But Can I Measure Up?

I don't usually make new year's resolutions -- I mostly just try AGAIN to do all the things I really, really meant to do in the previous year -- but if I were to make a resolution for 2009, it might be NOT to buy new fabric until I've made a dent in the fabric I already have.

Okay, let's see a show of hands from folks who have also made this resolution, in any year. (Hollow laughter optional.)

Of course, on the heels of that resolution, Stephanie kindly sends me this:




Wouldn't this make just the cutest ever shirtdress? I would, however, draw the line (no pun intended) at pencil buttons, as I am not a teacher. (But if you wanted to, I wouldn't judge. I'm not a judge, either.)

What would you do with this fabric? I know it's not to everyone's taste, so "set it on fire," is a perfectly acceptable answer ...

Comments

[Holly]

Adorable dress for a little girl!

[DivaJean]

Who would want fabric that basically measures how big you are around?Not for me.

[Sara]

This is giving me images of Ms. Frizzle-- pencil buttons and compass shoes! Or protractor shoes and pencil earrings?

[Laura]

Im not bold enough to wear it as a dress, but it would make an adorable bag or book tote. Also would make a witty apron or work belt pouches for a woodworker or other craftsperson, as well as a sewer.

[Regenia]

Is it to scale? It'd make a perfect knitting or sewing tote if it is.... Comes with built in measuring tape!

[MommytoAva]

i would make a fabric D-ring belt to remind myself (and others) that size doesn't really matter. :) i'm also on board with stash busting this year. we recently moved and i promised my hubby that 8 bins of fabric will become 2 by August '09 (our next glorious move). good luck to us both!

[Nicole]

I think it would be adorable as a tote or messenger bag. I would also probably make a cute shirt or dress of it for my daughter, since she's still too young to object. ;)

[Marjie]

For a tote of some sort? Super. For clothing? Nope. I don't need people thinking the measurements mean something, especially once I saw numbers in the 50 to 53 range!

[Helen]

A tote bag or a child's apron and that's it. No clothing with measuring tapes, hippos, or elephant prints. -Helen

[j.b.]

I actually HAVE this fabric, and am using it for the border of a quilt (contemporary art quilt) that has a dress form on it and vintage laces and various other fun stuff. It's gonna look amazing!AND yeah, it would make an amazing shirt dress for those of us bold enough to pull it off (or on, as the case may be!!)au revoir,~j.b.

[Tara]

I have a friend from Zambia and I'll bet she'd take this and make one of those elaborate head wraps for herself. . . she's very statuesque and she could pull it off. Of course, the fact that she's completely gorgeous and about seven feet tall certainly doesn't hurt.

[Kathryn]

Pleats! It'd be irregular, to match the tapes, but ... it would match the tapes! Plus they'd be vertical so you lose the "how big am I around" aspect...

[Simone]

Holding hand up on that on going no more fabric resolution and considering this fabric for lining a denim suit jacket(that I would take on and off alot!) and using left overs for a bandana to wear as a head scarf with the suit...

[moggy]

Love it - I've got a similar print, but with evenly sized tape measures. I'm planning something with a chevron effect - both bodice and a-line skirt, if I can manage it.

[julia]

How about boxers for your favorite carpenter. That way you could see if their "9 inches" really measures up!

[bani]

Fantastic fabric! I'd probably just stash it, since I don't ever sew. *grumble* But I'd like to make... hm, not sure. I think a simple skirt, since the fabric is so busy. And because that's probably all I could master...

[diatryma]

Important questions: inches or centimeters? And are they accurate?

[caseykoester]

I'd like to use this fabric to make the collar, cuffs and a wide waist-cinching belt on a slim shirt dress. I probably have the dress itself be black, so that all those colors could pop like they should. Ha - you've got my imagination all in a tizzy now!

[Anonymous]

Not buy fabric? Isn't that bad for the economy?Ok, so any reason, however feeble...

[Myra]

I have that as part of the line, Recess, from Moda. But mine were jelly roll size. Maybe as a lining for a jacket, or for a child, but I could not see it as an adult dress, ditto-ing some of the earlier comments about the numbers vs your measurements.

[Meretricious Consideration]

I would make a full, pleated skirt, set into a solid black waistband, and I would run the tape measures up and down rather than around my hips. Cassandra

[marysews]

I have a piece of that fabric destined to be boxers for my DS. It has connotations, just like the golf ball print did. Besides, DH admits that men's measurements are always off ...

[ZipZapKap]

*hand raised*Already made it. And already broke it. Pitiful.

[Allison]

Hand up on the resolution, here, too.And the corresponding one, too: "I will finish all those projects I've bought fabric for." (I rarely actually stash, as in buying just to keep around; I always buy with some idea about the fabric's eventual use, but I don't always get it made ...)This year I do have a pretty good incentive, though: when the baby arrives in April, I expect that my sewing time will be really, really limited! So I've got to get a year's worth of sewing done in the next few months! Aaargh!

[Alvrodul]

If I were to make a dress of a fabric like this, I would ensure that the "stripes" were vertical. Though, truth to be told, it is not a fabric I would choose to buy. At least for dressmaking.I _do_ have a bit of a very similar fabric. I bought some unbelievably cool buttons with SCIENCE FICTION MOTIVES!!! and ordered a bag of quilt fabric scraps at the same time. One of the scraps was of a fabric very similar to this one.It _will_ go into a quilt. Some time, somehow.(And, Erin, you really should share the URL that I sent you where I found those buttons with the other devotees of Dressaday. If they don't like the SF buttons, perhaps they will like some of the other motives)