Vogue 8631, Sari Silk Kimono Dress

The boyfriend went to India for work(!!!) a couple of years ago, and brought me back a beautiful silk sari.  I had been sitting on the fabric for about 2 years, waiting for the perfect pattern.  The fabric is excellent quality but lightweight, so I didn't want anything that would put too much strain on the seams--but I can't wear shapeless so it had to have some waist definition.  A tall order!

 I made my knit version of Vogue 8631 as a test of the pattern for my special fabric and it passed the test.





I am hoping that the kimono look is one that never goes out of style.  Here is a Carolina Herrera ($799 on Gilt Group) version.









Other than making it in a woven, adding a zipper, and using the long sleeve, I didn't change a whole lot from the last version of this dress I made.  I had already adjusted the crossover not to gape on my small bust and everything else fit pretty well.  The only real change I made was to add some length to the bodice.  I have a long torso despite my petite stature, and I found the waist on the knit version verging on too high.  I added an inch above the waist and the woven version sits just about perfectly.










Although I really like the tulip-y shape of the hem as drafted, I wanted just a skootch more coverage and overlap, so I cut it with a little more width at the rounded edge.

While a strong wind can still blow it open (I always wear a slip under, of course), it has good overlap and in normal circumstances provides ample coverage.






Let's talk about this fabulous fabric for a moment.  It was such a lovely and thoughtful gift!  As a traditional sari, it had a scarf piece, or "pallu" on the end.  I cut this off and hemmed the edges to make a scarf, which I wore with my Tweed Ride outfit.  It also has a double border on the remainder of the fabric.  I cut the sleeve hems on one of the borders.





And that was the extent of my intentional use of the border.  When cutting the skirt, I somehow forgot that the fabric was a double border.  I carefully avoided the border on opening edge, but then completely forgot about it for the side seam edge.  Oops!  Luckily, the fabric blends so well that I don't think anyone will ever notice this phantom border.











 To finish the edges of the dress, I made a million yards of self-bias tape.  Because it's a wrap the bias is a continuous circle all the way around the neckline/wrap openings.  It was so much self bias, but worth it in the end for the lovely finish.  The bias tape blends in so well that if I didn't know how it was done, I might think it was magic.







The pattern is drafted to be worn as a true wrap, held together by inner ties.  I am not crazy about inner ties--they are so fussy to tie and then if you need to readjust you have to get all the way undressed to do it.

Instead, I put a zipper in the center back seam, interfacing the opening to support my lightweight fabric.  To get a nice clean finish at the back neckline, I closed it up about two inches from the top and installed the zipper below that.  The neckline is plenty wide to pull over my head.









To keep the dress together, I hand-sewed the two fronts together at the waist's seam allowance.  This makes it much less fussy to wear.  I do need to keep an eye on my stitching and make sure it doesn't pull out.  That would be quite the wardrobe malfunction.


 The only thing I wasn't sure about for my sari silk version was the dropped shoulder.  I do not care for a dropped shoulder and it does not do anything for my petite frame, where shoulder width is always a challenge anyway.  But changing the location of the shoulder would have required extensive redrafting, so I decided to just risk the shoulder as drafted.

The only small issue in the finished project is not the location of the shoulder--with the wide sleeves it doesn't matter so much where the shoulder is located--but that my French seam sticks out a bit, emphasizing the dropped location of the shoulder.  But this is a tiny nit that I think only someone who sews would notice.

I was so happy that not only did I finally find a pattern for my special fabric, but the project also worked out just as I envisioned.  It drives me crazy when I finally cut into a Too Good To Use and then the project ends up being meh and I only wear the finished item a few times before bitterly parting from it.  This special piece will be in my closet for years.

My only dilemma is styling.  I love the way it looks with the obi, but is that just too literal?  I feel like it needs something at the waist, and a narrow belt doesn't look totally great.  But perhaps that is just my obsession with always have a scarf or belt at the waist.

All photos are here and the pattern review is here.



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And fabulous photos they are!  I wore this to the DC Area meetup a couple weeks ago and SewandWrite took these wonderful photos in front of the Chinatown arch.








