Author: goodbyevalentino

27 Aug Black White and Cherry!

Posted at 05:00h in Fashion Sewing, Mood Fabrics, Mood Sewing Network, Sewing Tunics, The Tunic Bible by goodbyevalentino 50 Comments

I've never been able to adopt the 'keep it simple' philosophy, but I do believe in the 'one step at a time' approach to life. In sewing that means sticking to the familiar while learning the new. While I try to grasp the details of machine embroidery I'm sewing with patterns and fabrics that leave no surprises. Mood Fabrics offers a fabulous collection of cotton shirtings, and what better backdrop for cherry red than a black and white check! I knew this smooth shirting fabric with a soft drape would be perfect for a tunic and kept my fingers crossed that it would be...

16 Aug Sewing For a Postulant

Posted at 06:22h in sewing clothes, Sewing Skirts, Sewing Tops by goodbyevalentino 67 Comments

At the request of many readers, I am writing a post about my recent sewing project. My neighbors' 30-year old daughter, the oldest of seven children, is an Air Force Academy graduate. She completed tours in Iraq and Afghanistan while on active duty before settling in Columbia, SC as an engineer. In March she made the decision to pursue the religious life and is joining the Dominican Sisters of Mary in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Her parents paid me a visit shortly after her decision to ask if I would sew the official clothes Katie would wear during her postulant year. The clothes include 2 white aprons, 2 blue aprons,...

05 Aug McCall’s 2401 in Pink Flambe!

Posted at 11:18h in Fashion Sewing, McCall's Sewing Pattern, Mood Fabrics, Mood Sewing Network, Sewing Dresses by goodbyevalentino 49 Comments

With an unapologetic youthfulness straight out of an "Eloise at the Plaza" book, add this adorable Pink and Blue Printed Stretch Cotton Sateen to your collection! Hand drawn flowers, swirled vines and hearts move in a kaleidoscopic fashion over a light blue background. A crisp hand is paired with a stiff drape for perfectly tailored pieces. Its stretch through the weft ensures the perfect fit for bodycon pieces as well! Make crop tops, shorts and shift dresses for an adorable spring/summer look. Who can resist a description like this?? I ordered the fabric with pants in mind since cotton sateen makes wonderful...

22 Jul McCall’s 7543

Posted at 08:50h in Fashion Sewing, McCall's Sewing Pattern, Sewing Tops by goodbyevalentino 75 Comments

After seeing so many cute renditions of McCalls 7543, I could not let another summer day pass without sewing my own. An off-the-shoulder top with gathered shoulders and elastic pulled tight across the chest and back gives the appearance of nice clean lines, which I wear better than a full gather. The nice tight pull across the chest also prevents gaping. After finishing the experimental embroidered denim jacket I was ready to embroider for real ;) The printed fabric from EmmaOneSock is a lightweight linen with a nice background for an embroidery design. I settled on a floral motif the Pfaff Embroidery book...

17 Jul Embroidered Jean Jacket

Posted at 05:57h in Fashion Sewing by goodbyevalentino 72 Comments

I've been practicing my embroidery. After trying out two designs on muslin with no purpose other than to serve as practice examples, I went in to 'Just Do It' mode. I grabbed a very old denim jacket out of a closet and began to explore with the Pfaff embroidery designs which came with my machine. My plan was to sew whatever struck my fancy...

08 Jul Soulmate/Sleepmate/Secura

Posted at 07:00h in Amy Butler, Coats & Clark by goodbyevalentino 53 Comments

Such a good feeling waking up in a lovely pair of PJs! Greetings from the gazebo, a colorful escape and peaceful refuge to start my day. In April, I borrowed a pair of Julie's Carolyn Pajamas by Closet Case Patterns. (She's sewn seven pairs - seriously). At last I have my own. If you're a Bedhead fan then you'll love this pattern! (Check out Bedhead's Liberty PJs here.) I sewed the pajamas in Amy Butler's latest fabric design, Soulmate (Free Spirit Fabrics). Amy's latest collection features 24 designs in 3 color ways of garment-friendly poplin! Since Amy's fabrics are color co-ordinated companion fabrics, I used...

03 Jul Perfection Starts Here – My New Machine

Posted at 06:51h in Uncategorized by goodbyevalentino 61 Comments

I am elated to be a new Pfaff Ambassador :) I cannot think of another word that describes my joy to represent this outstanding company, and truly look forward to showcasing its state of the art machines. To familiarize me with the Pfaff products, I received the Pfaff Creative 4.5, a Sewing and Embroidery Machine introduced to the market in 2014. I am an absolute novice to embroidery. While working on The Tunic Bible, Julie and I discovered the missing link to our efforts was the ability to embroider as seen in the Tory Burch tunics below. Now my imagination runneth over...

01 Jul New Lilly Inspired Dress and Contest Winner!

Posted at 06:12h in C&T Publishing, Mood Fabrics, Mood Sewing Network, Sewing Tunics, The Tunic Bible, Uncategorized by goodbyevalentino 32 Comments

Lilly Pulitzer introduced a fabulous collection of navy dresses this season, and I wanted one too. The Lilly dresses are available in every fabric imaginable bringing about many possibilities. My decision was based on the piece of Theory Navy Cotton Rib Knit I ordered from Mood Fabrics in March. (Now sold out but I highly recommend the navy stretch pique.) While Lilly refers to many of its dresses as 'shift dresses', they look like tunics to me, and so I made a tunic from The Tunic Bible. Since this is at least the 40th tunic I've made during the last two years, I...

25 Jun Bucket Hat Mania and Double Giveaway!

Posted at 06:53h in Goodbye Valentino Giveaway, Uncategorized by goodbyevalentino 421 Comments

It is a great pleasure to showcase the quality products of Coats & Clark. Headquartered in the Carolinas with a distribution center 30 minutes from my home, I was delighted to say yes to this long-established company, and will be writing a series of posts for its redesigned blog beginning on June 29. Coats and Clark manufactures not only thread, but zippers and knitting accessories. It is also the parent company to Free Spirit Fabrics. The company contacted me because I sew garments...

17 Jun Don’t forget to cover up!

Posted at 07:35h in DIY Clothes, Mood Fabrics, Uncategorized by goodbyevalentino 33 Comments

No reason to keep this Cover-Up under wraps! I'm a believer in sharing fun sewing projects, and making this cover-up was divine joy :) After taking a close look at the Cover-Up Mimi is wearing, I thought sewing a knockoff would be a cinch. It's one of these 'Why didn't I think of that?' kind of things...