Recommend: Shabby Fabrics!

So today I thought I'd start with a new blog feature, my personal recommendations for your various sewing needs! I want to sort of broaden the scape of this blog a bit so I'll be able to post more often and make it more helpful to all my followers~

Later down the line I'd like to make a few tutorials as well. I think it's important for us to share what we discover while sewing and crafting. I learned so many of the things I know now through what other people had done; their discoveries as well as some of their mistakes! (You definitely do learn from your mistakes more than anything else)

So with that, let's begin with a fabric site that has my heart completely at the moment...

Shabby Fabrics

This site is like a haven for Classic and Sweet lolita fabrics! (I mean look at the site layout alone!) 

I was lead to this wonderful site through a fellow lolita seamstress on the Livejournal community sew_loli. She also wrote a very amazing and extensive review of her purchase with them here in this EGL post.  

Really, this site is just amazing. When browsing other fabric sites, I'm used to finding a few nice gems here in there in their "toile" or "floral" sections and such, and happening upon things randomly. 

I also do the bulk of my fabric shopping locally in the Fashion District here in New York City, and yes I do find fantastic things with some digging, and with checking many stores along the street (39th and 40th streets between 7th and 8th avenues is basically all a bunch of fabric and trim stores, if you're ever in the NYC area be sure to go check it out!) 

But Shabby Fabrics has so many great things all in one place! I can literally find about 10 different things I want to buy at once! The fabrics themselves are extremely inspiring. Many of them are Japanese imports as well, so even some of the major Lolita brands have used them, one being Innocent World!

I have many favorites, and though I cannot currently buy all of them, I'd like to get a few soon. Here are some of my current site favorites:

(Click the fabric images to go to their page on the site)

Yuwa 163 Yuwa Fabrics

Mary Rose Classic 2060-12C

Mary Rose Classic 2060-11E

Mary Rose Bella 1110-11C

Mary Rose Angel 2070-12C

Antique Rose 7241-T Lecien Fabrics

Mary Rose 1070R-12D Robert Kaufman Fabrics

And here's a tip, you can take the names of these fabrics and search them on other fabric sites in case they sell out here before you could buy, or if you want to try your luck with looking for a better price. Sometimes people on Ebay or Etsy sell their precut yardages for a little cheaper, so look out for those deals as well.

Now for my own recent purchase!

In my last entry I spoke briefly about it. I had a great buying experience, got my order quickly, and I was impressed by the quality of the fabric and print. 

Here it is paired with a solid ivory cotton I've had for a little while. Sadly this print is no longer available on the site (I believe I bought the very last of it since it was on sale)

And good news, I've finally come up with something I want to do with it! Right after I complete my Virgin Mary JSK, I'll begin work on a nice classical Onepiece dress. Here's the design I drew a couple days ago...

The main fabric will be the printed floral cotton, and the center panels of the front will be the ivory cotton with an overlay of ivory lace fabric that I've yet to purchase (sort of like a bridal lace). 

I hope this post was helpful to everyone! I'd love to see the things people make out of these fabrics as well, do share if you do!

I'm also happy to say I've reached the 100+ follower mark! Thanks everyone for supporting me!

Back from a long unannounced hiatus!

Hello all!

Again, I must say this on every post, but I apologize for my lack of content! When I first created this blog I had so much free time and things I wanted to share, but often times life gets in the way. I had another extremely busy semester, but I can safely say it was my best ever grade wise. I'm getting my Associates Degree in Fashion Design mailed to me very soon and I will be going on to completely my Bachelors Degree in Fashion in the Fall. It's been a really amazing ride, though things did get tough from time to time. Sometimes I felt like giving up, I worried a lot about how things were going to work out. I didn't get much sleep. But in the end I pulled through and got many A's! I feel proud, and I feel confident about continuing on with my fashion career. There is still a long road ahead of course, but I'm ready.

Today was the first day of my summer vacation and I got to work straight away! Currently I'm working on a Jumperskirt commission for a friend of mines. It's lavender with 3 tiers of ruffles all around and polkadot tulle overlay! It's coming along rather well I can say. My goal is to complete it within the next week and I'll post pictures for everyone to see straight away! Here's a litte preview image, it's a little further along as of today though!

The bust area of the bodice!

Oh and I should also mention that recently I purchased a Brother 1034D Serger! I highly recommend it to anyone who is considering buying a serger, it runs like a dream and cuts my sewing time in half! In the past I had to rely on zig-zagging everything which didn't look as neat and took a lot of time and effort. Now I can simply run off my raw edges in a quick pass! I also want to try making a chiffon JSK using the "scarf edge" feature for a decorative hem finish. Now I feel my garments can be 100% professional. 

Okay so after I finish my friend's Jumperskirt commission, I'll get right to work on my Virgin Mary Jumperskirt! I can't wait to finish that. I'm so excited about how it's going to turn out! I cut all the pieces out but hadn't had the time to sew it. I won't be able to wear it until Fall or Winter though since the bodice is made out of velveteen (much too hot!) But no matter, I just want to see it finished. I hope to achieve that by mid June at the latest. 

I also purchased two fabrics on a whim that I'm not quite sure what exactly I'll do with them, but here are pictures (sorry they are bad quality webcam photos!)

Firstly this fabulous  cotton toile with a grim twist...

It's an Alexander Henry fabric print design called "Midnight Pastoral" and is widely available online if you poke around! Try Fabric.com or eBay for the best prices! I bought this locally though. It also comes in blue on off white and brown on off white to my knowledge. I got 3 yards of the stuff and I don't know what I want to make out of it yet. My first idea was a Jumperskirt with a corduroy bodice and this fabric as the skirt portion, nothing too flashy, just simple and classic. I'm also considering a high waist skirt, any opinions? There is also a chance that I may sell this off.

Here's the next gem...

This beautiful classic floral from Shabbyfabrics.com! Everyone please do check them out! They have the most beautiful cotton prints I ever seen in my life! Many of them are Japanese imports; even some of the lolita brands use them! Many of their fabrics are loliable, I found dozens of prints I wanted to buy in the future. I bought this one in particular because it was on sale, haha. I got 3 yards (I got really lucky because this was the last of it!) Again, I'm not 100% sure what I'm going to make with it. I never made a One Piece dress, so I'm considering that. Note though that their fabrics are mainly lightweight cottons, so anything you make with them must be lined (as any good garment should, in my opinion!)

I have so much I want to do it's crazy! I'm trying to take everything one at a time though, because when I get too ahead of myself I can't find focus. I seriously must have about 10 garments in mind and I always get more ideas. So as always, wish me luck! I can't wait to finally finish something outside of school sewing!