Making a lot out of a Little

Because of working at a fabric store, I tend to purchase a lot of the remnant pieces as we finish off the bolt. This print from Anna Sui, was a remnant, only 45" wide and a border print. When people hear the word "border" they tend to cringe because now you have put a little more thought into what to do with it! It was a fun black and blue print on a floral jacquard silk/ cotton. The only problem was there wasn't enough fabric to do anything with it. (Or so I thought...) 

When I stumbled upon the piece in my stash, I thought to myself, today is the day I'm going to find something to do with this. I folded the 1 1/8 yard piece in half, so selvedges met. I held it up to my waist and thought this would make a cute skirt! But I was really thinking about a tunic dress, so I raised the fold just below my bust and it was perfect. After cutting the piece in half at the fold, I baste-stitched the top of each piece to create gathers. After much altering and cutting, I got a suitable "bottom half." I had some black ponte knit that worked great for the top of the tunic. I hand-drafted the top and after a few alterations, sewed it to the bottom half. I was having some problems with ballooning of the skirt section because of the gathers and the nature of this heavier silk/cotton. So I bias-cut a ribbon from a small section of leftover fabric. It really finished the garment off nicely!

I haven't done very many self drafted patterns before, so I would say this was a successful attempt. I learned a lot about measuring myself, which I will then translate into times when I do use patterns. My experience in making clothes with patterns definitely helped me when trying to draw appropriate shapes for the bodice front and back.   

The picture doesn't to the tunic justice. I was anxious to get it on my blog, so I didn't even do my hair or put tights or leggings on, or shoes for that matter! It is a little too short to wear as a normal dress, so I will be wearing leggings or tights. 

Fabric Depot -- Portland, OR

I hate that I haven't had time to write a new post, but I've been so busy! With spring in full swing I am spending most of my time outside in the yard! Now that it is taken care of for the moment, it is time to start blogging again!

My next post will be a review of Fabric Depot in Portland, OR. I've been wanting to post reviews of all the fabric stores I've been to on my trips, so here we go...

Fabric Depot is like a mecca for everything sewing and crafts. I walked in a side door but was immediately faced with a huge classroom space. Fabric Depot is the headquarters for Palmer/ Pletch schools, so I'm sure they have to carry fabrics for the students in the classes. For those of you that don't know what Palmer/ Pletch is, it is a sewing school that sewers go through to get certified to teach professional P/P classes in their area. People from all over the country travel to Portland for this special opportunity.

After turning the corner, I see a huge space in front of me FILLED with all types of different fabrics. They have the fabrics separated into categories including Evening and Bridal, Quilting, Fashion Fabrics, Home Decor and more. I was amazed by the selection they had. I envision it is a lot like the old fabric stores in Reading, PA would have been like -- Levine's, So-Fro Fabrics, etc. One interesting thing was that they mark their bolts by showing where they got it. Of course I had to go around and look for all the Fabric Mart fabric...haha!

One thing that stuck out was their selection of "Mood Fabrics -- Direct from NYC" section. This was a selection of fabrics directly from the ever so popular Mood Fabrics in NYC. I thought that was a neat way to merchandise the product. They are bringing Mood Fabrics right to the customer that may not be able to travel to NYC.

Who doesn't love a yard sale? Well there is one in Fabric Depot all the time! They recently opened a "Yard Sale" room where they have deep discounts on apparel, quilting and home decor fabrics as well as notions and other goodies. 

Maybe it is a good thing there are not too many fabric stores in our area...I think I would spend all my money on fabric. Fabric Depot is definitely great for all sewers, whether you're an expert or just starting out. By the looks of it, if you don't find what you're looking for at Fabric Depot...you're not going to find it anywhere else.