But of course that wasn't really the point.  The point was to eat some yummy food, gab about sewing, and of course swap fabric and patterns!   I forgot to take a picture, but I brought a *huge* bag full of fabric to give away.  I felt very virtuous for only bringing three pieces home with me.  I couldn't pass up that gorgeous knit print, and I had just been thinking that week how I wanted a water-repellant fabric to make a bag to go in the basket of CaBi bikes.

At the last sewing meetup, the fabulous DD was wearing some drop-dead leggings she made of McCall 6404.  I immediately wanted to copy her.  Not be inspired by, but straight up copy.  She very kindly agreed to pick me up some pleather at Hancock's next time she was there.  And meanwhile the pattern had gone out of print, but luckily BMV had an out of print sale and I got it in my hot little hands.  True to her word, DD brought me the pleather to our meetup.  I can't wait to make the leggings!

It will be a while yet before I get around to them.  First, you can probably guess that I have been working a.lot. the past couple months, and it's not going to slow down anytime soon.  I hope to get back to more regular blogging someday.

Second, after almost a year of not wanting to do anything complicated, I finally got in the mood to do a hard project.  I've been plugging away at it for nearly a month now and am not even halfway done.  Maybe I should rethink that "wanting to do a hard project thing," LOL.  But it will be cool when it is done, I think.  There will be a big reveal...someday.

Stashoholism Confessional: NYC Garment District

I had a brief trip to New York for work November 14-15 and managed to sneak in a little bit of fabric shopping.  My poor shelves!

I found P&S Fabrics in Chinatown through a random Yelp search a few weeks before my trip and became obsessed with going there.  My train arrived at 4:45 and P&S is open until 7 and I thought I could just squeak in a visit.  There was so much traffic the cab took forever to get to my hotel (I had a suitcase and didn't feel like hauling it up and down the subway stairs).  But I thought I could still do it.

I took the subway to Canal St.  I found where the address should be.  But it wasn't there.  The street number was skipped.  After *much* puzzlement I realized I was on W Broadway rather than Broadway.  I figured if I walked long enough I would finish with the west part and get to the regular part, as that is how normal streets work.  I walked over a mile and I was still on W Broadway and showed no signs of getting to regular Broadway and at this point it was 6:50 so I had to pack it in.

I think I am finally ready to get a smartphone, because when I looked at a map on my computer back in the room I realized that Broadway and W Broadway run parallel to one another.  Dangit!  A smartphone would have told me that while I could still do something about it.  In the morning I returned.  Their Yelp listing says they open at 9:30 but in fact they opened after 10 and there was a line of people waiting to get in.  Oh, and I realized at that moment I'd forgotten my camera.  Boo!

In the end, the visit was worth it.  They have a great selection of high quality fabrics at reasonable prices.  I feel compelled to note that Kashi's prices at Metro are the same or a little lower for much of the same merchandise, though P&S is about 5 times the size of Metro.  The staff was friendly and efficient.  I picked up the silk to line a coat, and the red wool will be a dress.  They had the sequin appliques by the cutting table and I picked two of them up because, hey, they were $1 each.  I didn't even realize they were mirror image and it is pure luck that they had arranged them alternating on the peg--I just picked up the two top ones.



My next stop was Paron.  They offered a Groupon shortly before my trip, $100 merchandise credit for $40.  I snapped that right up!  The new location doesn't have an annex per se, but there are some fabrics in the back priced at 50% off (you have to check each tag).

When I was there (and I confirmed this with a very quick visit last week) they had a large bin of silks at 50% off--the prices I give on the photo are the prices with the discount included.  I always want silk for lining so I picked up as much as my budget would hold.  I'd never really worked with anyone there, but Mercedes was my cutter and she was a hoot.  She had very strong opinions about what I should buy, a bit like Kashi in that way...  All told, my total came to $106, only $6 over my Groupon, and with the 50% off and my Groupon I paid about $5/yd for these silks.  Yes, you can hate me.



My last stop was Metro.  Kashi was happy to see me, as usual.  Side story:  the boyfriend's hobby is records and there is a record store he always visits when he's in South Carolina.   He told me that one time he walked in and the proprietor, a guy about our age, was on the phone with someone regretfully saying he wouldn't be able to buy whatever item they were discussing...until the boyfriend walked in; his eyes lit up and he said, "Let me call you back--I may be able to find the money."  Ha!  I think that is how Kashi feels when I come to his store.






