Tuesday, May 10, 2011

A Knit Dress Palooza!

Yes, I made another knit dress!  I know I can't believe it either because that makes 4 knit dresses in a row.  But when I got home from work on Friday night this knit was staring at me...daring me to take it out and use it.  Now you know I couldn't resist a fabric dare...so I took the challenge.

And this is what the fabric became:


Some stats:

Pattern:
TNT dress pattern

Fabric:
2 yards of a border print knit from Elliot Berman

Notions:
1/2 yard stay tape
9" black invisible zipper
scraps of black fusible knit interfacing

Construction:
~I changed the neckline on my TNT dress so that it's a lower u-neckline than my normal dress.


~I added 3/4 length sleeves.


~There is a 9" invisible zipper in the back. Only 9" because I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to get the dress over my head without it.  The center back seams were stabilized by adding fusible interfacing strips to them, making the zipper insertion smooth as buttah.


~The neckline was serge finished, pressed under 1/2" and stitched flat.

~Since the dress was cut on the selvedge, I didn't hem it.  Just left it the length it was.  However, the sleeves got a 1/2" hemline that was stitched down.

This dress was a very easy sew.  I deliberately chose my TNT dress pattern to showcase the fabric's print.  It's just a funky little dress to wear to work on casual fridays.

...as always, more later!

64 comments:

  1. Gorgeous!!! and thanks for the sewing tips x

    ReplyDelete
  2. Absolutely beautiful, love the print

    ReplyDelete
  3. This dress is really cute! Great use of your TNT.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Another beautiful dress! Do you have an expandable closet?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Another beautiful dress! Love the fabric, just a touch of colour. Nice.

    ReplyDelete
  6. It's lovely Carolyn - perfect combination of pattern and fabric. Your TNT modifications work beautifully and it's super flattering.

    ReplyDelete
  7. What an amazing print! You are so good at picking the right fabric for the right pattern. This is another flattering dress for you.

    ReplyDelete
  8. beautiful! the border elements are really sweet :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh Hell no! I am so stealing that dress from you...prepare to get jacked!

    ReplyDelete
  10. That is very flattering on you!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Fantastic dress, very pretty fabric.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Love it! FM had some of this fabric awhile back and I snoozed and lost it...darn it! It looks great as this dress.

    ReplyDelete
  13. This could quite possibly be my favorite dress you have made.
    It is so flattering and the border is so professional.
    Looks amazing on you.
    Now I want to make a knit dress.........

    ReplyDelete
  14. Once again, you prove the value of having a TNT pattern for a dress.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hate to echo what others have said, but that dress is fabulous and is very flattering on you. Love the border print!

    ReplyDelete
  16. I love this dress -- your most flattering yet! Love the fabric.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Omigosh, I have this same fabric from Emma One Sock! I love how you've used it. :D

    ReplyDelete
  18. This looks great on you! Love the neckline and the print!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Excellent print! Perfect for your dress.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Lovely dress, and makes you look even lovelier than usual. I would like to live inside the head of the person who designed that fabric, for an hour or two, and just root around. Who would ever have thunk of putting those twisted color stripes with those blotted dots? Love it love it love it.

    ReplyDelete
  21. I just love this dress and fabric. It's a perfect combo.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Oooo, gorgeous dress and fabulous on you. I know what you mean about knits - I just planned to make myself a knit top recently -- the Kwik Sew pattern worked so well that four tops later, I'm going to make a top with a matching skirt as a traveling outfit. Knits do that to you...

    ReplyDelete
  23. I really think this dress is so beautiful and flattering on you!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Another fabulous dress. Looks great on you.

    ReplyDelete
  25. See, this is why I don't comment that often - everyone already beat me to it: this dress is gorgeous! I really like what you did with the border print & it looks fantastic on you.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Another fabulous dress. Thanks so much for sharing all the details. g

    ReplyDelete
  27. YAY for TNT patterns!

    I LOVE this dress!

    ReplyDelete
  28. Perfect pattern-dress combo. You look fabulous!

    And once again you're a great inspiration for the rest of us -- we all know that hours and hours of work on your sewing skills took place before you just casually threw this dress together. And I'm thinking that maybe some day, if I keep at it, I'll be able to do that, too!

