Category: Apparel Sewing

In the Mood for Mood Fabrics

by danandjudy@tampabay.rr.com

If you’ve ever watched Project Runway, you know every episode includes a trip to Mood Fabrics in NYC. So when the hubby and I visited last month, I just had to see it in person. Let me just say that it is massively overwhelming, but in a good way! The store covers three floors, and each one is stacked with rolls and rolls of fabric, organized by fiber type.

One funny tidbit–the street-level store is actually Mood Home, which sells home-decorating fabric. The regular store, which sells all manner of apparel fabric, is located upstairs, and you can’t really see it from the street.

Whenever I would watch Project Runway contestants struggling to pull fabric off the shelves, I wondered why it was so hard to access the material. Now I know. Those rolls are heavy, and the one you want is inevitably below several other rolls. However, the staff is always ready to help. There were multiple staffers on each floor, and I was asked several times if I needed assistance.

Don’t you just swoon when you look at the photo above? Sigh, sooo much to choose from. I ended up buying just one cut of fabric, a remnant from Carolina Herrera. Many famous designers send their leftover fabric to Mood for sale, and you just have to be willing to work with what’s available. For instance, when the staffer rolled out the fabric I had chosen, there was only 1-3/4 yards available before a weird cut appeared on the roll. I had wanted to buy 2 yards, but I’m sure I can make do with what I got; I’m thinking a skirt. I also bought a “Thank You, Mood” shirt and bag! Unfortunately, Swatch the dog didn’t make an appearance. I would have loved to pet him.

After leaving Mood, we wandered around the garment district and bopped into a couple of stores that sell trim. I didn’t buy much, because you would really have to know exactly what you wanted it for, but just imagine having access to these supplies all the time!

The other fun and inspiring thing about the garment district was seeing the studios that are on the upper floors of some buildings. This photo may not really show it, but these are all working studios where it was clear that garments were being produced–I could see the clothing racks and mannequins. I love the huge windows and all the natural light. Wouldn’t it be fun to have a place like that to sew in??

That’s it for my little tour of the garment district. If you’re a sewist, I hope you get to visit someday!

Summer Sewing

by danandjudy@tampabay.rr.com

I don’t know about you, but when I’m dressing casually, I typically go for a t-shirt and shorts. After all, I live in Florida, so in July and August, that’s about all I can stand! But when my hubby and I planned a special trip to NYC to celebrate our 25th anniversary, I suddenly decided to step up my style game with some breezy dresses, the type of thing I could wear out for the day and also feel comfortable wearing for dinner if I never had a chance to change.

So, I did what many avid sewists do. Our trip was planned for mid-July, and I went and bought fabric in April. And stared at it in May. And all throughout June. By July 6, I knew I had to get cracking! Thankfully, I had selected easy patterns. In seven days, I churned out two dresses and a skirt. Actually, I made a third dress, but the fit wasn’t right so I didn’t finish it for the trip. In fact, I’ve abandoned it altogether, but that’s a story for another day. Here’s how my makes turned out.

This fabric (I LOVE the little gold arrows)…

became this dress:

I love the look and fit of this dress (Simplicity 8231). It went together very quickly, but I did have to fool around with the neckline facing a bit because it was gaping some. It required some unpicking (as the Brits say–doesn’t it sound so much nicer than “ripping”?) and resewing. BTW, that’s a photo of me outside the Lion Brand Yarn Studio, ’cause you know I had to see it!

And this second piece of fabric…

became this little number:

This silky fabric pairs very well with this pattern (Simplicity 1375), but it is a tad thick for the design of the drawstring waistband because the thickness makes it a little difficult to pull the drawstring as tightly as I would like. I always look for fabric that isn’t too sheer (don’t need to offer a peep show!), but I will take fabric thickness into account when using patterns with drawstrings in the future. Lesson learned, but it’s still really cute!

I’ll post a few more NYC photos soon because you just know I had to make a trip to Mood Fabrics and the garment district!

Paper Fan Dress

by danandjudy@tampabay.rr.com

I suppose that as one of the first projects I want to show you, it’s only fitting that I should present a couple of dresses that I have made for one of my favorite Memorable Makes recipients, my great-niece, the fabulous Miss E. She’s 3.5 now, and I made both of these dresses for her when she was 2, shortly before her 3rd birthday. I made them both a little big, and they still fit her, so I’m glad I did. I used this great free pattern for the Paper Fan Dress from the incredibly talented Anna Marie Horner.

The first photo is the front of the dress, and the second is the back. The dress wraps around the back and closes with two large buttons on the bodice. It’s goes on so easily, and I think it’s perfect for an active little girl. I also like that the dress is loose enough that Miss E. can wear a long-sleeve shirt and tights under it to get a little more wear out of it in the colder months.

I apologize for not have a better photo of the second dress, which I made in Gator fabric because we are all big fans and she needs to have something special to wear when we watch the games–go Gator Nation! My phone camera doesn’t take the best indoor pictures, and like I said, Miss E. is always on the move!

Depending on which size dress you’re making (it runs from size 2 to 7/8), you need just 1 to 1.5 yards of fabric for the skirt, so this is a great pattern to make use of those novelty fabrics you just had to have!