Since I started making multiple iterations of the BurdaStyle Heidi dress, I've gotten lots of email about it. Some folks want advice on lining it, others want to know about fit issues, and still others are worried about the printing-it-out-and-taping-it-together part (don't worry about that, it's easy). No one, however, has written to me to say, "Erin, that's a nice dress and all, but you really need to ADD MORE FISH."

However, I knew that was what was in all of your hearts, so, behold:

I've had this fabric for more than THREE YEARS. Obviously, it was biding its time, waiting for me to meet the dress that would be its destiny. And what a destiny that is:

I love the pixilated, dappled look of this fabric. Several folks did not even notice the fish, when I wore it. So here, have a fish closeup:

And in case you were wondering, yes, this fabric IS nearly impossible to match to anything … I have four pairs of pink shoes (yeah, that's a topic for another post) and NONE of them matched. (And I made this for a wedding — if you can't wear pink shoes to a wedding, where can you wear pink shoes?) But I don't care, because: FISH.

Labels: BurdaStyle, erin_sewing, fish, Heidi, prints

Jessica found this incredibly steampunk Norman pattern and wonders if anyone has information they can share about Mrs. N.R. Norman, inventress. This is Centennial Pattern No. 8, for those keeping score at home, and is from the 1890s. It may be a St. Louis company — it's marked St. Louis. Any information? Please leave a comment! (Here's a bigger image.)

Speaking of comments, Becky O. left one on Friday pointing us to this WONDERFUL writeup by TrueUp about the different on-demand fabric printers. Exhaustive and well-researched, definitely worth checking out.

Kate found the button-top (not dress) I was thinking of. Great for Rolling Stones fans!

Kristen sent this link to dresses knitted from trash. So cool. (Although probably itchy.)

Anna sent me a link to The Sewing Machine Attachment book. (It's a book about different attachments FOR your machine, not about fostering your attachment TO your machine.) I have purchased mine, will review when I get it!

Lucy (who is the person behind Home Movie Day London) sent this link to a digitised (British spelling, in Lucy's honour) film of 1930s fashions. Lovely!

A few self-promoty links:

If you like words, and are on Facebook, might you not consider being a fan of Wordnik on Facebook? Our fan page is here. If you're not a Facebooker but still want Wordnik words of the day, that link is here. But the only place you can see the Wordnik LIST of the day (a collection of related words) is on Twitter:@wordnik. [If you're looking for me on Twitter, I'm @emckean for word-type stuff, @FakeErinMcKean for "what-I-had-for-lunch" type stuff.] (Whew! That's a lot of social media in one place …)

Labels: blatant_self_promotion, linkgasm, Norman_patterns

For reasons that should be painfully obvious, I have wanted more of this fabric for years. I bought some the moment I saw it, and made a big circle skirt, which I have altered at least a couple of times. But it's quilting cotton, which means it's not especially sturdy, and the skirt was beginning to look a little sad. Which made me more than a little sad. (That's one of the downsides of sewing — even if something you make costs less than the $20 throwaway item from H&M or Target, it costs more in time and emotional investment, so you get madder when it wears out/rips/gets spilled on.)

And unfortunately, with fabric, even if you know the manufacturer's name and the fabric name, you can't rely on the seller knowing either of those pieces of information. So the only thing you can do is hit eBay at regular intervals and think "if I didn't know anything about this fabric, how would I describe it?"

Which is what I did, and now FOUR YARDS are on their merry way to me. Woo! With a bonus Hoo!

Do I know what I will sew with this yet? Not especially. But I know I will love it and hug it and squeeze it and call it George.

Labels: alphabet_prints, ebay, fabric, fonts

Pros:

Shawl collar (love!)
Pockets (duh, love!)

Labels: sales, Simplicity_2959

Aside from the belt, the fringe, the shoes-slash-lucite-hooves, and the expression on the model's face (which can only be described as "I am smelling something bad while thinking about completing my overdue tax return"), this is one lovely dress. The neckline, the midriff band, the fantastic fabric which I can almost *touch* through the computer screen …

And it's by that certified wackaloon, Lagerfeld (for Fendi)! I swear, I love to read about Lagerfeld. If there were a Lagerfeld News Weekly I would be a charter subscriber. Nothing about him surprises me. Bathes in a mixture of V8 and ball bearings? That's for amateurs. Can't sleep unless a minion is doing wheelies on a dirt bike up and down the parqueted hall? Pffft. Hardly even eccentric. He's been hired to decorate a secret lair on Skullcrusher Mountain, take pictures of the process for a coffee-table book, and compose a chamber-music piece for an oboe sextet for the grand opening? Please, the man does that every third Tuesday. Lagerfeld would have to build an army of robot kittens that breathe fire and knit alpaca socks before I would even raise an eyebrow.

And yet it still surprises me when I like something he's designed! You go, Karl. Love ya, baby. Don't ever change.

Labels: fashion_show, Lagerfeld, Spring10