Frock by Friday: Gail Suggestions

Some fabric suggestions for the Gail: If you are trying to recreate the Modcloth version then yes, buy lace. Notice that the lace in the Modcloth dress is not traditional. It has tiny eyelets in varigating spaces. But choose what you love best. Also, if you do not want to finish the necklin with a sewing machine, look for a lace that has a finished edge.

I will also be showing you how to alter the pattern for the modcloth version. So here's what you should buy:

2 yards of body fabric. Either silk, charmeuse, anything floppy. I wouldn't recommend anything too stiff.

3/4" yards of fabric for top inset. Either lace or another type of sheer fabric. You can also use a white floppy material if you so choose.

invisible zipper (6" for size 34, 7 1/2" for size 46)

5-6 small buttons

If you are making the Modcloth version also buy some very wide elastic for the waist 2.5" or wider.

Photo burdastyle

Thrift Store Thursday: The Bittersweet October Overcoat

I've found that thrift Stores are overrun with over sized wool coats. If you buy a brand new heavyweight wool coat they can run anywhere from $100-$300+. I bought this wool coat for $7.50 at the Community Aid store. See bottom pic for before photo.

All I did to change this coat was shorten the length, take in the sides and used the extra material I cut off the bottom to make a ruffle which I then sewed into the placket. I also changed the buttons which looked a little dated.

I was inspired by this modcloth jacket. There are so many ideas you could do with wool coats and ruffles. Quote from Carol Bishop Hipps.

Grab a button to share thrift store thurdays!
 

The Next Frock by Friday Is.....

Man, it certainly was a 'split' decision. I had to extend the voting by 10 minutes because it was quite frankly a dead heat. But the winner won by literally ONE vote at the last minute. The next frock by friday for the month of October is....

The Gail Frock! I'll be showing how to make the alterations so that it more closely resembles the Modcloth frock. So print the patter and buy your material for next week. I'll be giving periodic updates on the frock to my followers. So please follow the blog for those.


And since the second frock was soooo popular I do plan on using it as November's FBF.

Stay tuned for a Thrift Store Thursday post later today! It's a good one:) (I think)

Dead Heat.

It's nearly a dead heat between the first and second frock for next week's Frock by Friday. Get your votes in if you have a preference. I'll be announcing the winner at 10:25 AM EST. So you have another five minutes!

.....UPDATE! Still a dead heat! No kidding. So the next vote will be the winner!

....UPDATE! As of 10:40 AM EST the voting is now closed.

Winner Wednesday: The Naiad Frock

If you would like to receive regular updates on winner's every other Wednesday please follow this blog. Please email mytumtumtree@gmail.com so that I can get your contact information.

Thank you to everyone who entered and left wonderful comments about this giveaway.

The winner of the Naiad Frock Grosgrain Giveaway is Elle Ribera of Elle. Congratulations!

Frock by Friday: October

I hope you all are getting your sweaters and long sleeve blouses out of storage because it's getting cooold out there. It's hard to find a good winter frock. Usually, I try to make dresses that can be worn with a button down cardigan and have interesting necklines. Long sleeves and frocks just don't go that well together.

So I picked out two Burdastyle patterns that we could try. Tell me what one you'd prefer to do. The first one featured above could be made so many ways. It is $4. I included a photo of a Modcloth dress next to the Burdastyle dress that I'll try to knockoff with this pattern. I like the grey toned lace and silk look for fall.
The other pattern that I liked was the one shown above. It is $5. The neck was really what caught my eye. It's too big for a 'summer' frock so it seemed fitting to make in 'fall'. This could be done in a sweater or knit material too! That would definitely be appropriate for fall.

Tell me what one you'd rather do.

Photo credits:
Top, burdastyle, modcloth
Bottom, The Penny Farthing, burdastyle

....UPDATE! As of 10:40 AM EST the voting is now closed. For all votes also see this post.

Big News!

Okay, so last week I mentioned that I had some big news. 

