Making a dress by Friday for a Neon-Themed party...

...Challenge accepted !

Dump post: Miscellanious sewing and planning

Although I haven't been reporting much, I have been sewing quite a bit lately. I was on vacation for ten days in October and visited my family in Montreal. I made a shirt and a skirt for my step-brother's girlfriend. It was my first time sewing for somebody else, and I very much enjoyed it - so much easier to check the fit and figure out proper alterations!

I added one of Adrienne's lovely label to really finish off the shirt.

The shirt pattern is the same one I used for my ugly shirt, and the skirt is from the Burda October issue of this year. I made muslins for both. The shirt is what took me the most time, although by now I'm quite familiar with the step by step and how to put it together. I don't think that I used the seam ripper more than once this time! The skirt was really easy to sew. As a matter of fact I put it all together (except for the hem) in a few hours on my last day there. I actually really like this pattern, it's simple (no waistband) but very stylish and requires very little fabric (less then a meter). A perfect pattern for one of those end-of roll pieces that hang on the sales rack at Gala Farbics....

I don't have a picture of the finished garment, but it pretty much looked the same as rhis, in a dark green wool fabric

Speaking of fabric, the one for the shirt is from a store called Effiloché, on rue St Hubert in Montreal. It's a very cute yarn and fabric store, which also offers classes for both knitting and sewing. They only carry quilting fabrics, but they have a great selection of them and this one was perfect for this shirt. They also have a selection of gorgeous Liberty of London prints including this one, which was made up into a Sorbetto top on one of their dress-forms (drool...)

The skirt fabric is from C&M Textiles, another store on rue St Hubert, which carries a lot of quality fabric at reasonable prices. The wool was 17.00 a meter. We were helped by two older italian ladies who evidentally knew what they were talking about and gave us great service. If you are in Montreal or ever visiting the area, I would really recommend these two stores for fabric shopping...

Since I've been back, I have had quite a few projects lined up, and I am trying to figure out waht to start next:
Another, modified version of my ugly shirt pattern is in the midst of being put together. It has gathers at the shoulder yoke, and a hidden button placket.

I also want to make my first array into knit-fabric land, with a simple Renfrew top in a grey jersey...

... and this will be the perfect practice for another knit project, a dress made out of rayon fabric found at Gala Fabric in Victoria, BC

I'm actually hesitating between 2 patterns:

The first one is dress 101 from June 2009, to which I photoshoped long sleeves, and the second one is from February 2008, both from Burda Magazine...I might make muslins for both and decide after...I'm really longing for winter dresses, something comfortable and easy to wear but not too casual looking so I may end up making both.
Other projects in the cue are a faux-fur vest (the one I didn't get around to making last year) - I'm thinking a removable collar would make it more versatile.

I'd also like to make Sewaholic's Alma Blouse in a winter version with a light wool-type fabric.

Oh, and I almost forgot. A friend of mine is having a MadMen-themed cocktail party for her b-day on December 15th. As soon as she mentioned it, this dress popped into my head.

1950's inspired cocktail dress, BWOF 107-11-2007

It's not quite the right decade (more 50's than 60's) but it has a retro feel, while still feeling modern, and I could easily wear it on other occasions like office christmas party and such. I've already made a muslin for the bodice and it doesn't look too bad. I just have to find the right fabric for it. I'd love to be able to sew-up a little jacket in a matching fabric. I found this one in a thrift store recently and thought it would be the perfect shape. I might try to copy it...

That's it for now, my sewing list for fall/winter...

Fabric impulse: My first online purchase

This morning as I was going through my sewing blog roll at breakfast, I read today's Selfish Seamstress post. I fell in love right away with the fabric she had just found on ebay and then did something I'd never done before: I purchased 3 yards of it online.

I really like the black backdrop and all the splashes of colour. And the fact that they are birds is even better.

