Hand Sewn Alternatives – Joining the Polonaise Bodice/Skirt

In the Georgian Polonaise Dress pattern, the bodice and skirt are sewn together by machine, by topstitching along the lower edge of the bodice. This method will work well for most projects, but there are a few scenarios where you might prefer to join the dress together by hand sewing instead. For example, if you chose a thicker fabric for your dress and your sewing machine can't handle the bulk during this step, or if your boning ended up a little too long and interferes with joining the pieces.

This guide covers 2 different methods for joining the bodice and skirt by hand. The first follows the same basic method from the pattern instructions, but uses a back stitch for the joining seam instead of a machine top stitch. The second method uses a whip stitch to join the pieces edge-to-edge.

Regardless of which method you choose, you should use a strong thread (such as buttonhole thread) to join the bodice and skirt together. I also recommend using a thimble and a small pair of pliers to help get the needle through thicker bits of the fabric.

 

Fabric Choices

The Georgian Polonaise Dress pattern is suitable for light to medium weight fabrics with lots of body, such as cotton poplin, linen, shirting fabric, or taffeta. Both the design of the dress and the construction methods used to sew it have been put together with this weight of fabric in mind. Using a fabric that is much lighter or more drapey (viscose challis, cotton lawn, etc.) will result in structural problems – the fabric will not be sturdy enough to support the boning in the bodice and the skirt bustle will not look or function as intended. If you use a heavier fabric (wool, velvet, etc.), the pleats around the basque waist will create bulk around your lower stomach, the fabric may be too heavy for the bustle, and you'll likely run into difficulties joining the bodice and skirt together (though that particular issue is addressed in this guide).

If you use a fabric that is drastically different from the suggestions for this pattern, you'll likely need to make additional adjustments beyond the method used to join the bodice/skirt.

You can find the full materials list in the pattern instructions.

 

The Original Version

First, let’s take a quick look at how the original pattern goes together. 

The bodice and skirt are sewn separately, then joined together near the end of the instructions (the bodice will be completely finished, the skirt just missing some fastenings). The top of the skirt is lined up along the inside of the finished bodice (overlapping), then from the outside of the dress the two pieces are then sewn together by edgestitching along the lower edge of the bodice (shown below). Generally, I would suggest doing this with a sewing machine – the stitching will go through both the bodice and the skirt, and will hold the two pieces together. Once the pieces are joined, the skirt seam allowance can then be pressed downwards, which will prevent extra bulk inside the bodice waist area (shown below).

This is all covered in detail in the instructions for this sewing pattern. If you prefer video instructions, the video tutorial for this pattern also explains joining the bodice and skirt starting at 20:29.

Since the Georgian Polonaise Dress is designed for lightweight fabrics such as cotton poplin, linen, shirting fabric, or taffeta, this construction method should work well for most projects. However, if you’re using a slightly thicker fabric (or your sewing machine is less robust!), then your sewing machine may struggle to sew through all the layers, particularly around the side/back seams of the bodice. Before you resort to sewing by hand, try sewing these sections slowly (manually turn the wheel on your machine if you need to), and make sure that you’re not trying to sew through the boning itself.

As far as the boning is concerned – you should have a little wiggle room at the bottom edge of the bodice, and you should not be sewing through the boning. If it doesn’t look like you have enough room, first try wiggling the boning to shift it upwards in the channel, because it will have naturally been pushed downwards while you were sewing the binding.

If you’ve followed the pattern instructions, you should have cut the boning 3cm shorter than each boning channel (measure from the shortest point). Of this 3cm, 1.5cm is trimmed off for the seam allowance, another 1cm is used up with the binding, and the remaining 0.5cm is left as “wiggle room”. This is purposefully snug (it helps keep the bodice taut), but it should be just enough room to sew your line of stitching along the bottom of the bodice – but again, you might need to wiggle the boning upwards in order to do this.

If you absolutely cannot join the bodice and skirt by machine, either because the fabric is too thick or because your boning is too long, then you can sew this seam by hand instead using one of the following methods.

 

Joining by Hand – Back Stitch

For this alternative construction method, we’ll join the bodice and skirt together by hand using a back stitch. This method is nearly identical to the method included in the instructions, except the row of stitching that joins the bodice and skirt will be sewn by hand instead of by machine.

A back stitch is a very secure hand sewing stitch with no gaps between the stitches. The needle is inserted behind the thread, in line with the end of the previous stitch. The stitches on the underside of the fabric will be twice the length of those on the right side.

This method follows the pattern instructions up until Step 7 of the "Joining Bodice and Skirt" section, but I'll cover the steps leading up to this here as well.

Begin by pleating the skirt following the guide on the pattern (Step 10 of the "Skirt Assembly" section).

Using a chalk or another temporary marking method, mark a line on the inside of the bodice 2.5cm above the waist edge. Match up the edge of the pleated skirt with this line, then baste the skirt in place.

