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The American Sewing Guild had their annual conference outside of DC this weekend. I was foolish, and went to see what they had in the vendors' room/exhibition hall. ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
gblvr came with me, for moral support, mutual cooing, and because she has a car; I supplied carry-baskets, which got a lot of compliments, as usual.
The ladies running registration were tickled that we had just walked in off the street, and so were many of the vendors. They were almost all helpful and willing to talk, even after I admitted my novice status.
The clothes on display for various competions were absolutely gorgeous, and I regret that I forgot to bring my digital camera. For example, there was a strapless wedding gown at the Professional Association of Custom Clothiers booth that was *entirely* smocked.
We stopped at the Fashion Patterns by Coni, which I came back to later to get Patternmaking Made Easy (if you have someone to measure you, that is) and a variable curve ruler. At the very least, I can use it as a work-book and make all the various shirt types in muslin. That would be good practice, and hopefully will teach me enough about clothing construction that I won't ruin the good fabrics I have.
The first thing I bought was the Jitney Aquarium Collection -- 8 small purses shaped like fish. Yes, I am a completely sucker for the cute and wacky. I won't use the googly eyes, though; puff paint will probably give nicer results.
From Dawn Anderson Designs, I bought the Rococo Blouse and Jacobean Jacket patterns. I will probably lengthen both when I make them, as I tend to prefer longer shirts, and definitely want thigh length jackets. The display model of the Jacobean Jacket was made out of creweled linen, and was gorgeous. I've already asked a male friend if he wants the Falcon Jacket, which if you know any Star Wars cos-players, looks to be an amazingly accurate pattern.
There was a company of bra-makers there, Needle Nook Fabrics, who I bought a book and pattern from and will be getting a cup pattern made by - because lo, I am bountiful and an odd shape. But they really did seem to know what they're doing, even if they're measurements were non-standard and even a wee bit off (I do *not* wear a 38 back). The nice thing is that they have all the findings and speciality fabrics needed to make bras, so if G-Street doesn't have something, I can still get it.
At Ghee's I bought the Fancy Fish pattern which I will make into a backpack for my nephew. I just need to buy the tubular frame for the fish's mouth.
At the end of the day, I got sucked into The Wool Room's booth -- I bought way too much absolutely *gorgeous* stuff. The blue is wool/cashmere suitable for a jacket, the pale stuff is a wool/bamboo/linen that I'm going to have to *hire* someone to make into a summer suit for me (anybody know a good woman's tailor?) and the brown will be a loose jacket or blouse (it's perfect for a Jedi tunic, but where would I wear *that*?) Everything was $30/yd, but I think that was because they didn't want to take much back to Canada.
Last of all, I hit Mekong River Textiles, which was the original point of the trip in the first place. The orange-and-blue shibori fabric is going to form the body of a haori jacket, with the blue shibori as the neckband -- I'll need to get broadcloth for lining, but that shouldn't be too hard. I'll braid ties out of appropriately colored embroidery floss -- chidori gumi or maru genji gumi would look nice. The red-green-orange is going to be made into a fish - either as the fish bag, or one of the fish coin purses.
The absolute last thing I bought is two yards of red and gold lace from Fine French Laces -- that's going to be trim on a jacket or shirt once I get better at sewing. *That* booth was a danger that I'm glad I was too tired to indulge in.
gblvr did a good job of keeping me away from sewing machines, but I did get the name of the local Husqvarna agent. I want a Viking serger badly, as the only serger I ever used was a 4-thread Viking, and it was a dream to work with. I can't *afford* a Viking, of course.
gblvr came with me, for moral support, mutual cooing, and because she has a car; I supplied carry-baskets, which got a lot of compliments, as usual.The ladies running registration were tickled that we had just walked in off the street, and so were many of the vendors. They were almost all helpful and willing to talk, even after I admitted my novice status.
