How to sew a women’s faux-fur dickie with lining

Model and pattern description

Dickie 3231 is a women’s accessory with a straight silhouette and moderate volume. The piece is made fully lined, with a high stand collar at the neckline. You can wear the dickie under a belt if desired. The pattern is designed for faux fur with a short nap (approximately up to 5 mm).

This tutorial suits the following size ranges: 42–50 and 52–58.

Recommended materials and notions

• Main material: faux/artificial fur with a short nap (up to ~5 mm), on a knit backing or similar.
• Lining: lining fabric of medium weight (slippery or matte—your choice), comfortable against the skin.
• Threads: polyester threads to match the lining and the fur.
• Helpful tools: tailor’s chalk/marker, pins/clips, hand needle and hand-sewing thread, a small brush for lifting the pile along seams (a pet slicker brush works well), and a craft knife or sharp-tipped scissors.

Fabric requirements

* Fabric requirements are given without allowances for nap direction/print matching, skewing, gaps, and other production losses.

Cutting preparation and interfacing

• Before you start, check the materials for defects and determine the nap direction. For this model, it is best to direct the nap downwards on the front, back, and the stand collar.
• Pre-shrink the lining if your fabric requires it, using a method appropriate for that fabric.
• Press faux fur with extreme care: test on a scrap first. If the fur reacts poorly to heat, avoid pressing the pile entirely.
• Interfacing is not required by this method; use it only if needed for your specific materials.

Step-by-step sewing order

Step 1. Cut the pieces: front, back, and stand collar from faux fur, and the corresponding lining pieces (according to the pattern). Transfer all notches and control marks.

Step 2. Account for the hems: the model has a wide hem on the sides and at the bottom. For easier hand-finishing later, mark guide lines: on the front and back, measure 6 cm from the side and bottom edges and draw lines—later you will secure the hem under these lines.

Step 3. When cutting faux fur, try not to cut the pile. A convenient method is to cut only the backing (with a craft knife or sharp-tipped scissors). In areas that can become bulky (shoulders and neckline), carefully clip the backing: snip the knit backing with the tips of the scissors, without cutting the pile, so the seams look cleaner and remain more flexible.

Step 4. Stand collar: sew the collar along the short edge with a 1 cm seam allowance. If your collar has two layers (fur outer layer and lining inner layer), it is helpful to temporarily join the layers with a few hand stitches within the seam allowance before attaching it, so the layers behave as one and don’t shift because of the pile.

Step 5. Sew the dickie’s shoulder seams in faux fur with a 1 cm seam allowance.

Step 6. Shape the hem corners on the faux-fur dickie pieces. Fold the corner as indicated by the pattern and sew with a 1 cm seam allowance, securing the stitch and stopping about 1 cm before the seam allowance end (leave this section free for attaching the lining). Turn the corner right side out and square it neatly.

Step 7. Lift the pile out of the seams: brush along the shoulder seams and the collar seam (first gently against the nap, then with the nap) to pull pile fibers out of the seam and make the seam less visible.

Step 8. Attach the stand collar to the neckline with a 1 cm seam allowance, matching notches. Make sure the nap direction on the collar matches the nap direction on the front and back (nap goes downward). After sewing, gently lift the pile along the seam again.

Step 9. Lining: sew the lining at the shoulder seams. Press the seam allowances as needed. Leave a large opening in one shoulder seam—this is for turning and hand finishing.

Step 10. Join lining to the outer layer: place the dickie and lining right sides together. For best control, stitch from the lining side. First sew the bottom edge (along the free seam allowance near the shaped corners) with a 1 cm seam allowance, leaving a free allowance for the side seam. Then sew the side edges with a 1 cm seam allowance. Do not sew the neckline at this stage.

Step 11. Carefully turn the piece through the shoulder opening and check that there is no twisting or distortion. Where a brush could damage the lining, lift the pile with a hand needle: gently pull pile fibers out from under the seam allowance to the right side.

Step 12. Form and secure the hem by hand. Turn the lining back out again to access seam allowances. Fold the hem so the raw edges align neatly to the marked 6 cm line, secure with pins/clips, align control points and corners. Then hand-stitch the seam allowances with invisible stitches, attaching the hem to the lining.

Step 13. Corner hand-stitching nuance: stitch one side and stop about 1.5 cm before the corner point. Secure the thread, then shape the other side so the points align as closely as possible, pin in place, stitch the corner, and then finish the short remaining section near the corner (this gives a sharper corner without pulls).

Step 14. Light pressing: using a pressing cloth, carefully press the seams from the wrong side (without crushing the pile). Always test the heat and how your faux fur behaves on a scrap first.

Step 15. Secure the lining at the neckline. Through the shoulder opening, pin the lining to the neckline (use shoulder seams and center points as references). For convenience, you can sew one half of the neckline first, then the other. Attach the lining to the neckline and close the seam with invisible hand stitches for a clean finish on the right side.

Step 16. Close the shoulder opening in the lining with invisible hand stitches. Finalize the piece, smooth it out, and gently lift the pile along seams one more time.