You Can Sew It—But Can You Accessorize It? (The Joan Accessory Hunt)

Mad Men's Joan Holloway: Not a woman with accessory problems. (And yes, I know she wears pointier shoes than that, but those are shoes I actually own, so: close enough.)

So, tell me: am I the only sewist who is excellent at coordinating colors and textures and prints to produce an adorable outfit... and woefully uninspired when it comes to accessorizing said adorable outfit?

Which is a problem, since accessories can take your look to a whole other level of awesome... or totally destroy it.

Especially with something like my Mad Men challenge dress. Joan is not a slapdash accessorizer--unlike me, she is all about a total, polished look. So the above is a rough sketch of how I plan to achieve...

The classic Joan accessories:

1. A gold-tone pen necklace. Found easily via 1928 jewelry.
2. An elegant gold-tone brooch. I considered one very similar to hers, but this lovely Corocraft double leaf brooch I saw at the Today's Vintage booth at the Brooklyn Flea market yesterday just called out to me. And it was $10. Sold! (And now the first and only brooch I own).
   
3. Elegant earrings. I believe she's wearing pearl studs in the above. I already have a pair (wore them for my wedding and job interviews), so DONE.
4. A classic frame-style handbag. I couldn't find any on Polyvore (and they don't let you clip from Etsy or Flickr), but here's one from Etsy that is very Joan...
   

   Source: etsy.com via Mikhaela on Pinterest

   
   ... though I'm not actually going to buy this particular one. I may just go with a structured eggplant-colored leather tote I already own (from DSW clearance years ago) as "close enough."
5. Pointy-toed pumps. Authentic or not, I just do not DO pointy toes or spiky heels. The above shoes--Tsubo Eeini pumps in "nude" with a sturdy low heel--are the closest I get.
6. A self-fabric belt. I'm making a self-fabric bow belt to go with my dress, so DONE. (or will be done).

But anyway: back to my usual accessory struggles. It's really rather sad. I'll spend twenty minutes carefully composing a coordinated clash of dots and stripes... and a moment or less on choosing a scarf or a bag to set it off. I don't even own a properly fitting sunhat (and I'm corpse-pale enough to REALLY REALLY need one). And when it comes to coordinating bags and shoes? And mixing or not mixing black and brown leather and gold and silver tone jewelry or... ARGH.

As Exhibit A, I present...

The boring accessories I wore EVERY DAY in college, even with dresses:

• Earrings: A pair of sterling silver hoop earrings from the ear-piercing store. (I'm still wearing these. Almost every day. Could I have more boring ears?!)
• Necklace: A thin barely noticeable delicate-looking necklace with a charm on it.
• Scarf: None ever. (not counting winter scarves, obviously).
• Belt: Also none ever.
• Shoes: Doc Martens boots. With a steel toe. (I got into this habit while working in a shipping hub at UPS in order to protect my toes. It wasn't until I stopped wearing these constantly that I realized how freaking HEAVY they were. Ouch!)
• Bag: A backpack. The day hiking kind, not the fancy kind.
• Watch: Digital. The running kind. Except I wasn't a runner. (It's hard in steel-toed boots).
• Hats, brooches, pins, hair accessories, other miscellanea: Ha ha ha ha.

Now, don't get me wrong. There are some...

Accessories I totally GET now:

• Glasses. I love my glasses. I have two pairs that fit--one brown, one bright green--and I should probably match them to my outfits better, but whatever. Hurrah for cute spectacles! My current favorites are these cat-eye Bevel brand glasses, mine are bright green:
  

  Source: contactsandspecs.com via Mikhaela on Pinterest

• Shoes. Over the past seven years I have carefully curated a very small collection of comfortable yet cute retro-influenced flats, heels, boots and sandals with round toes and sturdy, low heels (if any). Go me! I do need to clean out some shoes I have worn past all repair, but it's generally in good shape. These Miz Mooz lovelies (which I'm wearing today) are a good example:
  
  
  
  Miz Mooz pumps
• Necklaces. The brighter the better:
  

  I keep mine on a set of pegs on the wall and admire them daily. And I'm trying to gradually replace the cheap bright plastic Forever 21 costume jewelry necklaces like the above with equally inexpensive but much fancier looking bright vintage costume jewelry necklaces.

But there are many more...