This will make such a fun and easy dress for summer. I'm not sure yet what shape I will be making (I don't necessarily want to copy Marc Jacob's 2010 resort dress), it will depend one how the fabric looks in real life (how sheer, how light and drapey), but I'm totally excited, now I can't wait for it to arrive.

Maybe I'll even be able to squeeze a cute tank top like this one in addition to a dress, we'll see...

(Faux) Fur Fantasy

Even though I currently have 3 projects on the go (the two I blogged about last plus a new muslin I just completed), this project might just jump the cue in the rudest of ways.

I first spotted this faux-fur at Dressew weeks ago, and I would pet it everytime I went to the store. Eventually I came upon Simplicity 2285 which confirmed that the faux-fur and I were meant to be together.
So yesterday I finally grabbed the bolt off the shelf and took it to the cutting table. The sales assistant made sure that I knew that it was (glups) $39.99 a meter... "Yes but I only need one meter" was my excuse response.

And now it's mine, and it's so soft and warm and cozy it's just insane. I messed up the hair on purpose in the picture to show the deepness of the nap. The hair looks almost like feather...

View C was exactly what I had in mind when I first spotted the fabric

I need to get this made extra fast as I don't see how I would be able to wear it past March. I've already apologized to my unfinished jacket, skirt and vest for the extra delay while promising that in the meantime I would finally source the right ribbon/buttons for them - which I did.
Now I just need to find the courage to actually take my scissors to this meter of glorious furryness...Any advice on how to work with faux-fur?

Sneak Peek and potential projects

I almost finished a new dress.

Made from Quick Butterick 6528, with a couple alterations, it was indeed a pretty fast project, nothing too complicated about it.

I really liked the bold print of the fabric at first. I was going to make a top but I had enough to make a dress. When I showed the fabric to B, he said he tought a dress would be fine.

But halfway through the project I started to question whether this was in fact going to look like the cute and funcky dress I had envisionned...or like one of these long shapeless shirt dress the lady at the cafeteria wore when I was in 3rd grade...Anyway, I finished the dress, and I will take pictures shortly. I think this one will require careful accessorizing to achieve the proper look but I still have hope.

But this project actually has me wondering what I should do next, and if my fabric choices are the right ones. I'm often attracted to a fabric because of the color and pattern, but finding the right project, and making a garment that looks good on me isn't always that easy. Sometimes I look at my purchases and find myself hesitating and wondering if this is really "me", if I would dare wearing the finished garment. But I guess this is what sewing is also about, it's about pushing your style in directions you wouldn't normally go, right? So, I'm not sure what to do next, even though I have 5 if not more pattern/fabric pairing all ready to go.

This is a mix of recent purchase and stash fabric:

B.told me right off the bat he didn't like this fabric. The pink is what bothers him. I, on the other hand really like it, even though I admit the pink could be tricky for the completion. I think a nice summer tan would be required to avoid looking all washed off.
For this fabric I was thinking of Butterick 5209:

Next, this is a silk chiffon from Dressew. I'm feeling pretty confident about making BWOF blouse 105 from April 2010. What I'm not too confident about is the fabric being slippery and hard to work with...

With this one I totally went copycat on Tasia from the Sewaholic. I purchased it after she'd shown it on her blog, and I'm pretty much going with the same dress idea she suggested:

Next is a linen/silk blend, brown with some faint white pin-stripes. I am envisionning a wide-legged pair of pants, with a paperback waist. I have yet to find the right pattern for it, but this is my inspiration:

This top is also on my list, with a very similar fabric I've had in my stash for quite a while:

There you have it, all projects I could start tomorrow...I would start with the first dress if I wasn't afraid of the outcome, and that the print might be too overwhelming on me...Maybe I'll start with a few muslins to be on the safe side, and then we'll see...

Considering animal prints...

One my last fabric shopping at Fabricana I noticed an animal print that I nearly bought.

