Trip to Mood Fabrics Los Angeles

Everyone talks about Mood Fabrics like a sewist's mecca.  I decided to make the trek out from Phoenix.  I had to see it for myself in a way that online shopping just doesn't compare.  It is only a 5 and 1/2 hour drive from Phoenix and it was a little detour from our vacation to Laguna Beach.  And look at this place!

 I was accompanied by some non-sewing friends.  The survived and tried really hard to hide their total and complete lack of interest.  Bless their hearts.  They love me enough to go with me - yay for me!

  This was, by far, the most fabric I have ever seen in one place.  It was HUGE.  Rolls and rolls and rolls.

So very many buttons. Seriously, if you can't find a button that will work here, it may not exist.

 I was trying to find some vintage-looking flowered fabric for the retro patterns I have lined up to sew, but I was disappointed by two things: One is that one of the employees was so rude I almost left right then and there.  I know you are a fabric mecca and I have also come to understand that I am not good enough for you, but shouldn't you still answer a question and help me?

Luckily, I didn't give up and the next two employees were very helpful.  However, there was no cotton flowered vintage-looking fabric.  I am not sure where people are getting it.  I did manage to find two things I like, though.

This border print is a silk blend and I LOVE it.  It made the whole trip worth it.  I got an insane (for me) 7 yards.  It was 16.00 a yard.  Which I am aware is not really that pricey for some nice apparel fabric, however it is the most I have ever paid for any fabric.  I usually end up finding things in thrift stores or going to discount places for fabric that isn't usually over 2.00 a yard.  But this border print was just too pretty.  This was actually a low-end price for the store.  I was wandering in a more expensive section and saw some lovely stuff for 40-100 dollars a yard. I high-tailed it for the cheaper section quickly, just in case I fell in love with something.

 I also picked up three yards of this flowered cotton/lycra blend for 12.00 a yard.  It isn't the vintage-looking floral I was hoping for, but I have a nice skirt planned.  Or maybe the skirt of a dress and attach a white bodice to it.  I will sooooo be making a muslin as not to waste a bit of it. 

The trip to mecca left me wondering - am I just being cheap when sewing?   I just can't imagine buying a fabric at 60.00 a yard and getting the 5 yards needed for the retro dresses I like.  It would make sewing a hobby I can't afford.  What do other sewists regularly spend on fabric?    Are these prices sticker-shock inducing for you, too?

Sewing Room Reorganization

My new sewing room organization.

Lately I have been inspired by all the posts about other people's sewing rooms.  My sewing room gets to be an unmanageable mess.  I solved it for awhile with banker's boxes full of fabric.  But then I couldn't find anything because I had to dig through the boxes.  Then, I wouldn't put things back properly and it was just a mess.  Even when it was all put together, it just looked like stacks of banker's boxes.  Like maybe I was just moving in.  Or going to move out.  But bad.

I read Victoria's post on  Ten Thousand Hours of Sewing about her sewing room reorganization.  I loved the picture of what a 49 yard fabric splurge looked like.  I am ashamed to admit that I know what that looks like first-hand.  It is also handy that my fella does not read my blog - he just might be horrified if I showed him just how much fabric I have.  To be clear, I don't lie about my fabric purchases, but his eyes start glazing over when I talk about crafts and I simply use it to my advantage.

I did some searching and found this on Gertie's Blog for Better Sewing.  She has the swatches of the fabric pinned to the box.  Whoa!  Swatches! That is genius!  No more digging through boxes!

Gertie's sewing room.  Pretty pink!

It seems that IKEA is a common theme in sewing rooms.  This is from Custom Style.

Custom Style's sewing room.  Great use of space!

 It is a series of IKEA Lack tables put together for storage.  I thought it was very clever because many of us are dealing with a small space and absurd amounts of crafting supplies.

Look at Yankee Girl Sue's sewing room.  Oooooh!  Pretty!

Yankee Girl Sue's Sewing Room IKEA-rific!

Here is my own.  Inspired by all of them.  My dress form is to the right.  I keep the iron in a cubby-hole on the left because I have a small ironing board I put on a table right next to it.

 I made boxes for my patterns and covered  them with scrap-booking paper.  A file cabinet would have been better, but I don't have the space for one.

Here is the other wall opposite of the IKEA shelf.  I keep my slopers pinned to the wall above the sewing machines.  Above are some photos I took a few years back.

