Fabric Shopping In Seattle

I flew into Seattle on a Thursday evening flight. As an aside, that's the only way I'm ever flying to Seattle again...you don't lose the day and when you arrive everyone wants to go to bed - not just you! *LOL* I flew in early because Gaylen promised to show me ALL of the fabric stores in Seattle (besides Joann's) on Friday.  So we spent all of Friday trooping through fabric stores ~ in the sunshine and the rain. 

Oh and be forewarned this is a picture heavy post!

Hancock's ~
The tour started with the Hancock's in Kirkland. This was my request. I'd had such an amazing experience with Hancock's in Houston, I mistakenly thought that all Hancock's were that wonderful.  Nope not wonderful and I'm not sure if it's the store or Hancock's financial situation. Whatever, we looked for some patterns, looked at some of the fabric sale tables and bounced.  However, since I really want some bias binding in blue and yellow gingham, I did get a yard of each to make some. I also bought a yard of ribbed knit.

* * * * * 

Pacific Fabrics Sodo ~ 
Next on the tour was Pacific Fabrics Sodo. It's a warehouse with an entire floor of fabric, notions, and yarn. It has an interesting selection of fabrics - some on bolts and some on tables. A full and extensive selection of notions, books (both sewing and knitting/crocheting), indie and Big 4 patterns.

I bought some cotton knits here because they had some basics (white & gray) and they were running a 20% off sale.

Although, it was fully stocked, it was just an okay experience for me.

* * * * *

Dry Goods Design ~
We headed to downtown Seattle for the next stop on the tour - Dry Goods Design. This store has a large area for teaching right in the front of the store. You can clearly see the Bernina machines and the cutting tables, so they practically invite you to come in and ask about sewing classes.

I thought of this store as a sewing boutique because it had a little bit of everything and no depth in any product. Yes you could find thread there but not the selection of say a Joanns/Hancocks or even Pacific Fabrics. Yes, they had a great sewing phone cover but do you go to the fabric store to purchase one of those?

I named it a sewing boutique because I really hope the sewing classes are paying the rent because they use valuable real estate that could be used for more of everything. And if the classes are that important than I appreciate the service this store does to encouraging others to sew.

We stopped for lunch at Collins Pub - down the street from the sewing boutique and I can highly recommend them.  The burgers were awesome, the service good and the atmosphere cool.

* * * * *

Stitches ~
This was like the neighborhood fabric store...you know the place you run to when you need a zipper or a spool of thread and while there you see a cute piece of fabric so you buy it. Places that don't exist any more because of the big bad chain stores...

I liked the atmosphere here.  You could tell the owner of the store cared about sewing and making sure sewists had the opportunity to go to the local fabric store...and while I didn't buy anything here...I could see myself doing so.

I loved this sign!

Gaylen checking out a piece of fabric - great buttons in the back right?

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Nancy's Sewing Basket ~
I walked through the door and felt like I was home. This is what fabric stores were when I was growing up, when I became a mother and into my 40s this is the type of fabric store I always felt comfortable in.  

There was a bridal section ~

Rows of beautiful fabric...and a store window featuring fabric and a book the store was promoting ~

The Ribbon Room ~

...and awesome sales people...

This was Jeannie who reads both my and Gaylen's blog!

The sad thing is that this treasure may go away because the owner is quite elderly.  If I lived in Seattle I would visit this treasure as much as possible. Believe me when I say that fabric stores like this don't exist anymore! What use to be the norm is no longer...and even if the prices are a little higher for fabric...you are sewing with the best! Okay off my soapbox! I will end with a picture of the sign...

* * * * *

District Fabrics ~
Gaylen saved the best for last! This is a small store slightly larger than the sewing cave but the fabric is artfully displayed and there is a depth to the collection. I have very few pictures of the store because I bought fabric here. But I loved this shop! The fabric is well displayed and the collection well curated. There is more fabric than notions or patterns but there was a display of indie patterns (Cashmerette, Grainline Studio, Named, etc.) A small display of notions, in case you need something to finish a garment and a great section of clearance fabrics.

