Ponte & Faux Leather Dress - Part 1

I saw this dress on the Lafayette 148 site.

I've mentioned before how much I like garments from this designer.  Although, Edward Wilkerson, Lafayette 148's designer, designs an amazing plus size line, this dress was not included in the selection.  But let's be real, I wouldn't have purchased the dress anyway.  I love to sew and making my own interpretation, get's me the dress I want in the fit and size I want.

This dress has been in the planning stages for a couple of weeks.  I've gone back and forth over how I would bring out the best of the design in my version.  Of course, this meant starting with my TNT dress pattern and doing a lot of pattern alterations to it.

Dress Front Pattern Alterations ~
First I traced a full version of my TNT dress pattern including the darts and the waistband which are traced out on my dress front.

Then I sliced up the pattern using the dress pictured above as the inspiration.  My goal was not to duplicate the dress but to get the dress' flavor in my own interpretation.

Adding 5/8" seam allowances to all of the pieces followed and then all of the pieces were cut up and laid on top of each other on the original dress front to insure that they worked together.

Finally each pattern piece was numbered and labeled whether it was ponte or faux leather. This way I would know how they were to be sewn together without having to rely on memory.

Dress Back Pattern Alterations ~

As you can see from the picture of the dress above, there's quite a bit of detail on the back. I've chosen not to include that much detail on the back of my dress. One reason is because I'm lazy! *LOL* Another reason is that I'm not sure how it would look or if I want anyone looking that closely at my backside, if you know what I mean.

I decided to use the faux leather band at the empire waistline to match the band on the front.  I also used the same faux leather band and ponte band at the bottom of the dress again matching the dress front.  The majority of the back I left as black ponte knit.

Fabrics Used ~
Black faux leather and a black ponte knit that I had in the collection.  It was the use of these materials that drew me to the dress.  I have extra of both in case a pattern piece doesn't work and I need to recut it.

This is the perfect sewcation dress because I needed time to work on not only the pattern alterations but cutting out all of the various pieces and then stitching them back together.

Construction ~
I'm sewing the dress together now.  Just thought I would give an update on how the sewcation was going.  I've completed one dress.  This is the second piece that I'm working on.  I'm sewing slower than I'd planned.  Y'know I always have these long lists but I just haven't felt like rushing through this week.  I really wanted to take my time and enjoy the journey because it's not like I don't have any clothing to wear! *smile*

Pictures of all finished garments will be taken on Sunday when my daughter will be available.  However, here's a sneak peek of the first garment prior to its completion...

...as always more later!