Accessories on which I continue to be clueless:

• Scarves. Own a bunch, even some vintage silk ones, but no idea when/how to add or how to tie them. I need to play with this. Somehow I always feel like instead of making things more fun, they make me look frumpier/older.
• Belts. Considering how much I love working the whole hourglass silhouette, I own/wear hardly any, mostly the cheapo pleather kind with the big round buckle.
• Hats. I have a huge head and finding hats that fit--never mind hats I actually like--is a challenge. So I have one ugly sunhat that pinches my head. Maybe I could make some (at least the breezy simple cotton kind). The only winter hats I have are self-knit.
• Bags. My husband frequently asks me when I'm going to stop lugging around a gigantic bag that can swallow the universe, because he worries I am hurting my back. He has a point. My mom got me a giant Brooklyn Industries bag--similar to this one:
  

  ...but brighter with a magenta print--when I needed to carry a breast pump to and fro from work. I hung up the pump horns months ago, but I'm still lugging the bag (now with the sweater I'm knitting inside), and I don't have a smaller bag for more casual occasions or running about on the weekends. I literally carry this suitcase-sized bag EVERYWHERE. It makes no sense and I must stop.

• Earrings. Yeah, still wearing the tiny hoops I got from the ear-piercing studio. In 1990-something. Every day. Ok then!
• Watches. I wear the same casual black leather-strapped watch. Every day. But it least it has a traditional, not digital, face, and nice typography.
• Rings. I wear my wedding ring. That's it!
• Brooches/Hatpins/Hair Accessories/Misc.. Er...

But whatever. There's no time like the present to start playing around with and exploring these things, and this Mad Men challenge is a great opportunity for that!

So, readers: are you an accessorizing superhero, or a accessorizing slacker? Are you better with some items than others? And is all this stressing over accessories just totally unnecessary and far too much work? Please confess!

P.S. Also--what do you think of my Joan accessory plans? Is the pen necklace fun, or too cliched/costume-y/obvious?

Friday Funny: "The Scarf" (How NOT To Tie One) + Costume Preview

Yeah, so, you know that feeling you get when you're trying to tie a scarf just right... or you keep putting on different skirts and yet somehow NONE of them work with the top you're wearing, but when you change your top, the new top doesn't work, and you start to leave the house, but then you stop and look in the mirror and you're just like. WAIT. NO. And you're late for something, but ...

Then you may get a little deja vu while watching this comedy video short by my friend Stephanie Bencin (no blog, but she's on Tumblr and Twitter), a fabulous up-and-coming comedy writer/filmmaker. Stephanie is a documentary film researcher by day, and by night writes for The Prom, a sketch comedy team that performs at New York's Upright Citizen's Brigade Theatre (founded by the awesome Amy Pohler, among others).

Anyway, Stephanie recently drafted me to do what could very generously be called costume design (to say I am not on a Dreamstress level would be an understatement) for another upcoming video... the same comedy costuming project I mentioned before that required I buy copious amounts of (shudder) fleece. Here's a sneak peek--Z was really sad she couldn't keep the costume when it was done.

And the above video details:

"The Scarf"

• Written by Stephanie Bencin
• Directed and Edited by Adam Sacks
• Shot by Andy Bond
• Starring Moujan Zolfaghari
• Featuring Lauren Adams, Sasheer Zamata and Matt Cutler
• Music by Lawrence Kim

If you enjoy the video, please do your part for female comedians and leave comments here or on YouTube, share it on Facebook, Twitter and so on--Stephanie is just starting to do more of these comedy shorts and any feedback and exposure would have a super big impact! (AND would likely mean you will get to see more entertaining costuming projects here in future).

P.S. Sorry to those of you reading on non-video-friendly devices, but it's worth emailing or bookmarking and watching later!

P.P.S. Speaking of scarves, how beautiful (if super large) is Sarai's scarf collection? I only own 6 or 7 and I really need to start wearing them more often. Honestly, I am terrified of my poor scarf manipulation skills, and in a fit of anxiety a few years ago actually purchased two books on scarf tying.

P.P.P.S. Here I am in 2009 on a rare scarf-wearing occasion in Paris with a turquoise Diane Von Furstenberg silk scarf I bought on deep sale ages back. I definitely didn't have it on right, but cliché or no, I was more scared of NOT wearing a scarf in Paris than wearing it wrong, if that makes sense:

The Sewing Happiness Quotient (featuring the "Kit Cat Cute" Cords)

10 out of 10 for Sewing Happiness Quotient, 10 out of 10 for Mangled Buttonhole Quotient.

