Butterick Patterns ~ I Apologize!

ETA:  Butterick patterns are on sale for $2.99 (non Club BMV member) and $2.69 (Club BMV member) today, January 30th and tomorrow January 31st!

Okay I'm woman enough to say I'm wrong when I'm wrong and baby was I wrong!  I mean big-time WRONG!

These are all new plus size patterns from Butterick's 2011 spring line:

Suzy Chin for Maggy Boutique (Butterick 5598)

this dress goes up to a size 24

This Connie Crawford Dress & Vest

(Butterick 5620) in all sizes up to 6X!

A plus lifestyle pattern (Butterick 5618)

up to a size 28

and look at the back views...you could use just this pattern and make an entire wardrobe!

This top pattern (Butterick 5610) goes up to a size 26 - OMG, these are sooooo cute!  Love the details at the waist/hipline area and at the neckline.

This dress (Butterick 5593) only goes up to a size 22 - but it's semi-fitted with a lot of width in the bottom of the dress - where I need it most and it will look great made up in some of those trendy knits that are in my fabric closet!

I like the idea of this dress (Butterick 5600) and even though it only goes up to a size 22 and it has the elastic waist tie, I'm intrigued by it so I threw this one in the shopping cart too!

Now there are a couple of tops that are in the plus size range also.  They just aren't me so they aren't in my shopping cart waiting for the next sale but they are interesting.  What I'm basically saying to all my plus size sistahs is that I'm eating my words.  Butterick came through this time in a big way!  So let's not let this opportunity pass us by...make sure you purchase your favorite Butterick patterns and sew them up.  I know I will be making these cute outfits this spring/summer, for sure!

And finally, Butterick ~ I apologize!  You did good and I will be there with my pattern dollars to let you know how well you did!

...more later!

I have a question..

...since I seem to be incapable of sewing summer gear in the midst of a snowstorm...I am seriously challenged about what to make for The DR but that's another post!  I do, however, find myself thinking of sewing room layouts and things I would like to purchase to make my sewing room the kewlest room in my apt.

So here's my question?  Does anyone own a PGM Pro dressform?  If you do, what do you like about it?  What are your dislikes?  I really want a plus size version but she's kinda flat and I'm kinda round so should I buy the plus size one?  Or should I buy a large size one and try padding her up?

I know that's more than one question, but oh well, I got on a roll as I started to type.  The second thing is that I do still have Lulu and she will get a place of honor in my new sewing room, but she is legless which limits her.  She is a Uniquely You dressform and I think her abdomen and behind more accurately reflect me...now her breasts and her back that's are another thing...*sigh*

Finally, I'm not ready for a Wolf dress form...that's on my wish list...I really want one of those later...so if you own this dressform or another you really like, would you mind leaving me a comment.  Thanks!

...as always, more later!

Snow Weary

15" this morning at 5:30am...

...my daughter arriving home at 7:45am after getting stuck at work overnight

...a picture from my front door after they've plowed the sidewalks...because this is as far as I'm going...

...I am snow weary and they are predicting an inch tomorrow - 2 to 3" on Saturday and more snow on Tuesday...anyone in a sunshiny, warm and snowless state looking for a sewing companion...cause I'm so snow weary! 

Same Ole...Same Ole

I was cleaning out my email inbox this evening and I stumbled upon this letter written to McCalls Pattern Company in 2007:

> Sent: Wednesday, July 4, 2007 5:25 PM
> To: McCall's Patterns Consumer Service
> Subject: New Fall 2007 Pattern Offerings


I received the new fall 2007 pattern offering email early this morning. It was with some trepidation that I flipped into your site. You see in May I received an email announcing your summer pattern selection and I eagerly clicked into your website to be sorely disappointed in the pattern selection for plus size women or "Large Sizes" as you put it! I wrote about my disappointment with your selection on my blog, DiaryofaSewingFanatic. I titled the post, "This is why its so hard to be a fat girl"

So this morning, I flipped into your site with some concerns and with good cause. Again, the newest, most up-to-date styles are not graded up for any sizes over 18. So again I wrote another post about your pattern offerings called, "Here We Go Again!" (...sorry about the missing photo links...)

Just in case you don't want to read my blog...I will share with you the high points of my post:

1. The newest most up-to-date styles are not featured past a size 18.


2. The patterns that are offered for a size 18 or larger are either folds and folds of fabric, or


3. Have been done by other pattern companies much better - i.e. The Twist Top Dress (McCalls 5484) - done several times by Burda World of Fashion much better, or


4. The pattern has been done to death, i.e. McCalls 5452 - the gauchos. Please I have several Simplicity patterns that are better drafted than these.


