Mailbox Goodness from Marji and Musings on Border Prints

Marji is about to embark on her high seas adventure! To prepare, she is cleaning out the sewing room and found some goodies she wanted to share. When I saw that one of them was a knit print, I could not help but sign up. And, amazingly, I won! Thank you Marji!



Gorgeous, right? It's from Gorgeous Things, 60" wide, 3 1/2 yards so I can do a lot with this. It's a double border print with the border on both selvages. The stretch is crosswise, so there is not a whole lot of stretch along the length, parallel with the border, so the final result can't be *too* form fitting.

So of course, this got me thinking about border prints! In addition to this fabric from Marji, I also have a wool challis border print from The Carol Collection. Because the hem has to be straight, there are basically three choices for border print dresses: a straight tunic, a gathered/dirndl skirt, or a pleated skirt.


I like the Hale Bob twist on the tunic on the left, because it has a little more fullness in front and just a little more shape overall. I also like the tunic on the right with the contrast upper bodice yoke. I particularly like the way the upper yoke obviates the need to do a complicated facing for the front opening! But I think that would only work in a woven with a fair amount of body.
















The wide kimono sleeves on the left are awesome, and using the border for the sleeves rather than the hem would allow me to cut with the crosswise stretch going around the body. However, I think this pattern would be better suited for the wool challis than the knit, because the colors of the knit make me want it for Spring/Summer. The dress on the right also uses the border print vertically, though you do end up with a seam at center front and center back.











I like the way the dress at left uses the border print at the hem and the sleeves, particularly since the border is so bright compared with the rest of the print. The one on the right uses the border print every which way plus a contrast bodice, which definitely makes the most of the print. I liked using the border as the midriff in my Simplicity 3503 knit maxi dress.


















I think this style is the winner, however, for the knit print, although with a higher neckline! Burda has had several patterns in this style, 03-2009-113, 04-2009-122, 07-2009-119, and 10-2009-117 would all give me a place to start.


All my border print inspiration images are here.

What are your ideas for border prints?

The Last Knit Print Standing

I was in a frenzy of sewing over the weekend. A frenzy, I tell you!



All except the far left houndstooth project (from hell) were cut and sewn entirely over the weekend. By Sunday night I felt like I needed to stop and perhaps, you know, live some life...but I couldn't stop. Then I had the thing where I couldn't go to sleep because I was thinking about sewing too hard. Oy.

Anyway, the upshot of the frenzy is that I am way low on knit prints. I only have two Fall/Winter prints left in stash, the black/white/gray from Philly and the pink scales I recently purchased at G Street (the green/black/white from Philly could go either way, season-wise). I suppose I should turn my sights to wovens, but I really needed a Quick Knits Pick Me Up this weekend after finishing the not-entirely-successful houndstooth dress from hell.



I decided to browse through Nordstrom and Bloomingdale's looking for ideas for those last two knit prints. I think the winner for the pink scales is this Kathleen Dress from Black Halo. I love the "now" silhouette. The skirt is very clever, and having made the Drape Drape dress I thinking I have an idea how to do it, although that bubble hem is going to be a real fabric hog because the skirt will have to be doubled to get that look and I'm not sure I have enough fabric to do that. I have a vintage Stretch and Sew raglan sleeve peasant blouse pattern from my mom that I have, oddly, only made out of wovens, but I assume it will work for stretch fabrics. It would be pretty easy to adapt, I think.









I love all the drapey sculptural bits going on with this Maggy London dress. I would never take the time to figure it out, but the Maggy London Butterick pattern collection is pretty comprehensive with lots of great style in it, so I'm hoping she'll release this one as a pattern! It would be fab for the black/white/gray print.










This is an interesting use of the fauxlero. I recently decided to purge my Vogue 2980 Sandra Betzina fauxlero top from my closet because I just hated the light blue color and felt it was a little too tight across the belly. I also thought the fauxlero looked kind of dated and aging. But on this dress it is suddenly new and exciting again. Hmm. The draft on V2980 is quite good so it's a shame to write off the pattern entirely. It would take a lot of frankenpatterning to get to the ABS dress from the Betzina pattern, but I have all the elements in other patterns, and it would only be the upper bodice that would take some fussing--the midriff and skirt are just rectangles. I can handle rectangles. This is a definite possibility for the black/white/gray.






