Amanda is a sewing enthusiast who loves high quality fabrics, fitted garments, neatly finished insides and the color yellow. See more from Amanda's Adventures in Sewing »
Little Girl Cotton Lace Dress
After using stretch polyester lace a few months ago, I decided to try some cotton lace for a summer dress for Rachel. This fabric is from Mood and has a nice weight to it – not too heavy but substantial enough for a dress. It was very easy to work with and ironed well. Of course, being lace, it needed some type of underlining. I tried it atop lots of different colors and finally chose a dark teal cotton. I chose a simple pattern for this dress in order to show off the lace. I cut a 1/2 for [...]
Oscar de la Renta Silk Mikado Dress
I spotted this floral on Mood Fabrics’ website a few months back and thought it was really pretty. I’m gravitating towards large florals these days and I liked all the empty space around the flowers of this print. It’s described as a silk and wool blend (silk mikado) which intrigued me. It’s also an Oscar de la Renta fabric, so I knew it had to be luscious. Editor’s note: Silk mikado fabric is a favorite of designers for its soft hand but stiff drape, which gives it the ability to be shaped into dramatic curves and flounces. It’s a beautiful [...]
The Lace Dress That Became a Lace Skirt
It’s the Lace Challenge month at the Mood Sewing Network and in the past few months there has been a flurry of excitement and activity concerning the picking out of a choice piece of lace. I did not participate in any of that excitement, though, because way back in July of last year I used my Mood money to purchase some exquisitely beautiful green lace. (It sold out quickly so I unfortunately cannot link you to it. Here are some of their other laces.) Oh I had plans! I bought 3 yards and could have done just about anything. So [...]
Carolina Herrera Brocade Dress
When I first laid eyes on this brocade at Mood, I thought it was very striking but had no idea what to do with it. I didn’t want an entire dress made from it because that would be too fancy for my lifestyle. While perusing some design magazines on vacation, I ran across a dress with a bunch of folds around the neckline that I wanted to copy, but then couldn’t find the right pattern in my stash. Enter this Simplicity Cynthia Rowley pattern. It had the fitted bodice that I find most flattering on my small bust, and the [...]
Grace with Lace
Sometimes when I look through an online fabric store, I like to type certain things in the search field and see what pops up. “Yellow,” “embroidered,” “wool double knit” and “silk jersey” are some of my favorites. Right after I’d made my eggplant military jacket I did a search for “copper” on Mood’s website, and it pulled up this lace. I thought it would be perfect for a little top to wear under my jacket, so I ordered 1.5 yards with no real pattern in mind. Surprise! Turns out it really wanted to be a dress. It’s funny how fabric [...]
Floral Mesh Statement Skirt
I have made another statement skirt using my TNT straight skirt pattern, McCall’s 3830. The fabric is a polyester ribbon mesh from Mood. The name they used to describe the color is Weimaraner, a very appropriate name for this slightly brownish gray (which you can see in some of the closeups. The sun was setting when we took these pictures, casting a warm glow on everything.) I really love the textural interest of the mesh ribbon roses and that the fabric is thin enough not to add a lot of bulk. After trying all sorts of colors for my underlining, [...]
Military Jacket in Cotton Twill
Military jackets are very trendy right now. Last fall I made plans to make one, but didn’t get around to it until now. I used a thick cotton twill in aubergine from MoodFabrics.com. It was easy to work with and has a great woven texture which you can see in some of the close ups. This was the only design I liked from the May 2011 issue of Burda style. It is chalk full of interesting details: 20 buttons!, topstitching, sleeve cuffs, shoulder tabs, folding back front lapels, slanting back yokes and back belt. I opted not to trim it [...]
Bamboo Knit High-Low Top
The idea for this top came while I was making view A last year. I was just starting to notice the colorblocking trend and thought it would be fun to have one side in black and the other in white. During the month of August (aka the month of wadders) I stitched it up using some polyester jersey. The fit was horrible on that first one and the fabric was gross. But worst of all was that it looked like some sort of court jester costume. Hmmm, what now? I decided to cut the front in black and the back [...]
Yellow Tweed Sheath with Tie Collar
My newest dress is in a beautiful yellow Oscar de la Renta tweed from Mood. When I saw this fabric online, I knew it had to be mine. It’s mainly yellow, has loads of texture and sequins, and a total lux feel to it. I set about finding the perfect pattern to showcase it and had a bit of a roller coaster along the way. My first pick was McCall’s 5972, the curved collar design. I made a muslin but could not get the skirt portion to fit me. Fine. I’ll just use my TNT straight skirt pattern for that [...]
