Ench By Sew-025: Restyling

Hey! 

The latest Enchanted by Sewing Podcast has been published!

Listening Option I) You can listen to the show right on the web by clicking on this link

http://traffic.libsyn.com/enchantedbysewing/FINALCastOct2014RestylingEnchantedBySewing.mp3

~ OR ~

Listening Option II)  Click on this link to iTunes  to download this and other Enchanted by Sewing shows to your mobile device (iPhone, Android, etc.) free from iTunes 
( https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/enchanted-by-sewing/id566370325)

This month’s show  is  Restylin’.
It all came about when I started shaking the dreams from my hair. Restylin' is about my transition in sewing and wardrobe style . It involves looking at patterns in a new-to-me way, and working my brain around ways I want clothes to fit me.

The Enchanted by Sewing Podcast is, an extension of my regular sewing blog - Me Encanta Coser, which,  roughly translated means, Enchanted By Sewing 

My blog is written in English. The name celebrates the historical and modern use of the beautiful Spanish Language in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, where I live. 

This month I’m working on creating two tee shirts M6078 and V8323. The details are in these blog postings from MeEncantaCoser.blogspot.com
V8323 - Princess Seamed - Katherine Tilton Tee http://meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2014/10/princess-seamed-tee-shirt-pattern-work.html

M6078 - Retro Style Polka Dot Cowl Neck Knit top - Reminiscent of I Love Lucy http://meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2014/10/reworking-retro-style-polka-dot-tee.html

1) Pensamientos Primeros
– (Sewing) For my wardrobe’s sake (How about those red accents!)
2) Technicos  
Reworking my sewing style/methods. Pattern alteration experiences.
3) Pensamientos Finales
Transitions - Restyling  

David Crosby sang, 
“I almost cut my hair
It happened just the other day . . .”

4) Epiologue 
Redefining what I want to create

Vogue - Sofía Vergara http://www.vogue.com/865250/sofia-vergara-dangerous-curves/

* * *
Restyling has me  shaking the dreams from my hair.   That’s just one more thing that keeps me . . . 
Enchanted by Sewing.

Californian Visits Vancouver B.C.'s Dressew - A Sewing Mecca

How many extra suitcases are you packin', for that trip to Vancouver?

My November Enchanted by Sewing podcast will include an audio spin through these aisles.

 Wellllllll, this Californian didn't have any extra suit case room this trip 'round. But I still managed to spend about $25 on bits and pieces to fill my bags corners, at Dressew, a Vancouver B.C. store that's a lot more than fabrics.

This store certainly has tons of fabrics. On this trip I looked down an aisle of brocades that was maybe 50' long. They had an array of beautiful dotted cottons, the like of which I've never seen. And lace fabric? Don't even get me started on the lace. Into active wear sewing? They also sell power mesh that LuluLemon sells them, when they stop production on a particular color/style.

Luckily for me, I wasn't hungry for fabric. I did want zippers though. They have all those speciality sizes and types I usually have to buy on the web for a lot more money. I bought several in the 3-5 inch range for less than a dollar (lucked out on the exchange rate this time through too). Then there are buttons - over 500 tubes of buttons (with an average of probably 30 buttons per tube). There are buttons on cards as well. Trim - you want trim? Trims I've never seen before, and lots of leather trim. Great prices. I also bought needles and decorative embellishments I plan to use for jeans. They were all 25 cents. These folks are liquidators. You don't count on what they'll have, but you'll want what you see.

And of course, just hanging out with other sewists and wondering what they were going to make added a lot to my fun.

Nothing makes me bond more to a city, then finding great sewing resources.

That's the kind of thing that keeps me . . . 

Enchanted by Sewing!

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Web Resources

Subscribe to email notifications for the Enchanted by Sewing podcast, so you won't miss the show on Vancouver sewing resources.

Dressew - Gallery - Check out those buttons! http://students.bcitwebdev.com/stephanepj/finalproject/gallery.php

Vancouver B. C. - Fall Foliage (Field Trip, Travel)

How 'bout them leaves hunh?

This Californian is 'mazed!

Bring on fall color.

Edgewood Ghost Rider (Halloween Field Trip San Francisco Bay Area)

Next time at Edgewood

When I see that ghost rider

Gonna ask - her time.