I'm not wild about the boring, shapeless body of this dress, but how clever to create a carapace-shape by leaving the lower seam of a raglan sleeve unsewn! I'm sure there's a little more to the sleeve shape to get it to drape like that, but I'm not exactly sure what. It can't just be extra width, I don't think. You might be able to imitate that drape just by running a gentle bit of gathering along the upper sleeve seam. This isn't very practical for winter, but I thought it was an interesting bit of design. Then again, poly knit isn't warm at all, so outerwear has to do all the work anyway.





I go hot and cold on velvet, especially stretch velvet. When I was in high school stretch crushed velvet was the HEIGHT of elegance. However, in the intervening decade(s), it has lost its luster and it can look kind of cheap to me. This is lovely, though. The fiber content includes here is rayon/nylon/silk so I don't think it's a stretch velvet and you can see that it has a nice weight and drape. I love the kimono shape of the sleeve and the, plain stark diagonal line of the wrap. This would make a fabulous party dress.





And finally, this is neither for knits nor for winter, but how much do we LOVE this lace dress? I really enjoy the lace dress I made earlier this year (I went back in and fixed that terrible zipper--I should show that sometime), and I probably don't need another one and I can *guarantee* you that I would not end up with perfectly straight rows of lace if I attempted this method, but man, I love the dress. The black lace on white, the rows, the cuteness. Love it.

You can see my Fall/Winter 2009 designer inspiration photos here.

Really Up Close and Personal Snoop Shopping and Stashoholism Confessional

I know I am an addict and powerless over my addiction, and yet this knowledge does not empower me to stop! I have been feeling a little overwhelmed by my stash lately, so what do I do but buy more!?!?! It's totally that thing where you have don't have time to sew, so to stay connected to the hobby that you love you buy stuff you *would* use if you had time to use it.

I already HATE all my Fall/Winter clothes and I haven't even worn some of them yet this year so I need to do less shopping and more sewing. This coming weekend should be low key (last weekend was nuts and I felt like I wasn't home for longer than 2 hours the entire time) so hopefully I will sew! I have a woven dress in process and at least 3 knit dresses planned. I managed two knit dresses and a woven when I had my sewing orgy a couple weeks ago. If I can come up with two weeks of new work clothes maybe I will be less grossed out in the mornings.

Anyway, two of the above fabrics were planned purchases. I need a new pair of PJs and the flannel on the right from Joann seemed cute for the pants (and the price was right!), and the orange jersey from G Street's $2.97/yd table matched to make a t-shirt top. I was hoping to find the lime green from the flannel print for the top, but you take what you can get. The knit print...well, you know me and knit prints.

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One of the Fall/Winter things that I don't hate yet is my Tippi Hedren dress. Sadly, though, it is not long for this world. The fabric was from the $2.97/yd table and I didn't notice until I'd made the dress that it was fairly heavily damaged; there are rows of tiny holes all over it and within the next few wears one or more of those spots is going to outright tear. Boo.

I can't decide what to remake it in, though. It really needs a heavier knit to support that collar (though a heavy knit would be very heavy indeed at the knot/wrap skirt portion of the front) and all my knits are lightweight ITYs. I'm thinking *maybe* of the abstract green print I got in Philly, but I think it's only because it's green! The pattern would probably benefit more from a less busy print. I would think about this red print, but (1) I also learned the first time around that a linear print is not the best for this style, and the print, though huge, has a regular repeat, and (2) I have a thing about not wearing colors out of season and the white in this makes it a Spring/Summer print for me. Ditto this hot pink print and this aqua and white polka dots, both of which would be really cute in this dress. Maybe I'll make it with short sleeves when I can think about warm weather clothes again. The pink scales above are on the diagonal, but I think still too regular for this pattern. Other than the green abstract print, the only thing I have in stash that might work for this pattern and of which I have enough, is the black/white/gray print from Philly...but it's more busy than I'd like so I might as well go with the green. *sigh* I really don't need to get worked up about it--I do have three knit dresses in mind before I reach the end of my Winter Knits Inspiration and I've gotta find a pattern for those hot pink scales. I love hot pink.

