Thursday, November 1, 2012

R&RtRTW: Travel to Work Dress


It's been a while since I did something about my Remaking and Replacing the RTW project, mostly because I took a knit-busting detour. This dress is a polyester knit that I've had for several years, just waiting for the perfect project pairing, so technically it still counts as knit-busting!
Comparison: RTW on the left, me-made on the right.

One of my favorite teacher dresses is this black-and-white geometric patterned dress that I got at Ross my very first year of teaching. It's fitted and flattering, the flowy skirt is long enough to cover my knees, the cap sleeves are tiny enough that I can fit a cardigan over it for cold days, and I pull it out every time I feel like I need to look my best (parent-teacher conferences and back to school nights and open houses!). Now that I'm traveling for work, I've come to appreciate this dress even more; since it's polyester, it doesn't wrinkle and I can still look professional and put together even after napping on a flight, or stuffing it into my luggage. Normally I frown on artificial fibers, but in this case they're a blessing.
These pictures were taken post-travel. The dress had been slept in, traveled in, and stuffed into a suitcase. 

To make my copy of the dress, I knew I wanted a similarly hardy material, so this polyester knit was perfect. My only gripes with it are that 1) the splashes of light blue make it ever so slightly less practical for pairing with everything in my wardrobe (but it does make the dress slightly more fun!), and 2) there's a lot more white space, so you can see the print coming through on the top layers. But both of those issues are extremely minor; I still love my final dress and think it does a pretty good job of being everything I love about the original RTW dress. My pattern was just traced from the original dress, too, so I was pretty sure I would love it. Because I had limited fabric, I had to make the cap sleeves part of the bodice instead of cutting out separate pieces. Even then, squeezing the giant wrap skirt pieces out of my 2.5 yards was a challenge in spatial reasoning! I also left out the collar of the original dress, as that's actually the only part of it I don't like.

Here's a brief fake-torial for what I did:
This is slightly simplified -- I added bust darts to my pattern, but they're totally not necessary. If you already have a  TNT fitted t-shirt pattern, you can just use that for the bodice pieces. Just draw a diagonal line from the shoulder seam to the waist to make the front pieces. For the skirt pieces, you can just sketch an arc of the appropriate length and then draw the sides to get a curved trapezoid-type piece. The more curvy your arc and the more slanted your trapezoid sides, the fuller the skirt will be. For the waist seam, since my machine doesn't do a triple-stitch zig-zag, I was afraid of the fabric tunneling, so I added a piece of elastic to stabilize the seam a bit. 
Here's a closer look at the insides: my tacked together bodice with the faux-binding, and the waist seam reinforced with elastic to keep it from getting stretched out too much. 

Summary:
Fabric: 2.5 yards of polyester stretch knit with large modern floral in black/light blue on a white background (from my first big fabric haul at SAS Fabrics in Tucson!)
Notions: less than a yard of 1/4" elastic
Techniques: Tracing a RTW piece of clothing to make a pattern
Hours used: Figuring out the pattern and arranging the cutting layout on my piece of fabric took a good two hours, but actually sewing up the dress only took another two. Pretty good for an evening's worth of work!
Will you make this again? I want to try it again but with the wrap giving more coverage in the bust area. Also maybe remaking it as an actual wrap dress, and not just a faux-wrap. It's definitely a classy work-horse type dress, though, so I foresee similar-looking iterations in the future!
Total cost: I bought this fabric so long ago, I don't even know...but knowing SAS's prices, I'm guessing it couldn't have been more than about $5. The original dress was $19.99 at Ross, but even that was discounted from the department store price of $39.99.
Final thoughts: I'd say this is pretty darn successful! The dress is pretty much everything I wanted/needed it to be, and it passed the wearing-IRL test. Even though the original RTW dress isn't anywhere near ready to be retired, it's nice to have a me-made twin to add to the rotation.

Serious twirling face + the dangers of wrap dresses. Good thing I made the wrap panels so wide!


44 comments:

  1. Ooh very pretty! I like the print and the dress!

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    1. Thank you! I was unsure about the print at first, but it's grown on me.

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  2. Pretty dress! Love your directions too. :-)

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  3. Beautiful dress! I like your version better than the original.

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    1. That is so kind of you to say! I think I might, too...

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  4. Can't believe (actually I can believe, cos u are too talented) you drafted this dress. The fit is great!!!!!! Love jersey.

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    1. It's really so easy, Neeno! You can totally do it too, just find a good t-shirt pattern!

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  5. It looks fantastic! Somehow it makes you seem really tall. So good to have things in your wardrobe that you know will be worn!

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    1. That's the great thing about copying pieces that are always in your laundry basket -- you know it works for you! And part of the tallness might be the heels ;)

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  6. Cute dress and great illustrations!
    -Diana

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  7. #1. Your pattern-making skills amaze me! C'mon, 'fess up - truth is you've been doing this for years and years, right?
    #2. It doesn't matter if you wear RTW or something you've tossed together with some thread & needle, you just look adorable in everything!