I'm so happy to announce that I've entered into a publishing deal to write a book based on 'A Frock by Friday'! The book will be a lot like our 'Frock by Friday' sew alongs but it will also teach you how to use different top and bottom patterns and adjust them to make your own designs. Bodice, skirt, collar and sleeve atterns will be included with the book.
 
It actually won't be out for another year and a half:( But I'll be working on it diligently for a whole year. But not to worry, I can incorporate my work into the blog. I'm making a bodice pattern now that I'm using to sew another dress next week. It's a great way to test my patterns out.

Anyway, hope you check it out when it's finally finished! I'll be giving periodic updates. And of course, thanks to all of you for your interest in my work that led to this book!

Speaking of A Frock by Friday, it's that time of month again! Stay tuned later for a FBF update.

Goodbye 85°. Hello 22°.

I don't look forward to the Pennsylvania winters mostly because it means being cold ALL THE TIME! It's no secret, I don't like to wear pants. It's not that I find them unflattering, although that's tricky too, it's mostly because I find them really uncomfortable. Be bootcut, cropped, relaxed or skinny (especially skinny) I really don't like to wear them unless they've got the word sweat in them. It's most because of my IC.

For this reason I've been thinking about what I'm going to wear this coming winter. I think I'm going to wear a lot of tights. They've really made a comeback recently. Maybe even, dare I say....legwarmers? But let me clarify, I'm not going to wear tights I'm looking for thigh highs. Tights are almost as uncomfortable as pants, if not more so.


What do you think? A pair of woolen thigh highs with this dress, an embellished sweater, a knit hat and maybe some legwarmer spats? I think that could be cute.

Technique Tuesday: Hong Kong Seams

photo credit 

I'm having a bad morning. One word. Cramps. Have any good remedies? They are pretty painful. I don't understand why this happens sometimes? What's so different?

Anyway....Hong Kong seams. They are pretty rad. If you are making anything with exposed seams, Hong Kong is the way to go. You can play them up with a contrasting color or pattern.

I've seen these a lot in hand bags and unlined jackets. Sometimes, when the colors are just right I think they look prettier than lining.

They are more work than not doing anything at all but like I said, if you're making a jacket, these are the way to go. Hey! They might even look kind of neat if you made some kind of "inside-out" frock. Maybe?

And I think you will be happy to discover that I am using a tripod in this video. Hooray!

Life interrupting

I'm sorry I didn't get to post a flickr fav this weekend. I do promise to do one soon. It's been a chaotic few days that's spilling into the week. Philadelphia was great. Melody and her boyfriend Rob showed us around the neighborhood and we got some time to spend away from home and the kids. But don't get me wrong, it was exciting to see the babies again. We spread them out over several grandparents so picking each one up felt like opening a surprise. I just want to hug, squeeze and rub my face into each one.
 
Lily unfortunately has developed a bad cold. That's us at the doctor's office this morning. A few minutes after this photo she vomited in her own hands. She's coughing all night and Delsym doesn't help much. And now we can add 'bloody nose' to the list. She's a mess.

Funny thing. The cold doesn't seem to stop her from fighting with her little sister over toys.

A Sewing Bubble

See bottom for linking opportunity. And follow me for a personal update later today.

After talking with Beth from Stories of A to Z I realized that there are a lot of home decor bloggers, there are a lot of craft bloggers, but there aren't a lot of sewing bloggers (who make clothing). I've been starting to investigate, ask around, trying to find the good ones out there. The Sew Weekly above is my new fav.

I am a little picky. Even though I'm looking for sewing blogs, I like the blog to have good photography/layout. It doesn't have to be striking but something with good lighting/artistic eye.

I also like the sewing to be about clothing. There are a lot of great quilting blogs but I've never made a quilt in my entire life (although I wish I had the time) so I tend to read more about clothes.

AND, I like frequent posting. At least once every two days. They don't have to have all of these attributes but usually at least two of the three.

