Puyallup Sewing

It was a busy February -- sewing some new outfits to wear at the Sewing Expo held in Puyallup, WA (near Seattle).

I decided to use two of my outfits from the Novi show in September and made a couple new things -- three t-shirts, one a remake of a rtw tee and the others something from the stash; a knit camisole to wear under my twist top; a new blouse and picket skirt; and a  pair of denim pants that has flat felled side seams to simulate jeans (so they are more of a trouser jean).

The days were long (show hours 8:30 am to 6 pm Thurs, Fri, Sat and Sun ran "only" til 5 pm).  We were tired at the end of every day but enjoyed talking with all the people who stopped by the booth, The Complete Clothier. 

The green t-shirt was worn on the trip out and the paisley t-shirt was worn on set-up day.  On show days I wore my Novi green twist top/brown cami/brown fitted pants, Novi tweed jacket/yellow cowl top/green fitted pants; new blouse & skirt; and the t-shirt/"jeans" on Sunday.

Sunday's theme at the expo was Red-Pink day  -- Red for women's heart health and Pink for breast cancer awareness.  Neither are colors I wear often but had the wild t-shirt knit in the stash that also has some teal and goldish orange in the print.  The print picked up the "jeans thread" topstitching I did on the side seams so that became my Sunday outfit even though the jeans were originally planned to be worn on set-up day.  Worked out well because the denim has a bit of lycra in it -- so that was a comfy outfit for the flight home.

I had decided rather than taking a Monday morning flight back east (where I would probably not sleep worrying that I would miss an early alarm and miss my flight) I would take the midnight red-eye.  It worked well and I arrived back at my home airport around 7 am.  Needless to say, though, I slept most of Monday once I got back home.

The Pocket Stylist

Thanksgiving has come and gone -- lots of good food and a great visit with my daughter. Seems like I just posted here and instead I see that it's been almost a month!

Didn't do much sewing but we did make a little coat for her new puppy, Louis (pronounced Louie).  He's only 5.5 pounds at 12 weeks so we didn't do much fitting and the fit is '"generous" since I know he will grow in the next 3 weeks until he comes back for a Christmas visit.

We used fleece and iron-on vinyl so that it would be somewhat weatherproof.  The pattern was a test from the TCC pet line and the "baby doll" measurement chart.  I guess the next one we attempt will have a hood ... we'll see ...

I have another book from the library, The Pocket Stylist by Kendall Farr.  She says several things that are so on target that I have to share.

"Fashion Misconception: Read-to-wear actually is ready to wear. In fact, an affordable perfect fit right off the rack is as impossible to find as a Hermes Birkin bag on sale."  

She also talks about "optical illusion versus delusion" -- boy do I like that phrase!

And this is why I like to use pattern-drafting software to generate my custom-fit patterns -- "What distinguishes good fit for any body at any size?  Clothing that skims the outline of your shape.  Nothing clings or pulls, nor is anything so oversized that it hides your body's natural outline." 

This is a good little book that goes on to talk about different body silhouettes and the design lines that look best on them.  The goal is to create an unbroken line -- and those lines "break" when you have poor fit -- eg pulling, bunching, sagging.

I'm starting to plan my sewing for a Puyallup expo wardrobe.  A few target patterns have been tentatively chosen but I still have to select the fabrics and decide on style lines and embellishments that will enhance rather than detract from the garment.  So more to come as I begin to shop the stash!

NAYY -- but here's a link for more on that book ...
http://www.amazon.com/Pocket-Stylist-Behind-Scenes-Expertise/dp/1592400418