Dress in a Night

Tonight I made myself a knit dress. The fabric is from Fabric Mart (what a surprise...haha). It is an ITY Knit (95% Polyester, 5% Lycra) I used this piece of fabric as one of our drapes at a trade show, so once we were done with it in wholesale, I got the drape! The dress is made from Simplicity 2369, which is a newer design from the pattern company. It is a fake wrap top with a plastic buckle on the left side.

I had no problems making the dress, it was really easy. I was able to sew it all in an evening (2-hours really). I cut it out the day before, but I just can't believe how quick I whipped it up! 

I would not really do anything different to the process. It was straightforward and was very quick. It is a great dress for traveling and perfect for spring into summer. PLUS the coral color in the print is similar to PANTONE Color of the Year 2012.

Experiment with foil nails

I came across foil nails in the January 2012 issue of Lucky Magazine. The kind they were showing in the magazine were ikat print nails. They were so cool!! So I had to have them. NCLA makes awesome prints, but since then I've seen Sally Hansen carry them as well. So last night I gave them a try.

First you have to make sure your nails are dry and clean. Put a coat of clear polish on. Then peel a foil off and put the rounded edge along your cuticle. (tr other end has a little tab so you can peel it off the paper. Then once you have it in place, press down in all directions. Once it is secure, use a nail file to "cut" the foil. Voila! You now have foiled nails! Just put a coat of clear gloss on top and your done.

Now that I've had them on for a day, I had to put some more clear polish on because the tips chipped a little. But I've washed dishes a few times and used my hands more and they seem to be staying on!

I think the next time I put them on, they will go on even better since I now know what I'm doing!!

Looks great!

Fabric Organization Idea

I recently came up with a new way to organize my fabric stash. I'm sure its not a "new" idea, but I really like it and have tried it out and it really works! I posted this in my Julie's Pick January 2012 newsletter and will now share it with the world.

A new year always brings about new ideas on how to organize your life. This year I would like to organize my fabric and sewing supplies. I just got married in August and moved, so it was about time that I do this. I have a closet full of fashion fabrics, a big tub of woolens, 2 plastic drawers full of more fabric (fashion and quilting) and a section of another closet filled with quilting cottons. Plus I have a few bins of fabric that my parents just brought over to my house! So I had to figure out a way to organize all of this.

I first started with my fashion fabrics. I took everything out of the closet it is stored in and measured each piece. While doing that, I cut a small swatch and stapled it to an index card.

Then I labeled how many yards I had, the content, and the width. I also tried to write down when I bought the fabric and if it had a specific designer. In the top left corner of the index card, I wrote the "category" -- silk, linen, cotton, knits, lining, woolens, etc. I used a different color marker for each category.

Then I placed all the cards in a file box with tabs labeled by the color of the category. I ended up having 2 file boxes because the linens, woolens, rayons and others did not fit in my first box. Now when you are ready to figure out which fabric to use for your next project, just get your pattern, your file box and start designing. This is also helpful so you don't have a "fabri-lanche" of fabric falling out of the closet on you! You just grab one fabric out of your closet rather than sifting through the piles and piles of fabric. Have Fun!!

Supplies Needed: Scissors, matches or lighter (if you need to identify the content), file box(es), file tables, index cards, variety of colored markers, pen, stapler, and of course your fasbric stash!

Now that I've gone through the process of selecting the fabrics (using the card system) that I will use with my pattern, I've added a few other ideas. 

- When you are finished with your garment, write down the name of the pattern you used with the corresponding fabric. (I like keeping a log of what I make and when I make it!)

- If you do not use the entire amount of fabric, cross out the original yardage and write what is left. Then put your fabric back "in stock". 

- If you have a HUGE stash and have a hard time finding your fabrics, you could mark on the cards what shelf or container it is stored it. Then you would also have to label your shelves or containers with a symbol.

If you would like to share this in newsletters, blogs, etc. I definitely don't mind, but please give me credit! 

I have yet to do this with my quilting cotton stash. That will be a whole other index card box in itself!! (who knows maybe more!!!)

Textile Show in NYC!

So this week I will be selling fabric at the DG Expo in NYC! I'm really excited because this is the first ever expo for this organization. Hope to see current customers and meet new customers we can help in the future! The show is only open to designers and fabric stores---or anyone that is looking for wholesale fabrics. I'm really excited to be here and my hotel is awesome! I'm staying at The New Yorker Hotel. It is amazing! There are art deco accents everywhere and you can really see the old and new together.

Never thought I would spend the Super Bowl in NYC while the NY Giants are in the Super Bowl, but it was really fun! My childhood friend Nicole and I hung out at Stout NYC a local bar in the Madison Square area. It was a fun experience to be in the midst of both Patriot and Giants fans.