Fabric Shopping - Stofftrucke, Zurich

Stofftrucke is located in the center of Zurich, near the main financial district. They offer fabrics for home decor, upholstery, apparel, and crafting. I knew that fabric in Europe tended to be more expensive, but this was excessive. 

The silks from the first photo are gorgeous, no? Chiffon, dupioni, crepe, options with sequins and embroidery, oh my! But heres the thing; I'd be more than willing to pay good money for a 100% silk fabric that I love. But 100% silk was sparse - almost everything I saw was more than half synthetic. 35 Francs per meter for a poly chiffon is just not happening. 

The cotton prints were light and lovely, with a definant vintage vibe. These were 100% cotton and almost reasonably priced, running between 12-22 francs per meter. (*the Swiss Franc is equal to about $0.90 US)

They had a small knit section, but they were all great prints and colors. The poly problem came up again here though - most were completely synthetic and way overpriced. The black and white striped jersey above is a poly/lycra blend at 19 francs per meter. 

Cotton blends - pretty, but nothing I couldn't live without. Especially considering that I could get Liberty of London prints for about the same price.

With my upcoming coat project in mind, I shopped through wools and coating fabrics with vigor. When I saw this Boucle, my first thought was "Ohh! A classic black charcoal - how fabulous would that be with gold buttons and a leopard lining." Fiber content: 40% Vicrose, 40% polyester, 20% wool. 42 francs per meter. 

Needless to say, that cut didn't come home with me. 

I should be in Paris on Monday, and will absolutely do some fabric shopping there. Heck, I'll be lucky if I have time to do much else :) Wish me luck!

Zurich Street Fashion

There are some very distinct trends floating around Switzerland. Zurich is all about the sloppy trouser - not necessarily a harem pant. The look is low-slung, pleat-front, baggy and tapered. 

Surprisingly wearable, right? I wonder if this style pant would still flatter a woman with more curves, though. 

Girly Laptop Cover

My little experiment in bag drafting turned out better than expected.

I basically just wanted a lightly padded laptop cover that added a little peace-of-mind protection but not a lot of bulk. I cut 14'' x 10'' rectangles for the exterior and lining. I got those measurements because my laptop is 13x9, and I figured an inch would be enough for a seam allowance and a bit of wiggle room to accommodate the thickness of the laptop (which is less than half an inch). 

I used purple metal jacket zipper from the SAS zipper bin and applied it as an exposed zip, using a tutorial from DIY Style Vodcasts. I skipped the stabilizer because my fabric wasn't stretchy, but I did like their idea of taping it down instead of pinning, and that worked very well.

I tried to get clean edges on the inside by ironing a little hem in before stitching the fabric pieces to the zipper on the inside. This more or less worked. You can see the white and black from the exterior fabric peak out from under the purple inside, but at least none of the edges are raw. Not the very best option, but passable.

I used a heavyweight fusible interfacing on the exterior pieces and sandwhiched two cuts of a fleece-like fabric between the exterior and lining as the padding. The padding fabric was labeled as a fleece, but it wasn't thick like most of what you see at Joanns; it was more like felt in thickness, but was softer like fleece. 

I decided half-way through to add a patch pocket to the top for the laptop charger, phone charger, little post-its, etc. I didn't really measure it, but the size worked out just about right. I sewed a rectangular scrap of the lining fabric right sides pressed together, turned, and applied it as a patch pocket. I gave the pocket a nice deep pleat in the center for roominess, and a button-closed top flap to hold it all in. My topstitching could have been neater, thats for sure, but I can live with it. The button is from my stash, probably from JoAnns.

Overall, I'm very happy with my laptop cover. It fits perfectly, has a good amount of protection but not bulk, and I learned a bit about zipper application in the process. And after a full day of traveling (Phoenix to Toronto, Toronto to Zurich) I can say that my laptop was not damaged or scratched one bit. And it fit into the seatback pocket with my magazines, which was convenient. 

It's a bit after 6pm here in Zurich. I had a really nice day walking all around town with my Aunt. I stumbled into a yarn store owned by a hilarious British woman. Her and I talked for some time. She told me about two fabric stores in town that I'll be visiting soon. She also talked me into buying some super-soft, Swiss-made baby alpaca fiber yarn. Darn :)

Sewing with knits this often is going to require Costco-sized Advil

I am lucky enough to have a very generous, albeit intermittent, father who learned of my trip to Zurich this summer and decided that my 4 year old Kodakwhatever wasn't going to cut it. I'm sure that readers of this blog will agree - the photo quality isn't great. Enter my gorgeous new Canon Powershot SX120 IS

I made a quick trip home to Chico, CA (norcal!) for a long weekend before I head to Zurich, and took advantage of  employed my lovely friend Alex as photographer. This is the McCall's 6121 tunic I made as a swimsuit coverup. 