I see a lot of things at Edgewood that aren't in the nature preserve brochure, or on the map. Time travel is always an option, both for me and for those who return from a long time gone.

~ ~ ~

Web Resources

Time Travel Portals - http://www.pinterest.com/lrshimer/time-travel-portals/

Romance of Vintage Threads - Lace Dress Inspiration

Do you love pinterest like I do? I have numerous boards related to sewing, fashion and history out there. I pinned this vintage lace dress on my Sewing Inspiration pinterest board. 

When I saw this vintage dress on another pinners board, I was hooked. I immediately posted it to Facebook and started imagining where i might wear it, once I make it:-)

- To a wedding - I'd feel like the mother of the bride in this beautiful frock

- To dine at San Francisco's Cliff House on my next significant wedding anniversary. We've got one divisible by 10 in 2018. I think I could get this gorgeous girl done by then!

- Out dancing with my husband. OK, so we don't actually know how to dance like that. Don't you think such a romantic garment ought to be enough of an inspiration that we'll learn, just to honor it?

- Theater, ballet and opera. Those are obvious right?

When I get a dress done along these lines, I'm going to find places to wear it. I know I"m going to love it.

Sewing Resources 

B6095

I'm thinking of trying out Butterick 6095. It's a top pattern, and that's what I'll make first. I'll be playing around with fit on this top. I want it really, really fitted. I'm not wild about the peplum on this top. Since it's not part of the dress I'm working towards, I"m going to eliminate it. Maybe I'll extend the hem and change to fish eye darts. Once I move onto the dress I'll work out where the hem is shortened.

I'd probably make the first test version of the bodice in a simple woven and just wear it for a while, to see what I think of the fit. I'll stick with the sleeveless version and not fuss with sleeves, since I don't want them in the lace dress and I'm not super interested in them.

After I'm happy with fit, I'll move onto a bodice/top in double edged lace. That will give me a chance to get comfortable with my lace sewing and styling techniques. I want to make sure that the scallop edge embellishes the armhole just so.... Black lace maybe? It will be fun to pick out a fabric that goes with jeans as well as a simple skirt.

I'll also need to make some decisions about what sort of lining is going to backup the lace. Do I want to just wear a camisole and slip underneath  or do I line or underline the garment? It's a possibility but I'm more likely to build the lining in - silk or Bemberg rayon? I'll probably use the rayon for the first pass on the bodice/top.

Once I get the lace bodice perfected I can move onto the skirt. I think I'll drape a skirt that's mostly straight, or even somewhat pegged, on the bottom and cut the original fabric wider on the top (like a reverse triangle - with one point cut off) so I have the fabric for the big pleats. I'll be playing around on my dress form to get that skirt shaped right. I might even start by draping a dolls dress to get the shape right.

The belt will be fun. I keep my eyes peeled for just the right glitzy slider piece. I might try covering elastic with lining-backed lace.

Princess Seamed Tee Shirt (Pattern Work)

V8323

Last week I wrote about the pattern work I'm doing with the cowl neck knit/tee shirt pattern for the remainder of my black and white polka dot knit. At the same time, I'm working on altering this pattern for a princess-seamed tee shirt. I have two pieces of fabric I'll be using for this tee. One is a heathery gray, somewhat heavy cotton knit. The other is a print of roses in a kind of heavy velourish sort of fabric. The rose print was a freebie, so I'm less clear on it's history.

I'm hoping both tees will work well in our temperate fall and winter climate, in the San Francisco Bay Area - if we ever get any cooler weather that is! Right now the weather gods seem to think it's still summer - actually a warmer summer than we usually get. 

So far I've traced and dated the master pattern (view C) on drafting paper, leaving in more than enough seam allowances for altering. I'll probably use some commercial tee shirts for muslin/patter testing. I hope that, even though this is a knit, I can still get some idea with the help of my dress form Conchita, as to where shoulder and side seams need to go.

I believe that Marcy Tilton Thomas' sister Katherine Tilton, designed this pattern. Here's a newsletter where Marcy talks a little about the pattern http://www.marcytilton.com/index.php?cid=1050

Foot Prints - Postcard from a Santa Cruz Beach

How long gone the girl,

Who walked these Santa Cruz sands?

Some foot prints don’t vanish.