Fashion Sewing

21 Jun MoB Beginnings…

Posted at 13:30h in Craftsy, sewing bloggers, sewing blogs, Sewing Dresses, Susan Khalje Sewing Class, Uncategorized, Vogue Sewing Patterns by goodbyevalentino 90 Comments

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...

12 Jun Theory Striped Maxi

Posted at 01:15h in Mood Fabrics, New Look Sewing Patterns, Sewing Dresses, sewing with knits, Uncategorized, Yellow by goodbyevalentino 0 Comments

Once again, the spirits of Marcy the Medium have influenced my fabric selection! “You need more yellow in your life,” she stated. I think I ordered the best yellow a n y t h i n g ever available, for Mood Fabrics' Theory Light Canary Striped Viscose Ponte Blend has more than surpassed my expectations! I wasn’t ready to put away the pattern from my last project (New Look 6210) quite yet - especially since the fit had been tweaked to perfection. Besides, I had set out to make a maxi and ended up with a short dress. The phenomenal drape of this fabric begged...

05 Jun Pucci Pucci Poo!

Posted at 23:34h in New Look Sewing Patterns, Uncategorized by goodbyevalentino 147 Comments

You might think I made myself a little nighty and I can understand why. It's a muslin that I completed from start to finish and I think I'll wear it as a bathing suit coverup. Here is the pattern, and here is the dress. I succumbed to temptation during my trip to Baltimore in April and bought a piece of Pucci silk jersey from Mendel Goldberg. The owner, Alice Goldberg drove to Baltimore from NYC with a trunk full of fabric, and I filed in line with my other classmates to relieve her from her heavy load ;) Sewing Pucci silk jersey was a brand...

06 May The 30 Day Dress

Posted at 21:44h in Ruffles, Sewing Dresses, Susan Khalje Sewing Class by goodbyevalentino 141 Comments

……… also known as the Baltimore dress is completed. I had the pleasure of taking it apart again only to discover the opportunities for alterations were limited…… but maybe my 30 day investment needed little else than minor adjustments. After separating the skirt from the bodice and removing the top ruffle, I removed all of the gathering threads and started over. Most of the gathers in the skirt were replaced with darts giving me a smoother fit around the waist. I cut 14 inches of width off of the ruffle but sadly realized my new vision for the dress looked disproportionate. The decrease...

01 Mar New Look 6910

Posted at 08:14h in clothing designers, Mood Fabrics, New Look Sewing Patterns, Sewing Dresses, silk, Uncategorized, Yellow by goodbyevalentino 132 Comments

It’s the time…. of the season…. when love runs high…… That means all things wedding around here. With two twenty-something daughters, the fun never stops as someone is always getting engaged or married. Three years ago the wedding season caught me off guard and I spent a fortune outfitting everyone for wedding related occasions. Now, I’m always in the Mood for a wedding. Sewing has given me access to the world’s greatest designers in an entirely new dimension, especially when sewing with fabric from Mood! I’m wearing Carolina Herrera to the next wedding :) (check out Mood’s Carolina Herrera fabrics here) I love Carolina Herrera so...

06 Feb Marfy + Mood = Love

Posted at 10:00h in Mood Fabrics, sewing bloggers, sewing blogs, Sewing Tops, silk, Uncategorized by goodbyevalentino 79 Comments

Have you made your Marfy yet? Thanks to Leisa Stanton of A Challenging Sew, I had no more excuses to avoid the chic Italian patterns without instructions. Not only are three free patterns available for downloads on the Marfy website, but Leisa is providing sew-a-longs for the patterns on her blog and just completed the top sew-a-long. How do you like it? The pattern is Marfy 1913, and after two muslins I was ready to cut my Thakoon silk crepe de chine from Mood Fabrics. When the silk arrived in July, I was tempted to make my 5th sleeveless ruffled top. “No! No! No!” exclaimed the...

07 Jan So Faux Futuristic Vest

Posted at 17:39h in Butterick Patterns, Sewing Tops by goodbyevalentino 110 Comments

When hubby left for work this morning the fur was flying. The metallic faux-leather with faux-fur backing spattered like confetti once cut and even stuck to the walls, my clothes and my hair. Having just finished vacuuming the Christmas tree needles, I was not amused to watch the expensive fabric behave so poorly, but I was on a mission ….. and I had a vision to realize. I selected the fabric from many faux-leather, faux-fur backed fabrics in the Garment District in October (2013). More reasonably priced than most, I bought one yard to try out. I a pictured fur-trimmed vest,...

24 Dec Vogue 8532

Posted at 07:20h in Craftsy.com, Mood Fabrics, Sewing Dresses, Uncategorized, Vogue Sewing Patterns by goodbyevalentino 158 Comments

Santa Baby, Leave a sable underneath the tree for me…… :) While waiting for Santa, I sewed one more holiday dress, this one for a January wedding. I have never seen a Carolina Herrera I didn’t love which includes this cobalt blue paisley silk brocade from Mood Fabrics. Yum……. I was sold on the color alone until the fabric arrived. The quality of this brocade is unlike any I have seen or touched. It’s that good, and once again I found myself scared to cut my fabric. What would Carolina do? Santa baby……. give me an answer! I made a muslin from an old Vogue pattern - 8532, now...

17 Dec Don We Now Our Gay Apparel!

Posted at 07:43h in Butterick Patterns, Mood Fabrics, Sewing Dresses, Uncategorized by goodbyevalentino 126 Comments

Some fabrics are meant to be worn at night, and I believe this shimmery metallic boucle from Mood Fabrics is certainly one of them. I bought the fabric at the NYC store in November 2012, and admired it at home for over a year while waiting for a vision to appear. Perhaps, a coat, a suit, or another French jacket…… And then - it came upon a midnight clear ;) After nearly three weeks of no sewing I was eager to make something festive and chose the classic Butterick 5588 pattern as my base (available on Etsy). Since the fabric is relatively heavy I wanted...

16 Nov Metallic Party Dress

Posted at 11:00h in Butterick Patterns, Mood Fabrics, Sewing Dresses, sewing patterns, silk, Uncategorized by goodbyevalentino 106 Comments

More fabric to die for……. I was sold upon reading Mood Fabrics’ narrative of this silk/viscose blend and placed it in my online cart. ‘The drape on this silk and viscose blend fabric is just so perfect, and then when you combine it with the glazed metallic sheen...