Inspiration Shopping

I just love to inspiration shop.  My job has been stressful recently, so I took a day off today.  After some productive, early morning, fabric shopping, I visited my favorite boutique for some inspiration.  Whenever I feel blah or uninspired to sew, I know it's time to go shopping for clothes.  I can get my vibe back pretty quickly that way.  Just one new construction tip or shape idea can perk me right up and get the juices flowing again.

Oooh, there were some fabulous items, mostly in the $200-$300+ range - outside of my current budget.  I favor loosely structured garments made from yummy fabrics and cut in interesting ways.  Luckily there are many designers these days that are creating wonderful pieces.  Designers like Eileen Fisher, Citron, Cynthia Ashby,  Babette, Steel Ponies, Bodil, Sympli, Dressed to Kill, to name a few.  I have certainly purchased my share of nice clothes (especially when I'm not in sewing mode) but it's so much more fun to use their inspiration to create my own pieces.  I also tried on a few styles I've seen in the pattern books - I'd had the suspicion that some of these for me and I was right!

Last week I went to the Haight to hit a fabric store there for some elastic.  I discovered that store had closed a year ago (sigh) so I decided to visit some clothing stores.  The Haight is full of edgey clothing shops for the teen and twenty-something crowd and I found some pieces with fabulous details.  Beautiful draping, interesting shapes, gorgeous fabrics.

Today, after my shopping spree, I went to a coffee shop to reflect and made some notes, both for today's and last week's outing, before the details leave my memory forever.  I came home and finished a top (I will post after I get some photos) and then hit the fabric piles, to study and think about what I want to do next.

I have some ideas I'm excited about.  I can't wait to get to my machine this weekend.  :)

Vogue 1018 - Sandra Betzina Skirt

Oooh, I just love this Sandra Betzina skirt.  It's funky and asymmetric and I love funky and asymmetric.  I had close to 5 yards of this very unusual fabric.  It's very lightweight, drapey, 100% polyester in a scrumptious stripe with polka dots.  It feels similar to a very lightweight ripstop nylon. I think of it as a novelty seersucker because it has that quality to it.  It also has a chenille yarn that runs through the stripe.  You can see a closeup of the fabric here:



I wanted something special for this fabric and I hoped this skirt would be perfect. It's basically an a-line skirt with a drape and the fabric has some tucks sewn into it to create interesting texture and hang.

I did make one significant change to the pattern. It has a shaped, fitted yoke and I hate skirts with a rigid fit at the waist/hips. So, I added about 10" to the pattern at the waist to convert it to an elastic waistband. (I didn't want to just cut a larger size because I don't like to be drowned in too much fabric -- I cut the pattern in a size to fit my hips.) I did cut the drape in a larger size because I wasn't quite sure how to just enlarge that. It worked ok, I guess. (I cut the skirt in a size D and the drape in a size G.) The new yoke is a rectangular piece and I didn't even measure it -- I just cut it out and sewed it to fit. You can see the elastic waist here:



The only other modification I made was to change the grainline on the drape. I cut that so that the stripe would parallel the front edge of the drape. I wanted that bold stripe to be featured in the design

I did line it with navy sandwashed rayon fabric. So soft. I wasn't going to, but the skirt fabric was a little too lightweight, I felt.

Here it is:

I'm back!

I am back to sewing clothing for myself!  It's been a hiatus of close to 20 years.  Yes, twenty years.  I used to be an obsessive sewist and particularly loved to make designer and wearable art type of clothing.  Then I married, had two kids, gained weight, and my creative interests shifted, first to quilting, then to kids clothing and crafts, knitting, and felting.  Ten years later, I divorced, went back to work, gained more weight, and stopped sewing altogether, except for Halloween costumes (for my kids) and school plays, ballet performances, etc.

Well, my kids are now teenagers, and don't need (or want) my creative skills anymore.  I've had many passions in my life, but this is the big one.  At first, I wasn't that inspired about returning to sewing, partly because sewing didn't feel as fun at my current age/weight, but after a bit of "inspiration shopping" at some lovely boutiques, and some insanely crazy fabric shopping, I got over that. 

I am hooked, once again.  :)

Once I get some photos uploaded, I will start blogging.  :)