Hawaii Fabric

I know I can't be the only person to go fabric shopping while on vacation. I mentioned before my tour guide is “No Ko Oi !”. Over my vacation I discovered that while I drove his mother across state lines in search of the perfect yarn for her many wonderful knitted baby outfits he managed to escape ever setting foot in a craft or fabric store. But since he was being the perfect tour guide he agreed to take me into the fabric store we drove past on the way to town from the airport. The windows were draped with beautiful Hawaiian print fabrics. Once inside I had to choose from the rows and rows of beautiful Hawaiian prints. It was hard but I managed to choose just seven. Since I wasn't shopping for a specific project I bought 5 to 8 yards of each except one which only had 1.5 left on the bolt. I’m hoping to make a few dresses for myself and my daughter and possible a shirt or two for my son and husband. I wasn't able to find anything in the stores for myself that seemed quite right for me. Hopefully I'll have better luck making my own.

I wanted to make something with my new fabric for myself as soon as I got home. I've been home for a few weeks but I got "sidetracked" making costumes for Balticon and catching up with the yard and house work I fell behind on while I was gone. I have just finished the first dress. I used Simplicity Khaliah Ali Collection to #3805 make my first dress. I choose the pretty aqua print for my first project. I used my new portable machine which caused a bit of confusion as I waded through the manual and learned the different locations for knobs and controls. I also increased the challenge by picking a pattern which used things I have never used before: interfacing around the collar, and bias tape to finish the sleeve seams. To make a more "finished" dress I did most of the seams with a French seam.

Considering how much fabric I have, hopeful this is just the first piece I'll be making and wearing. If I should run out of fabric I can either go back for another visit (I hope to get back soon) or I can shop the same store on line: Hawaii Fabric Mart.