Wednesday, May 08, 2013

A Digital Ponte Print Dress

I'm on a print run.  I wanted to get two quick spring dresses made from some trendy prints purchased for that purpose, and I didn't want them to linger in the fabric collection. This is the second of the two dresses...

This was the inspiration dress...


...which prompted this fabric purchase from Tessuti Fabrics.


I bought two digital pontes from Tessuti because I hadn't seen them anywhere else.  I was thrilled with how fast they appeared at my home since they were coming from Australia.

A simple straight dress to highlight the fabric's print was what I wanted so of course I started with my TNT dress pattern. I guess I could have started with another dress pattern but honestly I want the dress more than I want the fitting challenge of a new pattern.



After pre-washing the fabric, there was quite a bit of shrinkage and my two yards went from a full two yards to 1 3/4 yards...not enough for a dress...at least for my body. I had to come up with a new plan.  

There is a lot of ponte in all colors and weights in my fabric collection.  Hey, I like ponte! *smile*  You all know that I'm a huge fan of print-blocking so I thought why not have a solid red ponte back?  But after combing through my fabric collection, the only red I found was a wool ponte that just didn't work with the Tessuti one.  After fishing through the collection again, I found a blue ponte that did coordinate with the print...



...adding the blue back takes the dress from normal or expected to unexpected and isn't that what the Cavelli inspiration dress is all about?!

Some stats ~

Fabric:
Digitally printed ponte knit from Tessuti Fabrics
Blue ponte from Fabric Mart

Notions:
22" blue invisible zipper
a little stay tape
strips of ltwt. fusible interfacing

Construction ~
  • The dress is unlined.
  • I cut 2" off the sleeve at the hemline.
  • Then I cut a 3" band from the blue ponte and added it to the bottom of the sleeve.
  • Lightweight fusible interfacing strips were added to the center back seams before inserting the invisible zipper to prevent the zipper from rippling.
  • Turned down a half inch on the neckline, pressed flat and stitched it down.
  • All hems were pressed flat and stitched down.
  • I stitched the back seam closed.  It's a knit dress and there is enough width at the hemline for walking ease.
It was a simple sew.  What makes the dress distinctive is the fabric choices I made and making sure that I cut the fabric to best highlight the print.  Also choosing the right solid ponte to back the dress with was just as important to me.

Some more pics of the dress...





I wasn't sure if the dress would work but after completing it, I'm thrilled with the finished dress because it makes me feel happy wearing it.  This has already been worn to work and it passed the wearability test with flying colors. Not only did it garner quite a few compliments for its color but it also felt like I was wearing an upscale t-shirt dress.  T-H-E perfect work dress for me!

Next up is a simple black ponte suit.  I need another one to add to my serious work wardrobe especially after making all of these fun, colorfully printed dresses.  I've already started construction on it, so look for it soon.

...as always more later!



  



48 comments:

  1. You kill me! Another winner! I love the placement of the print on the front of this dress. So flattering. g

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  2. Wow, great use of a beautiful fabric! Your dress is stunning.

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  3. killah print, Love the dress!!!

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  4. Brilliant! Far better than all print.

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  5. Vava voom, that is a knock out! I've never come across this type of fabric in a print. It's a real winner though.

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  6. The print placement is perfect! What an unusual and attractive dress.

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  7. Fantastic use of an interesting print. The blue color blocking works perfectly. I really like this dress!

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  8. The blue works really well and you have two trends in one!

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  9. I've been thinking of making a dress with a solid back and print front and your amazing dress has now completely sold me on the idea. I'm surprised at how much shrinkage you experienced, I had hardly any with their solid ponte fabrics

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  10. What a marvellous dress! It was well worth using your TnT pattern for it, because the fit is perfect and really shows off the print placement. The solid back is great! I am envisaging a trip into Tessuti next week now..

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  11. This was a great way to make it work, I love this dress. The placement of the print is brilliant, it's very flattering. What a great fabric! I've never ordered from Australia, i'll have to check it out.

