Today’s post is completely optional! If you don’t want to add stay tape to your dress, then you can skip this step. If you do, I’ll show you how to add it to the Lonsdale Dress!
What are the benefits of stay tape? For one, it keeps the edge from stretching out over time. Especially if you’re going to tie and re-tie the knotted front, it helps to have a little reinforcement along that edge. It also helps to keep the edge laying flat to the body, so it doesn’t roll out, or pull away from the body.
For this step, you’ll need stay tape.
Measure off enough stay tape to cover from the centre back edge, to the notch just before the ties start. (My notch is marked by a red pin so you can see it!)
Cut down the middle of the stay tape, so you have two pieces! One for each side of your bodice.
Pin the stay tape to the seam allowance, lining up the edge of the tape with the stitching line.
I like doing it this way, so it’s easy to trim along the edge of the stay tape. You can also sew it directly on top of your stitch line, centering over the seam line.
Continue pinning the tape along the seamline. Take it to the sewing machine, and sew right down the middle of the tape. Backstitch at both ends.
Trim along edge of stay tape.
That’s it! Stay tape will help your dress keep its shape, and keep the upper edge from stretching out over time as you tie and re-tie the knot.
PS. Have these Sew-Along posts inspired you to make your own Lonsdale Dress? Click here to visit the Pattern Store and order your copy today!
Ah, I love stay tape. When I learned to sew, stay tape was used in most every project. This is the great advantage of sewing our own clothes, quality construction, not the cheap RTW we see now. Our clothing looks better, wear better, and last longer.
I’m interested in reinforcing a bit the top of the dress. Could stay-tape be replaced by another material? I was thinking about the fabric selvage or a strip of fusible interfacing.
@Corinne: I totally agree! My home-sewn garments last way longer than my store-bought clothing, and it fits better too! And that’s why I sew :)
@Volute: Yes, you could use fabric selvedge (as long as it’s not too thick or heavy!) or twill tape like we did in the Crescent Skirt. Seam binding would work, and fusible interfacing would probably do the trick – just be sure you can’t see the ridges of the interfacing edges. (Does that make sense? Cut small strips of interfacing so you don’t see a line where the interfacing ends.) You want something that won’t stretch out – so not bias tape! And the goal is to make it as invisible as possible, so you don’t know it’s there from the outside.
This makes sense – I can see how the repeated wearings would cause that portion of the bodice to “grow”.
I hope to be stitching on my project this weekend (fingers crossed that I will get some sewing time!)
I’m definitely adding some form of stay tape to the top of my dress. Thanks for the tips on where to put it. It’s little things like this that I love about Sew-Alongs. I can take this tip and really improve all of my future sewing projects.
Just added some stay tape on my dress…yuppie. It’s the first time I ever did it.