Monday, May 06, 2013

A Print and Lace Dress

This dress is all about the fabric!  Seriously I bought this fabric because of the lace and floral print ~ it encompasses two of this spring's trends.  Florals and lace...then combine it with the inspiration picture...



I'm so trendy that I'm setting off the trendy-ness alarm! *LOL*  Both this print and the lace were on hand, so I'm making good use of that enormous fabric collection I own.


It's a pretty dress to usher in spring. I will wear it with either my purple Butterick 5760 cardigan or any of the black cardis that are already in my closet.  Love when sewn pieces from the collection work with newly created pieces.

Some stats ~
Pattern:
TNT sheath dress pattern

Fabric:
Rayon challis print from Fabric Mart
Black lace from Fabric.com

Notions:
Black Rayon bemberg lining
22" black invisible zipper
1" black lace for lining hem
Black rayon seam binding for dress hem

Construction ~
There are a few details that I added to my TNT dress to get this new version of my TNT dress.

Lace at the neckline...
This fabric has a very busy pattern so I wanted something to "fence in" the print and give it definition.  So I made a lace flat binding to add to the neckline. The strip is made from the black lace layered over a piece of black cotton bias binding, pressed in half and sewn into the neckline between the fashion fabric and the lining.



I think it adds a nice touch to the neckline.

The Sleeves...
I cut the sleeve on the crosswise grain using my 3/4 length sleeve pattern.  The selvage edge of the lace made a great finish to the sleeve hem instead of adding one. 


A little gathering at the sleeve cap helped to ease the cap into the dress perfectly.



The lace sleeve is what drew me to the dress and I love how it gives that unexpected lift to the dress.



Lining...
Originally I was going to use a white lining in the dress.  I liked how the white made the fabric's print look lighter.  But after holding the lace up to the dress, I realized that the white lining would work against the black lace sleeves.  So I went with a black bemberg rayon lining which, of course, made the fashion fabric shade a little darker.  I'm okay with that because I want everything to play nice on the inside of the dress. 


Naturally I added a 1" black lace to the hemline of the lining...why not finish the dress innards as nicely as I finish the exterior of the dress.

A few more photos ~





Conclusion ~
I make a lot of dresses. If you've noticed, lately they have been a little more fashionable and fashion forward, because really how many solid black, gray and navy dresses can you own?  Even in the conservative environment that I work in.

This is the first of the easy summer dresses I plan to make this spring & summer. It's part of my "Fun in the Sun Summertime Dressing" collection.

...as always more later!


31 comments:

  1. Those fabrics were meant for each other. Great dress.

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  2. Lovely and spring like. A real winner in my book!

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  3. It is lovely. I love the fabric/lace combo.

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  4. Very creatively designed, Carolyn! It's a beautiful and fun dress that I know you'll enjoy.

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  5. You're absolutely right! Lace, flowers and spring - perfect together.

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  6. You look fantastic in this dress. Great combo of fabrics!

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  7. Perfect fabric and lace for your on-trend dress, you look great

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  8. Great combo and right on trend!

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  9. Fun dress, and great shoes!

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  10. What a wonderful, wonderful dress! I do love the lace sleeves.

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  11. I saw the picture of your inspiration dress and thought it was very pretty. Your version is just as pretty. I love floral prints and your post has my creative juices tingling. Great job as usual.

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  12. This is beautiful! I love the print . I'm planning on making a lace dress for an event at the end of the month and intend to review your posts on the subject. Thank you carolyn for the inspiration.

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  13. Carolyn, you completely nailed this look! You look smashing Dahling!

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  14. Love it!! It's so amazing to see how your TNT pattern really is a blank slate for your creativity. I always think to go to new patterns to try something new, but you make the most amazing and inspirational pieces from a shape you know and love.

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  15. I do so appreciate you!!! 1st, your new flower/lace dress is beautiful. 2nd, oh yes...I couldn't live without 5 more patterns from Club BMV's sale. And 3rd, there is nothing better than your sewing cave filled with fabric and supplies! Lots of patterns and lots of fabric isn't sad, it's a blessing. You are inspirational to so many of us...thank you!

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  16. A cutting edge Spring/Summer look! Just love it!
    What an excellent work you did!!

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  17. This is SO PRETTY! I love floral and lace together - floral body/lace sleeves is the best combination!

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  18. Fun in the sun, indeed! This is the perfect spring dress. I really like the idea of "fencing in" the print - I'd never thought of it like that before.

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  19. I am usually a quiet observer, but this is just so striking that I wanted to tell you how much I like this dress. I also really appreciate your blog. Tracey

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  20. Love this!!! Especially that print! The TNT pattern is whipped into another stunner!

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  21. You are so correct, you just set off the trendy alarm over here too! Very nice!

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  22. This dress really falls into the "fun in the Summertime" category. It's lovely. And there is nothing wrong with making dresses! You totally rock them. g

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  23. Hey Carolyn,
    Long time no visit. Lol. I'm glad to be back at it. You are certainly the trendy gal. Love, love it. You know how to inspire us.
    C

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  24. You are really working the fabric combinations! Lovely print and lace, a perfect match.

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  25. Pretty print and lace combo!

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  26. This looks COOL! Man, you have such a great eye for pairing fabrics!

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  27. Very pretty and perfect for spring! I love all the little lace touches you added as well.

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  28. This one is really pretty. And fresh and different...my, I would never guess your age while you are wearing such trendy big florals! (wink, wink!)

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