New Year's Resolutions

One of my sewing resolutions for this year (Learn how to sew with knits and better use my serger) led me to buy this pattern today. The Joann's near work was having a 99cent Simplicity pattern sale, as I discovered when looking for skirt hooks to fix a costume for The 39 Steps. Which of course meant that I had to buy some of these on-sale patterns.

When I got home I picked out fabric from my stash for this pattern, pictured below. It was form one of those pre-cut sales bins at Denver Fabrics, and I got 2 yards of it for $4 per yard. Not really sure what it's made of, but it's pretty and a knit, which is all that I care about for fulfilling this resolution!


I know, I know. New Year's now? It's practically February. So I'm a little late to the game, so sue me.

The final episode of the trilogy

So, back in May I did a couple of posts about how I was inspired to make a dress. Well, I did, in fact, finish that dress in time for my cousin's wedding in June, and I thought I should show off the final result. Ignore the squinty eyes, and concentrate on how pleased I am with the result of my labors!

I used the pattern pictured in this post, and of course used the fabrics featured in this and this post. Overall, these were excellent fabric choices. The polyester silky is actually cooler to wear than I had been anticipating, and once the teal stripes have some lightweight interfacing, they are also the correct weight. I did cut the Vneck a little higher than the pattern calls for, and I eliminated the back zipper (I detest center back zippers. I think they are so ugly). Because the pattern is meant to be loose, I actually just pull the dress on over my head. I even took in the side seams at the waist about 2 inches, and can still just pull it over my not-very-small bust. Once one understands the geometry of how the neck band fits into the front, this is a very easy pattern to sew. I will probably make another one in the future, maybe with winter fabrics. I do still need to add pockets to the side seam of this dress. Maybe next week.....

April showers bring May...dresses??

This is the story of the makings of a dress, according to LadyT:

First, one must start with the fabric. While not a hard and fast rule, in my world approximately 90% of my projects start with me buying fabric that makes me squee, putting it in my stash, and maybe about 2-5 years later finding a pattern that sufficiently compliments that fabric. It is best if the fabric is on a very good sale so that you can buy quite a few yards of it, as one may never know what sort of pattern is the mate for the fabric. Also, I like fuller skirts and dresses and coats, all of which require more fabric. Not only do sheath styles tend to emphasize my larger hips in a non-flattering way, but it is often hard to find truly full skirts in stores, as fullness=more fabric=higher costs that lower price margins. My rule of thumb is to try not to buy less than 3 yards if I think the fabric wants to be a skirt or dress, 1/2 yard to a yard if it wants to be a purse (usually the more expensive fabrics), and if it is on sale for less than $5 a yard and I really like it, buy no less than 5 yards so that I have lots of play room.

This fabric was purchased when a Joann's near me was moving across the street (I believe this was Fall 2005). For some reason, this meant that they had to sell ALL the fabric in their store (why they couldn't just move the fabric across the street is beyond me, but hey, whatever). In order to facilitate this, they had a HUGE sale. Everything was AT LEAST 70% off. The only catch was you had to buy whatever was left on the bolt, weather 2 yards or 20. That day I believe I ended up with over 80 yards of fabric for about $350 (including some amazing Bridal stuff that I normally would never be able to afford), which is not too bad. This particular fabric had 6 and a half yards on the bolt. It is 100% polyester silky, which means it has the perfect drape for a flowy dress or skirt. I absolutely love the combination of colors and the fun sunburst/swirlys pattern in the background. However, what really caught my eye about this fabric is the clear sparkles. It is a bit hard to see in the picture, but can you find the slightly darker dots scattered about the fabric that kind of looks like rain? Those are caused by clear circles that are fused to the fabric and catch the light to give the fabric a really fun shine. THAT is the reason I bought this fabric. The umbrellas are fun, as are the colors, but it's the shiny that made this fabric a must have!

I had originally envisioned a drawstring halter dress or cowl neck dress for this fabric. However (as you shall see at a later date) another pattern was to demand to be made first. To be continued...

Polka Dots, Part 2

This fabric is one the I saw at Joann's for the first time last week. It was on sale for 40% off (I think it was originally about $9 a yard). The dots on it are variegated in color and regularity, which I really like. The size of the bigger polka dots is about the size of a dime (sorry, it's hard to take a proper scale picture when you are taking the photos in the store). It's a fun lightweight silky fabric that would probably make a nice airy dress for the summer. It two big downfalls/reasons I didn't purchase it (besides being on a tight budget): 1. the white background. White backgrounds are hard for dresses for me, and the hand/feel of material wanted to be a dress, but the coloring on it wanted to be a skirt or a lining. It would make a great lining for a jacket. 2. It's 100%polyester. While that actually isn't really a deterrent for me personally, it would be for quite a few sewers I know. Mostly I can sit and admire this fabric for it lovely colors and uneven spacing, but don't feel the need to Make Anything out of it.

Colorful Happiness

This delightful fabric is one that I first found in a Joann's when I was in Sacramento in December. I have been searching for it ever since, and I finally found it at my local Joann's the other day. I intend to go there and purchase 3-4 yards of it today. It is a 2005 Alexander Henry Fabric, according the the info on the selvage. It is quilter's 100% cotton. I plan to make a dress or skirt out of it. I mean, just look at the way the colors gradually change, and how it kinda looks like grass in a field on another planet! I think it would be great for a wrap skirt, or a simple A-line with a fun trim at the bottom. The stripes are about 1/2 inch wide and 6 inches long.