    ReplyDelete
  29. Fabulous! I love the print. Great dress.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Wow, you are on a real roll with these fabulous knit dresses. I can't believe how amazing they all are. This one is superb - the simplicity of the style is sleek and flattering and showcases that amazing fabric perfectly.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Super cute!! Looks great, Carolyn!

    ReplyDelete
  32. Wow!!! The dress is amazing and you look fabulous.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Wow!!! another great dress. Love the fabric and the new neckline.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Very nice! Gorgeous print with a hint of color.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Great dress. Why save it just for Fridays??

    ReplyDelete
  36. Love it! This looks great on you.
    Connie

    ReplyDelete
  37. Ok, these dresses are just getting better and better and how do you top it? With this super fabulous dress! I love, love, love this one - great job.

    ReplyDelete
  38. You are on a roll! Fabulous print and a fabulous dress.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Wonderful meld of fabric and pattern. Love the hem treatment (or not?) and the overall look is fabulous. Winner!

    ReplyDelete
  40. Gorgeous!!!! That fabric is fantastic and the dress is showing your curves in good way.

    Angie R.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Love the print, love the dress; Sooo Cute!

    ReplyDelete
  42. What an interesting border print, Carolyn. You sure used it to its advantage. Great looking dress!

    ReplyDelete
  43. I really like this a lot. It is very flattering on you.

    ReplyDelete
  44. That pattern is amazing! I love it.

    ReplyDelete
  45. I love this dress. You're right--this is a funky fabric. Very cool. I have to work on a TNT dress pattern.

    ReplyDelete
  46. You were right to choose a pattern to show off the fabric, that print is amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  47. You are abolutely awesome! It is so inspiring to see you take your basic dress pattern and construct many, many, wonderful, breath taking, variations. My gosh. I just don't have words to describe how awed I am.

    ReplyDelete
  48. The dress is lovely, Carolyn. However, I have one question, or comment, as it were. The print you used reads as a stripe, more or less. Why didn't you match it in the back? It looks sorta wonky.

    ReplyDelete
  49. That fabric is the BOMB!! (yep I still say that) Great dress! I always love how you work the TNT.

    ReplyDelete
  50. Love the print and it looks great on you.

    ReplyDelete
  51. Nice dress.
    Wanted to give you a heads up.
    Butterick listened.
    They have their new patterns online and there are lots of plus sizes.Yay.
    And the next sale on the patterns at Joann's is on the 19th of May.

    ReplyDelete
  52. D**n - you look so slim and shapely in this! Amazingly flattering, yeesh.

    ReplyDelete
  53. I like this one a lot! I think the little bit of a lower neckline works very well on you.

    ReplyDelete
  54. I don't see anything wonky about the back of your dress. I do see that it's not perfectly pattern-matched, but frankly, I don't see this as a bad thing; I think the dress looks great. I wish I could do such justice to a border print!

    I'm much more likely to notice pattern matching on the front of a garment than on the back, and even then, I'd be more likely to read it as a fashion statement than something negative.

    Seriously, though, one day, I'd like you to photograph your closets for us, because I can't for the life of me figure out how you're storing all these great dresses!

    ReplyDelete
  55. I really like this dress. And even though the back isn't matched, it actually gives a great shape to the back (sorry, for some reason, I can't see your follow-up post on this dress). The back ends up looking elongated in a slight S shape. I like it. You sew beautiful clothes, and I'm always excited to read your reviews and opinions.

    ReplyDelete
  56. I was in NY yesterday with members of the ASG Guild. We went to Elliot Bergman and this was the first print that I saw. After seeing your dress, a couple of yards followed me home. Thanks for the inspiraton.

    ReplyDelete
  57. It's a cute funky little dress. Love the print!!

    ReplyDelete
  58. Very beautiful! Looks like this fits very well, xoxo!

    ReplyDelete
  59. LOVE! Not much more to say about this one.

    ReplyDelete
  60. Hey Caroline!
    Noticed you haven't made a blog since May 11th!
    Hope everything is alright your way, and well,....wanted to write also...and say I've missed you!!
    Take care!

    ReplyDelete
  61. Love this dress! What a great print and perfect layout.

    ReplyDelete
  62. I love this dress SO MUCH!! Like, I want one for my own closet!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment! It is so appreciated!

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails