AUTHOR: Erin
TITLE: Measuring Up to the Cutting Edge
DATE: 9:05 AM
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BODY:

Thanks to Helen I now have four yards of this fabric -- actually, thanks to Helen I now have the LAST four yards of this fabric, because I'm mean like that. But take heart! There are other colorways (some border prints!) of this adorable Yuwa scissors fabric available at PurlSoho, and it's on sale (which means $9 instead of $15, but hey ...)
It's only 43 inches wide, and I did only get four yards of it, so I'm not sure exactly what I'll make yet. (It may work for the same pattern as the infamous Target-curtain numbers dress.)
It might just be my monitor, but I think this colorway is very 1930s, especially with the old-fashioned scissors. I can't wait until it shows up ... I hope I can get my new sewing room organized before then, so it can hop right into the washing machine and onto the cutting table!Labels: fabric, fabric_design, fabric_shopping, novelty_prints, PurlSoho, stunt_dresses
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Packrat
DATE:Sep 18, 2009 10:10:00 AM
Hmmm, curtains for your sewing room? The Target-curtain dress done sleeveless for summer? An early '80's wrap skirt?
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Allison
DATE:Sep 18, 2009 10:29:00 AM
That magenta, turquoise, and lavender border print one would look amazing as a Stunt Poodle Skirt kind of dress! Imagine applique-ing on a length of actual measuring tape.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: fabricgirl
DATE:Sep 18, 2009 11:41:00 AM
I'm guessing that by the end of the day there won't be any of that fabric left! thanks!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: pirate
DATE:Sep 18, 2009 12:28:00 PM
heh heh ... I'm not so far away that I couldn't just kinda/sorta drop in and make sure the fabric arrived safely. :-)
And have you had your See's Candies yet? NO??? What?? Do I have to come over and force feed you? [grin]
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: B a la Moda
DATE:Sep 18, 2009 3:27:00 PM
The fabric is soo cute. i would do a retro purse.
You will tell us what you will end up doing.
xoxo
B a la Moda
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Cookie
DATE:Sep 18, 2009 4:36:00 PM
A skirt would be great... then you could wear it with different colored blouses that match its colors.
<< I'm guessing that by the end of the day there won't be any of that fabric left! >>
Yes, Fabricgirl. There was a similar stampede on the featured Vogue 7887 yesterday. It vanished from cemetarian (which I always want to call crematorium or creamatarian by mistake), then another one was snatched from Lanetz Living...it was a veritable BLOODBATH. And there are still marauding packs...
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Sheila / Out of the Ashes Collectibles
DATE:Sep 18, 2009 4:52:00 PM
I picture a butcher's apron for while you are sewing!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Birgit
DATE:Sep 18, 2009 7:54:00 PM
As I am looking at the back of a 1940s short-sleeve dress pattern with a flared skirt, it specifies 3' 3/4" of 32" material (with nap) for the entire dress, so I think there are a few possibilities...
I love that fabric - but must resist, as I just moved about a ton (only a slight exaggeration) of unused fabric stash around...
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: cindy
DATE:Sep 18, 2009 8:23:00 PM
So cute! I hope you post a pic of the final dress. I am on a shirtdress making frenzy. Although I am only using two patterns. I don't have the patience to alter patterns. I just want the dresses--Now!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Sep 18, 2009 11:07:00 PM
Those border prints are very lovely.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Chantelle
DATE:Sep 19, 2009 11:44:00 AM
This fabric is lovely, and I agree that the colourway is very 1930s.
$9/yd is a fairly reasonable price for Yuwa fabric... and those border prints are lovely.
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AUTHOR: Erin
TITLE: Did You Miss Me? I Missed You!
DATE: 7:25 AM
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BODY:
Sorry I've been awol for so long -- lots going on!
I hope to resume regular posting tomorrow, but until then, please enjoy/recoil in shock and horror from this fantastic fabric sent to me by Julie.

The more I look at this fabric, the more I want it. It says "Stunt Dress for the Cattlemen's Association Ball" to me (not that I've been invited). But, sadly, I don't know where to buy it online. Do you? Leave a comment!Labels: fabric, meat, novelty_prints
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jun 1, 2009 7:35:00 AM
Mmmmmmm, looks like a T-bone, but couldn't it also be a center cut pork chop?? Swine are getting a bad rap these days...
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Sal
DATE:Jun 1, 2009 7:50:00 AM
Oh, how I'd love to have a ballgown made of that stuff.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jun 1, 2009 7:54:00 AM
I don't know where to buy it, but I'd love some as well. My sister-in-law raises grass-fed beef and sells it. This would be PERFECT for her.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Cel Petro
DATE:Jun 1, 2009 7:55:00 AM
Yes, needing some Dress a Day, t-bone textiles are a nice touch.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Melissa
DATE:Jun 1, 2009 7:58:00 AM
It'd make a great dress for a barbecue. Ashley Wilkes likes to see a girl with a healthy appetite and a beef-based frock.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: xstpenguin
DATE:Jun 1, 2009 8:00:00 AM
As a vegetarian who doesn't look good in too much white, I think I'll pass. However, something short and tight modelled with the ironic sense of 'being treated like a piece of meat' would be pretty funny on a red carpet somewhere.
Or perhaps a nice dress, worn to a press conference where one expected 'to get a roasting'.
Cheers,
AJ
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Allison
DATE:Jun 1, 2009 8:16:00 AM
I'm not sure where one would buy this kind of fabric online. From the pic, and the sign in French, I'd say it's probably not in the US! In fact, the general look of the photo reminds me of the fabric shops in the medina (old city) in Tunis. (Btw, Erin, I took your fabric buying advice last summer when I was there, and ended up mailing 12 meters of fabric to myself. :-D Still haven't used any of it, but it is quite lovely and it makes me happy to see it in my stash.)
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jun 1, 2009 8:33:00 AM
It isn't the US, but it has to be someplace that trades in dollars.
I am going to a barn dance in Wyoming next month; this fabric would make an excellent skirt!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: RavenzTarot
DATE:Jun 1, 2009 8:57:00 AM
Beef it does the body good!
Beef its whats for dinner.
One of those nice full skirt 50's dressses with nipped waist and full swing flare on the arm of Sam Elliot < didn't he do the commercial about Beff its whats for dinner???>
I am horrible its monday please forgive me!
Raven
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jun 1, 2009 9:11:00 AM
The tags are written in French but the currency is $ - might that not make it a shop somewhere in French-speaking Canada?
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: gwensews
DATE:Jun 1, 2009 9:21:00 AM
I'm sure you'll make the perfect dress and story to go with it. I enjoyed your chat on PR last night. Thank you for that.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Jean
DATE:Jun 1, 2009 9:47:00 AM
And maybe with an over-dress with something like A-1 Steaksauce or some other such condiment!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jun 1, 2009 10:54:00 AM
With father's day coming soon, I think a BBQ apron for your "griller" husband/son/father would be cute.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Sara
DATE:Jun 1, 2009 11:22:00 AM
That graphic looks verrrry similar to a Threadless tshirt I bought for a good friend a few years ago...it was red and had a print of a t-bone on it...Google image search to the rescue!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: lainevierge
DATE:Jun 1, 2009 11:24:00 AM
I'd be willing to bet that this was taken in Montreal. It matches with the other guesses of "French speaking place with North American money symbols", but the clincher is the Canadiens Hockey logo fabric up in the right top corner. It's totally Montreal.
We have tons of fabric stores here, but I'd venture that this is from someplace in Plaza St Hubert.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Cookie
DATE:Jun 1, 2009 11:46:00 AM
I see kitchen/dining room cafe curtains?
You could make different sets to match the food you're serving....there could be vegetable ones, pasta ones...
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Sara
DATE:Jun 1, 2009 12:01:00 PM
Hideously wonderful!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Marjie
DATE:Jun 1, 2009 12:42:00 PM
Well, I don't know about the fabric, but I've got a daughter in Laramie who could probably get you an invite to the ball!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Pinup Dresses
DATE:Jun 1, 2009 1:47:00 PM
I'm with Cookie, I was thinking kitchen too. Curtains, tablecloth, etc. I can't exactly imagine a dress out of meat.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Cookie
DATE:Jun 1, 2009 2:04:00 PM
Yes, Pinup Dresses...our drapery, linen and upholstery vision for thematic dining is sure to sweep America once this fabric is tracked down, and we find the poultry version, etc. BUT perhaps a short little apron should be made in each version, too, so when the perfect little 1950's housewife greets her hubby at the door, he knows what's for dinner before even seeing the curtains, etc. (Although, maybe he sees our Thematic Dinner Curtains from outside, already, while pulling into driveway? Must think on this.)
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jun 1, 2009 2:36:00 PM
I thought they were abstract tulips at first (just not expecting t-bones, I guess).
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Sewing Siren
DATE:Jun 1, 2009 2:43:00 PM
I like the idea of a ball dress out of the steak fabric. Elsa Schiaparelli did a ball gown with a huge Dali inspired lobster printed on it in 1937. She also did a mutton chop shaped beret, but not to be worn with the ball gown ( that would be a bit much, right?)
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Cookie
DATE:Jun 1, 2009 3:39:00 PM
AND, CAFE CURTAINS FOR THE LOCAL BUTCHER SHOP! (I think I've had too much coffee.)
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jun 1, 2009 4:10:00 PM
Cookie, the idea of matching apron and curtains makes me very, very happy. Please come to Vegas and shop with me!
-Sandra
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Soph
DATE:Jun 1, 2009 5:18:00 PM
I'm vegan and i love this fabric, it screams opportunity for contradiction and pranks...if only it was in Spotlight in sydney!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Soph
DATE:Jun 1, 2009 5:18:00 PM
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: labibliotecaria
DATE:Jun 1, 2009 5:59:00 PM
So instead of skirt steak, you could have a steak skirt!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jun 1, 2009 8:03:00 PM
I want to use it to decorate the storefront of the meat locker where we buy quarter cows. Their decor scheme is very functional. All that adorns their walls are award plaques from the state fair--best meat stick snack 2008, etc. To their credit, the wall's damn near full; the awards go from the ceiling to my waist with barely 2" space between them.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Chantelle
DATE:Jun 2, 2009 8:26:00 AM
I'd also say that this comes from somewhere in Quebec, Canada, and is probably in Montreal. Most of the awesome, little shops there don't have websites so someone would have to search for the fabric on foot.
It would be better if the manufacturer could be found... but since the fabric is on sale (vente = sale), it might be discontinued, making that search harder, too.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jun 3, 2009 12:53:00 AM
I would make a stunt dress for one of my favourite nightclubs, MEAT:
http://www.meatsf.com/
But that's just me. :)
~Sarah
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jun 4, 2009 12:47:00 AM
Aha! Lainevierge is close! It's from Montreal, just north of Plaza St-Hubert -- on St-Hubert, just north of Jean-Talon, on the east side. (I forget the name but it's the first fabric store on the right north of Jean-Talon.)
If you reeeeeeeeeeeeally want it, you can Paypal me the cost and the shipping! (I'd totally gift it but I'm unemployed and broke at the mo.)
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Becky
DATE:Jun 6, 2009 9:00:00 PM
Oh Julie, next time you are by the shop could you check the name of the manufacturer for us? Pretty please?
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Eirlys
DATE:Jun 9, 2009 9:32:00 AM
Maybe the producers of America's Got Talent (and other such TV delights) should make little outfits out of this to present to their contestants? Meeooww!!!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jun 9, 2009 10:29:00 PM
I will most certainly report back on the manufacturer!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: fekq
DATE:Jun 11, 2009 5:35:00 AM
A dress made of real meat: http://tr.im/o8xB
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Hannatu
DATE:Jun 13, 2009 3:35:00 AM
I'm guessing Quebec because the signs are in French, but the prices are in dollars. Where else uses French and dollars (Canadian)?
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jun 16, 2009 11:17:00 AM
You've probably already heard about spoonflower.com---the site lets you upload a visual design and custom print small lots of fabric---you can also share your designs there as well. So far only lightweight cotton, but the possibilities are endless...
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jun 25, 2009 12:28:00 AM
I need that fabric, I have a joke gift to make for someone. :) Any idea where to find?
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Aug 22, 2009 10:37:00 PM
I saw this today while shopping on St-Hubert. The store is Saratex-Sam's Fabrics. There's two signs on two storefronts but it's all one store inside. It didn't have a pricetag on it but it was in the doorway of the clearance cubby, and there's three bolts of it ;-)
514-278-9761, and they speak English.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Very Vintage
DATE:Sep 9, 2009 2:39:00 AM
Does anyone still have the fabric?
It would be great! Let me know I would definitely be willing to purchase it! :)
Sam
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: julia
DATE:Nov 2, 2009 1:28:00 PM
beef curtains.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Kerin
DATE:Apr 3, 2010 9:16:00 PM
This is sold in the huge fabric store on the corner of Jean Talon and St. Hubert in Montreal. I saw this on your post and I knew exactly where to go! I bought over 4 yards, so I may have some leftovers when I finish my project.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Kerin
DATE:Apr 3, 2010 9:19:00 PM
This is a really thick cotton. I just bought it at the textiles store on the corner of St Hubert and Jean Talon here in Montreal. I bought 2 meters to make a bbq dress and I'll probably have leftover fabric. Should I put it up on ebay?
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AUTHOR: Erin
TITLE: Matchmaking: Fabric and Pattern
DATE: 10:44 AM
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BODY:
Somebody needs to take this fabric (from Pins-n-Needles' Sewing Emporium):

Here it is at a different scale:

And make this dress (from MOMSPatterns.com) with it.

Volunteers?
Wouldn't it look adorable with a red patent belt and flats? I love narrow dresses in linen-look fabrics. They're so elegant and summery. And I (as you know) am SO TIRED of winter. And inelegance, come to think of it.
To make it easier for you to fulfill my request, Jen at MOMSPatterns is having a sale -- you save 20% off your order from RIGHT NOW until midnight EST Sunday, March 29, 2009. There are new patterns in the SALE section and she's listed tons and tons during the month of March ...Labels: ebay, fabric, novelty_prints, sales, Vogue_4503
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Marjie
DATE:Mar 26, 2009 11:16:00 AM
What, no story about Red wondering how the one legged chair holds up white dress? She must be a ghost.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: fabricgirl
DATE:Mar 26, 2009 11:40:00 AM
I would have been happy to make just that dress from just that fabric if it hadn't been snapped up already! gahhhh!
I love just thinking about summer clothes - since it will be awhile before I can actually wear them.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Lisa
DATE:Mar 26, 2009 12:02:00 PM
That fabric reminds me of the Mr Mort logo of the butler and his tray. LOVE it! But I'm a sucker for red.......
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Birgit
DATE:Mar 26, 2009 12:31:00 PM
Oh great - after seeing the fabric, I am stuck with "Putting on the Ritz" playing over and over in my head.
It is very cute though...
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Jenny
DATE:Mar 26, 2009 12:53:00 PM
Love the pattern! Now if I could just get this baby out of my belly so I have a waistline again...
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: meherio68
DATE:Mar 26, 2009 2:26:00 PM
I'm sorely tempted - but I already have such an intimidating stash of to-be-done patterns and fabrics... I will definitely get a dressaday.com tee-shirt though - and definitely turn it into a dress! But before that, I wanted to let you know that I really enjoy reading your blog and to let you know I have picked it for an "honest scrap award". You can find the details on my own blog: http://lebarduvent.blogspot.com/2009/03/honest-scrap-awards.html
PS: this is neither spam nor phishing...
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: gwensews
DATE:Mar 26, 2009 2:39:00 PM
Wonderful fabric! It wants to go dancing!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: ZombieLace
DATE:Mar 26, 2009 3:41:00 PM
Yay, what an adorable combo! I love unexpected combos like a sophisticated dress with somewhat wacky patterned fabric. Hope someone takes you up on this, unfortunately my sewing skills would never do it justice.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Myra
DATE:Mar 26, 2009 5:26:00 PM
Too cute of a fabric!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Mar 26, 2009 9:39:00 PM
Wonderful fabric and wonderful dress, but a narrow dress in linen fabric, to me, spells wrinkles in the lap area.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Pretty Little Pictures
DATE:Mar 27, 2009 1:41:00 AM
We are just getting into winter now, but i do think winter can have some elegance about it. But not as much as spring and summer.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Beth
DATE:Mar 27, 2009 8:37:00 AM
I can do the graphics sometime this week, set up to Spoonflower specs, and email them to you. How tall would you like the individual figures to be?
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Mar 27, 2009 8:58:00 AM
I would but the dress pattern it too small.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Erin
DATE:Mar 27, 2009 9:05:00 AM
Wow, Beth, what a fantastic offer! If you want to do that, I'll host the files for download for everyone ...
I dunno about size, though. Three-quarters of an inch?
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Mar 27, 2009 12:46:00 PM
That fabric makes me think of Lord Peter Whimsey, which is a definite plus. :)
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Sarah
DATE:Mar 27, 2009 3:42:00 PM
I find it funny that for you, Winter is an "inelegance" - I've lived in Chicago for a year and I know EXACTLY what you mean, what with not being able to leave the house without looking like a puff-ball and still be freezing (only to remove the layers of puff and be covered in feathers from your jacket!).
Here in Australia we look forward to winter, when people start to actually wear clothes, and everyone looks so smart and polished.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Mar 27, 2009 9:19:00 PM
Sarah: Similar in Vegas. In winter, I look forward to not being a disgusting sweatball.
-Sandra
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Greta
DATE:Mar 28, 2009 8:38:00 PM
*sigh!* I want! But college textbooks come first... I am tired of being practical!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Solo
DATE:Mar 30, 2009 3:28:00 AM
Great fabric and a pretty dress.;D
Nice post.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: mysterycreature
DATE:Mar 30, 2009 12:23:00 PM
What a lovely fabric - it would work great on that wiggle dress.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: alba-ny
DATE:Aug 23, 2009 8:00:00 PM
Am I really the only person to think "It's Raining Men" when looking at that fabric???
I'd love to make a dress from that!
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--------
AUTHOR: Erin
TITLE: Eh ... What's Up, Doc?
DATE: 1:46 PM
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BODY:

Those orange things on the dress above? They are CARROTS. Don't believe me? (Or the fantastic Angela, who sent the link?) Check it out:

It's from Etsy seller honeybeevintage, and it's TINY (and $65). But nutritious! (It reminds me of this, a little.)
Two quick sale notices:
-- Sandritocat is having a "Pre-Spring Cleaning Sale (but it's really a "I've got too many boxes of unlisted patterns sale")" and is offering 20% off plus the usual multiple purchase discounts on shipping, plus free shipping if you purchase three patterns.
-- Jen at MOMSPatterns (when she's not taunting me about how much warmer it is in Jacksonville, FL than Chicago, IL) is also having a sale, from now until the end of the month. Kindly use coupon code 'febsale' until Midnight EST Saturday, February 28, 2009 and save 20% off of any order. Jen am listing some DIVINE vintage Vogue patterns, loads of Viva-Las-Vegas-worthy designs, more New Old Stock children's patterns, and she has a dwindling Sale Area where patterns have been marked down to just $1.50. Note: If those aren't gone by the end of the month, Jen's donating them to charity ...
-- Oh, and check back in Friday (if not before) where I'll be announcing a SLIP GIVEAWAY from Vintage Hem. You know how much I love slips ...Labels: 1970s, Duro, novelty_prints, vegetables
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Lisa
DATE:Feb 24, 2009 3:15:00 PM
Erin, you'll be happy to hear that Jen is coming to see me next month, in Indianapolis. And asked if flip flops are appropriate footwear here, in the first week of March. I should've told her yes......
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: sewbettie
DATE:Feb 24, 2009 3:26:00 PM
love love love the yummy carrots.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Desiree
DATE:Feb 24, 2009 4:07:00 PM
Who WOULDN'T want a carroty dress? Not me! It's good for your eyes!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: neighbourhood.gal
DATE:Feb 24, 2009 4:11:00 PM
Too funny! Including your links to your previous posts. I laughed so hard and silently, my daughter thought I was sobbing.
Thank you!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: sewducky
DATE:Feb 24, 2009 4:31:00 PM
ROFL I love it and if I was 50lbs lighter and 10 years younger I'd be all over it. It's ORANGE! *swoon*
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Feb 24, 2009 5:30:00 PM
Slips! I need Slips. I have my mother's half slip form the 50s and my full slip form my army days that I have worn to shreds. I love slips!
Are flip flops ever appropriate foot wear outside of the beach and public showers?
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Cel Petro
DATE:Feb 24, 2009 6:15:00 PM
My mom always said, "wear your vegetables!"
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Robin
DATE:Feb 24, 2009 9:57:00 PM
What a Fabulous dress. Wowza
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Pinup Dresses
DATE:Feb 24, 2009 11:05:00 PM
Just bought a pair of flip flops. They have polka dots.. and a bow. How could I say no? Then again, I'm in FL too!!
I like the vegetables. I have a fruit sundress that you should see .. up for sale this week. It's watermelon-y sweet.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Vestidadelmar
DATE:Feb 25, 2009 3:21:00 AM
Hi,
I think it was in your blog but I can't not find the day. You were asking for help to identify a Vogue pattern wedding dress. Was it you? If it was in your blog then, the Vogue Dress is Bellville Sassoon V2906, Vogue Bridal Original. You can find it in the June/July edition of Vogue patterns Magazine.
hugs
Ely
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Feb 25, 2009 8:01:00 AM
As a vintage slip seller, I say check Ebay. They're going low these days. :(
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Feb 25, 2009 12:08:00 PM
Am I the only one who can't shop Mom's Patterns because the search function won't show any page past the first one? I mean, I'll click on a catagory, say 1950's, and it brings up multiple pages, but will only show me the first one. Is it me?
-Sandra
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Feb 25, 2009 12:16:00 PM
I love the carrot dress, but especially the salad dress under the link. and now we ALL know Chris March from Project Runway!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Feb 25, 2009 12:39:00 PM
Anonymous Sandra - it happens to me too! Not always but very freguently. Very frustrating. I assumed it was my computer.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Diane
DATE:Feb 25, 2009 2:45:00 PM
this is such a cute dress!!! very figure flattering.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Katie
DATE:Feb 25, 2009 5:04:00 PM
Very cute!
I found this http://favoritefabrics.homestead.com/zoom_tt_keyboard.html keyboard fabric at a local quilting shop yesterday. Now I'm trying to figure out what to make with it!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: sewducky
DATE:Feb 25, 2009 5:56:00 PM
Anonymous Ebay seller, I can't get behind used clothes in general, and intimate apparel not at all. Now, show me a pattern, and I am all over it.
It's my own hangup, but I got patterns a long time ago when they were out and before they became outerwear.
I know, I'm weird.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Jen ~ MOMSPatterns
DATE:Feb 25, 2009 7:28:00 PM
HI everyone! EVERY now and then someone will email me to let me know they're having problems with the search; and NORMALLY, if you clear your cache or cookies out, that solves the problem right away! I think because it's a pretty image laden place, something goes whacky when you browse a lot. And with 2000 patterns on the site .. that's a lot of schtuff to look at! :)
I am so sorry to hear you've had a problem! I hope this lil' tip helps you with any future shopping treks :D
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Lavon
DATE:Feb 25, 2009 9:15:00 PM
I love the look of this!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Feb 25, 2009 9:54:00 PM
I think the orange things look more like squash blossoms than carrots. They all curl at the tips, and carrots usually don't.
Carol in Denver
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: kris
DATE:Feb 25, 2009 11:52:00 PM
This is totally unrelated--although at least sartorial in nature--but where did you get the dress you wore for the TED talk you gave a while back? I LOVED it! (Great talk, too, by the way!)
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Bridget B.
DATE:Feb 26, 2009 1:23:00 AM
I was SO excited to see that you had a tag for vegetables . . . and so sad to see that this dress was the only one so far that had qualified . . . I know that vegetables on dresses are limited, but consider that we do need several servings of veggies a day! What better way to get them than through our daily serving of dresses? And this one is so cute! (note to self: must hunt for more veggie dresses)
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Bridget B.
DATE:Feb 26, 2009 1:28:00 AM
I take it all back - I just did a google search for vegetable dresses, and who should top the list? Dress a Day, of course! How could I have missed the salad days dress? The giant artichoke dress? You rock my world.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Feb 26, 2009 10:04:00 AM
There was the rutabaga dress-- i wonder where that post went.
Thanks for the tip Jen.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Mar 7, 2009 6:33:00 PM
Cute as a button, but SO short! eek!
Some of these cute vintage dresses make me wonder how the original wearers walked down a breezy street without showing their drawers to the world!
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--------
AUTHOR: Erin
TITLE: Mambo Dress! Bongos!
DATE: 6:00 AM
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BODY:
Lisa sent me the link to this eBay auction, ending Saturday. Go ahead and click through, you really owe it to yourself to look at this dress.

It's listed by Fast Eddie's Retro Rags (Their motto: Vintage for Your Inner Delinquent) and, at time of this writing, was at a Buy It Now price of $175 ... Bust 38.
Forget bicycles and rulers, I am now feeling a distinct lack of bongo-themed clothing in my life. I am also saddened to realize that my inner delinquent is pretty much my outer delinquent, except my inner delinquent 1) remembers to PUT ON the red lipstick she bought and 2) never gets it on her teeth.Labels: bongos, ebay, novelty_prints
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Myra
DATE:Jan 9, 2009 9:03:00 AM
That is too cool. Erin, you should look for a print like that and make something sleeveless to wear with a shrug. What a fun dress, but $175???
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: MadeByAmanda
DATE:Jan 9, 2009 9:10:00 AM
What a cute neckline! I love it.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Simone
DATE:Jan 9, 2009 9:26:00 AM
totally inspired to paw through my vintage fabric and pattern stash and sew...thank you!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: caseykoester
DATE:Jan 9, 2009 9:33:00 AM
I like the cut and style, but I'd need a special occasion to justify wearing the mambo theme to myself. Although, I am conjuring up images of big bead bracelets and a scarf tied around my head if I did wear it. ;) I think it's one of those dresses that has a mind of its own and would impose its will on the wearer. :)
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Little Hunting Creek
DATE:Jan 9, 2009 10:23:00 AM
...and she puts on the dress and realizes that she is compelled to dance the Mambo Italiano over and over and over again (like that girl in The Red Shoes). This is the Stephen King version of the Mambo Dress.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Elrond Hubbard
DATE:Jan 9, 2009 10:46:00 AM
. . . or listen to Talking Heads' "Slippery People" on the Stop Making Sense album, with its bongo into.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jan 9, 2009 12:45:00 PM
Love the dress - the style and proportion are very nice; hate that chokey little collar, but it's cute. Looks like something Annette wore in a Frankie Avalon movie, or maybe it was some blond girl with a stubby pony tail dancing with Pat Boone at the hop.
-Evalyn
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Cookie
DATE:Jan 9, 2009 12:54:00 PM
Although I seem to be wearing a big, dark brown corduroy blazer over everything this winter (which I originally intended to dye navy), it is not a color I would normally seek out. I'd doesn't do anything for my coloring, or my spirits. I do think a chestnutty brown looks spectacular as an accent with turquoise, though. (This has inspired me to dye that stupid blazer this weekend, because I am wearing it with alarming frequency. It's really cozy!)
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Julie The Vintage Goddess
DATE:Jan 9, 2009 1:06:00 PM
Too Cool!!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Alyssa
DATE:Jan 9, 2009 1:29:00 PM
What a fantastic dress. It makes me sad to know that I have no access to fabric up here in Quebec until I return home in four months : (
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: real-vintage.com
DATE:Jan 9, 2009 1:52:00 PM
I LOOOVE that dress!!!
Ang
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Lavon
DATE:Jan 9, 2009 1:54:00 PM
I love the look of this print. I would change the neckline.
If I cannot find fabric like this then maybe if I can come up with a design I can get spoonflower.com to create the fabric for me.
That's something for me to work on.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Jen ~ MOMSPatterns
DATE:Jan 9, 2009 2:25:00 PM
ONLY $175 is a steal for a fabulous vintage print like that; talk about your One of A Kind dresses for Viva Las Vegas?! I LOVE it.. wowsers, novelty dresses in a good, wearable size like this on auction sites or vintage stores in MY area seem to skyrocket to $200-$300 when they're as unique as that one.. Pretty darn cool!
I love the color combination; I seem to ALWAYS be drawn towards a chocolate brown & black lately. Someone, tell me it's not my old age??? hahaha!
Kim, while I'm in a loving mood, I LOVE your store slogan! And you've got some lovely things.. good luck to you with that dress!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Evis
DATE:Jan 9, 2009 3:24:00 PM
Erin, you may have seen these, maybe not:
Court shoes with robot print and a robot buckle:
http://www.schuhstore.co.uk/item_main_frameset.asp?s_ref=110566&fav_size=0&fav_colour=0&C2_Ref=0&C3_Ref=0&junior=0&dep=&ref=&s_group=0
If the link doesn't work, go to the main page and look for Irregular Choice among the brands.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Cel Petro
DATE:Jan 9, 2009 4:01:00 PM
I think Doris Day just walked into the room. Geesh, it's fantastic.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Pinup Dresses
DATE:Jan 9, 2009 7:04:00 PM
Fast Eddies always has the best stuff! :) Love it!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: 50sgal
DATE:Jan 9, 2009 7:17:00 PM
I Adore this fabric. I can tell you, here in 1955, if I could get my hands on that fabric (in excess of this dress of course) you can bet I would use it on the curtains behind the bar and throw pillows in the 'rumpus room'. A bit of Beat in the Burbs, you might say.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Fast Eddie's Retro Rags
DATE:Jan 9, 2009 7:44:00 PM
Aww, thanks you guys! Lisa (AKA Vintage Fashion Library/Miss Helene's) told me to come and peep Erin's blog today and lo and behold, little ol' me gets a shout-out? Swell! Thank you so much, Erin!
The print is seriously beyond cool, and the pink/brown combo is never wrong. (What *is* beyond cool, you ask? I don't know, exactly.)
~Kim~
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Jen ~ MOMSPatterns
DATE:Jan 10, 2009 8:00:00 AM
Ooooh how'd I miss THAT?! PINK and brown?! *drools*
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Run's House
DATE:Jan 11, 2009 8:01:00 AM
Nice... Vintage rocks!!!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Musie
DATE:Jan 12, 2009 1:10:00 AM
Must... resist... hypnotic charms of bongo dress...
how amazing! And covetable.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Faith
DATE:Jan 13, 2009 7:33:00 AM
wow so oldy worldy such a great style though brown is not really my favourite colour but this is nice. Did you manage to sell it?
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Coffee with Cathy
DATE:Jan 13, 2009 8:25:00 AM
Another great find. Thanks so much for sharing! And when you figure out how to wear lipstick without getting it on teeth, please let me know -- my daughters are constantly looking at me and pointing to their mouths in desperate attempts to clean me up.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Pink of Perfection
DATE:Jan 13, 2009 1:10:00 PM
holy heaven, yes! but what's with the crazy price? what happened to the days of $20 vintage dress finds?
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Eirlys
DATE:Jan 14, 2009 3:27:00 AM
Never thought I'd live to say this but "Look at the bongos on that!!!".
[Little bit of role reversal good for one.]
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: L
DATE:Jan 14, 2009 9:29:00 AM
i'm concerned... where are you?
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jan 14, 2009 3:43:00 PM
Yes, What L said. We are concerned...where are you?
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--------
AUTHOR: Erin
TITLE: But Can I Measure Up?
DATE: 12:59 PM
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BODY:
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 ...Labels: fabric, fabric_shopping, novelty_prints
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Holly
DATE:Jan 7, 2009 1:11:00 PM
Adorable dress for a little girl!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jan 7, 2009 1:19:00 PM
Who would want fabric that basically measures how big you are around?
Not for me.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Sara
DATE:Jan 7, 2009 1:20:00 PM
This is giving me images of Ms. Frizzle-- pencil buttons and compass shoes! Or protractor shoes and pencil earrings?
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Laura
DATE:Jan 7, 2009 1:20:00 PM
I'm 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.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Regenia
DATE:Jan 7, 2009 1:22:00 PM
Is it to scale? It'd make a perfect knitting or sewing tote if it is.... Comes with built in measuring tape!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: MommytoAva
DATE:Jan 7, 2009 1:26:00 PM
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!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Nicole
DATE:Jan 7, 2009 1:37:00 PM
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. ;)
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Marjie
DATE:Jan 7, 2009 2:20:00 PM
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!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Helen
DATE:Jan 7, 2009 2:23:00 PM
A tote bag or a child's apron and that's it. No clothing with measuring tapes, hippos, or elephant prints.
-Helen
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: j.b.
DATE:Jan 7, 2009 2:27:00 PM
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.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Tara
DATE:Jan 7, 2009 2:35:00 PM
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.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Kathryn
DATE:Jan 7, 2009 2:37:00 PM
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...
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Simone
DATE:Jan 7, 2009 2:51:00 PM
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...
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: moggy
DATE:Jan 7, 2009 3:06:00 PM
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.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: julia
DATE:Jan 7, 2009 3:33:00 PM
How about boxers for your favorite carpenter. That way you could see if their "9 inches" really measures up!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: bani
DATE:Jan 7, 2009 3:34:00 PM
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...
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: diatryma
DATE:Jan 7, 2009 3:39:00 PM
Important questions: inches or centimeters? And are they accurate?
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: caseykoester
DATE:Jan 7, 2009 3:53:00 PM
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!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jan 7, 2009 3:59:00 PM
Not buy fabric? Isn't that bad for the economy?
Ok, so any reason, however feeble...
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Myra
DATE:Jan 7, 2009 4:09:00 PM
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.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Meretricious Consideration
DATE:Jan 7, 2009 4:31:00 PM
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
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: marysews
DATE:Jan 7, 2009 5:34:00 PM
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 ...
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: ZipZapKap
DATE:Jan 7, 2009 5:42:00 PM
*hand raised*
Already made it. And already broke it.
Pitiful.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Allison
DATE:Jan 7, 2009 5:52:00 PM
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!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jan 7, 2009 6:05:00 PM
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)
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Janel
DATE:Jan 7, 2009 6:17:00 PM
Curtains for a 1st grade classroom or run screaming in the opposite direction. I'm flexible. ;) lol
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: belphebe
DATE:Jan 7, 2009 6:27:00 PM
Ooh, Science Fiction buttons? I'd love them! A few years ago I made a "purse cover" from "little green men" Alien fabric; SF buttons would have been perfect for it. (Purse cover: instead of taking everything out of my purse every time I changed outfits, I made "slipcovers" for one very simple purse. I could have a purse that matched my dress or that went with a particular theme, like an alien purse for a Science-Fiction convention.)
If I saw that ruler fabric in the store, I'd buy some. I think I would do as some people suggested and run the rulers vertical instead of horizontal. Or perhaps cut it on the bias.
Someone said no hippo, elephant, ruler, or other such prints on a large person. I should follow that rule as well, but I didn't. I bought a wonderful Orca whale print fabric and made a tank top and skirts-over-shorts set to wear to the beach. I also wore that outfit on my recent visit to SeaWorld in San Diego. Unfortunately, it was a little cold on the day that we went to SeaWorld so I was covered up and most people didn't get to see the pattern.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jan 7, 2009 6:27:00 PM
No is all I can say.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Sarah
DATE:Jan 7, 2009 6:36:00 PM
I think if you did chevrons in opposite directions, bodice and skirt, as Moggy described, you could create a wonderful hourglass effect...
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: peanut
DATE:Jan 7, 2009 6:59:00 PM
I think I'd make a special apron for sewing in - you know, with pockets for my scissors (reinforced lining in that one), a pencil and a little notebook or pattern instructions and a cute attached pin cushion. I'd just feel like I was getting stuff done wearing an apron made of this fabric.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Shaina
DATE:Jan 7, 2009 7:22:00 PM
Okay, apparently I'm the odd woman out here because I ADORE that fabric. I would make a charming vintage-y sort of fitted blouse: short sleeves with the barest hint of puff, Peter Pan collar, subtle piping, maybe even a sort of yoke like a western shirt, and throw on a little chest pocket and button-tabbed sleeves if I were feeling up to it. Wear it with a great pencil skirt, some cute flats and a cardigan. Okay, this is going from "idea" to "elaborate fantasy in which I am also slightly taller" far quicker than I had intended.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Jonquil
DATE:Jan 7, 2009 7:22:00 PM
Bias trim. Then use it along the pockets in something in gray linen.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Nora
DATE:Jan 7, 2009 7:49:00 PM
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Nora
DATE:Jan 7, 2009 7:50:00 PM
Oooooh, I love it. Love it! Why not clothes? I think it would make a fun A-line skirt with the pieces cut on the bias to make a "V" pattern.
Also, what's up, gals, with the not wanting to be measured? It's just numbers (plus I doubt any line goes all the way around). I'm reminded a little of the "fat rant" that made a splash on YouTube awhile ago:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUTJQIBI1oA
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: .DQ
DATE:Jan 7, 2009 8:14:00 PM
hmm, if i had this fabric i'd probably make a cute jacket.
that was a good resolution to make..if only i was brave enough to do the same!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: dwj
DATE:Jan 7, 2009 8:22:00 PM
I think I would make a cute tote out of that fabric. And I just said to myself I can't buy anymore fabric until I use up everything I have. So much money in that trunk of mine...
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: annie
DATE:Jan 7, 2009 8:23:00 PM
I'm in need of a sewing machine cover and I can't think of a better fabric
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jan 7, 2009 8:37:00 PM
sheepishly holding hand up ....and if I had that fabric I would mail it to you...so I don't have to on fire
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: DashingFabrics
DATE:Jan 7, 2009 8:39:00 PM
it's ok to buy fabric. Think of it as a retirement plan. When you are too old to get out to buy fabric and/or too nearsighted to buy it online, you'll have plenty to work with.
wow. that is really lame, but I've been using it anyway......
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: jen
DATE:Jan 7, 2009 8:49:00 PM
tote or a skirt! pillow?
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: 50sgal
DATE:Jan 7, 2009 9:38:00 PM
i just discovered your blog. As I am currently living in the year 1955, I would most likely make an adorable apron to use while sewing or darning. It would also make a great lining for a fitted coat and I would not mind cuffs and a collar on fitted full skirt. We are still wearing the NEW LOOK length here in the middle of the 50's.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: sewducky
DATE:Jan 7, 2009 10:52:00 PM
LOL I don't have much of a stash and my fabric sucks here but even still, no. This is not for me. It just doesn't fit into my whole "librian chic with the retro vibes and stripper shoes" persona.
'Sides, it is not ugly enough.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Piroska
DATE:Jan 7, 2009 10:58:00 PM
Gorgeous fabric. BTW, you probably know already, but Claire McCardell's "What Shall I Wear" is being reprinted in March this year and will be $24.95 for a hardback copy.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Margherita.
DATE:Jan 7, 2009 11:00:00 PM
I'd probably do a pin cushion or a tiny pillow.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Margherita.
DATE:Jan 7, 2009 11:00:00 PM
I'd probably do a pin cushion or a tiny pillow.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: libby
DATE:Jan 8, 2009 12:20:00 AM
best comments ever...Boxers is by far the best idea. That said, this fabric is all about you Erin, and no, no resolutions here. I spent $300 on fabric on January 1st at the Gorgeousfabrics.com 25% off sale. But it should last me all year.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jan 8, 2009 2:24:00 AM
I think it would make a good set of pajamas or a nightgown. I would prefer to sew in something like that. If only the world would go away
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: mickey
DATE:Jan 8, 2009 4:22:00 AM
I love it--- it's just what I was looking for last year when I wanted to make a skirt for my sewing table (a throw-away from a fast food restaurant). Now that I have a new table however, I see pajama pants, boxers, tote bag, appliance covers, quilting options, aprons, pin cushions, notion caddies, shoebags... and even a blouse or skirt.
New year resolution? It's never to make resolutions!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Purl Buttons
DATE:Jan 8, 2009 4:57:00 AM
pillow, bias trim, tote, interlining (sorry, I really think it is unattractive)
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jan 8, 2009 6:32:00 AM
Years ago there was a comedian who said "I would never where "Guess" brand jeans because I would be afraid that the people behind me at the mall would say "oh I don't know 250? 275?"...... for me this pattern would have the same result...however if you turned it length ways maybe you would seem taller.....just a thought.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Latter-Day Flapper
DATE:Jan 8, 2009 8:14:00 AM
Thought you might be amused to see that Spoonflower was mentioned in the New York Times today.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Nathalie
DATE:Jan 8, 2009 8:37:00 AM
Love it and would happily make a dress out of it. What's more, the rulers seem to stop and start irregularly (as opposed to going from nought to 2yds) so you'd be hard pushed to guess anyone's size I reckon. I really like the ideas of chevrons, but a shirtdress with plain horizontal stripes would also work a treat... I'm really envious now -- I've had my eye on that fabric and this only makes it worse! But, must cut down on fabric this year, and am holding out for some 50s reissue Liberty fabric in the sales as soon as I can get myself into town...
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Nature
DATE:Jan 8, 2009 9:54:00 AM
I would love to make a denim dress with this colorful fabric as a vest and tie-backs for my three year old. The denim would have to be the same soft blue as the measuring tapes in the fabric.
It would be perfect since she always insists "But I'm biiig!". She would have the measurements to prove it right on the spot.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: annet
DATE:Jan 8, 2009 11:26:00 AM
i'd make this into a pleated skirt, might ook nice... and keep the rest of the outfit VERY sober of course. this is hard to pull off as an all-over look.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: LibrariAnon
DATE:Jan 8, 2009 11:27:00 AM
I like it--the colors are great.
I'd say a dress or shirt using the rulers vertically would be fine. A big poofy skirt would be excellent, maybe with a solid-color bodice and ruler pattern collar. And the buttons would be big, plastic, and either the orange or the green.
Most likely, I'd buy it and it would end up on the shelf with all of my other crazy prints that I love but have no idea what to do with, such as the red with Chinese takeout boxes and the white with the "Mice-a-roni" print.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Kristen
DATE:Jan 8, 2009 11:29:00 AM
i go with cassandra - a full skirt! then I could tone it down a little with a plain cardi set. I love it though!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: fabricgirl
DATE:Jan 8, 2009 11:54:00 AM
I am in the group that loves this fabric. The idea of chevron stripes, or running the pattern vertical and into a pleated skirt it perfect.
As for buying more fabric - just having the goal of restraint is lofty.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: The Celebrated Author
DATE:Jan 8, 2009 12:07:00 PM
Oh my God I MUST HAVE! I'm going through a very punny stage, anyway, so it's perfect. The only thing is I'd want them all vertical... you know... but that is some of the most ADORABLE fabric I have EVER seen in my life EVER EVER!!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: The Littlest Hillbilly:
DATE:Jan 8, 2009 12:34:00 PM
There are so many answers! A smock for a preschooler. A fun skirt for a little girl. A great tote bag. A skirt for me. Wall art. A sewing machine cover. I could go on, but I will stop now.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Mary
DATE:Jan 8, 2009 12:45:00 PM
Hello, I am new to your blog, but I really like it. I found it from your Dictionary Evangelist blog, which I found from listening to your talk at TED - which was great.
Anyway, I think that your fabric would make a good pencil skirt if it was vertical tapes, but the horizontal might lend itself to tote bags, as others have said.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Sam
DATE:Jan 8, 2009 1:08:00 PM
This year, my one and only resolution is "don't buy any more fabric". Of course, I look back to last year's new year's blog entry and see, "don't buy any more fabric". See how well that one did? I wish you the best of luck!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Justine
DATE:Jan 8, 2009 2:09:00 PM
I'd use this fabric with some acrylic medium and make the cover of a hand bound journal with it.
If made to make clothing out of it, I'd opt for "burn it".
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jan 8, 2009 2:19:00 PM
Craft bag lining.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Jen ~ MOMSPatterns
DATE:Jan 8, 2009 3:50:00 PM
I'd also be leary of wearing a fabric that measured me around.. lol BUT Maybe it would look alright as a dress if you used it vertically instead of horizontally.
I also like the idea of curtains for a class room! Math teacher vibe for sure!
One thing's for sure. I would never keep it on my desk else I'd be trying to grab at it thinking it was one of my *many times lost* tape measures. hahaha!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Sara
DATE:Jan 8, 2009 5:16:00 PM
I think an apron or half-apron would be a very sweet use of it. I can't tell the scale (actual inches? Or FAKE inches?) but it looks pretty busy for a dress.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Cookie
DATE:Jan 8, 2009 5:37:00 PM
<< for lining a denim suit jacket (that I would take on and off alot!) >>
For practical purposes, I love this idea best! I also like the idea of the pleated skirt, with the pattern running up and down....lots of verticals, and the extra ones would expose themselves as you moved!
I don't consider this print too busy, because the colors are muted and the repeat pattern is basically stripes. I wouldn't be afraid of a slim, lightweight suit made up in this. In fact, I would probably wear it to death, as a "Lipstick Librarian" look.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Lisa
DATE:Jan 8, 2009 6:01:00 PM
Hmmm....this fabric screams "grade school" to me so I would make book covers or pencil cases out of it.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Cindy
DATE:Jan 8, 2009 7:56:00 PM
I like your shirtdress idea! But..I am thinking of a fun, simple a-line skirt with a classic white, or yellow, t-shirt and white converse/keds. Hmmm...sounds good...I might order some! As long as it doesn't actually measure my hips!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Cel Petro
DATE:Jan 8, 2009 8:01:00 PM
quilt for a carpenter
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: L
DATE:Jan 8, 2009 8:51:00 PM
crafting apron.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jan 8, 2009 9:08:00 PM
OT, but hopefully you've already pre-ordered the reprint of Claire McCardell's book? I saw it on fashonista.com and thought of you. It comes out on March 5th.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Pinup Dresses
DATE:Jan 8, 2009 9:28:00 PM
I'd wear it in a shirtwaist dress.. or lining as someone mentioned :) Love it!
It'd make a fun belt too. For novelty's sake.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jan 8, 2009 9:51:00 PM
Love this fabric! I think it would be perfect for curtains, wall art, a bulletin board cover or sewing machine cover for my studio. Also love the apron idea. Don't think DH would go for the boxer idea, but DD says it would make a great belt. She clearly has good taste. ;)
I'm going to have to get some!!!
Resolutions????? No way.
Andrea
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: slythwolf
DATE:Jan 9, 2009 12:22:00 AM
I would make a knitting/sewing bag out of this, especially if it's to scale because that would be invaluable to have around for those days when I forget my measuring tape...
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: SweetPeaknits
DATE:Jan 9, 2009 6:01:00 AM
I would use it to make a slip for my dress mannequin. I think it would look quite querky.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jan 9, 2009 4:08:00 PM
Think I'd make an A-line skirt in navy cotton and use this on the inverted pleats so you'd get a flash of it without it being overkill! Its cheerful anyway.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: sewducky
DATE:Jan 9, 2009 6:24:00 PM
annet, exactly. For me I tone down most things, and only because I made a wild dress recently, but the remaining will soon be a princess sleeved blouse for jeans.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jan 10, 2009 9:17:00 PM
I actually have the same resolution... how embarressing for me...
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jan 11, 2009 2:35:00 PM
I'd wear it in dress form, but with everything else in black-- shoes, tights, cardigan, purse-- maybe even a black scarf or hat.
I never seem to tire of contrasting a crazy print or color against all-black.
It would be a fun summer playdress, too.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jan 11, 2009 9:36:00 PM
Whatever I made from this fabric, it could not be clothing for myself. My resolution for New Year 2004 was to never again buy or wear clothing with horizontal stripes. This may be the only resolution I've ever kept in my life.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jan 12, 2009 4:28:00 PM
I just bought this same fabric for my 19yo daughter..at her insistence, I am making a ruffled mini out of it! Go figure!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Jean
DATE:Jan 13, 2009 12:13:00 AM
You know, it would make a cute dress if you could cut it so it was going up and down instead of around! Then find some great fabric that had scissors or thread/pins on it and you've got it made!
LoL
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: wolfwhistle
DATE:Jan 14, 2009 5:22:00 AM
I think it's lovely and I would definitely wear it! One of the other comments mentioned it might be nicer to run vertically instead of horizontally and I agree!
But I think it's a great material. Perfect for a shirtdress - or maybe one of your Duros?
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Lynda
DATE:Jan 15, 2009 11:53:00 PM
I like it I think it's quite funky.Fun arpon.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: indigotangerine
DATE:Jan 19, 2009 3:04:00 PM
oooh, such adorable fabric, I think a full skirted, elbow sleeve shirtdress would be divine, as would a pair of pumps covered in it. (though it would probably be wise to not wear them together)
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: furrybees
DATE:Jan 19, 2009 8:41:00 PM
I think a very tight pair kneelength shorts (that emphasis bottie width and thigh girth). Pair them with some black socks that come half way up your calf and that should complete the humiliation, I mean look.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jan 19, 2009 10:26:00 PM
A School Bag! Or mayybe a pencil case!
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--------
AUTHOR: Erin
TITLE: New Fabric! (Well, New To Me)
DATE: 6:36 AM
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BODY:
(It's actually vintage, but it's new to me!)
I swear, folks named Rita are really good luck for me lately. Rita C. emailed me out of the blue and said "Not positive you would be interested in this bicycle fabric ..." Bicycle fabric! I don't think I finished the sentence before I clicked the link. I can't remember the last time I browsed fabric on eBay, so there's no way I would have seen this fabric without Rita's kind offices.
It was Buy It Now, too! Check it out:


