Traveling fabrics

When I get a fabric in my hands that speaks to me, there's no letting go of it until there are only scraps left.  I thought you might enjoy watching how they travel through the workroom and into other things.

As example, a few dresses I've done recently.  I hit a good half price day at the thrift store and scored three pink/orange themed garments.  The first was a pink and orange narrow-striped skirt, which got turned into a dress on its own, trimmed with rickrack and a flower applique.  The second, a butterfly print, was a dress pretty much all on its own, but I added a border and applique heart made from the striped fabric.  The third garment, an oversized orange-and-white print skirt, got turned into 2 dresses, and teamed up with the ruffle from the butterfly print dress.

By the time I got done, I didn't even have enough scraps left for potholders.  That's saying something.

On a blue note, same deal.  Dress #1 was a woman's striped seersucker sundress, cut on the bias.  I took advantage of the original bias seam in the skirt for the dress, which wasted a lot of fabric but looked good.  I embellished it with some vintage rose/ribbon trim.  The second dress was made from a pair of blue pajama pants.  I used the seersucker for the facings, and used the dress's original ties as trim around the neckline.  When, after the dress was complete, I noticed a tiny pick in the fabric of the skirt (why is it those things aren't visible until you're done?), I found more of the seersucker and appliqued a sailboat right over it.  The third dress is soft blue denim, with facings and a pocket made from the pajama fabric, and appliqued daisies spilling out of the pocket.

This time around, I actually have a little bit of each of the blue fabrics left.  I see a series of marine-themed potholders in my future.