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There's a website called "Daily Lit" that sends you small chunks (around 8 paragraphs) of a short book each day. I'm getting one called "Shoes, Bags, and Tiaras," which is sort of a catalog of some of the shoes, bags, and tiaras in the Victoria and Albert Museum's collection. Each installment is headed with a lovely photo and brief information follows. I am loving it. It's free to subscribe! Just click on the linked title above; on the right hand side of the screen there is a blue box that says "Subscribe."

I have not noticed an uptick of spam and have received only one non-book email from DailyLit--through which I discovered that Diane von Furstenburg is sponsoring Madame de Staël as another free read, so I subscribed to that too.

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My friends know I enjoy fashion so they often clue me in on new websites. I don't always love that they've given up my email address, but I know they do it with the best intentions. There are a ton of "sample sale"-esque type websites where there is a "crazy" deal (only $700!!! Usually $1000!!! You will save so much money if you put hundreds of non-essential dollars on your credit card bill!!!!) on something each day, but I haven't clicked on any of the invitations because I'm not looking to buy anything. However, a friend sent me an invite the other day to "Rent the Runway," the clothing version of Bag, Borrow, or Steal. I don't know exactly how Bag, Borrow, or Steal works and I don't want to join to find out, but it looks like you pay a monthly membership fee and then a rental fee for the bag ($15-100/week) and keep the bag indefinitely.

On Rent The Runway, there is no monthly fee (as of now), and you can rent designer duds for $50-100 for 4 days, plus $5 insurance. Postage both directions and dry cleaning are included. For dresses that cost a couple hundred dollars, I'm not sure it's worth it but there are several $1000+ gowns ($200 rental fee on those, natch) on the site. It's an interesting concept, especially if you somehow score an invite to a once in a lifetime event and want some major wow. Of course, designer clothes come in a limited size range so it won't work for everyone. You do get two sizes sent to you, which I think is a nifty feature. I'm guessing that will quickly cost extra.

This isn't something I'll ever do, but it raises intriguing snoop shopping possibilities. If there is a designer piece that you just *have* to do an in-depth study of, you could rent it for a few days and figure out how it's put together. Expensive, but if it's not something you can visit in a local store it could be the only way to get hold of it. The website also has good photos, including detail shots. As of now the inventory is quite small, but once they get more capital from rentals (I'm assuming it's a fairly new website) I'm sure they'll expand the offerings.

Unfortunately, you have to join to website to see anything, and right now it's invitation only (so silly). If you're interested, let me know and I'll send you an invite.

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Here are some pieces from my recent inspiration file (none from Rent the Runway). This Ann Taylor dress is adorable. I love the shape of it. It's simple, but the pleats make for a very flattering fit--at least while the tulip silhouette is in style. It took me a while to warm up to tulip skirts, but since Burda started pushing them about 2 years ago I've had a lot longer than the rest of the American populace to get used to them and now I'm totally on board. I do think, however, that this is a trend we'll consider ugly when they go out of style--we'll say, "Why did we add volume around our bellies and hips? Ugh." For now, I am all about room for the belly!

Anyway, the interesting thing about this dress is that it's so simple. The sleeves are cut on, so it has only four pieces (bodice front and back and skirt front and back). Easy. It's in a ponte knit; my only exposure to this fabric is the awful, awful, scratchy polyester nightmare available at Joann. I'm thinking this might be a little nicer? More photos of this one here.









