The First Sleeve is Done

It was a beautiful day yesterday and we enjoyed the warmth and sunshine all day.

I spent the day sewing and it took me a good 4 hours to do the first sleeve on the dress.

The sleeve needed to have a piece of bias tape put for an elastic casing. That was machine sewn down with the back of the bias tape facing the inside of the sleeve.

Next the trim was hand sewn down.

 The elastic was put in to gather it to fit on the upper arm of the doll. The hem was hand sewn up and trimmed close to the stitching line.

After that was done, the sleeve was gathered and sewn onto the bodice.

As I don't want the seam to show, I pressed it with my fingers towards the bodice and hand basted it down. The lining will cover up the seam allowance when I put it in.
Lastly, I hand sewed the trim to the sleeve hem. All done by hand.

A shot of steam and a bit of finger pressing will fix the pleating on the trim.
I started the second sleeve today and in 40 minutes I had the sleeve ready for the elastic. The learning curve is finished and I can do quicker thank goodness.
Until the next time.................................