When planning your sewing, there are many factors to consider—fabric, fit, finishing, cleaning methods, how a garment will fit into your wardrobe and lifestyle...

But what about the sheer unbridled HAPPINESS factor? What about the fun details, exciting colors and passion-inspiring prints that just make you THRILLED and DELIGHTED and BURSTING WITH JOY every time you wear them?

Let's call this the Sewing Happiness Quotient. It may not be a very scientific or elegant way to evaluate your sewing projects (and could result in embellishment overload), but well, shouldn't sewing be FUN?

And these overalls--while still way too large, and somewhat imperfect in their finishing--are just PACKED with fun details that (a) made them a pleasure for me to sew and (b) make them exciting for my daughter to wear. She may look stoic in the top photo, but that's because I asked her to pose--her general reaction to these overalls is better represented here:

Anyway, for these overalls, here were the main Sewing Happiness Factors:

Mikhaela Happiness Factor: The Fabric

The overalls lining.

Have you ever loved a fabric beyond all reason, so much so that even thinking about said fabric made you ridiculously happy? Well, that's how I feel about a certain Maggy London abstract print lawn I got from Emma One Sock a few years ago.

I first used it in a reversible shirred skirt I made while hugely pregnant--but which is happily so stretchy that I wear it frequently today. And I was so excited to use the leftovers here for the overalls lining, piping, and appliqué. I think I still have enough to make a scarf...

Toddler Happiness Factor: The Cat Appliqué

I never used to understand why almost so much toddler clothing is covered in cutesy appliqués--I thought it was because adults felt an unnecessary urge to embellish their children in frou-frou nonsense. Not so! Those appliqués are for the kids! Z loves to point at the pictures on her clothes and identify them: "Butterfly!" "Cupcake!" "Hammer!" And on nights when she doesn't want to get ready for bed, my best parenting trick is a pair of appliqued pajamas:

Me: It's time to put on your pajamas!

Z: (laughs in defiance, runs around apartment squealing in diaper)

Me: They've got kitty cats on the toes!

Z: (comes to screeching halt, runs over) Kitty! Kitty!

So yeah, she loves them.

Here's an appliqué closeup (please ignore those mangled buttonholes):

The sketch:

More views:

The pattern: Ottobre Design Magazine 4/2010 #4. Lined "Pupu" Overalls in baby and toddler sizes:

Pattern Sizing: I cut the largest size, 92 cm (similar in size to American 3T) as I wanted these to be quite a bit too large for her to grow into. They are super big, but not so huge as to be unwearable. And she grows FAST. So I'm happy.

Were the instructions easy to follow? Better than Burda magazine, but not as detailed and helpful as pattern envelope type instructions--they don't have illustrations or anything, it's just a lot of small print. The trickiest bit was attaching the lining to the shell and turning inside out through a small gap in the lining seam--be careful to read closely here.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I love that these are a really special garment in a simple silhouette with lots of details that can be played with and changed. Because of the details and lining they took ages to make-- but it was worth it.

Fabric:

• Shell: Soft magenta baby cord from the stash, originally purchased at Jo-Ann's for $9/yard. I barely had enough with the one yard, so I had to piece the back bib and cut small seam allowances (1/4").
• Lining/Piping/Appliqué: Awesome Maggy London printed lawn from stash, originally $10.50/yard from Emma One Sock (plus some corduroy scraps from my trousers for cat facial features).

Notions + whatnot: Buttons from Pacific Trimming, embroidery floss (for cat whiskers).

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:

• I didn't bother with the velcro front closing, as Z has no problem pulling pants on and off the ordinary way--I just cut two sets of the regular leg pieces. But I would have if making these for a baby.
• Replaced the heart-shaped back pockets with flat-piped self-drafted pockets that mimic the geometric shapes of the lining print. (My husband hated the hearts on the butt of the original).
• Replaced the bunny appliqué with a cat appliqué of my own design.

Successes:

• First time making my own bias tape. I used Sarai's awesome method from the Colette Sewing Handbook.
• First time (flat) piping anything. Can't wait to do this on something for me now!
• First time applying an appliqué on a garment. I used Lite Steam-a-Seam 2 to fuse it to the bib front, which made it super easy--and meant I could just stitch down with a straight stitch and not worry about frayed edges.
• First time hand-embroidering on a garment (the whiskers). I used a split stitch and it was really fun and easy. I shouldn't have tried to hoop the corduroy, though--it left marks.
• First time fully-lining something like this (I've done free-hanging full dress linings, but this was trickier).
• First time doing decorative topstitching (on some seams and for the faux knee patches). I didn't have the right color in topstitching thread, so I used the triple reinforced stitch with mixed results (it worked well on straight lines, not so much on on the curved knee patch lines).