Kashi recently recovered from a pretty serious health scare (his arteries were blocked and he had to have surgery to clear them).  In his absence, I think his staff tidied the store, because there was a lot more room to move than usual and it was quite well organized.








Since I clearly can't stop buying fabric, I am trying only to buy high quality fabric that I won't just end up giving away.  It was getting into colder weather and I was naturally drawn to the wools.  Kashi has some great stuff right now.  If you want to make a red coat or jacket he had the perfect red.








He also had a lot of silks, and kept trying to tempt me with this burnout silk, which he has in several colorways (though naturally I was drawn to the olive.  I had just stocked up on silks, though, so I had to resist.



Even leaving the silks behind, I ended up with quite a haul.  Wool knits were high on my list to look for in New York and Kashi had two I liked.  The gray wool sweaterknit is really lovely and super warm.  The rust is a wool jersey and I will make it into Vogue 1329 eventually, when I have the patience to face the extensive alterations I need to make to the pattern (the neck/yoke is too wide, the armscye too low, and the whole thing just too big overall).

I mentioned in my last post that I used up the last of my pant-weight black knit on my LBD, so replacing that fabric was a huge priority.  I found nothing(!) in Spandex House.  Everything they had that was an appropriate weight was incredibly shiny.  Kashi saved the day--this fabric is only a smidge lighter than my last batch and will be a flattering fabric for bottomweights.

I picked up the hot pink double knit because ponte is so great to sew with and I love the color.  On prewashing I realized it is rayon, rather than a rayon/poly blend.  I am interested to see the pilling situation.  Does anyone have any guidance on whether the smooth face or the more textured/weave visible face is likely to pill more?  It will be Vogue 1282 with long sleeves, assuming I have enough (I hope!).

My indulgence was the silk/wool on the left.  It doesn't look like much in the photo but it's a beautiful iced aqua color with incredible sheen.  The fabric is a little stiff so I need to experiment with pre-treated swatches to see if I can loosen it up without decimating the sheen.  It will be a nice sheath dress.

Since I had found P&S through Yelp I figured I should check out Metro's listing to see what people said.  It only has a couple of reviews and it had been categorized into general craft stores.  I fixed the categorization so now it's a fabric store, but there are only a few reviews.  If you Yelp, I'm sure Kashi would appreciate a review.



The cruelty of all this fabulous shopping is that I have had zero time to sew since I got home from that trip, due to the busy social season.  It makes me so sad.  My saving grace for all this buying is that the day I got home I managed to make the gray into a cute sweater to wear to a party that night.

But other than that, I have not completed a single thing.  This has to be the longest I've gone without sewing in years.  I have a top about half constructed that I hope to finish before flying to Texas for the holiday.  I am suffering major withdrawal.



For the sweater I used my TNT tee and the neckline and cowl from Simplicity 4539, which I have made many times before.  The cowl is just a rectangle piece and I think was not the best choice for this moderately thick fabric.  I added more drape by twisting the cowl, as shown here.

I *had* planned to wear this to our office holiday party (nothing fancy--a potluck in a conference room) but then they announced an Ugly Sweater Contest and I was afraid to wear it in case people were like, "Hey, that is an awesomely ugly sweater!  Ha ha ha, it's so hilariously bad!" and I would be like, "Um, I am wearing this sweater in earnest."  More photos of the sweater here.



And those crazy appliques that I tossed in--apparently I really was drawn to them!  I thought they were the perfect way to dress up an otherwise tasteful gray sweater.  Tasteful is not my thing.  I loosely hand-basted them so they'll be easy to remove and reuse.




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I had planned for this to be the last of my fabric shopping for the year, but of course that didn't happen.  After using tie silk to line my Tweed Ride jacket I realized how much I love it and how little I have left.  So I went searching for sources and thought I'd check eBay.  This is scarf weight, not tie weight, but could still be used for lining and I love the mod print.  And the price!  I think the seller was a little frustrated that I was the only bidder and got the very low starting price, because it took them about a week to put my package in the mail...