At this stage you should try on the dress to make sure the hem is level, and adjust if necessary. You'll also need to add the bustle ties to the back of the bodice (not pictured in the sample).

Next, join the bodice and skirt together by sewing along the lower edge of the bodice. Instead of machine sewing, sew a back stitch by hand. Just like in the original method, this should be sewn from the outside of the dress and the stitching should be right next to the edge of the bodice. The stitches should be small and close together – this makes them strong enough to keep the skirt securely attached, and gives a very similar look to the original machine method.

For the sample in this guide I used a dark brown buttonhole thread to join the bodice and skirt, to ensure the stitches were clearly visible. However, I recommend matching your thread color to the fabric if you use this method.

Once the bodice and skirt are sewn together, remove all pins and basting, then press the skirt seam allowance downwards, just like in the original instructions. This will reduce bulk inside the waistline of the dress. Finish the rest of the dress (buttons & buttonholes, bustle loops) following the pattern instructions.

You can use this method for a range of fabric thicknesses, but you’ll still need a small gap below the bottom edge of the boning, just like with the original method. Try wiggling your boning upwards if it doesn’t feel like you have space – you only need 1-2mm.

If you’re having a hard time creating small stitches (particularly on thicker fabrics), you can modify your backstitch slightly. Instead of sewing “in and out” in a single motion, try sewing these as individual stitches that go straight through the fabric – hold the needle perpendicular to the fabric rather than flat against it.

 

Joining by Hand - Whip Stitch

For this alternative method, we’ll join the bodice and skirt together using a whip stitch. In order to do this, we’ll need to pleat the skirt differently and we’ll join the bodice and skirt edge-to-edge. The pleats around the front of the waist will sit at a different angle as a result. Unlike the previous methods (joining by machine or with a backstitch), this method can be used even if the boning goes all the way to the edge of the bodice, with no “wiggle room” at all.

This method will work for a range of fabrics, but it’s particularly useful for slightly thicker fabrics (like wool) which would be impossible to join using the original pattern instructions. For the sample shown in this section, I’ve used a wool blend fabric for the skirt which is much heavier than I would recommend for this pattern – you'll be able to join the bodice/skirt using this alternative method, but the fabric choice will still cause other issues (too heavy for bustle, bulk around the stomach, etc.). Again, I wouldn’t personally use this fabric for the Georgian Polonaise Dress, but I think it’s much more useful to see a real example, so that you can decide for yourself!

If you really have your heart set on a thick skirt fabric, consider reducing the width of the skirt and skipping the pleats over the stomach to avoid some of the issues.

Begin by following the pattern instructions until you get to step 10 of the “Skirt Assembly” section. Instead of pleating the skirt, you’ll first need to fold down the seam allowance at the top of the skirt (2.5cm).

Once the seam allowance is folded down, pleat the skirt as usual following the guide on the pattern. Secure the pleats by pinning or basting to keep them in place while assembling the dress. For thicker fabrics, you may find quilting clips useful for holding the pleats in place.

Since the front waist of the skirt is curved, we’ll take a moment to make sure the curves on the bodice and the skirt fit nicely together before we move on to joining them. Lay the bodice flat, then align the pleated skirt along the waist edge. If needed, adjust the folded seam allowance or the pleats to get the curves to match, but try to keep the pleats parallel to the front of the dress (it won’t be possible to keep them completely parallel with this method, but get them as close as possible during this stage).

Next, flip the bodice over, so that the skirt and bodice are right sides together, with both waist edges facing the same direction. The curves at the front will be going in opposite directions – this is correct.

Pin the pleats to the bodice one-by-one. At this stage, you'll need to make sure all the pleats are nicely aligned with the edge of the bodice – do not leave any "jumps" in the pleats where they stick out above/below the bodice edge. All parts of the pleats should be lined up with the waist of the bodice.

Using a whip stitch (and strong thread) sew together the bodice and skirt along the waist edge. Make sure every stitch is sewn securely through the bodice and the front layer of each pleat (the side that touches the bodice). The back layer of the pleat (further away from the bodice) does not need to caught in every stitch – a few stitches on the loose corner is enough to keep it in place. The bustle loops can be sewn in by hand using the same whip stitch method.

Once the bodice and skirt are sewn together, they can be pressed apart from eachother – so that the skirt is hanging on the bottom edge of the bodice.

With this method, the stitches will be less visible than a line of topstitching on the bodice, but you'll still be able to see your whip stitches along the joined edge. I recommend using a matching thread if you use this method.

I've included some photos below of this sample pinned to the front of a finished bodice, to give you an idea how it would look. This method is quite similar to cartridge pleating – the skirt sticks out from the body much more than with the original topstitching method, especially if you are using a thicker fabric. Whether this is something you're happy/comfortable with is up to you, it isn't necessarily wrong but it's definitely a different look.