Ready for Fall & Winter with an Italian Sweater Knit Dress

Where I live, fall comes without the trees changing colors. It’s a bit of a bummer. Still, you can tell that fall is in the air when all the girls start breaking out their sweaters, tights and boots. In preparation for Southern California “sweater weather” I recently browsed the sweater knit section of Mood Fabrics in Los Angeles. This Italian wool sweater knit caught my eye immediately. The fine gauge was cozy but not bulky. Warm but not too warm. The fine gauge was also perfect for the Rebecca Taylor sweater dress pattern (a.k.a. Vogue 1315). The pockets had me at [...]

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Sunday Best Wool Gingham Dress

  When I picked this wool/poly-blend gingham at the Mood Fabrics NYC store, I knew exactly what I wanted it to be.  A sleeveless version of my TNT dress with white piping. I played around with several other options but I kept coming back to this simple silhouette which highlights the fabric, because that’s what I really wanted—to highlight the fabric.  Here are a few ginghams from MoodFabrics.com. I saw this picture of gingham-style outfits in the November 2013 issue of Vogue Magazine and I knew I was on the right track.  Even when making my wool bouclé jacket, I [...]

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Silk Jersey Twisted Dress Redux

Well, I did it again. I made another one of BurdaStyle’s Twisted Maxi Dresses out of one of Mood Fabric’s silk jerseys. And, there was no oops about it. I got so much use out of my first silk jersey maxi dress this summer that I just had to make another to carry me through fall and winter. Silk jersey is a delight to wear (seriously, I feel like I’m in pajamas when I wear these dresses yet they both look really pulled together), and the gathers in the front of this dress make it perfect for expanding over my [...]

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Madewell-Inspired Striped Silk Dress

This dress was inspired by a dress I saw at Madewell a while back. I’ve been loving the multi-directional stripes I’ve seen lately, but all the dresses I’ve found haven’t exactly been in a college girl’s budget. So I decided to just make my own! The fabric is this denim blue-striped woven from Mood Fabrics. I liked working with it for the most part but I did have issues with ironing. I ironed the dress, starched it. Re-ironed it, and starched it again and it still looks a little wavy, especially on the skirt. I don’t mind because the fabric smells [...]

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Snuggly Sweater Dress

Mimosas and Mood Fabrics on Saturday, Sazerac and Steelers on Sunday, and Sweater Knit to fondle all weekend.  Monday was a cruel mistress. Need inspiration?  Stuck in a rut?  If you can, hightail it to the second floor on Mood Fabrics NYC.  It’ll cure ya.  I never know what I’m going to find up there, but I always walk away hugging something fiercely.  Like I’ve just won a prize that must be guarded with my life.  This poly sweater knit is sooooo soft, which only added to the hugging factor.  I believe the tag said it was from Italy. Is [...]

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Denim & Velvet Wiggle Dress

ARGH THIS DRESS TOOK FOREVER!  At one point, I told Ruggy this might be the longest I’ve ever spent on a dress. Really, I’m not sure, because it was started in Texas and finished in New York…travel plays tricks on the mind… I ordered this delicious medium-weight denim & velvet flocked yardage from Mood Fabrics online back in late July.  It seemed totally appropriate for the middle of the summer.  That’s sarcasm. But the fabric is amazing, it has a bit of stretch to it, and the velvet looks almost CGIed. It was meant for a maxi dress, but then my eyes fell on [...]

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The Boho Chic Ikat Maxi Dress

When I first saw this ikat jersey from Mood Fabrics, I knew it was supposed to be a maxi dress. Because this is one of those fabrics that simply speaks to you!  And it screamed, “Boho chic!”  And one with long sleeves is a great transitional garment for me.And every so often, I like an easy, palette cleansing project and Vogue 8921 fit the bill. This pattern is simple and such a perfect way to highlight the fabric and allow it to be the star. I made my usual alterations, which is to just lengthen everything! I added an inch [...]

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Two Simple Knit Dresses for Fall

As much as I looove working with beautiful fabrics that require special handling and specific sewing rules, sometimes a girl just needs a simple knit dress to throw on when she wants to look classy but feel she’s wearing pajamas. Fortunately for me, Mood Fabrics has an incredible assortment of knits, from lightweight cotton to cozy wool. A little bit of everything, I like that! So obviously, I made two because one CLEARLY is not enough. I used the Lady Skater pattern from Kitschycoo for both dresses—this is a great basic knit dress, easy to customize by just changing up the fabric. [...]

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Ombre Striped Jersey Dress

I’ve wanted to make this dress ever since I first started seeing Marcy Tilton’s shingle dress (Vogue V8904) pop up around the sewing blogging world. I had my heart set on making it out of stripes since I loved the way the design of the pattern made them play this way and that. Then, Goodbye Valentino made the exact dress I’d been dreaming of for her July MSN make out of a navy and white striped cotton jersey (the same one I used for the bottom layer, which no longer appears to be available online at Mood Fabrics). I figured [...]

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