News » #cottonprints

  • What's Up in Cherryville?

    Published Aug 12 2021 in #10yearanniversary, #cherryvelvet, #cottonprints, #curvydresses, #plussizedresses, #plussizeretro

    It's a powerful time for change and we're sure feeling it! One thing we know for sure in life; things always change...we're looking to exciting times ahead!

    New Staff

    We have staff updates to share! We’re thrilled to welcome two new members to the team!  April (first photo) is already on board as our new graphics designer and Shanah (aka the model Kerosene Deluxe) as our new social media manager is starting in September. Sending out a warm welcome to them both!

    April Wilson wearing a Cherry velvet Dress Kerosene Deluxe wearing a Cherry velvet DressYou may remember that Julia, our graphics designer, moved to Germany. Understandably, she wants to make friends where she’s living, and to do that she needs to be working outside of her home. We'll be very sad to see her go, but of course we wish her well. Hopefully Julia gets the chance to move back to Canada one day! 

    Julia Leal in a Cherry Velvet dress

    New Anniversary Dress Alert!

    There is a one more new Anniversary Dress coming! This is a limited edition Angelina with her own paper doll and SWAG. That's makes 4 all together if you're collecting! Here’s a peek at the Tropical Temptations fabric. It is so bright and beautiful!! Watch for the release date soon!

    Cherry velvet Dress fabric print
    Shopping Update

    We know how much you loved our studio shops and are getting lots of requests to pick up orders. Unfortunately, both are still a no-go at this time. We miss seeing you and are available to chat by email about the new styles, fitting questions or to help match up your accessories for the perfect outfit. Sign up for our newsletter here and be first to know all things Cherry Velvet. 

    That's it for now! 

    XOX Cherry Velvet!

  • One Way Prints Explained

    Published Jan 29 2021 in #cherryvelvet, #cottondresses, #cottonprints, #madeincanada, #madeincanadamatters

    One of the many things that makes a Cherry Velvet dress special is the assortment of wonderful quirky prints that we use. You may not have thought about this before, but printed fabrics come in either a “one way” direction or “two way” direction. We thought you might like to know why we choose prints for certain dresses the way we do.

    Below are two charts where we show you a dress design and its marker, which is the guideline factories use to cut the dress pattern pieces out of the fabric.

    Cherry Velvet dress pattern lay out
    A one way print means that all the pattern pieces that make up the dress need to be cut in one direction. For example, two of the prints you voted to see again, Castle Plans and Atomic Kitties, are both one way. You would not want upside down cats or castles on the front of your dress, right? So all the pattern pieces that show on the outside of the dress have to be cut in the same direction.

    Cherry Velvet dress pattern lay outAlternatively, a two way print can be cut in either direction. For example, one of the skirt panels can be cut one way and the other skirt panel can be cut the opposite way. By the time the dress is sewn up, you have no idea which way the panels went, and it doesn't matter - it's beautiful all the same!

    Certain dresses are designed specifically for one way prints. The fabric that we use is very narrow, high quality 100% cotton. It’s only 42 inches wide, so you can imagine that cutting a full skirt out of a one-way print takes a LOT of fabric! That is also why it's rare to see a full skirted dress in a one way print. 

    Our line-up includes unique dresses that were designed specifically for these special one way prints. They use the fabric in such a way that there is not a lot of fabric waste (more fabric waste = more expensive dresses). The Brigitte, Angelina, Danielle, Marie and the Norma are the one-way dresses we've designed so far. The pieces are fit together on the marker as tightly as possible to save fabric. 

    In comparison, some of the two-way dresses we make are the Doris, Olivia, Paige, and Shelly to name a few. Usually they have fuller skirts, since the two way print allows for better utilization of the fabric.

    We hope you enjoyed learning a bit more about how we make our dresses. Next time you're wearing one of our creations, you'll have a fun bit of trivia to tell about how they're crafted!

    Thank you for reading, and see if you can spot on our upcoming releases if they are one way or two way print dresses! 

    XOX Cherry Velvet