Author Archives: lorene

Last week I was in Hawaii with my family celebrating my parents’ 40th anniversary. So of course Natalie and I had to do some fabric shopping. We ended up driving by Fabric Mart on our way back from driving around the island. Luckily they were open until 7pm so we had time to go back to our hotel in Waikiki and take a quick shower before we went back to shop.

Fabric Mart has a parking lot, which is great because street parking in this area is a bitch. Once you walk in the store you see tons of Hawaiian print fabric! It was around $6/yd for cottons and $4/yd for poly cotton. They also had rayons and prints. The whole front of the store was really dedicated to Aloha fabric.

Besides your typical Hawaiian prints they had a lot of novelty Hawaiian Prints. My sister and I both picked up 3 yards of this fabric.

They also had some funny stuff like this Asian styled Snow White fabric.

The store also had a lot of special occasion fabrics.

And a large section upstairs with quilting, fleece, and home decor fabric.

I ended up taking home 3 yards each of a novelty Hawaiian print and a more traditional but modern print. A post on my Hawaiian fabric haul is coming soon!

Fabric Mart
Address: 1631 Kalakaua Ave, Honolulu, HI 96826
Phone:(808) 947-4466
Hours: 9:00 am – 7:00 pm

Butterick Fall 2014 Patterns

posted by lorene

on 08.05.2014

Butterick has just released their new patterns for Fall 2014. Let’s take a look!

Gertie has 2 new patterns. I like the back detail of 6094, but probably not with the full skirt. Crinolines are not my thing.

The wrapped jacket in Butterick 6105 is pretty but looks a little too costumey for me.

Butterick 6088 looks like a poor imitation of the OOP McCall’s 6278. Theoretically it should be slimming but the color blocking at the neckline and across the bust just looks strange.

The pleating and top stitching look really interesting on Butterick 6089, but overall it looks a little matronly. I’d be interested to see one of these in the wild and find out if a better fit would make it look more contemporary. The sleeveless version has potential.

Oh, I love when they sew up samples in fabrics that totally obscure the design features! Butterick 6090 actually has a very unique shawl collar that is a nice change from your standard shirtwaist dress but you’d never know from this photo! I like the skirt which I’m hoping is pleated and not gathered, but whoa..that’s a lot of buttons!

Butterick decided to head to Downton Abbey for their Retro Butterick releases (6018 & 6093), which are both interesting but definitely costumes. It’s a little disappointing because usually the Retro patterns are very wearable and with the fall release these seem like they are destined for Halloween costumes.

There are a few more patterns but nothing that really caught my eye. Overall I was rather underwhelmed, with just 2 or 3 patterns that I am somewhat interested in.

Oonapalooza Skirt

posted by lorene

on 07.31.2014

I wasn’t exactly planning to participate in Sewcialists’ Oonapalooza – Oonapalooza is a month dedicated to sewing inspired by Oonaballoona. However when I was in JoAnn’s and spotted this awesome multicolored zebra print linen…let’s just say I was inspired.

My original intention was to sew some pants, but that was nixed when I realized the fabric was not 60″ as I thought when I purchased it. Oops! I draped it on my dress form and realized I did not like this fabric as a dress. But a skirt? Yes a long skirt would work!

Alas, I did not have a long skirt pattern…or even a flared skirt pattern So drafted my own! I used the instructions in Skirt A Day to make a basic sloper and then created a flared skirt from that. I only made it knee length and extended the seam lines when I was cutting it out to make it max length.

WIth trying to match up my “stripes, I wasn’t able to cut have much of a hem allowance so I ended up using single fold bias tape to do the hem. I actually really like the way this looks and I may use it again in the future..even on skirts with proper hem allowances!

There’s a back zipper and with a tab and hook. I started off with pockets but they were distorting the side seams and making me look oddly shaped…I mean more so than I already am…so I took them out.

I’m very happy with my Oona Maxi Skirt. It’s perfect for this hot weather we’re getting in Portland. So nice and easy to throw on a maxi skirt and a tank top and look put together!

Colette Myrtle Dress

posted by lorene

on 07.20.2014

I picked up the newly released Myrtle dress pattern from Colette this week from Modern Domestic and I couldn’t wait to sew! I love cowl necks! I’m full busted and a nice draped cowl makes the ladies look good.

I’ve had this Italian jersey in my stash for ages. I just couldn’t find the right project for it since it has some gold lurex stripes and is a bit sheer. So I needed something with a lining that wasn’t too casual and Myrtle was perfect. The front of the bodice is cut as a single piece and folded to make the lining. The entire bodice construction is rather clever.

Even though there are some new techniques in this pattern – it’s still quick and easy. Just be sure to read the instructions thoroughly before starting. I ended up sewing the waistband casing to the skirt and the bodice and it took me over 2 hours to rip out that seam! I think I spent less time on cutting and sewing the rest of the dress. I also learned that the stretch stitch on my machine is bitch to get out and I will probably stick with a narrow zigzag from here out.

I ended up using 3 different sewing machines for this project – sewing, serger, and my new coverstitch! A regular sewing machine is necessary for part of the pocket construction and creating the elastic waistband casing. Otherwise I used my serger for most seams and my coverstitch for the back neck, armhold and lower hems. That works like a dream!

Pattern: Colette Myrtle Dress – View 1
Fabric: 3 yards of Italian Cotton Jersey. Extra was needed for matching stripes.
Modifications: Added 1.5″ to shoulder width to create slight cap sleeve

Le Petit Théâtre Dior

posted by lorene

on 07.16.2014

I adore these videos from Dior of making mini dresses for their Le Petit Théâtre Dior exhibition. I can’t imagine working in a couture atelier! So much time spent on making tiny flowers or sewing on sequins.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mihmTwi-rg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFatSl0mq_M