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    1. 1) Nope! I just have a lot of trial and error! But really, working with knits is so forgiving.
      2) You are too sweet, JillyBe!

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  8. You are so clever, beautiful dress :)

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  9. Your dress is stunning! Don't worry about the lack of collar, personally I think it looks very elegant. The finished garment has very clean lines. Your are very clever and creative. How you get the time? We love reading about Walnut's adventures although Muppet has made it clear she does not wish to wear fancy dress for any occasion!
    KC & Muppet UK

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    1. I think I actually prefer it collarless, so that it doesn't get in the way of a cardigan! I'm glad you enjoy Walnut's adventures, too! As for time, I try to sew every day, even if it's just for a little bit!

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  10. Love both of them. I have several dresses similar to this for the same reasons - zero care needed, no wrinkling, throw on and go and still look good.

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    1. Yup, it's the throw 'em on and look nice instantly factor that's invaluable!

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  11. The RTW is very pretty, but yours even has a slightly better silhouette. Great job on explaining how you made this dress, you're very talented. And I love the peeptoe shoes, very elegant :)

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    1. That is very kind of you to say! I love peep toe shoes, but unfortunately it's against work policy to wear them...these are just for photoshoots!

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  12. I love both dresses, but the fabric of the one you made is my favorite (I'm kind of partial to those colors though). :-) Great job of creating a pattern out of something you already have!

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    1. That light blue and wild floral is growing on me...I used to think it was a bit much, but I like it much more now. And making my own pattern is more out of thriftiness than anything else!

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  13. I love this dress, Mrs. Cation:) You look so lovely in it! Awesome work:)

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    1. Thank you dear friend :) You always love the girly things!

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  14. You did a marvelous job! It's definitely a perfect teaching and traveling dress. Your fake-torial is brilliant, and I think you are definitely persuading me to copy some of my favorite pieces in my wardrobe. Stop inspiring me so much! My little brain is exploding with all the ideas!

    In all seriousness, though - it's a lovely dress, and I definitely think the splash of blue makes it a fun and fabulous addition to your wardrobe :)

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    1. You should totally copy your favorite pieces! It's so empowering to be able to reproduce things you wear all the time, and then you know you'll love it (theoretically, at least)!

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  15. Oh, it's awesome! Perfect in every way. I need more fall-appropriate dresses (although it's feeling much more like winter than fall here...)

    Reminds me a bit of the upcoming Tiramisu pattern, though of course the midriff and wrap skirt are different. Super, duper awesome. I want one. :D

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    1. Heh, what wouldn't I give for fall-appropriate weather! It's still in the high eighties here, so I'm looking longingly at my boots and sweaters. I realize, though, that this might be rubbing it in for you up in the Great White North... ;)

      And now that I think about it, yes, it is very similar to the Tira in silhouette, although I'm really missing the separate midriff piece.

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  16. I have a couple poly dresses in my closet too - you just have to have them for the wrinkle-resist factor. =)

    You did a wonderful job knocking-off the dress you already owned! And once again, you find the greatest fabrics!

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    1. Much as I would theoretically love to only wear natural fibers, sometimes that polyester just needs to be included! And hey, you're welcome to come fabric shopping with me anytime :)

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  17. Ugh, awesome again! You are a no-pattern magician! I love this type of dress too - travel imperviousness + cute and flattering = I want a whole closet-full!

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    1. You do realize, though, that no-pattern magic is really a euphemism for too lazy to cut out a commercial pattern/too stingy to pay for a commercial pattern? ;)

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  18. What a flattering dress! This looks great on you! I'm glad you were able to trace it so successfully!

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  19. Oooh...it's lovely! A perfect addition to your wardrobe. Remaking stuff I know I love is my favourite sewing exercise.

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  20. Your sketches are really great and as usual you mak ethis project seem so effortless. Plus, it fits you so well!

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  21. Lovely! I have an army of dresses like this for work travel! They really are the best, aren't they? So flattering, so easy to pull out of the suitcase!

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  22. Hi

    Thanks so much for posting your idea about replacing the rtw. Might just copy that.

    Mary in Thailand

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  23. I've been following your blog for ages and thought it was high time I started reciprocating your awesomeness with some comments. This dress is gorgeous. I love the print (but I'm a sucker for blue and for graphic prints) and the fit and silhouette look amazing on you. And I adore the way the skirt twirls! Beautiful.

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  24. Man, I started to appreciate poly lately, and u're so right about it. I hate wrinkled clothes when I pack for trips, so poly's got my cracker (har har). Love your neat drawings!

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Thank you for taking the time to tell me your thoughts! I appreciate reading them and I try to reply to most, if not all, comments, especially when they are questions. I ask that you keep your comments polite, and if you're a spammer, don't bother because your comment will just be deleted! Also, if you're commenting on a post that's more than two weeks old, it will be moderated.