When I saw this fabric, it immediately caught my attention. This is Capri Blue Nylon-Silk Neoprene I wasn't sure about it, so I swatched! If there is every a "questionable" fabric that you aren't familiar with -- swatch first! And I'm so glad I did.
I don't think the picture accurately details this fabric. It's a textured honeycomb patterned, capri blue neoprene material is layered on top of a pastel blue knit, combining to make a thick, three-dimensional material with a nice one directional stretch. And the fabric content is 79% nylon, 21% silk. It's absolutely amazing.
The fabric is from designer Thakoon Resort '13 Collection.
The fabric sewed well. However, I do feel that the steam from my iron caused the fabric to grow. I had to take the dress in a little. And it also felt a little looser as I wore it, while getting in and out of my car, and sitting for a period of time. I'm hoping that washing and drying will adjust it back.
With this type of fabric, I thought a metal exposed zipper would be best. There's a lot of mesh going on here for a zipper to get caught in. And I wanted my fabric away from the teeth. I used interfacing at the zipper insertion area.
My pattern is McCall's 6988, view A. I cut the size 14 and lengthened by 3 inches. With the thickness of the fabric, I choose to not use the facings. Nor did I add any interacing to any areas other than the zipper. For the neckline and the armholes, I just folded the fabric back and hemmed it.
The seams didn't require any type of finishing. And I was able to just leave the hemline raw.
I wore this dress on Monday to a fashion event at Belk. It was for their Fall 2014 preview. I'll tell you more about that later! When I attend events such as this, even though it's "fashion-forward", I sill consider it to be a professional setting. So this dress fit the bill and I received so many compliments on it! And I'll probably be using this pattern again!
