Silk dupioni hanging from my apartment’s picture rail. That’s one way to avoid folding it up to deter the wrinklies! Three cheers for historic interiors.

Of Sew-Alongs and Sewing Meetups
Oh, and I’m also participating in the Sew Sexy Sew-Along being hosted by Clio of Clio & Phineas, Lisette of What Would Nancy Drew Wear?, and Wanette of Sown Brooklyn! My sew-along track record is the pits, but what the heck – why not?! I plan to make a Sewaholic Cambie/By Hand London Charlotte mash-up using red silk dupioni (seen above), which I have already dubbed “the Charmbie”. If I pronounce it with a French accent, will it sound sexier? ;)

Also, a meet-up happened! Lladybird was in town and a whole bunch of us gathered on Saturday to shop the day away in the Garment District. I feel like I should do a post about that, but how about I just officially endorse the wrap-ups of the day written on Peter’s, Aleksandra’s, and Lisette’s blogs?!

Anyway, I figured I could share a Wearing Yesteryear post for March 2013 (no finished projects for February 2013, alas). Yay, a freebie post for me! And this is one I’m very excited to share…

The Sabrina Coat

Blog Debut: March 25, 2013
Pattern: McCalls 5717
Worn In: Late fall, winter, early spring
Wearability Meter: Very much so!
Lessons Learned: This was fun, so make another one :)

Okay, so I really love this coat! The whole tailoring process was really fun and a great learning experience. I’ve found that I can wear this coat in temperatures ranging from the 30s to the low 50s F (~0-10 C). One of my favorite features is the length of the coat, which covers knee-length dresses and skirts. Makes for a nice clean finish I think!

Everything seems to have held up well over the past year. This winter has been COLD so I spent most of it in my goose-down coat, but I’ve definitely worn this baby enough times this season. I had used a flannel-back satin lining to give a bit more warmth to the coat. Originally I wasn’t sure if it was going to make me super hot, but now I know I could stand to add a layer of interlining if I wanted to make the coat even warmer.

I’d love to make another coat in a slightly more casual fabric. Oooo, temptation! But, for now, I have some spring projects on the mind. Are you getting ready for some spring sewing? Or autumn sewing for those down under?

(Random note: WordPress has changed the look of the smiley emoticons. The :-D one looks kind of strange!)

They are casting over the next two weeks so if you’re interested apply as soon as you can! The show will be a little different than the GBSB in that four different contestants will be featured each week (so it’s not an elimination challenge where someone gets voted off each week). I’m hoping it will have the same drama-free vibe as the UK version. So refreshing!

Here’s the flyer I received from the production company:

Also, I just noticed that the second season (or should I say “series”!) is now available on the BBC website, but I’m guessing it can also be found on YouTube too. That’s how I watched the first one last year. Yay for reality TV for home sewing! :-D

…in my dreams, that is. How cute is this farmhouse in Vermont? And, get this, the description says there are two sewing rooms in this home! Isn’t that funny? I’ve never seen a real estate listing call out a sewing room before as a way to entice prospective buyers.

What would a sewing room look like? I’m imagining huge sewing machines built into the walls and there’s nothing a future owner can do about it so they might as well call it the Sewing Room even if it’s not used that way. “Yes, just wait in the Sewing Room while I ready the champagne for this evening’s gala. Oh, pardon, I meant Sewing Room Two.”

Have you seen a sewing room included in a real estate listing before?

Want to get a group together and buy this place so it can be our sewing farmhouse retreat??!! I think so! Let’s go…and sew!

So happy in my Minoru jacket. All fabric stores behind me!

I ventured into some of the bigger stores in Montmartre before checking out a smaller discount store. Two of the big stores had several floors of fabric, but only the first and second floors (or ground and first floors depending on where you come from!) had garment fabrics. As much as I’d love to say I made curtains from luxurious French fabrics, I’m not sure how much that’d go over when it came time to hauling that onboard the plane!

These fabric stores are located on a few streets close together. There was a ton of Liberty fabric to be had, but since they weren’t any cheaper than they are here in New York I decided to walk on by.

Here is what I came away with! Three different pieces at great prices even when considering the exchange rate from euros to dollars. I’m thinking the navy polyester fabric with white polka-dots will become a winter blouse (polyester in a humid New York summer – no thanks).

The teal rayon knit with café crème stripes (hey, I did buy it in Paris!) will likely become a summer dress. With the sheer white viney fabric, I’m thinking of a button-down dress with a slip underneath using the McCall’s 6696 pattern I made over the summer.

At this store, Les Coupons de Saint Pierre, all the fabric comes pre-cut 3 meters a piece. Each of these were 10 euros each so after the exchange rate I bought 9 meters of fabric for $40 total! That’s the equivalent of a little over 9 yards, which comes to $4/yard. Yippy, Les Coupons!

The above photo shows ladies using their x-ray vision to find the perfect fabric underneath all those piles. Seriously, I don’t know how I managed to find what I did. I usually need a little order when I shop!

More piles of fabric outside!

I love this. That’s only the famous Sacre Coeur looming over Paris’ fabric district! Even the plastic bag holding my fabric purchases had an image of the basilica on it. Now that’s classy.

October has been a very busy month for me with some fun (non-sewing) projects on the side. Couple that with getting back into the normal non-vacation routine and there hasn’t been much sewing going on at Sewin’ in the Rain Studios. But! I have cut out the pieces for the Charlotte skirt from By Hand London so there are high-waisted pencil skirts in my future.

I hope you’re having a great October! Anyone dressing up in me-made costumes for Halloween?

Let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start…

Hi readers, just a quick note to say that I’m now on Instagram!

I’ve posted my very first photo of the fabrics I’ll be using for my upcoming Minoru Jacket from Sewaholic Patterns. I thought I would be all super hip and holler at Sewaholic with the magic @button, but she doesn’t seem to be on Instagram. D’oh.

In any case, can’t wait to sport the jacket around France this fall… Oui, France!!

Are you on Instagram? I’ve already found some of you. You can follow me @sewinintherain – see you there. :-D