As a plus size woman, if I want fashion I have to sew.  In RTW it is either outside of my price range or to "something" for me to wear. I would much prefer to purchase patterns from your website and/or at the retail level and make a garment using them than to be dismissed. It is almost like you are saying that my fashion needs and dollars should be spent at competing pattern companies because you don't want them.

Really, how hard is it to grade a jumper pattern (McCalls 5464) up to a size 24! I could do it but why should I purchase a pattern and then do what I paid you to do?! After two seasons of very disappointing pattern showings for plus size sewers, I am just wondering if you really want my sewing dollars? Do you really want me to promote your wares? Or have you tossed me over for the younger, chicer, slimmer sewer?  A response to my concerns would very much be appreciated.


************************************************
 
And this is the response I received;
 
Dear Carolyn,
 
Thank you for your email concerning McCall Patterns. Whenever possible, we try to provide our home sewers with the information they desire.  We appreciate you taking the time to send us your comments about our patterns. It's so important for us to know how you feel about our product, and what we can do to make it better. Be assured, your thoughts and opinions have been forwarded to the proper department for review. You may want to visit our Butterick site to view the new edition of Connie Crawford Patterns, designed for plus size figures. Currently the selection is small as the patterns have only been in our catalog for 2 issues, but we do intend to add more designs with future isses.
 
Cordially,
Meg Carter
Consumer Services
 
I saved this email to remind me not to write to them again.  Obviously, the links to my blog weren't used because they encouraged me to purchase the Connie Crawford pattern line...and no offense to anyone who uses them and gets good results but to me this pattern line just does not scream FASHION.  I must own 4 or 5 patterns max from this line because even though the patterns have a few more seams they aren't what I turn to when it's time to recreate something I've seen on Style.com.
 
I think it's time I stop bitchin' about the pattern companies on my blog.  After stumbling upon this email and realizing that I have exactly the same issues with them four years later...it is more than obvious that this is NOT an area that they plan on developing.  I will continue to "knock-off" the trendier garments featured in the smaller sizes using my TNT patterns (ala Butterick 5566) and I will use my pattern dollars much more wisely and less often with the Big 3 (McButVog)...thanks for that Elizabeth! 
 

I'm also going to make a commitment to use more of the Burda Plus patterns from the Burda Style magazine.  I truly hate tracing all of those pieces out and adding seam allowances but I'm no longer sewing because I need a wardrobe for work...I have plenty of outfits now...I'm sewing for the joy and the creative release.  This is not to say that I won't ever use a Vogue, Butterick or McCalls pattern again...cause dayum I have alot of them living with me!  *LOL*  But I'm through knocking my head against this wall...
 
...more later!
 
 

A little repairing...

I had no great desire to sew this weekend...probably due to the fact that I've already made 5 garments this month...and my mind is already turning to vacation gear.  So yesterday after doing some cleaning, I read a book and watched a movie.  Something I haven't done in quite some time!

Today, I really wanted to make the repairs to the dress and the skirt since both of these were simple fixes.  The first one was to this skirt that I made back in January 2009:

This skirt is made from a polyester brocade that I bought from Metro Textiles and it was worn one time because of the tearing at the darts:

I stuck it in the closet on a shelf to be repaired, but honestly didn't think about it again until last week.  I was looking through the fabric closet for fabric to make a brocade skirt when I realized that I'd already made one.  So I went looking for this one to fix. 

As I stated earlier this was an easy fix.  I cut slivers of fusible interfacing and pressed them onto the areas where the fabric was separating from the stitching. 

This was done to strengthen & stabilize the fabric.  Then I restitched the dart legs a smidge from the original dart legs and the repair was done.  Here's a pic of the finished skirt hanging:

I will wear it differently than I did originally:

This time I'm adding a yellow cardigan and a beige colored turtleneck sweater.  I like how the yellow cardigan emphasizes the yellow print.

I also fixed the black/grey plaid dress again using the fusible interfacing technique and sewing the side seam again.  I think I strained the sides because I kept jamming my hands in the pockets and pulling.  I will remember not to do this the next time I wear the dress.  The good thing is that I've made so many of these that this dress will not get a lot of wear or stress to the seams.

It's good to know that I'm not the only one that experiences wearability issues.  I truly try to insure that all seams are properly sewn and sewn twice in stress areas but you can't always guarantee how a fabric will react once it's being worn.