I used a white solid/transparent stripe knit from my recent SAS haul. I've really been on a stripes kick lately. I pretty much adore stripes for summer, much like my love of the color emerald in winter (or whatever that slightly-less-hot season is here in AZ). 

Back to sewing; the tunic went together really smoothly as it's comprised of only 2 real seams and a few narrow hems. I can handle that. 

My only critique of the pattern would be that the armholes are a tad snug, but this very well might be my own fault. I laid out the fabric to match the stripes, set the pattern on top unpinned, and left to babysit. When I came home Auggie (cat) had clearly held a little party in my sewing room, and the front pattern piece was pretty damaged. Then again, I did do a decent patch job, so the blame is up in the air. 

I really love this swim coverup because it's a nice, neutral white and will go with literally all of my swimsuits. I'm a swimsuit hoarder. I've got at least 10 tops and 5 or 6 bottoms. The one pictured is a black and white stripe bikini. Summer stripes; told you. 

I'm about to board my flight home to Arizona, so I'll leave by asking what you guys think of the photo quality (forgive my terrible modeling skills, will work on that). I leave for Zurich on Thursday and have way too many things I wanted to sew before I leave, so I better get crackin'. I have a self-drafted tank knockoff to hem and photograph tomorrow - stay tuned! 

Inspiration Series #1 - Switzerland

My lovely Aunt Deb and her Swiss husband Aloise are graciously hosting me for 7 whole weeks this summer in Zurich. Their flat is just outside the city and gorgeous - It's covered in greenery. Albert Einstein lived there! Pretty cool, right?

I spent two weeks in Switzerland this October as an exchange student. I stayed with a family in Interlaken, meaning "a city between two lakes." The Borters are a great family, I really enjoyed my time there. My only regret from this trip was that everywhere I went, I was rushed. I didn't see anything thoroughly, or leisurely for that matter. 

I'll be venturing outside of Switzerland this summer to see Spain, Italy, France, Germany and the UK. I'm really hoping that, in addition to seeing history and experiencing new cultures, I get to do some fabric shopping in the World's biggest fashion capitals. 

I've been thinking so much about all of the garments I'll want to sew when I come home with a head full of European style and know-how, that for a time I had forgotten completely about sewing for my trip. I'm going to spend the majority of the summer away from my sewing machine afterall, one could only hope I'll manage something pretty before I leave. (Which is June 10th, by the way). 

The photo above is of graffiti in Bern. You'd never know that was graffiti, right? It's artistic and lovely, precisely why I'm going to take inspiration from it as I plan my garments pre-Zurich. 

I feel the same about all of those European pastry cases. I was inspired by these last October - inspired to eat them, at least. I spent the summer of '09 at the gym to loose 15lbs only to eat my way back into 10 of them. (Still haven't lost that weight, darn). This time, I want to channel the pretty pastels into a Summery top for Europe. 

Zurich by JanaCarolyn Selig featuring Emilio Pucci bags

After reading this post on MPB, I checked out Polyvore.com. Um, SUPERCOOL! I didn't spend much time putting together my actual set, but I did flip through the categories enough to fall in love with the site. Hey Peter, I'm Polyvorous!

This is my "Zurich" set. Essentially I'm in love with the black dress. I really love the light layers over embellishment, and the cut out bodice. It's similar to this dress's lines, made by Lily of Sew Retro. I think the striped navy& black top would go really well from afternoon to evening with the right accessories.

The purses are very similar but from different designers. I really need a new bag. All of my purses are terrible.

I watched "An Education" last night. On top of being a fabulous movie with a relevant story line and great acting, the costumes are fantastic! I'm in love with all of the cute sheaths and cropped three-quarter length-sleeve jackets. And don't even start me on the wrist-length gloves and girly collars. The hairstyles are really cute too. More on hair in another post, though.

All of these things were considered, and the following list, which I shall call my "I can only wish I'll get to make half of this before I leave for Zurich" list. I'm challenging myself to a SWAP.
-A followy collared top for daytime
-A lightweight jacket (Vogue 8623, maybe?)
-Something that utilizes transparency and neutrals
-A dress with tiers and an uneven hem
-A giant carry-all bag with a fabulous lining
-Something ecru

I suppose my list is a bit makeshift and unspecific. I also lack fabric for ANY of these projects and only have one real source for anything locally, which is largely hit and miss. I suppose the sewing gods will have to look upon me kindly.

I'd also really love to buy a vintage necklace, but then again that might be a purchase better suited for Europe.

As always, I'd love to hear/see any pattern/fabric/garment suggestions :)