My Pattern Stash

I have decided to start a catalog of my patterns which I can reference on line. Here are my first few entries. I will be adding more until I eventually get my complete stash on line. Now, I can whip out my iPhone and pull up my blog and hit the My Pattern Stash page link and see all of my patterns anytime I want. I love technology!

Overnight Inspiration

I have been stumped for a few days about how to embellish the side panels on this dress. It is on my mind as I fall asleep and still there when I wake up. This is not a bad thing. If I were not trying to resolve something sewing related, I would be focused on corporate level decisions which are beyond my level of authority at the company where I work, or federal politics or some other such issues over which I ultimately have minuscule or zero control, and I would be very frustrated and unhappy. For me, the return to sewing has been about focusing my attention on goals which I actually might achieve. It is very therapeutic to have something into which I can pour my loving energy and over which I alone have ultimate decision making power. So when I lie down to sleep at night, I wrap my thoughts around fabric and trims, fashion, style, fit, and design challenges related to making a dress I don't really need. It sounds trivial, but I need that triviality. If my current project turns out to be a disaster, nobody will die. I can roll over and get some sleep when I am tired of thinking about it. And the sleep is good sleep. Sometimes I wake up with a gift from my subconscious, an idea I had not thought of before.

Yesterday's gift was hand embroidery. If I use hand embroidery, I can use wool which is thick enough to show up on the raw silk fashion fabric. Also, it solves the problem of how to program the stitches to turn a non 90 degree corner. I can follow the outline of the panel on three sides instead of just one. But what stitch should I use? Can I still use beads? Will the beads I have picked out now be too small? Should I use floral motifs? Do you see how one little flash of inspiration leads to more decisions? I love it. Really, I do. It gives me some puzzle to figure out. I think I am only truly happy when I am solving puzzles.

Many years ago, I made this little wool lap blanket. All the embroidery was done by hand with strands of wool. I remember how satisfying it was to watch it progress. I had done cross stitch before and similarly enjoyed the process, but the wool blanket was more dimensional and the larger strands were more satisfying to work with as the design progressed faster. Plus, it used beads! The blanket was made with a kit from INSPIRATIONS magazine. If you have never seen this magazine, I caution you - you WILL want to take up hand needle work when you see the breathtakingly gorgeous photography of the stunning projects. There. Don't say I didn't warn you. Ever since I finished the blanket, I have wanted to do another wool embroidery project, but I wanted to design my own instead of following a kit. I got stalled and never figured out what I wanted to make. I think sometimes that good design is about managing limits. When I am faced with endless possibilities, I often feel my creativity is crippled by the lack of limits. I think the little side panels on this dress offer me the limits I need. I turned to my bookshelf to find a few examples of hand embroidered border stitches to use as inspiration. I found what I was looking for in one of my A to Z books. I love these books. They are spiral bound and full of well illustrated instructions. I almost don't even need to read the text.

I found my inspiration on page 81. While I like the motif, what inspires me is the stitches used. I like the rows of stem stitch and blanket stitch, and especially the Palestrina stitch worked around the outer edges of the petals. I think I want to experiment with a combination of these stitches to create a border. I hopped on my bike at lunch yesterday and rode to Michael's to have a look at what they offer for wool embroidery. The best I could do was skeins of wool/acrylic yarn. I am going to try to separate the plies and see how that works out for me. Maybe I will figure out a way to incorporate beads. That will be sweet.

I am tempted to start my next sewing project since the sewing part of making this dress is on hold until I embroider the side panels. I usually don't like to have more than one project going at a time. It makes my sewing room chaotic. But these hands gotta be sewing something or I get restless....

Marfy 2255 Beaded Embroidery Woes

This raw silk is driving me nuts! I made a sample stich out with the 30 weight thread and it disappeared in the weave of the fabric. Next I tried using two strands of rayon 40 weight thread in deep purple and gunmetal grey. That also seemed to disappear. So I tried using a topper - one that you remove with heat. I didn't want to chance getting my iron all gummed up, so I used a teflon press cloth. Bad idea! The topper melted and formed a sticky glue which stuck my fabric to the non stick press cloth. I laid the teflon back down, and pressed again, hoping by some stroke of magic that it would make a difference. Nope. If I worked quickly enough, I could remove the teflon before it stuck again, but I still had a melty mess. Then I was sticken with a flash of sheer stupidity. Somehow, I thought it would be a great idea to try appying the iron directly to the goo. Maybe it will just disintigrate into thin air. Maybe the teflon press cloth was the reason the topper didn't just disappear... Nope. The sticky goo shrunk into little bits of brown gunk. And my iron was smeared with it. And my fabric looked like crap. So, I tried to clean the iron with a damp sponge while it was still hot. Then I thought, maybe it needs to burn off. My sewing room began to have this smell... I got the iron good and hot and tried to rub all the goo off on some cotton drill cloth. Then I gave up and unplugged the iron. Later, I thought about the beaded embroidery and began to think it would be a good idea to make my own embroidered ribbon trim and use that instead of embroidering directly on the raw silk. I stitched out the design and painstakingly picked almost all of the stabilizer off the back side. Then before beading, I folded the "ribbon" in half and gave it a nice pressing. AAAaaaaargh! brown steaks on my rayon from the gunk still stuck to my iron!! Luckily, it is on the side that won't show. I hand beaded some of it, and the more I worked with it, the more I began to hate everything about it. Does this ever happen to you? I am losing my mojo on this project. It seems to happen a lot, lately. I remember I couldn't WAIT to be done with the suit dress. Why is it that my sewing can never live up to my standards????