Room for improvement:

• Buttonhole sadness. I have the worst luck with my Viking's sensor buttonhole foot. I always interface the button area and make practice buttonholes, but something funny happened here and I had to restitch the buttonhole over itself twice... it's a mess.
• Tab weirdness. In fact, the tabs and straps just don't look right in general to me (they don't seem to quite line up) but whatever. They're toddler overalls!

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?

Maybe and yes. It's getting warmer, so I'll probably switch to sewing dresses for her now.

Wear to: Park. Sandbox. Playdate. Art-making. Wherever!

Conclusion: She loves them! I love them! Meow!

So--what sewing is making you happy lately?

$1 a yard, pt. 2: Things I have made with cheap fabric!

Polyester polka dot overload, circa 2005.

Since cheap fabric was such a popular topic with y'all, I thought I'd follow up with a few things I've made with cheap fabric...

But first, I can't believe I forgot:

Another cheap fabric PRO: Bragging rights.

Because when someone says "oh, I LOVE your skirt/dress/trousers/culottes/sequined jumpsuit", what could be more fun than saying:

1. "Oh this? I got it at the thrift store for $2."
2. Except maybe "Oh this? I made it."
3. Or better yet: "Oh this? I made it with some $2 fabric from the thrift store."

Anyway:

Some things I have made with cheap fabric:

• A $2/yard polka dot poly skirt (Simplicity 5914), from Fulton Fabrics in Brooklyn. Made it in 2005, still wear often. Super fast, super fun (photo at top of post).
• A superfast and satisfying $3/yard spiral knit print from Sew-Fisticated Discount Fabrics in Boston poly maternity skirt from a non-maternity pattern (Kwik Sew 3513). Wore it to oblivion while pregnant and postpartum, but it's way too big now (and rather pilly):
  
• A $1.50/yard full gingham self-drafted maternity skirt. Obviously unwearable at the present time. (And yes, I am pale as a corpse, but I'm cool with that.)
  

I was not struck down by any sewing deities as a result. They weren't the nicest things I've ever made... but they weren't the un-nicest, either. And I think full-ish skirts are generally a better bet with cheap un-breathable fabrics since they don't cling to your skin as much as tops.

More lovely cheap fabrics in my stash (not featured in the previous post)

• Soft 100% cotton purple 70s-style floral apparel fabric, $2.99/yard. (Sew-Fisticated Discount Fabrics)

  
• African-style cotton wax prints, $1.99/yard (Sew-Fisticated again). No idea if these were made in the Netherlands or West Africa or China, but they're really soft and seem to be of good quality--I think the fishies will make a lovely simple sundress for my daughter, and the leaves/floral could be a Bombshell dress for me. (See also post and discussion at Miss Celie's Pants, "The curious history of 'tribal' prints.")
  
• $1/yard stretch cotton sateen from ridiculous Fabric Mart Fabrics online sale in 2010 (shown in hand, see also "In Defense of Orange"):
  
• $2/yard iridescent purple poly/cotton shirting from "It's a Material World" (257 W. 39th St.).
  
• $3/yard super-soft lightweight turquoise cotton/lycra blend from Modeani (was across the street from "It's a Material World", but gone now, I think).
  
• $3/yard B&W polka dot ombre-effect poly matte jersey (Sew-fisticated. Again!):
  

And finally... a few cautionary words of sad warning on...

The perils of sewing with cheap fabric

:

So, remember how I said the discount Denver Fabrics wool-blend navy jersey in my color-blocked Sew Grateful Skirt was tissue-thin?

Yeah, well, the second time I wore my skirt--even with a slip--the thinnest spots began turning into runs, like the kind you get in cheap nylon stockings.

This makes me incredibly sad, but I'm not sure whether darning is even worth it, the fabric is so thin in places. I don't know how I could really reinforce it without taking the whole thing apart, either. SUCH a bummer, because I love the look of it!

Sometimes, you get what you pay for.

So, let's hear your bragging--what's the cheapest thing you've made--and still gotten compliments on?