I am loving the huge origami sleeves Marc Jacobs put out on the runway. They are interesting and sculptural, and even though they're exaggerated I think they're fairly wearable. Both of these women are celebrities, of course, but I can see a regular person wearing them if the rest of the outfit is fairly fitted. I'm thinking you could get a toned down effect by lengthening the short sleeve of Simplicity 2733, which AllisonC just made



And finally, I have been watching some 30 Rock episodes online and how much do we love Liz Lemon's shirtdress here? Her character generally dresses very frumpy, so I'm guessing Tina Fey decided she just couldn't take it anymore and gave herself one cute outfit in the episode. I love everything about it--the subdued plaid, the princess seams, the pleats at the waist, the puffed sleeve, the self belt, the rounded collar. So. Cute. It's not really for Fall, but I had to share. This was the best screencap I could get, unfortunately. Why do they never show people full length and unobscured so that we can pause and snap their outfits???? Television executives do not understand my needs. Of course, I can hardly blame them for ignoring me as I don't own a functioning television, so I'm not exactly the target audience.

You can see my Fall/Winter 2009 Style File here.

Look Cute Every Day: A Wardrobe Philosophy

There is an interesting thread on Pattern Review about how to edit your closet, and it got me thinking as to what my criteria are. Not that I am not, *ahem*, overdue for a major closet weeding. I pull random things on a regular basis and put them in the giveaway pile, but I haven't done a systematic cull in a while.

A couple of years ago I made the decision to Look Cute Every Day. I don't mean this in a "be decorative" or "attract men" or "be presentable because if you don't make yourself pretty you are a blight upon humankind" kind of way (please see this fabulous post by Erin at Dress a Day for a more coherent explanation of what I mean)--it has entirely to do with how *I* feel, and I am happier when I Look Cute.

I'm not 100% there, but I am much closer than when I started (now I feel cute probably 90-95% of the time, versus about 70% before). My solution--and this isn't for everyone--was to ditch "practical" clothes that were totally functional but I felt blah in--plain t-shirt tops, plain work pants, plain anything. I would rather wear a dress than pants any day...and now I do. I'm not talking about a straw man of frumpiness here--I mean even in well-fitting trousers and a good quality solid colored top I just don't feel Cute, so I don't wear them. Your mileage will vary.

Cleaning out my closet involves answering a single question: "Do I Look Cute (i.e., feel cute) in this?" Not, "Is this useful? Is this a staple I 'should' have? Is this in good shape? Does this fit well?" All of those questions get you part of the way there...but they don't guarantee you love the piece in question and that you Look Cute when you put on. It's silly to keep clothes out of an obligation--they don't have feelings and there is no Tally Sheet in the Sky that puts a black mark next to your name for getting rid of serviceable clothes you don't like--but I used to do it all the time. I'd keep a perfectly good item of clothing that I didn't like wearing just because it was perfectly good. Perfectly good is not good enough!

I am not a mom, and I know that changes things (a lot), but when I hang out with my many nephews and niece I still look cute--adorable polyester knit dresses wash up just as well as boring polyester pants. When I met my twin nephews for the first time Fox spit up directly into my cleavage and then overflowed his diaper into my lap. I also crawled through a foul, disgusting playland with the older kids. The next day I played baseball with my other nephews in another cute dress. As long as you're not afraid to get cute clothes dirty, you can wear them every day. Cute Clothes are generally not more expensive (or more difficult to make) than "serviceable" clothes. It seems more of a tragedy if they get ruined, but it's actually not. Don't fall into the trap of Too Good To Use (which is a whole other rant).

Another aspect was finding a way to describe my style, which is "Retro Fantasy." When I'm contemplating what to sew, I can ask myself "is it retro? is it fantasy?" If neither question can be answered with a yes, I probably won't love it so I look for a project I will love.

There are issues.

Because cute clothes are more often distinctive I have a *lot* of them so I don't feel like I'm wearing the same things over and over. Acquisitiveness is not a virtue, even when you acquire all those clothes by sewing. Minimalist and low impact I ain't, and this disturbs me sometimes with all the environmental and consumerist implications.

There is also a concern about shallowness, and focusing too much on looks. This is a personal balance issue. You have to get dressed every morning, and you might as well Look Cute. Once I get dressed I don't think about it much for the rest of the day, although I might occasionally look down at what I'm wearing for a little burst of "I look cute!" confidence. The rest of the day my focus is on my career, my friends, working out, reading good books, etc.