I didn't buy a lot because hey I was going to Expo the next day but this is what I did buy...

This is a rayon panel print knit!

If I lived in Seattle honestly this would be my spot. I would shop here and at Nancy's since they both carry different types of fabric but both appealed to me. 

Conclusion ~
Seattle is not a fabric desert - there are options - I'm sure a lot more options than for some other sewists. I don't think it's fair to compare the NYC Garment District to the Seattle Fabric Stores honestly I could sew happily here. I'd need a car (LOL!) but I could sew many beautiful garments from the resources in Seattle! 

So when I stop petting my fabric (it arrived today from the West Coast - thanks Gaylen!) I will write up my Sewing Expo experience. A newsbreak - I bought A LOT of fabric!

...as always more later!

How do you decide what to sew?

That has been my challenge lately...

While I'm readjusting my creative mind/eye to see the beauty & challenge in sewing casual clothing, I'm unsure at times about what to sew when.  Does this happen to you?  It seems like a new space for me to be in along with all of the other changes that losing weight and changing jobs have brought me. Tired of hearing that type of sentence yet? Well sorry but it will be a bit before it totally disappears from the blog...

Anyway, I bought another bunch of patterns (though I really wish Simplicity would learn to discount patterns online the way Club BMV does!) not because I don't already own ALOT of patterns but because I'm still searching for my Chico's Chic style.  

Of course every once in awhile I stop and completely use a pattern in a way that wasn't thought of but I know quite a few of you do the same since I'm watching you do it!

There are times I feel as if I know where I'm going and what to sew next...but then there are periods like this last month where I'm so lost I don't know what to sew next. So how do you decide what to sew?

This is the question of the day...so talk back to me! I'm truly interested.

Oh and one more thing, March is going to be unselfish sewing month especially since I don't need a Easter outfit this year. I'm going to wear this unworn suit with a big ole hat.  My daughter and granddaughters are in the church fashion show so I promised to make some outfits for them...yes with even a matching mother 'n daughter outfit.

So talk back to me peoples...

A Tweedy Topper

I loved my last topper so much that I immediately made plans to make another one.  I really wanted a tweedy version so after rumbling through the fabric stash, I settled on this fabric. Settled because I was really in love with a blue/white tweedy knit but it just came off so summery for this time of the year. 

Before I get into the details of this make, here's a picture of the finished topper...

All pics of the topper are on Lulu because I'm taking

this to Pulluyap and will have action shots there.

The Supply List ~
3 yards wool & acrylic blend from Fabric Mart
3 yards emerald green rayon bemberg lining
ltwt fusible interfacing
Green rayon seam binding
1" black faux leather bias binding
3 - 1.5" black plastic buttons

Pattern Alterations ~
As I stated in my last post, I wanted this version to be more coat-like than my previous one because of that I altered the neckline on the front and back pattern pieces.

The front was raised 1" at the shoulder and 1.5" at the center neckline and front and a new pattern piece was made for just the front piece.

The back piece was raised just 1"

The underarm was lowered 1" to allow for better arm movement.

Construction Choices ~
The most important thing after the pattern alterations was the interfacing I felt the pieces needed for the infrastructure of the topper.

A lightweight fusible interfacing was added to the center back neckline, the center fronts, the hemline of the jacket, the sleeve caps and the hemlines.

The sleeves on this version are lined. I originally wanted to stitch the lining into the sleeve to cover the armhole seam but got a little frustrated. So I resorted to using the Nancy Zieman method of lining a sleeve. Bunny from La Sewista has a great post on how to do this with fantastic pictures charting the process.

The jacket is fully lined using the rayon bemberg lining. I purposely chose a bright emerald green because I like the boldness on the inside. It adds a touch of bright color during these cold dreary days.

I hemmed the jacket using green seam binding on the fashion fabric ~ hand stitching the hem down.  The lining has a machine stitched hem and there are thread chains connecting the lining fabric to the fashion fabric.

At this point the jacket was looking bland so I went through the notions stash trying to find something to give it some pizazz. Finally settling on the faux leather bias binding because it adds that something special I was looking for...it also adds to the streamline look that I was going for.  I used steam-a-seam and pins to apply the bias binding to the jacket before stitching it down and even made a sample before applying the binding to the jacket.

The buttons were added to bring more dimension to the front of the jacket and to highlight the pockets.

A few more pictures of the jacket ~

How does topstitching work on one side and not the other?

And it's not like I wasn't just as careful on each side - *sigh*

Conclusion ~

I really liked the challenge of adapting the pattern to fit my vision. Now I realize that this isn't something everyone wants to do and these toppers are really in now.  Here are several patterns that are currently in the pattern catalogs that you can use to make your own version ~

Butterick 6328

Kwik Sew 4104

The inner seam pockets could be added easily to the KwikSew pattern since the front piece has waistline seaming.

This will be my last topper from my evolved pattern for now. It's cold here in the Northeast and I'm looking to make a couple of cardigans to wrap myself up in until April arrives with it's warm spring breezes. As I stated above, I'm taking this piece to Pulluyap so I will have photos of the topper on me when I recap the Expo.

...as always more later!

Fabric Everywhere...

I'm cutting out another topper in a tweedy fabric pulled from the collection...but I am a little blaise about sewing today.  When cleaning off the sewing table, I found the new crochet pattern books I purchased a couple of weeks ago. Which made think maybe I should work on one of the projects in them instead.

A while back I put all of the skeins of yarn I own in a bin that's currently residing behind my cutting/sewing table. When I pulled it out today to go through it, because I want to crochet a cardigan, I found fabric stacked neatly at the bottom.  

This fabric ~  

A silk with embroidered roses, blue/white gingham in shetland wool

beige corduroy with a toile print and yellow/white shetland wool

...all I could think of was really? Really more fabric!?! My shelves are overflowing...I have stacks of fabric everywhere...

Both of these piles are around the cutting table

This one is by the front door as you enter the Sewing Cave,

though I did remove the top pile after taking this picture

When I find more fabric stashed in places I didn't realize, I'm amazed at just how unhappy I was in my last job. See I bought fabric ~ yards and yards of it ~ almost weekly at my old job. It did bring temporary joy and unlimited daydreams that I used as a way to deal with the fact that I HATED that dayum job...but now I'm dealing with the overflow. Especially since I'm not sewing nearly as much as I did before. Hey I used to pound out a dress a weekend, now sometimes I don't sew for weeks!

I really don't want to store more fabric in the garage because y'know, out of sight out of mind, but I'm running out of creative ways to store it in the cave. It's one of the reasons why I'm not fabric shopping. Guess I need to shake myself and work on that topper today because I need to move fabric out of the cave a lot faster! 

Why did this come up today?  Because Fabric Mart is having a 60% off sale on pontes. I love ponte fabric. I own a lot of it with 90% of it purchased from Fabric Mart. I'm usually good about ignoring solid colored pontes but right now there are three pretty amazing printed pontes on the site at only $4 a yard! Let's not forget this amazing faux persian lamb... 

So if you need a fabric fix, why don't you surf on over and buy up the reminding yardage. It would help me out because even though I'm overwhelmed, I'm tempted...so tempted!  *LOL*

...as always more later!

Vote!

Gotcha! Y'all thought I was talking about the political circus that's happening in the US right now didntcha?!  Nope not going there...not yet anyway! *LOL*

Nope, I'm referring to the fact that I want you to vote in Madalynne's Best of Sewing Blogs for 2016!  Here's the link to here blog post and Madalynne has made it easier to vote this year.  All you have to do is go to this online site!

I did it...you should too! So, go vote!

...as always more later!

Sunday Miscellany

It's Sunday and while I've been thinking of sewing I haven't been doing much and still haven't taken pictures of the Carolyn Top so instead I'm sharing a few thoughts...