Mad Men: Joan Hair How To (+ How Done Up Do You Get for Garment Photos?)

Teased-up 1960s hair: Yay or nay? (P.S. Yes, no amount of bobby pins could keep my hair from escaping this French twist)(P.P.S. No, I didn't sew this--it's just a vaguely 60s-ish contemporary doubleknit dress I thrifted recently)

Fellow sewists, some questions for you:

• Does vintage sewing require vintage hairstyling? Do 60s hair and 60s dresses pair like a fine wine and cheese--or a Halloween costume?
• How done up do you get for finished garment photos? Do you fancy yourself up with coordinating hair, makeup and accessories before staging an elaborate photo shoot on a weather-beaten bridge? Or do you throw your garment on fresh from the sewing table and snap a few quick pix with your camera phone, styling and scenery be damned?
• Can you explain to me why what I thought was quite a chic and sophisticated vintage-style updo caused my husband to burst out laughing and use words like "outdated," "older" and "like my elementary school principal"? [Edited to add: Also, "Marge Simpson."]

Last time I attempted to learn to vintage up my hair, the underwhelming results (see "Wet Set Woes") so traumatized me that it took me two years to get up the courage to try again.

But I have finally regained my hair experimentation bravery, with the help of some of the Youtube video tutorials by Lisa Fremont-Street, Strawberry Koi Vintage and more that my readers so kindly recommended at the time.

I finally achieved curling success with a combo of LottaBody, water and overnight pillow curlers--I styled the results into a 1940s pageboy (which my husband LOVED, fyi) that lasted several days.

But I digress!

OK all you wiggly-dressed Mad Men Challenge-ers, here's...

How to Get a Joan Holloway-ish Updo Look:

The tools

1. Rat-tail comb.
2. Bobby pins in mind-boggling quantities.
3. Hair pins—a lifetime's supply.
4. Hair spray with a death grip hold.

The steps

1. Use rat-tail comb to tease all hair from ends to roots, starting at the crown of the head, and working in small sections--result should resemble demented hair haystack.
2. Smooth outside layer and begin shaping, pulling over to side back of head and securing with---
3. Oh who am I kidding?
4. Cry in frustration because you have no idea what you're doing, give up and ask an expert hairstylist for help.

Anyway, yeah. This was way beyond my rudimentary skill level. So I went to see Ricky at Avalon Salon on 112 Christopher St. He's awesome, and has been doing my hair (when I remember to drag myself into the salon every 3-4 months) since 2004.

He did show me how to do it step by step, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to get it right when I complete my dress.

As for me, re: getting done up or fancy.. I started out photographing my sewing projects for Pattern Review bathroom-mirror style, as you can see with this lovely wool skirt circa 2005...

And now I have a tripod and self-timer, and try to at least brush my hair and put on makeup and cute shoes and cheap costume jewelry. I'll admit that the exciting photographic antics of the Sew Weekly crowd (I'm looking at you, Oona and Kazzthespazz) sometimes make me feel ashamed of my boring apartment wall backgrounds.

But in my defense--I've got a toddler who can't be trusted not to run amuck while I'm messing with a tripod in a park.

So--what's your take? 60s hair yay or nay? Basic garment pix or fancy photo shoots?

P.S. To recap--here's the sketch:

$1 a yard! (Cheap fabric: awesome or icky?)

It's organza! It's pretty! It's colorful! It's $1/yard! It's.... polyester. Oh. But STILL! (Fulton Fabric in the Fulton Mall, Downtown Brooklyn, NY)   Got your attention with that post title, didn't I? But fabric addicts, I do apologize--I don't have any special insider news of a ridiculous new online fabric sale. (Though I do recommend an occasional browse of Fabric.com's Under $2.95 clearance section, where you can find nice apparel fabrics for $1.95/yard and sometimes just $1/yard.).

Mainly, I have some questions for you, like:

• Do you often--or primarily even?--sew with cheap fabric? (And I mean CHEAP--$1-$3/yard, and quite likely of the polyester persuasion or even cut from old bedsheets).
• And if so--why? Are you just trying to save money? Make laundry easier? Acquire fabric stash at speeds exceeding the boundaries of quantum physics? Avoid working with expensive, tricky-to-sew-or-treat fabrics like silk and wool?