And finally I picked up this knit at the DC PR meetup/swap last weekend, where Nikki kindly took the outdoor photos of my sweater.  I made Vogue 7898, a wrap dress with an asymmetric hem, several years ago.  I like the shape of the dress a lot but the hem is now way out of fashion.  And of course, the pattern doesn't have the option of a straight hem.  And it turned out not to be a simple matter at all to mark a straight hem because the front piece has gathers built in so it is oddly shaped and the grainline isn't perpendicular to the floor so I couldn't use it to judge.  Anyway, I need a striped knit to test whether my marked straight hemline is actually straight and this is perfect.

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And is this really really the last fabric buying of 2013?  Well, um no.  I had to get this post in before my Fabric Mart order of merino wools shows up!

The Resurgence of US Textile Manufacturing, Oh and Stashoholism Confessional

Note:  Blogger ate the originally published version of this post--changes were not made to the original text with any malicious intention!


The New York Times has done a couple of interesting articles recently on the return of some textile and garment manufacturing to the States.

First, they wrote about textile manufacturing, which is returning to US shores where the need for nimble responses to demand is a bonus.  The bad news is that the process has become much more automated in the past, and creates many fewer jobs than the textile mills did when they closed down and manufacturing moved overseas.  However, to my mind, a few good jobs is better than no good jobs.  And the reduced labor costs helps in the competitive pricing area so it's a bit of a catch-22.

Then there was an article on the search for skilled sewing labor to keep up with demand for US-made products.  When the jobs went overseas all the skills and knowledge evaporated.  The few people still around who worked in industrial sewing are generally past retirement age and not looking to return to the factory floor.  The article profiles a course for factory sewing that can't turn out graduates fast enough to meet demand for U.S.-made products.

I am 100% guilty of loving my huge wardrobe and deep closet, but this sort of clothes collecting only became available to the masses when jobs went overseas where labor is such a small part of the cost of clothing as to be negligible.  However, labor prices in the third world are rising as money flows into those economies, the cost of living increases, and expectations for standard of living rise.  I hope that we are reaching a new equilibrium that allows for liveable wages and good jobs on both sides of the ocean.

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I have been remiss in confessing some recent purchases.  Fabric Mart got me when they put silk at 40% off.  I'd been eyeing the peacock fabric on the left for a couple of months and finally pulled the trigger.  The side border print is challenging and will require a simple dress without a waist seam.  Would you believe that I have zero envelope patterns without waist seams?  They are essential for fitting with my swayback.  I'm going to try Burda 11-2007-110, a simple dress that will show off the print.

The rayon/mohair suiting was the impetus for the order, as it was the "crazy price" item.  It is much better quality than I had expected at that price and I like the subtle metallic windowpaning.  It will be a work dress.  The striped silk will be a shirtdress, and the mesh polka dot knit is because when do you *not* need mesh polka dot knit?  It will be a fabulous accent to any number of items.




Well then a month later Fabric Mart had 40% off everything on the site.  Diabolical!  They know I can't resist that kind of deal.

The cotton twill is a heavy denim weight with a lot of stretch.  It will be a dress from Burda 08-2013-116.  I'd had my eye on the blue sweaterknit for a while; I love the butterfly wing abstract print and the colors.  It will be a long-sleeve tee and I might also be able to eke a dress out of it as it's very wide.  We'll see how it performs in sewing; it is rather thin and may be prone to rolling and/or disintegration.  The red circles knit is for a dress.  I ordered the gray to make a long sleeve Vogue 1282 Donna Karan cowl variation.  I don't know why I thought it would have a sweatery texture.  It was described as poly knit and it feels like poly knit.  I don't think it's a luxe enough fabric for that project, though I do like the color and print.

The J Crew silk was my "splurge" item.  The olive/antique gold floral print is even more gorgeous and lustrous in person than on screen.  It will be a long sleeve work top.  My first thought was a tie neck blouse, but I'm afraid we're on the tail end of that trend and I want this to be a top I can wear for years.  I'm not crazy about button front blouses--I feel like they're harder to wear with a skirt than pants, and I am in a skirt 98% of the time--which limits me a bit in the classic department.  Any ideas?




I also paid a visit to G Street (incident to a necessary trip to Home Depot, I swear!).  They had these two sweaterknits on the bargain table.  The pink is very sheer and will be a cardigan.  The red is a bit thicker and will be a long sleeve tee.  I'll either line it or double the fabric, depending on how it behaves in cutting.  I am obsessed with never having the perfect red for t-shirts.  I don't know why it's such a compulsion for me, especially since red isn't even in my top 5 favorite colors!  My top five are turquoise, olive, hot pink/fuchsia, blue purple, orange, though my wardrobe doesn't much reflect my love of orange.  What are your top 5 colors?

