Anyone else going to the 2008 Charleston Fashion Show coming up later this month? I'm going to one night of Ready to Wear and one night of Emerging Local Designers. Laura Bennett from Project Runway is going to be there again this year - should be fun! Can't wait to go. Have no clue as to what to wear though - fretting already over that!

Damn Sam! That is super creative! Fantastic details!! I hope this is more than just a hobby for you! You got some serious good talent.

Adorable!! Nicely constructed too!

Where are you purchasing our houndstooth fabrics at if you don't mind me asking?

Thanks, Jane

I'm considering disassembling my fav Lilly Pulitzer cabana/shift style dress (which fits me PERFECTLY) to use it as a master pattern so I can make the same dress...but in fabrics I choose.

Is that task as easy as going at it with a seam ripper? 
Anything I should worry about when it comes to reassembling said dress?

OR

Should I just buy the same style dress off Ebay & use that one as a sacrificial lamb & spare taking apart my favorite one?

Any advice is greatly appreciated! Thanks, Jane

Right now (which is just about to change) I simply hang my fabrics on a mulit-tiered clothes hanger.

I got a few of these at Bed, Bath & Beyond. Cost like $7 or so per hanger. Each hanger has 6 rods. Downside - can't eyeball the fabrics as easily as I would like - but it takes up little closet space overall.

I used to use this type of plastic 3 drawer cabinet I got
at Lowe's.

But it was stuffed to the the point of not being to get the drawers open. So that little cabinet has been relegated to serve another storage task.

My friend Cindy uses these:

Which she stacks in the corner behind a door & arranges each bin by color mostly. She prints off a little label that she can change out when her fabrics change stating what type & how much fabric she has in each bin.  She has 8 total bins - 2 columns of 4.  The clear bins let her eyeball what she has & the bins are easy to handle.  She has a LOT of fabrics too. Bulky stuff too like boucle's.

My friend Charlene uses these:

She hangs each fabric on it's own skirt hanger.  Now she also has a whole closet rod dedicated to these suckers in a whole room dedicated to sewing. Almost want to hate her! ~

I'm digging the filing cabinet idea - I like when things are close by but out of sight. That sounds like my kinda of storage.

Hope this might give you some inspiration.  Jane

I got a letter from Taunton saying after the last Sew Stylish issue comes out in December - they will switch me over to Threads Magazine for the remainder of my subscription.  I really liked Sew Stylish - really good info - for beginners as well as seasoned sewers. Lots of neat little hints. I wasen't crazy about many of their sewing projects though. Glad the website will still be up n running!

Wow! How cool to not only find Marimekko fabric at a thrift store AND to come up with such a cool and clever skirt.  Looks like fun!

Might want to check here:

http://www.suspenderstore.com/

We've only bought already made suspenders (for Gramps) from here - they might have material..or might know where to get material from.

The following website sells suspender hardware (mostly clips):

http://www.umei.com/fashion-supplies.htm

That's a start!  Thanks!

http://www.quilt.com/QuestionOfTheWeek/2002/0902.html
The above link might help you answer your question from a more technical perspective.

Wow! Good info from that website. The two fabrics I bought the other day have been washed. Yes they both shrunk a bit (not out of the ordinary in my opinion) but the seersucker feels a tad thin - even before washing. The equestrian poly fabric looks great & should make a cute little seasonal kitschy skirt.  I'm a tad leery now about the seersucker - it doesn't have that "weight" in my hand that other seersuckers have had.

I've wasted too much time & effort on using crummy fabrics when I was really new to sewing & was simply going for quantity over quality....but now I try to be uber-choosy when it comes to fabrics, patterns & styles in general.

I'm still digging the equestrian fabric - should look super cute with tall riding boots!

Thanks for everyone's advice!! Much thanks! Jane