Saturday 23 July 2011

I used the fabric of shame!

Those of you that live in the USA are currently gearing yourself up for the ninth season of Project Runway, which starts this week. So you might be a little surprised to hear that here in the UK transmission stopped at season 6 and there are no plans to show seasons 7 or 8. However, to my delight, I recently managed to get my hands on a dvd of season 8.

Whilst watching episode one, I was thrilled to see that one of the designers picked out this fabric


I purchased some of this very same silk fabric at Mood, back in August of 2009 (blogged about here), and I used it to make a dress shortly after. How excited I was! Could it be that this fabric was going to be used to make the winning creation? Would Heidi, Nina and Michael love it?

No, of course not. The designer was McKell Maddox and her dress was the losing dress. McKell was out.




I am trying not to feel too mortified because she only used this fabric for a part of the dress (the waistband and sash). Also I think that it was the design of the dress (Michael hated the "side cleavage") and the styling ("a train wreck"), not this particular choice of fabric, that the judges took issue with.

When I used the fabric I didn't mix it with other fabrics. Here's the dress I made (I originally blogged about it here.)

McCalls 5927 - made in November 2009
I actually love this dress - it is now over a year and a half old and I still wear it quite often. I stand by the fabric, it handles beautifully and I really love the colours and print. I have some left and I do plan on using it - with careful thought!

With McKell's dress I think it's a case of good fabric being made bad, although under that kind of pressure I think she can be forgiven! In fact, I think that one of the most difficult things about making your own clothes is working out what fabric is going to work with what style, especially when used in combination with other fabrics. I have certainly made quite a few bad choices and I believe that even the most experienced of sewists have sometimes been surprised to find that their style judgements haven't quite worked out as they expected.

Have you ever taken a fabulous fabric and turned it into something disastrous? Do tell .......
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31 comments:

  1. Anonymous23 July 2011 at 05:38

    The fabric of shame! You're cracking me up. Yours looks much better than hers. You would have won.

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  2. Gabrielle23 July 2011 at 06:00

    Yes, it's hard to pick the right fabric for the right project! And sometimes there's something you really want to make and fabric you really want to make something with, so you pair them up and - uh oh, not good. Your dress is lovely!

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  3. Meg23 July 2011 at 06:13

    How can you even compare what you did and McKell did with this fabric?! Yours is classy and hers is a hot mess. But yeah, I've ruined fabulous fabric. Doesn't happen as much as it used to, but it can happen.

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  4. Rachel23 July 2011 at 06:35

    Your dress and that fabric is beautiful!!! She could take some lessons from you.

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  5. Robyn23 July 2011 at 06:44

    I think your dress looks fab. I'm not a fan of side cleavage either, I'm not surprised she lost!

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  6. Anonymous23 July 2011 at 06:56

    Four words - The striped cheerleader dress - what a disaster it was. I took a perfectly good piece of linen and destroyed it. Wrong pattern, wrong choice, wrong everything! *LOL*

    However, you did choose the right fabric for that very beautiful dress!

    Carolyn
    Diary of a Sewing Fanatic

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  7. Anonymous23 July 2011 at 07:05

    Eugenia,

    Truthfully, I think you dress is far more Audrey Hepburn and lovely than that other trendy outfit. I really love the classic but retro look and the pattern is classic , not to mention it looks very fetching on you !
    Best,
    Elise

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  8. Clio23 July 2011 at 07:23

    "When bad things happen to good fabrics" is the phrase I was thinking of for McKell's dress. Seriously, it had a mullet. Your's on the other hand is classy and elegant.

    I actually love when Pattern Review has one of their contests for taking an awful fabric and making something nice out of it. It really highlights how matching fabric to pattern can really make the best - or worst - out of any fabric.

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  9. sewistafashionista23 July 2011 at 08:02

    I once took silk charmeuse and ruined the v-neck to the point of no return. And nothing else could be made out of it since it was a work shell shirt and therefore rather a small amount of material. I am still kind of bummed about that one.

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  10. Mary23 July 2011 at 08:12

    Your dress is amazing, and yes, I have butchered good fabric before. No specifics come to mind, I think I block the horrible wadders out of my mind! You would have won with your dress that week if you had been competing!

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  11. Maria (viola33)23 July 2011 at 08:33

    Your dress is beautiful. I like how the fabric matches the pattern, find it absolutely perfect.

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  12. Karin23 July 2011 at 08:46

    Your dress is spot on. I like a simple, classic shape when the pattern is bold or interesting. It's a nice balance. I've never seen project runway, but I suppose the contestants don't really have the option of going classic if they want to win. In real life, classic is what a lot of us want to wear most of the time.

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  13. snow23 July 2011 at 08:55

    Love the fabric and the dress you made with it!!! :O)

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  14. Vanessa23 July 2011 at 10:10

    Beautiful dress Eugenia! I don't think I have taken a beautiful fabric and turned it into a disaster, but I have taken a nice knit top and turned it into a horror! It was supposed to be a V neck top, and it looked anything but!! i couldn't even wear it as a PJ!

