Belated Thank Yous, Stashoholism Confessional, and Q&A

Y'all.  I can no longer hide from my sins.

First, the sin of insufficient gratitude!  I have been blessed with an abundance of gifts and I have not properly thanked the givers.  Please forgive my terrible manners!!!



When Melissa came to Baltimore we met up for a fabulous dinner *and* she came bearing gifts.  How much do I love this silk cotton?  The colors and print are so incredibly me.


















 I was thinking about for McCall 6507, but I don't know how the bias top will look with the directional print.   It could be too weird.  Any pattern ideas or suggestions?





Ms. McCall of Brown Paper Patterns is doing some preeeetttty awesome lingerie sewing these days.  I fantasize about sewing a bra, yet do nothing about it (I do make all my knickers these days, if that counts for anything).  She picked up a big load of plush elastic and did a giveaway.  Well, not only did she send me plush elastic, but also some narrower picot elastic (and you know how much I love picot elastic for finish real clothes in addition to panties--you can see a closeup of the elastics here), and she threw some tricot and some powernet into the package.   So sweet!






Finally, Diane Drexel sent me an awesome care package with *two* sewing magazines, two thread snips, a measuring tape (can never have enough of those), some shoulder padding thingies for bag straps, and some genuine Vilene bias strips!



The magazines are an Ottobre Woman (yes!) and one called A La Mode, which is a Spanish language magazine.  It seems that it is pattern and fabric catalog, which is an interesting concept.  They show the garments made up and then give you a selection of fabrics that will work for them.  Like Marfy, it includes some of the patterns shown.  Very fun!


To pass along the love, I am doing a giveaway!  When I was making my striped retro bikini, I didn't have any swimwear elastic.  Not having time for the 2 hour round trip (by public transit) to G Street, I ordered some from Amazon.  They had small packages and a 100 yard roll, and by the time I put enough small packages in my cart for the swimsuit sewing I have planned the price difference to the roll was minuscule.  So I am the proud owner of 100 yards (well, less now!) of swimsuit elastic.

So that you do not have to order 100 yards of elastic, I am giving away TWO sets of 7 yards of 3/8" Stretch Rite natural colored swimsuit elastic.  As always, the only criterion for entry is that you have commented on my blog in the past 6 months.  I will ship internationally.  In your comment, please let me know you are entering.  If your username doesn't give me a way to contact you through your blog, please leave some sort of contact information (e.g., your email address in a non-scrapeable format, like "e x a m p l e at hot.mail"). 

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And then, there is the sin of gluttony.  I participated in the Stash Contest in June and July.  Fabrics had to have been purchased before the beginning of the year to be eligible, which isn't *that* much of a restriction but it is something.  I limited myself to eligible fabrics during those two months, and despite being at the beach for two weekends I managed to sew up over 17 yards of stashed fabric.

I could feel virtuous, if I hadn't decimated that number in purchases.  But, for the most part, they really were needed purchases.  Except for the Fabric Mart one.  Oops.  Also, this is all my purchases for the past 5 months.  That makes it not so bad, right?  (What makes it bad is that I keep wanting to buy a whole bunch of cotton voile for no real reason.)



After making two swimsuits with unsuitable fabric, I decided it was okay to order some real swimsuit fabric.  These are from Lycra4Sale, an eBay seller.  The fabrics are listed in random lengths, but you can do custom orders of the lengths you want by sending a message.  The prices on the fabric are good; shipping is *not* a bargain.  I am not entirely sure how much I paid per yard, because my final invoice didn't break out the yardage and shipping cost.  I think I was charged about $20 in shipping.

The leopard print is for a Bombshell, and the Liberty-ish paisley-ish print is for another retro bikini.  The fabrics are thick and have great recovery.  Very good quality, especially for the price.  The mesh linings, which are like a lightweight powernet, are a great value.  I recommend the seller, just resign yourself to the shipping costs.




Martha Pullen had a crazy sale on silk/cotton, $4/yd!  I have been desperate for a nice light-colored slippery  lining fabric after using up the 10 yards of rayon satin I got from Fabric.com a couple years ago.  I do not care for Ambience/Bemberg.  I know others love it, but it is too stiff and rustley for my taste.  But silk/cotton?   Yes please!  I ordered 20 yards of the white, which should last me another couple years.  I couldn't help myself and indulged in turquoise and moss green as well.



Fabric Mart.  I caved.  They had a discount code and a free bundle (although apparently the free bundle didn't actually start until the next day, but they sent me one anyway).  They had the adorable cotton print on the left on sale for $1.99/yd.  I bought 4 yards; it's supposed to be a quilting cotton but whatevs.   I will make some sort of vintage-y fabric hog out of it.  They had leopard voile for a nightie.  And they had that FABulous orange print in a sturdy cotton-lycra twill (about the same weight as a light denim) for a great sheath.

The red knits I'm less thrilled with.  Why is it IMPOSSIBLE to find red knit?  Just regular, American (or Canadian or British or French) flag true red.  My red ponte skirt is trashed at this point, so pilled that it is unwearable--this is the downside of ponte!  It desperately needs replacing.  Fabric Mart described the ponte as "crimson," which apparently means a dark, rich red.  At least it's a rich blue-red, but it won't coordinate with any of my tops that have a lot of true red in them (like this one or this one or this one.  True red dye obviously exists; why can't it be used for solids????).  The athletic knit is a fairly gross color.  It was described as "apple red," but it's more like a pallid maroon.  I don't even like maroon that much in the first place as a solid, but this one is worse than usual.  Blah.  I'm going to try some iDye Poly on it in red eventually.



My free bundle wasn't bad.  The modal at first looked gray (yes!) but really it is a brown, which I don't wear, but it looks ok with black and it will make a really lovely lightweight cardigan.  Might end up dyeing that as well.  The knit in the middle is a pale blue and appears to be a mix of cotton and rayon; is that such a thing?  It will also be dyed a deeper blue and will make a nice nightgown.  The purple quilted faux suede is SO not my thing, but then I realized that I bet my mom will like it.  I plan to make her a tote bag.



Technically, these G Street purchases aren't needed purchases either, except that I bought a Living Social deal, where you pay $25 for a $50 credit at the store and the deal was expiring.  I couldn't just leave money on the table, now could I?  The knit print is because I am a sucker for anything vaguely peacock.  The fabric that's not part of the border print is huge abstract shapes in turquoise (my color!) and purple.  The orange is to accent the Liberty-ish swimsuit print from Lycra4Sale.  Piping in a lycra fabric will be a challenge, but I think it will add a lot to the look.



Last but not least.  Cidell picked up some more Under Armour fabrics for me at her secret source in Baltimore.  Awesome!  The photo is terrible, but it's heat gear in black and in navy, and cold gear in a sage.  These are such great fabrics.  I've used the navy to make a pair of shorts to go under my skirts when I bike and it is a thousand times cooler than padded bike shorts; I don't need the padding for my short commute and was just wearing them for convenience.  Seriously, it made a huge difference in my comfort.


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And a couple Q&As:

Judith Stansky asked on my Vogue 8631 post whether the kimono sleeves could be raised by scooping through the underarm.  Yes, this can definitely be done and was my plan if I didn't like the sleeves.  Just transfer the underam curve as drafted to a little higher up.


Susan asked on my Schmetz Needle post:

"Just wondering - my fabric shop can't seem to tell me the difference between a stretch needle and a ballpoint one (and the one marked jersey). It would be interesting to hear why you prefer one over the other for different kinds of fabrics, one of these days, if you have time!"

My answer is not scientific, it is just anecdotal based on my experience:  I have found that on some slippery knits, the very smooth and slightly shiny polyester ones, stretch needles are the ONLY ones that will leave a stitch.  All other needles, including ballpoint, will pick up maybe one stitch in five.  I have never encountered any downside to using a stretch needle instead of a ballpoint, except that they are harder to find, so I find it easier to use stretch needles most of the time.

That said, my anecdata appears to be based in fact, as the Schmetz Needle Guide says of a stretch needle, that it has a "medium ball point, specially designed eye and scarf prevent skipped stitches."  Schmetz has an abundance of information about needles on their website, including a downloadable PDF of the Needle Guide.

Patterns and Shoes

I went on a fabric fast for Lent.  I managed to break it the first week when Fabric Mart got some Dry Flex in stock, but I have been steadfast since then.  I even skipped Fashion Sewing Club at G Street Fabrics in April so as not to be tempted.  I don't have an end date in mind, though I really need to come up with one--without a specific date or event to look forward to, I am more likely to slip up.  However, my big victory for the month was going to the May Fashion Sewing Club and buying only ribbon and zippers--no fabric!

However, my fast does not extend to patterns.  I picked up a bunch during the BMV online sale, and then got a few more at Joann.  I need Joann to have a Simplicity sale on one of the random dates I am there.



Woven dresses.  I've resisted Vogue 8631 in the upper left for a while now.  It's a great shape, but the oversize fit is a bit of a non-sequitor with the style and I don't like the super wide armscye.  However, no other patterns have come out that refine those features to my liking so I'll have to size down and hope it works. 



Knit dresses.  The Suzi Chin on the left bears a strong resemblance to the lovely Issa London dress spotted by The Selfish Seamstress in a shop window.  I am wondering if the McCall dress on the right can be made in a woven.  It says it's for knits, but as a wrap dress it only needs to go up a size to work for wovens, right?  I'd want a lot more underlap on the skirt, though, regardless of whether it's in woven or knit.



Tops.  I really like that Palmer/Pletsch wrap top on the lower left.  The shoulder pleats are a nice detail, and the wrap looks like it's a bit higher and secure.  I see it more for cool weather than warm as it seems a lot of fabric.  I'm hoping a lot of people on Pattern Review make this so I can get some ideas!



Fancy dresses.  I had somehow never noticed the vintage dress on the left.  I like the simple shape in front with the surprises in the back.  I am also thinking the volume in the back will make it comfortable for biking.  I had thought to use one of my African fabrics for it, but now I'm thinking maybe navy blue with white for the back neckline, sort of a reverse sailor look?  Hmmmm.



Only two of the patterns have firm ideas on what they'll be made into.  For the Issa knockoff, this watercolor print knit.  I'll have the stripes going vertical for the bodice and skirt and horizontal for the midriff.




















For the Vogue colorblocked dress, these coordinating fabrics from Africa.  They are the same fabric, but the left one was block printed.  My friend who brought me these from when she lived in Liberia said the coordinates are very popular for tiered ruffles.

However, I can't decide if the print should be the main body as in the pattern envelope, or the fauxlero.  I'm leaning toward having the print as the fauxlero and the solid as the main body.  Thoughts?


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Thanks to all who have pointed out Hot Patterns' new pattern that bears a suspicious resemblance to the DVF Grandie top I tried to knock off.  Alas, Hot Patterns is just not drafted for a body shape that remotely resembles mine.  It is easier for me to start from scratch than try to use one of their patterns.  Though I am curious about the shapes of their pattern pieces.  I may return to the Grandie top someday, but it won't be for a while, LOL.

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Samina asked about the shoes I was wearing with the Grandie blouse.  I get compliments every time I wear them for photos and in real life.  But here's the secret:  I got them for $15 at Ross.  I wear dress shoes for work so infrequently (and in real life never) that I decided to start buying cheap shoes instead of nice ones.  I was only getting a few wears before the heels went hopelessly out of style so the cost-per-wear was too high to justify a nice pair.  I have to say, I made an auspicious switch in these shoes!


