Ponte and Faux Leather Dress - Part 2

Deciding how to place the ponte and faux leather pieces on the front of the dress was the most challenging aspect of this dress.  Even the actual sewing was anti-climatic to the planning.  This is what I finally decided upon...

...and here it is sewn together and pressed flat.

I'm so glad that I took the time to make a road map on the dress front pattern because even with numbering the pattern pieces, I got confused for a minute. The other thing that was important is that none of the pieces on the front or back were serge finished. I was concerned that the stitching would show to the other side when pressed flat.  I did a lot of pressing with steam and used the clapper to get these pieces to lay flat.

The sewing of the back pieces was easy compared to the front since it's just two bands of the faux leather sewn to the ponte knit making it very easy to construct.

The back of the dress also has an invisible zipper.  I deliberately chose to shorten my 22" zipper to 14" which will end right before the first faux leather band.  Why?  Do you remember this dress?  Well I inserted an invisible zipper in the back and with all the bulk, I've worn the dress twice.  Both times I've held my breathe praying the zipper wouldn't pop in the back.  I don't want that for this dress.

The back was also basted together at the waistband leather insert.  This was so that there wouldn't be any drag when I sewed the back together.  I hate that little jag of difference that can occur and this is an easy solution, which made it all come together seamlessly.

The original dress has leather piping at the neckline.  After searching through my piping collection, I found some faux leather piping I made about 15 years ago that will work perfectly with this dress especially since I only need to add piping at the neckline.

I've run out of black lace for lining hems so I turned it under and stitched the hem flat.  After that I finished the armholes.  I deliberated over using binding to finish the armholes or just a fold, press and stitch down technique.  Ultimately I folded, pressed and stitched down with a twin needle and was surprised with how well this finish looked and worked. The hem was also stitched with a twin needle and it was done.  However, this dress really doesn't look as good on the hanger as it does on me, so the reveal will be in a few days.

To all of you who left comments about making your own copy of the dress, I say go for it!  But can I give you a few tips...  

• One - I'm a huge fan of steam.  I probably use it alot more than I'm suppose to but I love it.  Please, please be careful using steam on the faux leather.  You can easily "bruise" the leather.
• Two - make sure that the faux leather and the ponte are compatible in weight.  My dress works because both fabrics are similar in weight.
• Three - starting with a proven dress pattern will make this exercise so much easier.
• Four - Take your time and number ALL of your pieces.  You can't believe how easy it was to get lost!
• Five - use a good press cloth.  I used a silk organza one.

Finally if you do make your own version, please leave a comment on the final reveal post, with a link to your dress.  I would love to see it!

Now I know that I probably should make the dayum pink wool crepe dress next but since I have a few more days, I'm going to work with the eggplant/purple fabric next and another new pattern.

...as always more later!