• Today is the last day of January and in 25 days I will be in Seattle for the weekend! Yes!!!! This time I plan to spend some time sewing with Gaylen and fabric shopping in Seattle.
• In 11 days, TGIT comes back on and I can finally find out what happened to Annelise on HTGWM, what's going on with Olivia Pope and the Gladiators, but most importantly who the h*ll messed with Meredith on Gray's Anatomy - yes these are my personal friends and I don't care if you believe it or not.
• I used the last of my VISA gift card for a fabric purchase of ITY knits from Fabric Mart. I posted this picture to Instagram of the new fabrics ~
•  
• Oh and I bought a couple of patterns too!
• So no more fabric purchases until I get to Puyallup and the Marcy Tilton booth where I can touch pieces for myself. 
• I've decided to make another topper like the last one but with the adjustments I suggested using this fabric ~
• 
• Toppers allow me to wear a "visible" me-made with RTW which helps me feel a little more like myself! Because it's gonna take years to get back to 90% of my wardrobe being me-made again.
• It was so cold last week that I was swathed in cashmere to keep warm, so glad the temperatures will be more moderate this week! Will be able to wear more me-made.
• The grandbabies were here most of the weekend so another reason no sewing was going on.

Hopefully when it calms down this weekend, I will get back into the sewing cave.  There are a couple of things that I want to make before I head to Seattle, so I need some sewing time.  Thank goodness for President's Day weekend!

Did you get to sew this weekend? I hope so!

...as always more later!

The Evolution of a Pattern

I was thinking about my journey with Vogue 1247 ~ how the skirt became a dress and then a topper...and I thought all of the info should be in one post...so that's what follows. BTW, if you don't want to see the pattern evolution skip to the bottom, the finished topper is there!

The First Vogue 1247 Skirt ~
My first version of Vogue 1247 was made shortly after the pattern came out. I loved the skirt but hated how short it was.  Then another blogger, Adonishing Dressing for Dinner, just lengthened the skirt and made an amazing version so I had to have one. I made my first version of this skirt in May 2011:

To get my first skirt ~

• I used my TNT skirt pattern and widened the pattern pieces to fit my body which was about a size 26/28 then.
• Then I lengthened the skirt front and back bottoms to make the skirt just a little longer than knee length.
• The bias binding was omitted and I lined my version.
• It has a skinny waistband with an invisible zipper and button/buttonhole closure. 

* * * * *

Next was "The Rachel Dress" ~
That first version of the skirt inspired the dress which I called "The Rachel Dress." I was inspired by a PYT that I saw when standing in line at Chipolte (at the time I worked around the corner from Oprah's Magazine and Hearst Publications) who was wearing a shift dress with those inset pockets. 

Of course I thought of using the skirt and my TNT dress pattern to get my own version. This dress was made in July 2011.

I made dress pattern pieces to get a garment with the working invisible pockets. The pattern alteration post is here. However, I have to share the making of this pattern piece in-process because it's kinda cool...

• This dress was made from linen.
• Buttons and buttonholes were added to the pocket inset.
• Black piping was added to the neckline and armholes.
• The dress is lined in blue rayon bemberg.
• Lace was added to the lining hem ~ which was my signature technique added to lining hems.

* * * * * 

The Rachel Dress Number Two ~
I loved wearing the original dress so much so that I made a winter version in March 2012.

For this version I emphasized the pockets with black gimp trim and used an amazing piece of herringbone fabric that was appliqued with lace pieces. That black gimp was hand stitched to the dress front, a look inspired by pieces from Chanel's Couture Spring 2012 line. All construction details can be found here. This fabric presented some challenges because care needed to be taken with it to get a finished dress.

I put the pattern away after this because there were so many other versions of dresses to make using my TNT pattern, inspiration pieces and/or new dress patterns.