Well I'm off to read some more and think about the pieces I need to make to take with me to the DR...

...as always, more later!

Is it really Saturday?

This has been a long week, a long week I tell you filled with family adventures, work challenges and a few surprises...and I only worked 4 days this week! *LOL*

First ~ wearability issues:

This week I finally got around to wearing several of the pieces I've recently constructed and as always wearing them for 10-12 hours a day is an entirely different thing than trying them on and taking a few pictures for the blog.

The San Francisco skirt performed the best.  It was comfortable and wore easily.  I was concerned with a little poufiness in the waist area when I was photographing it but that poufiness made it easy to wear throughout the day.  The two buttons on the waistband kept the skirt snug and secure.  I will have to make another one of these!

The Butterick knock-off skirt was okay.  I've discovered that the reason most of my straight skirts have waistbands is because I don't particularly like to wear a skirt without a waistband.  It seemed a little loose when I stood up but it didn't swivel and was fine when I was sitting at my desk.  I ended up tucking the turtleneck into the skirt to anchor it.  Which surprised me because the outfit worked well and looked fine with the turtleneck tucked in...cause y'all know I don't tuck in!  *LOL*

The failure was the Black/Grey Plaid dress...not because it didn't wear well but because one of the seams on the side started to fray.  Thank God the dress was lined!  I can fix the seam and plan on doing so this weekend and I will reinforce both side seams with a little fusible knit interfacing.  I knew I was cutting the dress close in attempting to match the plaids and get a dress out of the 2 yards of fabric.  Next time I will purchase the 2.5 yards if I want to include sleeves and pockets!

Second ~ A Trip

I found out a couple of weeks ago that my company is taking the entire staff to a resort in the Dominician Republic for a corporate retreat.  So I've spent the last week conferring with friends and plotting what to make to take with me.  Obviously since I'm making the garments I'm taking, they will make an appearance here...so more on that later!

Third ~ The Little Prince has left me!

Okay this was really traumatic for me.  I miss my little guy terribly.  His mother had been dropping hints but I wasn't really paying attention.  They left me last weekend.  Now that doesn't mean all of their stuff has been removed from my sewing room yet but I think over the next few weeks the rest will disappear.  So I'm starting over with redesigning the sewing room and my bedroom.  Somehow this doesn't compensate yet for coming home and having no one greet me at the stairs...

However, they will be here this weekend...and I can't wait to see my Little Prince!

Lastly, I will be sewing this weekend.  Mostly I want to do some repair work to a few pieces, make a skirt and put in some more work on the jacket.  I know I'm all over the place.  At first I thought I would make some pants because it's suppose to be bitterly cold here for the beginning of the week and they are talking snow again towards the end of the week...really, I'm so sick of snow already!!!!  But I've been commuting in my jeans and the top of the skirt outfit and I'm finding I'm more comfortable this way...so I think another skirt is a better use of my sewing time...

Oh and one more quick thing...when I write a post with a reference I try really hard to include a link to the product or site that I'm writing about...if it's not in that post then it's in the original post...hope that helps anyone looking for products or info!

...as always, more later!

All the extra stuff

While working on the pinstripe Follies pantsuit, I had to make a decision about what buttons to put on my jacket.  Since I'm making so many pieces to go with this jacket, I wanted the buttons to coordinate with all of the subsequent garments.   Because this decision is so far reaching, I'd put it off to the last possible moment.  Another reason is because my button collection is so extensive that the thought of wading through all of the choices was a little overwhelming.

This got me to thinking about all of the extra stuff that is needed to complete a garment.  You know what I'm talking about...the thread, the trims, the closures (buttons, snaps, zippers) that we need to finish each garment...and whether you stash it or you purchase it as needed.

I'm pretty sure that if you are a stasher/collector of fabric, you probably stash the extra stuff too...and that if you purchase a piece or two at a time that you probably purchase all of your extra stuff that way too.  Now I'm wondering which way is more effective.  I mean I found some buttons in the collection to use for the jacket and these buttons will tie all of the future pieces to the jacket, as well as, add an unexpected twist to this conservative grouping.  But I'm wondering if I shouldn't have just taken a picture of the jacket and a sample of the fabric to the garment district and found a button.