You also can't Look Cute if you hate yourself (because Cute isn't objective--it's a subjective assessment of yourself by yourself). I wish I had some advice to offer here but I don't. The best I can say is that when I am depressed (the chemical kind, not the situational kind) I hate myself and nothing will make me feel Cute. I've tried medication but unfortunately didn't find one that worked, but exercise has been proven to be as effective as a mild anti-depressant so I exercise.

And adequate omega-3 fatty acid intake has also recently been shown to treat depression. I am allergic to walnuts and don't eat fish because I'm a vegetarian, and these are the major sources, so until recently I have NEVER had adequate omega-3 intake over the course of my entire lifetime. After reading Dr. Walter Willet's Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy I started taking flaxseed oil capsules (fish oil would probably be better, but there's the vegetarian thing for me) and sprinkling ground flaxseed on my morning oatmeal (also a good source of fiber!) a few years ago and it has made a huge difference in my mood. There have been confounding factors in that my life in general has improved, but I do think that giving my brain an essential nutrient of which it had long been deprived has made a difference (and a neighbor has had the same experience). I am not a pills and potions kind of person, but clinical research and my personal experience say that this is a pill that is worth it. Even better if you can eat the foods from which you can get it straight from the source.

When I address my depression and don't hate myself it's a lot easier to feel Cute.

And of course we all have our body issues (everyone is well aware of my obsession with my belly). But I have seen evidence that any size, shape, and age can Be Cute.

But there is a bit of a chicken-and-egg thing here. You don't have to wait until you love every aspect of yourself to Look Cute Every Day. You can look cute without *feeling* cute...but eventually the feeling cute part will tag along.

Look Cute Every Day might not work for everyone, but for me it is a useful wardrobe philosophy, and contributes a great deal to my happiness.

Snoop Shopping for Fall/Winter Tops

Every single Fall/Winter I find myself (1) not having any long sleeve tops and (2) hating the ones that I technically don't even have because I have no long sleeve tops. Two years ago I embarked on "Two Weeks of Winter Work Tops" and I STILL have no long sleeve tops. Ugh!!!! While I wear dresses almost exclusively in summer, for some reason I turn more to separates in winter.

So, I decided it was time to look for some inspiration at Bloomingdale's and Nordstrom. It turns out that nobody has any good ideas for winter work tops, so at least I'm in good company. There were a lot of basic t-shirts and basic blouses, but we all know that I don't do basic.

I found a handful of inspiration pieces (and if you haven't seen SewBeDo's FABULOUS bow t-shirt variation of the BurdaStyle Lydia, check it out and encourage her to do that tutorial!).

The twist top is still popular, as shown by the 3.1 Phillip Lim Twist Front Cashmere Pullover - Nordstrom $495 and Nic + Zoe Twist Front Top - Nordstrom $63.90 on sale variations.


The Nic + Zoe I could easily pull off, as it just appears to be a twist overlay and at this point the cat is out of the bag on how to do twists. I can fantasize about somehow modifying Butterick 5079 (one of my unreviewed projects) for the 3.1 Phillip Lim, but I know there's no way I'd figure that puzzle out.


I love this Kate Spade blouse ($275, Bloomingdale's) from the front *and* the back.


The website doesn't mention a closure, so it appears that it just pulls over the head. This makes me wonder if it is clipped in the photos, because that cut looks too slim to comfortably wriggle over the shoulders, but of course if I made it I could always put an invisible zip in the side. Love the ruffles, the non-exaggerated sleeve, and the tame looking collar in front that ties in a bow in back. This is the kind of mood I am in for blouses this Fall--soft and feminine, not a traditional shirt-tailored kind of piece.


The peasant blouse still lives--here are some from Michael Kors ($64.90, Nordstrom) and a t-shirt version by Cameo Appearance ($48, Nordstrom)




I like the sleeve shape on the Kors version--that rounded opening appeals to me, and is a little different than the normal balloon with more fullness on the lower half of the sleeve than the upper--does anyone know what this style of sleeve is called? That style sleeve first came to my attention in relation to a DVF copycat controversy. I like the open sleeve on the tee, it's more laid back. The jury is still out on whether I can wear this style that balloons over an elasticated hip, though. I like my Simplicity 4020 top, so maybe.





