Don't ever say I didn't tell you...

... SewingPatterns.com Is.the.best!


They're having a sale today....

So...

This...

(if you remember this post, you'll know why I am soo hyped about this shirt)

plus this...

(again, remember this?)

plus this...

.... equals 17.62$ !!

((.... plus, I got a 'free' year of issues for Elle, Harper's Bazaar, Entertainment Weekly and Kiplinger's Personal Finance for filling out the survey afterwords.))

Say it with me now... HOLLA!

My latest obsession...

... Soooo, this D&G dress was supposed to be the next dress I was going to make in our sewing circle at work...

... well, as any of you in sewing circles know, everybody doesn’t work at the same pace. And, I'm tired of waiting.

This dress was something like 1300$ at Saks 5th Ave earlier this spring… but this pattern from McCalls (M5701) would only cost me about 11$ - with shipping!

Even cheaper would be this dress from Simplicity (6643) currently on sale for 4.99...

The thing I love most about this dress is the back… ...How.Fly.Is.That?... And I could kick myself, when I was at Paron's over the weekend they had these very zippers just begging to be bought for like .25c or something… DagNabIt!

Anyway, there are a few differences from the D&G dress and the McCall's pattern… Chief among them is the back!

But... (now, this is the figment of my imagination that thinks she's a master tailor talking here…) I think I could cut the two back pieces in half (since there is no CB seam showing, I'm assuming they're cut on the fold) and add a CB zipper. I would have to cut the bottom piece regardless, to get the design detail of the D&G dress....((ahem))
Also, the pocket placement is placed more to the front, plus the hip and hem circumference would have to be tweaked to get the more tapered look of the RTW version, but the neck and shoulder lines are spot on!

Now, this Simplicity version already has the CB seam.

But, it doesn't have pockets, but those can be added...

Another concern is the dart placements. With a really graphic fabric, I think the print would look too patchy in front.

Yeah.... the more I think about it, the McCall's version is looking like a real winner here…

Holla!

Bargain bin Bargains....

Ssoo... since the weather was so nice here in NY yesterday, I decided to stop by one of my other 'once/twice a month visit' fabric stores here in Brooklyn, Sava-a-thon Fabrics on Flatbush Ave.
Their selection leaves much to be desired, but its fine if you're just looking for cheap fabric to use as wearable muslins/test runs. The prices usually run between 1.99 and 5.99 a yard for the majority of the selections (usually of high polyester content.)

As I expected, I really didn't see anything I wanted, but, I decided to look in the $1/yrd bargain bin before I left… low and behold… I came across the loveliest polyester 'mole-skin'/extra low pile velvet fabric in a really soft creamy beige .... 4+ yards!!....


As soon as I saw it, I thought this would make a great 'winter version' of the Anne Klein for Vogue dress!! I would have to line it of course, but I think it would look nice…

I kept digging and I came across a very simple dark green light-weight jersey, 2+ yards… I have this off the shoulder long sleeve tee by Neue Mode that I got from MyNotions.com for $1. I think it would make a nice early fall run around top.

I also picked up this 'crinkled' light weight 65/35 poly/cotton fabric.
I saw it and thought it was cheap enough (1.99/yrd) that I could try it for a non-stretch version of the Debra Moises wrap dress I made a few weeks ago.

I'm going to cut it out tonight/tomorrow and see if I can’t sew it up this weekend.

It supposed to be storming both Saturday and Sunday, so I think I will be in the house for the most part….. Well, partly because of the weather and partly because 'The Divine Ms.EM' blew my budget for the month… OF JULY!!

So I'll be busy finishing up some projects on the table...

Like this Built By Wendy/Simplicity top in a pretty mustard-y gold poly/cotton fab I got from Fulton Fabrics a few weeks ago.


It was cheap fab, but it's just a 'test run' since I did my first FBA on the pattern!!!
Let me tell you… that was a DRAG!!.... I could not find any resource that would help you do a FBA on a shirt with no dart! It’s a loose fitting top and I don't want to add any real shaping to it. I trudged thru it, so we'll see what happens when I try it on.

I also cut this other BBW/Simplicity top last week, but ended up putting it aside during all 'the machine' troubles. It's in the same fabrication as the gold fabric above, but in a very pretty deep fuchsia/rose pink…
... but when I started pinning it I saw that it was shaded/faded…gggrrrrrr! I'm going to sew it up anyway. If it fits nice (I didn't do any pattern alterations on this one) I will just dye it or something.

Holla!

The Inspiration Game....

It's almost like the minute I started sewing again almost every garment I look at seems so 'simple' to make.... I constantly hear myself saying "...OMG! that's just a basic shell dress with about a dozen layers of ruffles added...." or "... MAN! I just saw that same silhouette in a pattern that was on sale at Simplicity for, like, 4.99!!"

It's become almost like a game now, I'm constantly perusing magazines looking for pieces that I like that can be dissected or morphed from similar paper pattern bodies... and, on more than a few occassons, I have gotten caught recklessly eyeballin' a random passer-by, trying to get a quick look at a design detail...

I've started calling it 'The Inspiration Game'... I find a garment, say, like this fabulous dress that was on the cover of this Thursday's WWD (6/12/08). Then I start combing my standard pattern haunts SewingPatterns.com, McCall's Pattern Co., etc. until i find likely suspects.... like say, this little ditty... I think the 'A' version is a spot-on match for the top half of the WWD cover dress... and maybe I can make the skirt from this one... since I already own this pattern, I can take the bottom pattern piece and add a few inches to the width and length.... and well, what do you know....

... this

plus a piece of this...

equals....

.... well, I mean, with a little imagination..... I DIDN'T SAY IT WAS AN EXACT SCIENCE!!!!

But, you have to admit, its more than a little fun... I mean isn't this why so many of us started sewing in the first place. To be better able to put our own stamp on RTW... or to bring 'high' style down to our own particular price ranges.