Fashion Sewing

18 Sep Last Summer Wedding – New Look 6429

If you have been reading Goodbye Valentino for a while, you might remember my blog started as a reaction to all of the money I was spending on dressing for weddings. Whether it was my daughters' friends' weddings or my friends' daughters' weddings, shopping for weddings was sending me to the poorhouse. Six years later we are still in the wedding stage of our lives - not that I'm complaining. I truly love weddings, and am always honored to be included on the invitation list. Weddings are such special family events that I make it a priority to dress festively and appropriately...

Read More

10 Sep Giveaway Winner and Answers!

Greetings, Dear Readers and Happy Sunday :) Writing my posts in a lighthearted spirit is and has always been my style, but today, no matter how my words come across, my heart is with family, friends and those who are affected by Hurricane Irma. May the force be with all who are enduring this monster storm. What a phenomenal response to the Eloflex Giveaway!  I try not to respond to comments during a giveaway since it disrupts the sequence of numbers for the Random Number Generator. However, many comments included questions about sewing with Eloflex and my jacket, so I've pulled the questions from...

Read More

27 Aug Black White and Cherry!

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...

Read More

05 Aug McCall’s 2401 in Pink Flambe!

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...

Read More

22 Jul McCall’s 7543

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...

Read More

17 Jul Embroidered Jean Jacket

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...

Read More

08 Jul Soulmate/Sleepmate/Secura

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...

Read More

01 Jul New Lilly Inspired Dress and Contest Winner!

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...

Read More