Naughty Girl, Happy Girl

Posted on May 25, 2013 by

It pays to be naughty sometimes.

Especially this time.

 Here is McCall’s 6700.

M6700For Moderate Stretch Knits Only

 I had sewn the pattern before and didn’t see anything stretchy about it…… and I had to have this Thakoon Blue Tie-Dye Silk Crepe de Chine Border Print from Mood Fabrics…… and I had to make this maxi dress in this silk.  At 5’2” I rarely wear border fabrics and I knew this was my chance.

It’s been a long time since I broke the rules, but I think it was worth it ;)

IMG_1947Indeed – a perfect dress for Memorial Day or Fourth of July.

I think it would look great with a big bowl of cherries, an armful of sunflowers, or even better walking along the beach – my hope is to wear this dress all summer long!

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This is quite the easy pattern with four pattern pieces (five if you include the back ties). The neck and armholes are finished with a narrow hem rather than a facing or lining. Having made the dress once before (blogged here) I knew what issues I would face with the upper bodice popping open, and overlapped the upper front and back bodice an extra inch and a half to solve the problem.

IMG_1958 After sewing the dress in this luscious crepe de chine, I’m still not sure why the pattern was designed for moderate knits only!

I guess one could say I got away with it, but maybe I should have had my wrists slapped for taking a chance with this beautiful silk. It would be perfect for just about anything with its lovely drape and soft hand!

After I sent this post to Mood Fabrics, the store added a link to  Thakoon’s website showing how he used the fabric. I enjoyed browsing this page after I had sewn my vision of the fabric, but do wonder how it would have influenced my decision had I seen these photos before hand.

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Regardless of my decision, the page was a great reminder of how thankful I am to be sewing again.

Best wishes for a safe, meaningful and fun-filled Memorial Day weekend!

Posted in Uncategorized | 26 Comments

Burda 7081

Posted on May 17, 2013 by

I’ve made friends with Burda and I’m all the better for it!

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 I was trying to convince myself that Burda patterns weren’t for me, but had a problem doing so. I really liked the looks of so many patterns!

Was it me or was it Burda?

In the end, it all came down to learning a new way of doing something.

Learning to read and follow the Burda pattern was nothing like learning a new software program! It was more like driving a different route to a destination. I simply had to read the instructions s l o w l y  and carefully along the way. Unlike my last Burda pattern, I could easily sew a muslin with woven fabric, make a few adjustments and get a feel for the particulars.

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The pattern, Burda 7081 has summer written all over it and the cotton print with stretch  is from Aunt Maggie’s surprise box – a perfect summer weight.

I was attracted to the flattering neckline created by the front yoke pieces seen below.

7081chartBoth the front and back yokes produce a nice flat upper bodice with no gaping whatsoever!

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I even took the time to make the kick pleat.

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 The dress is fully lined. I generally find lining sleeveless tops and dresses a little tricky but with this pattern, the front yokes were lined, turned and basted to the upper bodice. The dress lining was then assembled, attached and turned, leaving only the shoulders to be sewn together. Rather than sewing an awkward continuous seam, the front and back were stitched together through three layers – the fashion fabric and the front yoke lining. The lining of the back yoke had been turned under and pressed and the seam was neatly tucked into the opening and slipstitched. I hope I can apply this technique to future sleeveless sewing projects!

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I suppose there is a moral to this story somewhere, but I’m just happy to be over the Burda hump, and greeting the weekend with a fun, new dress :)

IMG_1876 Have a good one everyone!

Posted in Burda Patterns, sewing blog, Sewing Dresses | Tagged , , , | 122 Comments

Simplicity 2497

Posted on May 9, 2013 by

While sewing my casual knits the ruffles were calling my name, and I answered. The craving to sew ruffles was stronger than any craving I’ve ever had for chocolate, but I tried to be practical and made an all-purpose white shirt.

IMG_1631Of course it’s all-purpose!

Mood Fabric’s Ivory Solid Goes with Everything Silk really does go with everything in my closet!

It’s perfect with my re-fashioned floral pants….
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party ready with my celebration skirt….

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and very practical when combined with jeans for a walk in the park. That’s right – if Kate Spade wears silk to the flea market then I’m wearing silk to walk the dog :)

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I believe I can even take it to a formal level!

IMG_1615Sewing this converted Cynthia Rowley dress pattern for the fourth time made for easy sewing.  Since the ruffle is gathered down the center rather than along the seam line, my ruffler stayed in its box and I gathered it the old fashioned way. I also widened the ruffle along the lower neckline. The arms and neckline were finished with self made bias-strips from the silk fabric, and I hemmed the top by hand to get a truly invisible hem.

