Made a decision

So, that Mary Quant style dress I talked about.

I am printing out (on my home printer, and yes, I'll have to tape 43 pages together, but I will have a lot of time while up at my parents') the pattern and instructions for it.

I decided to do this even though I MAY not get to the JoAnn's here to look for fabric...I had thought of going Saturday but it's supposed to storm pretty badly (And tomorrow I need to go back in and work on the manuscript; I was felled by an early afternoon headache and I have piano in like two hours so I'm not going back now.)

But my parents have a (smaller) JoAnn's near them. And a couple of quilt-fabric shops. I'm not 100% in love with the idea of using a crisp quilting cotton for it, but whatever - that might be the only way to get a print I like.

(the Sewing Studio closed/moved. They moved to another town and I'm not sure if they still exist, anyway, it sounded like they were going more to a "sewing for kids" model, and, sigh)

However - when I called my mom to ask about fabric sources - and also if she had any more of the "pattern tracing cloth" (a non-woven, very thin fabric sort of thing - kind of like see-through synthetic felt, really, that you can use to make patterns from) she did mention that she might have something in her stash I could use.

(My mom has LOTS of fabric, some of it going back - still - to the 1970s. I know she had some of the old Jessica McClintock prints, but I may have used those up on other things AND also the ones I remember were smaller pieces than the perhaps-five-yards I am estimating it would take. (It might take less than that, to be honest: they seem to propose about 2 3/4 yards for a 56" wide fabric, and while MOST dressmaker fabrics range from 40" to 45" of usable width....I know there's a conversion somewhere but 5 yards would EASILY be safe, even if I made it longer AND made the sleeves, and I definitely want sleeves)

Okay, their layout DOES include sleeves....and this conversion chart seems to suggest a 3 1/2 yard comparison to the 2 3/4 of the wider one....which is a LOT more manageable, but of course, if I get something with a directional print or nap* I'd need more.

(*I am honestly envisioning this in some kind of lightweight cotton or cotton/linen blend, so it shouldn't have a nap. I want this as a warmish weather dress)

It would probably even be cute out of one of those "batiks" sold for quilting, and if nothing else, I think the Boline's Quilt Warehouse near my parents sells those....though often their fabrics have a slightly coarser "hand" because they do discount sales. (Then again, even the smallish JoAnn's near them would probably have those).

But man, now I'm dreaming about my mom unearthing some literal vintage-70s dressweight in a slightly mod pattern (she was kind of stylish, years back) and my being able to use it. (She mostly sews for her grandchild these days and I know in the past she's pressed me to use fabric I liked out of her stash for things)

I am not "setting my cap" for a particular color or print (though I admit that turquoise-with-geometrics shown on the V and A page is super cute) because there's less chance of disappointment if I go into the dress planning with a totally open mind. I just don't want anything too pale; too much of a light background on dresses is bad for me as I am somewhat of a messy eater (And just messy-liver in general) and they tend to get stained.

But now I am excited for this again; I really do hope my mom has something cool in her stash I could use.