Which caused me to ponder on whether or not having such a large collection of buttons and trims helps or hinders my projects?  So the question of the day is, Do you collect/stash the extra stuff?  If you do, why do you?  Does it help or speed along the sewing process?  Or does it hinder the process?  And if you don't collect/stash, do you ever feel limited by your lack?  Or is the chase of the extra stuff necessary for you to complete the garment?

Talk back to me people...I really want to know!

More later!  

Vogue 1308 - Construction - Part A

Of course for my first Jacket of the Month, I picked a really involved garment.  I didn't mean to but it is what it is so...

As I stated before the fabric is really soft and it definitely needs an underlining to add some firmness and stability to the fabric.  So after all of the pattern alterations I basted the front and back pieces together and tried it on to see if the shell would fit and it does.

me wearing shell without any interior structure

Next I added the silk organza underlining to each piece by machine basting it onto the fashion fabric. 

I then stitched up the sides and shoulder seams.  After that the fusible interfacing was added to the jacket shell at the back hemline, the back neckline and the center front, the neckline & hemline.

Now the pattern instructions tell you to add the facings to the garment, then the sleeves and finally the pockets.  I changed this order up.  I added the breast pockets first because it was easier to me to add them at this stage then after the facings and sleeves have been added. 

I will add the sleeves next.  They are cut out and awaiting the silk organza underlining and fusible interfacing at the hem line.

This jacket construction is a process.  It's all about layering.  As each sewing technique is completed, you layer the next one onto the previous one...and it's laborious.  This is not a quick sew and go jacket.  I keep telling myself that once this piece is completed, the rest of the garments will just fall into place and before I know it, the collection will be done.  That's what I keep telling myself!  *LOL*

Here is a bad picture of the jacket as it stands now on Lulu. 

I say bad picture because Lulu's back is bigger than mine so it closes funny over her and pulls...plus I think Lulu needs an FBA and I wasn't experiencing that problem...could be that Lulu is perkier and higher than I am now!  *LOL*  Though it is interesting that this pattern has no darts...

Anyway, I'm back to work tomorrow so the rest of the construction will have to wait for the weekend.

...as always, more later!

A Prayer for Peace

Normally on Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday I write a post about what the day or the man means to me.  This year I would like to change it up a little and take the time to offer my prayers and condolences to the people of Tucson, AZ. 

Just last Saturday, I moved from electronic device to electronic device keeping myself abreast of the situation in Arizona.  I was horrified, along with the rest of the nation and the world, to learn that one of our elected officials had been shot while serving her constituents.  As well as the other 6 people who were killed and the 13 who were wounded attending the meeting. 

So today I offer my sincere condolences to the families of the six murdered victims:

Christina Taylor Green

Judge John Roll

Gabe Zimmerman

Dorwin Stoddard

Dorothy Morris

Phyllis Scheck

I am grateful for the progress that Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is making and thankful that the assassin is behind bars.  I'm also grateful that our President spoke to the heart of our nation, soothing our wounds with these words:

"At a time when our discourse has become so sharply polarized -- at a time when we are far too eager to lay the blame for all that ails the world at the feet of those who think differently than we do -- it's important for us to pause for a moment and make sure that we are talking with each other in a way that heals, not a way that wounds," Obama said.

"Scripture tells us that there is evil in the world, and that terrible things happen for reasons that defy human understanding," he said. " ... Bad things happen, and we must guard against simple explanations in the aftermath."

"What we can't do is use this tragedy as one more occasion to turn on one another," he said later.

Today during the celebration of the man who encouraged non-violent protest for change, I add my voice to the voices that say discourse is fine but can we please be civil with one other?  Can we agree to disagree?  Can we understand that we all want a better America?  And finally, can we continue to honor the tenants this great man stood for? 

I would like to end with a quote by Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal."

We should all strive for peace...

My version of Butterick 5566 - Part II

The black pleather & wool skirt is finished...

Some stats:

Fabric:
black worsted wool crepe from Fabric Mart
black pleather from Fabric Mart
silk charmeuse for lining

Notions:
9" invisible black zipper
black silk organza for underlining
black rayon seam tape

Construction:
The most complicated part of this skirt was making the pattern pieces.  After that it was a straightforward construction and all of it was detailed in the first post.  I didn't put a waistband on the skirt so that its exactly like the original pattern.  In the actual wearing, the skirt slides down onto my hip bones.  I can live with this.  I went back and forth over whether or not I should tape the waistline seam to prevent stretching and finally decided that it was overkill.  The pleather won't grow and the wool crepe is underlined with silk organza so that should keep the back waistline stable.

