Hi, my name is Victoria, and I’m Addicted to Knits

I'll say it again. Hi, my name is Victoria, and I’m Addicted to Knits.

It’s true and it’s about time that I actually admit it. I didn’t realize that my addiction was so bad until this morning. On my way to work I found myself fantasizing about this  dress and the perfect knit fabric I had in my stash to go with it. It then dawned on me I didn’t have enough of the fabric and I would need to go back to Joann’s to pick up some more.  The possibility of there not being any fabric left to buy slowly began to bring a sense of panic to my mind. Before it went any further (sweaty palms, nausea, uncontrollable crying, etc---LOL!), I caught myself and snapped out of it. Then I did what most people in denial do. I began to talk myself out of my “newly realized” addiction. But then my mind became bombarded by all of the facts which quickly dissolved my counter -argument.

The FACTS are…………

My wardrobe is comprised of at least 80% knits (this includes T-shirts, cute tops, pants, dresses etc) .

I wear some form of knit at least 5 days out of the week.

At least 65% of my fabric stash consists of knits or woven fabrics with some percentage of stretch (cotton sateen, stretch poplin, etc.).

I love the comfort and fit that knits and stretch fabrics provide.

Nothing makes me happier then to find a knit and stretch fabric with a gorgeous print.

Knits and stretch fabrics are my favorite fabrics to shop for!!!

I feel it is my DUTY to try out  any new knit pattern I can get my hands on.

This  realized "addiction"  has indeed been a long time coming. But it sure does feel good to finally recognize it and admit it. I guess we all like what we like and have some sort of fabric “addiction”.  Maybe in the world of sewing these addictions aren’t such a bad thing. Maybe our addictions help to unlock our creative minds.  What are your thoughts?

Since I know I'm not the only addict out there (please don't tell me I am) ---it's your turn to introduce yourself. What fabric are you addicted to and why? Don't forget to say your name:)

Impatiently awaiting fabric.....

  I'm so fidgety right now!!! I have my next project on the table and need to be cutting it out but I can't seem to concentrate. And it's all over fabric! How pathetic is that! LOL!!!
  Last week I ordered 2yds of black stretch corduroy, some floral corduroy print (for my daughter) and some black velour fabric at a deeply discounted price from the Fashion fabric club. I've been hunting the black 14 wale stretch corduroy for AGES!!!! Well I've ran into it before but not for the nice price of $4/yard. I've always wanted some black corduroy pants. I then ordered some really pretty knit fabric from one of my favorite sellers from eBay  here---although this was the first time I ever ordered something from here.         Geesh---the shipping and handling was half the cost of the fabric. Frankly sometimes I'm just way too cheap when it comes to buying online fabric with extra shipping and handling fees. I really appreciate when I can get those free shipping deals!
  Anywhoo......I haven't seen "hide nor hair" of either one of my orders. Sigh.Sigh (again).
  Mr.UPS Man I hope you pay me a visit real soon!

Vogue 8593

(Excuse my squinting, the sun was in my eyes!)

Pattern Description:
Fitted, tapered dress, mid-knee length, have pleated front neckline and darted back with zipper.
Pattern Sizing:
I used the size 12
Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
It sure did! That's always a great thing!

Were the instructions easy to follow?
Yes! There was only about a page or so of sewing instructions.
What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I loved the pleated neckline. To me that was the WOW factor!!!
I also loved how fast this dress came together. It literally could be a 2 day dress if you really needed to churn it out. Since I had alot going on I was able to sew it up within 4 days and that's with alot of distractions.

Fabric Used:
I believe it's a poly knit. It's a two way stretch and I think it has  20-30% stretch. I actually made this dress before but used a really stretchy, thin knit (see pic) and I wasn't exactly happy with the outcome.  I was actually inspired by Amanda S. (thanks Amanda!!!) to give it another go after I saw her recent post. I realized that I needed to use a fabric with a little less stretch. So I checked my stash and found a winter-worthy poly knit.

(Dress originally made back in November.)

