BODICE:
With right sides facing sew the front shoulders to the back shoulders. Neaten seam with an overlocker/serger and press to the back.
Neaten around the armhole with an overlocker/serger, fold and press towards the inside. Topstitch around the armhole.
Sew a bar tack at the underarm seam to secure the base of the armhole (not pictured).
With right sides facing sew the front and back side seams together. Neaten with an overlocker/serger and press to the back.
Fuse front and back facing pieces. With right sides together sew the shoulder seams of the front and back facing pieces. Press seams open.
With right sides facing pin the neck facings to the neckline, matching shoulder seams, centre fronts and backs and sew together. Clip around the neckline to keep neck flat and press seam towards the bodice. Turn to the correct side of the fabric and understitch around the neckline, on the side of the neck facing. Press the neckline flat.
Neaten the lower edge of the facing with an overlocker/serger.
Catch the facings down at the shoulder seam allowances (not pictured). If desired, sew a topstitch around the neckline, 6mm (¼”) from the edge.
SKIRT:
With right sides facing sew the front skirt to the back skirt, along the side seams. Neaten with an overlocker/serger and press to the back.
With right sides facing sew the skirt to the bodice with a 2cm (5/8”) seam allowance, matching side seams. Note the wide seam allowance as this becomes the elastic casing. Neaten both edges together with an overlocker/serger.
Turn to the incorrect side of the fabric and fold the previous wide seam allowances up, towards the bodice. Sew this down with an edge stitch, along the upper edge, leaving a small gap 2.5cm (1”) for the elastic to thread through.
Cut the waist elastic to your personal length. Using a safety pin thread elastic through, pinning one end to the waist to ensure it doesn’t pull all the way through (not pictured).
Once elastic is threaded through lay one edge on top of the other and stitch together securely. Sew up the gap, stretch the elastic to get an even spread throughout the casing. On each side seam, stitch down elastic, to keep it from moving (not pictured).
Neaten the hem of the skirt with overlocker/serger and fold towards the inside. Once in place, sew down or hand stitch down.
BELT:
Fuse belt piece. With right sides facing, fold and press the belt in half, lengthways. Sew around the raw edges, leaving a gap to turn out, where noted on the pattern.
Clip corners and turn out to the right side, press, and hand stitch the opening to close. Press belt.
Sew the snaps to each end of the belt, to suit your waist measurement.
Press your new dress!