I recently got some amazing vintage fabric from Enid, my friend and mentor, who lets me rummage through her attic once in a while in search of clothing, fabrics and patterns, which I am very thankful for. I will share some of the beautiful dresses with you in an upcoming post. For now I would like to show you some the wonderful prints and the design ideas they gave me.
A lot of the time when I see a piece of fabric, I know exactly what it’s supposed to become. The thick gold brocade (a leftover scrap from armchair upholstery) will make a wonderful bag, especially with the sparkling brown leather, which I already happened to have lying around, used for handles and trim. I love the flower print on the thick gray cotton; I’m thinking – makeup case.
This cotton is light and airy, but sophisticated. The dress design popped into my head almost immediately.
This fabric is actually a tablecloth. I like it so much that a part of me wanted to keep it as a tablecloth, but after some thought I decided that I’d rather wear it. There is a stripe print along the entire edge. I want to use the striped print along the hem and the lilly of the valley pattern on the rest of the dress. Wish I could make a more involved design, but the fabric is quite thick lending itself to a basic summer dress.
Unlike handbags and shoes, which I can make patterns for based on a simple sketch, making clothing is a hobby for me. Most of the time I use purchased patterns that I sometimes alter to fit my design ideas. I have found some suitable patterns from Simplicity and should be able to start sewing the dresses in about a week.