There are three differences between the original Butterick pattern and mine:

1.  It's in my size - approximately a size 24.

2.  It's underlined. Even though I haven't actually seen the Butterick instructions, I'm pretty sure that's not included in the directions.

3.  It's lined.  I know this is not in the pattern instructions because two other reviewers have said that the skirt is unlined.

Now a caveat...even with a shorter top, I bet no one notices the pleather pieces on the top of the skirt because you really would have to wear something tucked in to see them.   Since I don't do tucked in, I will always have to use a top with a shorter hemline so that you can see some of the pleather pieces. I believe this is probably the reason that Butterick did not grade it past a size 20.  However, I still believe it was short-sighted of them to do so, as evidenced by my skirt.

A back view of the skirt:

and a pic of me wearing the San Francisco Skirt made from the same TNT pattern without the pattern alterations:

I've saved the pattern pieces and may make another version out of one of my pinstripe wools.  It would be kewl to cut the pattern pieces on the bias and create a little interest that way.  It was a fun and interesting experiment.  I'm glad it worked and glad that I have another black skirt with a twist to add to my wardrobe.

I've started working on the Pinstripe Follies pantsuit.  I have two full days and no need to rush especially since this is going to require alot to make it work.  I'm a little apprehensive and excited since I'm using a pattern fresh out of the envelope and this will be my first jacket for the JAM sew-along.

...as always, more later!

The beginnings of a sew-a-thon...

Yesterday was a trial...too much work, too many grouchy co-workers...and can I say it again too much work!  *LOL*  It was terribly cold in NYC and I can't believe that we are just in the beginning of the throes of winter and that I still have to survive 2.5 more months of this cold, dark and dreariness.  I swear it gets harder and harder every year...

So I came home, ate dinner and went to bed.  Yeap, I was turning off the light and laying my head on the pillow at 10pm which is a feat since I walked in the door a little after 8pm.  Yes, I was done for...  It even took some time to shake off this morning...but after reading some blogs and catching up on what's happening with the JAM (Jacket A Month) girls on Stitcher's Guild, I'm ready to sew.

First up is to finish off the Butterick knock-off skirt.  I found this black & creme polka dot silk charmeuse in the fabric closet and I'm going to use that to line the skirt.  I previously used it as lining in this Burda skirt.

Of course, I will share pictures when the skirt is finished and how I've decided to wear it.

This arrived in the mail last night from Create for Less:

I love that each one comes on it's own little spool in a box.  This will make it easy to store!  Especially since I have about 10 yards of this still on the large roll I bought a couple of years ago.  Thanks again Jo Ann for locating this!!!

I also spent the morning pre-washing fabrics.  Hey I love to prewash...all I have to do is move fabrics from the washer to the dryer all the whilst surfing the internet!  I finally broke down and bought some of the Shetland Wool that Fabric Mart marked down to $9 a yard after Annette posted all of these pictures of the pieces she had purchased (washed and dried) on Stitchers Guild.  This is how my piece looked after it came out of the dryer...

and a little darker blue, too!

...it is as soft and wonderful as Annette said.  So now I'm trying to talk myself out of going back for more...*sigh*  I really want to use this piece to make this jacket from Vogue 8605.

That's why I've titled this post, the beginnings of a sew-a-thon...see it's a 3-day weekend and I've made no plans except to sew this weekend.  The Significant Other is working...and it's too dayum cold to go anywhere else...so I'm burrowing in with my sewing machine and seeing what magic I can make happen!

...more later!

My version of Butterick 5566 - Part I

I love snow when it means that I can stay home and sew!  And that's exactly what I did yesterday...I mean after I piddled around on the internet...read some more of my book...and slept late!

But I was on a mission.  I wanted to make my version of Butterick 5566 before I lost the fire.  So here is where it stands right now...

...this picture is taken with it unpressed, without a lining, no waistband treatment or a hem.  But it fits and my pattern adjustments work...so I'm happy.   Since there's a three day weekend coming up, I will finish it so that I can move back to the Pinstripe Follies pantsuit.

Pattern Alterations:

1.  I traced out two new copies of my TNT skirt pattern...one right side and one left side.

2.  Then I taped the two sides together.

3.  Judging by the pattern picture, I measured down approximately 3" past the hip curve and placed a dotted line across the front of the pattern piece.  I used this as the starting place to make the curved front pieces.

4.  Next I formed the main curved piece across the front of the skirt piece.

5.  After this was formed, I curved the small side piece using the dotted line as my ending point.

6.  At this point, I cut the pattern pieces apart and realized that I was concentrating so hard on getting this right, that I neglected to take pictures of that part of the process...sorry!

