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Need suggestions for high tea dress material or a little fabric guidance.
Leu   Advanced Beginner NY USA Member since 1/21/10 Posts: 293	Login to reply to this post Like this post Date: 2/12/12 8:01 PM Hello, all. I'm looking for material for Butterick 5602, view C here. It says stretch wovens or linen on the pattern envelope. What I used for the mock-up was a stretch twill that sewed up beautifully, but was chocolate w/pinstripes. The fabric is a bit too business for my big event--I'm hosting a 'high tea baby shower' in the beginning of May. I really want something that is spring-ish, but elegant, chic. I've searched through quite a few sites and hit several shops on foot (Mood. I was overwhelmed), but I'm having a hard time finding something with slight stretch and I'm worried anything 100% cotton will be a wrinkled mess by the time I say good-bye to the kiddos and ride on the subway and cross town on a bus. I just have a lot to learn about material, I guess, and all the things I've looked at are starting to swirl in my head. Are all "poplin" fabics a little stretchy? Mood recommended their "shirtings" isle. Should I used that term to search Fabric.com and Gorgeous Things? Linen will definitely wrinkle and, even if I get the fit just right, it will grow a bit as the day goes on as linen does, right? If the description on a fabric says " lightweight" should I not be overly concerned (It will be cold here in NYC) because the dress is lined? I expected this part of the process to be the most fun--compared to finding a pattern, re-sizing the whole thing, making the muslin. But, I'm a bit defeated. Anyone care to answer all my fabric questions? Anyone see something out there that's just to-die-for? tired. a little frustrated. starting to consider RTW~ leu
jadamo00 Advanced NY USA Member since 3/13/06 Posts: 1232	Login to reply to this post Like this post Date: 2/12/12 8:14 PM You mean low tea, right? The elegant one?
ChickenFreak Advanced Beginner OR USA Member since 12/10/11 Posts: 125	Login to reply to this post Like this post Date: 2/12/12 9:02 PM I don't have enough recent experience to make a suggestion based on the pattern, and I'm not sure what weight you want. But if you're looking for shirtings, I've been spending a lot of time in the shirtings section on the Farmhouse Fabrics site, and the pieces I ordered so far were impressive. They also have a section for pique. (I don't know if you want pique, I just see it in the recommendations for the pattern.) And some floral prints, though I'd like more description of the fabric itself - I don't know for sure if all of their fabrics are suitable for garments or if some of them might instead be quilting cotton. Anyway, it's a fun site to drool through. :) ------ ChickenFreak Blogness: http://chickenfreaksobsessions.blogspot.com/
lareine   Intermediate NEW ZEALAND Member since 11/10/06 Posts: 1036	Login to reply to this post Like this post Date: 2/12/12 9:08 PM I would use a cotton and spandex mix, which has a bit of stretch and a good bit of wrinkle resistance, and is generally found in all sorts of pretty prints in the dress fabric aisles
clothingengineer   Intermediate CT USA Member since 5/7/10 Posts: 354	Login to reply to this post Like this post Date: 2/13/12 1:59 PM You can use anything that is light to medium-light in weight and has a stiffer drape so the skirt will stand out properly. So no silk charmeuse or rayon challis, but a tweed-like silk suiting or cotton poplin would work great. Fabric Mart is good about noting drape in their descriptions. ------ -- Anne http://clothingengineer.com
BeckyNoSleep Intermediate USA Member since 4/19/10 Posts: 129	Login to reply to this post Like this post Date: 2/13/12 4:16 PM Chin up! You are asking the right questions (which seems like maybe the hardest part). To answer your question - poplin will stretch some, but possibly not in the way intended by the pattern design. It could work, depending on fabric and how much ease you are allowing for. I agree with using a cotton/spandex mix, as it will give you stretch that recovers and help fight against wrinkles. You may want to search also under "cotton suiting" or "cotton sateen" + stretch. I have personally found that words like "shirting", "poplin", etc mean very different things depending on the manufacturer in terms of weight and drape. Your best bet will be to buy it in person if you can, and maybe bring a garment that you already own in the type of fabric you're looking for so you can 'show' them what you mean. Good luck and let us know how it goes!
kkkkaty   Intermediate UT USA Member since 12/7/05 Posts: 2226	Login to reply to this post In reply to Leu Like this post Date: 2/13/12 4:34 PM perhaps some of the Liberty of London cotton lawns? ------ Viking Lily 545 Viking Ruby Bernina Activa 210 Brother 1034d
stirwatersblue Intermediate KS USA Member since 12/13/08 Posts: 2468	Login to reply to this post Like this post Date: 2/13/12 8:36 PM I think you're fearing linen needlessly. If you could find one of the allover embroidered linens/blends that have been popular the last couple of years, it would help with the stability/wrinkling. Also, since the dress is lined, wrinkling/stretching won't be as much of an issue. (I think lawn is too lightweight for this particular pattern.) Have fun! ------ ~Gem in the prairie
Raye Ann   Intermediate CA USA Member since 3/25/09 Posts: 770	Login to reply to this post In reply to Leu Like this post Date: 2/14/12 6:46 PM You sound so discouraged...you shouldn't be! You still have a good amount of time to make the dress, and you have already done a muslin, so you are even closer! Lining the dress will help prevent some of the wrinkling and stretching... I immediately thought of cotton pique (w/some lycra) or cotton sateen w/ lycra... also a silk tweed or silk twill. How about an embroidered cotton eyelet? ------ Raye Ann
NancyZL   Intermediate NJ USA Member since 6/18/08 Posts: 261	Login to reply to this post In reply to Leu Like this post Date: 2/17/12 8:32 PM Hi, great pattern choice! I made it in the short sleeve version in a Pucci polyester print which I picked up at Joann's on sale & it turned out great ! Bordered it with a black cotton. It's a quick & easy pattern . Just use an invisible zipper at the back. I agree that cotton lawn is much too thin for it. The cotton with Lycra suggestion is great but I really don't believe you need a stretch fabric as long as it is not too tight. I ended up wearing it for Easter & then a summer wedding in Europe & was very comfortable. Find a fabric you like & you'll be fine.

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