I made some neat clothes!
Literally a month ago -- talk about a late blog post!!-- I participated in my first full sewing retreat. (I went to the 2018 retreat but only stayed for a day.) The Oklahoma City chapter of America Sewing Guild hosts a three-day long retreat annually at Camp Canyon Methodist Camp. The weekend consisted of make-n-take projects, a fabric "garage sale", door prizes (I didn't win any 😔) and lots & lots of sewing. We were housed in the main conference room but our meals were served 1/3 mile away in the mess hall. The campsite is super scenic so I spent a lot of time meandering around outside.
This is just one tiny sample of the fabric I bought from the garage sale. RagsReborn is going to have SO MUCH new fabric for fall/holiday craft shows!!!
The first thing we did after setting up our sewing stations was rummage through the garage sale. Everyone was encouraged to bring their left over scrap fabric (and pretty much anything else that is sewing related) to sell as a sewing club fundraiser. There was an entire room full of awesome stuff! We were allowed to pack as much as could possibly fit into a plastic shopping bag for $5/bag. I bought a bag of fun patterned fabric for RagsReborn and a bag of fabric and notions for me to use throughout the retreat. Each year, the sewing club holds a garage sale challenge where we make items using only fabric purchased from the garage sale. There are two categories - clothing and non-clothing, and I planned to make one of each to enter. I didn't know what I would do with all my new fabric, but I had all weekend to figure that out! My friend, Brenda, became my personal shopper and brought me all sorts of fabric to add to my stash. Honestly, she brought me more than I could use so I had to put some of it back. LOL I only brought a couple of patterns with me because I wasn't sure how much I could sew in one weekend. Especially because I was strictly sewing garments and I'm new (and not very good) at sewing clothes.
All of my beautifully traced and cut pattern pieces 😍 Thanks again to Marilyn for letting me borrow her pattern and use her tracing paper.
My first project of the weekend was to sew an outfit for the sewing club's pattern challenge. For the challenge, we had to choose a Simplicity brand pattern that is approved by American Sewing Guild, sew the garment and model it at our monthly meeting. My friend, Marilyn, and I decided to sew the same outfit. She was going to guide me through the process but since she couldn't make it to the retreat, I was on my own. And what do I do? I started sewing the shirt and decided that it would look so much better as a dress. Like, the cutest little mod shift dress ever! So I went rogue and spent all day sewing the black puppy dress (pictured in the very first picture of this blog post). The fabric I used was from the garage sale so I'll be entering the dress into the sewing club's garage sale challenge, clothing category. I did eventually get around to making the Simplicity pattern (#8021, view A & B). Brenda picked out the black suede fabric with the eyelet cutouts.
The second day of the sewing retreat turned into a dress making day. I was going to sew a couple of different variations of the Simplicity pattern (to get the hang of making simple shirts and pants) but my friend, Karen, gave me this beautiful flowing yellow floral fabric. There was tons of it! I was pondering what to make with it when Carolyn and Brenda came over to show me this designer fashion catalog. I don't remember which brand/designer it was but there were gorgeous $400 summer dresses in it. I showed them Karen's fabric and a dress that I liked and we set off to make a replica. Carolyn is a seamstress and used to own Helen Enox Fabrics where she did custom tailoring so I was in good hands.
Top: the pattern I used for the bodice of the dress, Karen's yellow fabric and the dress from the catalog. Bottom: a cute keychain Brenda gifted me and our second make-n-take project; a tablet stand.
I would say that the dress was a team effort but Brenda and Carolyn mostly make it for me. The only part I sewed was the bodice, which I botched up so Brenda had to take it apart and re-sew it for me. Carolyn has the most incredible Bernina sewing machine (advanced, high tech and expensive could be other adjectives to describe it). It practically sews itself. She taught me how to use the gathering foot and rolled hem foot on it. Then, she taught me how to use her serger, which changed my life. Seriously. I have already started saving up money to buy one of my own. After we finished the first dress, I decided that I needed to make a second one by myself. I grabbed a few pink fabric scraps and sewed the dress pictured in the very first picture of this blog post. I decided on a different design for the bodice so I wouldn't have two identical dresses. Plus, I think the racer-back works better as a summer dress. I was so proud of myself. Not only did I sew a dress all on my own, but it was my fourth garment I made that weekend!
Brenda, me, Carolyn and Karen
Sunday was the third and last day of the retreat. I think most of the women were ready to leave but I still had sewing to do! Brenda picked out some black & brown fabric for me and I had promised her that I'd use it for something before the retreat ended, so I made the shirt pictured in the very first picture of this blog post. I also started the round purse pictured below. I had no idea that round purses were so trendy now; I just felt like designing and sewing one. The chain and charms were from a kit that I picked out at the garage sale so I'll be entering it into the sewing club's garage sale challenge, non-clothing category. Our two make-n-take projects for the weekend was a shopping bag made from recycled feed bags (I used an old dog food bag, pictured below) and a collapsible tablet/book stand. Those are so cool and useful. I'll be making more of those and adding them to my craft show inventory line up.
Final inventory from the retreat - three dresses, two shirts, one pair of pants, one tablet stand, and two bags. I would call that a huge success. I had a blast and am so thankful for all of the new friends that I made. Everyone is so smart and talented! I plan to use what I learned to sew many more outfits. Now, let's all wish me luck in the Simplicity pattern challenge and garage sale challenges!
You are so very talented. I enjoyed watching you model your lovely creations.
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