The brand is Sam & Libby.  I got them maybe up to a year ago, but when I stopped by Ross a couple of weeks ago I spotted another pair in my size.  I'm not going to lie to you:  I bought them.  Now I have a pair for work and a pair for home.  I don't know how regional Ross's offerings are, but it may be worth a quick run-through of your local store to see if they have them.  Despite the low price, they are surprisingly comfortable.

Stashoholism Confessional: A Long Time Coming

One of the things I looked forward to over the holidays (in addition to seeing family, of course) was going back to Golden D'Or in Dallas, where I had scored so handily last year.

I have not been crazy about Burda lately (so much with the shapeless!), but I was definitely interested in the Burda 11-2011-114 drapey faux-wrap top. I didn't have anything in stash really suitable for it, and when I found the drapey pink sweaterish knit at Golden D'Or it seemed perfect.



I have already sewn up the copper sweaterknit.  My dear friend and neighbor (we bought condos next door to one another) loooooves copper, and I immediately thought of her when I saw the fabric.  Metallic copper sweaterknit for clothes is a little whackadoodle, even for me, but it is great trim for accessories.  I made her a fleece hat with sweaterknit brim and a fleece-lined scarf.  I bought a pair of gloves and hand-stitched a copper cuff to the inside lining, for a full set.  My photo is terrible but the gift had already been handed over before I realized it, but you get the gist.



You may recognize this silk jersey as the same print in a different colorway as the perfect knit wrap dress I just sewed.  I believe the silk jerseys were originally $24/yd.  I got the turquoise print for the wrap dress on sale for $12.  And then I saw this on sale for $6.  When you see silk jersey for $6/yd, you just buy it.  Unfortunately, I hesitated for a day and only got two yards of this, which is all he had left.  It is extremely narrow.  I would like to make another McCall 6069 cowl dress (with a non-cowl back bodice), but haven't investigated whether I have enough fabric for it. 

Source: flickr.com via Trena on Pinterest

Ever since I first saw this Robert Rodriguez dress, I have been wanting some copper silk. Not to try to copy the dress (way above my skill level), but just because it is so rich and gorgeous! When I found it on the $7.97/yd table, with 25% off sale plus a coupon, I had to have it.  I am thinking maybe Burda 7519, or at least the sleeves from it.  I dig the carapace sleeves.  In pre-washing, I realized the copper silk is a stretch, so I may have to do something to take advantage of that property.




I have this giant fleece robe I wear when it's cold.  It is red with plasticky dragons on it.  I got the fabric on clearance from Joann and it's fairly hideous.  Also, the robe is about 9 years old at this point and pilled (on the plus side, the plasticky dragons in the seam allowances that used to poke me have finally worn off).  So, it's time for a new robe.  This leopard print amused me.



This was my first purchase of 2012, and already I made a mistake!  In the store, the mushroom-colored knit on the left looked gray, but then I got it into sunlight and saw that it is brown.  Argh!!!  I don't wear brown.  I guess I will use it for knit muslin.

I am almost always allowed to buy knit prints when I find them and I like the colors in this border print.  Orange!  There is never enough orange.

The Schiarparelli pink silk charmeuse caught my eye on the $7.97/yd silk table.  It will make a fabulous lining for something.

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I have bought more fabric since these items--including on the Baltimore Fabric Crawl--but I am so slow in posting this that I won't wait until I have photos done.

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I am terrible at answering questions.  I apologize for that.  Here are two recent ones:

MySummerTouch asks:
I wonder what do you do with your traced Burda patterns? Save them or throw them away?

I generally save them.  There are probably a few I've thrown away because the pattern was terrible on me.  I fold the pattern pieces together into a rectangle bundle (making sure the pattern number is facing out) and put it into a plastic page protector sleeve.  I have giant three ring binders with the patterns arranged chronologically in them.  With three ring binders, it's easy to open up the rings and put the latest pattern in the proper order. 





However, it is getting to the point where I have a LOT of traced patterns.  I need more binders, but the giant ones are expensive!  I get lazy about actually filing the patterns, too.  I should probably do a cull of patterns I will not realistically sew again, but the tracing is so much work that it's hard to just toss it!



Has anybody developed a brilliant system for saving these tracings?



Thank you all for your supportive and helpful comments on my pants post.  I have looked through the resources you recommended and may eventually be ready to tackle them again.  I actually sewed up a muslin of a Palmer/Pletsch pattern that fit better out of the envelope than the Burda did after 4 muslins!  However, I made the stupid mistake of assuming that a P/P pattern would not have the ridiculous ease of a normal Big 3 and sewed according to what size I "should" be.  The good crotch fit may only be because the overall muslin is way too big.

JENL observed:
I think a lot of the problem was the weight of the fabric-it looked too light and shimmery? Perhaps a little bit of a pressing issue-though I know you were just making a sample.

I actually like using "worst case scenario" fabric for a muslin.  Not to mention I bought like 10 yards of that stuff at Jomar, only to get it home and realize it was too loud to be used as lining!  The shiny, unforgiving fabric reveals every fitting issue in stark clarity, so there will be no surprises in real fabric. 

Stashoholism Confessional and Q&A

I blame Amanda S. for this purchase from G Street Fabrics. She recently made a top out of textured fabric and I liked the way it jazzed up a simple design. This is a fairly bright orchid color with a crinkled top layer that forms roses. I'm wondering if this might be good for a simple cowl dress.

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I know I have more questions to answer than this, but here are a few recent reader questions:

Lynn Mally asked on my Swiss dot birthday dress post if I have ditched the Danskos for pretty shoes. Ha! You can pry my Danskos off my cold dead feet. If you see me in heels, you can be sure that I have worn them no further than to walk over to the camera to hit the self-timer button. I did take those pink flowered shoes with me (Borns, so as comfortable as heels can be) to my birthday happy hour, and put them on when I was assured I would have a seat.

