Creating the gathered tiers:
I was dreading the gathering and I’ve always avoided it until now. But the instructions say to measure the piece that you are attaching the gathered section onto, and to gather the lower section to that length before sewing it together. This is really good advice, as it means you can even out the gathers on unattached fabric, and then when you attach the 2 pieces, they will match perfectly. Mandi also suggests doing the gathering in front of the TV, which again is another good tip, which I followed. Most gathering instructions I’ve seen say to use 2 rows of gathering stitches, but Mandi only uses 1 row, so that’s what I did, and it was fine.
Finishing the dress
I attached the facing to the dress after I’d constructed the bodice and inserted the zip so that once I’d finished the gathered tiers, I was almost finished. I french seamed the arms, and think I’d missed some important notches on the arm or bodice pieces which made it slightly challenging to do this part. The seam allowance is marked on the pattern pieces which is always a good thing in my book!
Overall, I really enjoyed making this dress.