Now, polyester has no place in my sewing/fashion fantasies. In said fantasies, I prance around in warm soft wool crepe dresses, slippery silk charmeuse blouses, rayon lycra polka dot tops and light and breathable cotton lawn skirts, all fabric acquired via diligent online or Garment District sale-hunting.
But put a nice polka dot or geometric print fabric in front of me with a big handwritten "$1/yard!" (or, let's face it, even "$3/yard!") sign and I LOSE ALL REASON and sense of fiber content.

Cheap/super-discount fabric PROS:

• IT'S SO CHEAP. I mean, come on... we're talking $4 dresses... $1 skirts... $3 pants... my eyes glaze over.
• CHEAP FABRIC MEANS NO FEAR.
  • No gorgeous fabrics languishing in the stash because they are just too precious and special to ever actually cut.
  • No obsessive terror as I sew/pin/fit. Who cares if I accidentally mess up my $2/yard polka dot polyester skirt?
  • No fear of breastmilk stains or toddler handprints all over my fancy new silk dress, or beautiful wool items eaten by clothes moths or accidentally shrunk down to doll-size in the laundry.
• Cheaper (wearable?) muslins that are perhaps a better match with the actual weight/hand of your fashion fabrics.
• We can't all find apparel-appropriate tablecloths and curtains or drive out to amazing estate sales. (I'm looking at you with jealous sewing stink-eye, you Sew Weekly sewists you!)
• Have you noticed that even some pricey ready-to-wear designer duds aren't made from natural fibers either? (I once examined an entire row of tags in a rack of adorable $300+ Betsey Johnson dresses, only to find they were all 100% polyester).

  Newly opened Jay Fabrics, on 52 Willoughby St. in Brooklyn. Fabrics out front were $2/yard; those inside weren't much pricier.

Cheap/super-discount fabric CONS:

• The distinct possibility that you will spend precious days, hours or even months lovingly fitting, constructing and sewing something... only to have it turn out crappier than a mass-produced discount store sweatshop special (though possibly better fitting).
• Why is it so cheap? Is it possibly of even more suspicious/unethical/bad-labor/unenvironmentally sustainable origins than more expensive fabric? (Of course if it's remnants, second-hand or thrift store fabric, than it's likely MORE sustainable/responsible than some fancy new shiny freshly-manufactured pricy fabric).
• Do you really want to live a fast disposable consumeristic life, or do you want to savor your fancy special sewn garments made of buttery-soft awesome magic fabric? Yummy!
• It's easy to overcrowd your stash with random impulse-buy crap, like the 4 yards of hideous pink cotton suiting I bought in a Fabric.com $1/yard sale, now waiting for a trip to Goodwill. (To be fair, I also got 4 yards of AWESOME $1/yard orange stretch cotton sateen).

Fancy vs. cheap fabric: A super-short story:

Why this topic? A few weeks ago, the Brooklyn Burdastyle Sewing Club (join us! you know you want to!) went on a little Garment District outing. Little Z and I met up with everyone at NY Elegant Fabrics, my first time in that giant, well-stocked—and overpriced—fabric shopping palace (detailed review on Shop the Garment District).

It was a disheartening experience. Z rushed around yelling some of her favorite words ("Green! Green! Green! Fabric! Fabric! Fabric! Dot! Dot! Dot!") and I ended up swatching some rayon-blend knits and wovens in dots, stripes or checks:

BUT the types of fabrics shown above were pretty much all I saw for under $15/yard. Becasue there is no room in my sewing budget for $39/yard Liberty Tana lawn, $50/yard wool doubleknit, and most definitely not for $150/yard bright orange zebra fake fur.

It was depressing, and I felt acutely broke, not to mention limited in my sewing visions. In the end, I just got 3 yards of $15/yard super-soft cotton/lycra striped knit with excellent weight and recovery.


With the idea of making a Sweet on Stripes dress knockoff (inspired by the Sew Convert).
The next day, I was at home in Brooklyn, and had a sudden need for a large quantity of black stretch polar fleece (seriously) to make a costume for a friend. NY Elegant sells such things--for $10/yard and up. But so does Fulton Fabric on 398 Bridge St. (my detailed Yelp review here), a discount fabric store a mere short stroller ride away from my apartment:


And Fulton Fabric sells said fleece for $5/yard, but they gave it to me for $4, because they always do that and they are nice.

