After having so much fun dyeing and doodling on my silk habutai scarf (September of last year), I decided to make a bunch more, and see if they're salable. I had money in my business account from the custom sewing and alterations I did the last few years, so why not use it for prototypes?  I ordered  the following scarves from Dharma Trading Company:
          12 Silk Satin, 12 mm, 17"x17"
          12 Silk Charmeuse, 19.5 mm, 22"x22"
          12 Crepe de Chine, 12 mm, 25"x25"
          12 Flat Crepe, 8 mm, 22"x22"

How did I decide which ones to order?  I went for the ones that were discounted.  I figured why shell out when I don't yet know what I like?  I also got a quart of Synthrapol, a detergent that gets excess ink out of scarves after dyeing.  My total for this order was $271.12. 

All my travails with fitting the sleeve/armscye of the Red Fox Vintage dress make me realize I need to understand better how these things are supposed to work.  I can't use the Red Fox Vintage bodice as a sloper if the armscye is screwy, can I?  So, after over five years of sewing clothes, hacking patterns, and altering things, I am ready to make my own sloper so I can make patterns that are right from the start. 

Almost two years ago, I got excited by a vintage pattern that was far too large for me: Anne Adams 4882.  I set it on the back burner of my brain, thinking I'd try grading it down someday. 

Combining my new sloper with the nice pattern illustrations for Anne Adams, I was finally ready to make myself this dress!  This won't be a comprehensive project diary, just a highlight reel. 

For the cost of two dollars and ten minutes, I have made a set of clip-on stirrups to keep my pant legs in my boots.  This will make my winter easier!  Here goes:

1. I buy four little grippy clips designed to bite and hold whatever cloth you pinch them to.  They cost $0.49 each.
   
2. I sew them to stash woven elastic: two elastic straps, each with a clip on each end. 
   
3. I clip them to the bottoms of my pants legs and under my heel, like stirrups. 
4. I put my boots on, and the pant legs stay tucked where they belong! 

In the picture below, my left leg does not have the stirrup, and the pant leg is riding up, not staying in the boot.  Bad pant leg!  Down!  My right leg is in its stirrup, and the pant leg stays tucked. 

When I saw an indigo-dyed cotton at the Mill End Store, I liked it a lot.  This fabric is an ikat (say "EEE-kat"), which is a textile art I find fascinating.  The basic design is as follows: the warp threads are arranged in stripes of solid color (black or deep indigo) and stripes of resist-dyed yarns.  (Or maybe they're dip-dyed; I can't know for sure how they dyed them.)  The dyed threads are dark blue and pale gray, and the gray spots alternate.  The weft threads are both a solid color and a smaller diameter than the warp threads, so the warp-pattern really pops. 

So what'll I do with it?  I decide to make another shirt for my brother!  I mean, the one I just made him won't fill the box for shipping, so I might as well make another and fill the box!  I wouldn't want to waste my shipping money!  ;)