Tack/topstitch the bodice lining along the lower edge from the right side in the seam split of the bodice attachment, forming pleats or gathers. The back lining remains free.
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16. Final ironing and straps insertion
- Perform final ironing and insert the straps into the front bodice casing.
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6. Attach Bodice 002 to Front 001
- Bodice 002 tack and sew to Front 001, pleating between notches. Press seam allowance upwards on bodice. Overcasting the seam allowance isn't necessary as it will be covered by lining.