Amber Elayne asked on the same post if I had trouble moving the zip to the back of the dress. None! It worked perfectly. So much better than the side zip. As noted in the post, do not run the zipper all the way up to the back neckline. Sew the center back seam from the neckline down about 2 inches and install the zipper from there. That way you don't interrupt the ruffle.

Beth Conky said on my planning for Fall post: Girl, you need to move to Texas. We have 10 seconds of winter and a good six months of summer. You'd be the happiest girl in Texas.

Ha! My family lives in Texas and I spent a total of 7 years there. Even though it gets really hot and sometimes it's too much, I never took for granted that it doesn't get too cold for too long. If DC could be transplanted to a warmer clime, I'd go for it in a heartbeat.

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The Kitchenaid Ice Cream Maker Attachment is quite a success! I need to find a go-to ice cream base recipe. I did well with the Jeni's Splendid base from the Washington Post on my first batch, but the second batch had a bad texture. I suspect this is because I only rested the base until it cooled. I think it really needs to rest overnight to get all the air bubbles whipped in with the whisk to release. Also, my first batch was sort of a hybrid and included egg yolks, which might be a difference. Most recently I made Fig Honey Mascarpone Gelato from the LA Times and it came out very well.

I highly recommend this device. The only problem is, I'm going to have to buy an auxiliary freezer. I have a fridge/freezer on the small side as I am in a condo not a house, and my freezer is full already. Jiggering the ice cream making bowl into the freezer is an extremely irritating operation not for the faint of heart, involving taking most everything out of the freezer and then putting it all back in. I've been fantasizing over chest freezers...

Pattern Review Photo Posting

I have posted this information at least a dozen times on Pattern Review, so to save myself the trouble I am making this a blog post so I can refer people to it. Sorry for the housekeeping, regular readers! Just skip over this.



There are two places you might want to post photos on PR: in your review and on the message board. I will explain both.

However, for either one, the first thing you have to do is host your photos somewhere online. They must be uploaded to an internet server. PR cannot reach into your computer to display your photo to the other users anytime they want to see it (a good thing!--you don't want other people to be messing around in your computer). Instead, PR will query the server where your photos are stored in the internet. Flickr, Picasa, and Photobucket are free hosts. PR offers a very small amount of space to members, about enough to hold 15 medium (600 px or so on either dimension) photos. Some internet service providers include some hosting space in their packages.

It doesn't matter what size your photos are, as long as your host will accept that size.

Once you have uploaded your photo, you need to find the photo's URL. The photo's URL is NOT the address of the webpage on which you view the photo, it is the address of the photo itself (when such a URL is pasted into the white bar at the top of your browser, you see a page that just has the photo and nothing else, like this. Do NOT click and copy the white address bar at the top of your browser. The URL will end in .jpg (with a few rare exceptions for other photo formats, such as .gif).

To clarify Alexandra's point: For pattern reviews, you are not *required* to use the photo's URL. if you use the URL of the webpage where the photo can be seen, rather than the URL of the photo itself, the link will work. When the review is opened and the reader clicks on the thumbnail at the top of the review, a new tab will open displaying the page where the photo can be seen. However, the shrink/magnify function in the gallery will not work.

Using the URL of the webpage where the photo can be seen, rather than the photo's .jpg URL, will NOT work on the message board. No photo will be displayed, and there will be no link generated.

The screencap below shows you how to do it in flickr. That is the hosting service I use; I do not know exactly how it's done in Picasa or Photobucket (users of those services, I'd be grateful if you had screencaps to donate).



The fabulous sewing community has come to the rescue for other services!

Sandi explains: With Photobucket, you can click on your picture's info and there are four options below the preview. Clicking on the URL will automatically copy it for use on PR. You can also right click the photo itself (any photo) and chose "Copy URL" from the options.

AllisonC investigated Picasa: You click on a photo and the information comes up on the right of the screen. Under Tags, click on "Link to this Photo" and it will give you 2 options. One for linking [the webpage on which the photo is displayed] and one for embedding the image [the photo's URL].

Another Picasa method from jenleeC:  Right click on the photo and select "Properties". A box will pop up and in the middle of the box the "Address: (URL)" can be seen. Copy and paste this your PR review.



ADDING PHOTOS TO A REVIEW

There are two steps to putting a photo in a review: the larger photo that displays when clicked and the tiny thumbnail that displays in the gallery.

First, the larger photo



When you are first drafting a review, the screen above displays before you get to the actual review form.  Copy the photo's URL, the one that ends in .jpg, into the box indicated in the screencap above.

The URL is required for the shrink/magnify function in the review gallery to work.  You can enter the web address where the photo is displayed in this box (something like this: www.flickr.com/photos/7573004@N06/6809614993/), but the shrink/magnify function will not work.

You can add this later if you miss this screen!  Enter the URL into the box called "Finished Garment Photo URL" in the review form.  It is circled in orange two photos below (the one that shows you how to add a thumbnail to a review).

Second, the thumbnail. When you have finished your review or when editing your review, you need to upload a photo from your computer to be the thumbnail in the gallery. Yes, this is confusing because I just said you have to host your photo somewhere on the internet. PR hosts this tiny 100 by 100 px photo on its own servers. PR automatically resizes your photo to 100x100 so you do not have to do anything about the size of the photo (but keep in mind that anything but a square will be cropped funny--it's best to start with a square; more on that here).  If you do not upload a thumbnail, your review will not display in the review gallery.  It will go to the review list, but the vast majority of PR users look at the gallery rather than the list.

The can be uploaded in one of two places.

This is how you add a thumbnail to a review on the first go-round. This screen appears after you have published your review or saved it as a work in progress.  Click on the photo to enlarge so you can follow the five steps:




If you miss that screen, don't worry. You can edit the review and add a thumbnail in edit mode.

