Goodbye Valentino

09 Apr Almost Cocktail Attire

Posted at 18:48h in New Look Sewing Patterns, Refashioning Clothes, sewing blogs, Sewing Skirts, Uncategorized by goodbyevalentino 54 Comments

In my next life I'd like to live in a historic house in Charleston with a decorative gate and creeping fig wall. Perhaps you follow Teggy French, one of my favorite fashion bloggers. Last fall her social media led me to Shein, a website of inexpensive clothing where I purchased a ruffled bell sleeve top. When it arrived I hated everything about it...

03 Apr Saint James Dress

Posted at 10:02h in Fashion Sewing by goodbyevalentino 120 Comments

Knowing I can sew a garment for a tiny fraction of the retail price of a simply thrills me, and is one of the reasons I continue to sew. I knew I could make the $200 Saint James Toledo striped dress I saw in a boutique in Charlotte,but I didn't know that Mood Fabrics stocked Saint James knits ~ the very same fabrics! Upon finding Burda 6722, I knew it was meant to be. Described as a ponte, Mood offers the Saint James knits in several colors, and I chose the white background with black stripes. I rarely sew Burda patterns (no reason in...

18 Mar Birdie and Me

Posted at 09:38h in Ruffles, Simplicity Patterns, skirt pattern, Uncategorized by goodbyevalentino 56 Comments

Greetings from the desert! A beautiful baby and gorgeous warm weather greeted us upon our arrival to Scottsdale. Can life get better than this? I've been asked countless times if I plan to sew for Birdie (now 6 months). The answer is YES, but I have decided not to smock again. It's been a long time since I've attempted to sew baby clothes, and while times have changed, baby patterns have not! After a 25 year break, I was led back to The Children's Corner patterns and discovered many of the cute patterns I sewed for Katie and Mimi are now online waiting to be...