Boucle Tag

30 Sep Mood Fabrics – 10 Favorite Fabrics & A Special Thank you!

Posted at 06:58h in Fashion Sewing, Mood Sewing Network by goodbyevalentino 15 Comments

As I enter my 10th year of blogging, I'd like to share some of the significant events and milestones that have made this journey so enjoyable. Shortly before completing my first year of blogging, Mood Fabrics, the Project Runway go-to store invited me to join its new Sewing Network as one of the original members. To say it was an honor is an understatement since I was just finding my way back to the sewing machine. After seven years, I recently completed my work with the Mood Sewing Network (MSN), but were it not for this famous fabric store's investment in me,...

24 Jan Shanel No. 2 – Completed French Jacket

Posted at 06:50h in A Stylish Guide to Classic Sewing, Classic Clothing, Fashion Sewing, Sewing Jackets by goodbyevalentino 85 Comments

“It's the not the Destination, It's the Journey.” Ralph Waldo Emerson For three weeks I've embraced the French Jacket journey. My diligence was strong and I was not impatient…… but reaching the destination was pure ecstasy! In 2013 I traveled to Baltimore and made a French Jacket in a Susan Khalje class. Once I completed it at home, alone, after the class, I was shellshocked, and it never occurred to me to make another until writing A Stylish Guide to Classic Sewing. We featured pages of my sewing friends & colleagues in stunning French Jackets. What was wrong with me? Why did...

14 May French Jacket Guest Post – Dorcas Ross

Posted at 06:38h in Fashion Sewing by goodbyevalentino 15 Comments

In March, Julie Starr wrote a beautiful guest post featuring her latest classic French Jacket. This post features her partner in crime, Dorcas Ross, creator of lonestarcouture.com and popular Instagramer (go HERE). Though Dorcas lives in Houston and Julie in Charleston, they sew French Jackets together each January and invite others to join in and sew along for the #januaryjacket project. It's always a good time to sew a classic French Jacket, no matter the weather or time of year. Since the jackets take up to 100 hours to complete, sewists often break the intensity with quick and easy projects during the process....

01 Mar The French Jacket Experience: Julie Starr

Posted at 07:08h in A Stylish Guide to Classic Sewing, Classic Clothing, Fashion Sewing, French Jacket by goodbyevalentino 49 Comments

QUESTION: What's effortlessly chic, always appropriate and lasts forever? ANSWER: The French Jacket: It's a Classic. I've made one French Jacket six years and as stated in the last post, it's time for another. My friend Julie Starr has made six and they are all stunning. Julie, Dorcas and other dedicated sewists have mastered creating these couture garments requiring 100+hours to assemble. I've watched several of Julie's jackets come together and though I can't say she makes it look easy, I will say the process is intriguing. Over the next several months, I'll be sharing French Jacket posts created by my sewing friends and I'm beginning...

01 Oct Bring on the Bouclé!

Posted at 07:31h in Fashion Sewing, McCall's Sewing Pattern, Sewing Tunics by goodbyevalentino 76 Comments

Do you fall for fashion trends or do you aspire to classics? When I was asked to participate in Style Maker Fabrics' Fall Blog Tour, I selected this nubby cotton bouclé sweater knit. The bouclé, categorized under Trend Proof Neutrals, is a classic, leading me to create a traditional garment that I'll wear forever ;) It's vanilla and winter white base laced with beige and black represent my favorite cold weather neutrals, and the 10% stretch made it perfect for McCall's 6844, a cardigan pattern I've sewn before (blogged here). I love this pattern because it is fitted fairly closely and accommodates heavier fabrics...

10 Mar The French Jacket Experience (guest post) Julie Starr

Posted at 09:13h in Fashion Sewing, French Jacket, Sewing Jackets by goodbyevalentino 78 Comments

My friend and co-author, Julie Starr dedicates each January (+) to sewing a couture garment. She's hooked on French Jackets and generously shares her experience below. Enjoy :) The allure of the classic French jacket - its mystique has captivated for years. Long before rediscovering garment sewing several years ago I admired this garment for its timeless elegance on the outside, never understanding that the magic on the inside is the real story. Quilting lofty boucle to silk lining with rows of stitches that are all but invisible from the outside produces a sumptuous quality double layer that hugs the body...

01 Mar Hot Pink Boucle!

Posted at 01:00h in Mood Fabrics, Sewing Dresses, Uncategorized, Vogue Sewing Patterns by goodbyevalentino 84 Comments

How do you like our six inches of snow? We get ridiculously excited about every winter storm warning in the South, wipe out the grocery stores and cancel events in anticipation of snow. This 'winter storm' I hit the sewing machine with a color hot enough to melt the ice off the patio. When the skies turned gray my eye turned to this bright pink boucle on the Mood Fabrics website. It is soft, it is happy and it is well-behaved :) My pattern is Vogue 9022 sewn last month in a color block style with Mood's black and white wool crepe. This time I sewed the pattern...

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...