The clothes on display for various competions were absolutely gorgeous, and I regret that I forgot to bring my digital camera. For example, there was a strapless wedding gown at the Professional Association of Custom Clothiers booth that was *entirely* smocked.
 |
American Sewing Guild haul Fabric, lace, and patterns from the American Sewing Guild 2006 conference. |
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Fabric from the Wool Room Three pieces of fabric from the Wool Room. The owners said I should come by if I come to Toronto; I think that I should stay as far away as possible, because I resist such temptation poorly. |
We stopped at the Fashion Patterns by Coni, which I came back to later to get Patternmaking Made Easy (if you have someone to measure you, that is) and a variable curve ruler. At the very least, I can use it as a work-book and make all the various shirt types in muslin. That would be good practice, and hopefully will teach me enough about clothing construction that I won't ruin the good fabrics I have.
The first thing I bought was the Jitney Aquarium Collection -- 8 small purses shaped like fish. Yes, I am a completely sucker for the cute and wacky. I won't use the googly eyes, though; puff paint will probably give nicer results.
From Dawn Anderson Designs, I bought the Rococo Blouse and Jacobean Jacket patterns. I will probably lengthen both when I make them, as I tend to prefer longer shirts, and definitely want thigh length jackets. The display model of the Jacobean Jacket was made out of creweled linen, and was gorgeous. I've already asked a male friend if he wants the Falcon Jacket, which if you know any Star Wars cos-players, looks to be an amazingly accurate pattern.
There was a company of bra-makers there, Needle Nook Fabrics, who I bought a book and pattern from and will be getting a cup pattern made by - because lo, I am bountiful and an odd shape. But they really did seem to know what they're doing, even if they're measurements were non-standard and even a wee bit off (I do *not* wear a 38 back). The nice thing is that they have all the findings and speciality fabrics needed to make bras, so if G-Street doesn't have something, I can still get it.
At Ghee's I bought the Fancy Fish pattern which I will make into a backpack for my nephew. I just need to buy the tubular frame for the fish's mouth.
At the end of the day, I got sucked into The Wool Room's booth -- I bought way too much absolutely *gorgeous* stuff. The blue is wool/cashmere suitable for a jacket, the pale stuff is a wool/bamboo/linen that I'm going to have to *hire* someone to make into a summer suit for me (anybody know a good woman's tailor?) and the brown will be a loose jacket or blouse (it's perfect for a Jedi tunic, but where would I wear *that*?) Everything was $30/yd, but I think that was because they didn't want to take much back to Canada.
Last of all, I hit Mekong River Textiles, which was the original point of the trip in the first place. The orange-and-blue shibori fabric is going to form the body of a haori jacket, with the blue shibori as the neckband -- I'll need to get broadcloth for lining, but that shouldn't be too hard. I'll braid ties out of appropriately colored embroidery floss -- chidori gumi or maru genji gumi would look nice. The red-green-orange is going to be made into a fish - either as the fish bag, or one of the fish coin purses.
The absolute last thing I bought is two yards of red and gold lace from Fine French Laces -- that's going to be trim on a jacket or shirt once I get better at sewing. *That* booth was a danger that I'm glad I was too tired to indulge in.
gblvr did a good job of keeping me away from sewing machines, but I did get the name of the local Husqvarna agent. I want a Viking serger badly, as the only serger I ever used was a 4-thread Viking, and it was a dream to work with. I can't *afford* a Viking, of course.Tags:
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From:
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From:
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Think Andy would like the Falcon Jacket?
From:
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Actually, yeah. That seems like it would suit him.
From:
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And I *love* that Jacobean jacket. If the first one goes well, do you think I might be able to hire you to make another one?
From:
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We'll see how the jacket making goes. It might take a while, and the cost of making one for you might be prohibitive, depending on how fiddly things turn out to be.
From: (Anonymous)
no subject
*g* I know the feeling.
And, yeah, if the jacket's prohibitively fiddly, it's prohibitively fiddly. But that pattern is almost enough to make me want to learn to sew myself.
From:
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