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Houston, this is Apollo Fabulous, signing off...

Decisions, Decisions...

Lady Gray:

vs.

McCalls 5525:

Keeping in mind that the final version will be ivory French lace backed with champagne colored silk charmeuse and lined with Oyster Silk Habotai.

I have a definite opinion, but I'd love to hear yours.

Happy sewing!

Lady Gray Muslin

You know how I feel about muslins, and this demonstrates clearly why I feel that way. I made a muslin of the Lady Gray coat to test the fit. I've never used Colette patterns before and I have no idea how their sloper compares to the slopers other patterns use. I'm very glad I decided to make a muslin. Check out why. Here are a couple of pictures of the muslin on me.
Front:

Right shoulder:

Left shoulder:

I made a size 8 straight out of the package. Looking at these pictures I know I need to do several things.

• Lower the bust point
• Adjust the shoulder in front
• Add a little to the waist
• Change the sleeve to a less voluminous style
• Use a size 10 (sigh...)

I may also want to take a bit of the flare out, though I haven't entirely decided on that yet. I think I will also convert this to a shoulder princess seam.  I like those better and for my body type, a shoulder princess is more flattering and easier to fit.

More later!

Vale, Fred Bloebaum

Fred Bloebaum, owner and designer of La Fred Sewing Patterns, passed away yesterday. How very sad for the sewing community. I met her once, and she was a delightful lady. She was gracious, and generous with her knowledge. She will be sorely missed.

My Name is Earl

Image: CBC

I don't know if you've heard (snicker), but there's a hurricane heading up the East Coast right now. Earl is already clouding up the skies over Boston, and the rains are supposed to start in earnest sometime late this afternoon. We're fortunate that we live in days like this where we have 7x24 access to satellite data, doppler radar, and experts on the Weather Channel to whip into a frenzy ("Nail your shutters! Nail your roof! Nail your cat to your dog!")

But since I don't want anyone caught in terrible traffic, and so my folks can put their lawn chairs and other potential flying objects away before the storm hits, we'll probably close Gorgeous Fabrics' offices just a wee bit early tonight. But not until the orders from yesterday ship, so don't worry!

Also, our offices will be closed in observance of Labor Day on Monday. There's no UPS or postal service that day, so everything may get to you a little slower than usual. But it will be on its way, promise!

I'm hoping to spend much of the weekend working on my Lady Gray coat. Speaking of which, check Gertie's New Blog for Better Sewing later today, to read a fascinating article on fabrics for said coat, by an awesome writer (wink, wink)!

If you're in the path of Earl, be safe. And to all, have a great weekend and

Happy sewing!

New AMAZING Designer Fabrics at Gorgeous Fabrics!

Oh. My. God! You have to see the fabrics that just came in. From the Fall 2010 collections of Chanel, Akris, Malandrino and others. They are not to be missed. I was only able to get a very limited amount of these fabrics. They are dear, but they are worth every penny, and when they are gone, there ain't no more! I've put up several, and I'll be adding more tonight. If you like them (and I know I love them) don't hesitate - they'll be gone in a flash!

Click Here to Shop What's New

Happy sewing!

Quick Tip - Temporary Storage for Patterns/Cut Pattern Pieces

This is one of those things that I just do without giving much thought. Then yesterday I had an "aha" moment that maybe it's worth sharing!

This tip works like a charm to help you keep pattern pieces and cut pieces of fabric together in one place during construction. It's especially useful if you're putting a project on hold for a short while, and you want to keep all the pieces together in one place. Rather than folding your pattern pieces up and storing them (and cut fabric) in an envelope, I use a skirt hanger (the kind with clips) to hold the cut pattern pieces and fabric. It's kind of like the pattern hanging technique used in workrooms, but you don't need any specialized tools. I simply clip the fabric and/or pattern pieces to the hanger and hang them on a door or clothes rod. This keeps the pattern pieces together (I put the small ones in ziplock bags), and it keeps them from getting lost or wrinkled. It's really helpful when you are working with large items like gowns, or if you cut out multiple patterns at one time before sewing. You can find these hangers at 2nd hand stores. You can also ask salespeople at clothing stores if they have any extras. They are usually happy to give you some.

This method is not recommended for velvet or crushable fabrics, and it's not really suitable for bias-cut fabric pieces, but other than that, it works like a charm.