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  15. Faye Lewis23 July 2011 at 12:58

    That is a beautiful dress!

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  16. Myra23 July 2011 at 14:30

    Yes this dress is still beautiful even thought it's a year and a half old!!! Love the fabric too! Maybe if McKell had used more of your fabric, she would have been inspired to do something else and could have won!

    Unfortunately, I just recently ruined a beautiful peach knit using the wrong style of pattern!!! I'm not going to post about it because it still hurts!!! Yes, I've definitely had my share too!

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  17. kbenco23 July 2011 at 18:32

    I saw the thumbnail of your beautiful fabric in my reader, and had to click straight away to find out how it could possibly be a fabric of shame. Great post title! Your dress is gorgeous. I don't think justice was done to it by the poor contestant, but she has great fabric selection skills at least.

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  18. Graca23 July 2011 at 21:05

    You're too funny... fabric of shame, tsk. The fabric is beautiful and so is your dress, it suits you well.

    Oh my have I ever taken fabulous fabric and turned it into a disaster! Stretch velvet and Vogue 2091, that's all I can admit to right now.

    And enjoy Season 8 of Project Runway, don't read my post about Project Runway, I should have put a spoiler alert. I didn't realize that it was not carried in Britain since season 6.

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  19. Peggy's Closet24 July 2011 at 09:22

    No, no, no! You're fabric is NOT shameful; it is gorgeous! I thought McKell's dress (particularly the bodice) was a bit of a mess, but I thought others were just as poorly designed &/or constructed--I didn't think she'd be the one going home.

    Your dress--the fabric, the style, the fit--is fabulous!

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  20. Kat24 July 2011 at 10:02

    I think it was definitely the dress rather than the fabric - your make is gorgeous :) I was obsessed with Project Runway when it was shown here, and was sad when they stopped showing it on Sky 3. In fact it may have been one of the things that reignited my interest in sewing! For some reason the UK version is not quite the same! I may have to try and get my hands on the DVD too. Thanks for your lovely comment on my blog!

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  21. Sewingadicta24 July 2011 at 14:03

    Your dress is wonderful! is not surprising that this designer is out of competition, this was a small disaster, but you did the right track with the fabric. I made many disasters fabrics (especially with the weight of the fabric wrong), but it is good to learn from mistakes ....

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  22. Gail24 July 2011 at 18:25

    Kelly's dress had too much going on to be a winner. Your dress allows that heavenly fabric to sell itself.

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  23. Diane24 July 2011 at 19:12

    Your dress is beautiful. I bought a silk print jersey Pucci type print from Mood a couple of years ago, and the very next week it was on Project Runway. I think it was Suede who used it. He now does patterns for Simplicity. He almost got sent home that week, not so much for the fabric itself, but because his outfit didn't meet the challenge.

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  24. Mary Nanna24 July 2011 at 23:31

    I didn't think anyone could be further behind in PR than us poor kiwis but it seems that in Britain you have been deprived 3 seasons! Cruel. Your dress looks lovely, way nicer than the elimination number but I do admire her adventurousness. Adventure, the judges love it or hate it.

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  25. MushyWear25 July 2011 at 21:00

    Your use of this fabric was definitely brilliant. I was sad to see this designer get kicked off so soon. I actually liked the dress she came up with. Maybe a little more coverage on the side would have been a good thing. Oh well. But to answer your question. Yes, I've turned out disasters. That's sometimes the "reward" for being adventurous!

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  26. The Slapdash Sewist26 July 2011 at 14:08

    Well, one of the tags on my blog is "Fail" for a reason. I can't think of a particular fabric that made me sad to have ruined it, but I'm probably suppressing the bad memory!

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  27. jacquie29 July 2011 at 05:08

    I love your dress! And the fabric is beautiful. McKell's is hmmmm.... side cleavage indeed. The wearer would have to double sided tape themselves in to it, plus it hides the gorgeousness of the fabric. I'm definitely familiar with the experience of ruining a lovely fabric - and not just once. Even doing a muslin can't entirely guard against it can it?

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  28. Anonymous29 July 2011 at 13:42

    Hi, I am from New Zealand and love Project Runway as well. The US version does not screen in NZ for a long time after it has screened in the US. I have found a website www.sidereel.com where you can watch all the series and episodes for free. All you need is enough internet power. It has all the great US programmes......by the way love your blog.
    Rebecca, Wellington, New Zealand

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  29. Cennetta30 July 2011 at 07:52

    I still love your dress. Unfortunately McKell did not careful plan out the design/fabric combo. You did. It's a great looking dress.

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  30. Lynneb2 August 2011 at 19:13

    Eugenia! Your dress is incredible! Your "fabric of shame" has been redeemed! Too bad you can't watch the current season with the rest of the world...season 9 already promises to be a good one!

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