HOW TO STITCH A FROCK WITH PANELS

Frocks come in varying shapes and sizes. I have already shared a post on the basic types of frocks and in this post the tutorial on how to stitch a waist fullness type frock with panels is discussed.

The construction given here is for a frock of size 18 customized for my baby who is 15 months old. You need to take your baby's body measurements and use them in the construction and stitch the frock.

Length of the frock required
Waist length
Round waist
Round chest
Chest length
Shoulder

 Construction

0 to 1 - Total length of the frock + 1" = 18" + 1" = 19"

For the upper part

0 to 2 - waist length = 7"

2 to 3 – 1/4 waist + 1" = 6 1/4"

0 to 6 – chest length = 4 1/4"

6 to 7 - 1/4 chest + 1" = 6 1/2"

0 to 4 – front neck depth = 3"

0 to 10 - back neck depth = 2 1/2"

0 to 8 - half shoulder = 4"

5 to 8 = 2 1/4"

8 to 9 - 1/2"

For the lower part

Number of panels = 10

Length of each panel = Total length - waist length = 18" - 7" = 11" + 1" = 12"

Breadth of each panel = 5 + 1/2" = 5 1/2"

I have taken 6 violet and 4 green color panels. You can use multicolor or single color panels to stitch your frock. (Moreover I have used rectangular pieces, joined them together and then pleated them. If you want you can also use kallis which are shaped like a triangle for the skirt part. You can refer how to stitch a skirt with panels for more details.)

Method

For stitching this frock we need two fabrics one green color and the other violet color silk cotton fabric. In addition we need a cotton lining fabric for the front upper part. 

First we begin by taking the violet color cloth and cutting the upper part of the frock. 

For this take the cloth, fold it in the reverse such that you have 4 layers of cloth. Make sure that you are seeing the reverse part. 

Refer the construction given above and mark on the cloth. After marking on the cloth, cut the cloth leaving 1/2" allowance along the neck, shoulder and arm holes and 1" allowance along the sides. Now you will have 2 pieces, one for the front and other for the back. Use the front part and cut the lining cloth for the front part  For the neck opening at the back, make a cut of about 4" length and 1/8" breadth at the center. 

Once the two pieces for the upper part are cut and ready, we can now cut the panels using the measurements given above. We will then have 10 panels, five for the front and five for the back.

Now join 5 pieces together and another 5 pieces together at the sides.

Stitch the lining to the front piece and carefully pleat the panels and attach them to the front part of the upper part. Stitch a lace to conceal the joint.

Similarly pleat the other set to the back part.

Now stitch the two pieces along the shoulder and do piping at the neck, neck opening and arm holes using green color cloth.

Make sure that the piping at the back neck extends such that it forms a draw string to tie at the back. The extension for each side can be about 4".

For the draw string to tie at the waist, cut 4 pieces using length and breadth given below. Take 2 pieces and stitch on 3 sides on the reverse leaving 1/4" allowance. Once done, turn it inside out. One draw string is now ready. In the same way make another draw string. 

Length = 14"

Breadth = 1 and 1/2"

Now start stitching the two sides. Make sure to insert the draw strings at the joint of the upper and lower part (i.e. the area where the lace ends)

Once the sides are also stitched, you can do a piping using green color cloth at the ends.

Your frock with panels is now ready.