7.  Since the top pieces were being made out of pleather like one of the views from the original pattern, I omitted the darts.  I did this by slicing each dart down the center and then taping it flat.  I also taped the little point at the end of each dart flat.

8.  I then placed another piece of tracing paper on top of this piece and traced a clean pattern piece. I added a 5/8" seam allowance to the bottom of this piece.

9.  The smaller side front piece just needed 5/8" seam allowances added to both edges.

10.  Finally the triangular skirt front bottom piece also needed 5/8" seam allowances added to it...and I was ready to cut it out from the fashion fabrics.

Construction:

1.  I used the pleather that I recently purchased from Fabric Mart for the skirt panels and some black wool crepe, that is a staple in my fabric collection, for the base of the skirt front and back.

2.  Because I was concerned that the pleather might be a little heavier than the wool crepe, I added a silk organza underlining to each piece to make the wool crepe more staple and a little heftier.

3.  After applying the silk organza underlining, I sewed the smaller triangle side piece to the skirt bottom first, making sure to match center fronts.

4.  Then I sewed the longer top piece to the skirt bottom.  This insured that the points would form correctly in the finished piece.  I also clipped the seams to make sure that the fabrics would lay flat.

5.  An invisible zipper was placed in the back of the skirt and the side seams where sew together.

...this is where the skirt stands now...

The picture is lightened so that you can see the details.

I haven't cut the lining out yet and I have to decide how to finish the waistline since I'm winging this without Butterick's instructions.  I've also decided that with the amount of work that I've put into this skirt, that I need to find one of the silk charmeuses from the fabric closet to use as a lining instead of the ambience lining I normally use.

But it works!  And it fits!  Can you see me doing the joy-joy dance! *LOL*  I also think I'm going to have to make a top to go over this so that you can see that banding when I'm wearing the skirt.  I'm sure I've left something out, so if you don't understand ask and I will explain.

Finally, one of the comments I received on the original post about this skirt was why didn't I use a sloper instead of my TNT pattern.  The answer is simple.  A sloper has no ease in it or seam allowances.  It's just a fitted shell that you design off of but with my TNT pattern I know that not only does it fit but the ease is right...the hemline is where I want it to be...the darts work and I can manipulate it without having to make these fitting decisions every time.  I really just want to make design changes...not fitting decisions because I'm lazy...that's why I have TNT patterns!  *smile*

Okay, I will probably post pictures of the finished skirt over the weekend...so stay tuned...

...as always, more later!

This is what I want to dress like when I grow up!

That's a mouthful right?!  But I was perusing style.com this morning...looking at the pre-fall 2011 collections...checking out my favorite designers and fell in love with the Oscar de la Renta line.  Now I love Oscar for his use of color, for knowing his client base and because not only does his clothing look classy and elegant but there's a sense of fun to it!  Well at least to me! *LOL*

So these are the looks that really called my name:

Pink jacket and skirt

(This reminds me of S2958)

boucle goodness skirt suit

(Vogue 7975)

A great jacket and dress combo

(Vogue 7975 & my TNT dress pattern)

another jacket & skirt combo

the jacket skirt combo

is a variation on a theme

I loved this dress because of the fabric

I can see this as a short dress for work

and not in sequins!

Love the embroidery on this one

There were a few things that struck me about this line.  He has designed just a couple of jacket styles reworking them in different fabrics and patterns and with either a dress, a skirt or a pair of pants.  The skirt featured in the first look was remade in all types of fabric - even leather - and paired with different jackets throughout this collection.  I love the bow on the skirt but I know I will never wear it like that...however, the skirt is very wearable and easily reproduced.

Now I know you are wondering how could I be inspired by the ballgowns!  Well the first dress reminds of a simple coat dress.  I have several of these patterns from the '90s in my collection.  It would be easy to pull some fabric, some lining and buttons and have a go at it!  However, the last ballgown is all about the embellishment detail!  I can actually see a row of buttons down the front of my TNT dress pattern with some embroidery on either side.  I'm not sure if the embroidery would be tone-on-tone (if I chose to make the dress in a bright solid color) or if I used black wool crepe the embroidered flowers could be out of black/white/gray.  Wouldn't that be an amazing dress...*sigh*

We got about 10" of snow last night so I'm home today.  I'm off to go play on my sewing machine and see what emerges...

...as always, more later!