It's a Sewing Life: zappos

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

A Little Fantasy Sewing

Friends, I haven't been sewing. No. I haven't lost my sewing mojo (a term I personally loathe, by the way... no judgment for those who like to use it). It's just that the sewing "studio" aka the former guest room has had it's decorating upheaval, and there is currently no furniture... at all... in it. The walls have been repainted a delightful shade of aqua (Valspar calls it Distant Valley), and the carpets are awaiting the arrival of the carpet cleaners as I type. This is a fairly accurate representation of the color:

OK, so if there isn't any real sewing, this was kind of a long introduction into some fantasy sewing. Follow along and see what you think...

Valentine's Day is just around the corner (can it be?) so I've chosen Simplicity 5663, a Mad Men style 1960s dress for this Fantasy Sew.

I love the jewel tones on the envelope illustration, and I think I'll stick with those. If I want to go completely over the top, how about this silk satin faille from Gorgeous Fabrics:

I'll make view 1, and the pattern calls for 2-1/8 yards of 45" wide fabric, but at $30 a yard, I'll just "order" 2 yards. Definitely a muslin is called for here. On first glance, the only design change I might make is to lower the neckline just a tad. With my shape, the front waistline gathers are a good idea, but a muslin should let me know if they look too poofy.

OK, our fantasy dress is made, complete with handpicked zipper, and now we need some accessories. I love the brooch idea from view 2, so I'll go with this one:

Brooch from Crimson Vintage

This brooch also has a pendant link, so it can do double duty.

I thought about a rhinestone belt buckle, but that would just be a bit too much. A fabric covered buckle with supplies from A Fashionable Stitch will be perfect. What else do we need? How about some garnet earrings? My friend, Amy has these beauties in her shop, and I love that the red is not too matchy with the fabric: