Hello, friends! Thank you so much for joining me last week. We absolutely loved seeing your Rainbow dress creations. Without further ado…

Our first winner is Patricia Mastin ! Patricia won a $20 gift card to Patterns for Pirates as well as a $50 shop credit to Hissy Fit Fabrics.

Congratulations Azure Glowacki Bednarcik ! She is our second winner! Azure won a $20 gift card from Made for Mermaids and a $50 shop credit to Hissy Fit Fabrics.

A big THANK YOU to our sew along sponsor. Make sure you check out Hissy Fit Fabrics on Facebook to keep up to date with their sales and preorders.

Thank you for joining us this week and make sure you share your gorgeous creations in the P4P Facebook group and Instagram. Stay tuned in the Sew Along group for the mermaids’ next sal announcement.

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 1 | Cut fabric

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 2 | Create rainbow skirt and add optional pockets

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 3 | Create collar

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 4 | Sew shoulder seams and add neckband

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 5 | Add sleeves and sew side seams

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 6 | Add skirt and hem

Rainbow Dress SAL – day  7 | Winners Announcement 

Wooohoo! You did it! Last sew along day is here and all we have to do is add sew then skirt to the bodice and hem it. Easy peasy!

Mark the center of the front and back bodice with a pin or a clip. The skirt pattern has notches to show its center. Pin the skirt to the bodice, right sides together, matching the center marks and the side seams. Sew with the serger or a stretch stitch. Optionally you can top stitch the seam allowance up.

Lastly, hem the bottom of the skirt by folding 1” and PRESSING! Do not skip steam pressing before you sew…and after. You sew the hem using your sewing machine’s twin needles option or your coverstitch as I have. Before you start, take a look over our Hemming blog because we have a few tips for easy and successful hemming. If you are finishing the bottom hem using twin needles, a good refresher blog is the P4P University Twin Needles Tips.

Last Rainbow dress SAL video is below. Once you complete your project, post a picture of your finished dress in the comments of day 6 photo of the sew along album. That’s where the team will pick the two winners. I will announce them on the blog on Tuesday. 

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 1 | Cut fabric

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 2 | Create rainbow skirt and add optional pockets

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 3 | Create collar

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 4 | Sew shoulder seams and add neckband

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 5 | Add sleeves and sew side seams

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 6 | Add skirt and hem

Rainbow Dress SAL – day  7 | Winners Announcement 

Ahoy, matey! We are almost there! Today we finish the bodice by adding the sleeves. 

The Rainbow Dress includes 2 style sleeves, a fitted style and a gathered one. Both available in short, 3/4 and long length. The fitted sleeves are finished with a hem. The gathered sleeves are banded.

I opted for the gathered style, so you can see this option in today’s video. Start by sewing two rows of stitches, one about 1/4” and one 3/8” away from the raw edge, in between the two notches. Use the longest stitch length your machine allows. Do not backstitch! Leave long tails at the beginning and end of each row. Pull on then tails to gather the sleeve, matching the 3 notches on the arm curve with the ones on the bodice (front, shoulder seam, back).  Pin in place and stitch. 

Sew each of the arm bands, right sides together at the short ends to create a loop. Gather the bottom of the sleeves to match then arm bands. All you have left to do is sew the bands to the sleeves, right sides together, and press. 

Here is day 5 video. Once you finish the bodice, post a picture of your progress in the comments of day 5 photo in the sew along album. See you back here tomorrow for the final steps!

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 1 | Cut fabric

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 2 | Create rainbow skirt and add optional pockets

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 3 | Create collar

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 4 | Sew shoulder seams and add neckband

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 5 | Add sleeves and sew side seams

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 6 | Add skirt and hem

Rainbow Dress SAL – day  7 | Winners Announcement 

Welcome to the fourth day! Today we start working on the bodice, pretty quick sewing day. 

Let’s start by placing the bodice front and back, right sides together, aligning the shoulder edge. If your fabric is on the stretchier/heavier side, you can add clear elastic into the seam. Just remember to keep the seam allowance 1/2”, even if the clear elastic is narrower than that. Sew the shoulder seam with the serger or a stretch stitch on your sewing machine.

Whether you chose the high or the low scoop neckline(adult pattern only), take a look over our P4P University Neckbands 101 before you attach then neckband. 

Top stitching then neckband is optional. However, if you to decide to top stitch the collar style, I strongly recommend using a triple stretch stitch or a lightning bolt stitch for this step. 

In the video below I show you how to sew the shoulder seam and add the neckband using a serger. When you finish these steps be sure to post a picture of your progress in the comments of the Day 4 photo  (album is in the M4M & P4P Sew along group). See you back here tomorrow!

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 1 | Cut fabric

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 2 | Create rainbow skirt and add optional pockets

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 3 | Create collar

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 4 | Sew shoulder seams and add neckband

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 5 | Add sleeves and sew side seams

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 6 | Add skirt and hem

Rainbow Dress SAL – day  7 | Winners Announcement 

Welcome to day 3 of our Rainbow dress sew along! 

Today we create the collar and baste it to the front bodice. You will notice that the collar lining pieces are slightly smaller than the main lining. That is intentional, it will help the collar lay nice and flat once sewn. The Rainbow dress collar can be woven or knit. I strongly encourage you to interface at least the lining piece with a woven interfacing, such as Pellon SF101. 

