sewing dresses Tag

30 May S H I B U I – Vogue 8648

Posted at 17:38h in Craftsy, Uncategorized, Vogue Sewing Patterns by goodbyevalentino 0 Comments

“When the student is ready, the master appears.” Buddhist Proverb I was ready to learn how to make a good dress, and boy did I learn. My dedicated efforts in dressmaking were often flawed by random mediocre details leaving me discouraged and insecure. Enter the Online Couture Dress Class with Susan Khalje. I’m wondering if I even knew what C O U T U R E meant. Very nice, good fitting, custom-made clothes with special hand-sewn techniques – right? My naivety proved me nearly clueless. While Susan suggests several dress patterns to use, the Craftsy course includes this free Vogue 8648 dress pattern which she illustrates in...

22 Apr Ice Cream Social – Vintage Simplicity 7715

Posted at 09:41h in Kate Spade, Ruffles, sewing blog, Simplicity Patterns by goodbyevalentino 0 Comments

What would Kate Spade wear to an Ice Cream Social? ...

21 Feb LAST WINTER DRESS

Posted at 06:57h in Mood Fabrics, New Look Sewing Patterns, sewing blogs, sewing patterns by goodbyevalentino 27 Comments

Mardi Gras, anyone? Tonight I’m attending a Mardi Gras carnival that serves as a fundraiser for the Healing Arts program in my community. Last year was our first annual Mardi Gras carnival and I wore a brown and black dress. Yuk. Why would I show up in brown and black when most people were in costumes or festive Mardi Gras colors? Possibly because I’ve been attending pancake suppers through the years and didn’t know what to wear, or else I just didn’t have anything to wear. This year I made a purple dress using this New Look pattern. I was hesitant about sewing another New Look pattern after this, but...

14 Feb Red Ruffles

Posted at 06:14h in clothing designers, Mood Fabrics, sewing blog, Vogue Sewing Patterns by goodbyevalentino 0 Comments

I can’t explain my sudden attraction to red, but in a just a few weeks I’ve gone from a person who rarely wore red to someone who can’t get enough of it. H a p p y V a l e n t i n e ’ s D a y ! If I could select any outfit I wanted for Valentine’s Day, I would choose a red Valentino dress with ruffles. Believe me, I know this is no Valentino, but the spirit of Valentino’s feminine designs motivated this latest sewing project! This Very Easy Vogue pattern was in my stash...

01 Feb Lots of Love

Posted at 17:40h in Amy Butler, sewing blog, Simplicity Patterns by goodbyevalentino 39 Comments

“Where do you plan to wear this?” were the first words my husband spoke upon seeing this dress. I have no idea where I plan to wear this dress, but I’m sure something will come up. Does it really matter? Don’t we find ways to wear the clothes we really like? I wasn’t ready to put this Simplicity pattern away and had just enough of this tangerine and lavender fabric from Amy Butler’s L O V E collection to make the dress. I’ve had the fabric for nearly two years just waiting for the right pattern to come along. After finishing the aqua...

29 Jan La Primavera

Posted at 12:01h in Amy Butler, clothing designers, sewing blog, Simplicity Patterns by goodbyevalentino 26 Comments

Dead perennials + leaves in the pool = w i n t e r in South Carolina; t h e p e r f e c t t i m e t o g e t r e a d y f o r s p r i n g ! I think it’s safe to say that over the last 5 months I have memorized the online pattern stores of Vogue, McCalls, Butterick and Simplicity, so when I saw this very cute dress on LaRoque’s Facebook page, I knew where to go. This Simplicity...

21 Jan Ebony and Ivory

Posted at 22:14h in Mood Fabrics, sewing blog, sewing patterns, Uncategorized by goodbyevalentino 0 Comments

Some people are influenced by what they read. Some people are influenced by what they hear. And some people are influenced by what they see. Since I started, over four months ago, sewing my clothes instead of buying my clothes for a year, I’ve become absolutely obsessed about my wardrobe. Even though I spent a fortune on clothes in the past, I never had an obsession about them. During the last four and a half months I have been abnormally aware of my visual surroundings, but only recently have I realized their impact on my life. While visiting NY in December, I lingered around the...

14 Jan MISSON(I) ACCOMPLISHED

Posted at 07:20h in clothing designers, Uncategorized, Vogue Sewing Patterns by goodbyevalentino 19 Comments

It’s done. I love it, and I’m glad it’s over. My Missonish fabric has become a dress! It was one of those sewing projects that didn’t come together until the very end…. as in when I basted the hem in place. I glanced over nearly 100 reviews of this very popular Very Easy Vogue 8379 pattern on the Pattern Review website before retrieving it from my pattern stash. One promise I made to myself during this 365 day challenge is that I will not be in a hurry when I sew, and I dutifully made a muslin of the top before I cut the fabric...

08 Jan REDEMPTION

Posted at 08:00h in Fashion Sewing by goodbyevalentino 14 Comments

Do I ever feel better! I wasn’t willing to go through the weekend agitated by my setback and got back to work, but first things first. When I turned on my computer yesterday morning I knew immediately that a positive experience had emerged from my unsuccessful New Look dress project. The kind comments from my Goodbye Valentino followers and Pattern Review friends truly lifted my spirits sending me back to the sewing machine. Thank you so much – You are absolutely wonderful. As you can tell I wasn’t about to sew another too tight dress and erred on the side of generosity. I bought this...

20 Nov Robe de Soirée

Posted at 18:44h in clothes, clothing designers, Fabric, Fashion Sewing, sewing patterns, Uncategorized by goodbyevalentino 22 Comments

It has been eighteen days since my last post! Making an evening gown consumed every precious free moment I’ve had – physically, intellectually and emotionally. The ball is in five days and the dress is finished! Up until making this gown I have really enjoyed sewing again, but I put such pressure on myself to make a dress that will match up to the others (including the ones I bought for my daughters) the experience has been stressful, but I persevered. Other than several dyslexic incidents brought about from working on a one-shoulder dress, this Butterick pattern was easy enough and presented no...