Tennis-Style Dress Serger Project
Serge up this sporty athleisure dress and bike shorts with your Baby Lock 4- or 8-thread Serger and add cute Creative Top Cover Stitches with the Baby Lock Applaud Cover Stitch Machine!
If you've been seeing ads online for those chic, simple, and cute tennis-style dresses, why not make one that fits you perfectly? This dress is lightweight, stretchy, and made for a cute hiking date with your friends or a casual day around town! Baby Lock sergers are ideal for creating athleisure and activewear as they provide flexible, strong, and clean seams. This design also uses a serger to create decorative details.
Supplies
- PDF Download of Pattern with More Diagrams
- Baby Lock 4- or 8-Thread Serger
- Baby Lock Applaud Cover Stitch Machine
- Courtside Dress Pattern by Greenstyle Patterns
- Fabric/Notions needed per the pattern
- The 4-way stretch fabric used for the sample is Sapphire Blue from Greenstyle’s Align 2 fabric line
- 4 Spools of Madeira Aerofil Serger Thread to match fabric
- 1 Spool All-purpose Sewing Thread
- Creative Top Cover Stitch Thread: White (or contrasting), 2 Spools Madeira Decora 12 and 3 spools Madeira Aerofil
- Seam Gauge
- Wonder Clips (instead of pins)
- Fabric Marking Utensil
- If hemming the skirt with a Cover Stitch, HeatnBond Soft Stretch Lite Iron-On Sewable Adhesive Tape, 5/8”
- Baby Lock Serger Teflon Foot* (BLE8-TF)
- Serger Fabric Guide*
- Baby Lock Curve Foot* BLE8-CVF
- Compensating Serger Foot* BLES8-COMF
- Baby Lock Clear Foot* BLE8-CLF as found in this kit
- Applaud Stitch in the Ditch Micro Insert Foot Kit* BLP6-SDFEET
*Optional, but helpful
Tutorial
The instructions written with the purchased pattern are excellent! You will follow the order of the pattern instructions when constructing. This tutorial will give you tips and tricks to stitch most everything with your Baby Lock Serger and Baby Lock Applaud Cover Stitch Machine! Use your Thread Guide to assist in setting up for the different stitches.
1. If you plan on adding Creative Top Cover Stitching with the Baby Lock Applaud, stitch the first seam of the garment with a Chain Stitch (either on your 8-thread Serger or your Applaud/Cover Stitch Machine) or use the lightning Stretch Stitch on your sewing machine (utilizing a stretch/ball point needle for the sewing machine). Stitch a seam in some test fabric also.
2. Press the seam open. Use a pressing block to help the seams lay nice and flat.
3. To add some Creative Top Cover Stitching to seams (or wherever you would like to place Applaud decorative stitching), set the Baby Lock Applaud up with the two Decora 12 threads in the wipers and standard serger threads in the positions for a Cover Stitch Narrow. Use some test fabric to play with the stitch length to see what you like.
4. You can use the standard insert on the Applaud foot to align the seamline or consider using one of the Stitch in the Ditch feet. They are very helpful when stitching along seam lines! Use the test fabric to see where you want to stitch and practice alignment along a seam. Sometimes I straddled the seam and other times, I stitched right next to the seam.
5. If following the same decorative stitching as the sample, place the decorative stitching on the seam just under the bust.
6. Next, stitch the vertical front side seams (with the Chain Stitch or Stretch Stitch) as shown in step 2 of the pattern instructions. Press seams outward and then, put the Creative Top Cover Stitch on both of those stitch lines. The creative stitching for the front is complete.
7. I used a Chain Stitch for the shoulder seams so I could press them open and it lay flatter. Alternatively, you can use a 3- or 4-thread Overlock stitch for that and when stitching the shelf bra to the outer layer. Set the stitch length at 2.5mm and the stitch width at M. Just make sure to nest seams when lining up two bulky seams (since these seams cannot be pressed open). See tip below for 3/8” seam alignment. For the crossover back, the seam has an angle in it. Where there is a slight corner, serge off the fabric completely and then, line back up and serge back on to complete the seam. The inside seam is a little more do-able to continually stitch without having to serge off and on again.
Tip for alignment: The pattern author notes that the seam allowance is 3/8” (unless otherwise specified) so, you’ll need to identify where you’ll to line up your fabric when stitching seams with the Overlock Stitch. From the left needle O1 to the blade, it is about a ¼”. If you look at the lines on the tip of the foot, those raised notches align with each needle position. Using a measuring gauge, find placement for a 3/8” seam allowance. I found that lining up the fabric with the edge of the plastic in front of the bed of the machine made a 3/8” seam allowance, trimming about 1/8” off as I stitched. So, for seams that you use an Overlock Stitch to seam with, you’ll want to line up at that same spot. The following image is using different fabric, but see that you can use a measuring gauge to get the correct seam allowance.
8. Continue to follow the pattern, using the serger Chain Stitch or sewing machine Stretch Stitch. If doing the crossover back, you’ll add the Creative Top Cover Stitch after stitching and pressing open the center back seam (step 12 in the pattern instructions). You’ll stitch from the lining to the outer piece. You might have to get creative with how you put it into the machine. The image below shows the lining folded to the inside, but it also has the Applaud stitch on it as well so that it is one continual stitch with how the pattern is stitched together.
9. When you stitch the side seams of the skirt, you can use a 3- or 4-Thread Wide Overlock Stitch. Set the stitch length at 2.5mm and the stitch width at M. If you plan on adding a decorative Creative Top Cover Stitch on the hem, leave about 2-3” open on the lower edge of one side seam (it’s easier later to stitch on and off without having to overlap).
10. If you are wanting to add the Creative Top Cover Stitch at the waist seam, use the Chain Stitch or Stretch Stitch to seam that stitch line. Press the seam upward and then, stitch the Creative Cover Stitch on top from side to side.
11. If you are wanting to add the Creative Top Cover Stitch to the “U” shape in the back, fair warning, this is the trickiest one to achieve because of the intense curve. Stitch the “U” seam with a Chain Stitch or Stretch Stitch (as shown in step 15 of the pattern instructions). Then, press the seam allowance outward. Finally, stitch the Applaud decorative stitch from one top of the “U” to the other top (starting and ending at the edge of the shelf bra lining). You can see the Stitch in the Ditch Micro Insert attachment in the image to the right.
12. Stitch the elastic onto the shelf bra with your Overlock and Cover Stitch!
13. Then, decide what you want to do for the hem. If the raw cut edge looks good to you, you don’t necessarily have to hem it. The sample is not hemmed. However, an additional Applaud Creative Top Cover Stitch was stitched around the lower edge about 1.25” from the raw edge (starting and ending at the lower end of a side seam that was left open)! The lower edge of the side seam that was left open will need to be stitched closed after the decorative stitch is in place. You can indeed hem it with the Standard Cover Stitch (see the below section Cover Hem Perfectly) and then add the Applaud stitching if desired! Or, you can press up the hem and stitch it with the Applaud Creative Top Cover Stitch using the same process discussed in Cover Hem Perfectly (below) with a 5/8” hem allowance (using the hem tape)!
14. Stitch the Bike Shorts to go underneath your adorable dress. They are pretty straightforward when it comes to the stitching. See tips below for hemming and for serging the side seams of the waistband. You’ll use 3- or 4-thread Overlock stitches for all of the seams, using a 3/8” seam allowance. For the top hem of the pocket and the hem of each leg, you’ll use a Cover Hem (you might consider using the same Applaud Creative Top Cover Stitch)!
For additional serger tips from Stephanie, download her PDF instructions, complete with more images.