So do you have any good recommendations for me? Here are a few NOW in my blogroll, click on pic to go to link.

 

                                The Selfish Seamstress

  

If any of you know of any good sewing blogs that have great photography, sew clothes, and post often please list it below. I think this could be a great way to make a community.

When your sewing talents come in handy....

Today Brian and I are going with his sister and her boyfriend to an evening Phillies game. Funny thing is, last year we attended the game where they clinched their division. And now, it looks like that might happen again.

But anyway....because we're going to said game I had to bail out of a bachelorette party with my sister for a friend of hers. I felt pretty bad so when she called me yesterday and asked if I could silk screen a 'bride' sash and sew in tulle by later that night I told it would be no problem. I also figured I could at least get a post out of it:)

For two and a half hours of work I think it came out great. I'm glad I could help. Oooo, and this is the photo I sent to my sister when I completed it. I took it with my iphone. The hipstamatic app is divine!

Answer Your Tweets

As I was reading today's Project Runway comments I realized that Twitter is a great way to answer your questions and reply to your commentary. If you have a quick question or comment please Twitter me and I'll write back to you. And it doesn't have to be about PR, ask away.

Photo credit

Project Runway Rundown: 10 down 7 to go

Now that the new tv season has started, Thursday nights have become a mine field of dvr-ing in our household. We love everything on NBC Thursday nights from 8-10pm. But that's smack in the middle of Project Runway, and my sci-fi favorite Fringe (which gets priority). Oh and Grey's Anatomy which usually gets canceled AND It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Man, there are some nights where we don't watch anything. Our DVR only tapes two things at once which SUCKS! So every 30 minutes we get messages saying "you have a conflict, cancel xxxxx for xxxxx?"

Click on this link to Read More of This Post

LMNOP Out!

Want some design inspiration?

The newest Issue of LMNOP is out! Go see.

I've been thinking about the girls sharing one giant bedroom when they get older. Something like this makes me think it can be possible.For more of these secret posts, follow me.

Thrift Store Thursday: The First Impression Frock

I've really embraced a-lines recently. But I think I've been in a skirt rut. Lately, it's either a-line or pencil. Blah.

I found this navy swiss dot frock at the Community Aid store. I could tell it was a vintage dress. It had a weird label. But the neckline had a really cute bib and button cut and the swiss dot is so in that I knew this dress had some potential.

It was initially huge like a lot of vintage dresses I've found which is actually a good thing when you're changing something. In this case, less isn't more.

If you have a dress with no waist seam that looks blah, try this. I know it might seem frightening to attempt but cut right across the middle. Take the skirt piece and if it's too wide, gather it slightly and reattach it to the top. If the top is too big too make sure you fit it before you reattach it to the skirt. Maybe sandwich a cute contrasting piping detail in between the seams. Or if you're feeling really ambitious make a waistband to attach the top and skirt to and add piping to the seams like I did.

I made the length super short just because that's what I thought looked the cutest for this frock. Perhaps paired with yellow tights and ballet flats it would look even cuter.

The Central Park Frock

This is the dress I wore on the streets of New York City yesterday. Beth of The Stories of A to Z and I got tickets to see The Nate Berkus show and both of us were excited to choose what we would wear. The audience was made up of design bloggers who had started this #nate twitter movement. Many had flown in, some as far as California and in addition had spent hundreds of dollars on hotel fare.

The instructions were given to wear 'bright' colors and man did I fit that bill. I felt a little out of place in the midst of the other real new yorkers on the street but I felt really proud of the dress so any uncomfortable feelings were just a side note.

I have seen these backs in a couple dresses out by independent designers recently and wanted to try it myself. I liked that you have a little back showing but can still wear a bra. I made the length of the skirt longer to balance out the risky back but I really struggled with this decision. I still don't know what looks better but this is what I went with for the big day.

The front was also fun for me too. The white piping was just perfect against the apple red. I included a peter pan collar that lined a scoop neckline. As well as sailor button that lined the front and a pintucked rectangled piece in the front midsection.