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.

Silk Exhibit and Silk Confession

The Meridian International Center, across from Meridian Hill/Malcolm X Park on 16th St. NW, is having an exhibit on silk from China through April 14.  The exhibit is free to visit.  I never even knew this place existed but it is a really lovely space--almost on a par with the Hillwood mansion (and, bonus, a 15 minute walk from my house).  Nikki found out about it and we visited after the DC meetup.












The dress above is made of hand-painted fabric.  The perfect detail is pretty breathtaking.  I can barely draw stick figures.  I like the cuffs that are part of the ensemble.  They are an interesting, avant garde touch and yet somehow don't scream "trying too hard."










The exhibit starts with folk art displays on the silk-making process.  This paper cutout--part of a set of four--kind of blew my mind.  There are also some brightly-colored folk art pieces, which are sort of in a naive style but have a sophisticated grasp of color.  I adored the blue-green piece.








Then come the silk samples.  There are reproductions of pieces that show Chinese silk-making techniques over millenia.   Nikki and I could not decide whether this reproduction embroidery had been done by hand or machine.  It is in a split stitch, and the stitches are so perfectly precise and even it seems impossible that a human could accomplish it!










The depth on this silk tapestry is astounding.  The tiny, perfect length fibers!  The shading and coloration!



The last room displays several evening gowns of the "more is more" school of design.  There was a lot to look at on each piece.

There is also a can't-miss video playing on a loop in this room.  It's worth watching the whole thing.



Nikki and I were mesmerized by this heavily embroidered Pop-Art-Meets-Tradition gown.  The pieces of the dress had been embroidered individually and then assembled, which I thought was curious.  We decided this means it was probably machine embroidered, as a machine would need flat pieces to work with.

I was so pleased that Nikki had found out about this exhibit.  What a gem.  And I couldn't believe it was free!  The docent was incredibly kind.  She seemed very excited to have us there and made sure we knew about the upcoming Festival des Artistes, which will be held this weekend at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts.   The Festival will feature artists from China, Iraq, Israel, Peru, Brazil, the Gambia, and many other countries around the world.  So if you don't have weekend plans yet...

All photos are here.

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A while back BadMomGoodMom mentioned finding some silks at her local jobber for $2.99/yd.  It was so entirely tempting that I asked her if she'd be willing to get some for me.  She was kind enough to oblige and found these three beautiful pieces for me.  The two on the left are ombres.  The print on the right is so Downton Abbey, right?  Though I don't normally go for pale colors, I just love it.  I think Burda 03-2013-113 may be just the ticket.  It's evocative of a vintage look without being costumey.  I am normally highly skeptical of a dropped waist, but this one doesn't look like it would be too tummy-terrible.



Fabric Mart, you are my downfall!  For the turquoise cotton damask, I think I will finally tackle Vogue 8576 (now out of print).  I really like the style but it has a thousand pattern pieces so I've been putting it off.

The wool might become formal shorts.  Is this crazy?  I mean, the idea of me in shorts is crazy anyway, but wool seems to defeat the purpose of shorts.  But I like the look of this wool, with a slight hint of sparkle, for dressy shorts.

You've already seen the silver damask.  You can see that I again used the "wrong" side of the fabric, as with my Oscar de la Renta knockoff (which was also a Maggy London fabric).

The last piece is what prompted the order.  I need to make a rule against ordering anything online after 10 pm.  For some reason, this gold pleated knit grabbed me and wouldn't let go.  I don't know.  The boyfriend will LOVE it in a body-conscious summer date night dress, and the pleats will feel a bit camouflaging of the belly.  Whether I actually have the guts to wear a body-conscious dress made out of this stuff is a whole other question.  Though it is a knit, it has very little stretch because of the gold metallic coating (which I will wear on the inside, using the lighter non-metallic gold as the right side).  The pleats came out of a prewash completely intact, which was a pleasant surprise.