I don't really go for animal prints usually, but this was a polyesther faux-fur Giraffe (!!) print and I thought it looked pretty cool. It was composed of 3 shades: tan, dark brown and lighter brown, with some stains smaller and some bigger, and the faux fur had really short hair, but enough to make it nice and soft. I didn't have my camera so unfortunately I don't have a picture to post, but this is a similar one I found on line at Joanne's.

I was thinking it would look great as a simple skirt, such as this one, from BWOF september 2010:

The fabric had two flaws though: for one thing, there was a weird shiny/matte alterning wavy pattern created by the nap of the fabric being brushed in two different ways - seemed a bit much on top of the busy giraffe print. Second I thought the pattern repeat was a bit too obvious, you know, one on the left hip, and one in the middle and then one at the bottom right. I was able to wrap the fabric around my waist and look at it in a mirror which allowed me to realize these two facts, and ultimately decide not to purchase it (at least not at the price it was sold: $15.99/meter) - it makes such a difference when you're able to see yourself "in" the fabric, it can really make or break a choice.

This is also a reason why I'm hesitant to order online, because something that looks cute on the screen might look overkill in a 1,60x1,50 piece and on the other hand, some photos might not do justice to fabric that maybe are gorgeous in real life...

Anyway, I'm still kind of hanging on to that idea for a "giraffe skin" print skirt and I like the twist that it brings to the usual wild animal print (leopard and such), as if it didn't take itself too seriously.

And while browsing the web for fabric resource, I actually stubbled upon this shabby apple skirt:

I kind of sense though that it would be the kind of garment that I would have trouble pairing with my current wardrobe, aside from the basic black or cream turtle neck. But to me, sewing is about creating these unique pieces that you can't really find in RTW. I wouldn't sew myself white tees for example, because it would be too much work ( and use up too much of my precious available sewing time) for something I can easily find in stores. So I would probably still make the skirt if I came across a similar print just because, well the idea of making something "uncharacteristic" like this is already half the fun...

How about you guys, have you even found yourself to be drawn to fabrics (or patterns for that matter) that are a bit "out of character" compared to what you usually wear ? Did you still take a chance in making the garment and did you find the outcome easy to wear or did it end up stored in the back of your closet neve rto see the daylight again ?

New patterns and fabrics, Inspiration and potential projects

I've been wanting to make a buttoned down skirt for a while, and View C of McCall 5912, which I found on a recent trip to Value Village, would be a good pattern to use.

I like the idea of a high and wide waistband like this:

AlicegoHome skirt

and I'm thinking the waistband from these Burda pants (116B from August 2008) could probably work, I would omit the zipper and replace with buttons:

Ideally my skirt would also have pockets, which I could easily add if I do side seams. Or I could find a pocket yoke pattern to adapt....

I actually found a very nice piece of brown wool/silk blend fabric, but it was an end of roll and it's only 1'30m long, and the McCall pattern requires 1'70m, not to mention the extra fabric if I were to add the BWOF waistband.
So I was actually wondering if it would be a bad idea to cut the pattern on the crosswise grain rather than on the lengthwise grain. I did this for my recent vest, as I wanted the stripes to be vertical and not horizontal. I haven't noticed any problem in the way the garment falls, but I am wondering if for a skirt it would be a bad idea. I'll take any advice and suggestions on that !

The fabric on the right is the potential skirt fabric (in reality the color is a much richer brown than this). I purchased it from Designer Fabrics in Vancouver. The plaid fabric on the left also comes from there. It's also a wool/silk blend and I got 2,5 meters of it, maybe for a coat...

This is my latest purchase from Dressew. A ribbed knit fabric in grey with a slight purple undertone (sorry for the poorly lit photo and inacurate color).
.

I ended up buying it on an impulse after remembering this inspiration from B.Jones Style ( I loooooove her style by the way):

The skirt looks really comfortable and easy to wear. I thought I would use the fabric for a dress though, with the shape and length below in mind, though I would probably not do all the curved seamlines, but rather a one-piece front and back and I would do long sleeves rather than the "structured" ones:

This is still under reflection and one of these projects that you doubt the outcome would be any good but oh well...

