This ain’t your Mama’s poly!

So many of you have been asking about the comfort of the wonderful poly/lycra jerseys from Gorgeous Fabrics that I’ve been sewing up lately. I am here to report that they are quite comfortable, even here in the sticky South! Last week I wore one of my new dresses to a banquet and had to walk quite a ways in the heat to the affair and I was fine. Last night I wore another dress to an early dinner. Thanks to Daylight Savings Time it was still Hot as Hades at 7 p.m., I had forgotten to put on my anti-perspirant (ew!) and still I was comfortable. I already have a few more of these great prints waiting to become dresses and tops and have added some lovelies to my wish list. If you are unsure, at least try a short length for a top. Not that I’m enabling you or anything…

I could not resist this new Fan Dango! jersey. It will make such a pretty summer dress. I think I need a GF fabrics-of-the-month subscription: three yards of each new jersey to be sent to me automatically! Sigh…

On deck: Butterick 5206

I am loving this new Butterick pattern! At first glance it looks very similar to my beloved Hot Patterns Cosmopolitan Dress (that I never get tired of wearing and making!) but it’s a little different. You see, there is no inset at the waist, just a normal waistline seam. The obi-style belt is attached at the top front only. The only bad thing is that I won’t be able to use my coverstitch for all of the binding as the wrong side won’t be as pretty if it shows on the belt.

Now I’m just trying to narrow down the fabric choices…

Another Cosmopolitan Dress!

As I posted yesterday, I needed a dress to wear to a banquet I am attending with my boyfriend tomorrow night. I absolutely fell in love with this polyester/spandex knit print over at Gorgeous Fabrics and thought it would be perfect for yet another rendition of my favorite dress. All I have left to do is the hem which I will get to later tonight or tomorrow afternoon. With my blindstitch machine it will take me longer to pin the hem than it will to sew it!

I changed the pattern’s scarf sleeve around a bit, which you can see here at the Sewing Divas. This is a super-easy sleeve to draft and is different yet simple.

I’m undecided about which bag to carry: the celery/beige Goldenbleu Emerson crinkled patent clutch or the black python clutch. BTW, the black python was the first expensive bag I bought with my own money right after I graduated high school. In the 28 years since it’s seen a lot of action!

Shoes were easy! I chose these black patent platformw from ABS:

Banded Surplice Neckline Tutorial

The banded surplice neckline tutorial for the HP Cosmopolitan Dress is up at The Sewing Divas! Here’s the LINK.

HP Cosmopolitan Dress with scarf sleeves

The first piece of my professional wardrobe is finally finished! I am just not back up to speed yet but I should be cranking things out at top speed pretty soon.

I plan on wearing the dress with these comfortable, conservative Via Spiga pumps. Luckily, I already have four pair of conservative pumps that are office-appropriate (brown, black, burgundy and hot pink). They are always good to have around in the event that I am called for jury duty or must attend a funeral or other somber event – or go job hunting! As much as I love shoe shopping I’m glad I can concentrate on the clothes for now.

Of course, I had to rock it out just a little bit with a mabe pearl pendant on a leather choker!

This weekend I will be posting a quick tutorial at The Sewing Divas blog on how to finish the neckline with bands. It’s so easy and a nice way to use a contrasting fabric. You can also see how I’ve finished the scarf sleeve hems with a quick and easy mitering method!

Speaking of fabric, both fabrics used here are from Gorgeous Fabrics! The main fabric is Modern Dots Knit and the contrast is Dainty Dots Jersey. I’ll tell you, living here in the steamy tropics I resisted polyester fabrics for many years but these are so wonderful that I have been reformed! Plus, Ann’s collection of fabulous knit prints is truly TDF and the prices are easy on the wallet.