 This is how you add a thumbnail to a review you are editing (see also, the top item circled, which is how you add the shrink/enlarge URL link if you missed it when first creating your review):




ADDING PHOTOS TO A MESSAGE BOARD POST

In addition to reviews, you might want to put a photo in a message on the message board. Now, for posting on the message board, the size of your photos DOES matter. Huge photos are not automatically resized and you end messing with the formatting. The photo hosts listed above allow you to get code for various sizes of the same photo. You want one that is no more than about 500 pixels wide. The default image size on Flickr is a good size for the message board, though I sometimes go a little smaller if it's not a detailed photo.

To post an image on the message board, you must be in "full post" mode you can't use the "quick post" box at the bottom of the page. Either hit "reply" to a message in the thread or hit "post reply" on the lower right below the posts.

Once you have the full post window open, click on the button that says "Image" above the text box on the right. Then enter the URL of the photo (ends in .jpg) in the dialog box that appears. Once you press "enter," the formatted html will automatically appear at the bottom of your post. If you intended to insert the photo in the middle of your text, well, it still goes to the bottom. Go down there and highlight the code, which will say something like < IMG SRC='xxxxxx.jpg'> (extra spaces added so blogger wouldn't read that as code) and cut and paste to where you'd like it to be.



Do note if you're using the PR photo album, that the code provided for displaying the image actually won't work on the message board.

In the photo album, when you click on "html" just to the right of the photo a window pops up. The second bit of code in red looks something like this (spaces added so it wouldn't be read as a link)

< img src = " http://www.friendsofpr.com/nicegirl/IMG_2414.jpg " border="0" alt="photo" >

However, the message board html uses the single quote rather than the double quote, and doesn't accept the border data.

So copy that text, paste it into your message and then edit the text to change the " to ' and delete the
border="0" alt="photo"

Make sure that there is not a space between your .jpg' and your closing bracket >

I can't demonstrate what the code should look like because it will be formatted, but with spaces it should look like this:

< img src = ' http://www.friendsofpr.com/nicegirl/IMG_2414.jpg ' >

In real life, the only space in the code should be between img and src. When the auto-format Image button is used IMG SRC is capitalized, but that *shouldn't* make a difference.

Alternatively, you can just copy the http://www.friendsofpr.com/nicegirl/IMG_2414.jpg part of the code, the photo's URL, and then use the "Image" button as illustrated above.


I provided this information on PR here.

Please let me know if you have any more questions and I will add to this post if needed.

Stashoholism Confessional: I Have No Excuse

Yes, I have fallen. After I was getting all smug about it, too. However, I took to heart KBenco's comment on this post:

"My theory is that if you don't keep buying pretty fabric when you see it, the what-was-i-thinking fabric multiplies and takes over the stash."

Ha! I love that. I am blaming all of this on you, KBenco!!! I think what really happens is that you eventually skim off the cream of your stash, leaving only the serviceable but boring fabrics. However, I can't really pretend that I am in any danger of doing this, since I keep track of projects waiting for me in stash and there are more than 20 on the list. At the rate I have been sewing lately, I have the next 10 months or so set up for me.

But I think that's the key. I have been SO BUSY lately, uncharacteristically so, and haven't had time for a good sew since before I went on my trip. Even over the 4th of July, which was a 4 day weekend for me, I had about 3 hours to sew in total. Boo!!!! I have found that when I don't have time to sew, I am actually more likely to buy fabric because it's a way to stay connected to my hobby. I need to carve out some time for me and my sewing machine.

However, I did keep to my mindfulness goal and bought fabric only for which I could envision a specific project. On the far left in the photo is a sort of seersucker, sort of denim, stretch on grain (rather than crossgrain) fabric that immediately brought to mind McCall 6279. I just love this dress, even though I am not usually crazy about safari styles. I considered several fabrics in stash for it, but nothing worked quite right. This fabric, which probably looks like a plate of spaghetti on your monitor, is a dark off-white background with tiny pinstripes in chambray blue and red. Frankly, I don't know how it will look as a dress in real life, because it's the kind of fabric that if you look at it too long you kind of go into an acid trip; it must have to do with the colors creating illusions of shadow and depth. Sewing it will be interesting.

Next is the one fabric I meant to buy, a random knit for muslining my self-drafted version of McCall 6363. It was the only knit of suitable weight of which there was enough fabric, I hope. I was hoping for 2 yards but it is only 1 5/8 yard. I can make the muslin short.

The purple stretch sateen made me think of my mom. Purple is her favorite color and she asked me a couple of weeks ago if I thought someone her age could wear satin. She is making a passel of junior bridesmaid dresses for a friend out of blue satin and apparently anticipates having some left. I saw the purple sateen and just couldn't resist. I've ordered (oops) a black and white knit to make a top and will make a simple elastic waist A line skirt (per her preference) of the purple. I'd prefer a trumpet skirt, but I think she will be more comfortable in an A line.

I was so thrilled to see right after I bought Vogue 8706 that Amanda S. had made it, particularly her hints on the small bust situation. She used a double knit, which it hadn't occurred to me to choose for this pattern but it is nice to have a sturdier fabric in a very fitted dress. So here is my animal print. Not quite a double knit but a fairly sturdy knit. I don't know if it will "count" with the boyfriend--I think he is more into traditional leopard--but it is much more palatable to me!

The last fabric is a lightweight gray denim, again with the stretch on grain rather than crossgrain. I think G Street must have gotten offcuts from a denim manufacturer. I have been thinking of (*gasp*) shorts for this summer. They are very fashionable right now and there are lots of polished styles out there. My objection to shorts is their informality, but the styles I'm seeing now are not for athletics (do NOT get me started about people wearing athletic gear as real clothes) but are meant for nicer occasions. Burda has published several shorts patterns lately, including a couple with size zips so I don't have to deal with the whole fly front situation. I also got enough of this fabric to make a skirt as well. It's a nice color and weight.

If only I could buy sewing time at G Street, I'd be all set!