And my cutting surface.  I only wish it were a little taller.  I keep trying to think of some ideas to raise it about 12-15 inches so it is easier and less back-breaking when cutting fabric. I'd like to make it better than just putting some books under the table legs.  Maybe it will require a trip to IKEA and something like Custom Style...

Thanks for taking a look!

Pattern Drafting Software: To buy or not to buy

Last year I took a semester long pattern drafting course at the local community college. I really enjoyed taking a drawing of a dress, turning it into a pattern and then turning it into a wearable dress.  I made a dress that was a copy mix of two different dresses I was drooling over from Mad Men.  (The Project Peggy dress). 

I put the pattern I used online and offered it for free on Craftsy. I haven't seen anyone make it yet, but I like the thought of someone making the dress.  It makes me smile. 

My next goal is to make new patterns, grade them and sell them as e-patterns. I don't have grand dreams, but I think I can make enough to pay for the software and eventually pay for some fabric purchases here and there.

I read a really great series of posts by Sew Mama Sew about how she does pattern drafting, grading and makes e-patterns. She does it all without the aid of a pattern drafting program. And while this has been the most informative and helpful information I have seen about making e-patterns, I am still not dissuaded from looking for software.

I found out there aren't that many options for the home sewist.  The commercial pattern-making software is out of my budget.  They run 7,000-10,000 and are (apparently) fantastic.  I may never know.

There there are some others that work for home sewists to make their own patterns.  That is fine, but I want to make graded e-patterns.  There are really only two options for the the a small business with that functionality.  They are still a lot of money, but I am willing to invest in something if I think I will (eventually) make back the price of the software in sales. 

There is the option of using grading services, but I'd rather not hire out the work since I am not planning on this replacing my actual job.  So.... the options:

PatternMaker Grading Studio
I took a computerized pattern drafting course at a local community college and they used this software.  I was extremely disappointed in the class.  One of the issues was that the class was actually two different classes (fashion illustration and computer pattern drafting) at the same time, taught by the same teacher.  It was a disaster run by a less than tech savvy teacher.  She just had me following the manuals on my own.  She negligent at best, I was pregnant and tired... it wasn't a good mix.  I dropped the class after only a few weeks.

I wasn't all that impressed with the exposure that I did have to the software.  It seemed clunky and something that hadn't been cutting edge since 1985 or so.  There was  a lot of extra clicking to get it to do simple things.  Do I chalk my negative opinion to disliking the class, teacher and hormones or should I have given the software more of a chance because the issue was really more that I never got past the learning curve?

Here are the cons:
Clunky and not intuitive or user friendly.  Steep learning curve.  It seemed impossible that I would ever do pattern drafting in this software.  The curved lines were so hard to create and control.  I tried to create an empire waist from my sloper, which involves slashing the bodice with a slightly curved line and it was a complete mess.  Soooo much easier by hand.

Here are the pros:
Grading, grading, grading.  Alledgedly.  I never got to try this functionality.  The college didn't have this module, so I didn't get to try it out.  I don't mind hand-drafting patterns, but grading and tiling them for e-patterns are a pain.

The software package for the grading is found here: http://www.patternmakerusa.com/PatternMaker%20Store/gradever.html.  It is currently about $1,200.  The big problem with wanting to buy this is there is no demo and I don't see a return policy.  Eeek!  That is a lot of money to try out something and not have it work.

Wild Ginger Cameo 5
Their Web site is just terrible.  You would think that with all of the fantastic programming skills needed, they could manage a simple site.  I kept looking for a product feature sheet that I never found.  However, they do have a demo to download, as well as a 15 day money-back guarantee.

Here are the pros:
Grading. Money-back guarantee and demo.  At least I can try it out before I shell out that kind of cash.

Here are the cons:
Too little information on the Web site.  It is even more expensive than PatternMaker.  You have to buy two modules at almost 1,000 each and then it isn't clear what else (if anything) I would need.  I think two modules should do it, but I am not entirely sure.  It is really a lot of money.  But if it is really that fantastic, it may be worth it.

You can find Wild Ginger information here: http://www.wildginger.com/products/default.htm

Result:
I am going to download Wild Ginger Cameo and do the demo.  If anybody has any other software they have tried or can talk me down from the "grading is a pain" ledge, I'd love to hear from you.  Maybe I am making it more difficult in my mind than it really is.