silk 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,...

13 Apr Garment #9 McCall’s 6885

Posted at 06:42h in Fashion Sewing by goodbyevalentino 112 Comments

I was briefly tempted to spend $326 on a shirtdress I saw online before walking into a shop and seeing it on a hanger. I snapped to my senses upon feeling the paper thin silk on the shapeless garment. Since I returned to sewing, I have watched many ready-to-wear lines continue on a downward spiral, but wouldn't you think $326 would buy a decent shirtdress? In November, my friend Ruth gave me three beautiful pieces of Korean silk from her mother's collection.After the shirtdress incident I knew what to do with the middle fabric; an exquisite silk twill with a kaleidoscope...

18 Mar Sewing For Fashion Designers

Posted at 18:23h in Sewing Books by goodbyevalentino 26 Comments

Congratulations to BARBORA SISKOVA, the winner of Sewing for Fashion Designers by Anette Fischer! Please contact me at goodbyevalentino@gmail.com by Friday, March 20 or a new winner will be selected. _____________________ A huge thank you to Funkifabrics for naming Goodbye Valentino as one of the top 100 Best Sewing Blogs in the world :) For those of you unfamiliar with Funkifabrics, it is a British company and premier supplier of printed fabrics and foil decorated stretch fabrics. You can check it out here. The photo below links to the post of bloggers also included. Best of all Funkifabrics provides convenient links to all 100 blogs for an incomparable blogging journey! I appreciate Funkifabrics' ...

14 Jan Supersize Me!

Posted at 06:58h in Fashion Sewing by goodbyevalentino 116 Comments

Maybe it’s just me but on January 2, I was craving an oversized shirt to hide my holiday indulgences…. and when I’m in an unattractive state of mind, the fabric I like to turn to is silk. This Famous Designer Black and Off-White Animal Print Crepe de Chine was the perfect antidote for my post holiday doldrums. I feel better already! My pattern of choice was Simplicity 2447, but it wasn’t just oversized, it was supersized! Before cutting into the silk I made a full muslin which required one alteration after another. The photo below shows the muslin after the excess is pinned out...

26 Jul Sultry or Sunshine?

Posted at 08:11h in Mood Fabrics, sewing blogs, Sewing Skirts, silk, Yellow by goodbyevalentino 104 Comments

“Well if it isn’t Sultry and Sunshine!” blurted the drunk man upon seeing my friend and me. The year was 1984. My friend resembled Angelina Jolie and well, I just looked like myself, only 29 years younger. It’s not hard to know who was Sultry and who was Sunshine. I’m not sure what little Miss Sunshine was wearing that evening but I doubt it was yellow. There is no yellow in my home and I did not own any yellow clothes until two years ago after a Medium told me I needed more yellow in my life. (Blogged HERE and HERE) Now the color...

09 Apr The Regis Dress

Posted at 11:30h in Craftsy, Mood Fabrics, sewing bloggers, sewing blogs, Sewing Dresses, Sewing with Lace, silk, Uncategorized, Vogue Sewing Patterns by goodbyevalentino 203 Comments

Sometimes I make embarrassing mistakes, and for a while I thought ordering this white cotton/nylon lace from Mood Fabrics was one of those times. The flat lace reminded me of a tablecloth upon pulling it out of the box, revealing my inexperience in selecting lace. What can I say - I felt stupid for placing such an order when so many beautiful laces were available. B u t w h a t ’ s a g i r l t o d o ? After three worrisome weeks, I bought my first bottle of Rit Dye. Thirty minutes later….....

20 Dec Razook’s Remake

Posted at 19:29h in Refashioning Clothes by goodbyevalentino 134 Comments

“Smile Granny!” joked my husband. This is all I need to look twenty years older – a matronly dress and no makeup. Ta-da! My mother recently gave me her latest thrift store find, suggesting I might want to do a little something with it. Hmmm….I was immediately attracted to the beautiful Pantone color of 2013 silk, and then noticed the Razook’s label inside (once an exclusive women’s apparel store). It was a go. Deciding what to do with the dress was harder than the remake. I eventually settled on the following: Cut off the sleeves. Measured and sewed side seams. The dress had pockets which were discarded. ...

11 Oct Tunic Time!

Posted at 11:01h in Mood Fabrics, sewing clothes, silk, Tunic by goodbyevalentino 0 Comments

If my favorite garments were ranked by how much wear they receive, this one would get the Blue Ribbon, the Silver Cup AND the Gold Medal.Now I get to see if my most recent tunic dress will earn its place on my list of favorites. Practicalities occasionally escape my aesthetic sensibilities, and I made the casual dress out of a silk charmeuse I bought at Mood Fabrics during my first, but hopefully not last trip to Mood in December 2011. [caption id="attachment_1910" align="aligncenter" width="284"] Butterick 5415[/caption] The easy structure, whimsical nature and versatility of many tunics continue to intrigue me. The trickiest part...

16 Aug New Look 6097 + Mood Silk Jersey

Posted at 18:08h in Mood Fabrics, New Look Sewing Patterns, sewing blog, sewing clothes, silk by goodbyevalentino 87 Comments

Until today I owned one silk jersey dress. I bought a Diane von Furstenberg silk jersey wrap dress in 2007 for which I paid $300.00. Since I've been sewing my clothes during the last 11 and a half months instead of buying ready-to-wear, I can hardly believe I spent so much money on a simple dress. Sunday, I returned home from the beach to two and a half yards of this beautiful black and cream silk jersey I ordered from Mood Fabrics. The pen and ink design reminded me of an etching from the Bloomsbury artists’ era; a period that has fascinated me for years. However,...

19 Jul Keep on the Sunny Side – Vogue 8570

Posted at 16:55h in Mood Fabrics, sewing blogs, Vogue Sewing Patterns, Yellow by goodbyevalentino 77 Comments

When the blue tracing lines unexpectedly transferred from the silk organza underlining to the seam line of my gorgeous 4-ply silk crepe, I did not cry, open a bottle or eat a gallon of ice cream. I returned to my sewing room and began undoing two days of work until a storm took out the power, forcing me to get out my flashlight. After I removed the catch-stitching, ripped apart the seams and discarded the underlining, I started over. …..and that’s the short version. It’s great to be a part of the living again after being holed up for days trying to save this beautiful...