Monday, June 25, 2012

I Bought Thread


That counts as making progress towards sewing a dress, right? 
I also bought lining (see photo). This is $10-a-yard lining, people. Per yard! That no one will actually see when the dress is completed (unless I make tragic mistakes). The real, visible fabric cost me $6.20 for the full 2.5 yards, plus a half-yard of piping fabric. I can't believe the price of good lining! Is it any wonder that people use quilting cotton for clothes these days? I'm beginning to see their point. 

This is the first time in a long while that I've had all three girls with me when fabric-shopping. I'm pleased to say that they are vastly improved from the days when I wrote that post about buying fabric with small kids. I was privy to this funny exchange in the backseat, enroute to the fabric store:
Emily: I feel like buying fabric today!
Jenna: Well, you're in luck, 'cos that's where we're going.

I can't get enough of Jenna's sense of humor, honestly. She's a fluent reader at age 5 (no credit to me - I refused to do phonics and whatnot and just let her read whatever was lying around the house) and has picked up the most hilarious expressions from stuff she's been reading, including the jokes in the children's menus in restaurants. 

Bit of good news: Emily got her store-bought dress for the wedding! At Target! Good old Target. So all three girls have wedding clothes. Now it's just me needing to get my act together so I'll have something to wear. 

I'll show you what's standing in my way, though:

Another bag. With piping. I will have to finish it before I have peace of mind to start a dress. Also because I'm too lazy to change needles. As I lay in bed on Saturday night, I deconstructed the draft in my head, so I think (hopelessly optimistic) it will go fast once I actually start. If I start. Uh.. when! I meant to say "when"!

13 comments:

  1. Oooohhh!! Exciting things are happening! More progress! Yay! Lovin' the looks of THAT bag, too!

    Glad Emily got her store-bought dress. Hurray for Target!

    Can't wait for photos of 'whole', completed things! ;)

    My bag is... um... partially cut out. :)

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    1. Hey! Did you notice that I've replied to every single comment (so far) to this post? That's like a dream come true for me, as well as an effective way to further procrastinate! Score! Bag #3 done. Off to take photos now (and not sew a dress).

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    2. P.S. by "dream come true" I mean I've always wanted to reply to every single comment, except the ones that urge you to invest in ah...performance drugs and purchase nickel-plated handbag buckles from China, I mean.

      Two replies to one comment! Hah!

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    3. Yes, I noticed! You are a champion procrastinator, my friend! But hurray for Bag #3!!

      (And thanks for clarifying that.) ;)

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  2. It's so much fun reading about you procrastinating while I'm procrastinating myself ;)
    I'm always surprised about the price of fabric in the US. Here in Germany you are lucky if you get say a Robert Kaufman fabric for around 16€ per metre, most are 18€.

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    1. Eeek! Prices like those could actually cure my fabric problem. But then again, there are so many far superior fabrics to the ones in the US that I WOULD pay more for them (says the person who would only buy fabric if she had her 50% off coupons with her).

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  3. I am rather johnny-come-lately to ikatbag, and never read the tutorial on shopping for fabric with small children. I myself have two small boys, who, I'm afraid, show little promise of ever loving the fabric. I laughed out loud just now reading the tutorial- mainly because I related to everything in it. Luckily, my favourite fabric store has a small play room which my kids love, and a coin operated circus zebra. Yes, that's right a circus zebra- never mind that it doesn't work, sitting on it is enough. I have no pride and out and out bribe my kids into sticking with me in a well-behaved manner for some great play minutes AFTER the shopping. It is genius on the part of the fabric store. In other news, quilting cotton isn't cheap either... I was having a look at some cute prints for making your lunch bucket, and was shocked to see what I liked cost $13.98 a metre! What?! Holy schmoly... I shall keep looking for cute contrasting fabric for the band and top closure... that's just nutty!

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    1. A non-functioning coin-operated zebra ride! In a fabric store! Genius, indeed. Imagine if it actually worked - the store could post a sign with the motivational message: "Keep fabric prices low- buy a ride!"

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    2. Bingo- you are on to something! And PS: your bags on your next post are very productive procrastination (I usually procrastinate with Facebook or some other such time wasting tactic) I'm in awe. And I love them- they are beautiful. Can't wait until they hit the shop!

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  4. There are several dresses-for-me in my queue that I keep procrastinating on as well. They were at the top of the list... now, they are somewhere near the bottom. That bag looks like a lot of fun. =)

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    1. Charity - it seems the ONLY dresses that get sewn around here are the ones that are made a few days before a specific deadline, and usually in panic. I don't think I've EVER sewn a dress "just for fun" or "to learn a new technique/design/style". They're all manic responses to the alternative of going naked to an important function. It's sad, I know.

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  5. I am in the process of sewing myself a dress for a wedding too. My apparel skills aren't great and I got it substantially complete the other yesterday and realized that it needs bust darts... so I had to take out the side seems to make them... oy. Now I'm trying to figure out how to make a gather in the back, attempt #1 to sew in wide piece of elastic was a fail... perhaps a narrow piece of elastic? And to make less boring, I've decided to make a pleat trim for the hem, however I don't have a perfect pleater so I will probably be up to midnight trying not to burn my fingers and make a pretty pleat. I will be so excited to have it done. Good luck to you!

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    1. We will cheer each other on, Amanda! We will not give up! We will listen to copious amounts of music, set in a replay loop! We will not get sidetracked by food, sleep, personal hygiene or social interaction!

      Or cooking meals. We SO need kitchen elves.

      About the elastic: how about two or three parallel strips of narrow elastic? That way the gather will be substantially broad but not stiff.

      And yes, the day we finish our dresses, we will throw the sewing machine out the window (only to sheepishly sneak it back in half an hour later, true - but it's the SYMBOLISM!!! That's what counts).

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