Just for fun I’m including the three previous tops from this pattern below.

ruffle-topsEach is unique and my latest will certainly find its place in my wardrobe.

I truly love my new top but I don’t know which I love more, the pattern or this wonderful silk. I’ve already re-ordered four more yards!

… A very practical move if you ask me ;)

Posted in clothing designers, Easy Sewing, Ruffles, Sewing Tops, silk, Simplicity Patterns, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 59 Comments

Merry, Merry Month of May

Posted on May 1, 2013 by

Make that the Merry, Merry

mmay13Well, Hello!

After sewing almost non-stop for over a year and a half, I’m ready to take the Me-Made-May’13 challenge created by the cute, creative and energetic Zoe from SoZoWhatDoYouKnow.

Her challenge now in its fourth year has gained strength and momentum with over 440 participants. In case you don’t know, the challenge is a celebration of the efforts we pour into creating our clothes by pledging to wear our handmade garments. Participants design their own pledge based on their comfort level. I pledge to wear one handmade garment made by me everyday during the month of May.

I decided to begin Me-Made-May ’13 by wearing the first top I made during my RTW Fast. I was too shy to model it on my September 15, 2011 blog post so here it is today.

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It’s New Look 6964 blogged here. I think I’ve come a long way in many respects, but will always appreciate this peasant top despite its shortcomings.

Don’t worry – I’m not going to publish a post everyday about what I’m wearing this month. I have, however created a page found at the top of the blog that I’ll keep updated.

Cheers to all of us sewing enthusiasts!

May our creative energies make the world a better place!

Posted in Me-Made-May'13, New Look Sewing Patterns, sewing blog, Sewing Tops | Tagged , , , | 40 Comments

Twist and Shout

Posted on April 27, 2013 by

I planned on publishing a post with  F O U R  garments  and here I am with  O N E. …….. and it looks really easy doesn’t it?  Well, it wasn’t.

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I’m determined to master sewing casual clothes, but mistakenly I’ve confused

c a s u a l  with  e a s y .

After thumbing through a J Crew catalogue, I ordered four fabulous knits from Mood Fabrics’ enormous collection with the plan of making four garments for casual wear.

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FP30200

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This was originally to be my Farmer’s Market dress; my toss-on dress for weekend errands.

IMG_1369I searched for a casual dress pattern, designed for knits which had interesting construction detail and found this Burda pattern.  No reviews were available but it was so cute I was willing to take a chance and write the first review on PR.

burda 7059 It’s just my second Burda pattern to sew but who would have thought the pattern would have tied me in knots?

I should have sent out an S.O.S. to all of the Burda fans out there because there were issues, most of which  occurred in the bodice.

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 I’ll post more about it on Pattern Review.

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While I love the lines and fit of the pattern, the construction resulted in unnecessary bulk sewing through 5 and 6 layers of fabric in several places throughout the dress.

After twisting, turning and manipulating the multiple layers without really understanding  what I was doing, it all came together transforming my lovely jersey fabric into a garment that will serve me well during the hot, humid days ahead.

I also believe it will pass muster beyond the Farmer’s Market and dry cleaners :)

As far as my remaining three fabrics……. I have two more left to sew and plan to feature all three in the next post.

I never dreamed I would be more comfortable sewing special occasion clothes over casual ones but I vow to be equally comfortable with both one of these days! In the meantime I’ve chalked up another example of  ‘looks can be deceiving’.

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Until Soon!

Posted in Burda Patterns, Mood Fabrics, sewing blog, Sewing Dresses, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 81 Comments

The Oonaballoona Dress

Posted on April 14, 2013 by

 In the first week of December, Oonaballoona, that sassy woman from Kalkatroona sent me a piece of fabric I had admired just a few weeks earlier.

For readers post November 14th………..

During my one and only meetup with Oonaballoona, my husband’s camera broke while in her hands at Mood Fabrics. Oonaballoona erroneously blamed herself, and three weeks later this tropical banana leaf jersey arrived at my house along with a chocolate bar for hubby .

IMG_1340Or is feathers? The woman does love her feathers……….

Oonaballoona feather skirt

Whatever it is I wanted to savor every inch of this fun print, and I’m celebrating the return of warm weather sewing with my Oonaballoona dress!

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Greetings from Edisto Island!

Do you know I’ve never made a fun Maxi dress? The last time I even wore one was at age 15, but after a rendition of this McCall’s pattern by SewWil, one of my favorite Pattern Reviewers, I was all about sewing a maxi dress with Oonaballoona’s gift.

