If you dont wear dickies, youve probably seen them, but you may not know you have. A dickie is a pullover-type accessory that makes it look like youre wearing a second shirt underneath the first. The undershirt, though, is not really an undershirt at all. Generally, a dickie is a turtle-neck or cowl-neck shirt piece that reaches to just inside the over shirt. You put on dickie, slide on the real shirt, and no one can tell youre not wearing two shirts. Dickies make it easy to change the look of certain shirts and dresses in an instant.
If you have a particular dickie, which you always wear with a particular shirt, why not sew it in place and leave it there forever? No more tucking the dickie in or worrying that its bunching up under the over shirt. Its easy to stitch the dickie into many different types of garments but its helpful to have a friend when doing so.
Put on the dickie, put on the over shirt, then get a friend to help you pin the dickie in place. Wearing the dickie while having it pinned can give you a much better finished look than if you simply try to pin the dickie inside the neck opening of the chosen shirt. If you dont have a helper you can accomplish the same feat by placing the dickie inside the neck of the shirt, laying them down flat and smoothing them out, then pinning the dickie in place. Start by pinning the dickie to the shoulder seams then work your way towards pinning the front. When that is done go back to the side seams and pin your way to the center back. If the dickie youre using is a turtle neck you could have a little trouble putting it under the machine by going through the dickie neck opening. Instead, position the neck area under the machine by going through the bottom of the shirt or dress. Start sewing at the back or at one of the shoulder seams. Itll be much easier to sew the dickie into a scoop-neck shirt or dress than, say, into a v-neck. With a v-neck youll have to be very careful to turn at the v-point just right. If you dont you can experience puckers at the "v" area. Other problems can occur if the dickie is stretchy and the over shirt is not. Take care not to tug or pull at the dickie while sewing. If you do you could end up with the dickie completely off-center. Things should go pretty smoothly if youre sewing a stretchy dickie into a stretchy shirt. Since the over shirt likely has stitching around the neckline youll have to create a second set of stitching just under or just over the original stitch line. Use the presser foot as a guide to keep the stitching perfectly spaced. Matching the thread is crucial to perfecting the dickie insertion without notice. If the thread is slightly off-color it will stand out like a sore thumb next to the original stitching. If you have trouble matching colors exactly take the shirt to a sewing supply store. They can help you choose the perfect thread color for this project. If youre not sure about the thickness of the thread you should use take the dickie along as well. They will help you choose the proper thread for the weight of the garments. If, after sewing in the dickie, you can see the outline of the edges of it under the shirt, youll need to trim it. Turn the shirt inside-out and trim the dickie close to the neckline of the outer shirt. When wearing the finished shirt you should not be able to see any outline of the dickie underneath. If youre sewing a dickie into a button-down shirt its much more complicated. The outer shirt must have at least the top and second button permanently open. The dickie is positioned into the shirt and sewn in at the shoulders and back neckline. The front, however, isnt stitched all the way around. Instead, tack it down by hiding a couple of stitches into the placket of the button-down. A stitch or two on each side of the placket will tack the dickie enough to keep it tucked in the front. Have fun sewing - and wearing - the new dickie shirts. They look fabulous and are easy to accomplish.
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