And because I of course couldn't resist taking home some of their $2, $3 and $1/yard fabrics in the process. Four dresses, a Ruby Slip muslin and one weird costume worth of fabric, all for less than the cost of the one stripey NY Elegant dress. Some highlights:

  Clockwise from top left: Vintage-looking floral poly woven ($1/yard), polka dot brown and cream poly georgette ($2.50/yard), super-soft and drapy floral poly chiffon ($3/yard), purple stretch poly crepe for muslins ($2.50/yard)
I told the store clerk and some fellow customers at Fulton Fabric about my NY Elegant experience, and they laughed in incredulity. "$20 a yard?" said a woman perusing a row of colorful embroidered polyester satins. "That's just crazy!"

So: is it? Or is that just the price you pay for quality?

And that's enough on this endless blog post. I'll save my detailed photo-heavy reviews of Fulton Fabric and newcomer Jay Fabric (and my roundup of things I have made with cheapo fabric) for another day.

Let me hear your cheap (or fancy) fabric confessions! Awesome or icky?

P.S. By the way, if flummoxed by how to sew either fancy or cheap fabrics, I really recommend having a detailed fabric sewing reference book handy. I love both Claire Shaeffer's Fabric Sewing Guide and Sandra Betzina's More Fabric Savvy: A Quick Resource Guide to Selecting and Sewing Fabric, though the latter is sadly out of print. They both include tips on pre-treating, pressing, washing, etc and recommend types of needles and presser feet for a huge range of fabric types.

Stripes & Wales Outfit #2 Progress: Piping! Appliqué! Cats!

Fun fact: sewing overalls with cat appliqués on them is 53% more fun than sewing any other types of clothes. Meow! Never you mind the embroidery hoop marks.

It's a sad equation, but the more precious evening minutes and weekend naptimes I spend blogging, the less time I have for actual sewing. So this weekend I deliberately resisted computer temptation and threw myself back into finishing my UFOs, most especially the Tomten sweater hoodie and Ottobre "Pupu" overalls from the Stripes and Wales outfit for my sweet toddler:

The overalls are almost done--I had cut them out ages ago and then put them aside while I waffled over the design and construction for the front appliqué and back patch pockets. Little Z could care less about bunnies, so I knew I'd need to put a cat on the front for Maximum Toddler Overall Satisfaction. And my husband nixed the original heart-shaped back pockets, as he said they reminded him of those tight adult women's sweatpants with silly words on the butt.

I ended up cutting out bits of the cat's face freehand from scraps of my Triumphant Trousers (which, thankfully, shrank a bit in the wash and now fit PERFECTLY again... I even had someone stop me in a store this weekend to tell me how much she admired them, "they look tailor-made for you!" YES! I WIN!) ... I then used Light Steam a Seam 2 to stick all the bits down before stitching.

Considering how many new techniques I've been trying lately, I should probably join the Curves, Patterns & Pins technique-checking sewalong... For these little overalls alone, I've tackled:

1. Making bias binding (using the cool infinite loop-style technique from the Colette Sewing Handbook)
2. Flat piping (yes, the fear is gone!)
3. Double topstitching (it's a bit wobbly, but serviceable--I'm using the triple-stretch-stitch since I couldn't find a topstitching thread in the exact color I wanted, and my edge-stitching and top-stitching presser feet.
4. Appliqué, which I am super loving--it satisfies the artist in me. I must now resist the urge to cute-i-fy all items of clothing with little sewn-on bits.
5. Hand embroidery (for the whiskers). My mom and aunt taught me some techniques back in the day but I had forgotten all the stitches and had to reteach myself from a book. BUT I do not advise trying to hoop a fabric with a pile--it leaves marks.
6. Patch pockets with pretty piping. I drew them freehand because I was too lazy to use a template or the computer, and I wanted to go for a more "funky" look. With mixed results.

As for the sweater, even though I mostly knit on the subway or at lunchtime, I FINALLY finished the hood and got to the sleeves. I'm doing the sleeves in two colors instead of four because I didn't want to pay for eight balls of yarn when six would do--we'll call it a design feature!

Luckily it's gigantically huge on her--she'll be able to wear this thing for a while yet!

Isn't she the cutest little elf?

And here's the flat view:

If all goes well, these will be done very soon and I'll move on to Joan blue bow dress overload!

So, how about you, Polka Dot readers: tackled any UFOs lately?

P.S. Bonus cat-related project photo--here's "Vincent", a stuffed blue wool tweed cat I made for my mother-in-law Gail for Christmas back in 2008 (pattern from the Denyse Schmidt Quilts book), shown here with Gail and her sweet cat Flo.