Let me live vicariously through you. What are you sewing?

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Bunny asked what I used to underline my gray voile flounce dress. I edited the blog post (sorry I didn't put it in the first place) to reflect that I used cotton batiste to underline the bodice. I almost always use cotton batiste as bodice lining for summer dresses, because it is very lightweight, breathes well, and sweat evaporates from it more quickly than traditional lining fabrics (the downside is all that sweat makes it start to look icky and yellowed after a while). I usually line the skirt with something more substantial and slippery.

I ordered my cotton batiste from Vogue Fabrics last year, after researching to find the best price. I am pleased with the quality and it has sewn up well.

Outfit of the Week, Q&A, and Stashoholism Confessional

A while back I mentioned that I was wearing my Burda 02-2008-108 ruffle shoulder top with jeans for a Friday. I had a meeting that day with some higher ups so I put a jacket over it for the meeting. A couple of people asked how the jacket looked with the shoulder ruffles, so here you go!

In the case of this top (non-jacket view on the right), the fabric is a drapey, flowy, lightweight poly knit and so the ruffles squish down just fine under a jacket. I looked reasonably professional for the meeting but I secretly knew that I was wearing something fabulous!

When I put on the jeans I confirmed what I learned with my hot pink corset-waist pencil skirt: I definitely have an athletic front thigh. The side seam swings noticeably forward at the quadricep. If I ever attempt to make pants (and the extremely cold winter convinced me I should probably own at least one pair of pants) I will have to remember to correct for that.

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Kathy asked, after I mentioned how much I hate them on my ballerina wrap sweater post, why I dislike facings so much.

My issue is twofold. First, facings are notorious for flopping around. When I put on a garment with a neck facing the odds that the facing has flipped to the outside are good. It's not that big a deal to tuck a facing inside when you first put it on, but some facings refuse to stay on the inside. Ugh! I always tack them down by stitching in the ditch at the shoulder seams, but for a wide neckline this is often not enough. Also, the edge of a facing can sometimes create a noticeable ridge from the outside of the garment in lightweight fabrics.

The second issue is not functionality, but pure aesthetics. Facings are just uglier than lining. They have no hanger appeal and if the interfacing loses its glue after a garment has been in use for a couple years then you have floppy intefacing on a floppy facing; so ugly.

A lot of the time, lining is not much more trouble than facing and you end up with a garment that is finished beautifully inside and out. Although I know they are used in commercial garments, facings seem very "homemade-y" to me. I do use them occasionally (such as in a vintage pattern I hope to show soon), but I vastly prefer lining or other solutions (bias tape finish, turn under and twin-needle topstitch) whenever possible.

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And finally, a fabric purchase. Sadly, it is another boring one. My strategy of looking at my flickr album of my fabric every single day to stay excited about the projects in there and keeping a list of projects waiting for me in stash* has helped me to curb my fabric buying in line with my goal of "mindfulness." I am excited about seeing some space appear on my fabric shelves and want to continue to work toward that goal.

*I think I may have put too many items on the list and feel a little paralyzed in choosing a project...though I won't be doing any non-bike sewing until I get back in mid-May, so I'm trying to decide a month in advance what I want to sew, which doesn't work for me.

Anyway, I would like to have 6 tops for my trip so I don't have to re-wear a sweaty top, or wash in the sink and try to line dry in The Netherlands' drizzly weather. So I needed a few more wicking fabrics. Fashion Fabrics Club had them for $3.95/yd, a bargain I couldn't pass up although I had sworn never to use FFC again after the non-stretch "stretch" lining debacle. They were as slow as ever in shipping, but the fabrics were as described. They have a waffle texture, so they won't look like real clothes, but I can still make them into cute tops! If you're thinking of ordering, note that the fuschia (far left) and the coral (middle) are sheer. The other three colors are nice and solid.

QUESTION: If any of you have used this textured fabric before or have RTW of it, which side is the inside? I assumed the more waffley texture would go outside, but when I pre-washed and hung them to dry, the waffley side seemed to feel less damp than the smoother side. Does the waffle side go toward the body and the smooth side toward the outside?

I am determined to finish my rain pullover, helmet cover, and spats this weekend so I can go back to the fun sewing of tops and skirts. Wish me luck!

What is your strategy for mindful fabric buying?

FIT Museum, More Fabric, and Q&A

When I go to New York, one of my must-sees is the FIT Museum. Not only does it have high quality, interesting fashion exhibits with the clothes out in the open air rather than behind glass and (in the basement) displayed so that you have a 360 view, it's free! It's only a short walk down from the fabric stores of the garment district and open on Saturdays (closed Sunday and Monday).

I wasn't disappointed this time!

The main ground level exhibition is Night & Day (through May 11), which explores the idea of different clothing for day and evening over the past 200 years or so. It has the most temporal breadth of the exhibitions. I always love seeing pre-20th century clothes just because "ooooh, old!" Also, man, those corsets. The waists on some of the dresses are minuscule. I can't get over that people managed to live past forty without being able to breathe or get blood to their organs. The exhibit was well-curated, and includes luscious accessories in addition to clothing.

The basement level exhibition was American Beauty: Aesthetics and Innovation in Fashion, which closed April 10, unfortunately. It took a geometric approach to fashion, and grouped innovative clothing according to the shapes that were used to create them, such as circles, parallelograms, triangles, etc. The clothes were not all beautiful per se, but they were interesting and innovative and it was fascinating to see how designers imposed these constraints on themselves and worked within them. I just love the basement space, as it is a single large room with a high ceiling and the museum does such an exquisite job of setting up the exhibitions.