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
  In patterns I'm always usually a size 12 on top and 14 on the bottom. I usually will do a 12 for both bodice and skirt when using a knit. Mainly because I'm lazy and I know that knits are more forgiving. Well the knit I used for this dress had less stretch so I ended up reducing the seam allowance (s.a.) from the waist below to get some extra circumference. I also reduced the s.a. in the center back where the zipper went. I was able to get the extra "wiggle room" I needed. The only drawback to the back s.a. reduction that is I have a narrow back. So to add width there isn't always a good idea. I was able to get away with it here by taking in some of the upper bodice seam allowance but I know better next time. Since I minimized my s.a. I didn't sew darts down to the hem as instructed. Instead I sewed my darts down to to right above my rear end.
  Originally I made the dress up with the long sleeves. I ended up adding 2" to the sleeve since I have really long arms. I tried the finished dress on and decided that I didn't want to look like a piece of furniture. The print of this dress combined with long sleeves was a little much. Thank God that I had the idea to whack the sleeves to just below the elbow. It definitely looked a whole lot better.
Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Yes, I will sew this again! I think I'll finish the one I started. After trying it on again it's not all that bad. I think it will make a nice sleeveless dress for the summer. I recommend it wholeheartedly to others:)

Conclusion:
Great dress! Spectacular neckline! Easy to Sew! This dress gets an A+++!

FYI: For my Jan/Feb goals I posted that I have both plan "A" & plan "B" garments. This is definitely a plan B garment. I needed a winter dress and couldn't resist the urge to sew this.I'll sew a plan "A" piece next.

Designer Profile: Viktor & Rolf

In an effort to immerse myself into all things sewing (and accumulate my 3 hours of sewing time a day) I've recently became intrigued with learning more about popular fashion designers. Maybe this stems from watching Valentino's "The Last Emperor" a few months ago (BTW: I soooooo loved that DVD). Even if you don't totally like a designer's designs, as a seamstress you appreciate the work that goes into them. So I've decided to take up doing occasional (maybe weekly or biweekly) Designer Profiles to get a better picture of what's being released into the World of Fashion to broaden my awareness of worldwide fashion. Besides what's going on out there influences the seasonal sewing patterns available to us.

A couple of day's ago I rented Viktor and Rolf's "Because We're Worth It" DVD from netflix. It was pretty interesting. Before seeing the DVD I'd never even heard of the two of them. Although the DVD was 4 or 5 years old it was pretty interesting to see them put their  line together and at the same time develop a perfume line. There's just so much work involved in the process.  Here's a little info about them and some pics from their current Spring 2010 line.

Viktor & Rolf (sorry, I really can't remember which is which)

A Few Facts (According to Wikipedia that is)

·         Viktor & Rolf is an Amsterdam-based Fashion house

·         Founded In 1993 by designers Viktor Horsting & Rolf Snoeren who met while studying fashion at the Arnhem Academy of Art and Design in the Netherlands.

·         Their work is considered “very conceptual & technically brilliant”. Characteristics of their clothes include exaggerated volumes and sculptural shapes, ribbons, bows, etc.

·         They showed their first Haute Couture collection in 1998.

·         Besides designing clothes for the Runway they also have a RTW line which you can check out here. http://www.thecorner.com/VIKTOR___ROLF/search/tskay/7B4C1203/gender/D/season/main/c/cat_157/collection_id/7878/viewall/1/tp/18715&?gclid=CMDB8K6wk58CFRmfnAodqlyu_w  They also make men's clothes.

·         They also have several popular fragrances along with a luggage, fake eyelashes and shoe line.

·         One of their famous quotes “For us, fashion is an antidote to reality”.

 2010 Spring Line

(What a perplexing design. Interesting, eh?)

(I'm loving that bodice. I'll pass on the layered chiffon skirt with the cutout).

(What in the world?---that's alot of fluffed fabric. I'm trying to figure out how they did this.)

Aren't these outrageous!!! Designs like this will definitely insure a show that's definitely not boring. If you want to see more of their work please visit http://www.viktor-rolf.com/_en/_ww/fashion.htm.



Here are some of their perfume ads you might be familiar with. I have seen the Antidote ad before although I didn't even know about the designers. Out of curiosity I'll have to go smell them next time I'm in the mall.

 

Well Viktor & Rolf are pretty interesting. It's kinda neat to try (emphasizing the word "try") to wrap my mind around how they construct some of their designs. They've definitely provided me with some mental exercise in that department. Anywho...it's cool to see what these guys are doing and actually be familiar with their design aesthetic.