It was from seller MarilynSue, although she doesn't have too much other fabric listed right now.
I love that this was marketed as a time-saver -- don't wait for your fabric to be cut, just grab a "pak" and go! This is the fabric equivalent of bagged lettuce (which I love, btw)! I wonder if it was sold at stores that didn't otherwise have a fabric department, like the crappy thread they sell in the grocery store -- or used to, I haven't seen a notions section in a grocery store for ages.
What will this turn into? Well, it's 4 yards at 35 inches wide, so probably a narrow shirtdress of some kind. When I know, you'll know!Labels: ebay, fabric, fabric_shopping, novelty_prints, shirtdress
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jan 5, 2009 6:41:00 AM
Lucky, lucky ebaying! Well done!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Alyssa
DATE:Jan 5, 2009 7:14:00 AM
The Job Lot near me now has a pre-cut section of upholstery fabric. My boyfriend( who works there) got so excited and told me I had to come in because they had "Fabric, really cheap fabric!" Well I came in and needless to say we were both rather disappointed, because I can't really use upholstery fabric.
Well I could, but it would be very very hard.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jan 5, 2009 7:28:00 AM
I like the bike print, Erin. I bought some of that same print, different colorway (red) a couple years ago, for my daughter, who likes to ride a tandem bike with her sweetie.
Colleen
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Sal
DATE:Jan 5, 2009 8:03:00 AM
Eeee! Can't wait to see it. That print is utterly adorable.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: What-I-Found
DATE:Jan 5, 2009 9:02:00 AM
The fates have smiled on you...that is a great find!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Amanda
DATE:Jan 5, 2009 9:03:00 AM
I'm happy to report that my grocery store still has a notions section. Well, maybe not happy to report, since, as you noted, it's crap thread. They also have a random set of size 5 double-pointed knitting needles.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Rachel
DATE:Jan 5, 2009 9:18:00 AM
Oh my. That screams "full circle skirt" to me...with rick rack trim? I could see it done with a white, criss-cross wrap style, v-neck blouse...some chunky black/grey necklace/braclet/earring combo...maybe a black cardigan. Okay. So I'm a sucker for a full circle skirt...with matching belt and shoes, of course...lol...
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: the_lazymilliner
DATE:Jan 5, 2009 9:44:00 AM
Bicycle fabric for a little cycling fun? Cute!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: winifred
DATE:Jan 5, 2009 10:13:00 AM
That fabric is adorable. It reminds me of a cardigan sweater my friend Jina had in college that I absolutely coveted. No matter what you end up making with it, you should definitely ride a tandem bike while wearing it.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Defrost Indoors
DATE:Jan 5, 2009 10:34:00 AM
That is *very* you! I love it!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Birgit
DATE:Jan 5, 2009 12:09:00 PM
Love it! An auspicious start to the new year, no?
I do believe I have a much smaller piece of that print stashed away for a blouse - in red ;)
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jan 5, 2009 1:20:00 PM
Daisy, Daisy indeed - some of the bicycles are tandems! We have a grey thing going in my house at the moment and that is a particulalry nice shade. Just the thing to set off bright accessories. Great!
Don't suppose you had time for sewing during the holidays? Any stunt dresses for the festivities?
Cheers,
AJ
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: vespabelle
DATE:Jan 5, 2009 1:22:00 PM
Love the fabric.
I was reading a sewing blog the other day (name escapes me) and she was in Paris and went to several shops that sold fabric pre-cut in 2 or 3 meter lengths. (these stores had "coupon" in their name.)
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: elke
DATE:Jan 5, 2009 1:28:00 PM
Rita is a true friend (or possibly an enabler). In the past, one could find pre-cut fabrics in non-fabric stores, like Woolworth's, Zeller's, and also some larger places (sort of pre-Walmarts). I made a skirt when I was about 13 from one such piece. Thy had paper labels stapled on, and they hung on racks like the skirts they would be. Price was around C$2.99 for the skirt length, I think.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jan 5, 2009 2:30:00 PM
I'd buy pre-cut fabric, especially if it came in decent chunks. 3 yards, minimum!
Just last year I went cold turkey on remnant-bin browsing, and the addiction lurks just beneath my veneer of sensible fabric buying.
But doesn't everyone buy four or five yards at a time, without knowing exactly what will be made of it?
I don't even understand people who peer at the back of their pattern envelope and request "2 and 3/8 yard, please."
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Marge, Born Too Late Vintage
DATE:Jan 5, 2009 4:20:00 PM
I love that fabric!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Marge, Born Too Late Vintage
DATE:Jan 5, 2009 4:20:00 PM
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Jean
DATE:Jan 5, 2009 5:00:00 PM
Might I suggest that "if" the fabric came with this tape on it and it's been around (vintage)... you best have some good tape remover stuff available! I had some trim that I got years (too many to think about) ago and just recently took off the tape! It was a mess... white trim with yellowed tape stuff on it. Let's just say that it will take time to get it out! Hopefully your's won't be the same type thing!
Cute print though!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Cookie
DATE:Jan 5, 2009 6:55:00 PM
Mmmm! I think red trim on this would be nice. Look how neat the red wrapping looks on it! Plus some other people have mentioned owning this is a red colorway....so it's really all a karmic "cometogether". (I especially like grey with navy, yellow or lavender...but this bicycle print calls for something more active, I think, as a partner.)
Cute!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Cookie
DATE:Jan 5, 2009 7:00:00 PM
PS: Someone in the Global Sewing Conspiracy needs to take on the [advertised] name "Priscilla Percale-Pak", don't you think?
(signed) Francesca Bentley
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Nora
DATE:Jan 5, 2009 7:57:00 PM
So. jealous.
Can't wait to see it made up!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jan 5, 2009 9:13:00 PM
This can't be vintage, can it, if its still for sale by the bolt at retail stores?
How old does something have to be to be called vintage? Is that just a special word for second hand?
I ask because I bought this same print off the bolt just a couple years ago.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Little Hunting Creek
DATE:Jan 6, 2009 8:24:00 AM
I love the bicycles- they are crying out for rick rack, can't you hear them?
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jan 6, 2009 8:30:00 AM
I saw cut packs of fabric somewhere recently...big lots? Dollar General? YEs, it was Dollar General!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: AuntieShel
DATE:Jan 6, 2009 9:39:00 AM
Great fabric, Ein. Can't wait to see what you make. One year when I was in grammar school, my mom make my sister and I matching, but different color, shirt dresses and the print was bicycle wheels.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: neighbourhood.gal
DATE:Jan 6, 2009 3:24:00 PM
Too excellent!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Sandra
DATE:Jan 6, 2009 7:16:00 PM
Ya gotta love a label with alliteration! Such a cute print, but I'm a sucker for cotton novelty prints. I think it's genetic. My mom was a sewer, and always made us dresses and shirts out of fabric with cute prints. Anon. must know that many companies are making reproduction prints and she probably purchased one of those. The 35" width and label pretty much dates yours as vintage, as if you need provenance for fabric you like!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Cookie
DATE:Jan 6, 2009 9:58:00 PM
Anon: The term "vintage" means different things to different people. I myself would consider the 1970's "vintage"...so that's what, 30 years?
Enough time has to have passed for the era to have really been looked at, with some distance. Personally, there also has to be enough time that's passed that someone like me, who has memories of the era, can see it anew. Otherwise it would just be classified in the mushy, grey area of "out-of-style".
Some old fabrics that haven't been stored under good conditions can rot, among other things, making them fragile...so a new manufacture of a "vintage" fabric print is sometimes better.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Coralie Cederna Johnson
DATE:Jan 7, 2009 5:58:00 AM
Great vintage fabric! I also love to work with feedsacks from the past. For a dress, you'd need more than one feedsack but one will go a long way for quilting or other small projects. The novelty prints are wonderful and the colors from the 30's, 40's, & 50's are amazing!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Cookie
DATE:Jan 7, 2009 12:55:00 PM
Interesting, Coralie! Thanks for the tip. I looked up "feedsack" and got this:
http://www.rickrack.com/feedsack.html
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Pinup Dresses
DATE:Jan 8, 2009 9:30:00 PM
Don't you wear skirts riding bikes.. no that was roller skating, right? lol
I'd make a breezy full skirt out of it and find a bicycle made for 2.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: JuliaR
DATE:Jan 10, 2009 11:21:00 AM
I am jealous! The DH and I have 7 bikes, including a tandem. I can only wear skirts on the tandem and travel bikes because they have a low profile (they are Bike Fridays). I'll have to look for something like this for our days on the tandem!
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--------
AUTHOR: Erin
TITLE: Time Out
DATE: 6:38 AM
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BODY:

I am obsessed with this clock dress that Theresa sent me. It's already gone, of course, from Posh Girl Vintage ... and it would have barely fit me anyway (and by "barely" I mean, I could have zipped it up, maybe, if I could renegotiate that whole "breathing" thing with my lungs). If one of you bought it, will you tell me that you love it, and that you wear it every (suitable) day, and that you have given it a special nickname? Please?
The best part, of course, is that scrumptious clock print. I bet I could dig up the requisite clip art and Spoonflower myself some of that, don't you think? Should it be a big border print, like this one, or a smaller scatter print? Over red stripes, and or black and white as they are here?
As a joke, I'd love to wear this dress without also wearing a watch. (Which would, even as a joke, last about ten minutes, because not wearing a watch drives me nuts. I once bought a new watch at the airport because mine had broken in the car on the way over. And it was only recently that I stopped wearing a watch 24 hours a day, including in the shower [I have a lot of Swatch watches].)
Interestingly enough, the clock here is set at roughly 8:23, and not 10:10, as fakey watches usually are now. Which means (at least according to Google Answers) that the print is really and truly old.
While you're mourning the unavailability of this one, you might want to check out some of the other pretty dresses at Posh Girl ...Labels: novelty_prints, vintage
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jun 25, 2008 7:03:00 AM
I feel so special. I am glad you like it. I thought it was the most cool thing I had seen in a long time.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Grace
DATE:Jun 25, 2008 7:10:00 AM
That's very cool. I saw fabric some what like that at the JoAnn Fabric Store. It was very interesting and I think I'll buy it:]
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Heather
DATE:Jun 25, 2008 7:15:00 AM
A watch comment (having been in that business....). Watches are set at 10:10 because, in that position, the hands usually do not obscure any detail on the dial -- a date window, a logo, etc). Also, the hands look 'happy', they make a smiley sort of face. Back when I was in the business, we introduced a new watch and wanted to call it the Ten-Ten. It was nixed by higher ups in the corporation. Its a catchy name and would have been a nice 'in' joke.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Amy G
DATE:Jun 25, 2008 7:25:00 AM
Love it. Go with the scatter print on black & white stripes and you'll have a stunner! Or you could go red pinstripes, but wide red stripes would compete with the clocks. Thank goodness for Spoonflower.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jun 25, 2008 8:05:00 AM
Very cute dress.
I guess the it is 8:23 instead of 10:10 is because that the clocks are on the down part of the dress and that makes the dress looks more stable and nice.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: BeckyW
DATE:Jun 25, 2008 8:11:00 AM
That is the most gorgeous pattern for a sundress. I love the way the top is high cut. I also love that the skirt is not gathered right in the front, but more over the hips and back I assume.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: lucitebox
DATE:Jun 25, 2008 8:39:00 AM
I love this bold border print! It makes the dress. Were it a scatter print, it'd be any other novelty print (except, you know with clocks set at 8:23.) It's very cool! Thanks for showing that. And thanks for sending it, Theresa. LOVE IT!
Holly
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: tea
DATE:Jun 25, 2008 8:55:00 AM
Ooh! I love the Casablanca Black Evening Dress.
Also: I say with printing the clocks, the bigger the better.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Lydia
DATE:Jun 25, 2008 9:08:00 AM
Oh definitely keep it as a border print. Making the clocks small and scattered wouldn't be nearly as effective.
--Lydia
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jun 25, 2008 9:47:00 AM
That is such a great site! Thanks for mentioning it, I spent a lovely hour just gazing at all the dresses. It's like walking in a museum; I won't buy anything, but I sure like looking at it.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: What-I-Found
DATE:Jun 25, 2008 9:53:00 AM
Oooh...is that a key on the end of the belt? A CLOCK KEY????
Yes, yes, yes!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: edot
DATE:Jun 25, 2008 10:08:00 AM
Definitely border print, definitely larger scale--and why not up the hours 'round the hem? It could be a, ha ha, day-to-evening kind of dress. Go from nine to nine! How could would that be.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: samsara
DATE:Jun 25, 2008 10:13:00 AM
Indeed, what-i-found, that does look like a clock winding key at the end of the belt. What a hilarious detail. That just slays me.
This is an awesome dress. And I agree with lucite box, I like that it's a border print. As for creating fabric like this, I think the bigger the better for those clocks.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Alana
DATE:Jun 25, 2008 10:23:00 AM
Oooh, just having a look at the dresses on Posh Girl vintage, finally I have found dresses with the same bust/hip ratio as me! yay! the second link is gorgeous, shame I don't look good in black/have a spare $625/have anywhere to wear it!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Alana
DATE:Jun 25, 2008 10:26:00 AM
Oops, that should read bust/waist, not bust/hip (though the hip measurement looks fine too!). I am now a vintage clothing convert.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Eirlys
DATE:Jun 25, 2008 12:32:00 PM
Nice dress. There's a very pleasing Alice-in-Wonderlandishness about it, but whether Alice or the White Rabbit (suitably feminised) should wear it, I'm not sure.
I've been watchless for several weeks now (lost one watch, two ran out of batteries concurrently but I haven't got to the repairers yet, and the discarded Swatch that I pinched from my son I...left in a pocket and put through the washer/dryer - totally terminal treatment, I'm afraid). My cell phone tells me the time, of course, and I'm no longer looking at the arrangement of freckles/hairs on my left wrist in perplexitude. But I feel somehow reckless - that's me, over here on the dangerous edge of things!
Good luck locating this fabric, Erin. I vote for the red pinstripe idea.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jun 25, 2008 1:06:00 PM
i want to know what the back looks like. i always want to know what the back looks like. we can't see the backs of our own clothing, but the rest of the world can.
oh erin! pleeeeeease use your enormous adad-clout to get dress-image-posters to include shots of the back. even if it's simple and basic and nothing special, i wanna see it.
sincerely,
thorn
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Gina
DATE:Jun 25, 2008 2:12:00 PM
I love the dress, and I love the watch key detail, but otherwise the belt seems stringy. I would replace it with a wider patent leather belt in black or red. Maybe wear the watch key as a pendant.
I am also a time a holic. I wear a watch and there are usually at least two clocks in every room of my house. Can't live without them!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Deborah W
DATE:Jun 25, 2008 3:46:00 PM
That is an awesome dress; I love it! I do hope you are able to get some similar fabric; Spoonflower would be a great source. Opposite of you I NEVER wear a watch! I stopped wearing one about 3 years ago and love it. I try to live my life so that I don't need one. I'm so much happier....!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jun 25, 2008 3:49:00 PM
Ah, Erin, ADaD is my daily breath of fresh air -- and hilarious, succinct writing. I'm still snickering over "Texas compound-long."
I recently did not win a clock-themed 40s dress on ebay from fave seller Denisebrain (with the more traditional 10:10 time):
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280237299208&ssPageName=ADME:B:WNA:US:1123
Liz F. from Brooklyn
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Ivy Frozen
DATE:Jun 25, 2008 3:58:00 PM
The dress is fabulous! I vote keep the clocks big and red pinstripes might compete too much... I also am addicted to my watch and wear them everywhere, including the shower. I feel like I lost a limb if I don't have it on.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Jen
DATE:Jun 25, 2008 3:58:00 PM
You know something, silk screening has come a long way in recent years.
I bet you could get the local "T" shirt printing shop (the one that screened kid's summer camp "T"s around town) to print up a pocket watch border print on your choice of yardage at a suprisingly affordable price.
(now that I think about it, this would be sooooo easy to do, never mind the extra brownie points for patronizing a local business)
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: barbie2be
DATE:Jun 25, 2008 5:29:00 PM
i LOVE this dress! i would love to walk up to someone on the street while wearing it and ask, "excuse me, have you got the time?" :) i would pair it with a white shrug and a pair of spectator flats!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jun 25, 2008 6:31:00 PM
I love this dress...everything about it. In fact, I would change a thing. Hopefully you will be able to duplicate the clock and will be able to wear it the next time we get together...how else will I be able to swipe it from your suitcase!??! :)
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jun 25, 2008 6:32:00 PM
Okay...that was supposed to say I wouldn't change a thing!! OPPS...
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: 3KillerBs
DATE:Jun 25, 2008 8:01:00 PM
I accidentally stumbled across this blog last week and spent the weekend reading the archives and saving links to dresses I'd like to duplicate. Wow.
After a long period of remodeling I'm about to get my sewing machine out again and I've found a lot of inspiration here even though I loathe both orange and polka dots, cringe over loud novelty prints, and love culottes and divided skirts. :D
Wonderful how a simple change of color scheme and details can personalize a style and make it an expression of a person's individuality.
That is, after all, one of the greatest joys of sewing -- the ability to wear the shapes and colors that I like and which look flattering on me regardless of what anyone else in the world thinks of them and without any reference whatsoever to the dictates of the fashion gurus.
I'm learning to draft my own patterns because no two measurements on my body are the same size and I do so much alteration that I figure it can't take any longer to start from scratch.
I'm looking forward to reading your blog daily.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jun 25, 2008 8:22:00 PM
Is it a solid stripe, or is it ticking-striped like a mattress?
Either way, too cute!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jun 25, 2008 8:25:00 PM
Please forgive the unrelated comment. Ms. ADAD, did you ever complete your Duro-roundup? And could a Duro ever have a Secret Life?
Thank you for sharing your wonderful site.
Teresa
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: lorrwill
DATE:Jun 25, 2008 8:43:00 PM
My spoonflower vote:
Big timepiece border with small, scattered timepieces - or just parts for a steampunky flare - red stripes. The black is too correctional facility for me.
~Punky Steamster
aka Dixie Hoyt, FRA, Conspirator
(who has not worn a watch in several years)
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jun 25, 2008 8:56:00 PM
Acks! I love the shape of this dress. Anyone know of any patterns that are similar? Vintage or not...and--what's under the dress, giving it fullness? Tulle?
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Lavon
DATE:Jun 25, 2008 9:51:00 PM
cute dress. I can't wear it because I can't wear watches. They alway break.
:D
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Kat
DATE:Jun 25, 2008 10:02:00 PM
I am so glad most of those Posh Girl Vintage dresses are too small so I don't have to be too sorry to see someone else get them...
(Also, great alt text.)
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jun 26, 2008 6:49:00 AM
Lavon - I can't wear watches either! I thought I was a mutant. I stop time. Literally. Every watch I have ever tried simply stops working after I wear it just a few minutes.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Crabapple Blossoms
DATE:Jun 26, 2008 2:26:00 PM
That is a marvelous dress! I would Spoonflower myself watch fabric with all the clock faces set to different times and not one of them being the ubiquitous 10:10.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Sandra
DATE:Jun 29, 2008 1:26:00 AM
I was so sad when I saw this dress on her site and it was sold. It's so cool it hurts. Great pick!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Fashion Astrology Art Beauty Shopping Food Kitsch
DATE:Jul 9, 2008 7:49:00 PM
That is a totally cool dress. Very hot!
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--------
AUTHOR: Erin
TITLE: By the Numbers
DATE: 7:56 AM
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BODY:
Remember those nursery curtains I bought at Target? They turned into this:

