The American Sewing Expo

I spent Saturday at the American Sewing Expo. I didn't take any classes. I mainly went because I wanted to meet Rhonda Buss. It was more than worth it. She was warm and pleasant and "she's got skills." She used a beautiful "stretch pleather" and faux fur fabric to make what I thought would certainly be the winner of the ASE "Project Runway-esque" challenge. I was sorely disappointed to find out she didn't win first place. I'm happy to say I was able to score three yards of the stretch pleather from Haberman Fabrics.

I was also glad to see several bloggers that I met at the New York Pattern Review last year. I met another very popular sewing blogger, who shall remain unnamed, that was quite the opposite of Rhonda. I found her to be very cold and standoffish and was very disappointed by her demeanor not to mention the garment she was wearing. Did you make that?? If so, why? How soon we forget where we came from. Maybe a class in public relations is in order...for her, not me!

I especially had fun talking to the staff at the Vogue,McCalls, Butterick and Kwik Sew booth. There I scored a couple of patterns and a fabulous "goodie bag."

At the Vogue Fabrics booth I broke down and bought two yards of fabric and three different colors of "Dylon" fabric die.

Other than what I mentioned above, the only other thing I bought was a fabulous herbal tea...and lots of it.

I've been attending the ASE for at least 20 years and this year was the most disappointing. The number of vendors is shrinking especially those that are garment sewing related. There are more and more embroidery, quilting and all things crafty taking it over. On the other hand if I were looking for a hard-to-find gadget, I more than likely would have found it there. I did contemplate the "surgical" seam ripper but on second thought decided I didn't want to amputate any of my body parts.

So there you have it. I didn't sew a single stitch over the weekend but I do have a bra cut out and ready to sew but I am too immersed in John Grisham's "The Racketeer."

Vogue 1329 Review

I'm still on my dress"kick." It's been a couple of years now so it's probably not a "kick" anymore. Although the fabric looks "Royal blue", it's actually a dark navy. I was trying to get to work and the photographer was working my "last nerve."

Pattern Description: Close-fitting lined dress has yokes, right front with pleats, back princess seams, and invisible zipper

Pattern Sizing: 8-24 After all my alterations mine was a size 18

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Exactly

Were the instructions easy to follow? Super easy

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I like the color-blocking and the front pleats. I dislike the lining pieces. The front lining pieces are princess seamed. That seam shows up on the front pleated pieces.

Fabric Used: Ponte from JoAnns. Not Ponte de Roma. I like Ponte but it gets "butt sprung" and I'm not a fan of that look on me.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: Oh the alterations! I added a bust dart to the pattern. No problems there but for some reason I couldn't get them at the angle I wanted. I forgot to raise the armhole so instead I sewed deeper shoulder seams and scooped out and widened the front and back neckline. The invisible zipper I put in looked like crap so I opted to omit it. Note to self: I've never been successful adding an invisible zipper in Ponte...don't try it again! I added 1 1/2" to the length. I would have preferred to add 3" but only had one yard of the white and that is the most length I could get. My hem is only 1" deep. I also had to take about a 1" dart at the center back neck because it gaped horribly. I'm really happy for the back princess seams because I was able to do some additional nipping and tucking to get a better fit. Finally I narrowed the skirt width at the hemline.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I'm pretty sure I'll sew it again.

Conclusion: Great dress to make for the coloring-blocking trend. BTW I made the dress to match the shoes. I know I'm not the only one to ever do it!

Vogue 8904

These pictures are a little bit better.

I aligned the base pattern piece with McCalls 6559 and knew I would get the fit I wanted. I then just used the original pattern as an inspiration piece. There would have been way too much altering of the overlaying pattern pieces. I did incorporate and FBA as I do in most things I make.

My original thought was to leave the back as plain vertical stripes...but it was not a good look. I almost ran out of fabric and did have to piece one of the pieces on the back. The bottom is a single layer of the base pattern pieces. I also hemmed each of the overlay pieces. I couldn't imagine having rolled up lines all over my dress.

I love the finished dress. I've paired it with a patent leather pump I picked up at JCPenney for a mere $4, When I wore it I got lots of compliments which let's me know it is really an eye-catching design.

The main thing I like about it is that I didn't have to wear a control garment. All the layers camouflaged in bumps and/or bulges. Gotta love that. Not sure I'll make it again but is always a possibility.