While at Value Village, I also picked up a couple other vintage patterns:
Simplicity 6580; I really like the jacket and I might try to make it soon. It doesn't have a collar or lapels, which will make it easier as my potentially first jacket project. I found a heavy, stretchy cotton in a dark grey that would work great and I'm thinking of using a contrasting fabric (like black satin) for example, for the neckline piece, which could also be used for the sleeves lining, so that it would show when rolled up.

Butterick 3731 looks like a perfect spring/summer dress, but for now I'll just put it in my "summer projects" pile for later...

These next pieces of fabric I've actually had for a while and haven't decided what to make with them yet...

This piece is wool. It's dark blue (the photo makes it darker and greyer than it is) with stripes. Again I only have 1,30 meters of it and I'm not sure what to do with it, maybe this vest from the October 2010 issue of Burda. It would be easy to wear with jeans...

And finally this is a piece of silk I've also had for a few years. It is actually 3 meters long, so I have enough to make a couple different pieces. One of them would probably be a blouse of sort, and I could use the rest for a coat/jacket lining...

So there you have it for a little round up of my potential upcoming projects. I realize this post is kind of all over the place, but strangely I don't have a clear definite idea of my next project yet so this is me musing at the 'sewing projects that may or may not be" in the near future...

New Fabric and Project Preview

Last Thursday, while getting the supplies for my dress form, I scored a few more pieces of fabric. It was all on sale, how could I resist ?

The one on the left is from Gala Fabric. It's a wool blend, dark brown with a thin grey stripe every 2" or so. It was 1/2 off as it was the end of a roll and I paid $9.50 for 1,60 x 1,28 meter piece. It's probably too small to make a jacket but I could do a nice pencil skirt, or a vest. I think I would be more inclined to wear the vest...

The one on the right is from Dressew and again 1/2 off from it's original 4$/m price. It's a grey cotton double rib knit. It came in a 1,90 meter width so I only grabbed 1 meter. I don't know what attracted me to it. When I looked at it back home, it actually reminded me of a very comfy pyjama I loved when I was in my early teens. I don't think I' ll make a pyjama out of it, so I still have to figure out what to do with it...

This pretty floral is also from Gala Fabric ($2/meter, again).

It's a light cotton and I was thinking of using it for my recently aquired Simplicity 8389 Blouse Pattern. Funny enough, I was browsing the web last night and came across this similar project on Sew I Thought. I have enough for a full dress though but it's a bit sheer so I would have to line it...Don't know if I want to do that sort of sewing just yet...

Until I settle on patterns for the above fabric, I do have a couple project all ready to go (fabric prewashed, BWOF pattern traced from the magazine...).

The one that I am certain of is this dress from April 2008:

I have had my eye on it for a while and now is the time. But instead of making it in black and white, I will use this fabric, while still using black fabric for the waistband etc...

The second project that's ready to go, I am having some doubts about. It all started with this fabric:

Yes, those are "safari' animals and the words are names of African countries. I think it's mostly the color palette (though I admit I do love the animal print too), but it attracted my eye and I couldn't resist and bring it home ...

So then I was looking for a pattern to match it with. Obvisously it shouldn't be something with complicated construction, and I will refrain from making a dress with it. I thought this pattern could work (it's top 119 from BWOF February 2008), and paired with jeans or a denim skirt it could be a cute summer top.

But now I'm not so sure. Am I completely out of my mind with this one ? Is this fabric too quilty looking for a piece of clothing ? And even if it wasn't, am I too old to wear something like that (meaning it would work on a 5 year old but not on a 29) ? Should I just keep it for something else like a bag lining or a pouch or something like that ? I already asked some of my friends and while one said "it could work", the other one was a straight-forward "No, I don't see it"...

So I am still considering this one. I like to be adventurous and try things that are a bit different, but they say if you're not sure, it's probably a sign that you shouldn't do it...I might just flip a coin on and see....