LOVE this Tadashi Shoji blouse (Nordstrom, $238). The faux wrap and the peplum with the coordinating pleats is so cute, and the collar is excellent, so much more fun than a traditional shirt collar but not over the top.


I could live without the beading. I could also live without the zip all the way down the back (???--I don't get it), but I'd move it to under the arm.

I have Vogue 7998, a wrap top pattern that might be adaptable. (That I have all these ideas that could be done does not, by any stretch, mean that any of them will get done, of course.)





It also turned out I am ahead of the trend with some stuff I made for *last* Fall/Winter: the Knip Mode twist top I was so obsessed with and a BWOF dress.



The BWOF 10-2008-115 dress isn't identical because the Bloomingdale's dress has a surplice/faux wrap neckline and no gathering in the skirt. I like the BWOF version better, actually. This dress isn't really for work, though, and I already have a million ideas for dresses anyway.
The Knip Mode 04-2008-13 twist top, as far as I can tell, is an exact match for the TWO different variations at Nordstrom. I need to make one or two more of those!


I found a few more ideas for ruffles and bows and more ruffles (though I would make that last one a blouse, not a cardi) but honestly it was slim pickings. You can check out the whole set here. Please pass on all your good ideas and inspiration!

A Week of Stunt Dressing

So I don't know whether it's cheesy or hilarious (or a little bit of both) but I enjoy dressing for holidays. Not in the obvious blinged out sweater kind of way, but with a little more subtlety. But only a little. Since I did a red, white, and blue wardrobe last year for Paris, I thought it would be fun to do a whole week of stunt dressing



Oddly, nobody really noticed. One co-worker noticed my outfit on Wednesday (the red swiss dot blouse and navy eyelet skirt) and asked if I was dressed for the holiday but that's all. Huh.

You might notice a few new pieces in there. Obviously, I am way behind on reviews as usual, but most of them were made in a frenzy last week to keep up with my color theme.

One of the new pieces was a ribbon belt, shamelessly copied from Cidell's red version. I wanted a navy belt and had wanted to try the belt so I made it up in a flash and wore it that afternoon.

Supplies:
1 18 foot roll of 7/8" wide grosgrain ribbon (I used cheapie Offray)
2 18 foot rolls of 3/8" wide ribbon
Belt buckle to cover

Cut each roll of the narrow ribbon into three 2 yard sections. Pin three sections together on the ironing board and braid. I felt like I was part of an old-fashioned rope walk. The key is not to let the ends of the ribbon braid themselves in mirror image.

Don't twist the layers of the ribbon as you braid. It won't look great and you will be doubtful, but when you finish your braid, sew or pin the ends to keep it from coming undone and iron. The ironing really does wonders in getting the braid to look nice.

Then prepare the belt portion. I used three layers of the 7/8" ribbon, sewing the two side ribbons underneath the top ribbon. Cidell used a more layered look on hers. It's important to use more than one layer just so you get the proper body and stiffness.

Next, sew the braid into each long edge of the belt.

Finally, cover your belt buckle. Mine does not look particularly good (sorry, I could not get a decent picture and I am working on blogging now rather than waiting until that magical day when I have perfect pictures), but it doesn't show from two feet away so eh. I used the 7/8" ribbon and just sewed it into place.

Thread your belt over the center bar of the buckle. I hand-sewed in place because I couldn't get close enough to the buckle with my sewing machine. Turn the raw edge of the free end under, stitch, and turn under again.

Voila! A super easy yet surprisingly attractive and RTW looking belt.

Call for June Knip Mode

So, several people mentioned in response to my RTW Inspiration post that there is a dress in the June issue of Knip Mode that is similar to this Martin Grant:



I would LOVE to have this issue! I have been thinking about that dress for months and would really appreciate the opportunity to see how the pattern goes together. If it is still on newstands, is somebody in Europe (or elsewhere it's available) willing to pick this up and send it to me? I will of course pay for the issue and shipping! You can email me at t r e n a [dot] b at g m a i l [dot] c o m (taking out the spaces).