Stashoholism Confessional: NYC and More Fabric Mart

Source: style.com via Trena on Pinterest

So, shortly after we made our pilgrimage to Fabric Mart, I placed an online order.  The mustard ponte is the impetus for the order--I only bought one yard when we went to the brick and mortar store, and I realized that was just not enough.  I want this for a dress, suitable coloring be damned.  I had not made a Fabric Mart order since they transitioned to the new website (that is how good I had been!), so I was able to use the "WELCOME" code for 20% off the first order.  The prices reflect the discount.

One of the fabrics I had permission to buy on our Fabric Mart excursion was for a trench coat.  I didn't see anything while I was there, but when I saw this gold snakeskin-embossed coated linen on the website I couldn't resist.  Don't ask my why I didn't turn it right side out for the photo, but you can see a little bit of the right side at the upper left of the photo.  B&J has a coated linen snake print for $29.95.  My $6/yd is one fifth that price.  I think I got a deal.   In snoop shopping ideas for a gold trench, I came across this Burberry Prorsum.  It is from Spring 2006, so old news in the fashion world, but I don't think it has lost any of its allure in the intervening 6 years.  Love!

The silk/cotton, I realized when I received it, is what Karen made into her wedding dress!  It is really lovely stuff.  I am still contemplating patterns.  But at less than $4/yd for a silk/cotton?  Please.  No way I could leave it there.


As for the pique, again, $1.60/yd?  Please.   I like red/white/blue prints for subtle 4th of July stunt dressing, and also just for every day of course.

I was randomly looking through old posts the other day (a couple months after this order) searching for a specific inspiration piece and I stumbled across my Spring/Summer 2011 inspiration post.  Well, look what I found!  I had completely forgotten about this inspiration piece, but clearly I still love the fabric, lol.  I don't know if you can tell from the snippet in the photo, but it is definitely the same fabric (though the red flowers bled a bit in the wash and my white bits are now faintly pink, boo).





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As I have the past several years, I went to NYC in early November to give a speech for work.  What's a trip to NYC without a visit to the Garment District?  That's a rhetorical question.  I know you feel me.

This lot is rather boring and virtuous, sweaterknits for simple long sleeve tops.

I got this wool/silk from Paron for a CRAZY steal.  While I was in NYC I saw on Clio's blog that Paron had a Groupon.  I immediately bought it and printed it out in the hotel's business center.  For some unfathomable reason, this had made it into the 50% section (note:  at the new Paron, the entire back section is *not* the annex--you have to check each individual fabric to see if it has the 50% off tag).  The Groupon was $20 for $40, essentially a 50% discount.  So I got this at 25% of its original price--$6/yd!!!  This fabric was worth every penny of its original $24/yd price.  Huge bargain.





The fabric drapes well and isn't sturdy enough for a fitted piece.  I saw someone make Simplicity 1796 on PR and knew it was perfect for this fabric.  It doesn't look like much on the envelope, and I never would have chosen it from the catalog.  I got the pattern at Joann during the most recent sale and can't wait to make it.














I am required to inform you that Kashi is lonely and sad about not getting enough visits from bloggers/Pattern Reviewers.  Duty discharged.

The lace was just so cool that I couldn't resist.  I really love the lace trend, but find it difficult to wear in the office.  My tone-on-tone lace skirt is a staple (though not bikeable so I haven't worn it much lately), but  floral lace seems hard to make professional.  This square lace can totally work in the office, in my opinion.  I was thinking I'd make another tone-on-tone skirt, but now I am in love with the idea of a shift dress with a gold lining.  Which is more cocktail than office, thus defeating the purpose.  And my life is waaaaaaay more work than cocktail.  Le sigh.

The silk dupioni is for another obi, as I wear the three I've made all.the.time.  The RPL is for a dress--it is so hard to find stretch wovens!!!!  I'm not sure I love the color, though.  It was the only non-black/navy/gray color in the lot.  We'll see.

The lime-colored silk was an indulgence.  I have never seen anything of that quality.  The weave is something like habitoi, but fine with no slubs.  It has body, but isn't crisp.  The sheen is remarkable.  I just had to have it. 




And as you know, I've already sewn up this printed denim from Chic!

