in search of…

In the next couple of months its my eldest daughter’s birthday. I noted the other day that she has “blue velvet dress” written on her list of suggestions, so I asked her about it. It turns out that she actually wanted crushed panne velvet. But that sent us on a quest for a dress pattern that she liked that we could make in panne velvet (which is a knit fabric). We checked Ottobre magazine’s website – very few dresses, but lovely clothing. We checked Vogue (4 – yes, just 4 – children’s clothing patterns!), Butterick, Burda, Simplicity, New Look… VERY little of interest to a young girl who is wanting something contemporary looking, and that can be made in knit fabric.

In the end I think I have solved the pattern crisis by figuring out how I can adapt something else. Happy about that. I told my daughter of the plan, and warned her that it might not work out very well. Her response was “but it might.” There’s the spirit!

In our quest, I saw this stunning dress pattern: Butterick B5559. My husband saw it and immediately said that I HAD to buy the pattern (for me, not my daughter!). Done – aren’t I obedient? Well, who needs to be told to buy a gorgeous pattern like that twice?! Its not available in Australia, so I’ve ordered it from the US. And with the Australian dollar doing so well against the US dollar, this is a great time to buy from the US.

I have now begun the search for a suitable fabric. The pattern information suggests: “Ponte Knits and Jersey. Unsuitable for obvious diagonals. Allow extra fabric to match plaids or stripes.”

Jersey I know, but Ponte? Never heard of it before! So off I went in my search. It seems that it is a medium-heavy weight double knit fabric with little stretch, and there are ponte fabrics and ponte fabrics. Some are 100% polyester, and reportedly this pills quite quickly – not a good look. The better quality ones are rayon/nylon/spandex and these seem to be the type that top designers use regularly (such as Maggy London, who designed the dress in question, who I’d never heard of before either!)

I have looked high and low, and can find nowhere in Australia that I can purchase this fabric through normal retail channels. Of course, I can find it used in clothing all over the place, but as is usual in the quest for different fabrics, not for sale to sew with. Perhaps it is known by another name in Australia, or perhaps it is just described by its properties (rayon/nylon/spandex double knit) rather than by a name.

I also searched high and low outside of Australia, but couldn’t find the fabric I wanted on a site where they would ship to Australia.

HELP!! Does anyone know of a good source of knit fabric in Australia (not Knitwit, they don’t seem to have it), or where I can get the right Ponte elsewhere? I am off to my local fabric store today to discuss my quest with them today and see if they have anything suitable. I expect it to be fruitless, but I do need to try!