The stealth winner in my book, though, was the exhibition of Delman shoes. Although the brand is still extant, I had never heard of it (shows where I shop!). I love shoes as much as the next girl, but because I place my highest priority on comfort (Danskos, baby) I don't always enjoy shoe exhibitions because they generally focus on the highest, most unwearable shoes ever created by men who will never wear them. This exhibit was sensational! The shoes were generally dressy and had a heel but they weren't inaccessible to the normal woman. What I couldn't get over was how contemporary they were! I had no idea our shoe trends were as recycled as our clothing. Every time I thought I had spotted the contemporary shoe (surely that brightly printed wedge is from this year...) it would turn out to be from 1943. Unfortunately, I only just managed to catch the Delman exhibition, which closed April 3. They have some info on their website.

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Before I left for NYC, I had succumbed to Fabric Mart. I had been in love with the huge orange chrysanthemum print silk for a couple months and finally decided at $3.99 I couldn't pass it up. When I met up with Mikhaela, she mentioned that she had a hard time keeping the silk under control for her maternity dress. This surprised both of us as silk twill should be fairly easy to manage. When I received the fabric I understood why. Although it definitely has a twill weave, the weight and hand are like that of charmeuse. It's not going to be fun! I'm thinking Simplicity 2579 view B; a little vintagey, not too many pieces to break up the print, appropriate for a floaty silk.

The blue print seemed so familiar and appealing to me.... When I got it I realized that it's a bandana print writ large, which is kind of cute. I ordered it for Vogue 8633 after someone pointed out that it is meant to be made with a double knit (what? the crispness does not go with double knit) because Fabric Mart had it listed at 5% lycra. It's not particularly stretchy and unfortunately is a lighter weight than I expected--they say dress weight, I say more like blouse weight--but I'll give it a shot.

The orange stretch twill was $1/yd. When do you not need screaming orange stretch twill in stash? Heh. Actually, I will make a skirt out of it.

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A Sewn Wardrobe asks:
Are these a backlog of projects to post or have you been extra busy lately? I hope the former, as you're making me feel very unproductive!

I haven't necessarily been posting a backlog of projects lately, but I *have* pretty much been posting as I finish things, which is unusual. I usually have so much that there's no way I can keep up! I have been so busy lately and have not had my usual amount of time to sew. I was hoping this weekend would be all me, but of course it is slowly being eroded and nibbled away by obligations and commitments to the point where I'm down to just a few hours. :( I have so many sewing plans and I want to spend uninterrupted time pursuing them!

Arnysews asks of my self-collar wrap blouse:
Does the wrap stay closed or do you need to wear a cami underneath?

Part of the reason I love this pattern is that there is no gape at the wrap! So it doesn't need a cami. However, the silk georgette of the flutter sleeve version is semi-sheer so I should probably wear a cami under it if I'm going to be in bright sunlight.


I'm sorry I don't always get a chance to answer all questions. If you have a question that is not sewing related or not of general interest (such as a hotel recommendation), and you don't have a blog where I can contact you, please leave some contact information so that I can answer you privately!

Questions and Answers, Swaybacks, and Stashoholism Confessional

I've had a few questions in comments lately so I'll try to provide some answers. I don't know everything by a long shot!

Holly had several questions on my post about BWOF 03-2009-102, the empire waist knit dress:

I'm new to reading sewing blogs and I'm scared. Here's why:

1. I don't know how to order BWOF;

2. My sewing machine only sews straight and zigzag stiches;

3. I keep seeing some sort of grid thing you guys use when working with patterns and I don't have one of those.

Any advice you could give me would be great, especially if you could please tell me how to get the pattern for the dress you just made.

1. BWOF is distributed in the United States by GLP News. It's $80 for an annual subscription, with 6 month and 3 month subscriptions available for a modest $3 premium over that rate ($43/6 mos, $23/3 mos); if you are a new sewist I might recommend one of the shorter subscriptions to see if you will enjoy sewing where you have to trace the patterns and the instructions are not always very good. I heart BWOF, but I would probably have found it discouraging in the very early stages of sewing.

This seems expensive at first blush, but it is actually an incredible bargain if you sew enough to make it worth it. It is under $7 per issue, each issue has around 40 patterns (the description says 60 but I'm not sure where they got that number), so we are talking like 17 cents per pattern. Now, in reality, I generally end up making 2-3 patterns per issue but that is still less than $3 per pattern. A very reasonable price for fashion-forward sewing delivered to your door every month! BWOF is the only magazine I subscribe to and I look forward to it every month. (This reminds me that I need to renew my subscription.)

2. A straight stitch and zig zag is all you need! I didn't get a serger until about 8 months ago and I've been sewing for over 20 years. Use your straight stitch on wovens and a slight zig zag on knits and you're good to go.

3. The grid thing is just a cardboard cutting mat, available for around $20 at Joann, Hancock, or any other fabric store as well as online. I put it over my table to protect the table and make it easier to cut. Plus, the scissors are so loud straight on the table! I do find the grid useful for measurements and use the bias markings for cutting bias strips, and recommend it as basic sewing equipment, but it's not necessary. I should do a sewing glossary post on basic sewing equipment...

4. Unfortunately, the pattern is available only in the March 2009 issue of Burda [World of Fashion]. It is an excellent issue--you can check it out here--that would be worth acquiring. You might be able to find it on eBay or Etsy. Burda also says on its archive page that past issues can be purchased in German if they are still in stock. (This means the instructions would all be in German.) You can also check (and post a want ad) on the PR Classifieds. There are several back issues on this website (I am not affiliated with it, have never used it, and cannot vouch), but unfortunately neither issue that Holly or Amy is looking for. Finally, you might contact GLP News. Occasionally people with subscriptions have had issues lost the mail (not me, touch wood) and GLP has been able to get them replacements, so I assume they have a very small stock of back issues. I hear tell of retail bookstores carrying BWOF; I've never chanced across it in any bookstores I've been to.

Amy also wanted to know about getting a back issue of BWOF:

I am sort of new to the Burda patterns. I saw one on a web site I really liked and have finally figured out it came from the BWOF magazine. Do you know where I can get a copy of the magazine or a copy of the pattern in it? It is from BWOF 07-2008 and is pattern number 108. Thanks for any help you can offer.

