How big is too big?

I think I may have the answer to this here:

To the pattern's defence it was described as an "Oversized Top", but I think this may be going too far, it is ENORMOUS.

I used BurdaStyle pattern 07/2011#116A for this project as I wanted something simple that would show off the fabric.  I also wanted something loose fitting and comfy to just throw on in summer with shorts.

The fabric is a polyester georgette and whilst it falls beautifully I am still on the fence with this pattern.

Pros:
- the pattern was super fast to make
- it is pretty comfy and cool for summer
- I love the fabric


Cons:
- it drives me mad by constantly falling off one shoulder and therefore requires a strapless bra
- I am not sure it is overly flattering
- it is absolutely huge!!

What do you think? Do I refashion this into something else?

Spring has Sprung Hazel

As my lovely followers will know I was in NYC recently and prior to my trip I just had to make a dres (one always needs new travelling clothes!).

Anyway I had picked up this cute cotton seersucker recently with the original intention to make a top, however I had 1.5 metres @ 150cm wide which is way too much for a top.  I was pretty confident I could get a dress out of that amount and the Hazel seemed perfect for the job!

As I was due to leave in two days, and had to go to work both of those days (damn having to work for a living!), I whipped this up super quick.  When I say "whipped up", I mean "no muslin, just cut, sew and hope for the best!".  In all truth, I don't tend to do muslins often at all, yeah, yeah, I know, but it has worked for me so far!

Due to my haste and lack of measuring, I did have a few issues with fit due to cutting the bodice a size or so too big. I ran the seams in a bit to get the bodice to fit better but I think next time I'll make more time to fit it better and will cut a size smaller in the bodice also.

Notice the gaping under the arms?  In saying this, the dress is super comfy so I don't mind too much and won't alter this one.

The experienced Hazel makers amongst you will notice I changed the skirt to pleated instead of gathered.  The gathers did me no favours as it stuck out funny and as one other blogger (can't remember who) noted recently, it made me look "pregnant in the front and back" - terrible.  The pleats are much more flattering I think.  I may try a fuller skirt next time.

The fashion fabric turned out to much sheerer than I thought so I lined the whole dress in a cotton batiste for modesty, plus this had the added bonus of not having to use facings!!  Brilliant - I don't like using facings because that normally requires hand-sewing and I am not a fan of hand-sewing. 

Sorry, I forgot the back photos, so here is another front one, I can assure you the back is just fine!

I finished the dress in time to take it away with me and was pleased to be able to show it off at the NYC Meet Up. 

I am now back in sunny Brisbane, and Spring has officially started, I know this will be a firm staple in my Spring/Summer wardrobe! Yay for Hazel!

Patterns & Postcards

Whilst reading blogs yesterday (ok I know I should be sewing or doing something constructive, but let's call this tidying and organising), I discovered this wonderful idea by The Perfect Nose:

In her words:

Patterns and Postcards is an inter-blog swapfest. General guidelines are as follows:
List it: You have till the end of September 2012 to scan/ photograph everything you’d like to swap (might be a good idea to break it up into separate posts as all that scanning can get tedious after a while) and post it on your blog (if you have one) or as a Flickr/ Picassa set or Thinglink image.
Make it accessible: If you’re on Flick/ ThinkLink/ Picassa or any other image hosting site, check that you’ve set viewing access to be public so that everyone can see your swapfest goodies.
Claim it: A lot of people have expressed concerns about dibsies, so as of today there is is no official deadline for dibsies, if you like something, leave a comment/ send a message/ tweet/ email stating what you like with a link to the post/ picture set of stuff you’ve listed for swap so your swapee can choose something for themselves (and decide whether they want to swap).
Tag it: If something from your list has been spoken for, edit your post/ listing to mark it as taken (or delete it from the listing) so that you don’t get multiple dibs on the same item.
Mail it: It would be great to have things decided on and mailed by the end of October so recipients receive them early to mid November (which leaves everyone free for focusing solely on holiday/ family/ shopping stresses without having to worry about swaps etc).
Keep it social: Send your swap partner a quick email or blog comment as soon as you receive your parcel. Not only is this the polite (read, humane) thing to do, it’s great for senders to know that the goodies have arrived safely and aren’t languishing unclaimed in a customs hold up somewhere.

