Remnants

Thanks for all of the birthday wishes! They were all really and truly appreciated!

~Closet Clean-out

Here is an outfit that I made like 8-9 years ago.

I bought 10 yards of the rayon challis from Fabric.com for $1 a yard. The outfit consists of a blouse, a straight lined skirt and a long lined flare skirt...all the pieces were made from TNT patterns. I also had a RTW light blue sweater that went with the pieces.

It's been pulled from the closet because I tried it on this weekend and it's just barely fitting...it also looks real '80ish so into the Goodwill bag it goes. Reluctantly, but it does free up two hangers and a little more space in the closet so that's a good thing!

~Questions and Answers

I promised to do this last weekend then got caught up in a political rant so here are the answers to questions found in the last few posts:

Vintage Ebay Post

Adrienne asked, "Is the sizing different on vintage patterns than on the ones being made now?"

I really don't know. I do know that the sizing is smaller than it is in today's patterns but how it relates to me is anyone's guess. I have started working on the bodice of my vintage Simplicity dress and I've added quite a bit to the waistline to make it fit me...but again that could just be me! So if someone with more experience sewing vintage patterns wants to leave a comment about this, please feel free to do so!

Both Myra & Debbief asked, "What pattern number is it?"

It's Simplicity 5891 and the copyright date is 1966!!!

The Vintage Experiment - Part 1

Linda asked, "Am I going to use the new vintage patterns as is or morph them using my TNT patterns?"

It depends on what the pattern is. Some patterns I bought just for their design details not caring what size it came in...like the pattern I used for my Easter Suit. And some like the Simplicity pattern Sharon sent me, I am going to use as is. Use will definitely be determined on a case-by-case basis!

Anna asked, "How does it fasten up? Does the pattern include an underslip?"

It has a zipper in the back and no there isn't an underslip included. Since my final fabric is the white/black toile, I was planning on underlining all of the pieces except for the sleeves and the tie.

New Look 6779

Faye asked, "Did you use an invisible zipper?

Nope. I am probably one of the few sewists that is not converted to the invisible zipper look. Or maybe I'm just too lazy to perfect this technique...who knows? It's just a center back zipper inserted into the dress.

June Capsule Contest

Carol asked, "What accessory are you making?"

I am making a necklace...I found the perfect one that I want to copy in this month's InStyle.

~Do you wear what you sew?

Dana, who blogs as "Lean Mean Sewing Machine" wrote a post about this showing what she wore for a week. Now I started out good...meaning I took a picture of what I wore the first day and then I would come home and forget all about taking a picture, or get out of my clothes before my photographer showed up home, etc. Finally, I realized that there was a better way to do this. See sometime during the weekend I take some time and pick out the garments I am going to wear the following week based on my work calendar. I iron them and include accessories so that I just need to pull an outfit off the closet wall in the morning...making my morning get dressed time about 30-40 minutes. Since I am starting out so early in the morning, I attempt to stay in bed as long as possible! *LOL*

So this is what I'm wearing this week:

1. Michael Kors knock-off red/black linen dress, completed Summer '07 with black RTW sweater.

2. Pink Chanel knock-off dress, completed Spring '07

3. Black/White v-neck cotton dress with RTW white sweater, completed Summer '07

4. New NL 6779 - blue/white cotton sateen dress

5. White linen blouse (TNT Burda-Summer '03), RTW white cotton knit tank, black/white floral print cotton pique skirt (TNT McCalls skirt - Summer '03).

Kristy, whose blog is called, "Lower Your Presser Foot" has spent this last week posting daily about her work outfits. Go over and check out what she wore! I'm inspired to sew more suits after seeing her garments!

~June Capsule Contest

Today is June 1st so the sewing can begin for this contest. I have my plan and I know that I will refine it during the sewing process. Already I'm being influenced by some of the mini wardrobe entries that were submitted for the PR contest. It is really intriguing to me how well planned some of these are...I mean I knew I could get 4 outfits from the 4 pieces but some sewists have gotten 5 and one even got 6 outfits! Now that is some serious planning and it's making me rethink my jacket component!

~The Great Coat Sew-Along

First, I am amazed at how many people are participating in this!!! Second, I have to admit that I haven't given my coat much thought except to search some internet fabric sites for fabric because I don't own any coating fabric. I do know what pattern I'm using - Vogue 7978, View D:

I do know that I want a black, knee-length coat and that's all I know! *LOL* I will probably post all of my sewing information regarding the coat on my blog so that I can keep track of my progress and have my notes for future coat making projects...

Finally, if you've gotten this far...thanks! Thanks for reading my ramblings faithfully, thanks for leaving wonderful and thoughtful comments...even when you don't agree with me! And thanks for including me in your enjoyment of this fiberly pursuit...