Sewing Textbooks on the Radar

There are a few NEW construction and patternmaking Fairchild books that I would love to get my hands on. I'm self taught to a large degree so I depend on good textbooks (and DVD's, etc) to help me improve my skills.  Although I own a load of books on a wide array of sewing subjects, I'm very particular about the textbooks I purchase--especially since they're so expensive. I only like the one's that are used in major universities and are well reviewed. Here are the 3 I'm looking at....

#1

(I have several patternmaking books already. I can never just own one book on a subject. I like to look at that subject from different angles. It's what I call--"layered learning".

#2

 (For obvious reasons--who wouldn't want more insight into the world of couture methods.)

#3

And The Flat Patternmaker's Handbook hitting the shelves in Feb 2010 (No cover design yet)

And an older book I'd love to get would be....

 I'll keep my eyes out for these. I'll track them down on sale somewhere and eventually add them to my collection.

Fortunately  I live in the same city with SCAD (the Savannah College of Art and Design) . Oftentimes I like to visit their bookstore and check out the books being used in their courses. Unfortunately each class is $2000 so I won't be taking any classes from there anytime soon. I'd only be interested in the draping or patternmaking one's anyway.  I'd love to take a few classes from Georgia Southern but I can't seem to align that with my full-time work schedule. So as you see I kinda have to teach myself and learn from the wonderful wealth of info that other bloggers share. Which is cool...as long as I'm learning about my favorite subject, I can't complain:)

50% off Thread DVD's SALE!!!

I love to pass on sale info when I get it. A couple of days I was "stalking" the Threads 2009 Magazine Archive DVD-ROM and ran across the information about the sale. Unfortunately the Magazine Archived DVD-ROM  isn't on sale (boo-hiss) but some other DVD's are. You can find more info here http://store.taunton.com/onlinestore/catalog/crafts/best-sellers. I don't need anything since I already own the Threads Fitting DVD series & The Best of Threads Vol 1 (although the Industry Insider DVD's look a little tempting--but remember I just like collecting DVD's since there are so few out there). But I think I'll hold out for the 2009 Magazine Archive DVD-ROM. Let me get back to my stalking.......... it may take some time but I'm determined to get that at a discounted price!

Vogue 1020

If you can recall I started this dress sometime mid-December,missplaced my guidesheet, found it a week or so later and just got around to finishing it. This was an easy sew and doesn't count as one of my January-February challenge garments. Thank goodness it's finally done so I can move on to my other options.

Pattern Description:
Close-fitting dress with side zipper opening on one side and gathers on the other.
Pattern Sizing:
Size 12
Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes!!!! It was identical!!!

(a  closer view)

Were the instructions easy to follow?
Very much so!
What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
For the most part I loved everything about the pattern with the exception on how the neckline is finished.
Fabric Used:
Burgundy matte jersey with orange and tan geometric prints

(Believe it or not I'm not one for "really" fitted garments--I'm not that brave. I'd love to find a sweater that I can pair with this dress).

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
This pattern really is close-fitting and I should have did my usual size 12 bodice and size 14 for the waist and below. I was able to add a little extra on the sides by reducing the seam allowance. Fortunately my fabric had a good deal of stretch so it worked out well. I also omitted the zipper because of my fabric's stretchiness. I was pretty much almost done with the dress when I decided that I didn't really care for how the neckline was finished. The pattern calls for a narrow hem by pressing 5/8 under and then folding that under and sewing. To me that just seemed so unfinished. After consulting a few of my sewing books I came up with a couple of ideas. I thought about doing a bias binding with self fabric or using a narrow fusible to try and "stablilize" (I use this lightly since you don't really want to stabilize a knit completely) the neckline before folding it under and sewing. After toying with several ideas I settled on serging the neckline and doing a staystitch 1/2" away. Then I turned the neckline down and pressed using the staystitch as a guide (keeping the stitching on the inside so not visible from the outside). Then I folded the serged edges under and sewed the neckline using a small zigzag stitch. It wasn't until this morning that I figured out that I simply use a coverstitch or a twin needle the next time---duh???. I guess that's why sometime it's good to "just sleep on it" instead of stressing and obsessing about an issue:).
Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Absolutely. I have a tendency to use simple dress patterns like this one with funky prints.
Conclusion:
This is a great pattern. It's both easy to sew and yields wonderful results!

(Some of the Reference books I consulted. It's cool when you do a little research because you inadvertently gain so much additional info. I got a serious lesson on facings and bindings. I got some ideas for a future project.)