Thank you!

Ready-to-Wear Inspiration

So when I was researching images for the Weekend Designer ruffle sleeve blouse to make out of the silk georgette I ordered from FFC, I went to the Bloomingdale's website to grab the Lauren pics. While I was there I decided to browse around.

You all know my love for knit dresses, and on the Bloomingdale's website you can sort the dresses by fabric category, including jersey. Score! I found a lot to inspire me. You can click on any of the photos to see them full size.

I like that this is demure and Audrey Hepburn in the front with the exposed back. I'm not necessarily wild about the plain wide straps--I think I'd prefer a U or a V back situation. One of my friends wore a low-back dress to happy hour a while back and it was so sexy. Now that my back is cleared up (cross fingers it stays!) after a round of dermatological antibiotics I am interested in incorporating the open back into a project.







Ditto the open back on this. I love how it looks like a regular sun dress from the front, and then the back is strappy and fun. It might be a tad too young/trashy for me, although the model looks fairly elegant in it, considering. Alas, I am not a model.





This one is probably my favorite of the bunch, partly because I can't figure it out! Looking at the closeup, you can see that the belt is in two pieces, the end of the front crossover sewn to one end and the belt that crosses the back sewn to the other. Unfortunately, there is no side view of this. I'm wondering if it is just a regular mock wrap, and the belt attached to the side of the bodice that crosses under passes through an opening in the side seam. Or perhaps it's just sewn into the side seam? That doesn't account for the drape on the outer front crossover piece, though, which doesn't appear to have a seam. I just got word from Elizabeth that she found me some avocado silk jersey for a STEAL. I'm thinking I may need to try this dress, using Simplicity 3503 as a starting point.






This Ladera Ashley has a similar sort of drapey cut on sleeve situation going on, but with a much simpler (aka easier) design. I like that the gathering is concentrated at CF and CB, rather than distributed over the hips.





LOVE this Laundry by Shelli Segal dress:


I imagine the photo quality isn't good in this post (even Bloomingdale's ain't great at photographing details in navy), but if you click on the detail, you can see there are radiating diagonal pleats. Based on the closeup of the back, where the belt is in a slightly different position, it appears that there is no waist seam, which makes the pleats even more amazing because it means they are in some sort of chevron arrangement. It's got a bit of the flavor of the Martin Grant dress that amazed me so much last season.




As soon as I saw who had designed this one, I understood why I loved it so much. DVF is the queen of taking advantage of the gorgeous drape you get with jersey. Again, the black hides the details but if you look at the front closeup you see how the skirt drape is gathered on the side opposite the one shoulder, then dips down, then there is a smaller gather under the one shoulder. Amazing, but I would need a lot more experience draping to figure this out.







I don't generally go to clothing websites because, well, I make my own. But maybe I'll do it more often for inspiration! You can see all the looks that caught my eye here.

Stashoholism Confessional: Internet Edition

I have resisted the lure of online fabric shopping for half the year. However, when I found myself without the right fabric in my stash for the BWOF 06-2009-110 kimono dress and had to do the muslin out of the grody polyester crepe, I decided that once I finished the muslin, if I liked the dress I could go online to order some charcoal cotton for the real version.

Well, I liked the dress.



So I checked out my usual suspects, Fabric.com, Fashion Fabrics Club, and Fabric Mart. I found a dark gray poplin at FFC and put it in the cart. There's no point in ordering just one fabric, so I tossed in some solid rayon knits in turquoise and red, and then I found a silk georgette and added that. Here's what I got:









Of course, the downside of fabric shopping online is that you don't always end up with what you think you're getting. The poplin was described as "dark gray" and the photo looked like a charcoal. In real life, it is on the olive side. So the whole justification for this order is kind of a fail. I don't hate the olive color, it's just not at all what I had in mind. While it works with the obi I've made, it would not work with a planned black and red obi. So I still need a charcoal cotton.