I also bought 10 yards of batiste.  My last source, Vogue Fabrics, appears not to carry batiste anymore and I was dangerously low--down to my last 1/2 yard, I think.  Chic's batiste is narrow, but the quality exceeds what I've bought from anywhere else--and it is not $4/yd anywhere else.  Frankly, I think they (or at least the salespeople) have no idea what they have on their hands.  The guy was kind of incredulous that I wanted that much of the fabric, and tried to sell me some shirting instead.  It is quite sheer, however, and may not add the needed opacity to some fabrics.  This time I prewashed in the bathtub, which wasn't fun, but didn't get it all creased up like using the washing machine.  I also ironed this SOB before rolling up it.  Ironing 10 yards of batiste:  not my idea of a swell Saturday night.

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I am woefully late in blogging this meetup, but it has been well-blogged, especially by Robin, our hostess (seriously, visit the post, if only to see how fab I look in the group photo.  I have no idea how that happened.  I am *never* the one who looks good in a group photo.)  Suffice it to say, we all brought truckloads of fabric and patterns to swap!



Given how much there was to choose from, I think we can all agree that I was remarkably restrained, lol.  (And Seraphinalina reminded me about the offset of bringing fabric to swap--I brought, in volume, about 3 times as much as I took.)



In addition to the fabrics pictured above, I also picked up some odd-shaped remnants in this starlight mint print in two colorways, perfect for whimsical boxers.  The boyfriend wears boring dark plaid boxers, so at his birthday and Christmas he can expect me to try to inject some levity into his underwear wardrobe.  It is my opinion that sewing up one fabric from a lot justifies the entire lot.  The boxers were made within a couple of days of the party.  Justified.  (And that denim dress?  Justified the entire NYC purchase.)

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In my defense on this one, I bought a Groupon to G Street several months ago and had to use it before it expired.  I bought several notions, and this gorgeous teal silk.  I normally am firm about resisting silk sheers.  I don't see the point of sheer fabric--it's not really "clothes" if you have to wear it with something else!  But this is my color, and the weave is really nice.  It's not a chiffon or an organza--the texture is somewhere in between.  It will be another Burda 02-2009-123 shawl collar wrap blouse.  And will you look at that?  The knit I got at the meetup (second from the right) will be excellent for a camisole underneath.  See, it all comes together.

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Source: saksfifthavenue.com via Trena on Pinterest

The excuse for this purchase from Fabric Mart was the cotton flannel for interlining a coat (which, err, is still in the flat fold stage).  It was 50% off, and PRers had described the quality as excellent.  I wasn't going to get that price, width, *or* quality from Joann, so I decided it was time to get it.

I haven't been able to get Cidell's gold shorts out of my mind so I ordered the metallic linen.  It's not quite what I expected--instead of a subtle sparkle it has visible silver lurex threads running through it.

I was drawn to this Maggy London wool blend for a Fall/Winter dress.   After I placed my order, I realized the fabric was perfect for this Oscar de la Renta dress ($1890) that was one of my top picks last year.  I have been looking for a suitable fabric since then, believe it or not.  It needed to be something with body, but not a lot of bulk with all the pleats. I really wish I'd bought another half yard.  Hopefully I can squeeze it out, which may entail narrowing the skirt.  Butterick 5558 (now out of print, unfortunately)--a Maggy London design, by coincidence--is a great pattern match.




Athletic fabrics for t shirts.  These are *excellent* quality--thick with great recovery.  Unfortunately, I was unhappily surprised by the colors of the two $6 fabrics.  The red is a very orangey red, not the blue-red it appeared on my monitor and that flatters me, and the "honeydew" is very, very pale and doesn't suit me.  I am debating sending them and the metallic linen back.  Does anyone have experience doing returns to FM?  Is it bad form to consider a return if there's nothing wrong with the fabric, I just don't like it?  FM is a great company and I don't want to take advantage of them.


My free bundle.  A friend just started taking sewing lessons and mentioned wanting easy-sew cottons to practice on so I will give her the cotton print.

I was not at all turned on by the red stretch lace--floral, you know--until I realized it would actually make a cute nightie (backed by an opaque knit!).  






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OMG.  I know.  Out of control.  I have been sewing diligently, I promise.  Alas, no amount of diligence can offset this damage in under a year.  Gulp.  I need to come up with a workable plan for fabric-buying this year.  Maybe every other month?