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The pattern is super easy and was sewn in a day. All of the edges are turned rather than faced , and my trusty roll of Steam-a-Seam was incredibly helpful in stabilizing the edges for even turning, pressing and top-stitching.

IMG_1355Indeed, I used every inch of this fabric – the belt must be 10 feet long!

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Back in my RTW days, I didn’t consider trying on a Maxi because the limited wearability seemed like a waste of money. Now I think I’m nuts.

This dress is so fun and so  w e a r a b l e  -  it’s already made the rounds at Edisto very comfortably………… but don’t think I’ve been lounging around all weekend in my new dress.

Hardly. ….. more like washing windows and scrubbing concrete etc………. but now I’m done and it’s time to live a little –  Oonaballoona style :)

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B o t t o m s  U p !

Posted in Easy Sewing, McCall's Sewing Pattern, Mood Fabrics, sewing bloggers, Sewing Dresses, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 130 Comments

Giveaway Winners!

Posted on April 11, 2013 by

My husband kindly agreed to draw the names of the Giveaway Winners and then showed up in a tux.

IMG_1308 What a ham………

I was overwhelmed by the enthusiastic response to Aunt Maggie’s International Giveaway – nearly 200 responses with an average of 3.5 entries per person! With approximately 700 entries, I suppose a tux was in order :)

………and a blindfold.

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 The winners are as follows:

1. Black and white plaid wool: AMY @ metrobabylon

2. Hot Pink Wool: YOLANDA REYNOLDS

3. Red and Off White Taffeta: CAROLYN WYNN

4. Beige Wool: BRENDA EVERETT

5. White Pique: AMY MAYER

6. Red, White and Blue Linen: BETH ROTHFUSS

7.Vogue 5850: BRUNA

8. Vogue 8766: ANN SULLIVAN

9. Vogue 8786: ALMEDA

10. Vogue 8491: VICKI @ Hongkongshopper

11. Vogue 8381: ELLA @ ellamanasan

12. Vogue 9607: DANVILLE GIRL

13. Kate Spade Shoes: ANNA CHRISTINA

14. Hem Tape: VANESSA@passfailsewing

 Many thanks to everyone for participating and honoring Aunt Maggie’s generosity and inspiration for my first Giveaway. It was quite fun for me (and hubby)!

Winners, please email your mailing address to  – goodbyevalentino@gmail.com by Saturday, April 13. If I haven’t heard from you by then a new winner will be selected.

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WE DELIVER!

Giveaways will be mailed on Tuesday, April 16th.

Best wishes for a great weekend!

Posted in Giveaway, Kate Spade, Vogue Sewing Patterns, Wool | Tagged , , , , , , | 40 Comments

The Regis Dress

Posted on April 9, 2013 by

Sometimes I make embarrassing mistakes, and for a while I thought ordering this white cotton/nylon lace from Mood Fabrics was one of those times.

white lace

The flat lace reminded me of a tablecloth upon pulling it out of the box, revealing my inexperience in selecting lace. What can I say – I felt stupid for placing such an order when so many beautiful laces were available.

B u t   w h a t ’ s   a   g i r l   t o   d o  ?

After three worrisome weeks, I bought my first bottle of Rit Dye.

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Thirty minutes later….. I had a new attitude,

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and two days later, I had a new dress!

IMG_1296Still energized by sewing with lace and the Sew the Perfect Fit Craftsy course led me to make one more dress with Vogue 8766 for an annual event my husband and I attend – this year with Regis Philbin.

This pattern is designed to be cut on the crossgrain. Since I wanted to take advantage of the fabric’s pretty scalloped border I cut the skirt’s lower edge along the border and included the long, darted sleeve (my first).  What beautiful shaping darts add to a sleeve – so much better than easestitching !

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I followed the exact method and instructions as I did for the navy lace dress.  Since I was working from a carefully constructed muslin, there were no fitting issues, though early on I melted the nylon netting in four spots on one of the back pieces. Recutting the pattern piece and using a press cloth got me back on track. After toying with several waist embellishments I opted for none.

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The dress is lined with  Mandarin china silk from Mood which was designated for another project. I found that the silk’s beautiful depth of color and sheen nicely complimented the matte quality of the lace.

After exploring the lace scene this spring I get the feeling no two laces are alike in appearance or handling. However, sewing with lace need not be scary and I plan to learn more about a fabric that I once considered mysterious.

……….and the Rit dye? Oh my goodness! Did you know the Rit Dye’s website provides formulas for 500 different colors? I am a changed woman!

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_______________________________

So how did my dress go over last night? I’m still a little self-conscious circulating my homemade frocks amongst hundreds of $$$$$$$$ garments, but I recognize a driving force behind putting forth my best efforts is wearing my projects - i n  p u b l i c .