Also:
Once you’ve decided what you want and what you’re ready to swap for it, contact the person you want to swap with and let them know what you’d like to swap for/ with. Then put everything together and add an awesome (funny, weird, crazy) postcard to the parcel and hit send make the pilgrimage to the post office and be forced to interact with other human beings in real life.

Here are my offerings, all are uncut and in good condition unless stated:


Swapped with Symon Sez

Swapped with Modern Vintage Cupcakes

Swapped with Symon Sez

Swapped with Tatulinka's Tales

 

  

Used, Bust 40", envelope not original

Swapped with Poppet Hill

Used, cut in size 12 (australian)

If you are interested, please leave a comment and let me know what you have to swap and we can do a deal!!

It was calling me...

Ok, I left the Garment District and the Meet-Up with this feeling that I didn't do the district justice and my full undivided attention, no offence to the lovely ladies that I met on Saturday, it's just that I felt there were several stores that I neglected and that I simply must return.  So on the Monday (as Sunday it is closed) I did just that.

Spandex World

So much lovely trim to adore

I am not sure how one approaches these many stores with any sense of logic, however I just went from store to store popping my head in to see if they were of interest.  Many of them were fancy dress fabrics for weddings, formals and the like, so not really to my interest.  There were loads of fabulous trim shops, but for these I think I would prefer to have a project in mind. 

 

I was seeking some basic fabrics to make my summer wardrobe. I found success at A& J Fabrics which had lots of good basic cottons, drills and denims.  My purchases were the below stretch drills that will be perfect to make shorts/capris.

Of course I had to head back to Mood, as I only spent about an hour and a half there previously as just needed more time!  I met the lovely Noel who looked after me.

I bought the following fabrics:

From left:  Dusky pink wool (ok this is for winter, but was so soft I couldn't resist), coordinating light floral cotton voile, taupe rayon print

This is enough fabric for me at the moment and I shouldn't have to buy anything now for ages.  I can now fully plan my summer wardrobe and will start sewing this week. Don't you just love fabulous new textiles?? 

Now I just need to start saving to return to NYC next year to make my purchases for my winter wardrobe....I wish.

NYC Meet Up

I was lucky to be in NYC last weekend and was able to attend the meetup arranged by Ginger of GingerMakes.  There were eight of us in all, Kerry from Kestrel Makes and Finds all the way from Scotland, Mika, Ginger, Cindy, Janice, Marina, Kelli and of course me from Australia.

We started off on 39th at Parons which has a fabulous array of fabrics ranging from simple cottons, to wools, sateens, silks.  Many of the fabrics here are ex-fashion houses of Europe and so there was some lovely tempting options.  I chose to start slowly and wait to see what other treasures arose, grass is always greener you know! 

We then headed to Chic Fabrics where the stack of fabrics was overwhelming, somewhere under this pile is their cutting counter:



Kerry and I perusing the many options (I bought some of the black daisy print in my hand).  BTW - this is my hastily made Hazel (will blog this soon), hmmm...nice bra strap, must fix that!


photo courtesy of GingerMakes

We then headed across the road to Gray Line Linen where I could not resist a red polka dot print linen, and for me a bargain at $9.50/yd, linen is expensive in Australia and we seldom see prints.

All this shopping made us hungry, so a yummy pizza lunch was next on the agenda.



Then it was off to the much acclaimed Mood Fabrics.  Did it live up to the hype?  For me, MOST DEFINITELY, it was like my own personal heaven!  This place was amazing, first of all, check out the range of zips:



The infamous Swatch

The top floor is mostly wool and cashmere, the middle floor dress fabrics, cottons, silks, jersey etc and the bottom floor home decor.  I was pretty overwhelmed by all the choices and found it really hard to restrain myself from buying everything that was pretty.

I managed to restrain myself and only bought a Marc Jacobs cotton print and a gorgeous floral silk jersey.

From left to right: Janice, Marina, Kelli, Cindy, Ginger, Mika, Kerry, me.

Loving the Marc Jacobs print, I hope I bought enough

My purchases for the day:


Clockwise from top left:  Marc Jacobs eyelet cotton, Floral silk jersey, polka dot linen, heart print silk rayon, daisy print cotton.

I had such a fabulous day, these girls were lovely and it was nice to talk fabric and sewing for several hours and not get any rolling of the eyes or general signs of boredom that I might get from my IRL friends.  I am really looking forward to seeing what everyone else makes, being there for the fabric purchase makes me feel like I have been a part of the process!