Curbing My Enthusiasm

I just wrote all about my sewing plans and trying not to buy more fabric and working solely from the stash, right? Then how come I keep taking pictures of fabrics at Jo-Ann?

You see, whenever I see a fabric I can imagine in a pattern I already own or a style I want, I take a pic of it and the label (because not all their fabrics are on their website) for reference. Lately, the hits kept coming...

.

I've already raved on Instagram about the texture of their refined ponte, and now it's available in my most coveted and near impossible to find colors; a rich green and a dark pumpkin-like orange. Both perfect to make any one of these ponte-perfect dresses: Butterick 6316, Butterick 5672, Vogue 8787, or New Look 6968.

Recently I became excited about making my first bathing suit (for 2018) based on this Talbots swim/athletic ensemble:

Talbots Sanibel Tankini

I have the means to create it with Simplicity 8424, the Simplicity 1163 skirt (view A), and my TNT underwear pattern (based on indigorchid's original but-no-longer-available design.) In the last two months, I've found not one but two great green nylon/spandex fabrics. One is specifically for swimsuits and the other is a Yaya Han costume fabric whose fabric content matches that of the Talbot fabric.

This fabric would be ideal for the Vogue 8925 "sweatshirt" which had already appeared in my sewing plan but at the time I couldn't find a suitable fabric. I no longer have ANY warm winter sweaters or tops so this may be a justifiable breach to my rule.

Also in the running for that Vogue 8925 sweatshirt are these new-to-me Luxe fleeces (yes, I'm actually thinking of buying fleece at Jo-Ann!) in rich jewel tones that would work for that pattern.

This fabric immediately made me think of my old dream to have a sequin t-shirt-style dress ideal for New Year's celebrations. I have not attended a NYE event appropriate for a sequin dress in years but maybe if you make it, it will come? The exact color of this fabric is not captured well in this above pic but it's a mauve-y, rose color that looks amazing with my skin.

This one, of all the fabrics in this post, has the least chance of being made since I just made a long brightly colored silk dress with its own limited wearing opportunities.

So, it comes down to this:

Jo-Ann has a great tendency to carry a fabric through several seasons so I will not allow myself to panic. I'm gonna trust them to continue to carry that ponte since it's a good investment. However, I probably will give in to the quilt-y gray goodness because it isn't on the website and my whole no cold weather wear problem. I will make myself finish three or four more items on the plan before I buy any more fabric though. I truly need to deplete my stash.

My temporary fix was to obtain swatches of these fabrics and maybe the fact of having them in hand will subconsciously satisfy my need. Hmmm...

DONE. 

Luckily, Jo-Ann cuts their swatches from selvage to selvage so I have 1" to 1-1/2" by 45" or 60" of each to play with. Cut sections of the fabrics (except for the metallic knit*) have been through a machine wash for testing. Maybe I cut them too small because I still can't find two of them! Those were the luxe fleece and the green swim nylon.

I am still holding out, at least until the next 60% off coupon but I can say with confidence that some of that quilted fleece will be bought!

*The metallic knit has been eliminated. In addition to shedding and needing to be hand-washed, once cut it rolled up into a tight tube which means it would also need to be lined/stabilized for the dress I want. Without having a real need in my wardrobe, that is too much work already.

Wedding Guest Dress: Finalizing Details

Vogue 2745

Last week, I placed one important order and one free and fun order for fabric swatches. To be completely honest, of course both orders were fun...they were for FABRIC!!

I need to finalize fabric for my dress project, Vogue 2745, both view A and B are to be worn this coming June 10. View A will be in Mood Fabrics' Kelly Green silk crepe de chine (above), but the slip could be made from several different fabrics.

Side note, before moving on to Vogue 2745, I was considering making New Look 6244 but with a different slip (all pics of its slip made up looked shapeless and badly fitted, an obvious fault of the drafted pattern). Instead I was going to use Butterick 6031 from my stash, which I wanted to make regardless, but never could find the right fabric. From my last Emma One Sock swatch order I knew the venezia 4-way jersey lining was the ideal fabric but I was not willing to sew a $22 slip, which didn't already include the cost of several yards of two different widths of lace, elastic, and the strap hardware.

However, the pattern suggested tricot and a Google search brought me to Fabric.com and their selection of 40 and 70 denier tricots. While I have now switched to using Vogue 2745, the site provided me with some other suggested fabric possibilities so I ordered a yard of the 70 denier tricot in Oat (will use it for skirt lining) and swatches (8" square!) of a China silk in Silver, charmeuse in Cappuccino, stretch charmeuse in Silver, and a crepe de chine in Purple, all made of polyester.

