Burda 06/2010 - 123 Dress

This is yet another very easy dress to make. As you can see from the line drawing it's pretty shapeless - to make it work it's all about the belt and the fabric.

I used a silk that has been in my stash for a while. I really loved the colours - chocolate brown and blue - but didn't quite know how to use it as it had horizontal stripes arranged in vertical blocks. In the end I cut it on the cross grain, it looked OK but needed something else so I decided to experiment with the fabric a bit. I cut some additional strips of fabric, on grain this time and added two bands at the hem so it looks like a border print fabric now.

I didn't add the side slits as I found there was plenty of walking ease in the dress and leaving out the slits made life easier when it came to attaching the bands. Otherwise there is really nothing to say about the construction, it's two pattern pieces, plus two strips for the neck facing and the belt and a bit of elastic in the back yoke seam. Easy!

Back detail

I wore this out last night and for hot humid climates this is ideal, I'm really happy with it.

Gorgeous summer evening in Stanley, on the south side of HK island

Vogue 8633 Dress

Thank you for the comments on the McCall's dress, it seems I am a bit of a prude! Anyway, the sun has come out here and yesterday was a public holiday so we had a BBQ party on our rooftop and I wore the dress. It was so cool and comfortable to wear that I'm no longer going to worry about the low back!

So here is another summer dress - Vogue 8633;

I made view B, the straight skirt, sleeveless version in the border print Japanese cotton I bought in NY from Metro Textiles. I say border print, on closer inspection of the fabric which has a signature on it, I think it is supposed to go up the other way, beige at the top, black at the bottom. Originally I wanted the striped section to be nearer the hem, but I didn't have enough fabric for that and stubbornly decided to make it anyway. As it turns out I am really happy with the finished dress and stripe placement, it's a bit more unusual.

This dress was easy to make and the darts in the bodice give it great shape. I changed the order of construction so that I sewed the side seams last - I like to do this so I can fine tune the fit, although it does make it harder to match up the horizontal seamlines. I also didn't add the lining.

This is a Vogue options pattern and there are indeed many possibilities for this dress, I'm sure I'm going to make it again.

McCall's 6069 Vacation Dress

Another easy knit dress which I have dubbed the vacation dress because while I like it I don't think I have the balls to wear this anywhere other than at a holiday resort. It is very low cut at the back and combined with the giraffe/zebra hybrid print I think it might be a bit much for popping down the shops!

Gorgeous Things Ann made this recently as a pool cover up and for that the pattern is perfect. EricaB also made a stunning version of this that doesn't look too low cut, but I guess I am a shorty by comparison and should have adjusted the pattern.

McCall's calls this an easy, 1 hour pattern and it is certainly easy and probably can be made in an hour, just not by me - slow sewer extraordinaire. I really like the front cowl drape, but if I make this again I will raise the back so I don't feel quite so bare. That said I'm going to slap the pictures of me wearing it on the internet......

Sorry the pictures are a bit dark, we are having typical Hong Kong summer weather at the moment - vile!

New York Fabric Shopping Spree

As you saw from my last post, I was lucky to have some NY shopping experts with me and although time was short and we only visited 3 stores, they were all different shopping experiences and close enough to each other that I recommend visits to all of them if your time is short too. For full reviews of these stores and many more in the garment district do visit LindsayT's blog, she also has some great articles and maps too, all handily referenced in the sidebar.

Here's where we went and what I bought....

First stop was Mood Fabrics of Project Runway fame. This is a large, but well organised store, a great place to go if you have a good idea of what you are looking for. Or you can be like me and wander around till something jumps out. I only bought 1 piece here, a peacock inspired cotton print, not cheap for a cotton, but gorgeous quality.

Next up was Elliott Berman Textiles. Lots of lovely designer fabrics here at very reasonable prices. They also have swatches of a large range of their fabrics at the front of the store so you can shop those if you find it easier. This was a very relaxing shopping experience, we were the only customers in the store at the time. I'd decided to focus on fabrics that are difficult to get in Hong Kong - knits - so that's what I bought here - 3 pieces.

Sensible

Loud

Crazy (this is an Elie Tahari if I remember right)

Finally, Carolyn took me to one of her favourite spots, Metro Textiles. This is a relatively small store, but manages to cram a lot in. If you know what you want the owner can probably dig it out for you, but it's kind of fun to dig around and see what you find and the prices are good. Here was where I stocked up on some basic knits and a couple of extra impulse buys.

Plain knits

Printed knits

Mystery (to me) fabric for jacket, silk print, border print cotton

You know this all looks quite restrained to me now, but it weighed a ton! It's fortunate for me that the US regulates airline baggage by piece and not by weight.

It is baking hot and extremely humid in Hong Kong now and I really need to make some summer tops and dresses so hopefully most of these won't be in my stash for too long. Stay tuned!

Older and Richer in Fabric

Well I am back from my fabulous trip to celebrate (?) my 40th birthday in New York and Bermuda.

As you will know by now I met up with Carolyn, LindsayT and Elizabeth in the garment district for a spot of fabric shopping. The time passed all too quickly but it was fun and frankly it probably would have been dangerous for the wallet and my suitcase packing skills if we had had any more time.

I will show you my purchases in a separate post but let me tell you the walk back from the garment district to my hotel felt a lot longer than on the way there.....

A few more pics;

Oops, looking like I am being stabbed in the head by the famous garment district needle.

Historical Dockyard in Bermuda wearing the much worn Burda 02/2009-124 dress which really will fall apart soon.

One of Bermuda's beautiful beaches - freezing water though!

On our hotel balcony before going out for my birthday - in the one dot dress from my last post!