It's Butterick 2626, the same dress as the one in this post. It's not ironed -- this is how it looks after being hung up wet from the dryer.
I didn't realize until I took the picture how ... prominent ... the numbers are on the bodice. In my mind, it's an alphabet dress, not a numbers dress, but I don't mind. (And since I'm going to be wearing this mostly for work, I hope I earworm everyone I meet with Dolly Parton's "9 to 5".)
It took me forever to figure out what buttons to use, until I remembered I bought fifteen packets of covered-button forms at the last Hancock's notions sale:

The covered buttons were EASY. There's a template on the back of the package and then all you have to do is get the fabric wet and put it in the mold. It took less time to make the buttons than it did to sew them on. (Just remember to check the orientation of the shanks if your buttons have a definite up-and-down ... a couple of mine are sewn on an angle for that reason!)
If I had it to do over again, I would, and with a glad heart, but this time I'd unpick the curtain hems BEFORE washing them; the sizing made the fabric stiff and in my haste I ripped one of the hems along the seamline, which made cutting-out a bit awkward. (If you have rips or stains in your fabric, you can mark them the way I do, with blue painter's tape -- it's stiff enough so that you can feel it from the wrong side but it comes off easily without leaving any sticky stuff behind.)
The obligatory "Let me show you where I screwed up" part is here:

The skirt has an interesting slashed/darted opening on the left for the zipper, and the right-hand side is supposed to have just a plain dart. Which I forgot to make. Which means the back skirt is not centered on the back bodice. To which I say: big whoop; I gave up being worried if people were staring at my ass a decade ago.
Here's the full back view:

Despite that annoyance and assorted others (if you remember, this is the dress where I turned front and back bodice gathers into darts, plus I had to let out the waist an inch, which is irritating on a skirt with side-seam pleats) I will probably make this pattern at least once more. It's so comfortable!
If you're playing "spot the pockets", they're set in the front skirt seam, between the third and fourth outermost pleats. Very convenient!Labels: alphabet_prints, Butterick_2626, erin_sewing, novelty_prints, Target
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: the_lazymilliner
DATE:Apr 7, 2008 8:22:00 AM
Really cute, Erin. Will you be wearing this with one of your many sewn slips?
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Misanthropy Today
DATE:Apr 7, 2008 8:45:00 AM
fix your site Erin. Put DressADay where it belongs, without this odd /dressaday.html silliness. I can show you how to do it if you want.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Erin
DATE:Apr 7, 2008 8:59:00 AM
I know how to do it; it's just that it's linked all over the web at the /dressaday.html address ... and by lots of folks who wouldn't bother to update/change.
I'm happy with the way it is, but thanks for the offer.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Chappell
DATE:Apr 7, 2008 9:06:00 AM
first off, those buttons are adorable.
Did you thin out the skirt a bit? The a-line doesn't look as extreme as it does in the picture. The fabric worked out so well!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Apr 7, 2008 9:11:00 AM
why is it that your dresses remind me of Miss Frizzle in the kid's books?
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Jen ~ MOMSPatterns
DATE:Apr 7, 2008 9:21:00 AM
I LOVE the buttons you used! They couldn't *be* any more perfect!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: cpeep
DATE:Apr 7, 2008 9:29:00 AM
You totally crack me up.
Can you somehow work the word "to" in there between 9 and 5? Maybe THAT'S what needs to go on one of the bodice buttons.
Carol
Extreme Cards and Papercrafting
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Apr 7, 2008 9:30:00 AM
I especially loved the buttons.
And I wouldn't worry about the small goof in the back- I have seen far worse offered up for sale in middle and even high end stores!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Apr 7, 2008 9:37:00 AM
I noticed the buttons first thing, and they made me smile! "e" for Erin.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: lorrwill
DATE:Apr 7, 2008 9:39:00 AM
I was happily admiring your numb3rs dress until you had to say Dolly Parton....
...the music!!!!!!!!! make it stop!!!!make it stop!!!!!!!!!!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: tea
DATE:Apr 7, 2008 9:44:00 AM
It worked. I'm totally singing 9 to 5 now. :)
But I did notice the "e" buttons first. I gasped and said, "brilliant" to myself. The e's eclipsed the 9 & 5 at first. But when I looked again, I swooned at the perfection of it being a work dress.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Canine Diamond
DATE:Apr 7, 2008 9:52:00 AM
This Saturday's episode of "George Shrinks" on PBS featured Perdita Shrinks in a black-on-white clock-themed dress. Big skirt with black numbers on it, and a clock hat. I think it's the "If It Ain't Broke" episode. Anyway, I thought of you and your numbers/letters dresses.
Please don't ask why I was watching "George Shrinks", though.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: andreahg
DATE:Apr 7, 2008 9:56:00 AM
How cute!!!! I love covered buttons. You get to make sure you have the perfect buttons every time!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Apr 7, 2008 9:58:00 AM
Earworm! (although I prefer the Alison Krauss version, it's got a Delta vibe.)
E is for Erin
E is for Excellent
E is for... envious!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Apr 7, 2008 10:15:00 AM
Oh it's gorgeous! Congratulations. I love me some covered buttons. I do them all the time. Sometimes I wonder why I have this ginormous button stash when I use covered buttons so often.
--Lydia
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Nora
DATE:Apr 7, 2008 10:20:00 AM
LOVE the buttons (perhaps you should add "covered buttons" to your tags?)...they caught my eye right away. Lowercase "e"s are so lovely, they always look to me like they're smiling.
And I'm not mad about the Dolly Parton earworm at all - love her!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: What-I-Found
DATE:Apr 7, 2008 10:23:00 AM
Just have to share this...Dolly has named her breasts, Shock and Awe!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: wundermary
DATE:Apr 7, 2008 10:27:00 AM
I'm with you, covered buttons are the best and these are awsome! I also noticed them before I noticed the ginormous 9 and 5.
There's no reason to sweat the off-center back seam unless it pulls funny. Only another sewer would be likely to pick it out and they'd probably be sympathetic, anyway.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Theresa
DATE:Apr 7, 2008 10:31:00 AM
Love it! The E buttons are a dorable and it is so funny how 9 and 5 ended up so big on a work dress. I have the ear worm by the way --thanks.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: RachelMM
DATE:Apr 7, 2008 11:38:00 AM
Okay....that dress is so awesome! I love that you used old curtains! -R
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Pratishtha Durga
DATE:Apr 7, 2008 11:46:00 AM
The dress is quirky, alright. And I love it that it's a work-dress. Your blog posts always make me smile. It's the way your words flow.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: samsara
DATE:Apr 7, 2008 11:50:00 AM
How could I resist a cheeky work dress and a Dolly Parton reference?
Major kudos and hurrahs to you, Erin, for those covered E buttons. Oh, the covered buttons are making me plotz, and kvell.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Apr 7, 2008 11:55:00 AM
love the "e" buttons - they caught my eye first, too.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Julie The Vintage Goddess
DATE:Apr 7, 2008 12:06:00 PM
Totally cute.
I love that fabric.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Apr 7, 2008 12:07:00 PM
This dress set a happy tone for my entire day! I love Dress a Day. Three cheers for Erin!!!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Doris
DATE:Apr 7, 2008 12:23:00 PM
Too cute, and Erin, I LOVE the "e" buttons. Perfect.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Keith
DATE:Apr 7, 2008 1:10:00 PM
Erin, I watched the talk you gave on TED. I think this is a wonderful blog, and though I neither saw, nor wear dresses, I can see what one lexicographer does with her time.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Alexandra
DATE:Apr 7, 2008 2:18:00 PM
Great dress! Love the buttons!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Amy
DATE:Apr 7, 2008 2:38:00 PM
I'm not sure how I feel about the fabric, but the colours are great and I love the dress design. Love it!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Apr 7, 2008 2:59:00 PM
I LOVE the dress- the freshness of the fabric meets the vintage of the pattern. And the buttons E for Erin are fabulous. Bravo!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Apr 7, 2008 3:00:00 PM
So you now have a new dress to wear to your next crossword tournament!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Chiara
DATE:Apr 7, 2008 4:09:00 PM
I think the buttons are absolutely brilliant. Excellent idea.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Adrienne
DATE:Apr 7, 2008 4:53:00 PM
LOVE this dress! I will definitely show it to my husband (who always scoffs at my Ikea sheet shirt- http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v237/violeta77/sewing/ikeashirt.jpg)
Great work!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Adrienne
DATE:Apr 7, 2008 4:55:00 PM
My web address was clipped!
http://tinyurl.com/5u4zgn
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: baylibrarian
DATE:Apr 7, 2008 5:23:00 PM
Fun fun fun and...Scarlett O'Hara would be proud of you too!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: VeganD
DATE:Apr 7, 2008 5:24:00 PM
Fantastic! The letter "e" buttons are so clever!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: lorrwill
DATE:Apr 7, 2008 8:41:00 PM
ok I confess. I am a tad bit jealous of your ease with the covered buttons.
It took me five freaking tries to get just one for the skirt I am working on.
and does the earworm music ever stop?
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: lorrwill
DATE:Apr 7, 2008 8:43:00 PM
oh yeah!
I keep forgetting to compliment you on the hilarious text you put with the pictures!
butt camouflage - LOL!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Apr 7, 2008 10:18:00 PM
RE: Miss Frizzle's wardrobe in the Magic School bus books and TV shows:
Everytime I see one of these books, I am consumed with envy and lust for Miss Fizzle's wardrobe. I desperately want an entire wardrobe of brightly colored clothing covered with images of reptiles or insects or monkeys or space vehicles or volcanoes or microscopes or bacteria or, or, or.... well, you get the picture(s).
CMC
ps: My sedate software development engineer co-workers would just freak. All the more reason to start sewing.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: AlasMyDear
DATE:Apr 7, 2008 11:30:00 PM
the buttons are enormously perfect!
and who cares about the back. i didn't notice it til you said so. and then i had to really LOOK to find the mistake.
or maybe it just shows i'm blind!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: kostia
DATE:Apr 8, 2008 12:51:00 AM
Love love love the buttons. I don't even sew, except in my imagination, but I've seen those button-cover forms at JoAnn and I might make a couple "e" buttons just for the hell of it.
-*e*laine
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: superficialdiva
DATE:Apr 8, 2008 6:05:00 AM
The dress is beautiful and the buttons fit perfect.
You did a good job with the curtains.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Apr 8, 2008 6:56:00 AM
Oh my! I love this dress!
My (mostly) lovely husband has just peeped over my shoulder and asked why you made a dress that said Sex across the chest?!? "It's a 5!" I screeched, "A FIVE!".
Sorry :-S
Anna
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Apr 8, 2008 11:22:00 AM
Hi Erin, your dress is great! You said that you had to let it out an inch... next time if you don't alter the pattern... you might just either give up one pleat per side or make all the pleats smaller to gain your inch for the waist... that way you still get to keep your dearly loved pockets! Jean
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: notsocrafty.com
DATE:Apr 8, 2008 6:38:00 PM
The buttons are very clever. It's such a cute dress/
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Ann
DATE:Apr 9, 2008 8:02:00 AM
Love the dress, the buttons and the pocket placement.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Linda
DATE:Apr 10, 2008 4:22:00 AM
I really appreciate people like you who can see an item,curtain, and visualize and make it into something else. I hope that someone like myself who is what I call a "concrete" thinker sometimes can acquire this ability if they work at it.
The dress is certainly appropriate for who you are. Love the covered button idea, perfect.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: miznyc
DATE:Apr 10, 2008 11:36:00 PM
this is so cute!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: amandajean
DATE:Apr 14, 2008 4:28:00 PM
that. dress. is. awesome.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: melissa
DATE:Apr 17, 2008 6:07:00 AM
I love the dress. Brilliant use of some Target curtains!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Gina
DATE:Apr 18, 2008 11:13:00 AM
When I saw you in that dress at the ACES conference, I thought, "Where did she find that awesome dress?" Now I know. Nice work!
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AUTHOR: Erin
TITLE: Spoiled for Choice
DATE: 8:57 AM
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BODY:
I'm so sorry I didn't post yesterday -- there were some internet-connectivity issues, and then there were some "I have to give a talk downtown" issues (compounded by the snow issues), and then there were the "back from a long weekend" issues. I guess I "have issues." (Except for issues of the magazine, which are the only issues I want to have. THOSE are still at the printer!)
Of course, any day on which I don't post is NOT a day in which I have NOTHING to post -- I usually have the OPPOSITE problem, as in, I could post so much every day that I would do nothing else. For instance, just in the last 36 hours or so, I was sent links to:
-- this incredibly cute squirrel-print sundress (sent by Julie)
-- a reminder that PurlSoho has new Liberty cottons in stock (from Rebecca)
-- a link to a wedding-perfect satin dress WITH POCKET (from Kai, and let's just see a picture of that pocket, okay?)

-- some paper art dresses (sent by Theresa)
-- an Anne Fogarty polka-dot midriff-emphasizing dress on eBay (sent by Robin, and let's just peek at that one, too, shall we?)