Does anyone know of a good way to clean gunk off of an iron without scratching it?

MARFY 2255 color blocking - yay or nay?

So the next decision I have to make is whether or not to use a different color for the side panels. Here I played with GIMP and added color to my muslin. I am leaning toward using the same color and having only the embroidery to call attention to the side panels. What do you think? Color block - Yay or Nay?

MARFY 2255 style options

For the side panels, I am considering a few options. The fashion fabric I chose for this dress is an olive colored raw silk that I bought from Cynthia Guffey a few years ago at the sewing Expo. I bought several colors from her and I am considering using a different color to accentuate the panels. Another option is to simply topstitch and edgestitch in a contrasting thread color. Or I could experiment with using my embroidery machine and stitch out an endless design. I am having trouble deciding...

MARFY 2255 fitting

Here is my second MARFY 2255 muslin. The fit still isn't just how I want it, but I am happy with the upper back. I added length and width to the back pattern piece. I essentially did a "full butt alteration" and now the back is longer than the front. The bust darts are a little too high as a result of an alteration I made to the slope of the shoulder. I think I can fix the pattern pieces and go straight to fashion fabric, but I have an issue with the style. I don't like the pleats in the front. I cannot decide whether or not to eliminate them.

MARFY 2255

I am ready to start my next project. I would like to thank those of you who voted in my poll to help me decide what to sew next. The choices were MARFY 2255 (one of the free patterns with the purchase of the 2010 pattern catalog) in raw silk, Jalie 2908 stretch jeans, or Vogue 8379 wrap dress in stretch silk from Jones New York.

There was a tie for first place between the Jalie jeans and the MARFY dress. Since I have been so inspired by what I learned at the Expo about upper back fitting, I have decided to do the MARFY dress. The pattern has a center back seam. I altered it and cut the muslin. I will be stitching it together tonight. Stay tuned for photos!

2010/11 MARFY Catalog Favorites

Yes, I bought the catalog. It arrived today. 10 new patterns for me and so many more to wish for... Here are a few of my favorites.

A simple armsyce princess blouse with a twist on the sleeve, I like the neckline and the two color combination.

On the left, I like the waist style lines and zippered pockets.  On the Right, the raglan sleeved jacket with asymmetrical closure has pockets in the princess seam.  I would omit the buttons on the pockets - too much hip area emphasis for me.  

Another raglan sleeved jacket.  I like the purse :)

Don't you just love this dress?

To Buy or Not To Buy - That is the Question

The New annual MODA Marfy 2010/11 is here!  And it comes with 10 FREE patterns!

I posted this picture of these gratuitous MARFY patterns earlier this month. 

I have been trying to decide whether or not to buy the new pattern catalogue.  I really love all the free designs.  They are SO worth the price of the catalog all by themselves.  Not to mention that the catalogue is truly inspirational to me when I am looking for that something special.  I love Italian design and the way they show a whole outfit - including a coat - that just works so well together.  I love that the style lines are not the same old same old that I have grown bored with.  There is a timeless elegance to the designs which reminds me of the styles from the 40s and 50s when women wore tailored clothing.  A time with shoes and hats and stockings and lipstick and pin-up girls and curves...  I love the formal look of well fitting clothes.  Even if I don't order the patterns, the ideas are there for me to interpret and incorporate as I develop my own style.


But I do have a few issues:

1.    I already have SO MANY patterns.
2.    MARFY patterns with their interesting style lines are harder to petite
3.    I have a subscription to BURDA Style which has lead to
4.    I have a backlog of patterns in queue waiting to be sewn which leads to
5.    I just don't have the time to sew everything I would like to sew.
6.    I am trying to control my impulse purchasing
7.    Did I mention I have SO MANY patterns?
8.    Judging by the overflowing closets, dresser drawers, and laundry baskets in my home, I don't need any more clothes...

HELP! Any thoughts?  Suggestions?  Rationalizations??