Monday, February 28, 2011

The Reveal

It has been an interesting journey...one that has occupied my unusually one track mind...here then is my latest dress:



Some stats:

Fabric:
1 yard navy blue tropical wool
1 yard navy blue wool lace knit

Notions:
2.5 yards navy bemberg lining
14" invisible zipper
3 yards navy blue piping

Some Final Construction Notes:

 The dress has no sleeves.  I tried the dress on for my DD and she said that the dress looked really good without sleeves...so I took her advice and left them off.  This does make the dress more versatile so that it can be worn with quite a few cardigans and a jacket or two presently in my wardrobe.


 The hem is machine stitched.  I added the rayon seam binding to the hem and then removed it.  It caused a show through on the lacy part of the dress that looked home ecky.  The machine stitched hem melts into the lacy part of the dress and melds into the fibers of the tropical wool so I went with that.

•  The lining has been reversed.  Usually I put wrong sides together, but since a good portion of the dress is lacy, I didn't want the seams showing through to the right side of the dress.  So that nice clean finish is missing on the inside of the dress..there are serged seams instead.

•  It was stated in the comments of the last Versace Inspired post that Versace wouldn't add piping to the dress.  And the person who left that comment is probably right...but since I adapted pieces of the original dress that I liked to my dress, I gave myself permission to also add design touches that are true to my style.  And I love piping ~ it adds a finishing touch that I adore.


•  I ditched the belt.  I pinned it in but my daughter thought it detracted from the dress instead of adding to it.  I agreed...so the belt was left on the cutting table.

The plan is to wear the dress with a pair of taupe shoes, but of course, I left them under my desk at work.  However, here is a pic of the dress with a vanilla cardigan...how it may make an appearance at my job.

 
I've also got a great navy flower and a navy hat that I will probably wear with the dress for Easter Sunday...and no I don't have a pic of that...my daughter was getting ready to leave and she and my SIL graciously waited for me to get dressed...and slap some make up on...so that she could take some pics for me...which of course leads to the gratitious picture of me with The Little Prince.


Finally, making this dress pushed my pattern interpretation skills to another level.  I'm sure to some it's just another version of my TNT dress...cementing my sewing skills as one note...but to me, it allowed me to think outside the box and incorporate some details that I would never see in a plus size dress anywhere. 

I really hope that if you are a plus size sewist reading these posts that you see that we can make anything we want...current and trendy, designer or not, classic and cute but most importantly that with a TNT pattern you can have any look you want!

...more later!

52 comments:

  1. Nice work! I love the contrast in textures, it makes it simple but arresting.

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  2. I love it, Carolyn! So sophisticated and elegant, but also artistic. Bravo!

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  3. Very pretty, Carolyn. The textures of the fabric really make the dress. Great job.

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  4. What a classy looking dress. Way to follow it through to the end. Very inspiring.

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  5. Beautiful! Very sophisticated. I am looking forward to seeing Easter outfit photos.

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  6. You are the Queen of dresses. All hail the Queen!

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  7. The dress looks fab on you... Great job.

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  8. That is fantastic, and I love it with the vanilla-coloured cardigan!

    And on the subject of fashionable plus size patterns... have you seen these?!

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  9. Congrats on the new dress. Thanks for sharing the whole process with us.

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  10. Great job and I love it with the cardigan. I also appreciate your inspiring comments re: design for plus sized women. You carry that banner so well.

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  11. Very pretty!!!!! Look at your little prince! HE is too cute!

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  12. You continue to inspire me to get off my butt and develop my own TNT dress pattern...This dress is incredible and you look fabulous in it!!

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  13. Great reveal. The dress is very pretty. You continue to inspire me to work to perfect my TNT dress pattern.

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  14. It looks fantastic on you! But I want to see you in it. It's just too hard to photograph detail with dark colors. Let's meet this spring some time.

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  15. That's a very pretty dress. The lace is a beautiful touch, without being too lacy. Nice sewing.

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  16. It turned out really well! The mix of textures adds interest without being obvious. A very "high-end" result.

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  17. Nicely done! I bet it looks even better in person. Good call on leaving off the sleeves.

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  18. Donna Versace will be calling you this morning for permission to use your ideas, since your dress is an improvement on hers, IMO.(smile) Beautiful job, Carolyn.

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  19. Your Versace inspiration dress has now inspired me. I hope I can do half as well at making this idea my own. I love that you amped up the original by adding piping for a more finished look. You look fabulous.

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  20. WOW!!! I am so glad that I followed you on this journey. The dress is so classy and elegant. You did Versace proud. You have inspired me to take my sewing to another level.

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  21. What a unique and lovely dress!

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  22. Me too, want to see this dress in person. It looks fabulous!

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  23. Classic and classy! Love your new dress.

    Barb

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  24. I love navy - I think it is far more interesting than black - and your interpretation of the Versace dress (piping or no piping) is fantastic and looks great on you (and what IS it with monkeys on kids' clothing this year? I became a gramma this year and the number of monkeys out there is amazing...)! I was wondering how you'd handle the lace on the outside/lining seams on the inside issue and there you go - you thought up a much neater and easier method than I was thinking of (who puts French seams on a lining, anyway?). That will look great on Easter.

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  25. Lovely dress! Great work. Thanks for letting us in your design studio

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  26. You did a fabulous job! Love it.

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  27. Great idea for the Easter Sunday outfit! Love it with the cardigan.

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  28. It's gorgeous, Carolyn! Your interpretation is wonderful and you look terrific in this dress.

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  29. Love the dress! It looks awesome!

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  30. LOVE it! It came out so beautiful :)

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  31. Another beautiful dress. You look amazing.

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  32. You did such a nice job on this one. You look so chic and elegant. You always amaze me with how you can keep making your classic TNT look new each time you make it.

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  33. Fabulous! This is perfect for wearing right into spring.

    I don't think your sewing is "one note". That TNT gives you freedom to interpret and create without the fuss of fitting.

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  34. Very classy and classic dress! Great use of your fabrics to show off the lace. I know you will enjoy wearing it!

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  35. Your dress is FABULOUS!!!I'm in awe!

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  36. Wonderful dress. It looks great on you and I love the contrast between the two fabrics and the wonderful curved sections. It was really interesting and inspiring to read about your design process, to see the assembled pieces with those curved seams (so what do you think about smaller seam allowances on curved sections now that you have tried it?), and to read about the decisions you made on the best way to finish the hem, neck edge and linings.

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  37. Love it, Carolyn. And THANK YOU for sharing the design/construction process with us. hopefully one day I'll have the nerve to try something similar. :-)

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  38. Pretty and classy. You did a great job with this "inspired" piece.

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  39. Your creative talents have been perfectly channelled in the design and construction of this fabulous dress. It is so elegant and beautiful, very couture!

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  40. This dress is very special Carolyn and looks great on you too. Don't you feel sorry for people who don't sew thus never having that feeling of accomplishment we sewists all get at the completion of a project like this? Your little Prince is so cute and getting so big.

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  41. He is growing so fast and is so handsome. Your dress is pretty and sleek.

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  42. Oh wow! gorgeous, gorgeous! You look so glamorous and that boy, he is soooo cute! Great work Carolyn, as usual you inspire me.

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  43. Wow! I loved following you from your inspiration to the finished dress. You identified the elements you wanted and made it your own!
    Mary H

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  44. OMG! Amazing dress. Love it!

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  45. So pretty! I love that you're always pushing the envelope with your dresses. This one is another winner. :)

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