All my ideas are listed above. Hopefully you can find what you want!

Laura requests:

Hey, have you ever done a tutorial on sway back adjustments? If not, would you mind doing one? I've looked around and they're all different!!! But since yours works I'd love to know how you do it.



Basically, that's it. My swayback is directly below my natural waist (my bum is pretty high) so I go about an inch below the natural waist and fold out a wedge of about one inch at CB, tapering to nothing at the side seam. This naturally creates a curve in the center back, but you can make it more dramatic if needed (I have not found I always need extra curvature and I have a serious swayback). Where there is a dart, as pictured above, the lower apex (the nadir?) needs to be redrawn so that it is on grain with the rest of the dart.

The bummer about this alteration is that it adds a center back seam. There's no getting around it. I'd rather have the distraction of a CB seam than the distraction of fabric pooling above my sizeable rear, so I deal with it.

Lisette M asks

I love it! I love how it looks on you and your accessories are perfect with it. Is the necklace one of yours?, it is gorgeous.

Yes! I pretty much wear only jewelry that I've made. I've been so caught up in sewing the past several years, though, that I rarely make jewelry anymore except as gifts. I always bring my supplies with me when I travel because pliers are allowed on planes and I get so antsy just sitting there for hours in a cramped seat. I'm flying to Texas this weekend and will work on some new pieces. Maybe someday I'll even put something in my now empty Etsy shop. I do commission work, so if you have a particular piece in mind (or want to be surprised!) just get in touch.

And a question from Katharine in Brussels, just for kicks:

Question--are you growing your hair out? It looks a little longer.

I am just lazy!!!! When I moved to DC I went through three or four years of trying different stylists at all different price points ($30 Hair Cuttery which left me looking like a hammerhead shark with my hair right at my wide jawline and $90 fancy salons) and never finding anyone I liked. Finally I did.

There are two kinds of hairstylists. There are the ones who are perfectly made up and impeccably groomed who you want to look like, and there are the ones who have crazy insane jolie-laide (although frankly in my opinion just laide) hair who you know have vision. She was the latter. She had a buzz cut with big sideburns. I'm not kidding. And she gave me fabulous haircuts. I am a grownup professional and don't want to be too out there, but I always say, "Do NOT give me anchorwoman hair." She found the perfect balance between personality and anchorwoman. Then I went to see her a couple years ago and she said she was leaving the hair business to join the ministry. With all due respect, I needed her more than God.

So I was back to square one. I went to the Aveda Institute a few times for super cheap student cuts, but I got a mushroom head anchorwoman 'do one time and a girl who didn't know how to layer thin hair the second time and accidentally just cut it all off so I decided to get back on the salon circuit.

I got a recommendation to a co-worker and found Claire at Ilo. She is amazing. She gives fantastic haircuts and has a sexy voice and British accent to boot. She gave me the fabulous short haircut that I wore curly until it got too long in July of last year. She told me I'd have to come back every four weeks. Her cuts cost $90, so $110 with tip. No way was I going back every four weeks. I countered with 8. She agreed to 6. I, um, haven't been back. Yep, I haven't had a haircut since last July. I (irrationally, I hope) fear she will be mad at me when I go back so I'm procrastinating.

When I went to Claire the first time I hadn't had my hair cut in well over a year and it was long like this. I am sure she has had her share of bad experiences of people with long hair coming in *thinking* they want a really short cut and then crying and threatening to sue so she was a bit trepidatious in cutting it off. I told her it was that long due only to inertia. My hair is too thin and prone to breakage to grow long and it looks hideous that length. I always see old pictures with long hair and get all nostalgic but I have to remind myself that while it might, by some miracle of photography, look glowing and lustrous in the picture, in real life it was stringy and split practically up to the roots and frankly embarrassing to wear around all the time.

Bottom line, I am not intentionally growing my hair long and will get a haircut as soon as I find the courage to face Claire!

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Here's a random link for you, the blog of 1000 Awesome Things. It's a list of everyday little things that make you happy. It has nothing to do with sewing, but it's sweet and I'm enjoying it a great deal.

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On Saturday afternoon I went to a party on the Red line. Since I was so close to G Street Fabrics' Rockville location and I needed a zipper I headed up to the White Flint station. Since this is not my usual G Street I felt I was totally justified in browsing the $2.97/yd table. Whether I was or was not, I found some fabrics I couldn't pass up. Since I can never pass up knit prints I got the red with huge circles and orange with swirls (I had a hard time getting them to look two different colors in the photos).

I love the huge print on the red, but the circles are in rows rather than randomly placed. For the first time ever, I am going to have to focus on circle placement in cutting. Normally I don't worry about highlighting the girls because there's nothing there to highlight, but red circles the size of dinner plates over my boobs would be too obvious even for me. I am not sure what pattern to use. I already have Vogue 8379, the DVF-ish wrap dress, in a similar fabric (though with a smaller scale print). So I don't want to do anything too similar to that. Suggestions welcome!


I am thinking Butterick 5079 (technical drawing at right) for the orange swirls. There are only a few pattern reviews of this one and nobody seems to absolutely love it, but it appeals to me that it is a semi twist dress that is not really a twist dress. And of course, there is that ruching at the midriff! My new favorite thing. I think the versions that have been made are cute. And plus, I own the pattern so I should make use of it!

The black fabric is a casual tiered-look lace with a bit of stretch. It looks like it has some cotton content; I haven't done a burn test, that's more by way of describing its level of casual. I have already made some of it into a short sundress with spaghetti straps--one of the holes in my wardrobe I recently discovered--and I'll make the rest into a casual black summer skirt. I'm not going to pretend I don't already own 5 or 6 black skirts, but none of them are casual summer skirts. So, ya know, I neeeeeeed one.