When I walked in the venue with a very wealthy woman who repeatedly told me she wanted my dress I didn’t dare go into my tablecoth, Rit dye and sewing saga. Instead I relaxed  and remembered Diane Von Furstenburg’s motto that always rings true – Attitude is Everything!

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Speaking of attitudes……….. my next project up is the Oonaballoona dress!

Until soon :)

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Posted in Craftsy, LACE, Mood Fabrics, sewing bloggers, sewing blogs, Sewing Dresses, Sewing with Lace, silk, Uncategorized, Vogue Sewing Patterns | Tagged , , , , , , | 194 Comments

Aunt Maggie’s International Giveaway!

Posted on April 6, 2013 by

A few days ago FedEx delivered a surprise package from my Aunt Maggie. I received my first surprise package from Aunt Maggie at age 7; a large box filled with homemade Barbie clothes including a wedding dress! Through the years Aunt Maggie tastefully perfected her hobbies of sewing, crafting, cooking and home decorating to impressive heights, and I’ve known very few people to be as talented, industrious and thoughtful as she is.

You might guess an unexpected package from Aunt Maggie is a good thing, and my anticipations swelled when a gorgeous piece of virgin wool popped out upon opening the tightly packed box.

 Yep – the box was loaded with gorgeous fabrics inspiring my first blog giveaway!

Take a look below:

1.    2 and 1/2 yards (60″ width) Black and White Virgin Wool plaid. Maggie sent me 5 yards and I’d love to share half.

IMG_12802.  1 yard (55″ width) hot pink wool  I’m not sure the type but it’s perfect for a pencil skirt!
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3. 2 1/2 yards (45″ width)  red and off-white silk taffeta

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4. 2 1/2 yard (60″ width) beige/camel wool. This is very, very heavy wool. Perfect for the North Pole.

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5.  2 yard (44″width ) white pique

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6. 2 2/3 yards red/white/blue. I’m not sure what this is other than a stiff linen blend.

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7. Brand new Butterick 5850!  I was so excited about the recent $1.99 sale that I accidentally ordered 2 :)

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8. Vogue 8766. I received a duplicate pattern when I signed up for the Craftsy Sew the Perfect Fit class.

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9. Vogue 8786. Ugh…… I bought the wrong size and couldn’t return it.

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10. Out of Print – Vogue 9607  I found this pattern in a box of fabric and have no idea where it came from. Very pretty, but it’s not my size!

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11. Vogue 8491

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12. Vogue 8381

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Lucky Thirteen! I’ve never worn these and I never will :) Kate Spade Size 6

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14. 50 Yards of hem tape – 2  25-yard pieces

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All patterns are unused. To enter the giveaway, simply leave a comment below  indicating which items you’d like by Wednesday April 10th . Winners will be selected by a random drawing and announced on Thursday, April 11th at Noon EST.

Happy Saturday!

Posted in Giveaway | Tagged , , | 193 Comments

EASTER

Posted on March 31, 2013 by

When I realized the weather would be too cold to wear my navy lace dress for Easter, I set it aside for Mother’s Day, but I didn’t give up on such a pretty lace making its Easter debut, and made Mimi a skirt with the extra lace from Mood Fabrics.

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During the Mood Sewing Network Lace Challenge, several readers suggested lining the lace with white or nude to make it pop which was a great suggestion!

 To give the fabric the structure it needed for a straight skirt I underlined it with a medium weight silk organza and constructed the skirt the Susan Khalje way – basting the organza to the lace, and catch-stitching the seams to the organza. Then I lined the skirt with navy china silk.

Wow  – I forgot how using these techniques move a garment into a higher echelon of clothing!

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Had I been making the skirt for myself I might have inserted an invisible zipper, but for Mimi the on trend metal zip prevailed. How I would love to find some pretty zipper pulls!

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 I used the K a t i e  Spade Judy Skirt pattern to complement her cute Kate Spade top. Today Mimi wore a chartreuse sweater over her blouse, but for my blogging purposes she set aside comfort and warmth to model the skirt.

IMG_1097 Sew far I can say sewing with lace produces high impact results and I believe I am hooked!

As far as my Easter outfit –  to avoid freezing I resurrected a tired Doncaster suit by reworking the skirt, but next year Easter falls on April 20th – surely a perfect day for a navy lace dress. :)

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H a p p y  E a s t e r  to all who are celebrating!

Posted in Kate Spade, Mood Fabrics, sewing blog, Sewing with Lace, skirt pattern | Tagged , , , , , | 56 Comments