March 31, 2017

Dartmouth Sewalong Day 4: Side Seams and Hems


Today is the last day of the Dartmouth Top sewalong, and we’re almost done! We’ll start by sewing the side seams.

Pin the shirt together at the side seams, right sides together with the fronts on top to minimize any chance of missing a layer. Match the underarms and the notches.

Sew the side seam and sleeve seam in one go, starting at the hip, pivoting at the underarm, and ending at the end of the sleeve.

Press the seam allowance towards the back of the shirt and repeat with the second side.

The last step is to hem the shirt and the sleeves! Start by basting the two fronts together at the bottom edge. This is optional but makes hemming SO much easier, so I highly recommend it!

Next, press the bottom hem up by 1” and topstitch.

Repeat with both sleeves, hemming by 1”.

Give all the hems a good press and you’re done! We can’t wait to see what you’ve made. Share yours on social media using #DartmouthTop!

3 thoughts on “Dartmouth Sewalong Day 4: Side Seams and Hems

  1. CK says:

    Hi there

    I’ve made a couple of these now, they are absolutely fantastic – but I think I must have missed a step!

    I make the top without the ruching, and as a result my front (piece 2) is significantly longer than the back (3) when I come to do the side seams. Piece 1 is perfect though. Is this the way it is supposed to be, and I just need to keep on easing the two together – or should I be shortening the front piece to lose the length taken up by the ruching? (or lengthening pieces 1 and 3)?

    Thank you so much for these fantastic patterns – my wardrobe has undergone a complete revolution since I discovered them!

    1. Hi Colette – for the unruched version, the instructions tell you to cut two of front “2” – that matches the side seam length of the back piece (they shouldn’t need to be eased). Check if you’re using piece 1 instead – that piece *does* have a longer side seam (which is reduced in length by ruching) – and shouldn’t be used for View B.

  2. Colette says:

    Ha, knew I had missed something fundamental – thanks Jenny!

Let me know what you think!