Sewing Dresses

14 Dec Butterick Pattern 6388, New York Christmas & Holiday Pleasures!

Posted at 06:01h in A Stylish Guide to Classic Sewing, Butterick Patterns, Fashion Sewing, Sewing Dresses, Vogue Sewing Patterns by goodbyevalentino 47 Comments

Happy December, Dear Readers! Two minutes after publishing my last post (here) I discovered subscribers did not receive an email notification, and that a Wordpress update was in order...

10 Nov Year of the Shirtdress and Giveaway!

Posted at 09:01h in A Stylish Guide to Classic Sewing, Fashion Sewing, Sewing Dresses by goodbyevalentino 175 Comments

Thanks to Christian Dior's genius, the revolutionary Edwardian shirtdress was redesigned, found its way to the runway and established itself as a classic garment...

25 Jan Scuba Knit – McCall’s 7539

Posted at 11:01h in Classic Clothing, Fashion Sewing, McCall's Sewing Pattern, Sewing Dresses by goodbyevalentino 58 Comments

Same black boots, same black tights, but a brand new dress...

06 Jan New Look 6581

Posted at 14:00h in Classic Clothing, Coats & Clark, New Look Sewing Patterns, Sewing Dresses, sewing with knits, Uncategorized by goodbyevalentino 50 Comments

Greetings on this twelfth and last day of Christmas! After a complicated year I was craving a simple project, not to mention an unstructured garment following holiday indulgences. 😉 I'm a lover of the classic wrap dress, and enjoy trying new patterns. This time I reached for New Look 6581. I was game to try the midi pattern length ...

27 Feb Oscar de la Renta Stretch Canvas Shirtdress

Posted at 09:30h in McCall's Sewing Pattern, Mood Fabrics, Mood Sewing Network, Sewing Dresses, Uncategorized by goodbyevalentino 44 Comments

After making the white jacket (blogged here), McCall's 6520 turned out to be just the pattern I was looking for; a semi-structured dress with a classic fit and a little tailoring. I had a difficult time believing this whimsical Oscar de la Renta print is canvas, but now, not only am I believer - I'm practically a canvas convert. The fabric is from the Mood Fabrics stretch-canvas collection. I knew I'd like any fabric designed by Oscar de la Renta, but I was surprised by its light weight and smooth texture. Mood offers a huge selection of canvas for both home decorating and apparel sewing but limited...

27 Dec McCall’s 6886 Kelly Green

Posted at 10:28h in Coats & Clark, McCall's Sewing Pattern, Mood Fabrics, Sewing Dresses, sewing with knits by goodbyevalentino 31 Comments

Dear Readers, I hope you are all enjoying this holiday season! Below is my Christmas dress and the last project of 2017. The pattern, McCall's 6886 is a classic that's been around for awhile, and has received nearly 200 reviews on the Pattern Review website. Believe it or not, this is the first time I've sewn the simple pattern. While sewing the dress was simple, taking photographs was not...

17 Dec Merry & Bright in Sequins!

Posted at 08:20h in Fashion Sewing, Mood Fabrics, Mood Sewing Network, New Look Sewing Patterns, Sewing Dresses by goodbyevalentino 96 Comments

I'd say the catch phrase this holiday season is Merry & Bright, and I fell right in line upon seeing Mood Fabrics' glittering silver baby sequined fabric! I've owned a few formal sequined dresses over the years, and while sequined ball gowns are still around, shifting trends in the fabric now feature more relaxed styles from cocktail dresses to t-shirts. I made the dress for an annual Christmas dinner party and chose a simple pattern to keep the dress from appearing too formal. My base pattern is New Look 6524, a shift pattern I purchased a while ago for the sleeve variations. My original...

08 Nov Giveaway Winner and a Pattern Hack

Posted at 07:06h in Goodbye Valentino Giveaway, Sewing Dresses by goodbyevalentino 42 Comments

Greetings! Many thanks for the comments and tips regarding machine embroidery. It's coming along very nicely and I'll get there eventually. Congratulations go to PAMELA GIANNETTO winner of the monogrammed towels giveaway! Please send me your contact information to goodbyevalentino@gmail.com by Friday, November 10 or a new winner will be selected. In the meantime I've begun a new dress. Below is the inspiration ~ another Oscar de la Renta from the current Ready to Wear Collection. Lovely isn't it? What I like about this dress is the way it skims the body. Upon first glance the construction looks quite simple ...

10 Oct Party Time! Vogue 8997

Posted at 05:56h in Mood Fabrics, Mood Sewing Network, Sewing Dresses, Uncategorized, Vogue Sewing Patterns by goodbyevalentino 87 Comments

Raise your hand if you're an Oscar de la Renta fan. That would be me! Frankly I should raise both hands. I think Oscar de la Renta makes the best party dresses on earth! I'm drawn to the gorgeous fabric, clear colors and flattering fits, especially in the bodice. One of these days I might just break down and buy one, but until that time comes, I'll keep sewing O D L R inspired dresses. Mood Fabric's Red and Black 3-D Floral Brocade has party dress written all over it, and I placed an order for 3 1/2 yards of this mid-weight brocade. Little did...

18 Sep Last Summer Wedding – New Look 6429

Posted at 09:56h in Fashion Sewing, New Look Sewing Patterns, Sewing Dresses by goodbyevalentino 34 Comments

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...