Results: I love the tricot, the texture is exactly as I expected from the website image. I now wish I had ordered a less neutral color but I can immediately use this as lining for a current skirt. I will definitely order some for use with Butterick 6031 in the future.

70 denier tricky in Oat

The China silk I was sent would not work for the slinky slip I was envisioning but would make crisp garment linings. Both charmeuse swatches were lovely but I preferred the feel of the non-stretch one, the color was gorgeous, and it played off my skin tone very well.

Charmeuse and "China silk"

When ordering the polyester crepe de chine, I had secretly hoped I might use it instead of the far more expensive Mood silk but is not at all the same. This crepe de chine felt more like a simple crepe to me with that spongy pebbled feel, it was the same on both sides, it had no sheen, and was also not opaque. I am 90% sure I received the wrong fabric; however, as you can see above it is dated the day it was packaged and had three separate labels claiming it is crepe de chine. Regardless, it doesn't come in the desired green.

Crepe or crepe de chine, see what I mean?

From Emma One Sock, I ordered swatches of their Emerald silk crepe de chine (since the price is similar to that of Mood), an organic cotton double gauze in Cocoa Dots, a poly rayon sweater knit in Wine, a rayon blend ponte (no poly!) in Charcoal, and finally some 100% silk habotai (China silk) in Teal for comparison to the polyester one coming from Fabric.com.

The silk types in white, the colors both in CDC

Results: The Emma One Sock crepe de chine was nice but not the same as Moods in weight, drape, or sheen. Or perhaps I've just become very fond of my bedraggled little swatch. (It looks that way because I wanted to see how it would change if hand washed. The jury is still out on that.)

Their China silk (100% silk) is obviously superior to the poly one but still drastically different than what I expected. Its soft delicacy intimidated me, no way would I be attempting my slip in that since I have enough work coming with the main dress being silk. In addition, it's price along with fabric for the main dress would cost more than I have ever paid for a RTW dress!

Check out that shimmer!

The ponte was luscious (and will be tested for pilling), the sweater knit lush, and the double gauze not exactly what I expected. Perhaps I need to experience a larger swatch to understand all the web love for it?

UPDATE: After all that, I went a WHOLE other way! In my last post, I mentioned how the slip could be worn as a dress on it's own? Well, I layered my Mood swatch over the cappuccino charmeuse one and decided I didn't want two solid colored bias dresses that I would rarely wear; one because it was silk (duh!) and the other because the color though lovely wouldn't be that practical to wear. Once I started thinking of prints and something that could be worn under the green crepe de chine, two fabrics immediately sprung to mind, inexpensive, locally available, and both of which I could have bought months ago! Two multi-colored polyesters from, of all places, Jo-Ann Fabrics and designs I had been fantasizing over for months but couldn't justify with my existing stash and queue of projects. It just happened they were on sale and I came home with the one that worked with the main dress fabric the most, in a lovely mix of colors which will also influence my choice of accessories.

 

So, which one do you think I picked?

If you're interested in a peek at the fabrics, my inspirations for the final outfit styling, and the colored(!) shoe possibilities, check out my Wedding Guest Dress Pinterest board.

Links:
Surprise! Actually Buying Fabric With a Purpose!

A Change To The Wedding Guest Dress

Images: my own, Jo-Ann Stores, LLC

Put Your Feet Up #2 - Custom Ottoman Slipcover

Ta Da!

Goal: Custom-fitted slipcover for a 62" wide octagonal ottoman on wooden legs.

Original condition: The original top was constructed in eight wedges and tufted in the middle with a self-fabric covered button. The wooden skirt mounted below the upholstery ends in four tapered legs connected underneath by an x-stretcher.

Fabric: Three yards of lime green vinyl "leather" (100% PVC Face/100% polyester) for $3 per yard, originally priced as $29.99 per yard. (Purchased at the same time as four yards of green, brown, teal and orange Ikat print* heavy upholstery for $2.70 per yard, orig. $9) from Hancock Fabrics during their liquidation sale.

Construction: The fabric was just wide enough to cover the ottoman with a few inches of overhang. I arranged it over the ottoman so that the two selvage edges hung down equal.

Turning the fabric inside out, at each point of the octagon I pinned the fabric into a dart, creating a snug fit. I basted the darts and retried the slipcover. I re-pinned some of the darts till I liked the fit and then trimmed the length, trying to cut it all even to the shortest hanging section.