I received so many compliments from the other bloggers and felt a little silly saying that I made it as well. But everyone was so friendly and open. They were made up of mostly home decor bloggers, which I don't follow as much, BUT Megan of Modern Bird Studios was there, one of my previous guest giveaways. So that was great to meet someone I knew in person.

The show was a first for me. I've only attended 'live' tapings. The atmosphere of The Nate Show was more personal. They can stop, go back, and retake a clip. It's different. PLUS, Beth and I were so close to the action. I felt almost on top of them. They were seating people not by place in line but at their own discretion. When Beth and I got to the hostess she instructed us to seats in the front row all cushioned and inches away from Nate. It was a lot of pressure. There were many times I felt like my mouth quiver from the amount of smiling I was doing. I was just never sure if we were on tv or not? Like I said, pressure.

The warm up woman instructed us that as Nate would walk out he might come up to one of us, shake our hand, etc. And to my surprise, he walked out, waved to all of us, saw me and SHOOK MY HAND and began his intro. So surreal. I never get picked for the fun things. I told Beth it must have been phosphorescent red dress which caught his eye.

Beth sat beside, Emily, the winner of Design Star and might have been on camera the whole time they were interviewing her. It was so weird. But it made the experience a hundred times better.

I've read a lot of bloggers write about the experience. For some reason, it was never mentioned that the show was made up of design bloggers and none of the bloggers interviewed had their blog plugged. A lot of bloggers were upset. I just wonder if the producers had made a conscious effort to do that. And if so, why? It just made no sense.

But after the show, Nate sat down and answered our questions and seemed genuinely appreciative which makes me think it was an issue with production.

At any rate, we had a great time and I was just grateful for the experience. Thanks again Beth for the tickets AND taking the great photos!

Grosgrain Twitter

Follow me on Twitter!

I know I had been really resisting the twitter movement and that a LOT of you use it and I've been leaving you out.

Yesterday, Beth and I got some really good one on one time and got to know each other a lot better. We talked about....everything....but a lot about blogging. And I had some revelations about things that I've been neglecting and being lazy about. So I want to try and improve that. Twitter being one of those things.

Brian and I don't have text plans. We pay per text which is bordering silly since the text total nearly comes out to be as much as their lowest text plan. So I was avoiding twitter because it just didn't fit into our lifestyle.

But now that I have an iphone it changes things. Yesterday, there were NUMEROUS times when I just wanted to 'tweet' something about the experience....like getting FRONT ROW SEATS! And BEING THE ONLY ONE TO SHAKE NATE'S HAND IN THE FIRST FEW SECONDS OF TAPING! Ahhh! So fun.

Speaking of the show, I'll be posting about it later today, as well as the DRESS, I made and wore. It is one of my favorites and I got many compliments. I'll give you a little hint...roho. Lots of roho!

So please follow me on Twitter! I'll be posting frequently. It's http://twitter.com/grosgrainfab 

Grosgrain was taken:(

Kinda like my trip to NYC, it might be a way to get to know each other better.

Stitch Magazine and Me

The latest issue of Stitch is out! If you flip to the back page you'll find....me! I was asked to write an essay for them about my love of fabric. I wrote about how I started out depending on prints and eventually found myself in textures and design elements.

You can find Stitch Magazine at Barnes & Noble, Borders, JoAnn's and I believe Michael's.

But you should also take a look because there are some really neat projects you can try at home like a kids backpack, a faux fur bolero, nesting baskets, mittens, a firewood tote, a panel block skirt, a hobby apron, a tufted floor pillow, an arrow tab tote, a garment bag, duffle and cosmetic bag, patchwork cube slipcover and about 30 more projects, 40 in all!!!! Definitely worth the price. Oh and if you use this JoAnn's coupon it can be forty percent off.

And I have some really amazing news to share with you later this week. So stay tuned.