* * * * *

A Topper from The Rachel Dress ~
A weight loss, a job and lifestyle change (hey it snowed buckets last Saturday but I worked from home on Monday cause that's one of the perks of the new job. No trudging out in the snow for me!) inspired me to make a new Vogue 1247 skirt in denim late last year.

I believe that working with the pattern again, loving those invisible pockets and finally realizing that I can be as creative as I want with my wardrobe, led to this new topper.

Inspiration ~
My last post details what inspired me and how I came to make this topper. The one thing I didn't discuss was why a topper? I've bought enough bottoms (leggings/slim pants) to wear to work for two weeks and I have loads of tops/sweaters/tanks still in the collection to wear with them. So figuring out what inspires me to want to sew has come down to toppers, shirts and skirts this winter. But you know me, I can't just sew a pattern...I need to do something to it to make it unique and distinctly me.

I've resigned myself to the fact that I will wear mostly RTW every day because I need time to make new garments. This means the me-made pieces I do sew, I want to be distinctive.  Toppers or jackets fill that need.

The Supply List ~
2 yards of a Printed Brocade from Fabric Mart
3/4 yard of black ponte from Metro Textiles
Gray Rayon Bemberg Lining

Pattern Alterations ~
I used the pattern pieces from The Rachel Dress because the pattern had what I needed to make the garment I was seeing in my mind. However, I did make all new pieces for several reasons.

~ One because I needed to shorten the pattern pieces from dress length to tunic length. 
~ Two I needed to make facings for the front and back pieces which I ended up not using.
~ Three I was pulling pattern pieces from other envelopes - pocket from the Rachel Comey pattern and the sleeve from my TNT tunic pattern - so I decided to trace new pieces to stay with this grouping because after wearing the topper, I want to make more.
~ Pattern pieces were made for the jacket front top, the jacket front bottom and two back pieces, a new pocket piece and a sleeve. 

Actual Pattern Alterations were:
1. The dress top front had you place the pattern on the fold. Instead I made it two separate front pieces then added 1 5/8 inches to the center front of each piece. 
2. The same 1 5/8 inches was added to the bottom front piece. 
3. The back piece had a center back seam but instead of being separate top and bottom pieces, I just lengthened the top piece to the same length as the combined front pieces. 
4. No change was made to the sleeves.

Construction Details ~
Even after making those pockets in 2 dresses and 2 skirts, I still need the pattern instructions to sew them together...sad I know! *LOL* There were no real construction challenges once I figured out those pockets...it was a pretty straightforward sew.

I did add a lining. I used a gray bemberg because I only have enough black in stock to line a skirt. The lining was made by cutting out the front and backs after they were sewn together in the fashion fabric. I wanted a solid lining without a lot of seams.  The jacket is lined to the edge and is free hanging, tacked at the hem seams so it doesn't fly away.

The sleeves are made from a black ponte to give the topper a sweatery, casual like feel since I used such a formal fabric. No button/closure was on the inspiration piece so I didn't add one to mine. When I wore it to work, I used one of the many pins I own, trying to re-purpose the jewelry collection y'know.

The pictures were taken at work by one of my colleagues using my iPad. I sit next to her and we talk all day long. She's one of the reasons I like the new job so much! She was really getting into it, kneeling down and shooting up, trying for angles...I was a little blown away that she accomplished so much in five short minutes!

A few more Pictures ~

This was so comfortable to wear! I felt dressed but not overly dressed. The ponte sleeves were comfortable and allowed me to push them up or wear them down. I even garnered a few compliments!

I definitely want to make this again but with these improvements:
*Raise the neckline - make it more jacket, less dress.
*Widen the shoulder seams - again more jacket, less dress.
*Lower the under arm seam - I cheated with this one by using the serger to achieve a lower underarm.
*Trying to decide if I want to remove some of the a-lineness of the topper bottom.

I do want to try it as a vest. Can you imagine that a pattern that started life as a skirt...has become a dress...now a topper and quite possibly a vest too. Sometimes it helps to think outside the box!

...as always more later!