Under Construction

My sewing room has been out of commission this week which is a good thing for its appearance and a more challenging thing for my sewing project.  The guest room is piled with the "stuff" from the shelves and walls, the ironing board and steam generator are tucked into a corner of our bedroom and I'm somewhere in betweeen.
I did make a quick mock up of my planned knit dress for NYC this weekend.  I made the first one out of a midnight navy Vera Wang knit from Fabric Mart's spring offering.  Wow, wearing that midnight navy is almost as dark and aging as black next to my fair complexion.  And it really goes with nothing in my jacket wardrobe so I think it will turn into a navy knit top that I can tuck underneath something in the future.  On the other hand I'm quite happy with how the brown knit dress turned out.  Same lightweight Vera Lang Fabric Mart knit and a much better color.  I used the Jalie twist top pattern, # 2788, which I lengthened to dress length following my McCalls dress, # 4652.

I generally bind the neckline of my knit tops with a piece of crosswise knit fabric, cut about 2 inches wide.  I sew it to the right side of my fabric, usually 1/4 to 3/8 sa then flip it over, press gently and stitch-in-the-ditch from the right side then trim off the excess.  I think it's a technique I first saw Sandra Betzina use years ago.  The knit doesn't ravel and it's not very bulky.

I did a thicker, double layer of binding on the armscye.  I wanted a slightly more substantial look.  I cut 21/4" strips of fabric on the crossgrain, folded them wrong sides together and stitched them at 3/8 inch to the right side of the armscye.  Pressed them, serged after stitching and then sewed the dress side seams.

I like how this dress worked out as an easy under layering for dressy and casual jackets.  Here's a casual summer version which I'll pack for a trip.  It's a RTW knit jacket but looks like a short version of the famous Simplicity #2603.  Wearing it also reminds me of the Loes Hinse article in Threads magazine, issue  110 about buying fabric in groups of three.  Her main theme is that only one of your fabrics in an outfit should "talk" while the others should "listen."  I usually like to make garments that talk a lot....jackets, knit tops in prints, colorful flared skirts.  But I see the versatility of having plenty of listening garments and this dress will be one of them.  For the readers among you, this now dress pattern is also a candidate for the great Kinsey Millhone perfect black dress.

Tomorrow we're heading on Megabus to NYC.  We used Priceline yesterday morning for a midtown East bid and got the Grand Hyatt at Grand Central Station for $165 a night.  We were happy enough with the price that we are staying two nights, since the Sam has to stay in the kennel until Sunday evening anyway.  I don't really plan to do fabric shopping....the last thing on the planet I need...but I might slip into the new find that Lindsay posted about  Truemart, near the FIT museum  http://www.lindsaytsews.com/2010/08/bargain-shopping-for-fabrics-in-garment.html  and I do love visiting Pacific Trim.  Mostly it's sightseeing....the Fashion Institute museum, free, Target-sponsored Friday at the Museum of Modern Art (I haven't seen the renovation that was completed a few years ago),  visit to the Highline Park, an old elevated railway on the west side converted to an elevated park with wonderful views, maybe the Smithsonian's American Indian NYC museum down at Battery Park.  Two shows from whatever is available at the 1/2 price TKTS booth.  Dining will be eclectic as well....dim sum in Chinatown, B&H kosher Dairy Restaurant, a street cart that I read about might even be our pre-theater dinner one evening since the days are so packed.  But I'm really eager for a post-theater drink at a spot I just found on-line...Campbell Apartment, totally coincidentally right around the corner from our hotel.  Right out of Mad Men. http://www.hospitalityholdings.com/

I did decide to take the wild silk scarve panels to FL and make a dress there which I'll wear with black strappy sandals, much nicer than the proposed black pump idea.   Since I didn't get much other sewing done this week,I planned on sharing a new recipe I tried, dolmades, stuffed grape leaves, but I wasn't thrilled with the outcome...a little meh.  Much easier to make than I anticipated so I might try them as a company appetizer later this year.  It's Tyler Perry recipe from Food Network, in case you want to Google it.