Because I did not want to apply actual heat to the fabric I held steam above the vinyl, making sure not to get too close and then pressed the seams allowances to the side using my quilting ruler. I really must buy a clapper soon!

After I placed the darted cover on the ottoman I realized that even though the darts fit snugly, the edges were not as snug as i wanted and were slightly sticking out from the sides. I needed a way to cinch in the cover and realized a simple horizontal band like the one on the tapestry version would not work in this more stretchy vinyl.

Using the selvage from the remainder fabric I cut lengths of 3 inches deep using my quilting ruler and rotary cutter and cutting enough fabric to go around the sides. I measured the circumference of the ottoman and seamed the sections together to fit that measurement exactly.

I now needed a way to cinch in the cover and realized a simple horizontal band like the one on the tapestry version would not work in this more stretchy vinyl. So I had to think of a way using elastic that would work.

My elastic sample

I used another piece of the fabric and created a channel that would just fit 1-inch wide elastic. I found it would be the best choice visually.

I also wanted a way to attach the band to the base cover and allow me to add the elastic in a way I could then hand sew the opening closed easily. I decided to create an opening in one of the seams that would allow me to pull the elastic through and then out of the "keyhole".

 There is a keyhole opening near the top of this topstitched seam.

I connected the strips of vinyl into a loop that matched the circumference of the ottoman and attached one side of it to the base cover.

Then I thought to make it easier, I could stitch one end of the elastic into the seam so I could place the elastic into the seam before I finished sewing the band to the cover. This way I wouldn't have to thread the elastic through the channel at all.

Folding the other side of the band up, enclosing the elastic.

I then stitched the other side of the band to the base and started to gather the band by pulling on the unattached end of the elastic.
 

Band attached: inside.

Band attached: outside.

As I pulled the elastic more and more, I started to get disillusioned as the bunchy mess I was looking at was not going to work and looked atrocious. But I kept pulling and pushing the gathers along, bit by bit, until the covered band started to naturally pull and curve under the wooden apron lip. Basically it's like a mushroom cap and I'm pretty proud of how the finished product looks.

 

*Note: I couldn't get the colors to come out accurate on these photos. But the fabric is amazing and coordinates with the existing sofa, loveseat, and throw pillows even though I chose the fabric purely from instinct and memory. Hurrah!

Put Your Feet Up #1 - Custom Ottoman Slipcover

Goal: Custom-fitted slipcover for a 62" across octagonal ottoman.

Original condition: The original upholstery is constructed in eight wedges and tufted in the middle with a self-fabric covered button. A wooden skirt mounted below the upholstery ends in four tapered legs connected underneath by an x-stretcher.

Fabric: Four yards of green, brown, teal and orange Ikat print* heavy upholstery for $2.70 per yard, originally $9 per yard (Bought along with three yards of lime green "leather" (100% PVC Face/ 100% Polyester) for $3 per yard, orig. $29.99 per yard) from Hancock Fabrics during their liquidation sale.

Construction: The fabric was just wide enough to cover the ottoman with a few inches of overhang. I arranged it over the ottoman so that the two selvage edges hung down equal. 

Turning the fabric inside out, at each point of the octagon I pinned the fabric into a dart, creating a snug fit. I basted the darts and retried the slipcover. Re-pinning some of the darts till I liked the fit I then trimmed the length around as even to its shortest side as I could.

Because of the thickness of the fabric I catch-stitched the darts down, making sure they all faced the same direction. Amazingly, the fabric print is such that the stitches seemed to disappear.

Can you see the catch stitches? No?

I pressed the darts from the wrong side with a little steam and used my temporary "clapper" (my quilting ruler) to press down and distribute the heat throughout the dart until it cooled. As you can see the dart is now as flat as possible.

Now?

Starting from the selvage on the remainder fabric I cut lengths of 7 inches deep believing this to be a good length for the cover. I used my quilting ruler and rotary cutter, cutting enough fabric to go around the sides. I pinned the fabric on and took a few days to debate what would be the best length. Floor is out of the question as there is a small ledge underneath that we keep magazines on that needs to be reachable. So the choices were halfway down the legs or tucked up to the length of the wooden apron.

 

Oh, look what I found after I was completely done...

*Note: I couldn't get the colors to come out accurate on these photos. But the fabric is amazing and matches the existing sofa, loveseat, and throw pillows exactly even though I chose the fabric purely from instinct and memory. Hurrah!