The Side to Side Border Print Dress

How about a completed garment post from me?  I know it's been a minute since one has appeared here...somewhere in there my sewing mojo just up and went on vacation! *LOL* But it showed back up for the last three days of MY vacation...so I have a piece or two to share with you.

First up is "The Side to Side Border Print Dress"

I've always admired border print dresses that have a side to side border print happening.  It's unexpected and not something most home sewists can emulate. Mostly because it's hard to get our hands on those amazing fabrics. So when I lucked onto this Milly print from Elliott Berman....

I knew I wasn't going to use it in a traditional fashion.  I also knew that I was going to use my TNT pattern to make it.  Hey like the old saying goes, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it!" *LOL*

Pattern Matching ~
However, when it comes to cutting the fabric out so that the pattern matched all the way around my body in a continuous fashion...I'm a spacial idiot. Seriously, I know why I bought so much fabric because I ended up cutting out my fronts twice to make it match the back...

This is the discarded front

I placed a seam in the front of the dress to get the border to run all the way around the dress.  Then after some rooting around in the zipper box, I found a silver tooth zipper with a nice pull. So I added that to the front of the dress.

As an aside, can I say that I used my seam ripper on this dress more than I have in years! It's definitely been awhile since I sewed for myself because I made the dumbest mistakes evah that had to be ripped out and sewn again and again.  I don't know if it was because I wasn't paying attention or what? But the seam ripper was my bestest friend during the making of this dress...*sigh*

Exposed Zipper Technique ~
Because I wanted an exposed zipper in the front of the dress, I started with this exposed zipper technique that I found on Pinterest. Although when I went to sew the insert, I ended up going my own way because my zipper is heavy. I thought if I didn't sew it directly to the fabric that the weight of it would cause the fabric to buckle unattractively.

Zipper pinned in

Zipper basted in and then stitched down - picture is before basting was removed!

Bias Binding for Armhole Edges ~
I like making bias binding especially when it really adds to the inside view of my dress.  Since I had loads of large pieces of the fashion fabric leftover, I decided to make bias binding to finish the dress' armholes using it. I cut 2" bias strips making sure to use fabric from both sections of the border print. Here's a few pics of the bias binding construction...

...and a YouTube video that I found in case you need the steps...

More Construction Information ~

• After that the dress' construction was pretty straightforward...it is my TNT dress pattern after all.
• Besides adding the zipper to the neckline of the dress front, I also moved the slit from the dress back to the center front.
• The dress is lined with white bemberg rayon. I did go back and forth over whether or not to use a cotton batiste or the rayon. The cotton batiste offers more comfort but the rayon will be easier to wear.  So I went with ease of wear.
• The armholes are finished with the self-made bias binding.
• The dress' hemline has a rayon seam tape added to it. It is hand stitched down using a single strand of thread that I ran through Thread Heaven to give it a little strength. I didn't want the hand stitches to show through at the hemline that's why I used a single strand of thread to hem. 
• The dress is lightweight - great for the summer - even with the lining added. However, it is a cotton dress and I don't wear a lot of cotton. It will be interesting to see how it lasts through one of my long work days.

Hem: The lining turned under and stitched flat

Dress with Hug Snug Rayon Binding and hand stitched

Close up of the bias binding on the armholes

Dress hanging - front view

Inside of the dress

A Few More Pics of the Dress on Me ~

This was a satisfying sew and a great garment to make to dive back into the sewing pool.  I'm glad that I've ended up with a pretty summer dress. Finally, I'm going to save the scraps and see if I can't make a dress for one of the grandbabies!

...as always more later!