How E Got Her Groove Back

Undergarments are our friends.

There it is, my first dress out of the slump. Burda 7444. I still can't decide if I love it. Is it too hefty bag?

I really love the back. I omitted the center back zipper. It was completely unnecessary with this knit, a beautifully sheen jersey blend from Kashi at Metro.

This pattern was a breeze, and the end result is super-comfy. I'll be sporting this dress with combat boots and fingerless gloves all winter :)

It's good to be back.

The "Say It Ain't So" Cloak

So my fabric from PR NYC day was burning a hole in my... um... sewing room? That should have been my clue, my foreboding.

I was patient in Metro. I was on a mission for the perfect wool coating for my fabu long duster- visions of it dancing in my head like sugar plums. I searched the walls. I searched the corners. I searched the floor. I crawled behind rolls and chairs- and I think there may have even been a desk under there- but I didn't find perfect. I found close-enough. (I know, in Metro??!!- there's the first "Say it ain't so!").

So I revised the vision. I found the perfect shade of almost blue for the lining to match the close-enough wool. I waited while other fabric was sliced and diced, while Patricio fielded the shouted requests of the PRs. I asked for 4 yards of the wool. The artful reach of Mr. Kashi began its pull- one and .... that was it. Just barely 2 yards... Oh, Kashi, I just spent 2 hours revising weeks worth of planning in my head, and now? Now you tell me just barely 2 yards? (There's "say it ain't so" number 2). What about my luxuriously long duster? One look into those puppy dog eyes, beseaching me not to force that meager length back onto the roll, and I agreed to take the barely there, close-enough wool. I guessed I could make it a short coat.

But a short coat wouldn't do. I was now obsessed. What could it be? I checked my jacket patterns, and came up with Butterick 4419.
I would have to supplement some contrasting fabric for the hood, but I figured the style would play up the wool nicely. I cut the lining. I cut the hood. I pieced together 9 yards of scrap for the piping (!). I cut the... oh no. The fabric was 2 inches short. (Say it ain't so!). Not only was it 2 inches short, I had no give for matching up the plaids. (hear it again?)

But on I trudged. And when it was all done, I tried it on and went







yuck.*









This style may have been all me 15 years ago, but it's just not me now. Sigh. Say it ain't so.
*ETA: yuck for how it looked on me, but not for the cape itself- it came out awesome. I've already gifted it to a very cool lady for whom I think this is perfect.

1 cent

Forgive the crude rendering, but I think I can pull this off for my cousin's wedding.
I have a lovely champagne brocade (thank you Mr. Kashi) that I plan to use for the bodice. - pictures to come- I'm thinking georgette or crepe pants.

Luckily, I already know what the bride's gown looks like, and I'll be nowhere near looking like one of those guests.

more to come. must sew.

BASTE! How low can you go?

When will I learn?!? BASTE! BASTE! BASTE! ...ripping out collar seam on jacket (again).

I returned from vacation to find that my velour fuzz bunnies multiply like tribbles:

And though I got zero sewing done while in the woods, I did eat, sleep, and breathe dress ideas- so I've got a preview of the next two chapters :)

Chapter Three: First Christmas

My grandmother passed away early this year, and I've found myself clinging to every hint of her, no matter how silly. For instance, I found this cotton tablecloth in amongst the tons of spare linens she'd tossed at me over the years. (I am known to be a bit of a packrat, ha). It was probably purchased in a quick dash to the supermarket, judging by its questionable quality. I've had it for some time, despite not using a dining table or having any need at all for a tablecloth. I think I liked the shades of red and green in it. It has a slight yellow stain in one corner, but I can work around it.

So I was staring at this tablecloth wondering what to do with it, thinking about Grammy, and I suddenly found myself in a secret life of a dress. (I'm a HUGE fan, btw). "She was a Kansas farm girl who ran away for the big city- the prettiest in 3 counties by most opinions, particularly her own. She kept her mouth shut, except for a Kool, a sly smile and an occasional sharp wit. And she knew how to make a tablecloth into a dress for dinner at the officer's club..."

The seed was planted to make this tablecloth into a dress, and a little voice in my head said, "What would nicegirl do?" (I'm a HUGE fan, btw). I poured over vintage patterns online and came up with Butterick 4790.

I absolutely love that this is a wrap dress- you pull it on like a poncho. I think the practicality of it is totally in the spirit of what I was looking for. I will most likely be supplementing it with cotton solids when the time comes, but I like the thought of using the border decorations for the over skirt.:

Chapter Four: Ladybird

My name is E and I have a tattoo. It's kinda big. I never really remember it's there, because I never see it. Never really, that is, until I have to dress up. Then it's kind of a pain. I either go with a back exposure that looks like chickens with their heads cut off, or cover up completely- which is boring after the billionth time. I think the pursuit of the perfect ladybird dress is secretly what got me back to sewing, and may be the root of this formalwear obsession I'm enjoying.

I envisioned a dress that wouldn't obscure the tattoo, but wouldn't showcase it garishly. Luckily, my cousin is habitually tardy and I had the opportunity to rummage around the bridal shop in which I was waiting for her. I spotted this lovely. (sorry for the scan, David's website won't let me get the pic). I liked the beading on the back. Further perusing of their site turned up some other goodies, so I nabbed a catalog.

I like the idea of beading over a sheer layer to hint at the tattoo's design, rather than just have it skin. I already have Vogue 7267 in my stash, as well as a yummy silk charmeuse that I got on my trip to Metro.

I'm going to combine the views and use black silk paints to do the branching design on the fabric. The back lacing will be replaced by a smoky gray sheer stretch material, which will be beaded with black seed beads along the bird design. *ETA: (photo) The red folding screen is going to be the basis for the design on the back of the skirt- my sketch is incomplete, it needs more blooms.

And last but not least, I've finished the fabric stretching frame that I need for painting the yardage of silk. I used 1"x5' pvc sections and didn't glue the joints so it can be dissassembled. The one end slides and the long sides unscrew in the middle to lessen the frame size.

That's all for now folks, tune in next time for some PR jacket news, a stovepipe steamer and *fingers crossed* some lovely painted silk scarves.

Don't look down.

Especially at Metro Textiles. On a recent trip with Karen and Carolyn to see the endearing Mr. Kashi, I was overwhelmed by the wall-to-ceiling rolls of fabulous fabric. I already had a significant pile accumulated and I was trying to avoid another find by looking down at my feet. Well don't you know in Metro Textiles, all the goodies are on the floor! The 2.5 yard remnants that in the mad rush of squeezing bodies through Kashi's store fall helplessly around his cutting area. Half of what I left his shop with was a floor find. Like this beautiful pumpkin silk shirting with fine striping throughout-


It's the beautiful hint-of-blood orange that looks great next to berries, and it's my color of choice recently. It's also so buttery soft... I'm going to use it as the lining for my entry in the PR jacket contest- Butterick 5145. I plan to do view A, the short jacket, with the collar of view E (is that mandarin?). The fantanstic metal buttons are a find from Pacific Trims, another of our NYC stops. The jacket fabric is an IKEA cotton velour(?) drape that I rescued from Village Thrift. It laundered beautifully :) No muslin fabric for Milly's dress yet, but the dressform is coming along...