Greetings from Talbots ;) Hmmm...
Mother “When are you going to start on your dress, Sarah? I’m getting worried.” Me “Today. As soon as we finish up at the lampshade store. ” …..and so after months of procrastination accompanied by some angst, I began the Mother of the Bride dress on Tuesday afternoon. It’s true, I’ve been putting it off while hoping to achieve the elusive perfect weight, shape, size etc……….. I mean what if I lose an inch in my waist after I make the dress? In March I asked for your help in finding fabric and a pattern for my Mother of the Bride...
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. 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. Thirty minutes later….....
While Tory Burch may refer to her Ginevra dress as the little lace sundress in the classic shade of navy, I’m calling my new navy lace dress my Easter dress, and it better warm up or I'm in trouble. This is my completed project for the Mood Sewing Network lace challenge and I must say I’m pleased. Inspired by the Tory Burch Ginevra dress, I ordered this navy cotton lace from Mood, and was set to go until I saw - and touched the actual dress in a store. I suddenly lost confidence fearing I could never make a dress that favorably compared...
At last I’m now sewing along with Linda Maynard in her online class - Sew The Perfect Fit! The Craftsy course title and description completely captured my attention leading me to contact Craftsy. “Learn how to alter your patterns to achieve a flattering fit for your body. Fit specialist Lynda Maynard teaches fitting techniques you can use to customize any pattern to your shape.” Since I am receiving the class for free in exchange for a review, I plan to write at least two thorough posts. I also want to let you know that Craftsy is offering a 40% discount on this class to my...
While I wait for my Mood Fabrics to publish my first garment-of-the-year post, I believe it's a good time to clarify a misconception among some readers. I have recently received several comments from readers who believe I have continued my RTW Fast into a second year. Not so...
“When the student is ready, the master appears.” Buddhist Proverb I was ready to learn how to make a good dress, and boy did I learn. My dedicated efforts in dressmaking were often flawed by random mediocre details leaving me discouraged and insecure. Enter the Online Couture Dress Class with Susan Khalje. I’m wondering if I even knew what C O U T U R E meant. Very nice, good fitting, custom-made clothes with special hand-sewn techniques – right? My naivety proved me nearly clueless. While Susan suggests several dress patterns to use, the Craftsy course includes this free Vogue 8648 dress pattern which she illustrates in...
I’ve been about to bust to write a post but sadly I have nothing to show. I’m in the midst of The Couture Dress Craftsy course with Susan Khalje for whom I have great admiration and respect. Composing a symphony, climbing Mt. Everest and making a couture dress must have similarities, although I bet climbing Mt. Everest takes less time than making this dress. I have been working for days making a muslin, cutting the underlining, and now, I am f i n a l l y assembling the dress. Susan recommends using large (huge) sheets of waxed tracing paper...
It was as if Jo-Ann’s was expecting me. I arrived in the pouring rain without an umbrella to get supplies for the online Couture Dress class with Susan Khalje and walked right into this beautiful turquoise silk dupioni fabric. “Hello, Jo-Ann’s understands you just made a skirt from your daughter’s abandoned Lilly dress and want to wear a turquoise top with it – try this.” The Jo-Ann’s in my town doesn’t stock silk! I was immediately sidetracked from Susan Khalje’s class, bought the silk, which is much cheaper at Mary Jo’s, and started sewing. This is the third time I’ve made this Simplicity Cynthia...
Since the last post my sewing took a domestic turn in the form of window treatments for my daughter’s new apartment in Charleston. My husband and I drove down to check out her new home and help her settle in. I sewed, she pressed, he hung; a comical scene since our family isn’t exactly handy. Thirty-six hours later we congratulated ourselves on a job well done and headed for Edisto Beach. Shortly before leaving for Charleston, I decided to enroll in a much-needed sewing course. For months, maybe years, I’ve been looking for the perfect skirt pattern. I finally concluded the only...