And there were several more links that I will save for another day. Aren't I the luckiest blogger in Blogdom? Thank you (and keep 'em comin')!Labels: Anne_Fogarty, art, linkylinky, novelty_prints, pockets, polka_dots, wedding
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Jill B
DATE:Jan 23, 2008 9:41:00 AM
DRAT!! I am loving that Anne Fogarty dress, but I couldn't fit that waist line even if I had nothing but water and rice for a month.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: julia
DATE:Jan 23, 2008 11:05:00 AM
*Ahem*...I do not believe that pocket is for your keys and cell phone! Looks like a drop box sort of pocket for envelopes and loose bills.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Nora
DATE:Jan 23, 2008 12:03:00 PM
Gray with orange and pink polkadots!!!?!?!?! That dress is killing me. But I'm with jill b on the waist line - especially since just looking at that dress makes me want to eat cupcakes with sprinkles on them, out of sheer sprinkly joy.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: sixties sewer
DATE:Jan 23, 2008 12:04:00 PM
The Fogarty dress....sigh! I don't think I ever had a waist that small, even when I was young. Outstanding!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jan 23, 2008 1:15:00 PM
I love the wedding dress, its so simple but still cute and modern. I received a pearl necklace for x-mas and it would fit in perfectly with the dress. I am so happy that you posted this......I have the necklace, need a dress and a future husband!!!! JK
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: enc
DATE:Jan 23, 2008 1:31:00 PM
I feel like the luckiest bloggee (read: reader) in blogdom. That polka-dot dress is divine. And I don't ever use that word.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jan 23, 2008 2:40:00 PM
Well, that wedding dress would be very useful if you are the sort of person who has the sort of family that gives checks at weddings. Now, I've heard of some customs where the money gets actually pinned to the dress. But this would be so much handier.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Kai Jones
DATE:Jan 23, 2008 3:39:00 PM
I thought you'd like the dress. I love the asymmetry of the large, voluminous, decorated pocket against the simple lines and fabric of the rest of the dress. I'd want to wear a huge jeweled bangle on the opposite wrist with no other jewelry, or very simple earrings. And purple or green faille shoes. (Red would be too expected.)
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jan 23, 2008 4:01:00 PM
Since Erin has "issues," I have to share the funny kid story about issues. My nephew gave his son (6 yrs) instructions on how to do something & told him to let him know if he had any issues. Another great nephew responded, "Don't say issues! We don't like issues!" He's only 4 and knows about issues!
Lori
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: jeannie crockett
DATE:Jan 23, 2008 5:39:00 PM
I'm pretty certain that is a skunk! But an adorable dress.
Have you since this blog for vintage fashion?
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: jeannie crockett
DATE:Jan 23, 2008 5:40:00 PM
And this is the link:
http://bibigreycat.blogspot.com/search/label/mode
Feel pretty silly over here....
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: lorrwill
DATE:Jan 23, 2008 9:55:00 PM
sigh. The rice and water thing would get me to that waistline. The bust would then be 4 sizes too big.
:-(
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Anna
DATE:Jan 24, 2008 5:46:00 AM
I did a google search for acorn fabric ... check out this Japanese squirrel print that looks A LOT like the one used for the vintage sundress:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=8739879
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Canine Diamond
DATE:Jan 24, 2008 8:06:00 AM
Oh. My. God.
Yo quiero squirrel-print sundress.
Actually, this is a fun post. I bet that satin dress wouldn't be too hard to copy, and the Fogarty one has a cool neo-1840's fan-bodice thing going on. Wacko.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Jen
DATE:Jan 24, 2008 8:48:00 AM
What a treat! Dresses, dresses, and more dresses! Especially the paper ones, after last night's episode of "Project Runway." Amazing what a creative eye and more time (than the PR competetitors have) can accomplish.
I LOVED the squirrel dress! We call my eldest daughter a squirrel because she keeps all sorts of things -- leaves, nuts, rocks, pieces of paper, etc. And she's 17! Has done it since she was wee little. I sent her the link and told her to look closely.
Oh, the goodies you have today Erin! Thank you! Thank you!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: real-vintage.com
DATE:Jan 24, 2008 12:03:00 PM
Thanks for the mention on the squirrel dress! Its one of the cutest prints I've ever seen....that etsy one is similar! Strangely, the ones on my dress have yellow eyes....guess its a colorway thing.
~Ang
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: floribunda
DATE:Jan 27, 2008 10:32:00 AM
the dresses are great, but wow! -- Verbatim! I subscribed to that magazine a million years ago, like in the early 80's, and had totally forgotten about it. thanks for the reminder and the link so I can check it out again.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: bec
DATE:Jan 29, 2008 9:28:00 PM
The wedding dress...I just found it's twin in my closet this weekend...it's in black, but has the exact same pocket. Anyone have an idea of era or designer? Mine is missing her tag too. http://fisherfolkfarm.blogspot.com/2008/01/if-its-not-houses-its-dresses.html
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Rebecca
DATE:Jan 30, 2008 10:39:00 AM
and again - great dresses.... the pocket, though --- i'm just not sure what to think about it!
it's ummmmmm. large.
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AUTHOR: Erin
TITLE: Crawly, but not creepy
DATE: 7:41 AM
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BODY:

Julie (at Damn Good Vintage) has this adorable snail-print dress up right now. It's only about $75 but it's teeeeeeny. Waist 24.
I love the little snails -- how could you not? And I wouldn't even mind the inevitable escargot jokes. (Although my favorite escargot reference is this one. [warning video link])
Don't the snails look as if they were drawn by Ian Falconer (who does the Olivia
books)?
Here's Olivia:

And here's a closeup of the snails:

I think this similarity is deeply significant, but I don't know why. Or how. All I know is that if this dress were in my size (PETER PAN COLLAR, people, and POCKETS) I would own it.
This also reminds me that I have some really cute bug-print fabric that I bought to make my son a camp shirt, and since he has shown NO interest in me making him a shirt (or, in fact, me making him anything that isn't various complicated Star Wars costumes) I think the statute of limitations has run out and I can use it for a dress. Right? Right. (Besides, I think I bought six yards, so I probably have enough for both.)Labels: novelty_prints, vintage
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jun 7, 2007 8:45:00 AM
I love this snail dress. I love the ruffly front. (It's sleeveless -isn't that on you *I don't* list? Doesn't it ease the pain of it being so teeny because it is not perfect?)
Yes, the statute of limitations has run out. Make your bug dress, so perfect for summer.
I love snails. I had a whole bunch of water snails as pets when I was younger -purple, blue, and gold shells. They were beautiful and so easy to care for!
I saw cute gold fish in plastic baggy fabric on line yesterday -- Fat Quarter Shop -*I think*
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jun 7, 2007 8:50:00 AM
Oooooo, those are totally Olivia-esque snails! They will do ballet across your skirt and sulk when the cat does not applaud.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Nora
DATE:Jun 7, 2007 8:57:00 AM
I love Olivia and I love that dress. Pockets - AND pintucks!
We have quite a snail problem in our area - sometimes on a quiet evening you can actually HEAR them munching the garden - but I'm fond of them in a way. And they won't take an entire veggie in one swoop, like the gophers.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: damgoodvintage
DATE:Jun 7, 2007 9:08:00 AM
You know I love my snail dress, but what I would love even more is a dress with little Olivia's dancing across it.
I love Olivia....
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: dorotheasclosetvintage
DATE:Jun 7, 2007 9:33:00 AM
MUCH love, and indeed so very Olivia like!!! I wish for a 24" waist more often than is healthy...not even so much for the "I want to be thin" reasons as much for the wanting to wear cute vintage more often reasons. Great dress, Julie!! Ang
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Erin
DATE:Jun 7, 2007 9:37:00 AM
I'm okay with sleeveless; it's backless or spaghetti-strapish that I can't do. :-(
I want a 24" waist, for much the same reason! But not enough to stop eating to get it ...
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jun 7, 2007 10:02:00 AM
Olivia Fabric
http://www.quiltbasket.com/s-101-olivia-dreams-big.aspx
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Wendy
DATE:Jun 7, 2007 10:24:00 AM
One spring I had the pleasure of making smocked dresses for three little girls. One was a bug dress for the daughter of biologist parents, one was a manatee dress for my niece who had a passion for manatees and the last was a shark dress, with a pieced shark bodice and sharks teeth hemline.
No ruffles and lace for these girls.
Wendy in NM
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Laura
DATE:Jun 7, 2007 12:18:00 PM
I saw that dress the other day, and I absolutely love it. Sadly, I know a 24" waist is not in my future...
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: bonnie-ann black
DATE:Jun 7, 2007 12:24:00 PM
wendy: i have a couple of nieces who would *love* those kinds of dresses -- the shark one in particular. did you just adapt a regular smock dress pattern and do pieces on the hem from white material? sounds wonderful.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: ambika
DATE:Jun 7, 2007 1:29:00 PM
The pintucks along the front are lovely. The whole thing is just gorgeous.
But I don't think I even had a 24 inch waist at the age of 16.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: jessicajlee
DATE:Jun 7, 2007 3:24:00 PM
I love this print and dress! It does look like Olivia... who I also love. If only I were a 24 waist.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jun 7, 2007 3:45:00 PM
I have the waist, but not $75 dollars.
And god do I want this.
Such is youth.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Danni
DATE:Jun 7, 2007 7:04:00 PM
Reminds me of Ms Frizzle and the Magic School Bus, personally!
I think it's great. :)
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jun 8, 2007 7:02:00 AM
More Olivia
http://www.andoverfabrics.com/OurDesigners/SingleDesigner.asp?Designer=Ian%20Falconer
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Thoughts on Life and Millinery.
DATE:Jun 8, 2007 12:49:00 PM
Whoa...I just took pictures of snail print fabric that I saw in Switzerland. Maybe the motif trend will crawl over here! Cute as a bug, I say.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Jun 8, 2007 1:13:00 PM
Well - the pattern is on it's way. With the cooperation of the postal service, you should have it early to middle of next week. I love this blog. And I cannot wait to see how the dress turns out. Happy sewing!
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--------
AUTHOR: Erin
TITLE: By Jupiter!
DATE: 7:16 AM
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BODY:

Jen at Momspatterns.com sent me this link -- oh, yay for novelty print sundresses, especially now that the weather's warming up. If I had my druthers (and I have to admit, I usually do, at least when it comes to dresses) I wouldn't wear anything that wasn't novel in some way between Memorial Day and the Tuesday after Labor Day.
This one, of course, is a stellar example -- the neckline alone would put it in that category, but the pockets give it escape velocity.
It's being listed by Marie92001, and the starting bid is about $50 right now -- but it ends on the 27th, so plenty of time to get your bid in. It's B34, and the shipping cost is only $6.95 -- I *do* so like sellers who keep the shipping low. There's nothing worse than forgetting to check and then finding out that the shipping is twice the Priority Mail flat-rate box postage!
Anyway, the stars have certainly aligned for this dress -- I'm half-tempted to start googling solar system fabric, myself. Of course, to be truly geeky, you'd have to have a button-front dress with the buttons spaced like the planets ... if that would even work; I have a vague memory of doing a "relative distances of the planets" thing in fourth grade, where Mercury was on the teacher's desk and Pluto ended up being at the far end of the athletic field. So perhaps it wouldn't work on a dress. But differently sized/colored buttons probably would!Labels: ebay, novelty_prints
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:May 22, 2007 8:01:00 AM
now that is fun fabric
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: SewPaula
DATE:May 22, 2007 8:18:00 AM
That would be a perfect dress for Ms. Frizzle of Magic School Bus fame.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Nancy (nanflan)
DATE:May 22, 2007 8:32:00 AM
You have to smile when you look at this dress. The fabric is charming and so is the styling. Love the piping at the neckline!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Tea
DATE:May 22, 2007 8:56:00 AM
Luckily, Pluto is not longer a planet, so the buttons might work. ;)
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:May 22, 2007 9:05:00 AM
Sewpaula, you are so right! It WOULD be perfect for Ms. Frizzle!
(I wish I could shave a few inches off myself so that it would be perfect for me. Waaa!)
And did anyone notice that the bodice has rhinestones? Like little stars! Stellar!!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Charles
DATE:May 22, 2007 9:45:00 AM
Planetary spacing ... ? Let's see. Chucking the recently-demoted Pluto and assuming buttons all the way down the front (what, maybe 40 inches?)
- Mercury - Neckline
- Venus - 1/2" down
- Earth - 7/8" down
- Mars - 1-1/2" down
- Jupiter - 6-1/2" down
- Saturn - 12-1/4" down
- Uranus - 25-3/8" down
- Neptune - 40" down
Hmm, might present some gapping problems. Oh, but fill in the gaps with hidden snaps maybe ... or maybe not.
Another idea, use an even button spacing down the front, but use mostly a white or beige button that nearly matches the fabric. Then replace the beige buttons with appropriate colored buttons at the planetary spacings; a grey for Mercury, yellow for Venus, blue for Earth, red for Mars and so on.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Leigh
DATE:May 22, 2007 10:15:00 AM
Oooooo! I love that dress! The neckline, she is perfect! I need to find a pattern like that and make myself a dress like that. Just have to find worthy fabric!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: RodgerM
DATE:May 22, 2007 11:22:00 AM
I always thought that Miss Frizzle was the most stylish gal. :)
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Isabelle
DATE:May 22, 2007 11:26:00 AM
That's an amazing dress!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Jami
DATE:May 22, 2007 12:19:00 PM
It's a gorgeous dress, but what kind of shoes would you wear with it!? Silver holographic?
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Ahava Jora
DATE:May 22, 2007 1:01:00 PM
I want that fabric!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:May 22, 2007 2:04:00 PM
The piping makes that dress!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Nancy Bea
DATE:May 22, 2007 7:48:00 PM
I love the whole shape of this dress, from the neckline (would you call it it a semi-sweetheart?) to the fitted waist and full flaring skirt and the jaunty unashamed pockets. I don't actually care about the novelty print...if it safe to admit that here? I mean, yeah, it is cute and all, and as others have mentioned it has a Ms. Frizzle-ish zany appeal. But I think the dress shape is what is so cool, and if it were in my size I'd be bidding.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Laura
DATE:May 22, 2007 8:46:00 PM
Very cute. I could never wear it, though, as the obvious non-matching of the print at the center front would drive me batty.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Chelsea
DATE:May 23, 2007 12:07:00 AM
Stellar indeed! lol
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:May 23, 2007 1:04:00 AM
Miss Frizzle or not, my jaw dropped when I saw that. The piping and the pockets and the fact that its a very RETRO solar system... if I had the cash it would be mine.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:May 23, 2007 8:49:00 AM
Erin, if you find that fabric, CALL ME. Srsly.
Lydia
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: ann
DATE:May 24, 2007 12:56:00 AM
I love this one.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Mandy
DATE:May 24, 2007 1:37:00 AM
Oh my, I am in love. I would pay stupid money for that fabric. Good thing the dress is pretty far from my size.
Le sigh. :)
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:May 24, 2007 3:20:00 AM
Love it, love it LOVE IT! Had to LOL about your idea for the planetary spacing of the buttons, Erin, and it's after 1:00 am so I had to shush myself! Can't be waking up the neighbors...
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: AmeliaB
DATE:May 26, 2007 3:41:00 PM
I love this dress (wear it to the planetarium and have a lot of fun!). te he. Gotta like the pockets too.
~Amelia
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AUTHOR: Erin
TITLE: Buddha Dress
DATE: 7:36 AM
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BODY:

Marie-Christine sent this, and, alas, it's sold. (But there's plenty more good stuff where she found this, at Kitty Girl Vintage!)
I was going to make a ton of dorky jokes about this dress ("it's the 'one with everything'" etc.) but really, I just wish I'd known the woman who designed this ("Dorothy O'Hara" is the label, and she seems to have been a costume designer for the movies) or any of the women who bought & wore it when it was new. I bet I would have really liked them.
Of course, the other thing this makes me want to see is other religion-themed dresses. I'm assuming the Prophet, Jehovah, and Jesus are unlikely candidates for fabrics, let alone dresses, but surely there must be more-or-less inappropriate fabrics with Hindu figures on them, or perhaps figures of Greek and Roman mythology, and of course the Flying Spaghetti Monster ... I bet the FSM wouldn't mind being on a dress. If there were a religious-dress meetup, would the atheist dress be a pure black, or a pure white? The agnostic dress gray? Would the animists have trees and rocks and plants and things? Leave suggestions for other (irreverent, impious, I know) suitable prints for the various religions in the comments, if you like.Labels: Dorothy_O'Hara, novelty_prints
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Mar 22, 2007 7:59:00 AM
Virgin of Guadalupe fabric. I saw someone redecorate their kitchen with this.
http://www.ciaspalette.com/prod_pages/ahvg0199.html
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Mar 22, 2007 8:08:00 AM
Okay, I'm a minister and I'd LOVE Jesus fabric. Or something allusive, like a loaves and fishes print, or locusts and wild bees (for John the Baptist). Probably not crowns of thorns or nails, that's a little tacky. There are fabrics with palm leaf prints and, of course, angels, but they're never the really scary kind of angel that has to say "Fear not" in order to get a hearing. Oh, how I wish I had what it takes to print my own fabric!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Julie
DATE:Mar 22, 2007 8:09:00 AM
I know as a jew, im not supposed to idol worship, but I could really go for something in a parting of the red sea theme, with a wave border print placed at a deep v (for the "parting") and a giant Moses portrait on the back. I think a very full shirtwaist would work best. Wildly inappropriate, but I would totally wear it to our seder. I wish I had thought of this for my bat mitzvah...
Also, this is a great religous fabric http://www.jandofabrics.com/proddetail.asp?prod=fla000203
Too bad it's flannel.
Also, for agnostic theme, I think the prefect fabric would be a dress made from the same fabric as the infamous Matthew Lesko question mark suit(http://www.mlesko.com/images/matthew-lesko1.jpg). For those of you who don't remeber this timeless informercial, you can get up to speed here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Lesko
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: PastaQueen
DATE:Mar 22, 2007 8:33:00 AM
The athiest wouldn't be wearing anything because there is no dess!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: melissa
DATE:Mar 22, 2007 8:39:00 AM
a few years back, i make "garden of eden shoes". i hot glued white flowers that looked like apple blossoms, snakes and apples onto a pair of sandals.
funny enough, i was thinking about these shoes last night.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Mar 22, 2007 8:44:00 AM
I've seen the Virgin Guadalupe Fabric! Check out Alexander Henry for Day of the Dead, Corazones and Angelitos!
http://www.ahfabrics.com/category.php?cat_id=71&PHPSESSID=61242f487ed0100b319a86f13044dd75
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Mar 22, 2007 9:00:00 AM
I don't have the Guadalupe fabric mentioned by Vildy, but I do have some lovely Guadalupe fabric that I found on clearance a few years ago. Of course I bought a ton of it (in black and salmon) and I've been s-l-o-w-l-y using it in various projects. No dresses yet, but one skirt--that got worn on my NYC trip a coupla years ago with some of the girls from Sewretro.
--Lydia
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: webscholar
DATE:Mar 22, 2007 9:23:00 AM
This is a great dress, Erin!
Dorothy O'Hara got her start designing clothing for the movies, but just after WWII she launched her own clothing line which lasted until her death in the early sixties. She was most known for her elaborate and innovative draping techniques, but early in her career she used some equally amazing prints. They were almost always very large scale, very colorful, and very memorable--although I can't imagine how you could ever get more memorable than this!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Mar 22, 2007 9:30:00 AM
I did a search for "bible verse pyjamas", because I remembered that someone had sent me a link for such (protect your child while they sleep), and the Google ads on the side bar were:
www.c28.com "Cool Jesus Clothing"
www.starcostumes.com "Bible Characters costumes"
The cool Jesus clothing seems to be mostly tshirts though.
Oh! Here we are - Armor of God PJs:
http://www.armorofgodpjs.com/
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Mar 22, 2007 10:11:00 AM
Wow. I would so wear a dress in Our Lady of Guadalupe fabric.
Julia, a loaves and fishes dress sounds awesome-- I'd wear it, and I'm not even Christian! Other ideas could be crooks and lambs, mustard seeds and plants, or go along the same lines as Melissa and make an "Eden" dress with serpents and apples.
Actually, I'm Neo-Pagan-- a Wiccan, more specifically-- and I've seen plenty of websites and ads for "ritual wear" or "priestess wear" that includes things like triskelions, or the Spiral Lady image. However, I'd wear a dress with chalices and daggers on it. Another thought is a print with symbols of the four elements-- Air, Earth, Water, and Fire.
Great. I'm going to be thinking about this all day, now.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Mar 22, 2007 10:14:00 AM
wOW!
Dorothy O'Hara is one of my absolute favorite designers. People say Ceil Chapman is the master of the drape, but Dorothy is so intelligent and thoughtful about the female form. So very clever. This dress is great to see. It shows me that Dorothy had a whimsical side as well. Dorothy is firmly on my list of top ten people with whom I would like to lunch with in the afterlife. I think she might like Joseph Campbell and Robert Graves, although they already might be great friends. Perhaps she is doing designs for them.....
Diane
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Mar 22, 2007 10:32:00 AM
Pomegranates for Persephone?
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Mar 22, 2007 11:07:00 AM
I have some socks with Gothic crosses on them . . .
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: nicole
DATE:Mar 22, 2007 12:04:00 PM
I would like to see the satanist dress - probably dyed with lambs blodd or something freaky. It would be interesting for all of us to make one religeon themed dress and then have some sort of "the costume of religeon" show - or am i just the biggest nerd on the planet?
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Mar 22, 2007 12:25:00 PM
I would come to the costume of religion show. I am also wiccan. I was thinking of some kind of triple goddess print or maybe cycles of the moon. I love the Persephone Pomegranate idea. I really want to make a Dia de los muertos dress this year covered in miriachi skeletons. I'd love to see an all religions dress covered in lots of different culures Gods and Goddesses.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Mar 22, 2007 12:33:00 PM
Jesus fabrics
http://www.jandofabrics.com/products.asp?id=124
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: samsara
DATE:Mar 22, 2007 12:50:00 PM
I saw this dress when it was on the block and lament that it is not mine. I just hope it's happy with someone else.
I collect (and wear) fine art on 1970s polyester dresses. Especially East Asian art, and Persian and Indian miniatures. I've just started photographing my frocks, so I don't have any good pics up yet,alas.
I don't know what print dress could express my atheist-commie-feminist-Jew belief system. This is indeed a challenge, Erin, and a great essay question to ponder.
I would like a protest dress. Something that goes beyond the peace symbol and doves. Or the raised fist encapsulated in the symbol for female. Any ideas?
Julie--You've inspired me! I love the idea of wildly innappropriate seder dresses. How about a repeat pattern of the 10 Plagues of Egypt on a shirtwaist dress? Maybe it would be too hard to show darkness and blood, nu? Perhaps just frogs, locusts, flies and slaying of the first-born.
I've got a novelty print skirt with frogs on it that I am totally gonna wear to Passover seder this year. Tee hee.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Mar 22, 2007 1:23:00 PM
I have a long skirted long sleeved high necked dress from the 70's. It's a satiney blue fabric with egyptian animal headed gods in a red sora brocade. I bought it at the 2nd hand store for the fabriC. I've never seen anything like it.
cassandra
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: vespabelle
DATE:Mar 22, 2007 1:30:00 PM
I have the Alexander Henry Virgin of Guadalupe fabric. The print is huge so I doubt I'll actually use it for clothing. (I also most likely didn't buy enough!)
Equilter has a whole cateegory of "religion, inspiration, and spirit" fabrics at equilter.com
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Kitty the Cat
DATE:Mar 22, 2007 4:34:00 PM
Here are the religious (religion?) fabrics at eQuilter.
I love the chalices and dagger dress idea. Too bad I'll never find anything appropriate for a religiously themed dress around here...
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Mar 22, 2007 6:20:00 PM
Actually, I used those huge Guadalupes for boxer shorts... One virgin on each cheek, and then some :-). One feels protected or something..
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Mar 22, 2007 8:29:00 PM
for real religious fashion fanatics, jean paul gautier's spring couture collection:
http://www.style.com/fashionshows/collections/S2007CTR/complete/thumb/JPGAULTI
my favorite is this dress:
http://www.style.com/slideshows/fashionshows/S2007CTR/JPGAULTI/RUNWAY/00360m.jpg
no, no, definitely the sacred heart gown!:
http://www.style.com/slideshows/fashionshows/S2007CTR/JPGAULTI/RUNWAY/00200m.jpg
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Val
DATE:Mar 23, 2007 12:20:00 AM
I think a print or dress with abstract, geometric Mosque designs would be lovely! In fact, I think a whole collection of dresses can be inspired by just the Cathedral-Mosque of Cordoba, Spain. It's Muslim Mosque, Catholic Baroque Cathedral, and ancient Roman temple rolled into one.
I guess that's what I'll be sketching this week ;D
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: India
DATE:Mar 23, 2007 10:18:00 AM
Samsara, representing the more abstract plagues is the fun part. For example, in the plagues of Egypt plush toys set, they have:
* A spooky eyed drop of blood
* A Frog for frogs--of course
* A Giant Lice [sic] for lice.
* Cow for cattle disease
* Black Locust for locusts
* A white satin lump of hail
* A black cube of darkness
* An icky boil on a piece of flesh!
* A snarling lion's head for wild beasts
* and last of all a very sad head--for death of the first born.
The "black cube of darkness" is my favorite, favorite, favorite. Also note that "The frog, lice, cow and locust wriggle and roll their eyes, quiver, buzz and move when you pull their string." Well, of course! You could use googly-eye buttons on your dress, too.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Jess
DATE:Mar 23, 2007 10:50:00 AM
I like the Moses parting the waters/deep V dress idea. Pretty cute.
I think you could do a cute fabric in blues, with the ocean water, a big light blue/gray blue whale, and a pale and afraid-looking Jonah about to get swallowed... like a repeat pattern all over the dress.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Meredith
DATE:Mar 23, 2007 11:08:00 AM
Dorothy O'Hara dresses are amazing. I've owned two and they fit like nothing else. They look weird on the hanger, but they fit a real person amazingly well. If you ever find one, you should snap it up!
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Char
DATE:Mar 23, 2007 12:47:00 PM
Satanists would wear clothing with their own image emblazoned on it.
Satanists who were poor spellers would wear clothing made of satin with their own image emblazoned on it.
I've always considered Vionnet to be the master of drape...
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Karen
DATE:Mar 23, 2007 2:55:00 PM
I'm a day behind here... coincidentally, on Wedesday I was browing at a fabric store and found some nice cotton with subtle crosses on it, and I thought... I need a dress out of that to wear if I am ever baptised. I'm only 27, it could happen.
I also found some gorgous cottons for the Duro(s) in my head. Didn't buy them, thought about them for 24 hours, and went back for them. AND the dress destiny lined up such that McCalls patterns were on sale once again, and there was ONE remaining duro pattern, in my size. 4th times a charm!!! I have been trying for weeks to pick up one of those, and I swear your blog has led to the complete unavailability of them.
So... now I have fabric and patterns lined up for 5 dresses, and have absolutely no time to sew unless I take a leave from work. Which I am considering.
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR:
DATE:Mar 24, 2007 4:04:00 AM
At the rate people get offended at others use of religous symbols, I'd be hesitant to wear such fabrics. But the dress is very nice. And what religion worships the Flying Spaghetti Monster?
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Joni
DATE:Mar 24, 2007 3:50:00 PM
I'm a Mormon, so this fabric would make a great dress for me...
http://www.michaelmillerfabrics.com/MMF/Swatch.cfm?&Kwds=jiggle
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COMMENT:
AUTHOR: Ashlea
DATE:Aug 18, 2009 7:46:00 PM
My sister (and I realize this is very very late!) has a skirt that she made out of Virgin Mary fabric. We call it her Catholic skirt. Because we're Presbyterian, and refer to anything with pictures of Jesus, Mary, saints, etc. as 'popery.' (Cause it's a homonym, get it?)
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