Fabric Joy

I can't kick the fabric-buying drug. I gotta have it. I can sorta control it by supposedly buying what I need for a specific project, but who knows when I'll get to the project? Anyhoo. One shouldn't be too hard on oneself :-)

Seriously -- once the skirt bug kicked in, I realized the flaw in my stash. Either my pieces are too large or too small. I want full, A-line skirts that fall past the knee; I have an unhealthy crush on circle skirts. I need 2.5-4.5 yds to make this work. I can't bear to cut into a 5.5 yd piece of fabric if I only need 4.5 yds. I would rather buy more fabric! (I know this is completely ridiculous and a recipe for foolishness.)

Enter Robert Kaufman Ultra Cotton Sateen and Mary Jo's. I am now the proud owner of Forest and Black. Forest is destined for a dress. Y'all know I really want the chocolate now.

Then there's Fabric Mart. I got the last of this black silk/cotton Oxford shirting:

I made a couple of first purchases. Fashion Fabrics Club had basic sateen colors. I love the one on the left. I absolutely hate the one on the right. I will think twice before purchasing from them again. It is really heavy. Way too heavy for an A-line skirt. All sites should give you the fabric's weight. 

                

I got this lightweight embroidered cotton too.

I made my first purchase from Mood! Based on Project Runway and what the folks on its blogger network are doing, I thought Mood wasn't for sewing lightweights like me. I know where to go if I ever want silk 4-ply crepe, but I'm glad to say there's something for my skill level -- and that people is Bemberg lining at $6/yd! Oh happy day!

Last but not least are Jo-Ann and Hancock. From Jo-Ann there's this linen and poly charmeuse.

Poor Hancock. You're just not the same anymore. I do thank you for these two great finds. The lawn ?? on the left was $.40/yd! The stretch cotton pique was around $5. Now I'm on the hunt for stretch linings.  All except one of the older sateen fabrics in my stash has stretch.

May was a good stash month!

Adventures in Skirt Making Continue

On Sunday, I decided to tackle the easier of the patterns, S2614.  I made the changes to the pattern and didn't make another muslin. I think I may have added too much width for the high hip, but I figured I could pin-fit that out.

Monday morning, I cut and marked. Tuesday, I staystitched and got ready to construct! I pinned my two pieces together. Guess what? When I added 1" to the back waist. I really added an inch -- without tapering from the left seam line. Thank goodness this is an easy fix. You can see below how I'm trying to accomplish this taper.

I only had 20 minutes. I'll fix it later. I also want to revisit how to do an elastic casing without threading the elastic through. Is that called a fold over casing?

Double Trouble

I need bottoms desperately (really I just need clothes.) I can suffer through RTW tops, but that is not the case with pants. Skirts can be an issue too, but more about that later. In the meantime, I've become obsessed with skirts. I even bought a book to help me figure out how to line an A-line skirt.

I was ready to conquer V8882 with gusto:  I traced the pattern. I added 1" to the side seam allowances and my usual 2.75" length to the CB for my high and round rear. (This is why RTW skirts can be scary.) Side note:  what I have been calling a sway back issue may actually be my high and round rump. Not sure yet if it's just my rear or if I really have a sway back.

I moved on to the muslin. I now see my tilted waist in action! I raised the back 1" and lowered the front 1" (people, I'm on a roll!) By pinning, I was able to fix the hemline curve.  I still needed the 2.75" at the CB, I just can't seem to draw the curve correctly on paper. I draw half the curve, fold the pattern in half and then trace it on the other side.

Not a great shot

I was ready to cut some fabric. Dang! The piece I wanted to use was too short. My alts required an extra 3/4 yard. See how the Lord helps fools and babies? I was completely willing to ignore the pulling around my high hip and what the pleat was doing as it opened over the ummm ... apex of my bum. Also, that 2.25" waistband looked like it was sitting directly under the girls. I definitely had an old man in Florida look.

The desire for a quick win was so great, I decided to move on to an easier bias skirt with an elastic waist (that didn't need as much fabric.) Enter S2614. How the hell do you line a skirt with an elastic waist? (Lining is a requirement for me.) Thank God for Google.

In my brilliance, I did the tissue alts in the following order: Overall length, CB hem length, hips, high hip, back waist (notice how I forgot the front waist?) The high hip alt was torturous. I tried to use the seam method. Completely severed the tissue on both the front and back. Still wasn't sure if I really got the alt right, but I moved on to the muslin.    

Yep. Still needed to lower the front waist. Here is where I am amazingly awesome. I still don't know why, but although I marked the new waistline on the muslin, I chose to use a curve to draw a different waistline. The CF was the same, but I angled it differently. I started with the left side. I couldn't quite get ruler to match up on the right side. So I cut the left side, folded the skirt in half and cut the right side based on the left! YES!! I CUT OFF THE LENGTH I ADDED FOR THE RIGHT HIGH HIP. I am greatness and excellence rolled up into one.  Luckily, I saved the piece I cut off.

My hemline curve wasn't right on this skirt either.

This weekend will be spent working on both skirts ... Of course, none of the fabric in my stash will do now ;-) I have my heart set on the Potent Purple linen from Jo-Ann. I could probably go for Calla Green as an alt. (Yes, I have a 5+ yd piece here, but that's for a dress!)



Third choice is potting soil.


I see a top in my future with this fabric.