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  12. My first time to comment here, this dress is so pretty and your is inspiring

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  13. Great looking dress. The blue back is perfect with the digitized print. Very pretty spring/summer dress!

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  14. Love the dress, Carolyn, the blue on the back is perfect to highlight this stunning print. Great job.

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  15. Lovely. I like your version better than the inspiration dress.

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  16. I am IN LOVE with your print dresses lately! So on trend... I need to make one! Great solutions using the solid for the back panel. I've been doing that lately, too, often make the choice on purpose because I, too, sometimes like that look.

    Great job!

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  17. WOW! Awesome use of a really interesting print. I'm off to look at Tessuti's site.

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  18. I love, love, love this dress! Great job, and you look fabulous in it :)

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  19. Gorgeous dress and great take on the inspiration dress.

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  20. Wow!! Your dress really is beautiful. I love the fabric, and the print placement is bang on. Fabulous spring dress!

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  21. love it, I am a big fan of prints and this is out of the ordinary, in a good way.

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  22. This is AWESOME! I love that blue for the back and how it's repeated on the sleeves. What a pretty print! I'd say it's a shame you didn't have enough after washing, but I really really like that colorblocked back... good save!

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  23. What an awesome print! The dress turned out super fabulous! Looks really great! And the blue is definitely a fun choice on the back.

    Now off to browse some prints =)

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  24. I like the blue hem bands on the sleeve to tie it together!

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  25. Really beautiful! I like the solid back and sleeve bands, and I think the blue works better than the red would have because it pulls out a more delicate part of the print!

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  26. Wow! The print seems to have magical slimming properties. Beautiful dress and I love the unexpected blue!

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  27. That dress looks amazing on you. You are making me want to try a print.

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  28. You look amazing, Carolyn! I love it.

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  29. Fabulous! Such fun dress. I have been admiring your dresses quite a while, but this one stands out by far IMHO.

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  30. I think I like it better this way too! Nice that our creative juices kick in when there is a crisis! The result is a beautiful dress like this one! I am like you too...I love Ponte fabrics!

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  31. Brilliant solution to a shortage of fabric. The dress looks absolutely wonderful! That print is fabulous.

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  32. Spectacular! I wish we had access to more ponte prints this side of the pond

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  33. This is stunning! I have also been stalking their printed ponte knits as I haven't seen them anywhere other than RTW. Thanks for sharing your beautiful dress and experience!

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  34. Love the dress Carolyn. I'm still amazed at our fast you crank them out. Maybe one day I'll get there. :)

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  35. Beautiful dress! I would love to find some reasonably priced ponte fabrics locally.

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  36. You did a fabulous job in placing the print. The resulting dress is really sharp!

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  37. Carolyn, you have to tell me the name of this print, I really want it too! Is it still available? Thank you for answering :-)

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  38. This print is killer! And what a genius move to use the blue-- they look awesome together! Yet another spectacular, special dress!

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  39. How was the shipping cost from Australia? I have searched online and can't find digital prints in yardage in the US. I would love some- but is shipping going to cost be more than the fabric?

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  40. What a beautiful print!!!! It looks wonderful on you.

    I too am going to look into fabric from Australia; already get patterns from there, so why not?

    (Also, the best/least expensive place to buy hairball/flea control meds for my cats, believe it or not.)

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  41. LOVE. LOVE. LOVE your print placement! I have been looking at this print at Hancocks for weeks now, wondering how I could make it work, and you just showed me! It looks FANTASTIC on you, and honestly I wondered if that type of print placement could be flattering on a plus size lady like me. Sure can! I'm off to the fabric store!

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  42. On my journey out to find lunch today I walked past a designer shop I hadn't discovered before, but in their window was shift dress that had done just that a bold print on the front and very plain solid black for the back. I love the blue and the print of your dress, just lovely.

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  43. Wow,what a dress. I'm lovin it.

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  44. That fabric is freaking amazing!!!! GORGEOUS, Carolyn!~

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  45. I love it Carolyn. What a wonderful print!

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