The turquoise rayon has a crinkle texture that was *not* disclosed on the website and is a bit of a disappointment as well. I love the color, but the texture is really not my style. I bought Simplicity 3536 a while back for the view with the ruched sides and center band. I'm not really sure I'm feeling the style of it anymore, but it's an option for a crinkle jersey. Suggestions are welcome!

I've been wanting to make a red dress for months, after a thread on Pattern Review linked to an article that said men find women in red more attractive than any other color. This is the perfect shade (though it hasn't yet gone through the wash; hopefully it keeps its color). I had it in mind for 06-2009-101, the pleat front dress. However, Dawn made it in a lightweight knit like this rayon and it didn't work for her. I'm going to experiment with fusing the bodice and midriff with stretch interfacing and see if that gives it enough texture to stand up to the pattern.

A while back Cidell sent me a link to Weekend Designer, whose blog I had somehow not yet come across. I scrolled through his archives and fell in love with this ruffle sleeve blouse; he featured the Lauren top by Abaete as an example (available at Bloomingdale's for $118).
**edited to fix incorrect gender pronouns--thanks LaKaribane!

I didn't have anything in stash that was quite right for the project, so I splurged on some silk georgette. The print is a little bit like those "paint with water" books I had as a kid (do they still make this?) with ink dots that smear when you wet them.

How lucky was I to find this vintage pattern in my stash? View 2 is the perfect starting point for this look. I'm going to have to grade it out at the waist and hips because I want a pull-on top with a single loop and button at the neck; this is designed with a full back button placket. To me, that style is just bragging that you're married and there is someone to button you up on the mornings. I'm not and there isn't. I may end up putting a zip at one of the side panel seams. We'll see.

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Then I got an email from Fabric Mart about bamboo knits. I absolutely fell in love with the avocado color, but there were only 10 yards left. Even though I placed my order very shortly after receiving the email, I feared I would miss out on the avocado, so I told them to sub in coral if it was out.



I lost out on the avocado. I have a bit of buyer's remorse about the coral. The only solid color jersey I have in stash is pink, and I have a couple colors of it. I was really, really looking forward to avocado and had it in mind for the Butterick 5130, the dress with all the ruching and elastic casings. But I don't like pink for it. Then I thought maybe a maxi length sundress and experiment with ombre dyeing in orange at the hem, and if it's awful then cut it off at the knee. But I don't have any need for a maxi-length sundress. It's not suitable for work (I just can't see it with wide straps or sleeves), you can't wear a long dress inside a bar, and I don't live near the beach. After I washed the coral and hung it up to dry I warmed a bit more to the color; it has a fair amount of orange in it which makes it more interesting than a pink in the same color value. I still don't know what to make it into, though.

I threw in the hot pink knit print because it was a good price and I never pass up a knit print. No specific idea on that, either.

The black is a silk linen-weave, very nice. I don't have a go-to little black dress. I made one many years ago; it was great in my 20s but is a little vampy for my 34 year old self. I'll make it into Butterick 5321. Vogue 1025, an Anne Klein designer pattern, is almost identical to the Butterick. I haven't checked out the envelope, only the online, but I think ultimately I like the Butterick better. The Vogue might have a more sophisticated pleat in the bodice front, which is a point in its favor. However, I like the unusual diagonal darts in the back of the Butterick, and I like that it has set-in rather than cut-on sleeves. I think they're a little more formal and timeless. Of course, all its exciting details means I'll have to muslin.

I got the blue print broadcloth because it was on sale and I am often wishing I had some cute lightweight cotton prints. I feel like this would look great in a vintage look. Unfortunately, most of my vintage patterns are from the late 60s and 70s and this really needs something from the 50s or early 60s. The Vogue 8446 is at the top of the list right now, although Simplicity 2601 entered the running when I saw the dress KatieN made on Pattern Review. The rounded collar struck me as ick on the illustration, but on her dress it has total 40s retro appeal.

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Of course, all this was before I decided to head to NYC next weekend for some shopping. There's a slight chance I won't be able to get out of work, but my bus ticket is purchased and fingers are crossed!