I know it's a bit late, but...

I got this for christmas, and couldn't be happier about it.  I was so happy to get it and I am torn from wanting to wear it all the time and wanting to save it so that it will never wear out.  But isn't it lovely?  Now I only need a cream one, too!

Vintage

This is what I bought:

The vintage stores were the best.  I was impressed with the inexpensiveness of the items--much less than comparative shops in New York.  I just wish I had more time to search through the racks and bins--There was a large bin overflowing with scarves for €1 each!  I'm sad that I only bought 2. And the shirt is a beautiful lacy eyelet cotton that I must sadly wait until spring to wear--one more thing to look forward to.

Scarf Weather

I do have an affinity for silk scarves.  I've been pouring over this website and very much love the ideas it's giving me.  It's almost chilly enough be able to wear scarves again!

www.jaimemoncarre.com

Fancy Dress

This weekend one of my oldest friend is getting married (!)  and of course we're attending the festivities. I didn't have any nice clothes that would be appropriate (or rather--that I haven't worn to death) and I also am lacking funds for new clothes, and on that account I decided to make something new.  

The ceremony and reception will be outside in a meadow where the dress code is semi-dress/semi casual.  I wanted something light and airy, but also relatively dressy and nice (because I like dressing up).  I was looking through my fabric stash when I found some curtains that Lock gave me about a year ago.  They have these beautiful hand embroidered dragonflies all over them, but they were so old that the fabric had faded or stained in places, and was falling apart in others.  I figured that if I layered the fabric, then maybe I could make a pouffy skirt that wasn't completely see-through, and if I embraced the worn, threadbare fabric, then maybe it would work.  I'm really very happy with it, although I made it a bit too long, didn't want to cut the dragonflies in half, and so pinned it up into a bubble skirt.  I generally don't like bubble skirts, but with the shirt I'm planning on wearing, it looks OK.

I also made a necklace--simply by braiding chains and strands of pearls, attaching the ends to some large rings, which I then ran through with sating ribbon. It looks somewhat elaborate, but was actually incredibly simple.  

I saved some of the dragonflies.  I think I may frame them; they would really be beautiful on a wall, don't you think?

Fabric Burning

Sometimes I'll get a scrap of fabric without knowing it's content.  It's not always very easy to tell the difference between a real silk satin and a polyester satin by touch alone, so I'll test burn fabric to determine the content, and surprisingly, it's not nearly as hard as it seems.  I snip a small piece of the fabric to be determined and burn it over a metal plate.  Depending on how easily it ignites, what the flame looks like, and how the charred ash looks and feels, you can determine the fiber.  It helps to first test a piece of fabric which has a known fiber content so that you'll have an idea of what you're looking for.  I also keep an inventory of fabrics I've already tested so that I can always have a test scrap on hand if I'm unsure of a piece's content.

Here's a basic guide, but the internet is full of information, if you want more.

-Polyester or acrylic fabrics will melt (much like plastic) and harden into a black, melted mess.

-Wool smells like burning hair and the burnt fibers become crispy. It's also a bit harder to light than cotton.

-Cotton smells much like burning paper, lights and burns easily, and the fibers will become a fine powder when rubbed between fingers.

-Silk smells much like wool, but the burnt fibers are slightly less crispy and they don't ball up as easily as wool.  The fabric seems to char and then burn, so it leaves a larger charred section on the scrap. I don't know if this is because of the way it's woven, or if it has to do with the content, but that's been my experience.

New Old Things

There is a distinct lack of thrift stores in the city.  Luckily, we were able to take a detour to a Savers (in New England?!) while we were out of town last weekend. It was very exciting, and even though our time was short (only 30 minutes!) I was able to find awesome old things.

The doily pattern books are fabulous.  I've already started making October's (it's called graceful autumn. yes.)  Every time I'm in Michael's I pine over books like these but they run twenty dollars each (!)  Luckily, I bought these for twenty nine cents each.

This was my favorite scarf. I love the printed tassels on the end.

I've been collecting wooden boxes for storage, and I can always use more.  I definitely scoured the scarves for silk ones.  There were so many that I had a hard time choosing my favorites.

But these shoes were the find of the day:  They were completely unworn, and they fit me perfectly.  They were also nearly exactly the same as the shoes I was wearing, except the colors were different.  The colors make them amazing, and now I am slowly trying to break them in.

Shirts I Made

I've been trying to use my sewing machine more lately.  I also don't exactly have any spare cash with which to buy new clothes. So, I've been making myself/altering clothes to fit me, and I've found that I like them better than anything I could buy in a store (or, at least, anything I could afford in a store)

 Below is a shirt I made from an old silk skirt I bought at a thrift store.  The skirt looked like something a grade school teacher would wear circa 1984--a mid calf length, high waisted, pencil skirt.  Not the sexy secretary kind--the shapeless 80's kind.  There was a lot of fabric, but it was sewn in panels, so I had seams that I couldn't avoid; instead of trying to hide them, I sewed up the sides and highlighted them in contrasting thread.  I also put some small darts in the shoulders.  This pattern was easy since it doesn't actually have sleeves.

And the next shirt may be my favorite that I own right now.  We got this beautiful silk at a clearance sale, and I found the crochet trim in my mom's stash when I was visiting.  I found this shirt online, and fell in love.  I used the same base pattern as the shirt above, and gave myself a little bit less room in the shoulders.  For the front piece, I just cut up the center, hemmed the sides and topstiched the trim.  I love it and have to restrain myself from wearing it every single day.

The pattern for these shirts was pretty easy to make; I had a shirt that was a simple front and back only, no separate sleeves.  All I did was fold it in half and trace the shape of both the front and the back pieces.  I added in seam allowance and hem room--and now I have a shirt pattern that I can use over and over. (that's what is in the photo up top.  I didn't have any paper large enough so I used some muslin I had laying around)