nashville flea market? don’t mind if i do

i caved into internal peer pressure this weekend & went to the flea market. at first i immediately regretted my decision – october is traditionally the busiest month for our local flea market, and this year was no exception. the place was PACKED – moving was very difficult & i kept running into little old ladies who thought it was perfectly acceptable to just straight stop in the middle of the moving aisle (forreal, who thinks this is ok? anyone?). i eventually figured out that people were staying out of the sun, so as long as i avoided the air-conditioned buildings, i avoided the crowds. yay

anyway, let’s talk loot.

first, some patterns! i got all 4 of these for $3:

simplicity 1799

vogue 5381. someone on ebay is asking $53 for their copy lolwut. also, i definitely have the 80s version of this pattern as well. what can i say, i’m a pattern hoarder.

advance 2540. can i say now that i’m kind of weirded out that the vintage pattern wiki has a different envelope picture for what is obviously the same pattern? uhh…

mccalls b-100. now this is a weird one. it’s a basic sloper pattern, except the pattern is printed on something sturdier than tissue (it feels like mediumweight interfacing, tbh) so you can try it on and make adjustments. after you have fitted the sloper to your liking, you can make view B or C, or use the sloper to adjust a different pattern.

i’m bummed that it’s missing the instructions, but meh.

fabrics, $4 for all. the prints are cotton, and that big dark blob is actually a deep purple speckled linen.

lingerie elastic, 10 yards for $1, or rather, 40 yards total for $4. can’t wait to make slips & undies!

serger thread, $5 for the whole set. he actually had a LOT but i limited myself to only buying groups of 3. except for that orange. i needed the orange, wouldn’t you?

non-sewing related purchases:

DIS SUIT & fur collar (the collar isn’t part of the original suit, but doesn’t it look nice! i bought it from the same vendor), and this shirt (that i can’t seen to get a good picture of), $7 for all

love my vintage suit! it is really well-made (100% wool, fully lined, bound buttonholes) and it fits me perfectly. none of my friends like it, though, trolololol

totally randumb, but i also found snes control pads for $5 apiece:

YES.

in other sewing news, i have yet to perfect my pants muslin. i traced the pattern & pulled a GIANT horizontal tuck (like, more than 1″ sup short crotch) and added a small FBA to the rear. muslin #2 still needs work; it’s barely passable, but sarai’s clovers on the coletterie are totally smooth so i will keep chugging along. meanwhile, my muslin pants are now muslin shorts and i am running out of stretch fabric, hey-o!

completed: the colette sorbetto top

this project is kind of a let-down, to be honest. i made the sorbetto top, courtesy of colette patterns. i had some high hopes for this one, y’all – colette patterns are so pretty & well-drafted and ughh i even had the best fabric. however, the appeal of overfitting (which isn’t normally a gigantic problem for me, but it certainly is when the garment in question is supposed to hang loose!) turned this guy into something kind of ho-hum. not at the fault of the pattern itself – i think i just needed to cut it bigger. oh well, live & learn, right?

i’ll start by showing you the pretty fabric i bought:

isn’t it lovelyyy? sheerish, 50″ wide, 100% rayon. i bought it (a little over a yard) for $5! too bad it’s a BITCH AND A HALF to sew. omg i’m never sewing sheer fabrics again.

completed: the white eyelet maxi dress

another weekend, another dress! ideally, i should have had this done much much sooner – it was pretty straightforward as far as construction & fitting goes. i feel like i never have enough time in the summer to work on my sewing, though, because i’m too busy running around, seeing friends & riding my bike & lounging on the front porch with a cup of coffee & my bff!

anyway, i finished this over the weekend, wore it over the weekend (ironically, to buy more fabric. haha!!), and even took some pictures so i could share with everyone this dress marks a couple firsts – my first maxi, my first underlining attempt, my first time working with soo much trim. it also marks the last time i am ever sewing so many tiered ruffles! haha! omg those ruffles were such a paaaain.

anyway, dress deets:

i frankenpattered this one; the bodice & midriff is simplicity 9164 (without the contrast or trimming) and the skirt is mccall’s 5648.

new(old) sewing patterns!

my birthday isn’t for another month (::ahem::) but my roommate/best friend/life partner, morgan, already gave me my gift because she is awesome – she went to an estate sale & bought me a big ol’ stack of vintage sewing patterns! yay sewing patterns!!

please come bask in their glory with me.

pants? possibly.

my favorite fabric store, textile fabrics has the greatest sales. my personal favorite is when they slash the entire store’s worth of fabric 40%-50% off 2x a year (in january & july, naturally). my second favorite is when they pull all their OOP patterns – for every $10 you spend, you get to choose a free pattern. i don’t know about y’all, but i can always find an excuse to buy shit at the fabric store, so i trekked west of the river with miss lauren winter & we picked ourselves out some goodies. i’m not going to bother with the stuff i bought – it’s pretty boring, albeit necessary, sewing notions like machine needles & white thread & *yawn* is anyone still listening? but check out the patterns i snapped up when they finally allowed me in the back room

patterns: spring 2011

i’ve lost my sewing mojo. i can’t bring myself to bother – partially because i prefer to sew in my underwear (makes fitting easier), and my sewing room is freeeeezing. and our gas bill was over $300 this month! double bummer!

anyway, i’m already dreaming of my spring wardrobe – nice, because i’ve barely made a dent in my winter wardrobe EL OH EFFING EL – so wasn’t it nice of vouge & simplicity & mccalls (but not butterick, shame on you!) to release their spring 2011 lines?

at least they don’t suck as bad at the winter patterns did. i mean, honestly now.

i officially hate vogue sewing patterns

vogue released their winter line of sewing patterns today – pretty early, if you ask me, since most of us are just dipping our toes into fall weather clothes (it was 100* here in nashville last week!). normally, i loove vogue sewing patterns. i love the extra touches that are included to make your finished garment more “handmade” than “homemade,” like french seams and foundation corsets and fun things like that. i love that they make patterns based of major designer’s looks so you can rip them off and save yourself $1000 in the process. i love the smug satisfaction i get from sewing an ~advanced~ vogue pattern because it makes me feel smart and knowledgeable.

I DO NOT LOVE VOGUE’S NEW PATTERN LINE, THOUGH.

i hope you are not eating when you proceed.

completed: vogue 7313

haha you guys… i actually finished this *almost* a year ago. why didn’t i post it? BECAUSE THIS PATTERN IS SERIOUSLY FLAWED, THAT’S WHY.

anyway.

vogue 7313, circa 1988
i *love* how dramatic this pattern is. eventually, i would like to try the full skirt with the suspenders (too much? oh well). the pants i could live without, but clearly the previous owner was all about them. i bought this pattern at my favorite secret thrift store for 25¢ are you jealous

completed: mccall’s 5971 in red

i already made up this pattern in navy wool crepe. this is a super cute dress that i think i deserve two of, y/y?

so i made a red one!

completed: vogue 1192

well that’s done and completed now. i actually started this pattern over a month ago, got frustrated when it was 3/4 done and threw it in a drawer to stew and think about how bad it had been. i’m still not happy with the outcome, but i am happy with the fact that it is finally finished and i don’t have to look at it anymore.