Fat Tuesday Fabric Haul

Ok, first of all, let me say I didn't order all of this on Fat Tuesday.  It just all happened to arrive at the same time.  And let's just say that (regardless of religious affiliations or lack thereof) the irony of the timing was not lost on me...

First of all, I was ordering a few things on Amazon (not sewing related) and saw that Fashion Secrets from the Sewing Industry could be had for just $0.68!  Well, plus $4 in shipping, but still, that is less than the cost of a footlong sandwich from Subway!

My March Burda showed up too!

 I haven't really sat down and read a lot of this book yet, much less test any techniques but even after spending a bit glancing through it I have to saw - this book is AWESOME!  It covers everything from making a sloper and muslins to burn tests (with pictures!) and has construction techniques from bound buttonholes (best visual tutorial I have seen in a book) to pressing techniques.  It also has the basic construction order for blouses, pants, skirts, and vests.  Which is great if you are wigging out over Burda instructions (or Patrones, Knipmode, etc...).  While I can't say that it covers everything in depth (I mean, it is about using RTW techniques, nothing couture here), I think the picture tutorials are great because they show every single step.  Some of the fabric choices are a bit bright/hard to see, but in general I am thinking this might be my go-to reference book in the future.  The bound buttonhole instructions alone look to be worth the cost (it includes two methods for dealing with the facing - depending on the fabric). So I would say - if you can spare the $5 get thee to Amazon!

Also, I am happy my Burda came!  After looking through the magazine and seeing the full sized photos I have to say I am dying to make this sweater top:

I have the perfect blue knit - thin and soft!

And this wrap shirt:

This looks so much better in person...

I still think the jacket is probably the best pattern in this issue, but I will probably make these two patterns way before I would get to that.  Also, I have to point out that this dress is way less attractive in full-sized photos than even the internet made it out to be:

That bust line still kills me...

Ok, ok, on to the fabric haul.  A while ago I got a discount code from Fabric Mart, so I thought I would get a few things...

Mess 'o' invisible zips

$1.99 poly knit

Black poly gaberdine left, grey poly woven right.

Pretty metallic jacquard!
The photo doesn't even come close to doing this fabric justice...

Ever since I got my first Burda magazine (last February), I have been in love with this coat:

BS-02-2011-133

Maybe not the cut of the coat necessarily, but this idea of a brocade/jacquard coat has been dancing about in my head for nearly a year now.  Now I finally have the fabric and I just have to settle on a pattern...  It takes me a while to plan things...

As for the rest of this order, I would like to say I am in love with all these fabrics, but, to be honest, with the exception of the jacquard, I am not.  The knit doesn't have the nicest texture.  The black poly gaberdine is really really shiny.  And heavy!  I am probably going to make pants wrong side out (at least I won't have to line them...) and use the shiny side for accents like welt pockets or some such.  The grey fabric is a much lighter color in person than I thought it would be when I ordered it.  Also, and this is the kicker, I was so excited about buying the jacquard I forgot to use the discount code on the other fabric!!!  So, from this we learned (1) SLOW DOWN at checkout and make sure you are filling in all the boxes and (2) if there is only one fabric you really really want, just buy that fabric and leave the rest.  I mean, I still plan on using all of this fabric, I just wish I was more excited about it...

Alright, on to more exciting things.  I am starting to run low on interfacing so I recently got some from Fashion Sewing Supply while they were having a sale.  I had wanted to order some quite a while ago, but the website was down and I wasn't really willing to wait, so I have been using Palmer/Plesch in the mean time.  Which has been working well, but I really don't know if I will order it again because this new stuff is FAB-U-LOUS!  Amazing, really.  I ordered a sample pack and now I feel like I really want some of everything:

Tricot, weft, hair canvas - they have it all!

The sample pack is great - a generous heap of every type of interfacing they carry, including their hair canvas and fusible hair canvas.  This stuff is amazing - you can just feel the quality.  I haven't tried fusing any of it yet, but the service was great.  I highly recommend getting this sample pack for help with deciding what to order in the future.  I will post an update once I get to using the goods, but it has come highly recommended by others on the internets, so I am expecting good things.

I also ordered a few things in bulk:

Medium and lightweight weft interfacing, and tricot interfacing on the bottom.
The tricot has some stretch and I plan to use it on a skating dress collar.
Let us prey the gods don't smite me for partaking in such ridiculousness.

Lastly, I made a purchase from Fabric.com.  Now, I have been going to this website for quite some time, but this is first time I have found anything that I really wanted to buy.  So I went a little wild.  But these fabrics are amazing, so I suppose I can forgive myself...

Firstly, I got this great navy tropical wool.  It is so smooth and soft - I love it!  It will be a classically tailored jacket at some point, though maybe not for a while quite yet.  Right now I am debating between Burda and Patrones patterns...

My wool

It will become something like this:

BS-02-2011-126

Or maybe like this:

Patrones 295-32

Also, with Peter's timely post about Ultrasuede I am pretty happy to show off my amazing faux suede:

The color is even more vibrant in real life

This fabric is wonderful.  It has nice heft and drape, and is so incredibly soft.  It is amazing and I can't wait to pair it with my recent Joann's fabric:

This will be my lining

Consider this a sneak peak as these will be the basis for my sewing challenge RTW knockoff piece.  Which I really won't get to for a few months at least, but I am super excited by the prospect of this project at the moment.  I still need to acquire a few things, but once I gather my materials and am ready to start I will share my plans and inspiration.

Lastly, I ordered some Uptown Raw Silk Suiting fabric:

This will be for a short jacket

And this will be for a long coat.

This stuff is gorgeous!  It is soft (well, it is silk after all) and the colors are stunning!  If you feel the need you can get your own here.  Except not of the dark blue.  Because it is all gone now.  Somehow I feel that the Selfish Seamstress would be nodding in approval.  Or gnashing her teeth.  In any case, let's just say the only reason I haven't ordered more is the whole money thing, but I am seriously contemplating ordering more when the bank account gets filled.

And... that's not quite it.  I have one more box coming from Fashion Fabrics Club, but it didn't come on Fabric Tuesday, so it doesn't get included in this post.  Nothing too terribly exciting there (some cotton for pants) but I will post the contents it when it arrives.  (Also, is FFC no longer offering 10lb fabric boxes?  It said that they were out of stock when I checked.  I hope this isn't a permanent thing...)

I really wasn't planning on buying this much fabric (especially after my holiday binge), but the silk and jacquard are seriously the fabric my dreams are made of, and the other things are pretty much going to be for staple pieces like pants.  But I am really starting to feel stash satiation coming on...  I have fabrics for most (maybe all?) of my remaining  sewing challenge items, and have sewing plans that can extend (literally) years beyond that.  So I think it is finally time to start considering a stash diet.  Although perhaps it will go the way as with envelope patterns - I feel I have enough and so I just don't see the need to buy a lot more.  Somehow I have an inkling it might not go the same with fabric.  I will see how next month goes and assess from there.

Now, back to hemming...