I have decided to add a little extra detail to my Rainbow dress collar so you will see how I incorporate piping in this project. I prefer store bought piping because it saves me the effort and time, but you can certainly make your own. To create your piping from scratch, simply cut strips of woven fabric that are 1.25″ wide on the bias. Press the strip lengthwise wrong sides together. Lay your cord in the crease and stitch with a long straight stitch as close to the cord as possible. OR….go to Joann or Walmart and grab some pre made piping 😉

Pin the piping to the outer curve of the main collar pieces, aligning the raw edges. Start about 1/2″ lower than the top and finish about 1/2″ from the end, veering your piping. This detail will ensure that there is no extra bulk in the shoulder seam or neckline. Baste it in place. I show you this step in the day 3 video.

Tip: use a zipper foot when working with piping! 

Now that the piping is added, place your lining piece over the main, right sides together. Ease the collar pieces as show in Judy’s video below and stitch.  

Turn the two collar pieces right side out and give them a good steam press! Optionally, you can top stitch the outer edge. If you added piping, use the zipper foot when top stitching.

The final step for today is to baste your collar to the front bodice. Align  the raw edges of the collar with the neckline and shoulder seam. Remember that for the adult Rainbow dress this option is only available for the high neckline. 

You can see how I created the collar in the day 3 video below. Once you complete these steps, add your check in photo in the comments of day 3 pic. You can find the check in album on FB, in our sew along group. 

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 1 | Cut fabric

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 2 | Create rainbow skirt and add optional pockets

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 3 | Create collar

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 4 | Sew shoulder seams and add neckband

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 5 | Add sleeves and sew side seams

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 6 | Add skirt and hem

Rainbow Dress SAL – day  7 | Winners Announcement 

Welcome to the second day of our Rainbow dress Sew Along! Today we create the skirt by sewing the colorblock pieces and adding the the optional pockets. But let’s be honest here, who would skip the pockets? 😉

I love to lay the pieces in order (1 to 5) on the table, right side up to make sure I don’t mix them up. Place piece 5 over piece 4 and sew along the edge. I like to use my serger for this step (just remember the seam allowance is 1/2″!) however, you can sew the colorbloking part with a straight stitch. That part of the skirt will not be stretched when worn. 

Top stitching the seams is optional, however, encouraged. I don’t like the feel of the seam allowance  against my skin so I always top stitch it down. You can do this with your coverstitch, twin needles or just a simple straight stitch. 

It’s pockets time! Using the marking on the pattern, place your pocket pieces on the skirt, right sides together. Sew this step with your sewing machine! I show you in today’s video how to alternate between the sewing machine and serger when you add pockets to the skirt. 

You can see how I create my skirt in the video below. Once you complete today’s steps, post a picture of your progress in the comments of day 2 photo. You can find the Rainbow dress SAL album in the M4M/P4P sew along group on Facebook. 

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 1 | Cut fabric

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 2 | Create rainbow skirt and add optional pockets

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 3 | Create collar

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 4 | Sew shoulder seams and add neckband

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 5 | Add sleeves and sew side seams

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 6 | Add skirt and hem

Rainbow Dress SAL – day  7 | Winners Announcement 

Welcome to the 🌈 Rainbow🌈 Dress SEW ALONG! 

Day 1 is reserved for printing the pattern and cutting the fabric. But first, if you have not purchased the Rainbow dress you can grab it here. If you’re sewing for a little one, a youth pattern is available too. You will get the most bank for your buck with the Bundle option, just think of all the matching dresses and tops! Before you select which style you are sewing along, browse over the Round Up Blog where we show you all options available.

Now that you have the patterns it’s time to select which file format you would like to use. Both the Youth and the Adult come in A4 and Letter format to print at home, A0 format to print with a plotter or at a copy shop AND a projector file. If you use the projector file you will not have to print anything!! That’s definitely my favorite way! You can see in today’s video how I use the file to cut the fabric. 

Let’s start by taking the measurements needed for the best fit. P4P has an amazing blog that gives you tips for accurately taking your measurements. You can read all about it here. If your measurements put you in a different size for chest/waist/hips be sure to check out our P4P University blog and grade to achieve the perfect fit. Our most recent patterns include videos as well so be sure to check them out!

Let’s talk a little about the right fabric for this pattern. As you can see in the video below I am using Bamboo Spandex from Hissy Fit Fabrics for my dress. This is by far my favorite knit type for this pattern. I also like a soft Cotton Spandex, sweater knit, Rayon Spandex, Modal, ITY, Cupro and Double Brushed Poly for it. All these bases can be layered so beautifully for cooler weather.

Hissy Fit Fabrics is also the sponsor for this sew along so our two lucky winners will receive gift cards to their shop.

If you are unsure about which knit type will work best for your desired look, take a look over our P4P University Knit Types blog. Judy also included a cheat sheet that you can print. If you are like me and sometime are just keen on using a specific print for a specific pattern, read our Different fabric, different fit blog post before you cut your fabric.

I decided to add a cute piping detail to my collar. I love store bought piping but you can certainly make your own or just use faux piping. 

Day 1 video is posted below. Check it out and once you are done cutting your fabric post a picture of it in the comments of the Day 1 photo of the Rainbow Dress SAL album  in the M4M & P4P Sew Along group.

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 1 | Cut fabric

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 2 | Create rainbow skirt and add optional pockets

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 3 | Create collar

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 4 | Sew shoulder seams and add neckband

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 5 | Add sleeves and sew side seams

Rainbow Dress SAL – day 6 | Add skirt and hem

Rainbow Dress SAL – day  7 | Winners Announcement