Floreat Sewalong // sleeveless version: how to sew the facing and seams

Who out there is making a sleeveless Floreat dress or blouse? Have you been following along with this sewalong, only for me to keep telling you not to do any of the steps if you are making a sleeveless version? Well, guess what – today is your day! This post is going to be ALL about the sleeveless version!

The reason I had you skip over the other posts, is because the facing for the sleeveless version needs to be done first before anything else. It’s an all-one facing that covers both the neckline and the armholes. And the center back and side seams cannot be sewn until after its completed. So the order of steps is just a little different than the other sleeved versions.

So, at this point, you should have the ties or belt made (If you’re including any), and have the four pocket pieces attached (but the side seams not sewn). That’s all so far. And now today, I’ll walk you through everything else – the facing, side seams, and center back. As well as all the minor differences you should know about and what makes those steps different from what was previously posted for the sleeved versions.

Phew. Ok. Let’s jump into it…

To start, we are going to sew the shoulder seams only.

Place your front and back pieces together with right sides facing each other. Line up the shoulder seams, and sew 5/8″ from the raw edges. You don’t actually need to finish the raw edges, because it will be covered by the facing. Press the seams open.

Note: the above photo shows that my center back zipper is already sewn. This is incorrect. I got a little ahead of myself while creating multiple pieces for this sewalong. I removed the zipper and center back stitching from here on out. You should not have your center back seam sewn yet. The two back pieces should still be separate.

Set your garment body aside.

Apply lightweight fusible interfacing to the wrong side of the three facing pieces – the front, and two back pieces.

Place the front facing piece and two back facing pieces right sides together. Line up the shoulder seams.

Stitch the two shoulder seams 5/8″ from the raw edge. Press the seams open.

Finish the raw edges of the facing with your preferred method. You only need to finish along the front and back edges, not the neckline or armholes.

Open up your garment body so that it is open and flat, with the right side of the fabric facing up at you. Place the facing down on top of it with right sides facing each other.

Align the neckline and armhole edges, making sure to line up the shoulder seams. Pin in place.

IF YOU PLAN ON DOING A SLIT OPENING CENTER BACK:

Attach the facing at the neckline by sewing 5/8″ up the center back, pivoting, then sewing around the curve of the neckline 5/8″ from the edge, and then pivoting again and sewing down the other side of the center back.

Also sew 5/8″ from the raw edge around the armhole on both sides.

IF YOU ARE DOING A CENTER BACK ZIPPER:

For the neckline, sew 5/8″ along the curve of the neckline only. Do not sew down the center back sides. This will make it easier to attach the zipper as you’ll see later on.

And as usual, also sew 5/8″ from the raw edge around the armhole on both sides.

Clip into the seam allowance around the neckline and armholes about every 1″ or so. Make sure you clip up to, but don’t cut through the stitches. Or…

Or you could use pinking shears to trim back the seam allowances. This both trims and clips at the same time!

Pull each back piece through their respective shoulder (the opening at the facing front and back creates a tunnel of sorts through the shoulder) to turn right side around and enclose the raw edges.

This is why you can’t have the center back seam sewn yet – you wouldn’t be able to turn the right way around properly.

Now the wrong sides of the garment and facing are facing each other, and the raw edges of the seams are enclosed. Press the edges of the neckline and armholes well so that the facing does not show on the right side of the garment.

Now it’s time for the side seams.

Flip the back pieces down on top of the front, so that right sides are together.

Flip up the facings. Matching up the seam and lining up the raw edge of both the facing and side seam. Pin in place.

Sew 5/8″ from the raw edge along the facing side seam and garment side seam, all in one continuous stitch.

If you are making a blouse or pocketless dress, just sew straight down the side seam to the hem.

If you are making a dress with pockets….

As you are sewing down the side seam, stop when you reach the pocket. Pivot your needle, and continue to sew around the pocket 5/8″ from the edge. Pivot again to continue sewing down the side seam.

Sew it will be one continuous stitch from the facing side seam, garment side seam, around the pocket, and down the rest of the side seam. All in one.

And now you can finally do your center back! Head to this post to follow directions for either a slit opening or sewing an invisible zipper.

BUT… If you are doing a zipper application, follow these next steps to finish your facing once you have sewn in your zipper….

Once your zipper is sewn in, temporarily flip your facing over so that the right sides of the facing and garment are together. Line up the center back seam and pin.

Using your zipper foot, sew right along side the zipper teeth, which is sandwiched in between the two fabrics.

Clip the corners, and then flip back the right way around. You’ve now finished encasing the raw edges and finished your center back!

The last step to finish up the sleeveless facing is to secure the facing to the garment so that it doesn’t flip out to the outside. You can do this by hand stitching it the the side seam seam allowance to tack it down.

Woo-hoo! Sleeveless Floreat is almost all done – just ready to hem!

// LOOKING FOR MORE FLOREAT POSTS? //

Here’s the full list of Floreat posts and tutorials:

• Pattern tester round-up
• Inspiration + Ideas
• Waist tie and separate belt 
• Center back: zipper and slit options 
• Pockets and seams (sleeved dress and blouse versions)
• Neckline facing (sleeved versions)
• Sleeves
• Sleeveless version: facing and seams (this post!)
• Hemming
• Bonus: Knit version

Don’t have the Floreat sewing pattern yet?! Order Floreat today ! We absolutely love seeing what you make, so don’t forget to tag your creations with #MNfloreat and @megannielsenpatterns when sharing on social media, and check out what everyone else is up to!